A Crock of Gunt: Paul Carlisle
KOA Radio 650
February 5, 2036: Mokule’ia, Oahu, Hawaii – Aurora broadcast team of Mark Gunter and George Crocker meet up with newly appointed manager of the Mokule’ia Oceanic, former-Aurora RF, Paul Carlisle, as part of the Borealis Island Lights Cruise.
Gunter: Aloha everyone. Welcome to this special preseason edition of a Crock of Gunt. This is Mark Gunter and I’m joined by my colleague…
Crocker: A-LO-HA Boys and Girls – or shall I say Wahines and Kane and all you Keiki out there! I’m your man for all things Hawaiian! I… AM… YOUR… MAN!!
Gunter: Thank you for that George. I’m sure our listening audience is glad to hear that. Today we have joining us…
Crocker: A Special guest, Markie-Mark! He’s a Haole – let’s just start there – got any ideas folks? Big hint – he did nore than Poke the ball about the park. (Crocker looks over at Gunter) Brah, he was so Ono!
Gunter: Yes, George, he was… Folks, it’s Paul Carlisle!
Carlisle: Thanks Mark. It’s a pleasure to be here – and so good to be back in Mokule’ia. My playing time here was so short, I hardly had a chance to get a feel for the place.
Gunter: And after 14-years in the Aurora Organization – and a couple of brief stops, here you are – back on island as manager of the Oceanic.
Carlisle: Yes – and it’s quite different now…
Crocker: Paulie C, tell us about the wahines – there must have been wahines like nobodies busy-ness! Crusing the beaches, catching some Nalu pū kī, you must have been Big Kane in the ohana!
Carlisle: Like I said, George, I wasn’t here long enough to be much of a leader. It was me and Mike Hale – drafted in the same class, and a young Teddy Loetzsch – I think he was just 17 and had signed with the club earlier. Mike and I were gone, off to San Luis Rio Colorado in a blink of the eye. John Gray was on that club – though he was just getting set to move up, himself. It’s funny - thinking back on how bad he was, and yet how good he got!
Gunter: What are your thoughts about managing, Paul. During your 10-seasons with Aurora, you played for some pretty good managers – six to be precise; six of the ten in the 30-year history of the Aurora Borealis.
Carlisle: Man… Don James… Kata… Even Will Topham that weird year – I still have no clue what happened with Koki. Kata was a great tactician, but maybe that year Will was there was the best. He really had no clue, but he wasn’t afraid to talk with guys, to get opinions, ideas. Most of the time it was BS conversations. He…
Crocker: BEACHES! That’s what the fans want to hear about! Your surfing glories!! Hitting the rip-tides at ʻĀweoweo Beach. Taking the chicks out to Ka’Ena Point. Give us the deets, Dude! That’s what we need – the Real Paul Carlisle!!
Carlisle: It really was nothing like that, George. I went from Youngstown to Houston, where I was at Rice, and my focus was baseball and class. Hawaii was like another planet – and I had no time to explore, as we draftees hit the ground running – no getting your feet wet at Montserrat. It was do or die here. I played 40 games and was off to Mexico.
Gunter: So tell us about your expectations here. Coaching is a new thing for you – I assume.
Carlisle: Yeah, it is new, but I have a lot of former-teammates who have done this before me: Mike and Mike, ‘Tugboat’ – I have ‘Sleepy’ here as my pitching coach. Lots of guys to help me cope, learn and grow; Hall of Famers, ya know. And this facility – it’s gorgeous. So much nicer than what we had back in 2017.
Gunter: And the talent on this squad?
Carlisle: Well, the Oceanic have a way of succeeding. 20 of 28-years in the playoffs – 18 of those years in first? Incredible. I’ll leave the pitching to ‘Sleepy’, but one guy who impressed last year was Spencer Williams, who was 14-5 with a 2.57 ERA. I really look forward to watching closer Vince Raynor develop more. I’ve watched some tape already and he was tough. I can’t say if he will start with us or stay in the Caribbean, but I anticipate his being with Mokule’ia at some point.
Crocker: Brah… howzit with the bats? We all know it’s all about the bats, ‘bout the bats, ‘bout the bats! Give us the D-L about da bats!
Carlisle: I’m super excited about working with Masamichi Daikawa – and I was so happy to see him stay with Aurora after hearing his name bantered about during the past two offseasons. He’s had two outstanding seasons with the Mystique, and one of my jobs will be see his defensive skills improve. Ditto Fernando Rodriguez. Neither is very disciplined at the plate, but they do put the ball in play, so the first trick will be to get them to see more pitches. I hope we can continue the work Chris Weaver started at Rookie Ball.
Gunter: Did you see yourself being a coach once your career was over?
Carlisle: No… not really – at least not at first. I had always been a vocal kind of a guy in the dugout – at Rice I think that meant more, but by the time I got to Aurora, that group already had a title under their belts, and with Britt, Matt Ferrell, ‘Gypsy’, River – that team was so loaded with talent that everyone knew what their job was and how to do it – and we won three straight titles after my rookie year. It was kinda bittersweet, though – we had 8-straight first place finishes and we couldn’t make it back to the PEC after that third title in a row.
Crocker: Then there was that crazy 2030 season – I mean that was CRAZY!! Almost as crazy as letting those hillbillies win the title. I still don’t get that? How could you not win that title. I remember back in Bogata, we had this chance and what we did…
Carlisle: It really wasn’t as simple as that, George! But I knew that would be my last year with Aurora. I didn’t feel the need to hang around for longevity reasons. But I am glad that Will called and offered me this gig!
Gunter: Before we let you go and do the Q & A with the fans, tell us what are your expectations. What kind of coach will Paul Carlisle be?
Carlisle: Well… I’d say… attention to details – the small things that help you win… patience – I’ve always believed the game favors a patient hitter or a patient pitcher. Some of the greatest at-bats have been just that - patient hitter versus a patient pitcher. I won’t go ballistic on the field or in the dugout – you won’t see me throwing the bases around like some of those managers back in the day. It’s the cool simmer. That’s me. I have no expectations for the future. Would I want to be up at Aurora? I don’t know. That’s really a question for many years down the line.
Gunter: Folks, that’s a wrap for us – a big thanks to Paul Carlisle, Mokule’ia’s new manager, and George, do you have any last thoughts?
Crocker: Mahalo, ‘Money’, Mahalo – that’s what you shoulda told Cooley when he gave you the big bucks – Mahalo. If you had, you’d still be playing, Brah.
