One of the great success stories for this season has come from first
base, where the strong frame of Greg Dowling has held down a spot for
almost the entire season.

Though Don Sutton played a few games at 3, Dowling managed to endure a
first month slump, turn his form around, and quickly bump his average
up from the .160 range to a Dan Johnson-esque .296 in quick time.

So with the D-Bomb slowly moving into the clean-up role, we figured it
was time to go down to the locker rooms and collar the kid who is
turning season 2006 into the year of Dowling.

The full interview follows:


NFTN: So you’re showing some
really solid form right now. Is that down to the fatherly influence and
batting knowledge of Benny "The Jet" Winslow, or is that all you?

GD: (laughs) It’s a little bit of everything. It’s a comfort thing,
getting used to the bat and the league. I’m coming around, getting a
lot more comfortable out there and starting to do some good things. I
like the way I’m progressing.

NFTN: Has there been any actual adjustments you’ve made that you’d credit?

GD: No, I’m not changing my swing… Just my approach I guess, being a
bit more selective, waiting for the right pitch, being smarter out
there. Trying to make every swing count. I’m just working on my general
game, keeping the ball down, defense, picking pitches, there’s nothing
I have to get going on defense or offense in particular. It’s a bit
different to college in terms of the quality of pitches you see.

NFTN: Is there anything else that’s markedly different in the pro game?

GD: The wooden bats. Those aluminum bats, you hit it good and it’s out
of the park. The approach of the game is different too. In college you
can sit around waiting for homeruns, whereas here you have to chase
that one good pitch and move the guys around the bags.

NFTN: Are you trying to hit for power right now, or working more on base hits?

GD: I’m not going for power, just trying to hit well and then the power
will come. I’m hitting the gaps right now, working for doubles, and
it’s coming along. I’m feeling comfortable, like I feel if I get my
pitch, I should hit it. I feel like, if I get out, I’m getting myself
out, you know? I can’t expect to hit this well all season, but I can
try to be pretty close to it, and that’s what I’m aiming for.

NFTN: How does it feel to wake up in the morning and think, "Heck, I’m a pro ball player"?

GD: Yeah, it’s pretty cool, but you don’t think about it too much.
Every day’s just different. You’re doing what you love. It’s a lot
better than sitting behind a desk, 8 to 5, but you’re doing what you
enjoy doing, which is a good situation to be in. It’s actually long
days at the field, but thankfully they’ve been pretty nice days out
there.

NFTN:
How do you stay focused, day in and day out? I mean, there’s got to be
times you just zone out standing at first and catch yourself letting
your mind wander…

GD: Sure, but you just try to keep your focus as best you can. You do
what you can to stay in the game, stay focused, and whenever you’re
away from the field, you have to try to keep your mind off of baseball
completely. It’s a long season, so you have to go easy.

NFTN: Your defense was a little scratchy early on, but I guess nobody expects a first baseman to be a high-flyer…

GD: We got worked on defense early on, when we first got here, and I
struggled with that. Honestly, I pretty much struggled with everything
when I first came here, so I decided to just try to feel more
comfortable out there, so I’ve been working at getting loose and
feeling more relaxed, and that’s helped a lot. It’s all coming together
at the right time.

NFTN: A lot of guys say they had no idea Oakland was coming for them in the draft. Was that similar in your case?

GD: I had a feeling. I’d talked to the Oakland area scout and he said
they might come for me. I was watching them, but also about five or six
other teams. I thought I’d go first day and I went first pick on the
second day, so not that big of a difference, I guess. Obviously its not
going to be a huge money issue at my spot, so I got picked, I like the
organization, and it’s all good. Ready to play.

NFTN: And Vancouver’s not a bad place to get your start, huh?

GD: Yeah, it’s a lot of fun, good crowds, great atmosphere, it’s a good
field, though a little tough to hit a home run on, but other than that,
I could think of a lot worse places to be.

NFTN: Will you know you’re really a pro baller when you can play yourself on an X-Box game?

GD: I don’t know. The college game just came out and my school was in
it, but that will have the rosters for next year so I won’t be in that
one, but yeah, that will be pretty cool when I can play myself on a
video game.

NFTN: What’s the best baseball movie of all time?

GD: Best baseball movie… hmm… I don’t know. I like Major League,
but there’s nothing I really like that much… I don’t know, I can’t
think of any. What movies are there?

NFTN: Bull Durham? Eight Men Out? The Sandlot, Bang The Drum Slowly,
for Love of the Game, Bad News Bears… But you should know, if you say
The Natural, you’re a pussy.

GD: I think probably Major League. It’s funny, I enjoy it, we’ll go with that.