Get to know
Q&A with Brewers catcher Jett Bandy
The Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak caught up with Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jett Bandy to discuss his unusual first name, his father’s involvement in the movie business and playing alongside two of baseball’s biggest stars in Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. Bandy, 27, is hitting .283 with four home runs and nine runs batted in over 18 games (17 starts) for the Brewers this season. He was acquired by the Brewers on Dec. 13 from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade for catcher Martin Maldonado and minor-league pitcher Drew Gagnon. He’s playing on a one-year deal that’s paying him $539,800.
Q. Your name Jett is a mix of your father’s name, John, and your grandfather’s name, Chet. What was it like growing up with such a unique name?
A. I liked it because no one else had it. Obviously it’s unique. When I was a kid some kids would say JJ the Jett Plane, Benny the Jett Rodriguez — all that stuff I’ve heard before and it never bothered me. I just thought I had a cool name. I liked it. Then as I started getting older I started meeting kids who were named Jett. If you look up popular, upcoming names, Jett was No. 1 for a while when I was 19-20. It’s cool.
Q. What do you hear these days?
A. Some guys call me Jetter or JB. Not too many nicknames, really.
Q. Do you have to be able to run fast to have the name Jett?
A. (Laughs) Usually it’s, ‘Oh, Jett, you must be fast.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m actually really slow. I’m a catcher and I don’t run well.’
Q. How often do people call you Jeff?
A. That’s a common mistake. I’ll be like, ‘I’m Jett,’ and they’ll be like, ‘Jeff?’ and I’ll be like, ‘Jett.’ And then they’re like, ‘Jed?’ And I’m like, ‘No, Jett. Like the airplane, but with two Ts.’ And then it locks in for them.
Q. Word is your father has worked pretty closely with a famous actor back in the late 1980s. What are the specifics and how did that happen?
A. The movie Cocktail, the whole flipping bottles scene, my dad trained Tom Cruise how to do that. My dad was a bartender for 25 years and he had four kids and he was like, ‘Hey, I need to make some more money. I need to make more tips.’ He was bored with just, ‘Oh, what do you want to drink? Screwdriver? Ice, vodka, orange juice, straw,’ so he kind of put his own twist on it. He started flipping bottles, throwing the ice in the air, catching it, twisting the bottles in his hand, pouring it. Flipping napkin, flipping the straw in the drink. He always ends it with, ‘A straw and a smile.’ Then all of a sudden a lady came in, it was a slow night, he did his whole gig flipping bottles and she was like, ‘Hey, I’m a movie producer. I’m looking for someone to train Tom Cruise how to do that. Do you want to be that guy?’ And my dad was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So he went out and traveled the whole world pretty much, got his 15 minutes of fame and got in the background of some movies, stuff like that. Won the Bartending Olympics in ’96, so it was pretty funny to see that VHS tape when I was older. Now it’s every year in Vegas and they call it Bartending Flair and it’s like a juggling act. They invite my dad every year to be one of the judges, and they call him the Grandfather of Flair.
Q. What was his experience like teaching Tom Cruise?
A. He said it was cool. He was a very good guy, a very respectful guy. Said he liked him a lot. He’s met some cool people. Q. Did your dad own a bar? A. No, he didn’t own one. He built a shoe shelf to hold all of our shoes – my dad’s really good with his hands – and then he turned it into bar and he started practicing. He worked at TGI Friday’s for a long time in the West Hills/Topanga (Calif.) area. Then when the family moved to Thousand Oaks he worked at a place called Bogie’s at Westlake Village. Q. Does he still bartend? A. He works for Sony now. He’s a prop builder over there in Culver City. He was done with bartending. He was over it and was like, ‘I want to do something else.’ He had his own handyman business, just going by word of mouth and working on peoples’ houses, doing stuff like that. He worked for a guy that was a vice president of Sony and did a real good job. The guy liked the way my dad worked and he was like, ‘I need someone to help build some props down in Culver City.’ So my dad said, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it out.’ He loves it. He builds fake kitchen sets, fake elevators, builds fences and makes it look like a car drove through it. It’s fun.
Q. Where might we see his work?
A. The TV show “The Voice,” he’s done all the backgrounds and the walls for that. I think there’s a new sniper movie that he’s built some stuff for, too. He’s busy. Awesome guy. Great dad.
Q. You broke in with the Angels and played alongside a future Hall of Famer in Albert Pujols and arguably the best all-around player in the game today in Mike Trout. What was that like?
A. It was great. It was surreal. I remember watching Albert when I was younger and being like, ‘Wow, this guy is unbelievable,’ and then I’m changing in the same locker room as him. He’s a great leader. His routine is unbelievable, just the way he goes about his business. He became a pretty good friend. Just a great teammate. Someone to look up to. Pretty awesome to be his teammate. I was really lucky.
Q. Trout is much closer to you in age. Was playing with him different because of that?
A. It was a little different. Mike and I are around the same age and I remember when he was this huge No. 1 prospect and then going to spring trainings together. Then all of a sudden he gets to the big leagues and just starts going off and becoming the superstar he is now. The best thing about it is he hasn’t changed at all. He’s still the same awesome guy, humble guy. Just a great guy to be around. A great teammate. I’ll never forget, when I had my first hit it was a homer and I have a picture of the first guy shaking my hand is Mike Trout on the top step when I came in the dugout. That’s a real special memory I’ll never forget.
Q. You played for Mike Scioscia with the Angels but met him much earlier in life, right?
A. Yeah, I was nine or 10 and he was one of my winter-ball coaches. He just came and helped out. His son Matt and I are the same age and lived in the same area. I never even knew. I just thought it was Matt’s dad helping out and stuff. As time went on I found out it was Mike Scioscia, so that was pretty cool. Then all of a sudden he was managing me in the big leagues. It was like, ‘Hey, how ya doing?’ Small world.
Q. Was going from a big-market team to a small-market team a big transition?
A. I’m still on a major-league team; it’s just a different color. I’ve made some new friends here. I didn’t really know anyone coming over here and I’ve made new friends and it’s been great. I don’t have to leave as many tickets because I don’t know anybody in Milwaukee. I knew a lot of people back in Anaheim. But it’s in the big leagues and I’m playing and I’m happy. It’s been fun so far.
Q. The time-share you have behind the plate with Manny Piña has worked out well for both you guys. Splitting playing time right down the middle is somewhat unusual, but it seems to be working.
A. It’s been great. We’re pushing each other, we’re talking to each other. But the best thing is we don’t really talk about hitting or anything like that. It’s all about catching and the pitchers and trying to get guys out on the other team. We feed off each other and we’re learning a lot from (pitching coach Derek Johnson). He’s done a great job of walking us through because we don’t know the league yet that well. Once we do it’ll be that much more comfortable for us the more we catch. It’s just really worked out great so far.