'We scrubbed a lot of toilets:' Meet the new first family of baseball, the Minasians
TEMPE, Ariz. — They wrestled with Bo Jackson and Cal Ripken Jr.
Played Wiffle Ball with Jose Canseco, Cecil Fielder and Alan Trammell.
Had dance contests with Ken Griffey Jr. and MC Hammer’s crew.
Hung out with Nolan Ryan.
They are the Minasian family.
► Perry, 40, is the new general manager of the Los Angeles Angels, but known by his brothers as an epic cheater in Madden Football.
► Calvin, 38, is the new director of clubhouse and equipment for the Atlanta Braves, and, as he likes to remind his brothers, the only one in his family who has ever won a World Series ring.
► Zack, 36, is the second-year pro scouting director for the San Francisco Giants, much to the chagrin of his late godfather Tom Lasorda and wife Jo, who lovingly called him, “Benedict Arnold.’’
► And Rudy, 42, Rudy, 42, the smartest, kindest and most responsible of the Minasian kids growing up, and shrewd enough to stay out of baseball, with his own law firm in Chicago, where he practices transactional law specializing in real estate and estate planning
Of course, there's also Dad and Mom, Zack (who is not a senior, nor his son a junior, since his son’s middle name is “Thomas’’ in honor of Lasorda) and Barbara. Dad was the one responsible for getting them involved in baseball as clubhouse attendant and exposing his boy to the game's biggest stars.
None of the Minasian boys ever set foot on the field as a player in the major leagues, or even the minors, but they are all former clubhouse attendants, working for their dad with the Texas Rangers.
Now, they are part of baseball family royalty, alongside the Bell and Boone families.
“People always say, 'Oh, look at those loving brothers all trying to help out each other,’ " said Perry Minasian. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth. We want to beat each other’s asses as much as possible.
“We’re not trying to hurt each other, but we’re sure the hell not helping each other, either."
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They did try to hurt each other as kids playing football in the back yard, basketball on the driveway, ping-pong in the garage or video games in the house.
“The Madden football games I played against Perry,’’ Zack said, “we would sometimes come to blows. I’m not even joking. Sometimes, we would literally be fighting.’’
What annoyed him the most?
“He would always try to draft these speed teams," Zack said. “He’d always be mixing it around, playing guys out of position, just to have speed all over the place. He’s always have a running quarterback. I’m like, 'Can you play a real football game for once, please, instead of just trying to run with your quarterback all of the time"
“And I’d catch him sneaking to look into my controller to see what play I’m picking. And if he denies that, he’s totally lying.’’
Perry’s rebuttal?
“At that point in time," Perry said, “I was out of my mind. I would do anything to win. There would be fights all of the time. We would come to blows."
Says Zack, the 69-year-old father: “They would have these knock-down, drag-out football games in the backyard, or hacking each other playing hoops in the driveway. Someone was always getting hurt. They saw it first-hand what it takes to be competitive at a high level, and they followed suit."
'How well they were raised'
The ultimate one-upmanship came in 2019 when Calvin earned a World Series ring as an assistant clubhouse attendant with the Washington Nationals.
“I remember getting a call one day from Calvin, and he said, 'Hey, do you know what Dad’s ring size is?' " Rudy said.
Calvin, it turned out, never wore the World Series ring. He presented it to his father, who worked in the Rangers’ visiting and home clubhouses from 1989 to 2009.
“I told him, 'Dad, you deserve this more than anyone,’ " Calvin said. “ “You’re the one who got all of us in this game. This belongs to you.’ He got pretty emotional."
Of course, there is Perry to take Zack down a notch.
“He reminds us all of the time," Perry said, “ 'Don’t forget who gave Dad a ring.’ I tell him, 'If you weren’t so cheap, you would have bought Mom a pendant.' "
Despite all of the bluster, this proud Armenian family couldn’t be any closer. They call, FaceTime or text message one another every day. It’s a little easier now with Perry and Zack in spring training together for the first time since 2008. Their parents came down from Chicago, too, and are staying with Perry. And Rudy and his wife and two kids recently arrived Sunday for two weeks.
