"We Never Got Dinner": An oral history of the night Kevin Towers hosted his three Major League managers

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In Spring Training of 2011, Kevin Towers, entering his first season as general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, invited three Major League managers to his Scottsdale apartment. The plans for the evening were relatively vague — they’d have a couple drinks and then head out to dinner.

The common thread between the skippers was that all had worked with KT:

Bruce Bochy, fresh off a World Series title with the Giants, was the manager KT inherited when he was named general manager of the Padres.

Bud Black, at this point still with the Padres, was hired by KT prior to the 2007 season after Bochy departed for San Francisco.

Kirk Gibson had been the interim manager for the D-backs when KT was hired as GM. Shortly after Towers took over in Arizona, he removed the interim tag from Gibson’s title.

I had heard various accounts of this evening over the years. While researching the events of the night, I learned that a fourth person was present.

KT had invited friend Ron Viggiano, a tailor who makes high-end custom suits and shirts, to partake in the festivities. Viggiano’s memories offered a new perspective on a night of fine wine and camaraderie. It was incredible to learn and — for those who knew KT even a little — representative of the man he was.

In honor of what would have been KT’s 61st birthday today, November 11, I’m happy to present an oral history of that night in 2011.

Bruce Bochy: First of all, Kevin was excited about putting this together. You know, I think he took a lot of pride in the fact that — I don’t want to say it in a way that he was looking for credit or anything — he took pride that he knew he impacted all of us.

Bud Black: It started out as, Come on over, hang out for a little bit. We’ll have a glass of wine, then we’re gonna go out to dinner.

Kirk Gibson: KT told us he’s bringing over a guy that made his suits. I wasn’t sure who was coming, and KT and I hadn’t hung out that many times. But we got to his place, and there was wine everywhere. Man, holy cow! You know, he’s being KT.

Bochy: To get the three managers together and, you know, he was our GM, so it was big for him. And he was gonna do it right. We were a big part of his life, and he wanted to show his appreciation and his gratitude for having us as managers.

Gibson: And he had Ron there, his tailor. Ron was kind of being quiet. And KT was proud because he had his three managers there.

Black: We all got to KT’s pad, and he had some crackers and cheese out on a plate. And he says, “Blackie, hey, do you want a beer?” So I had a beer. And I think Boch and Gibby, they might have had a beer, or they might have just had a glass of wine. And, you know, with the intention of just hanging out for just a bit, right?

Bochy: I remember just starting out with a glass of bourbon with him. That’s where it started. I think I was the first one there.

Ron Viggiano: KT tells me, “I’m the new GM out in Arizona. I think you should come out to Arizona, and I’ll put you in front of the right guys.” I call my wife and I said, “KT says I should go out to Arizona.”

Gibson: You knew it was going to be a memorable night because Blackie and Boch started ganging up on me. They had some history together. And they were telling me how they got my signs all the time.

Viggiano: So I text him and he tells me to come out during a certain week. “Just tell me you’re coming, and I’ll put it together.” It was late February or the first week of March, and I said, “Alright, I’m coming out on this day.” He goes, “Text me when you get into town.” I get into town and tell him I’m here. He was pretty short and sweet: “Informal. Wine and cheese. My place tonight.”

Bochy: I just remember he had this lineup of wine. I wish I could remember it all, but I know toward the end he was opening up Harlan. He loved his Harlan, but he actually had a bottle which surprised me because I had a connection with Hourglass. And whether he found out or knew that I liked Hourglass, he had a bottle of that. He had a bottle of Silver Oak which was significant to us because that was the first vineyard he took me to when we toured Napa. He had shown me Sonoma where he grew up, then he wanted to take me to Silver Oak because that was kind of the wine back then. And I don’t remember drinking it, but I remember Scarecrow was there, too. We went through a lot of great wines, and that’s who Kevin was — he loved to share his wine.

