Because He’s the Best Man for the Job : Padres: Scouting director Reggie Waller wants his work, not his race, to be the issue.

The telephone rings in his office. It’s the New York Times.

. . . It’s CNN. . . . It’s Sports Illustrated. Reggie Waller knows what they want before they pose the first question. The same topic always is on their mind.

“Reggie, how does it feel to be the only black scouting director in the major leagues? Reggie, how much discrimination is there in baseball? Reggie, why aren’t more black managers and black executives being hired?

Waller’s eyes smolder with resentment. His stomach churns with indignation. The sinews in his neck stretch taut.

“No comment,” he says.

He then puts down the receiver, silently hoping that one day people will judge him solely on his work as the Padres’ scouting director and not the color of his skin.

Waller, 36, couldn’t care less that he’s the first black executive in Padre history. He cringes when he hears talk that he could be baseball’s next black general manager.

Why does everyone keep bringing up his race every time they talk of his abilities?

“Reggie doesn’t want to be known as the Great Black Hope,” said Donna Waller, his wife of 18 years. “He wants to be recognized for his own abilities and contributions, and nothing more.

“In this day and time, some people get hired because of their color, and he doesn’t want that. He just wants to do his his job, and then be judged solely on his qualifications.”

Said Waller: “I get so tired of it. The problem in baseball is that we’re supposed to cure society’s ills. The idea of wanting to put a minority in a role just because he’s a minority is a joke.

“To be a puppet, to get a paycheck for being a yes-man, I’d rather die.”

Waller worked diligently for everything he received in life. He spent six years in the minor leagues, never advancing past double A. He spent his off-seasons working at the local McDonald’s. He was hired as a scout, remaining in the Houston Astro organization for nine years. He became a special assistant to Woody Woodward, the Seattle Mariners’ vice president of baseball operations, for 1 1/2 years. He is now about to complete his fourth month on the job as the Padre scouting director.

“Joe McIlvaine (Padre general manager) is a very smart man,” said Bob Cluck, Astro pitching coach, “because Reggie’s going to make him look very good. The Padres want to go the development way, which starts with scouts. And Reggie’s the absolute best in the business.

“When he left us, it was a void we still haven’t been able to fill. I’m not kidding. We had to hire four people to replace him, and it still hasn’t been enough. That’s how valuable he was to our organization.

“I’m telling you, they’re going to be in for some awfully good times in San Diego.”

Said John Young, special assistant in the Florida Marlins’ front office: “The best hire in baseball the entire year was when the Padres hired Reggie Waller as their scouting director. People are going to be hearing about Reggie Waller for a long, long time.”

The year was 1981. Cluck was the Astros’ minor league coordinator. He had received a call from one of their scouts. It was Waller, the kid they just hired. Cluck will never forget the conversation.

Waller: “Hey, I want you to go to San Diego State with me today to see something.”

Cluck: “Who’s pitching?”

Waller: “It doesn’t matter.”

Cluck: “Hey, I’ve seen Bobby Meacham play 100 times. We’re not going to get him anyway because we don’t have a first- or second-round pick.

Waller: “No, I’ve got something else to show you. We’re going to see someone else. We’re going to see Tony Gwynn.”

Cluck: “What, the basketball player? It’s a waste of time. He’s going to be fat. He can’t throw the ball at all. Reggie, don’t waste my time. We don’t want him.”

Still, Waller kept insisting. He brought Cluck to see him play. Cluck left unconvinced. Waller went to work on the rest of the organization.

He told them Gwynn would be a star. He told them he made more adjustments per at-bat than some guys make in a season. Please draft him, he implored.

“Nobody believed he could play but me,” Waller said. “I thought to myself, ‘If this guy can’t play, then maybe I should go back and look for another line of work. I mean, if he can’t play, who can?’ ”

Waller went into the pre-draft meeting that year and again expressed his opinion. Scout after scout voiced their doubts. One thought he would never advance past double A. Another thought he was a career triple-A player. Maybe he’ll be a designated hitter, at best, said another.

“Reggie was the only one who saw anything in me,” Gwynn said. “He told me I was going to be a project, but they were definitely interested. He said if I was available, they were going to draft me.

“So the whole time, I thought I was going to be an Astro. I was all set. The phone rings at 8:30 the second day of the draft, and a secretary asks for my middle name. Ten minutes later, Bob Fontaine Jr. called. He said I was drafted by the Padres.

“I said, ‘The Padres? You’re kidding me. The guys with the ugly brown uniforms?’ I didn’t even think they knew who I was.”

Gwynn was drafted in June 1981. He was in the big leagues 13 months later. In three years, he was winning the first of four batting titles. He since has been a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner.

“When I made it to the big leagues that fast,” Gwynn said, “Reggie just sat back and kept saying, ‘I told you so, I told you so.’ He says I gave him credibility. I proved him right.

“I also made him believe in what he was doing.”

The Astros never doubted Waller’s opinion again. He scouted and ended up signing virtually half of the Astros’ pitching staff: Darryl Kile, Ryan Bowen, Al Osuna and Chris Gardner. Remarkably, Bowen was the only first-round pick of the litter. Everyone else was selected from the sixth to the 30th round.

“My wife could pick the top end of the draft,” Waller said. “That’s nothing special. It’s picking the others. Discovering the unknowns. That’s the challenge.”

And Reggie Waller loves a challenge.

Jesse Waller, an electronic systems engineer, says he knows nothing about scouting, but he discovered a special trait when his oldest was 16.

