Mike Lieberthal: Can't Leave Philadelphia a Loser

By Jessica Quiroli

Interviewing him was no easy task. But nothing was easy for Mike Lieberthal from the time he began playing baseball, and he never expected it to be, so who is any writer to complain? The catcher was told from the time he was very young that he was too small to be a backstop. And still he pressed on in the way that Lieberthal did from the time he began his professional career with the Phillies in 1990 when the team drafted him in the first round, third overall.

What he never experienced in his eleven years as a Phillie, he will never experience as a Dodger. He is not the fulltime catcher in his new digs, but the backup to Russell Martin. What he can have with the Dodgers that he never had with the Phillies, hopefully, is a playoffs appearance...and perhaps more.

It was the thing that haunted him, that frustrated him and that he once called, "a void." No playoffs showing in the years he was here. Many fingers pointed to him as October baseball arrived and left the Phillies behind every season of his career. People accused him of not knowing how to call a good game, for not being enough of a leader, for not being a better offensive catcher. People wanted him to be more like former Phillies catcher and born-leader Darren Daulton. Though what that meant was never entirely clear.

All it could possibly add up to was that Daulton had led the 1993 Phillies to a World Series appearance, and Lieberthal was following Daulton's departure. The shadow was large. But Lieberthal said it didn't intimidate him. If it did, maybe, he wouldn't say. After all, the guy Braves back-up catcher and former Phillie Todd Pratt called "the hardest working player" he'd ever played with was not a complainer.

He had his breaking point though...

When I interviewed him two years ago for a magazine it was a christening: my first major league interview. Lieberthal was gracious enough to talk to me during a time when he was going through a transitional period, and a painful one. He'd been benched for two games straight due to terrible knee trouble and Todd Pratt was playing more for him. Lieberthal was facing the inevitable music, playing through pain and doing the best he could as his career seemed to be winding down.

As soon as I sat down to talk to him, the mood was immediately obvious. He looked weathered up-close, his eyes hard, and his overall disposition indifferent. The interview went quickly, the questions answered mostly with only one word. The final question didn't faze him too much, until I pressed a little for more of an answer. He leaned toward me, a look in his eye as he narrowed them and tensed his jaw, all of it indicating I needed to move on. He sensed something was being implied; he'd taken enough abuse and had no reason to trust an unfamiliar writer's intentions. His emotional battle scars were visible. There was no bitterness about the interview being short and curt. It was clear that he just had his boundaries and they were to be respected.

So much had come to pass for Lieberthal at that point: the booing and criticism had intensified with each season-all due to the expectation of what he should be, instead of taking him for what he was-good at the job, but a tireless champion in his efforts.

His toughness should be legendary in Philadelphia and so far it doesn't appear that will be his legacy. His talents should be respected, but so far the majority of the focus is on what he never amounted to. When he passed Red Dooin in August of 2006 for most games caught, he was shocked that the crowed stood and applauded for him. He knew Phillies fans had given up on him and was surprised by their kindness. After all that, STILL he said he'd like to come back to Philadelphia .

He was a good offensive catcher, a better player than Darren Daulton if you care about the numbers, a workhorse and well-respected by teammates and the community for his charity work. Though he wasn't a natural leader, he led by his unwavering dedication to the game and his workman's way of playing: no complaining, just do your job. If Mike Lieberthal can't retire with a playoffs shot or a World Series ring, at the very least, he can leave the game he loves proud.

 

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