The Varsity: What was the best advice you ever got and was it here at U of T?
Paul Godfrey: No. Actually, the best advice I ever got was from my mom. She used to say you pass the same people up the ladder in life that you’re going to pass down the ladder, so make sure you treat people the way you want to be treated. And it’s advice that has always kind of stuck with me.
TV: You used to be a politician, a newspaper publisher, and now you’re the president of a baseball team, you must have heard some awful things, some really scathing criticism. What is the worst name you’ve ever been called?
PG: When I first got into politics, being so young, I got a lot of attitude from some of the other politicians who were of the mindset like “what does he know.” At first it was really hurtful, especially being as young and as brash as I was. But I didn’t let them get away with it, and some of the media in the city dubbed me “North York’s angry young man.”
TV: I guess everyone is wondering now, what’s next for you?
PG: Well, I want to have fun with the rest of my life. I’ve been asked to go back into politics and publishing, but if I do anything else in the future it will most likely be completely different from what I’m doing now. But I will hint: I’m determined to do two things in the near future. One is to build an aquarium, which is currently being constructed at the foot of the CN tower, and will open within the next few months. The other thing is I want to bring an NFL team to Toronto hopefully within the next five years. It will probably have to be an existing team from an American city, which will no doubt put me in hot water with the U.S. government.
TV: What is your greatest regret?
PG: That my father only lived long enough to see me help bring the Blue Jays to Toronto, but not long enough to see me running the team.
TV: What did this university do for you?
PG: This happens to be a university that in my opinion is second to none. Most of the people present here today are studying engineering, but the most important thing they will learn is how to think and rationalize, and how to draw conclusions.”
TV: You said during your speech that it’s better to quit two years too early than two minutes too late. How does this philosophy apply to your baseball team, currently in the seventh year of a proposed five-year plan?
PG: I don’t think the two are related at all. The five and seven-year plans were something drummed up by media types. When J.P. came on board in 2000 we talked about being a contender within five years, but no specific time frame was ever set. Obviously things happen which you can’t account for. This year, for instance, no one could have forseen that we’d have injuries to half our starting rotation. Roy Halladay was injured, A.J. Burnett was injured, as were B.J. Ryan and Gustavo Chacin. Add to that Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay hit way below their team average, and you have a recipe for disaster. Going into spring training, everyone thought that the hitting on our team was going to be awesome, but that the pitching would be full of question marks after Roy and A,J. But the opposite happened, as we got some stand-up pitching performances from Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan, who really developed, as well as Jeremy Accardo, who will probably be our set-up man next year. It just goes to show that you can never predict what’s going to happen.
TV: What are you going to name your NFL football franchise if you get it?
PG: Contrary to popular belief, the team does not get to choose the name, the league does. They do the market research. Everyone thinks that the Toronto Raptors held this big contest but that was a phony contest. The group that was awarded the franchise had a choice between the Toronto Raptors or the Toronto Grizzlies. In the NFL, when a new team comes into the league, the name is already chosen by the NFL. They may give you choices like they did to the Raptors, or they may consult you, but they have the final say.
TV: Who do you think is going to win it all this year?
PG: I think the Yankees and the Red Sox are going to meet in the ALCS and whoever takes it will win the World Series. I think that the American League is way stronger than the National League. Last year when St.Louis won was an anomaly. Of all the post season teams, they had one of the worst regular season records.
TV: Who is your favorite baseball player?
PG: Carlos Delgado. He’s a good friend of mine, and a great human being.
TV: Favorite baseball movie of all time?
PG: I’ve seen a lot of baseball movies. I’d say my favourite is “Field of Dreams.” But I love the Leslie Nielson scene in Naked Gun where he does an umpire dance number.
