WEBVTT - 12-10-25 Lance with Tim Parks

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<v Speaker 1>The following takes place between seven pm and eight pm.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, let's go seven oh eight, seven hundred WLW

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome in RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet

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<v Speaker 2>Avliance Cavlister. How you doing, Thanks for making your way here.

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<v Speaker 2>We've got two hours to get it done tonight. I

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<v Speaker 2>can tell you upfront. Coming up at about fifteen minutes,

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to start some pretty in depth Kyle Schwerber

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<v Speaker 2>conversation and reaction on your part to what is transpired

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<v Speaker 2>over the last twenty four hours or so. And then

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<v Speaker 2>we'll have a fun topic we'll toss in in the

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<v Speaker 2>eight o'clock hour as well. But let's start first right here.

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<v Speaker 2>My first guest is from Middletown. No, he's not Kyle Schwarber.

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<v Speaker 2>He created something really cool though, years ago, the MLB

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<v Speaker 2>Ballpark Passport. Think of a book to officially stamp your

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<v Speaker 2>visit to a ballpark. Well, this idea, this product has

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<v Speaker 2>grown so big and has had such an impact on

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<v Speaker 2>baseball fans across the country that the Baseball Hall of

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<v Speaker 2>Fame has voted to induct the original first print of

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<v Speaker 2>the Major League Baseball Ballpark Passport to be put on

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<v Speaker 2>display in the museum, and I said, how cool is that?

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<v Speaker 2>Because I had this next guest on way back when

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<v Speaker 2>let's find out all about it. Welcome in, Tim Barks.

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<v Speaker 2>How are you, hey, Lan?

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<v Speaker 3>How you doing?

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<v Speaker 2>I am fantastic.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's do this.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's backtrack a little bit for those who may not

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<v Speaker 2>know of the idea, just kind of describe the passport,

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<v Speaker 2>what it looks like and how it works.

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<v Speaker 4>Well back in twenty ten, I had the idea, you

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<v Speaker 4>know of in the recording your memories and your visits

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<v Speaker 4>to the ballparks. And when I got back, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I had the prototype made and and everything, and I

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<v Speaker 4>called up Phil Cassolini of the Reds and said, hey, Phil,

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<v Speaker 4>I got this pretty neat idea. I want to show

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<v Speaker 4>you and see what you think. And he said, sure, Tim,

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<v Speaker 4>come on down to the ballpark. And so he loved it,

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<v Speaker 4>and he took it to Major League Baseball at the

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<v Speaker 4>winter meetings.

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<v Speaker 3>That was fifteen years ago. Wow.

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<v Speaker 4>And and he came back and called me and said, Tim, come.

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<v Speaker 3>On down to the ballpark.

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<v Speaker 4>We have a conference call with MLB. They love your idea.

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<v Speaker 4>And the rest is history. And that year it was

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<v Speaker 4>the Red season Passport which if you recall, I was

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<v Speaker 4>on your show prior to opening day discussing the first book,

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<v Speaker 4>and I know Casey had one and he got one

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<v Speaker 4>to use. And you know, we were all such short

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<v Speaker 4>notice that we didn't have a chance to design and

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<v Speaker 4>make the MLB Ballpark Passport Book, which was for visiting

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<v Speaker 4>all thirty ballparks. And so that's what we did, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>the whole summer and in winter was creating and developing

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<v Speaker 4>that book for release in twenty twelve. And I just

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<v Speaker 4>want to say real quick that without Phil Casalwini, none

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<v Speaker 4>of this ever would have happened, because he took that

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<v Speaker 4>to MLB on his on the cord, had an offline

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<v Speaker 4>meeting with MLB and Phil just you know, it never

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<v Speaker 4>the day of light they've had it been for him.

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<v Speaker 4>I just want to tell him thanks, if he's listening.

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<v Speaker 2>And Tim, if I remember correctly, this all kind of

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<v Speaker 2>popped into your head because you you had kind of

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<v Speaker 2>a quest to visit you wanted to visit all thirty

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<v Speaker 2>Major League parks to begin with.

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<v Speaker 3>Correct, Yes, I was already doing it.

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<v Speaker 4>I was already doing it, and uh I drove to

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<v Speaker 4>uh the Arctic Circle back in twenty ten, and we'd

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<v Speaker 4>already been to a number of ballparks and and of course,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, watching the Reds.