Viggiano: I text him and say that I’m here, and he comes down and gets me. And he’s really excited. “Ronnie, you’re gonna love this. These are my guys. I got the right guys,” but he’s not telling me anything other than it’s gonna be really cool. So we get to his apartment and he opens the door and starts introducing me. He goes, “This is my buddy Ron. He’s my clothier. He makes all my clothes. He’s great at what he does.” So then he goes, “Ronnie, this is the National League West right here, and these are all my hires.” And he does it with this sense of pride that’s just fantastic. He goes, “Boys, there’s plenty of wine. It’s all good, it’s all old, let’s have some fun.”

Black: There was a bottle of wine open. KT opened another bottle of wine. That first one was finished. I had a beer, then I had a glass from the second bottle. And, you know, we just started talking. We just started talking about everything. The conversations led to another conversation and another one and just kept bouncing around. And then it was one of those, “Hey, I got another bottle of wine. This is really good, I’m gonna break it out.” And the good bottles of wine kept coming. That’s sort of how it unfolded. We probably met at six, I think. Right around 5:30 or six at KT’s place, but we never got dinner. Never got to dinner.

Bochy: Buddy was the first one to hit the hay. Man down! Man down, but he’s probably the smartest. I think he saw where this was going so he tapped out early. And then Gibby, you know how tough Gibby is — he was going to hang in there. But I don’t think he lived too far away, so it was convenient for him to take off. [In fact, Gibson and KT lived in the same building.]

Gibson: Before you knew it, I could see Blackie over there, his head’s going down. He was hardly with us.

Black: So Ron came over. And I know he brought some shirts. And I think he took our measurements. Could that be?

Gibson: You know, KT had his boys there. He was always so masterful that he just kind of played one off the other, then got two going after one and one going back to two. He interjected here or there.

Black: I think, for KT, his perspective was, here’s an opportunity to get three of my friends together. Friends, I mean, true friends, outside of our jobs, outside of our profession. I think KT ultimately knew that in the baseball industry, we’re all in this together. When you think of KT, you think of his friendships with scouts, managers, players, his relationship with others outside of his own organization. For me looking back and even now, the game and the people in the game are greater than each of our own roles, our jobs, right? We’re all in this together. I think for him that night was about that — three of my good friends who hold positions of responsibility for different organizations. That was important and cool for him to be able to do that. He had strong relationships within his organization for sure. But those outside of it, I think, were just as important to him and he realized that in the grand scheme of things, as it relates to baseball, it was about relationships and friendships.

Viggiano: So now it’s just me, KT, Gibby, and Boch sitting around KT’s dining room table. And Bochy is just pouring goblets of red wine. They’re telling stories all night long. It was really a remarkable evening, and I will skip to the end of this because there is a middle ground in this that is really hazy.

Black: Usually I’d have a morning meeting. I told Ricky [bench coach Rick Renteria], “Ricky, no meeting.” I told Peach [media relations manager Bret Picciolo], “Hey, can I pass on the media this morning?” I took the El Paso because I was scuffling.

Gibson: The thing about it is, I was kind of the new kid on the block. Those guys invited me over and, KT, he wanted to give me an initiation. And he wanted those guys to be part of it. It was a real cool night. And, you know, of that era for all of us, KT was the straw that stirred the drink, man.

Bochy: I was the last one to leave, so that’s never good. I was last man standing. But I took pride in that. I said, “Yeah, I outdid your other two.” So we had fun with that, but I paid for it. We were just munching on chips — we were starving. You know, we had a lot of nights like that so we had flashbacks to the times we played together, and in Spokane managing [in 1989], and here we are again. I remember cracking jokes about: Well, here we are, we’re the last two standing again. And Kevin, when he could get going and start telling stories, there’s no finish line.

Viggiano: The next morning, I get a text from KT. It’s about 8:45, maybe nine o’clock. “Hey, Ronnie, how you feel?” I feel terrible. And he goes — and I’ll never forget this — it’s a life lesson that I tell everybody who’s willing to listen. KT says, “Ronnie, I was on a treadmill at 7:30. If you play hard, you gotta work hard.” And I never forgot that.

Happy Birthday, KT.

It’s a good night for a glass of wine.