Fairfield is filled with interesting people, many of whom you may recognize but can never put your finger on exactly who they are.

One of those people may be Buddy Biancalana, this week’s Fairfield Story.

Buddy grew up in California where he was a baseball prodigy.  He attended High School in Larkspur and was drafted by the Royals in the first round (25th overall pick) of the 1978 June Regular Phase draft. Biancalana made his Major League Baseball debut on September 12, 1982, and played his final game on October 4, 1987.

After playing for a few years in the minors, Buddy got the call to “the show”, as a member of the Royals team that won the World Series in 1985, where he was an adept fielder but didn’t hit well for average. Yet he managed to win himself an everyday job.  Despite having started only 35 games all season, manager Dick Howser benched regular Onix Concepcion in favor of Biancalana on September 20.  Biancalana started 13 of the next 15 games as the Royals won the American League West division by one game over the California Angels.

Unbeknown to Buddy, or his team, something about that experience enabled Buddy to get into the “zone” – that fabled place that professional athletes talk about where time slows down and they can do no wrong.  He was the starting shortstop for the Royals in all 14 post-season games, playing error-free defense in every game, and was an integral part in several run-scoring innings for the Royals in the World Series. He batted .278 in the series with an on base percentage of .435, both well above his career numbers.

Buddy and his family moved to Fairfield three years ago, attracted by what he had heard about the many opportunities we offer for personal growth – including TM. He had also become familiar with the discovery of Steve Yellin, to quantify the processes in the mind that enable athletes to find and consistently be in the “zone.”  Buddy and Steve formed Perfect Mind-Perfect Motion shortly after his arrival.

What they now teach to athletes in Major League Baseball, the PGA, tennis, and the NBA, is how to consistently find the zone – where time slows down, the intellect shuts down, and the motion becomes more fluid and effortless. Through a three step program, they’ve helped numerous athletes affect the processes in their minds and have built the business strictly by word of mouth.

One such success story is pro golfer Lee Janzen. After winning two US Opens, Lee lost his stride and languished near the middle of the pack. After working with Buddy, Lee came bounding back – making $800,000 last year and is showing signs of his old self. Another recent story involves major league baseball’s Bobby Keppel, the 2001 1^st round pick by the NY Mets who had a 5.50 ERA in AAA. After working with Buddy,  he lowered his ERA to 2.43 pitching 14 scoreless innings in his big league debut, and helping the Minnesota Twins win game 163  – a tie-breaker – that got then into the playoffs in 2009

Very few athletes are naturals like Michael Jordan, or can perform at high levels with the consistency of a Brett Favre. What comes naturally to some is the biggest challenge for most athletes who don’t know how to get back mind body coordination when it breaks down and this, according to Buddy, is the secret to consistency. Through a series of drills and concepts, Buddy asserts that athletes who use this proprietary methodology will avoid slumps. The Perfect Mind-Perfect Motion method is not a philosophy, rather, it implies that Steve and Buddy have uncovered how the mind-body connection works and they can teach it to athletes in any sport.

Buddy, his wife and his boys Alex and Gavin love all that Fairfield has to offer, most notably going to Revelations for Pizza and bike rides on the Jefferson County trails.  He feels that Fairfield is a very powerful place for those who take advantage of its resources. He encourages all of our local athletes to learn more about the benefits of meditation as it is his belief that it strengthens mind-body coordination and any time you can quiet your mind you will be more successful at anything you do.

Forever grateful for “Fairfield’s existence” as Buddy put it, and the way the community has embraced he and his family, he is available to help the community in any way he can. In fact, welcomes the opportunity to help kids in town interested in becoming better at Baseball.

A little known fact about Buddy is what happened during the countdown to Pete Rose breaking Ty Cob hits record in 1985. David Letterman instituted a Buddy Biancalana countdown calendar. Biancalana later appeared as a guest on Late Night with David Letterman, quipping “I’m closer to Cobb than you are to Carson” ( Buddy finished his big-league career with 113 base hits, over four thousand short of Cobb or Rose.)

One of the great joys that I had growing up (in a few different countries) was playing football (soccer) or cricket or field hockey on pavement – i.e., on the public streets. There’s childhood bliss in being able to create a make-shift goal in a neighborhood and all the local kids get together and yell and scream and play. If a car showed up we’d slow the game down, wait for the vehicle to pass, and resume.

I guess you know where I’m probably going with this – a friend of mine was told to stop playing a hockey game on the street today, by a cop. The game was largely between young kids (under 10) with a couple of adults joining in both to supervise and to have fun.

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Cho, from Korea, on Tour de USA 2009

Cho Hwi Uk, pictured above, is riding from LA to New York, and happened to ride by Fairfield on the new 34 just as my friends Jordan and Meghan, both avid cyclists, were getting on the bypass going the other way. The attraction of seeing a guy on a bicycle loaded down with paniers looking like he’s on for the long haul caused Jordan to do a swift yewie (U-ey?) and find out if he needed any help, or a place to crash.

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