TV Tango: How did you and the others get selected for BASEBALL WIVES?

Chantel Kendall: I was just contacted through a friend of a friend. The selection process for the other girls was probably a well thought-out way to try to get the right chemistry and the right cast and the right, strong personalities. I'm not quite sure casting-wise how that all worked, but I know that the end result is definitely big fireworks, wonderful chemistry, lots of drama and lots of humor. They did a great job.

TV Tango: Which two wives generate the most drama when they're together?

Chantel Kendall: That's going to be up for everyone's own opinion. In my opinion, it would probably be the outlandish Anna Benson [pictured with Chantel], of course, and probably myself. I think we're both pretty strong personalities, and have our strengths and our weaknesses. I would say that Anna and I are pretty fiery.

TV Tango: You almost sounded suprised when you said your own name.

Chantel Kendall: For me personally, I think I found a funny bone I didn't know I had. That comes from, first and foremost, being able to laugh at myself. That self-deprecation.

I think I also found some strength I didn't know I had.

Those two things together, I definitely am kind of surprised at how it's playing out. I'm surprised that I am the character that I've become on screen.

It's been such a great experience. Really fun. I didn't know what to expect going into it, and I didn't know if it was going to drive me nuts. I feel like I've been so lucky to be a part of it. It's very much different than I thought the experience was going to be.

TV Tango: Based on your tweets, it seems like you're closer to Brooke Villone [pictured] than the others. Is that true?

Chantel Kendall: I wouldn't say that. I absolutely adore Brooke, but we've all connected in sort of really intense ways. The show's brought us all really close, whether we hate each other in the moment or love each other in the moment. I've connected definitely with Brooke, but also with the other girls.

TV Tango: Where is most of BASEBALL WIVES being filmed?

Chantel Kendall: It's all being filmed in Scottsdale, Arizona, which includes the greater Phoenix area as well. Not just Scottsdale proper, but all throughout Phoenix.

I'm used to being in that area during the months of February, March and April; so it is strange to be there now, as opposed to Spring Training [for Major League Baseball]. But it is an area that I'm familiar with, and it's kind of like home away from home for me.

TV Tango: You recently tweeted that you had a long day of filming. What can you tell me about that day without spoiling anything?

Chantel Kendall: I think the day I tweeted that, the day was sort of unexpected. The show turns into what it turns into as we go. I thought, just like everyone else assumes, that there's scripted stuff and you get direction about where you're going to go.

It's very much the opposite.

We don't really have a script. It's just all of our powerful personalities, and you just be yourself. So every day can be a surprise.

That particular day was like 12 hours of filming. Different locations. Different issues came up, and it was really, really spicy. It was more so drama between two other girls, but...long day. Let's just say that.

TV Tango: Will we see Sean [Stewart] or any of the other's current or former boyfriends or husbands?

Chantel Kendall: There will, I believe, be a couple of the husbands, but I myself haven't filmed with any of the husbands yet [at the time of the interview].

Sean is definitely not a part of the show at all. He's sort of doing his own thing, and we're great friends.

TV Tango: Will we get to see your work with Gone Island Forever on the show?

Chantel Kendall: That's still in the mix, and we're still looking at all opportunities. I'm toying around with lots of different ideas.

The best model out there is Bethenny Frankel [originally from THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY], who really parlayed her life the way she has. I think she has all of America rooting for her. I really want to try to do the same thing.

TV Tango: On Twitter you say that you are a "recovering MLB wife." Besides recovering from a divorce to an MLB player, what else about MLB are you recovering from?

Chantel Kendall: I think for the first time I'm learning to define myself as Chantel and not Ms. So-and-So. I think coming out from behind that has forced to really hone who I am. And it's been wonderful and scary. And there's been a lot of surprises. Like I said, I'm learning "Hey, I'm kind of funny."

I think I [previously] I defined myself by being his wife, and I'm not that anymore. I'm Chantel. It's really fun.

And learning to embrace turning 40. I'm proud to be 40-years-old, and I don't think it's something that people need to make a big thing. I feel younger and happier than I ever have.

TV Tango: In high school you earned letters in volleyball, basketball and track. Will we see you play any of these sports on BASEBALL WIVES?

Chantel Kendall: I played basketball, volleyball, track, and softball, and I was in gymnastics since I was three-years-old. Just lots and lots of sports. I absolutely loved it. I think they may try to work that into the show -- we haven't done it quite yet -- but I think it's coming.

TV Tango: Do you think they would put the WIVES in a charity softball game?

Chantel Kendall: That's something we did when I was married to my husband [catcher Jason Kendall]. When he played for the Oakland A's during the Bay Bridge Series, there was always a charity game that was the wives' softball game; so the A's wives played the [San Francisco] Giants' wives on the field before the Bay Bridge Series. It was all done for charity and it was so fun.

One particular year, my ex-husband was in a slump for home runs. He was never really a player that hit jacks to begin with, but that particular year I think he had the longest dry runs for home runs in Major League Baseball. In the wives' game, I hit a home run and, boy, did he never live that one down. He was like, "Of course, you have to hit a home run. Couldn't you just hit a triple, Chantel?" He got razzed like you wouldn't believe. I think that even during his game, they replayed it. They showed me on Fox Sports hit a home run saying, "Maybe we should get Chantel signed, because she can hit home runs and her husband can't." He got razzed pretty bad, but he was proud of me.

TV Tango: What was it like for the family in 2007 when Jason was traded from Oakland to Chicago?

