SSTN Interviews Graig Kreindler

By Paul Semendinger

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Today I share my interview with the great baseball artist Graig Kreindler.

Please tell our readers a little about yourself. 

My name is Graig Kreindler and I’m an artist that focuses on creating historical baseball paintings. The game and artwork have been intertwined for me since finding my father’s baseball card collection when I was a youngster—I’ve been drawing since I was 3 or 4-years-old, and have been doing this sort of work professionally since 2007. 

What do you most enjoy about painting? 

What I enjoy the most about painting has to do with how meditative it can become. That is, on good days. When you’re really into a piece, grinding away, time and space can kinda vanish (sorry for the new-age imagery). But what I mean is that the artist kinda gets caught up in the flow, and all of the sudden, you’re no longer thinking about what you’re doing—it’s almost like you’re in charge of a symphony but don’t need to even queue the musicians.

What current projects you are working on?  

Currently I’ve got a bunch of different commissions being juggled, all varying in subjects and sizes: two of Mickey Mantle during his rookie year, one of George Wright with Boston, one of Larry Doby with the Newark Eagles, one of Ted Williams’ last home run, one of Vera Clemente celebrating her husband’s 3000th career hit, one of AAGPBL star Sophie Kurys in action, one of Rube Waddell, one of Earle Combs, two of Satchel Paige, one of Pete Hill and honestly, the list is still (thankfully) long. And then, if I told you about the stuff I wanted to get to that was on spec, I’d be writing for quite some time.

Why are people so drawn to baseball and its stories, legends, and people? 

I think people become so drawn to the game for a lot of reasons. Certainly plenty of it has to do with generational nostalgia, as that’s a well-known way that it spreads through time. Then, I think combining its history that is so well documented (but not necessarily visually-so) and putting it in context with the growth of this country, it ends up becoming a huge narrative that us normal folks can relate to. Like, labor relations in baseball can echo those throughout America. The racial climate in the game has also gone hand in hand with what we’ve experienced in the last century. And maybe the most important, I just think it’s such a fun and beautiful game to watch. 

What is your favorite baseball book? (You can list as many as you wish.) 

There are definitely a LOT of contenders for this title, so it’s hard to just pick one. All three of Jane Leavy’s books on Koufax, Mantle and Ruth are exceptional. As are Jonathan Eig’s books on Gehrig and Jackie Robinson. Baseball in the Garden of Eden by John Thorn, and How Baseball Happened by Thomas Gilbert are both wondeful books on the origins of the sport. The same goes for The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter—another absolute classic. The Neal McCabe books on Charles Conlon are some of my favorites too. Stephen Jay Gould’s Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville is also very engaging. Just so many of them.

Outside of baseball, what is your favorite book and/or who is your favorite author?  (You can list as many as you wish.) 

I’ve always been a Tolkien guy, so The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels hold a special place in my heart. Also, George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fireseries tug on the ol’ heart strings. I’m also a big fan of my wife’s (Sarvenaz Tash) books, though there might be some bias there. Her latest, The Queen of Ocean Parkway, is pretty special because it’s partially inspired by our current neighborhood (and some of the folks who live there). She’s written others that circle around my interests too, whether it be the original Woodstock Music and Arts Festival or New York Comic Con.

There's a lot of talk about baseball needing to be "fixed."  Is baseball broken?  If you were the Commissioner of Baseball what change(s) (if any) would you make to the current game? 

That’s a really tough one to answer. I can’t rightly say whether baseball is “broken” or not, but I do feel like they could do a better job in marketing their stars, especially somebody like Ohtani who has such wide global appeal—I feel like they do the sport a disservice for not taking advantage of that more, especially when it comes to getting younger fans interested in the game. And dear god, the blackouts need to stop.

I love to talk about the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Which former Yankee most deserves to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame? 

This is a question I often struggle with. I feel like Mattingly would have been up there, but he really needed one or two more seasons of peak performance to be a lock (in my mind). Of course, he’s a Hall of Famer in my heart and I loved watching him play, but maybe with the Harold Baineses of the world getting enshrined (absolutely no shade at Harold), he’ll have a better shot someday. I do really think Thurman Munson should get in, though. Perhaps he’s tossed aside because of the shortened career, but I feel like with him, what we have is a player who was at the top of his position in the game during that era—who was better? Bench? Maybe Fisk? That’s really it. I feel like he’s got the stats: An MVP, ROY, three Gold Gloves, 7 All-Star selections, and was an absolute beast in the postseason. 

I thought you might say Graig Nettles.

I totally think Nettles should get in!!! I guess my mind automatically goes to Thurman first, as I think he's a no-brainer. But Graig is definitely in my top 5 for Yankee enshrinees.

What is the greatest baseball movie of all time?  (Yes, you can list a few!) 

It’s tough to pick just one for the crown, so I’ll list a few favorites. Up VERY high on the list for me are both A League of Their Own and The Sandlot. I feel like both of them capture the nostalgia for the old game in such a wonderful Rockwellian way, which I’m always attracted to because he’s one of my artist heroes. All of the sentiment is there, and they’re both fleshed out in so many great ways. Obviously Major League is hilarious. 61* is pretty special to me, too. Eight Men Out. The Bad News Bears. Ugh, there are just SO many great ones. Can I even count Naked Gun as one? Hah.

What is your favorite baseball memory? 

It’s gotta be going to Yankee Stadium as a kid (in the 1980s). I don’t necessarily remember specific games, but just being there on a summer weekend with my mom, dad and older brother was always so magical. We’d get there for BP, and I have these vivid memories of the sun-drenched field (which was especially cool to see after coming out of the dark concourse and tunnels). The smells always stayed with me, too: hot pretzels, beer, hot dogs, cigarette smoke (when you could smoke in the concourse), and sometimes urine (hah). And the sounds!!! The buzz of the crowd, and hearing Eddie Layton going through his jazz routine on the organ. Bob Sheppard’s voice over the PA. It’s probably a common memory for folks my age, but those are strongest to me. Oh, that and Claudell Washington crashing into the blue outfield walls.

Please share anything else you'd like with our audience. 

I just wanted to thank everyone for being into what I do, and thanks to Start Spreading the News for taking the time to chat with me!!