George Lombard

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george lombard
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Royce: All right, here’s something from the scouting report – "He’s a natural leader." What does that mean?

Greenville Braves
1998

George: I think a leader is somebody that makes decisions for themselves. I don’t feel that I go out following other people. If a group of people want to go out, and you don’t think it’s the right thing to do, you’re gonna stay home. When you know something’s not right, then you’re the guy that’s not going to do it.

I like to go out there and, you know, and do the things that I think are right and get stuff accomplished.

Royce: And that’s made you a leader in baseball?

George: That’s what the scouting report says.

Royce: And do you see evidence on the baseball field that you’re a natural leader? Do you see ballplayers observing what you do? You have peers who look up to you, I’m sure.

George: I think this goes back to the old professional athlete thing – I think you automatically put yourself in a leadership, role-model position by doing this. You’re going to have people look up to you.

Royce: What about your teammates, are you a leader to your teammates?

George: No, well, I just feel like I’m just a person who’s easy to get along with and I’m fun, a hard worker, and I’m a person I don’t think you’d tend to have a lot of problems with on your team. And if that’s what coaches are looking for and other players are looking for, then I think I could be a leader.

Royce: But you’re not a "rah-rah" leader?

George: I don’t think that I’m one of the big vocal leaders. Baseball, it’s a little different. Everyone’s quiet, you know. You don’t have your big meetings like in football where you have your captains speak and stuff like that. It’s not like football where everyone’s getting real pumped up, and basketball, for a big game.

Royce: Another scouting report says, "His mental approach is unsurpassed." What does that mean to you?

George: I think, mentally – that’s probably the toughest part of the game. My physical skills are just about ready – I mean, I’m close to playing in the major leagues, but, mentally, what it takes to do it day in and day out. It’s a game of failure and you’ve got to be able to understand that. It’s hard to see yourself failing that many times.

I’ve never failed at anything in my life, and I was always one of the best at football when I was growing up. You know, track –- I could run. So when you get to a game and you’re struggling, it’s different.

Royce: Paul Snyder, the Braves’ farm director, has said: "We’re talking about a guy that if he wasn’t in baseball he might be a rocket scientist."

George: Nah. I wouldn’t go that far.

Royce: Is there a stigma attached to being a labeled a "smart guy" in baseball?

George: There is definitely a stigma to that. That comes from jealousy.

Royce: Do you find that baseball provides enough intellectual stimulation or do you find that it comes up a little short in that area?

George: All minor league baseball is about getting yourself ready to play in the major leagues. And, I don’t think it really has too much to do with educational things – that was one of the biggest surprises I think to me when I was first drafted.

I thought, I’m going to play professional baseball. I reported down to West Palm, Florida, and I couldn’t believe – I thought there was going to be a lot of good kids with a good high school background and a lot of college players with more of a background like I came from. And that’s not true at all. You find a lot of guys that haven’t even finished high school that you know, if they weren’t playing baseball, they wouldn’t have anything going for them – they don’t know what they would be doing. That really surprised me.

Royce: So, do you find yourself doing interesting things to fill the gaps?

George: I like arts and crafts. I brought my big drawing pad up and my mother was a very artistic lady and taught art, so I’ve always enjoyed it. I like sculpture. I don’t do any of that anymore, but that’s something, if I were to take a class, I think that would be good. It’s relaxing. It’s doing something creative.

I have a dog at home. My dad might bring her up for a little while and she’s fun. I like outdoor things and I go to the river or something like that with her and let her run around. I try and get out.

Growing up I loved doing things outdoors and running around playing sports. We had one little TV – this is one of these old-timey stories – but we had to do every one of our chores just to watch, like two hours – like an hour on Friday and two hours on Saturday of TV.

Another thing, I write a lot of letters. Now, I don’t do as many letters now because I have the Internet and I do the email stuff. I get online to communicate with all my friends.

BONUS BABY

Royce: Why was "first-round money" important to you besides the fact that you like the dollars?

George: I think that one of the things you go to college to do is to learn to get a job, to learn how to live in society, to make money, to make yourself successful. And, I think that’s what it’s doing, it’s just giving me a head start in my life.

You know, nothing’s guaranteed in football. I could have gotten hurt the first day I got to practice. And baseball is supposed to be a game that’s not as tough on your body as football – but, it’s been tough.

Royce: Your bonus has been publicized. Can you tell me what it is? Or is that a question you don’t answer?

George: I’ll answer it, just because it has been publicized – $425,000. At the time I was the third-highest paid player in the Braves organization, behind Mike Kelly and Glenn Williams.

Royce: What happens to that money?

George: You either get it all in one check or they’ll divide it. And so, I got it in two checks, just to keep it all from getting taxed in one year.

Royce: And you don’t have to get too personal, but does that money get put away?

George: We had a trust fund set up from when my mother passed away, and this is the same people that handle the bonus money. I bought a Honda Passport, and I have taken a trip to Australia to visit my teammate, my roommate for two-and-a-half years with the Braves’ organization. I stayed with his family and we traveled around.

That’s pretty much the only thing I have spent out of that money. I try not to spend it, but there are certain things I like to do, and that’s to see different places and travel.

And you learn fast how much things get taxed – all of that money you think you’re signing for.

Growing up my mother – we always had a little quiet time where we had to sit and write in each other’s diaries and we had to write letters to each other, to our family. And our grandmother and aunts and uncles and stuff like that. Our family is one of those that write back and forth a lot. But then I remember we’d trade diaries and you had to write one nice comment about your brother and one nice paragraph – I was always the guy who couldn’t find anything to write about my brother.

Conclusion