Catching Up With Eric Gagne, Roberto Angotti’s Interview With Game Over

The other day, sportsnetLA was replaying the game from 2004 when the Dodgers clinched the NL West on Steve Finley’s grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. It got me thinking….whatever happened to Finley’s teammate Eric Gagne?

The former Cy Young award winning goggle wearing closer, nicknamed “Game Over” apparently has gotten into coaching. Gagne a French Canadian, is currently the manager for team France’s European Baseball club. Gagne recently led his French team to the second round of the 2014 European Baseball Championship. They placed sixth overall in the 12-nation competition. The Dutch club defeated team Italy in the championship final. Ironically, team Italy is managed by another former Dodger great, Mike Piazza.

Roberto Angotti meets with Eroc Gagne-Photo credit: IandI-GoPro.com

Our friend Roberto Angotti of the top ten MLBlog fan website mlbforlife.com sat down with Gagne for a quick interview to catch up.

On the Dodgers chances in the playoffs: “They can win it all with their starting pitchers they got.  I mean they have got a lot of guys, especially with Kershaw. He goes out there, it’s pretty much lights out every time. You know in the playoffs you need two starters…they have six! They are going to be good. Their bullpen was a little shaky for a while, but they pitched a lot of innings. I think they’ve made some good moves. I think the Dodgers are the favorite team for me. Of course, they are my favorite. I played so many years in the Dodgers minor leagues, and I was only in Boston for four months. I was good in LA and never got a ring. But I was terrible in Boston, and I got a ring. So I can’t complain. I was lucky.”

On Derek Jeter’s retirement: *Number 2!!! That’s pretty simple. He’s done everything in the game you can think of. A lot of people were wondering five years ago if he was done. Just to have him around in the clubhouse and having his attitude is amazing. He’s done so much for the game. Everybody knows it. If you go to France, people know Jeter. There’s over 10,000 people playing so it’s really, really good. He’s the Jordan and the Gretzsky of the sport. It’s cool to see a guy like him. It’s not like he just hits home runs. He’s just a winner, and he’s won everywhere he went. It’s good to see him retire on top. It’s awesome to see him go out with the Yankees.”

On growing the game in Europe along with Team Italy coach Mike Piazza: “It’s in our blood. We certainly aren’t doing it for the money…that’s for sure. It’s just fun. It’s fun to watch guys get better, listen and learn. For us that’s what I guarantee Mike loves about it. The kids learn…you can tell and see improvement every day, every single at-bat. It’s very rewarding and for us baseball is our life. For me it is, and I’m sure it is for him too. He’s a catcher. They are aware. They love to control the game and stuff like this. And I love baseball.”

Photo credits: IandI-GoPro.com

Eric Gagne pitched for the Dodgers from 1999-2006. The right handed pitcher recorded 187 career saves, including a record 84 consecutive saves. During his Cy Young award season of 2003 Gagne was 55 for 55 in save opportunities, and posted a 1.20 ERA in 77 games. Gagne finished with a 33-26 record, and a 3.47 ERA in 402 career MLB games.