XMFan: Walk us through your early years as a pro ball player.

Flannery: I was chosen in the sixth round of the '78 draft. I had been playing for Chapman College in Orange County, which was a very small school with good baseball and liberal arts programs. I worked my way through the minors and was kinda rushed into the major leagues. I made it to the Padres in 1979 as a 21-year-old, then went back and forth between the majors and minors for a couple of years. When it was all said and done, I had played ten years in the major leagues.

XMFan: Did you stay in baseball right after your playing days?

Flannery: After retiring as a player, I started doing television news feature stories for a CBS affiliate in San Diego -- no sports, just feature stories. The news director was the one who really saw I might have a niche in the news and broadcasting business, and he gave me time to recover from all the playing and traveling I had done.

In hindsight this also helped my music... Writing a story on the news is a lot like writing a song, because you've gotta get it done in two-and-a-half to three minutes. A "stand-up bridge" you do for the news is also a lot like a bridge in music.

But after three years I really got the itch to get back on the field. I came back with the Padres and managed at just about every minor league level the organization had -- the rookie league team in Spokane, the team in Rancho Cucamonga, the Las Vegas AAA team in 1995...

XMFan: Then back to the majors?

Flannery: In 1996, Bruce Bochy, who was managing the Padres, asked me to come up and coach third base in the major leagues. We got to go to a World Series in 1998, won a couple of division titles and I got to go to an All-Star Game.

After that, the team decided to cut the budget after the big stadium issue passed and it seemed like they were just buying time until they got the stadium through. It didn't seem like the team was really trying to win and a couple of lawsuits were bogging things down at the time. I just soured on the whole thing. I'm not good if you're not trying to win -- if you're pretending, I'm not your guy... So Bruce had to fire me in 2002.

XMFan: So you were away from baseball again for a while?

Flannery: Ironically, my music had really started taking off about that time, and being away from baseball allowed me to play all the summer festivals that were suddenly available -- bluegrass festivals, Americana folk festivals... I played those for a couple of years. But in the meantime I learned to do radio and was on the two-hour Padres pre-game show, heard on the "Mighty 1090", which is the Padre's flagship station. We'd also do a post-game show until about midnight. It was another way for me to stay around the game.

After doing that a while, I was asked if I'd be interested in learning how to call the games themselves. So by the end of the Padres broadcasting stint in 2006, I would do a two-hour pre-game radio show, the half-hour pre-game television show, then sprint to the booth during the national anthem to do seven innings of color or play-by-play. I loved doing play-by-play on the radio -- if you were to ask me what I miss, it's the creativity of talking without any pictures.

But once again, the organization wasn't trying. They were cutting the budget after getting the new ballpark and after having promised the people a competitive team. Things were changing again and manager Bruce Bochy was winning divisions without a lot of talent -- and they were about to run him out of town. Well it's hard for me to talk on the radio, because once again I'm not good at pretending, and the next thing I knew I'd say a couple of things during the broadcast and be called into the front office. I was supposed to "sell the sizzle." Promote the product.

The Giants heard that Bochy might be available, and the Padres allowed him to leave if he wanted. "We're not going to be able to pay you," is basically what San Diego told him. This was in 2007, and the Giants jumped all over him. Bruce called me while I was walking my dog. The same guy who fired me knew that if a team is trying, I'm the guy they want. I was offered the third base job and left my home and career in radio, which everyone thought I was going to do for a long time.

We knew we had a lot of work to do, and realizing that Barry Bonds was near the end of his career, had to basically create a team when he left. We had to develop several young players and basically create a new team between 2007 and 2010, when we won the championship. It was exactly what I'd left home for -- I didn't come to San Francisco because I needed a job. I came here because I knew the organization wanted to win.

XMFan: Is San Francisco your home now?

Flannery: Our home is still in Encinitas. I came up here not really knowing what was going to happen and have rented some little places. Coaching usually takes up about twelve hours of my day, so it's not like you're going to enjoy the place where you're living unless it's during the off-season. When I do get time off, we like to head back to San Diego and to a place just north of Santa Barbara where we spend a bit of time. We kinda just move up and down the west coast.

XMFan: As a kid, did you have a favorite team and player?

Flannery: Yes, I grew up in Anaheim. My family is from the mountains of Kentucky, even though we grew up mostly in Southern California. We had this mix of culture -- Kentucky is of course the heart of where bluegrass music comes from -- and my dad was a Christian minister who had a church in Anaheim.

