He could have a future in show business after his baseball career.
But don’t tell Cody Decker that.
“I have no idea,” he said.
“All I have in front of me is today’s game. I just want to play baseball and don’t want to stop playing baseball.
“I had to stop playing baseball for one month and I hated every second of it.”
Decker, 29, a versatile veteran, joined the Portland Sea Dogs 12 days ago, following a month of uncertainty at his home in Los Angeles.
After playing in his first major league games last September for San Diego, Decker bounced around – signing as a free agent with Kansas City, then getting traded to Colorado – and was suddenly unemployed after the Rockies cut him on May 15.
“I felt kind of blindsided by it. I had never been released before,” Decker said. “I went home and I figured I would have job offers immediately because I had offers from a lot of teams in the offseason.
“But no one had jobs available. The (open) spots had been taken … so I’m just waiting for someone to give me a call.”
The Red Sox placed a call, but the offer was for Double-A, a level at which Decker had not played regularly in since 2011.
“Double-A is a much higher level than my couch,” he said. “I needed to play baseball.
“Plus, Portland is a cool town. And Nate Freiman’s in Portland. I’ll go play with Nate. That sounded good.”
Freiman, 29, another minor league free agent who signed in May, was Decker’s teammate in the Padres’ system. Freiman had significant time with the Oakland A’s before also finding himself needing a job. Now the Sea Dogs have Decker alongside him.
“He gives a veteran presence,” Red Sox director of player development Ben Crockett said. “He and Nate provide that. They’ve been in the major leagues. They have that perspective.”
Both Decker and Freiman are considered “character” guys, players who add not only experience but a positive persona in the clubhouse.
In Decker’s case, he is a character in the complete sense of the word.
“That would be an accurate statement,” Freiman said. “He’s a lot of fun. Really good team guy.
“Engages his teammates. Includes everybody. Positive influence on people around him. Plays the game hard.”
Decker enjoys Freiman as well.
“I love Nate. We make a good power-hitting Jewish combo,” Decker said.
Decker is quick with a quip, or a one-liner or a prank.
Decker has a theater and film background – he performed in shows at Santa Monica High, minored in film at UCLA, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Decker used his know-how in filming a hilarious prank on Jeff Francoeur, a veteran major league outfielder who was a teammate of Decker’s in Triple-A El Paso in 2014.
With assistance from his teammates and coaching staff, including manager Pat Murphy and pitching coach Mike Cather (who once was in Portland), Decker convinced Francoeur than El Paso pitcher Jorge Reyes was deaf. Decker filmed a seven-minute documentary, with interviews of teammates, including Francoeur
Decker showed the team the film as Francoeur realized he was being pranked.
“He was amazing about it,” Decker said. “He thought it was the best prank ever, and later bought us all steaks.”
The film went viral, getting over 1 million hits on YouTube.
Decker, by the way, works fundraising events that assist the deaf. He was so active in El Paso charities and was such a popular player with the Chihuahuas that the team gave away Cody Decker bobblehead dolls this year on June 15. Decker could not be there. That was the day he reported to the Sea Dogs.
Besides making films, Decker can act. In high school, he had the lead role as Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man”. He reinterpreted the role, interacting with the audience (“like Ferris Bueller”).
Decker did little acting or film work at UCLA – “you cannot do full-time baseball and full-time film in college” – but got a brief part in the NBC show “State of Affairs” in 2015. The show’s executive producer, Joe Carnahan, is a friend of Decker’s and asked him to try out for a small bit, playing a security guard.
Decker got the part. In the episode, Decker is blown up.
“I got killed off. What a shame. Such a pivotal role,” Decker said.
As much as Decker loves acting, his passion is baseball, a fact emphasized by his agonizing month away from the game. During that time, Decker worked out, took batting practice and caught bullpen sessions. One of the pitchers he caught was Casey Janssen, who was being looked at by the Red Sox. When Boston watched Janssen throw a bullpen session, Decker was the catcher. Soon, the Red Sox signed both to minor league contracts.
Decker has a career .264 average with an .867 OPS in the minors. He hit 21 home runs last year in Triple-A, and 27 the year before that. He can catch, and play first base, third base and left field.
Last year, Decker got a taste of the major leagues in an eight-game call-up with the Padres. His goal is obviously to get back to the bigs.
Any acting parts coming up?
“I can’t tell you that,” Decker said. “It’s not on my docket right now. Only thing on my docket is baseball.”
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