The first time I wrote about Break-A-Bat was in June when we put out A GREAT PODCAST WITH BASEBALL & BROADWAY! It was well worth it to introduce them to our audience and well deserved for them as well! And so now I wanted to get more from my buddy Al Malafronte, one of the founders of Break-a-Bat. And so, we interviewed him here at BYB!
Enjoy this, I sure did!
BYB: What in the world possessed you to combine the theater with the New York Yankees? Talk about a crossover!
Al Malafronte: This one comes from a place close to home. They’re my two biggest passions. My dad was the biggest Yankee fan around but also had a real artistic side to him which was something I really admired. He was my hero in every way, so we grew up in a Yankee and performing-centric household --- going to games and to Broadway shows even from a young age.
I performed in the school plays, while simultaneously playing baseball through my early teens. However, in school, it was never “cool” to participate in both sports and theatre. A stigma that the two had to live in such separate worlds, and obviously at the time, peer pressure can sometimes be prevalent thing at 14 years old, and I chose to put my character shoes on the shelf when I was sent to a Catholic high school where the arts were not embraced. I was fortunate that I transferred to public high school where I found more mature friends who really allowed me to embrace my passion for both.
I, myself, started to mature as well, which allowed me to be true to who I was. Upon moving to Manhattan a few years after graduating college, I noticed that unfortunately, the stigma still existed to some extent about sports and theatre, and I thought I could do something about it while having some fun with my buddies in the process. This whole endeavor is really for that kid out there who’s suiting up to play Harold Hill in the fall, and 3rd Base in the spring.
BYB: I love Aroldis Chapman. You guys seem to include him in every ad for the Break-a-Bat podcast on Instagram and it's hilarious. What's the reason for it?
Al Malafronte: A 6-time All-Star. A World Series Champion. Holder of multiple MLB records. Chapman signifies something greater than baseball for us. Even at BroadwayCon this year, the Broadway World’s equivalent of Comic Con, I got the sense that he’s really a special figure in the theatre community just based on the reactions from some of the fans when they saw my Yankee hat.
His velocity…his emotion on the mound…he’s theatre with every pitch! Logical choice for our mascot. When it just so happened that a lot of people started gravitating toward that on social media with some of the early posts, we figured: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! And since it’s what we find funny, that makes it all the more enjoyable. It’s been fun to cast him in the likes of anything from Beetlejuice to Frozen to Mean Girls.
BYB: OK. Greatest Yankee moment of your lifetime that you actually had the pleasure of witnessing live and why is it so important?
Al Malafronte: Of course there’s always that first championship that your parents let you stay up late for and watch on TV, which for me was Game 4 of the ’99 World Series vs. Atlanta.
In person, however, it’d be very easy to say one of the big playoff moments like Bernie’s walk-off Homer against Boston in the ’99 ALCS or A-Rod taking Nathan deep in the ’09 ALDS. I think the one that stands out to me most, however, was Jeter passing Lou Gehrig as the Yankee hit king. I was away at college and my sister had yet to go to the new Stadium. Maybe 3 weeks before, we spontaneously decided to buy tickets since it was a Friday night game.
Jeter just so happened to tie Gehrig in the game prior. I came home from school for the weekend with a lot of uncertainty and suspense as to whether the game would even be played because of lots of rain in the forecast.
I believe the rain delay was a good hour and change, but when it was finally time for first pitch, you could definitely sense the magic in the air. A lot of emotion as well because it was September 11th. Reminiscent of the old stadium which was really cool. When Jeter came up against Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning and laced that single to right field, it was just euphoria and emotion in every possible sense. I was happy I got to share that with my sister and sometimes still in disbelief that we were in the building. Baseball theatre at its finest.
BYB: Greatest play you've ever seen in the amazing theater district of New York City. Go!
Al Malafronte: That’s a great question…each of my favorites is so synonymous with different chapters in my life. You never forget your first, which for me was Once Upon a Mattress with Sarah Jessica Parker.
I went with my whole family when I was 7 – definitely unforgettable and a very special memory.
So much of what I love about my experiences with Broadway are the stories surrounding the trip to the show…I had a blast at Disaster! with my buddy Chris Katzmann, who’s now the Social Media Manager/Creative Consultant for Break a Bat!
Beetlejuice was a fun one because I saw it on the night of the infamous Broadway Blackout where 26 of 30 shows went dark due to a midtown power outage this July.
I’ll never forget when Scotty (Chris’ brother/my original co-host) read Kerry Butler’s tweet “Beetlejuice still has the juice!” A lot of adrenaline going into that one which made it all the more fun.
For my number 1 show, however, I think have to go with Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. I grew up with my parents’ music so it was pretty surreal to see Carole’s story and iconic song catalog projected on stage so perfectly. It was one of my cooler moments as a Broadway fan. I don’t usually get caught up in awards but it was pretty sweet when the show went onto win the Tony for Best Musical. To this day, one of only 3 shows I’ve seen twice!
BYB: Al, you and I have known each other for over a decade. We've always talked Yankees. In fact, you were there when BYB was in it's infancy and always supported us. A two-parter here: Why do you like it so much and the second part is why do you think BYB resonates with so many people out there?
Al Malafronte:
BYB: Would you ever consider doing a column for us at BYB? Maybe an article on your favorite player, your favorite Yankee team?