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<v Speaker 3>Play as much as we could on the road, and uh,

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<v Speaker 3>you know.

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<v Speaker 4>When you drive to Alaska, you know, yeah, a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of time to think. And I started thinking about growing

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<v Speaker 4>up with the big Red machine when I was, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>thirteen years old in the seventy five, and I said,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, I've got no memories at all.

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<v Speaker 3>No ticket stubs, nothing, no anything to.

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<v Speaker 4>Remember all the visits that I had, you know, to

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<v Speaker 4>the ballpark with my with my dad and brothers and

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<v Speaker 4>sisters and in church groups and youth groups and things,

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<v Speaker 4>and I had nothing. And I said, I want to

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<v Speaker 4>throw something out there. And I would get back to

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<v Speaker 4>the hotel and I'd do some search, you know, on

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<v Speaker 4>my phone online and couldn't find anything. And so it's

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<v Speaker 4>just amazing that you know, a guy from Middletown had

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<v Speaker 4>an idea. Yeah, and you know that I went with

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<v Speaker 4>and you know, I was the first one to come

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<v Speaker 4>up with this idea for baseball and pathboards.

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<v Speaker 2>And so tim, if if someone has a passport, say

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<v Speaker 2>that they order the passport from you kind of walks

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<v Speaker 2>like when you walk into a stadium. What happens or

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<v Speaker 2>how is it used? Explain it for someone who might

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<v Speaker 2>not understand it.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so you have the book, and so inside the

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<v Speaker 4>book it lists all what we call them validation stations

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<v Speaker 4>at all the Major League ballparks. And so what happens

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<v Speaker 4>when fantomes in they look inside their book they see

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<v Speaker 4>where the valuation stations are located inside the ballpark.

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<v Speaker 3>There's multiple locations.

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<v Speaker 4>At all thirty stadiums, and so like the red for example,

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<v Speaker 4>the Reds have I think seven or eight different stamping

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<v Speaker 4>locations listed and Dodger Stadium has like ten. So it

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<v Speaker 4>was grown from one, you know, from one stamping location

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<v Speaker 4>for ballpark to you know, seven, eight, nine, tens stamping locations.

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<v Speaker 3>It's kind of crazy. And so fans will present their book.

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<v Speaker 4>And they'll ask for the stamp and they'll turn to

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<v Speaker 4>their you know, to to the team page in the book,

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<v Speaker 4>and uh, the staff will roll the date to the

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<v Speaker 4>date that you're there, and they'll hand you the stamp

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<v Speaker 4>and you'll ink it up, test it, then stamp your

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<v Speaker 4>book and it has the name of the ballpark, city, stton,

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<v Speaker 4>zip code to the ballpark, and then the date you

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<v Speaker 4>were there, and so once you stamp that it's ink

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<v Speaker 4>the paper, it's there forever.

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<v Speaker 2>Tell me the Hall of Fame news. Tell me how

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<v Speaker 2>you got the news, and tell me how exciting this is.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, it was so unreal.

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<v Speaker 4>I've been thinking for a while because you know, next

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<v Speaker 4>year is the fifteenth year of the MLB ball Park

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<v Speaker 4>Passport Book. We released it at the All Star Game

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<v Speaker 4>in Kansas City in twenty twelve, and we only took

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<v Speaker 4>you know, we brought like something like, you know, one

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<v Speaker 4>hundred and fifty one hundred and seventy five books, and

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<v Speaker 4>we got the joking on the way in that hey,

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<v Speaker 4>well what if we don't sell any books.

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<v Speaker 3>And never been done before? You know, no one had

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<v Speaker 3>ever done before.

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<v Speaker 4>So there was no blueprint for it, and I knew

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<v Speaker 4>on the second day there at Fantast we sold out

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<v Speaker 4>of our inventory and we took orders for another I.

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<v Speaker 3>Think it was three hundred and some.

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<v Speaker 4>Orders for the next print, and we told them up

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<v Speaker 4>front that hey, it might be three four five months

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<v Speaker 4>before we have another rundowe, and they said, we don't care,

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<v Speaker 4>we want the book. And it was at that time

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<v Speaker 4>that I knew that we had, you know, something special,

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<v Speaker 4>and so I have to thinking about the fifteenth year

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<v Speaker 4>and coinciding with that.

