A View From Field Level
Racine’s Vinny Rottino dishes on professional pursuits, position changes and his affinity for U2.

By Brendan O'Brien

Last season, after driving in the run that secured the Brewers their first winning season since 1992, you were immediately mobbed by your teammates. Is it becoming easier to take those moments in stride or do you sometimes still find yourself in awe?
I’m at the point where I know I’m a big league player. I don’t get focused on the stage of being in the big leagues. It’s the same game I’ve played since I was kid. However, I do take a step back and look at the things I’ve been given the opportunity to do and think, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. I’m really blessed.’

Although you’ve served a utility role for the Brewers over the past few years, they are committed to developing you as a catcher. What has been the biggest adjustment in learning how to catch?
Learning all the fundamentals. Receiving, blocking, throwing – that was the first thing I had to do. I’m still working on those things daily. However, catching is a lot more than fundamentals. It’s calling a game and leading a pitching staff. Those things you can only really learn from experience. I think that’s one area where I made strides this past winter by playing and catching so many games in the Dominican Republic.

At the end of spring training you found out you’d once again be starting the season at AAA in Nashville. However, you also found out the reason the organization was sending you back to the minors was because they believe you can be the team’s catcher of the future. What were the 24-48 hours like after you found all this out?
I was upset at first. Then they told me the reason why they wanted me to go to Nashville was because they see me as an everyday catcher in the near future. I am really excited about that possibility.

You’ve always been a great hitter. What about the notion that a catcher’s offense sometimes suffers because the defensive aspect of the position is so demanding?
I actually hit better when I’m catching. Maybe it’s because I don’t really concern myself with offense. I’m so locked into the pitcher and how to get the hitters out that, as a result, at the plate I can just focus on seeing the ball and hitting it.

Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in professional sports. The second hardest?
Dealing with failure. Baseball is a game of failure. If you fail seventy-percent of the time you’re an all-star. Therefore, it’s all about how you deal with that failure. Staying positive. Keeping on an even keel. Never losing faith in yourself and your ability. It’s all so important.

You make it well known that faith is an important part of your life. What role has faith played in your evolution as a professional baseball player?
Baseball is just a game. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. However, buying into that realization is a whole other thing. I play with passion every time I’m between the lines. I know God has blessed me with the ability to play and he’s got me exactly where he wants me: playing ball. So now I just go out and have fun playing, thanking God as I go.

I’ve known you for a long time. You’re a music buff. Saying you have a passion for music would be like saying Brewers’ fans have a passion for beer. What are your favorite bands?
First of all, I need to say that all of my musical interests have been shaped and influenced by singer/songwriter and high school friend Mark Malone. That said, my favorite bands are U2, The Gloria Record, Oasis, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Killers and Zookeeper.

The Killers and Zookeeper? Sounds like an ugly altercation outside the monkey cages. Anyway, moving on. Someday you will be able to tell your grandkids that you played Major League baseball. That has to feel good. Having accomplished that dream, what is your primary motivation these days? Making it back to the bigs? Becoming an everyday player? An All-Star? Succeeding in Milwaukee?
I told a reporter in the Arizona Fall League in 2006 that I am going to be an everyday catcher in the big leagues. That’s still a big goal of mine. I love catching and I work everyday to become a better catcher and leader. I also want to be a huge part of the team in Milwaukee that wins the World Series.

Now that’s something to get motivated for.

Vinny is a graduate of St. Catherine’s High School in Racine, WI and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. At press time he ranked in the top three for the Nashville Sounds in at bats, runs, doubles, home runs and RBI.