Wordle to the wise from Stuart Sternberg: Can’t run from 100

Stuart Sternberg heads into his 17th season as principal owner of the Rays, still seeking a World Series championship and a new stadium, two quests taking longer than he had hoped. He took a few minutes during spring training for our annual Q&A.

What did you do to kill time during the lockout, much of which you spent at your St. Petersburg home?

“We couldn’t really do anything as far as promotion. There was nothing to be done really on the business side of things. We’d just come out of the sister-city thing (the plan to split future seasons in Montreal, which was killed by Major League Baseball in January.) So for the first weeks of that I was just like an ostrich — put my head in the sand a little bit relative to everything. ...

“There were no trades to talk about. No signings. No injuries to check on. No health issues. The same thing going into the office to see the baseball department. They’re working, but it was just a weird couple of weeks. To keep myself occupied, instead of running 2 ¼ miles I ran closer to 3 miles.”

Any new hobbies or things you’ve started doing?

“I learned how to manicure my nails. I’ve always been a nail biter and at times, I guess from the pandemic, I’ve stopped. This is too much information, right? For some reason, being in Florida the last few years, nails just don’t break. So I’ve had to learn how to give myself a manicure. Call that a hobby.”

Read any good books?

“I’m in the midst of one, Walter Isaacson’s The Code Breaker.”

What have you been watching lately?

“Haven’t gone out to any movies, which kind of pisses me off because I really wanted to see the James Bond movie in the theaters. I think I’ve seen every Bond movie in a theater. So I’m sort of holding out to see that. …

“We’ve been watching mostly series at home. Finally got into Peaky Blinders. ... (Manager) Kevin Cash had recommended it for a couple of years and I finally broke down and we watched, and it’s really great. I liked the Godfather of Harlem. And Imposters.”

What are some of your latest St. Pete-area go-to places?

“Bacchus (Wine Bistro), near Beach Drive. And Good Times (Continental Restaurant) in Tierra Verde. It’s a 40-some-odd-year-old Eastern European restaurant. The place looks like it’s straight out of the ‘70s, and I think everybody who works there has been there since the ‘70s. The food is excellent. We’ve been there a number of times.”

What’s something you started doing during the pandemic that you’ve kept up?

“I’ve consistently been running most mornings. That was something I would do sporadically or avoid but it’s just easy here really to run along the water. It’s been a nice thing.

“Also, I’ve been cooking seafood more. There’s a couple great places to get seafood down here, like Gulf Coast Seafood (in Gulfport). You go in there and just it’s in front of you and it looks so nice and so many to choose from. And you almost can’t screw it up. Like, if you undercook it, it’s good. If you overcook it, it’s good. The only thing you can do to screw it up is just put too much crap on it.”

What’s your sub order?

“Well, first of all, I don’t call it a sub. Not a hoagie. Not a grinder. It’s a hero. The hot would be a chicken parm hero. The cold, it’s usually roast beef, fresh mozzarella, maybe a little garlic aioli if they have it.”

What new music have you downloaded recently?

“It’s not new, but I just downloaded the Hair musical. But new stuff? Wet Leg. They have an amazing song — Chaise Longue. It’s catchy. And LCD Soundsystem.”

Favorite new websites?

“Other than Wordle, which I’m about a month into and I’m surprisingly good? Wikipedia has a page that is a list of lists of lists. I’ve been getting into that, and that’s a good time suck. Also Ilovetheburg.com — it’s been a great resource.”

A cool thing you’ve bought on the Internet?

“Herrell’s Hot Fudge. It’s the best hot fudge. I was talking to Paul Miller, who runs our concessions, about how I can’t find just plain vanilla chocolate chip ice cream anymore. It used to be everywhere. So he found a place in Tampa, and we got some and had hot fudge sundaes at the Rowdies game.”

Now that you’ve owned the Rowdies for a few years, have you become a pretty good soccer fan?

“I really have. I don’t know all the rules. It really is interesting because it’s the one sport I’ve watched enough of now that I know how people feel, like my wife or others who may have watched baseball or other sports, and just the second nature of the rules. It’s been hard for me to pick up any of nuances. … I see the way it is, and it’s a joy not to have to worry about all the nuances and stuff and just watch these amazing athletes do what they can do. It’s really something.”

If your wife, Lisa, or kids put you up to it, what would be your karaoke song?

“Oddly, the first thing I thought of is that I played Oliver in a school play when I was 10-11. So I’d probably sing Where is Love? from Oliver!”

Three singers you’d like to see perform the anthem at the Trop?

“I’ll start with Tom Waits again. Two new people I like are Angel Olsen and Orville Peck.”

Any recent celebrity sightings?

“I just saw Cathie Wood (who relocated her Ark Investment Management firm from New York to St. Pete). And I was up north for the holidays and saw (author) Fran Lebowitz outside Russ & Daughters (appetizing foods store).”

Any investment advice in these uncertain times?

“Don’t walk, run, to buy Series I savings bonds. The government is giving you free money.”

How have you and Lisa adjusted as empty-nesters?

“It’s been good, but we’re looking forward to having all four kids (Sandy, Jake, Natalie, Ella) here in St. Pete for Passover. We haven’t all been together since the playoffs (in October).”

And our usual wrapup, the Bruce Springsteen song that best describes last season?

“I thought about this in advance. Last year is Glory Days. One hundred wins — I can’t run from that. I know it wasn’t a World Series, but 100 wins. We might get zero, one or five World Series while I own this team; we might never win 100 games again. In the American League East to win 100 games — anywhere in baseball — but it’s just silly.”

And for this year?

“I think it’s For You. Look, we’ve tried some things and people weren’t so pleased. But we do this for everybody. And we’re going to play this season for you. I think that we’re going to all do our best to make it fun and exciting. And we obviously are putting a great product out there.”

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