“I get chills how well they were raised,’’ said Bobby Valentine, responsible for convincing the elder Minasian to leave his packaging business in Chicago and join the Rangers as the visiting clubhouse attendant in 1988. “The mother deserves all of the credit. She is something special. The whole family worked hard, enjoyed one another, and just love life."
It used to be an annual tradition for them to get together during the All-Star break in Las Vegas. The boys would stay at the Palms Casino Resort, and the parents at Caesars Palace.
Only this year, with the All-Star Game scheduled in Atlanta, and the amateur draft being held at the same time, Vegas is out. And if Calvin can get permission, guess who will be joining him as a clubhouse attendant during the All-Star Game?
Yep, the old man.
“How cool would that be?’’ Calvin said. “To follow in my Dad’s footsteps, and having him being there with me at the All-Star Game, would be pretty special for all of us."
'I had no shame'
If the scouting and front office roles never worked out for Perry and Zack, or Rudy’s legal practice, Calvin was asked who could have been his most trusted assistant?
“Well, Rudy is too smart,’’ Calvin said, “but I’d have to say Zack, because he’s more detailed and more organized than Perry.
“But knowing Perry, he’d find some way to cheat and do a better job.’’
Like when Perry, who worked the Rangers’ visiting clubhouse from 1989 to 2003, found a way to get the best tips from players.
He would tell players on their first day in town that it was his birthday, so when it was time for them to tip the clubhouse attendants, it was Perry who got the most.
“It was my birthday every three days,’’ Perry said. “A team would come to town, and I’d say, 'Hey, you know it’s my birthday.’ My brothers would just shake their heads.
“They had too much integrity to do something like that. Me, I had no shame."
It was those long days in the clubhouse, with Rudy running the kitchen, that the Minasian boys would bide time by pretending they were general managers, doing their own fantasy draft, even based on salaries. They came up with trade proposals, free-agent moves and even waiver-wire acquisitions.
“They were always asking and prying questions in the early Bill James days,’’ Valentine said. “We had guys writing up essays on the value of the bunt, steal, home runs, and all of the SABR stuff. They were around guys like (Rangers coaches) Tom House and Tom Robson, who were like mad scientists at the time. They were around a lot of crazy stuff at an early age.
“I would talk lineups with Perry as a 10-year old, and he was getting it. He just had different eyes for the game.’’
Zack remembers the day he was invited to lunch with Rangers GM Doug Melvin and his son, Corey, who was a team bat boy. Melvin confided that he was going to deal veteran starter Esteban Loaiza to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline for one of their top minor-league shortstops.
“He didn’t tell me the name, but I couldn’t wait to run back and tell Perry and Calvin," Zack said. “Hey, we’re trading Loaiza and we’re getting a shortstop.’ So, we grab the prospect Hhandbook, and look up Blue Jays’ shortstops. We’re thinking, “We got either Cesar Izturis, Brent Abernathy or Felipe Lopez. We were so excited because these guys were big-time prospects.
“It turns out we got Mike Young, and we’re like, 'Who is Mike Young?’ Obviously, he became not only a great player but one of my all-time favorite people, favorite players in the game."
It was in 2010 when Perry and Zack, as pro scouting directors, were able to consummate their first real trade as point people when the Blue Jays sent Shawn Marcum to Milwaukee for infield prospect Brett Lawrie. They did another trade in 2014 when the Brewers acquired infielder Adam Lind from Toronto for starter Marco Estrada.
“In my conversations with Perry, whenever we would talk," Zack said, “it was always really clear that there was either something there or there wasn’t. If there was something we’d grind through it, but if there was nothing there, we’d just move on."
They still often talk about organizational philosophies and ideas on the direction of the game, with Zack more analytical and calculated while Perry relies more on instincts. But discussing each team’s confidential plans is strictly off limits.
