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Former Brewer ROY, MLB coach Pat Listach talks autographs and his impressive memorabilia collection
Former major league infielder Pat Listach makes it a point to sign legible autographs, with most letters visible.
“It’s not perfect, but I try,” he said. “I’ve got some autographs that I’ve collected over the years … and I have no idea who they are.”
Listach, now 55, spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues, mostly for Milwaukee from 1992-97. He was a .251 lifetime hitter who smacked five career home runs and drove in 143 runs. He was the 1992 American League Rookie of the Year and an inductee into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor.
“The memories that I have are mostly around my teammates, how close we were, including Paul Molitor, Jimmy Gantner, Darryl Hamilton, Greg Vaughn, John Jaha, Franklin Stubbs, Kevin Seitzer, Scott Fletcher and others,” said Listach, a switch-hitter who mostly played shortstop. “Everyone on the team was so close, and I spent more time with them than my family. Think about it — a regular season is 162 games, spring training of about seven or eight weeks, plus instructional leagues. I was always gone.
“My career highlight was just getting to the big leagues. I didn’t know if I’d make it to the majors. They talk about can’t-miss prospects. I was a guy who could miss, but I made it. I think the hard work paid off and made me appreciate it more when I got there and had success — and still be in the game 36 years later.”
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In 2023, Listach was in his first season as bench coach with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, after serving in the same role for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (High-A) in 2022.
Before joining the Phillies organization in 2022, Listach spent two seasons managing in the Mexican League. He also spent four seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization as manager of the Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A) from 2015-18. He began his coaching career in the Chicago Cubs system, managing at West Tennessee (Double-A) and Tennessee (Double-A) in 2006 and 2007 before being assigned to Triple-A Iowa in 2008, where he was named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year.
Listach coached at the major league level in 2009 with the Washington Nationals and in 2011 and 2012 with the Chicago Cubs. He was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league infield coordinator in 2013 before joining the Houston Astros in 2014 as their first base coach.
“It’s fun [coaching], though the game has changed since I came up. There’s more power from the hitting and from the pitching, thus you have to find new ways to teach it because it’s a power game now,” said Listach, who throws daily batting practice.
Even that has changed, he said.
“I have fun throwing BP, though it’s not just throwing a 58 MPH pitch down the middle of the plate anymore. You have to mix in a slider, throw a change up, etc.,” he said.
“I still enjoy going to the ballpark every day. I love going to the ballpark every day at 10 a.m. for a 7 p.m. game.
“I talk to my brother and sister every day. And anytime I complain about something, he immediately says, ‘I’ll trade places with you.’ That’s all he has to say. … I know baseball is a blessing, and to be able to do what you love to do as long as I have, that really is a blessing.”
Listach never pitched in the majors. He also never played catcher or first base — but he played everywhere else.
He was selected in the fifth round of the 1988 MLB Draft by the Brewers. He made it to the majors in 1992 after being called up from the minors in April.
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Listach had his best season in 1992, winning AL Rookie of the Year after becoming the first Brewer to steal 50 or more bases in a single season. His 54 stolen bases in 1992 ranked second in the American League behind Kenny Lofton, another prominent rookie from the Cleveland Indians.
“At first, I just took [winning Rookie of the Year] for granted. I was just out there, having fun, playing baseball,” Listach said. “Dusty Baker, when we were [coaching] with the Cubs … he said, it was a big deal.”
Listach hesitated. Baker reminded him that there is only one Rookie of the Year in each league every year, “so yes, it is a big deal.”
Baker’s words resonated with Listach, though he still says, “I wasn’t trying to win awards; I was just trying to help my team win games.”
AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION
His ’92 glory still resonates in 2023, like at the TRISTAR Productions’ card show in Houston this year. Listach signed autographs, and most asked him to include “92 AL ROY” with his signature.
“I’m not a big collector, but I do have some items,” Listach said. “Most of the items I have are from the players I played with, such as Robin Yount, Jim Gantner, BJ Surhoff, Darryl Hamilton, Greg Vaughn, John Jaha, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, etc.”
He also has autographs from Pete Rose, Muhammad Ali, and other sports legends. A pair of Ali-signed boxing gloves are the prized relics in his collection, he said. He got the gloves in 1993 at a TRISTAR show in Houston.
He also has signed, used boxing gloves from Evander Holyfield from the 1993 Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe fight in Las Vegas.
“I was there and have the gloves from that event,” he said.
Listach’s collection also includes signed souvenirs from Eddie Murray, Al Kaline, and Cal Ripken Jr. And a very personal hat signed by Kirby Puckett.
“My second start in the big leagues, we played Minnesota,” Listach said. “I had a good game, and the next day, while stretching, Kirby came up to me and said, ‘Hey man, it was fun watching you play yesterday.’ A few years later, I got an autographed hat from him. That’s very special to me.”
Listach told the Puckett story to his mom, and Puckett became her favorite player.
Same for Listach.
“It’s a good collection, but could be bigger and better,” he said.
He doesn’t have anything signed by Hank Aaron but wishes he did. He also does not have anything from Tony Oliva, though Listach once signed an autograph for Oliva.
“We were signing autographs together at a show in Chicago and he came over and asked for my autograph. He got mine, but I didn’t get his,” Listach said of Oliva.
“I’m amazed at the collectibles [at shows].”
And the fellow sports icons he meets at card shows, such as former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde, he said.
Listach’s collection includes football souvenirs, too — vintage items with a fun, memorable, personal tale.
“I grew up in a small town in Louisiana. Sidney Thornton, a two-time Super Bowl-winning running back, lived less than a mile from where I grew up,” Listach said. “My brother was on the same college baseball team as him, and my brother is 11 years older [than me]. When I was growing up in 1977 or 1978, [Thornton] brought Mel Blount, John Stallworth, Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw to a football camp in [our] city. I went and got autographs from them, and I still have them somewhere, probably at my parents’ house, probably in a shoebox somewhere.”
Listach’s vintage collection of old jerseys, hats, and bats is — or was — stored for years in an attic.
“I can only imagine what that wood is like today; it is probably splintering, especially with heat in attic. I probably should have preserved them better,” he said.
Listach has at least one jersey from all the teams he played on. He appeared on 17 baseball cards in 1992, with a 1992 Donruss Update card selling for about $5.
“I don’t collect anyone else’s cards. I never got into trading cards; they went into bicycle spokes,” he said. “I guess I should have, but never thought [the card market] would take off as it has.
