When bass-fishing fans attend a live FLW Outdoors weigh-in, it is easy to forget that there are dozens of employees working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that every tournament runs as smoothly as possible. But while nearly all FLW tournament operations officials are more than happy to eschew the spotlight for a more discreet and supporting role, a select few can stare into the bright lights, hear the thunderous applause and know exactly what emotions professional anglers are feeling as they walk onstage for a fleeting shot of stardom.
And that’s because they’ve already been there.
Meet Greg Cadaret and Jack Daugherty – two recent hires of the FLW Outdoors tournament operations unit who also just happen to be former big-time Major League Baseball players. The two, comprising an integral part of tournament operations out West, are clearly no strangers to the high-octane world of pressure-packed professional sports.
And in truth, they are no strangers to each other.
From adversaries on the baseball diamond to co-workers at the weigh-in tent
Their paths crossed for the first time in 1985, when Greg Cadaret was sharing an apartment with one of Jack Daugherty’s old college roommates in Huntsville, Ala. They were minor league ballplayers shooting for the majors and would live largely parallel lives for the next 10 years.
Both made the big time in 1987, Cadaret for the Oakland A’s and Daugherty for the Montreal Expos. They met at a distance of 60 feet, 6 inches in 1989 in Yankee Stadium, where Cadaret was on the mound for New York and Daugherty was pinch hitting for Texas.
“He wouldn’t throw a damn strike,” Daugherty recalled. “I know I didn’t get a hit off Greg. I would have remembered that.”
“Struck him out actually,” Cadaret says. “He insists the ump made a bad call, but it was a strike, down and in.”
They were teammates for part of one season, 1993, in Cincinnati. Late in the season, Cadaret was traded to Kansas City and Daugherty was sent to Houston. Cadaret would play three more seasons. Daugherty had three at-bats for Houston and was done.
Though he batted a modest .256 in his six big-league seasons, Daugherty had back-to-back .300 years as a pinch hitter. He got his first major league hit – a double – off future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux and twice homered off Roger Clemens.
“I wish it could have lasted longer,” Daugherty says of his major league career, “but not too many guys make it out of the tryout camps. Every day I was there was one more day the experts said I wouldn’t be.”
Cadaret pitched 11 years in the majors, compiling a 38-32 record with 14 saves, 539 strikeouts and a 3.99 ERA. He once took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Cleveland. He played for eight teams, including the Oakland A’s team that lost the 1988 World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was the Series when Kirk Gibson hit his dramatic game-ending home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley.
Cadaret made 35 career starts, but did his best work as a reliever. Daugherty made a few starts, too — he was in the lineup for Nolan Ryan’s seventh career no-hitter – but his finest moments came as a pinch hitter.
“We were brought up to believe you do whatever the team needs, not whine about things,” Cadaret says.
MLB to FLW, it’s all about teamwork
Today they’re still doing whatever the team needs, though now it’s for tournament operations at FLW Outdoors bass tournaments in the West. Cadaret, who lives in Chico, Calif., and Daugherty, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., set up speakers, raise the flag, check in anglers, fill tubs with water and run the release boat.
“It’s amazing how you can get 200 boats on the same page and make it work,” Daugherty says. “The anglers always say what a first-class organization FLW is.”
Cadaret says he likes the work because it’s mostly in spring and fall and doesn’t interfere with his other job as manager of the Chico Outlaws, an independent minor league baseball team.
“It gets me back close to fishing again,” Cadaret says. “We’re a team that meshes well. We’re interchangeable parts. We do what needs to get done.”
Like striking out a Ranger when you’re pitching for the Yankees.