Reggie was attending Hoover High School, playing on the varsity baseball team and making the honor roll. He was the perfect role model for his two younger brothers, Ty and Kevin. Then one day, Reggie came home from school and shocked his parents, Jesse and Jessie Waller. He asked if he could work at McDonald’s.

“I couldn’t understand it,” Jesse Waller said. “I said, ‘Reggie, what is it? You don’t have time for that. Don’t I pay you enough allowance each week?’

“He said, ‘No, Dad, I get enough. I just want to make my own money. I don’t want to keep relying on you and Mom.’

“I look back now, and that was the best thing that could have happened to Reggie. He learned how to work with people and communicate. He learned to be independent. So many kids just want handouts and aren’t willing to work, but not Reggie. He was different.”

Waller remained at McDonald’s while finishing high school and San Diego City College. He was even there during the winter months after turning professional. Matter of fact, those golden arches on University Avenue will always remain special.

This was where he met Donna. She was a window clerk. He was the assistant manager. In the next 18 years, they would have a family that is considered so close-knit that folks around town say they would make the Waltons envious. They have five boys, including 16-year-old twins Gerric and Derric.

“San Diego was always home for Reggie,” said Cluck, “and his family was more important to him than anything. If this wasn’t home, I don’t think the Padres would ever have had a shot at hiring Reggie.”

Waller believed he always would be involved in the game of baseball, even after nagging hamstring injuries and knee problems prevented him from making the big leagues with the Cincinnati Red and Astro organizations. Once he was finished as a player, he wanted to be a coach or minor-league instructor. Cluck talked him into being a scout.

“When I first was asked about being a scout,” Waller said, “I just laughed. I thought they were held in the same esteem as a used car salesman.”

Waller found out he loved the world of scouting. He remained with the Astros until 1990, when Woodward telephoned. He wanted him to join the Mariners’ front office as a special assistant.

“You always watch who other clubs hire and monitor their progress,” Woodward said. “And I’ve been watching Reggie for a long time. Everything I heard about him was positive. I hired him as one of my top three assistants. I’ll tell you right now, it was one of the best moves I ever made.

“He has such a great ability to evaluate talent and, maybe most important, he’s not afraid to speak his mind and give an opinion. Believe me, that’s not a problem with Reggie.

“Reggie got a lot of exposure with us, and I think everyone knows who Reggie Waller is now. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to be a general manager some day.”

Waller, who was in the second year of a three-year contract, was only allowed to break his contract because of the Mariners’ uncertain future. Woodward previously had told Waller he would only be allowed to leave for a general manager’s position, but he granted permission because Mariners’ possible move to Florida and his understanding of San Diego’s attraction to Waller.

“I’ll always be grateful to Woody for that,” Waller said. “It took a lot of guts for him to hire me in the first place, and I always wanted to show my appreciation.

“I love coming back home, but the big thing for me was the challenge of this job. I hate to say this, but I had a cushy job in Seattle. It was so easy.

“I think that’s why I’m so excited now. The onus is on Reggie Waller to produce.”

Waller indeed inherits one of the most vital jobs in the Padre organization. His performance could dictate the Padres’ future. They’ve already made it clear they’re not going to shell out big money for free agents and will rely heavily on the scouting and development system.

It presents a drastic change in philosophy for an organization that has only two of its own first-round draft picks on the 40-man roster--pitcher Andy Benes and outfielder Thomas Howard. In fact, catcher Benito Santiago and Gwynn are the Padres’ only everyday players originally signed by the organization.

“It’s funny, for years I never even considered the Padres competition,” Waller said. “Now, we’re going to have to do our jobs better than anyone else. We’re going to have to be creative, trust our own instincts.

“I’m going to be awfully demanding. I’ve never been one to run with the pack, and nobody else better either. You see scouts driving four to a car down to San Diego or up to Los Angeles. That’s absolutely crazy. If you see my scouts doing that, they’re ex-Padre scouts.

“We’re going to make mistakes. I know some of the guys will be busts. But we’re going to do things right, I guarantee you.”

Waller is aware he will be scrutinized in his new job. Friends and family already are predicting miracles. McIlvaine says he will be critical simply because he was a former scouting director himself.

And, like it or not, Waller will be observed simply because he is one of the top minority executives in baseball.

“That’s my biggest complaint,” Waller said. “I look back, and the Al Campanis thing was the worst thing that could have happened to me. There was this sudden high visibility to minorities, but the whole issue actually hurt me.”

Clubs who previously had closed doors to minorities, suddenly were looking exclusively for the big stars. They wanted former major league players.

“That’s the trouble with the system,” the Marlins’ Young said. “When clubs look toward minority hiring, it’s always toward ex-major league players. The guys who didn’t play in the big leagues make the best scouts.

“Look at Reggie. He never played in the big leagues, but he’s as good as they come.”

Waller certainly has never used his skin color to crash barriers. He doesn’t want any favors. If he is to be hired as a general manager one day, he wants it be solely on his ability.

“I know for a fact he’s turned down some pretty good jobs because he perceived them as racially motivated,” McIlvaine said. “I’m color-blind. He was the best man for the job, and it’s that simple.”

For Waller, his primary concern now is to provide the Padres with the best influx of talent in the major leagues. He knows it will take time. He tells his friends to be patient. His first draft, after all, isn’t until June.

“It’s everybody’s dream to have an impact on your hometown community,” said Waller, whose brother Ty is the Padres’ minor league running and outfield instructor. “What could be better than this? I’m home. I’m with my family. I’m with a first-class organization.

“I can’t wait, because this really is going to be something.”