Chantel Kendall: That was sort of a big unexpected change. At the time, he had a no-trade clause -- those are pretty rare now in baseball. He could've said no. We talked and talked. But this trade happened so quickly. It was in July so it was a tricky time to move out of a house and setup shop in Chicago. I said to him, "If we do this, I don't think that we can relocate and setup a house in Chicago for two months. That's a lot of work just for two months. If you waive your no-trade clause and you take this trade, we have to just realize that our family can't move to Chicago."

A lot of talk. A lot of pros and cons, but it came down to Jason being very wise in baseball and knowing what he needed to do for his career. I deferred to him, and said "You make the decision and we'll follow the best we can."

TV Tango: Was that better or worse than when he got traded in 2004 [from Pittsburgh to Oakland] right after you got married?

Chantel Kendall: Well, I think the trade to Oakland was wonderful. Home games are half a season -- it's like 81 home games -- and those being in a three-hour time change from where we live in Los Angeles. A six-hour flight with a three-hour time change? That's a lot to pull off with kids in school, and trying to keep the family together.

The trade to the West Coast was wonderfully welcomed even though we had such a great history in Pittsburgh. Jason was like Tom Cruise in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was wonderful to us. It was hard to leave.

But it was a wonderful welcome to have the home games be a 45-minute flight from Los Angeles. That was much different than a six-hour flight with a three-hour time change.

The trade to Oakland was wonderful, but it was hard to leave Pittsburgh at the same time.

That trade was much easier for the family. And for Jason to be traded to a team with Billy Beane running the show up there, it was exciting in so many ways. Billy just such a genius. And you may be in the playoffs, and Jason had been in the league a long time without ever getting to the playoffs. To make it for the first time was so exciting for him -- just to see him get to that level.

TV Tango: Did you travel a lot with Jason when he was on the road?

Chantel Kendall: We did. We tried to keep the family together, especially in the early years when we had new babies and stuff. It was hard, but I always tried to keep in the forefront of everything about how blessed we were. To make sure not to get that "Oh, poor me" kind of crap.

I always put it into perspective by thinking of military wives when I got the "Oh my gosh, how hard is this" feeling. I'm never going to say "Poor me" because think about what they go through. They don't even know if their husband is going to be alive the next day. They're making peanuts for money, and their husbands are gone for years. To me, that was a way to really put it into perspective. Military wives should look at me and say, "Boo hoo, Chantel." My heart goes out to those women, and, in my opinion, they're some of the strongest women out there.

TV Tango: When you did travel, what was your favorite city that wasn't his home team?

Chantel Kendall: I have to say Miami. I loved, loved going down to Miami. Each city has a contracted hotel; so every time you go to that city, it's the same hotel that has the contract with Major League Baseball. The hotel was great down there. The weather was always beautiful. The stadium was not far. If there was one trip we did without children, it was always Miami. Those road trips to Florida were great.

Jason and I were never really big restaurant/diner type couple. We tried, if anything, to order room service, and catch up on all the movies we hadn't seen. Just try to nurture our marriage. We did our best, but obviously weren't successful. Room service was my favorite restaurant in Miami.

TV Tango: In 2006, you wrote a check for $8,000 so your hometown school could complete a concession stand at the baseball field. Besides that and charity softball games, what other philanthropic work did you do?

Chantel Kendall: For me, I kind of had this mentality. I'd seen people use charities for tax write-off purposes. I'd seen people make a big to-do about what they did, and it was almost nauseating.  My big thing with charity was always "I'm not doing this for a tax write-off and I always want it to come from the heart." We would get lots and lots of calls.

I'll give you one particular story from Oakland. Jason was always very focused on it being a real and personal experience. I think in 2005 or 2006, there was a little boy who was a catcher in San Bernardino I think, an Eastern suburb in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was a catcher and he idolized Jason. I said "Let's make a difference in a real way." Jason first drove out and spent a couple days with the family and really got to know them. They were a wonderful family.

As the cancer progressed and got worse and worse. Down to the last couple of weeks, I told the mother, "Please, I want to make sure we at least get him to a game." She said, "If we wait any longer, he's not going to be able to travel." I put together a private airplane out of a tiny airport right nearby their house. Because of his wheelchair and special needs, it wouldn't have worked commercially. We flew him up to Oakland. He had a special vehicle to bring him to the stadium. He got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and do the tourist thing. He came to the game. He sat in the dugout with the guys, and I remember they all rubbed his head for good luck before they would get in the on-deck circle. That particular game, we were playing the Boston Red Sox and his other favorite catcher was Jason Varitek. My husband and Varitek spent a lot of time with him before and after the game. He was taken to the airplane and got back home.

Two weeks later, Jacob passed away. He was 12-years-old. It almost kills me to even talk about it. I got an email from the mother and father, and it was written so eloquently.

It wasn't about getting publicity out of it. It wasn't about doing it for show. But it certainly was about making sure that little boy had the best last two weeks of his life.

And that is charity. That's the type of charity that we like to do -- really being in someone's life and showing them a real role model should be.

TV Tango: What TV shows are currently on your DVR?

Chantel Kendall: Obviously, BASKETBALL WIVES. The drama is hilarious.

TV Tango: If you could be a guest star on any scripted sitcom, which show would you choose and why?

Chantel Kendall: I would have to say MODERN FAMILY. It's just a really good mix and blend of what a modern family represents in 2011. Plus, the variety and chemistry of the cast. I think it's hilarious.