“We’ll stay away from other teams and players just because it could be a little dangerous," Zack said. “If I were to tell Perry we are trying to acquire player X, and then he goes out and acquires that player, then it’s like, 'We are not talking at Christmas. We are done talking.' "
It’s no different than their talks with Calvin, who tends to have more of a close-knit relationship with players as director of clubhouse and equipment.
He is not going to divulge information on players or their personalities working for a different club. If Perry still was with Atlanta, Calvin would never have accepted the Braves’ job, replacing John Holland, who retired after 52 years in the organization.
“I couldn’t have done it,’’ Calvin said. “Be being there in the clubhouse, and him being in the front office, wouldn’t mesh well. I need the players to trust me, so that dynamic wouldn’t have worked out.’’
Said Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos, Perry’s boss for nine years in Toronto and Atlanta: “There was no scenario that Calvin would have even been a candidate if Perry had stayed. It just would have a conflict of interest. But once Perry left, and everything I had heard about Calvin, he was the perfect guy for us.
“For me, that just is so important because he sets the tone for everything going on in that clubhouse, making sure everything is run smoothly.’’
The clubhouse is dramatically different from those early days when the Minasians grew up in the old Arlington ballpark.
They’re not asked to find a goat and tie it to Will Clark’s locker, courtesy of teammate Mark McLemore’s prank, reminding Clark that he is an old goat in the clubhouse.
And you don’t have a former Heisman Trophy winner such as Bo Jackson cradling a football in his arms, and offering $1,000 for any of the Minasian boys to knock it from him.
“I still have a picture of Bo tackling me on the cement," Perry said, “and having all of these bruises all over my body. I went home and had a physical to play football. The nurses saw my body, and asked what happened. I told him it was from Bo Jackson. They called my mom. They thought I was crazy."
Gone too are managers such as Sparky Anderson and Tom Kelly who treated the Minasians like their kids; or Frank Thomas remembering all of their names every time the White Sox came to town; or the heartfelt friendship shown by visiting players such as Kirby Puckett, Walt Weiss, Dan Gladden and Mike Gallego.
Who could have envisioned the Minasians would go from clubhouse kids to landing some of the most instrumental and influential jobs in the game?
“When Perry got the GM job," Rudy said, “I thought, “We washed a lot of jocks and scrubbed a lot of toilets for one of us to get a GM job."
'It's pretty overwhelming'
The Minasian boys will forever be grateful that Lasorda, best of friends with their grandfather, Eddie, was still alive to see their success.
He was "Uncle Tom" to the family. They drove straight to his Fullerton, California house every time they were in town.
Lasorda loved that his godson became an assistant GM. But, he asked, why did it have to be with the Giants, the team he grew up hating? When Lasorda would introduce Zack to people the last two years, it was always prefaced by saying, “This is my godson, Benedict Arnold.’ ’’
He congratulated Calvin for winning the World Series in 2019 even though the Nationals knocked off the Dodgers in the Division Series on the way to do it.
He was overjoyed with the news that Perry achieved his dream of becoming a GM, right there near Lasorda’s hometown, with Valentine crying when Perry telephoned.
“Goosebumps don’t come that easy on me,’’ Valentine said, “but when Perry called me and thanked me, I had goosebumps and tears. I felt as happy as when I got my first major-league hit. It was amazing. I’m still smiling real big."
Valentine helped to arrange for Lasorda to be in Texas when the Dodgers won their first World Series title since Lasorda was their manager in 1988. Two months later, Lasorda was dead at age 93. The elder Zack was a pallbearer along with Zack at the private funeral service.
The Minasians will carry Lasorda’s memory, knowing baseball will always be in their blood thanks to Lasorda’s close bond to their family, while hoping to carve their own legacy in the sport.
“It’s pretty overwhelming for us," the elder Zack said, “to think how well my kids are doing in what they love. I told my wife the other day, I still can’t believe it. It’s like a dream.
“Only that dream has turned into reality."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB season: Meet the newest first family of baseball, the Minasians