We lived about two blocks from Anaheim Stadium, so I always went to see Angels games as a kid. But my favorite player growing up, and even during the ten years I played against him, was Pete Rose. The guy played the game on the field as hard as anyone I've ever seen. When it came to a scout grading his tools, he had below-average range, below-average speed, a below-average throwing arm -- and he ended up with more hits than anyone in baseball history. He was a huge influence on me.

XMFan: Did you collect sports memorabilia as a kid?

Flannery: I really didn't. We were the guys who put cards in the spokes and rode around on our bicycles. My son ended up collecting for a long time and probably has a pretty good collection. I used to go over to the houses of friends who had things and enjoyed looking through theirs. I think I have all of my own cards, so I can give to my kids and their kids.

XMFan: Do you have a favorite card of yourself?

Flannery: My favorite is one that I actually give to players, a card that shows me bunting. I'm the bunting coach here with the Giants, so when I get the guys together I tell them that I played ten years in the major leagues and only hit nine home runs. But there's something that I can do, that I can teach you -- and if you have trouble bunting, you're gonna get one of these cards in your locker. The players get a kick out of it, but they know if they find one in their locker they're gonna be meeting me at 9:30 the next morning to work on bunting.

Our pitchers, because of their great work, were the best at sacrifice bunting in all of baseball last year. It's fun to connect with the players, and that bubble gum card allows me to do that.

XMFan: Let's talk about the famous 1988 Fleer "surfboard card" (Flannery was pictured on his baseball card standing with a surfboard).

Flannery: I got a free board out of that. The guy who took those pictures of the team has a brother who was a surfboard shaper there in San Diego, and the board I posed with was one of his. The photographer told me I could have the board if I posed with it. I'm a surfer, and that was a no-brainer.

There's also an error card of me out there that shows me batting right-handed, which they later corrected (1981 Fleer, the photo negative was reversed).

XMFan: What ever happened to that surfboard?

Flannery: I ended up giving it to a friend. It was too small for me, and I needed something thicker and longer. I don't know where its at now, but we're all still riding waves. And actually that card provided a good connection to a lot of fans and friendships I still have down there. They knew I was a Southern California beach boy, and playing in San Diego was a really nice connection.

XMFan: One of the main reasons I wanted to chat with you was to explore your musical history, so lets focus on that a bit. Would you tell me when you first picked up a guitar and who you listened to growing up?

Flannery: I picked up a guitar in sixth or seventh grade and learned three chords, then took it from there. Everyone in my family is a musician, and we all grew up with the four-part harmonies of gospel and church music.

I grew up in the seventies, which is known for the great singer/songwriters... Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel... The list goes on and on, and radio was playing these songs. Southern California was a place where you could turn on the radio and listen to Tom Waits. Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers influenced all of 'em. Then The Eagles came along, then Tom Petty... It was an amazing time for people who loved singer/songwriters.

XMFan: That makes sense, because I can hear much of "the California sound" in your music. So there you were as a young man, playing baseball and playing music.

Flannery: I kept doing it (music), you know... Playing at talent shows, then playing at coffee houses, then years later you've got ten records out and have performed on stage with some of the very artists you used to listen to -- I've got Jackson Browne singing harmony on one of my songs and Bruce Hornsby on another one of my albums. I sometimes think to myself, "Wow, this music has taken me places and given me connections to some great guys." It's amazing.

XMFan: Your family basically did the same thing that others did a generation before you -- move from Kentucky, Oklahoma, that general area... and out to California, where that west coast "outlaw country" sound was nurtured the past seventy years.

Flannery: Gram Parsons called it his "cosmic American music." It's the Flying Burrito Brothers. It's Merle Haggard. Buck Owens. A couple of albums ago, on The Wayward Wind, I was trying to recreate the style of 1970s California country music.

We say we're influenced by music, but the fact of the matter is it's in our DNA. When you hear music that connects with you, I think a part of you comes out and it does something to you.

XMFan: Do you have a steady band backing you at gigs?