Who is your favorite player by the way... and why?
Al Malafronte: Anytime you want, Case! As for current Yankees, Aroldis Chapman is the obvious choice there. Of all-time, I’d have to go with A-Rod. Maybe it’s my theatrical background, but there was always something about him from day one that I really resonated with.
He captured the human essence of the game through all of his ups and downs. In fact I even chose him as the subject of my SAT writing section! His 2005 and 2007 MVP seasons remain two of the greatest spectacles I’ve ever witnessed as a baseball fan, and his whole performance during the 2009 season and playoff run coincides with one of the most special times in my life.
So much of what makes baseball so special is our ability to create a timeline with certain events in our life, and A-Rod seems to be in the center of so many of those events. In many senses I feel like I grew up with him, and I had the chance to attend his final game which was one of the more emotional nights I’ve ever had at the ballpark.
BYB: The Yankees had a real shot in 2019. I tend to believe that if they don't get 1 strong starting pitcher, they will not win again in 2020. To me, pitching is what hurt this team in 2019 in a short playoff series. I feel like they were exposed. What's your take on all of this?
Al Malafronte: I think the Yankees could trot out their current roster without making another move this offseason and reach the playoffs. Probably even make it to the ALCS. But that’s not what we’re in this for. This is a clear “win-now” window for a team that I’d like to believe has the mindset of Championship or bust. You have all of these controllable position players in their prime on good contracts but that won’t be the case forever. As far as an ace pitcher goes, it’s essential. And our inability to do so in recent years is something that’s frustrated me to no end. It’s no coincidence that there hasn’t been a parade since 2009, which was the last time we signed an actual ace in CC that offseason.
I feel like in recent years, this team has prioritized wrong at times. While there have been some brilliant moves on the position player front (the trades for Didi and Gleyber, as well as the signing of DJ LeMahieu), and of course the acquisition and re-acquisition of Aroldis Chapman on the bullpen front...they simply haven’t gotten it done when it comes to putting together a championship caliber rotation. The unnecessary contract given to Jacoby Ellsbury prevented us from making a run at Max Scherzer in the 2014-2015 offseason, and then made us hesitant to do what we had to do to bring Verlander here in 2017.
Then of course taking on the Stanton contract after the 2017 season when there was absolutely no need for it was a horrible mistake. I understand that the asking price was virtually nothing in terms of player return, however, they were taking on 10 years of generally, an extremely injury-prone one-dimensional player. I do fear that the Stanton contract will get in the way of the team bringing in a top free agent pitcher. If you look back at all the World Championship teams in the 2010’s, the Kansas City Royals were the one exception that won it all without a true ace. The Yankees’ current starting rotation is good, not great. Even with an all-time bullpen led by the likes of Chapman, the current formula they’ve been employing simply won’t cut it come October. The Yankees need that ace or else this World Series drought will hit 11 years.
BYB: OK. Back to the Theater. Who is your favorite female actress and why?
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| Photo: Al with Ashley Williams |
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| Photo: Ashley Williams |
I had the chance to see in both The Producers when I was in junior high, and more recently in The PROM this past March. She’s been at it for a long time and is still on the top of her game which is something I really admire.
Had long been a fan, and always thought she’d be a blast to interview. When I reached out to her about coming on the podcast, it was a total shot in the dark as we had never done an interview with anyone of her stature on Broadway before. It was pretty surreal that she just so happened to be our first actual in-studio guest too. As great as she is as an actress, she’s even more awesome of a person.
BYB: Your recently did an incredible podcast with Mike Ford. How'd you go about getting it and what was the dude like one on one after the mics turned off?
Al Malafronte: A lot of that came from finding my voice as a host, and also how to project the message of what this show is to guests I’d like to interview.
A clear message as to why it’s worthwhile for someone in either industry to participate. Mike Ford was a really good guy and a pleasure to be around.
BYB: You have celebrated some really great early victories with Break-a-Bat. It's been a pleasure watching your product grow so steadily and quickly. What's next?
Al Malafronte: Thank you for the kind words! It’s hard to believe that this thing only started in the spring when Scotty and I would order a pizza and record what was on our minds about baseball and Broadway into my laptop speakers.
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| Photo: Producers Dori Berinstein and Alan Seales |
It was pretty surreal to get to interview performers from the stage, screen and stadium that I really admire. We have our first live broadcast coming up at the 2020 edition of BroadwayCon with a surprise guest, as well as plenty of great weekly releases that are either banked or booked with some great names, all of which have phenomenal stories to tell.
In a perfect world, maybe we can get Chapman and Marlon on one day!
BYB: Finally... When the hell am I getting an invitation to appear on the podcast with you? The offseason is the most fun for me! Let's go!
Al Malafronte: Rumor has it that there may be 2020 Yankee season preview episode featuring myself, the Katzmann brothers, Suzie Pinstripe, and Casey himself…negotiations have been fairly messy with that Casey guy, however. I think he’s represented by Boras?
HA! I'd never hire Boras to represent me... it's about character and integrity... not about the money, Al! You know this about me!
Anyway... love this dude and love the product. I hope you guys did too. Be sure to download Break-a-Bat podcast on iTunes. It's a real great project... and it's growing every day!
Thanks for chatting with us Al...keeping grinding and Go Yanks!!
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