JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
rad Ausmus knows there's no
crying in baseball.
Although he didn't want to leave
the San Diego Padres, profes-
sional athletes don't always get
what they want.
Now the Tigers' catcher, Aus-
mus learned of the deal that
would send him to Detroit in
mid-June through an early-
morning phone call. Despite the
fact that he left his hotel phone
on "do not disturb," an operator
put through a call to his room at
8:30 a.m. from Padres manag-
er Bruce Bochy. He wanted to meet with
Ausmus.
"The manager doesn't call, especially at
8:30 a.m., unless something is going on,"
Ausmus said.
That same morning, the catcher was
on a plane for Detroit. He arrived at the
stadium during the second inning. As luck
would have it, the starting catcher, Raul
Casanova, broke his hand, and the back-
up catcher, Mark Parent, also incurred a
hand injury during the game. Ausmus
made his Tiger debut.
"It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever
done," Ausmus said about coming to De-
troit. "It was disappointing at first, but
I'm settled here and I'm happy where I
am. It's a big change from San Diego."
Of course, the trade meant he went from playing
for a team with playoff hopes to the worst team in
baseball.
Leaving San Diego was also disappointing be-
cause Ausmus and his wife had just bought a house.
The newlyweds, married last December, relocat-
ed to a Dearborn apartment. Ausmus and Liz met
during their senior year of high school in Con-
necticut. She is currently working toward her mas-
ter's in business.
Ausmus, whose mother is Jewish, does not prac-
tice Judaism although he used to go to his aunt's
for her annual Chanukah party.
With the baseball season quickly coming to a
close, Ausmus said he is happy here and has fi-
nally adjusted to living in a new city and playing
for another team.
"It's a change from San Diego," he said. "For ex-
ample, the fans here are much more family orient-
ed."
Despite his reluctance to come to the Tigers, the
27-year-old catcher said he'd like to stay here. His
contract expires at the end of next season.
"It's always nice to stay with a team. I don't want
to bounce around," he said.
Ausmus started playing baseball in Little League
and continued through high school. He became a
catcher because "that's where they put me.
'When I was drafted out of high school, I figured
I must be decent for someone to notice me," Aus-
mus said.
He was noticed, and signed, by the Yankees. He
played in the team's farm organization before the
Colorado Rockies acquired him in the 1992 expan-
sion draft. He was traded to the Padres in 1993 and
was their everyday catcher this year until a batting
slump took him out of the lineup — permanently.
Currently, the Tiger catcher is batting .249 with
four home runs and 20 runs batted in.
Ausmus describes his life during the season as
"boring." On a typical day, he wakes up around
noon, eats breakfast and watches whatever is on
television. When he has extra time to kill, Ausmus
turns on his computer and goes online before head-
ing to the ballpark.
By 3 p.m., Ausmus is at the stadium. He doesn't
have to be there until 4 p.m. for an evening game
but likes to relax in the locker room with teammates.
Sometimes, he takes advantage of the time for ad-
ditional batting practice.
"The fun part of the game is being around the
guys," he said. "We play cards and just hang around
and talk about anything, baseball included."
Shortly after his Detroit debut, Ausmus said good-
bye to his most noted teammate, Cecil Fielder, who
went to the New York Yankees in exchange for Matt
Drews and Ruben Sierra.
"The trade was great for him," Ausmus said. "I
think it worked out well for the Tigers, too, because
the team is reorganizing. Everyone is pretty hap-
PY-"
In the off season, Ausmus plays golf, as so many
of his colleagues do, and works out. He also makes
a point of watching college basketball and hockey.
When the season ends later this month, he and his
wife will return to San Diego until February, when
Ausmus reports to Lakeland for spring training.
He also plans to renovate his new home in Califor-
nia.
So, how will Ausmus feel about coming back to a
team like the Tigers?
"Everyone has a chance once the season starts,"
he said. 'That's the nice thing about baseball. Look
at the 1968 Mets. They were the worst team that
year but they won [the pennant] in 1969."
If it weren't for baseball, Ausmus doesn't know
what he would be doing.
"I guess I would have finished school earlier," said
Ausmus, who in 1993 graduated from Dartmouth
College, an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. It
took him six years to get a degree in government be-
cause he was also playing minor-league ball.
This is the third time Ausmus has played for
Randy Smith, the Tigers' general manager. In 1993,
as the Padres' GM, Smith acquired Ausmus from
Colorado, where Smith had also served as general
manager. In exchange for the catcher and a handful
of other players, the Tigers traded catcher John Fla-
herty and short,stop Chris Gomez.
As the Tiger catcher, Ausmus calls 99 percent of
all the pitches. 'There are about 20 different things
that go into calling a pitch," he -said. "Even then, the
pitcher may not want to throw what you call for."
Coming from a National League to an American
League team meant Ausmus had to learn the play-
ers' batting strengths and weaknesses. It helped that
he faced many of the American League teams dur-
ing spring training with the Padres. "Name any play-
er, and I can tell you how to pitch to him," Ausmus
said.
"My first year catching, I was star-struck," he said.
"If Barry Bonds came to the plate, it probably affected
how I played. Now, if Babe Ruth came to the plate,
I wouldn't care. I'd still have to get him out." El