Alan Embree is a connoisseur of bullpens. The guy has come out of one in a big league game 868 times, sixth most among active pitchers. And he's done it for 10 different teams, pitching in 42 different ballparks.
So when FanHouse wanted the lowdown on the good, bad and ugly about life in the bullpen, we went to Embree.
When you think about it, no other sport has anything like the bullpen. A portion of the team is separated from the rest of the group, tucked in a far-away part of the stadium where they can interact with each other -- and with the fans -- without being subject to the same scrutiny they would be if they were with the rest of the team.
While dugouts are pretty standard throughout the majors, bullpens vary widely. Embree helped us break down the differences, from the best to the worst to the mysteriously absent.
What makes a good bullpen?
"Space," Embree said. "You've got to have enough separation from the fans and the field to where you don't feel claustrauphobic and you can do your own thing, whether it's stretching or flipping seeds. You need a place to roam. The bigger the better, with a good view of the field, so you know what's going on."
The best one, Embree said, is the home bullpen at Atlanta's Turner Field.
"There are three mounds, easy access from the back, the tunnel [to the clubhouse]," he said. "It's comfortable. If it got too hot you had a sitting area in the back. You could escape. I could go back and throw against a wall and no one would even know it."
"People will do anything for a baseball."
-- Reliever Alan Embree on fans who expose themselves to pitchers in the bullpenThe ability to get from the bullpen to the clubhouse without being seen by the fans or the manager is a critical element, Embree said. The worst bullpens are those that trap the relievers, meaning they have to walk through the outfield to get anywhere. Dodger Stadium, Miller Park and Citizens Bank Park are a few in which the relievers are isolated. At Safeco Field, they are literally caged.
"There's a screen around so you're like a caged rat," Embree said. "The fans are right there, pounding against the screen."
Embree said a couple of other parks with bad bullpens are the Oakland Coliseum and Wrigley Field, because they aren't really bullpens. They are simply benches with nothing but a railing, and in Oakland's case a little awning, separating the players from the fans.
"It's no bullpen," Embree said. "Just you and some dirt."
Embree discounts AT&T Park from the conversation because that ballpark doesn't even have what he considers a bullpen, for either team. Embree was a member of the Giants when the park opened in 2000.
"We got here opening day and said 'where are the bullpens?'" Embree said. "They said, 'Oh, we forgot.'"
There were mounds for the pitchers to warm up, but no place for them to sit. Eventually a small bench was placed in the right-field corner for the visiting relievers, but when most teams come to San Francisco, they simply have their relievers stay in the dugout, and hop out to go warm up. That is less than ideal.
"That's kind of distracting to the regular guys," Embree said. "We're in the way. During the game they don't want to interact with us. They don't want us in the way of their water bucket or anything like that."
And the relievers don't like that they don't have the same independence they have at ballparks where they are tucked away, hundreds of feet from the manager. Embree said there is still an amount of goofing off that goes on in the bullpen early in a game, but not as much as there used to be when he broke into the majors in the mid-'90s, thanks to the watchful lenses of more cameras.
"Nothing goes unseen now," Embree said. "You might be able to pull off a harmless [prank], but if you want to pull off something big, it can't be done. With the internet, the blogs, the Tweeting, that took all that away. Technology killed us."Embree said fan interaction comes in many forms. As a visitor in places like Veterans Stadium, pitchers would be subjected to all sorts of verbal attacks. Embree said it's not so bad at Citizens Bank Park because the newer ballpark has attracted a different clientele, and also the team has been better lately.
On the positive side, fans in Cleveland are always happy to bring a reliever a hot dog, especially to a former Indian like Embree. The fans in St. Louis were so nice that they congratulated Embree's Red Sox on winning the World Series in 2004. He said there are some ballparks where you see the fans sitting near the bullpens, and they know all about the careers of the relievers.
And in warm-weather ballparks in the summer months, relievers can usually count on seeing at least one female fan, perhaps overserved, willing to expose herself.
"People will do anything for a baseball," Embree said.
You don't get that in the dugout.