Flannery: I'll do some gigs alone, depending on the venue and the money that's being paid. If it's large enough, I'll hire out my band. (Guitarist) Doug Pettibone plays with Lucinda Williams, played with Marianne Faithful -- the guy's a rock star and a great friend. Bluegrass Magazine says Dennis Caplinger is one of the best pickers on the planet. He's done work with Clapton and many others, and has his own band, Bluegrass Etc. My bass player was the guitarist for Captain Beefheart during the seventies. All the musicians in my band have their own thing going, and when a show comes up I start seeing who's available.

XMFan: I get the impression you're enjoying yourself these days, after experiencing both the good and the bad about the music business over the years.

Flannery: You get to a point in life where you've been on a label -- and that didn't work because they want you to... (Pauses)

I remember the first bluegrass song I played for label execs, Son of a Coal Minin' Man. After the song, they asked if the next song would have drums on it. I thought to myself, "I must be a the wrong place."

XMFan: Didn't Garth Brooks hang out with the Padres while you were with the club?

Flannery: Yes, and this is a good baseball/music story. The Padres went to the World Series in 1998, and one of the most fun things about winning a championship is getting to come back and defending that title the next year. The Padres basically got rid of the entire team that just won the National League Championship because they cut the payroll to $38 million. Well, they brought in Garth Brooks the musician. Now this was a great thing -- he was doing fundraisers for children and getting supporters on board -- but I'd rather have the baseball team. I'd rather have Greg Vaughn, who hit fifty home runs, and Ken Caminiti .

Now if I was going to do a music show, I'd rather have Garth Brooks. But we weren't... We were trying to defend a National League Championship. Anyhow, Garth and I became buddies and even played music a few times during spring training. I will never forget him telling me that it costs $400,000 to get a number-one hit. You gotta pay the money. I realized that wasn't going to work, so the only way you can do this is to play as often as you can, and own your own records and merchandise.

XMFan: But it seems to me that you might be busy for half the year with, you know, that baseball thing.

Flannery: Yes. I'm involved in 162 games in 180 days. After that, I might try and do about 25 shows -- I don't want to go right back into the grind again.

XMFan: Your musical style, that kind of "outlaw country" vibe, isn't really what gets played on mainstream radio... Which is unfortunate.

Flannery: Once you realize who you are as a musician, and once you find your niche, you're free to enjoy the music you enjoy, the music you love. You think, "Ok, this is who I am, this is where I play, and the people who come to our shows love our music." My music isn't for everyone, but these people seem to love it. We're not really listening to the sound that comes out of Nashville-style radio and trying to duplicate that sound.

I know there are tons of artists out there trying to figure out how to get their music out, how to get rich, how to become a star -- but sometimes your music just doesn't get heard.

XMFan: I know we're back into the baseball season, but do you have any musical projects in the works?

Flannery: Yes, I gave eight songs with my producer right before I left. I actually do much of my writing during the season... I don't do many shows, because I'm too busy, but this is the time of year where I meet all the characters, hear the stories and feel emotion from traveling all over the country. So I don't want to put the next album out until I see what happens this year.

XMFan: How else has baseball and music overlapped in your life?

Flannery: I recently performed for the "Wounded Warriors," where Barry Zito brings over about thirty young soldiers who were badly wounded. He flies them over here, provides a place for them to stay and has a show for them.

I bought Jake Peavy his first guitar when he was nineteen years old, while coaching him in San Diego. He's now a great songwriter, from Alabama, and has this boyhood charm and is a great storyteller. Now he's running around with Kid Rock and Hank Williams III, so he's got some great influences.

There are so many artists with the Giants, too. Aubrey Huff sings country music with his deep baritone voice. I think Tim Lincecum knows the lyrics to every song ever written. We've got several guys who play, sing, paint... I think, if anything, it's been refreshing to be around these guys. And the people I work for "get it" -- they think my music is pretty cool.

XMFan: Have you listened to satellite radio very much?

Flannery: I love it -- I have it at home. They gave us rental cars in spring training and I absolutely fell in love with the service again... Outlaw Country, Willie's Place, the bluegrass channel... I dance all over the thing.

XMFan: I appreciate the time you've spent on your day off with me. As a final question, do you have any goals or wishes for the future as an artist?

Flannery: I've had the opportunity to play with many of the greats and open for many legends. My wish is to just keep playing the music and doing what we're doing. I don't have some goal down the road and think "I've gotta get there with my music." My goal is to play tonight, have a lot of fun and keep it in the moment.

Be sure to check out www.timflannery.com for the latest news on Tim and his band, as well as several free mp3 downloads!