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<v Speaker 3>And I said, you know, I said, I said, I

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<v Speaker 3>wonder if the Hall of Fame would be, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>interested in this book.

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<v Speaker 4>And since it was the first you know, I kept

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<v Speaker 4>the first book off this off the press and got

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<v Speaker 4>the first stamp at Great American Ballpark in it on

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<v Speaker 4>April fifth of twenty twelve, and so, you know, I thought,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, this is this is a part of baseball history,

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<v Speaker 4>and you know, I'll contact the Hall of Fame and

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<v Speaker 4>see what they think. And so I called and got

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<v Speaker 4>ahold of a very nice lady, Cassidy Lynt, who is

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<v Speaker 4>the library director at the Hall of Fame. And I

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<v Speaker 4>told her I had the original first print, first book,

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<v Speaker 4>first stamp MLB Ballpark passport book, and if the Hall

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<v Speaker 4>of Fame would be interested in it. And then so

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<v Speaker 4>then she pertea to tell me she's like Tim bat

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<v Speaker 4>the Hall of Fame Committee Board on Historical Artifacts. It's

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<v Speaker 4>scheduled to have a meet on the I think it

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<v Speaker 4>was the first Wednesday in November. And she said, I'll

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<v Speaker 4>take this information about your books. She she knew about

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<v Speaker 4>the book the Hall of Fame has sold it from

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<v Speaker 4>the very beginning. They've been a part of it. And

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<v Speaker 4>she said, I'll see what they think, and she's all

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<v Speaker 4>get back to you. And so it was, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>several weeks that passed and and then I'm you know,

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<v Speaker 4>in the back of my mind, I had November fifth

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<v Speaker 4>on the calendar, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>So so on November seventh, I got the call and

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<v Speaker 3>uh yeah, and so you know, and I was nervous.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, my my heart kind dropped my stomach because

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<v Speaker 4>I I didn't I didn't think he would go anywhere,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, And so uh, she said, Jim, she said,

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<v Speaker 4>the board voted to have have your book put into

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<v Speaker 4>the Hall of Fame.

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<v Speaker 3>Unbelievable, so cool.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so I mean it's like a baseball player gave

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<v Speaker 4>him the call. But that's how you really felt like it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know, yeah it was. Yeah, it was so cool. Tim.

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<v Speaker 2>For for those wondering who I want to learn more

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<v Speaker 2>about it does and kind of explain the inventory here

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<v Speaker 2>would would if somebody wants to hit like minor league

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<v Speaker 2>ballparks or spring training ballparks. Is there a version of

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<v Speaker 2>that for the ballpark passport?

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, you you talked a little about before, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>the program has grown where we now have stamped in

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<v Speaker 4>two hundred and twenty four stadiums and and museums and

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<v Speaker 4>in ballparks all over the country. So we have the

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<v Speaker 4>MLB ball Park Passport Book, which is of course pro

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<v Speaker 4>visiting all thirty ballparks. It's a binder, so and the

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<v Speaker 4>most often question I get asked is about what there's

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<v Speaker 4>a new stadium built. It's a binder, so you can

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<v Speaker 4>add new stadium as the build. The book never becomes outdated.

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<v Speaker 4>We have a Game day Book which took the place

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<v Speaker 4>of the Red Season Passport book. That is for season

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<v Speaker 4>ticket holders and people who frequent, you know, multiple games,

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<v Speaker 4>so you can stamp every game you go to. And

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<v Speaker 4>we have the Spring training Passport, we have the minor

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<v Speaker 4>league Passport, and then then we have this the new

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<v Speaker 4>Baseball Attractions Passport that was created here about a year

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<v Speaker 4>and a half, which has fifty non MLB venues in it.

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<v Speaker 4>So the Jackie Robinson Museum, yeah, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

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<v Speaker 3>The list goes on and on all right, So.

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<v Speaker 2>This would be great, This would be great for the holidays,

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<v Speaker 2>A great stocking stuffer for a kid who's starting out

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<v Speaker 2>as a baseball fan or an older adult who's a

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<v Speaker 2>baseball fan. Tell listeners how they can find out more.

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<v Speaker 2>What's the website to get more information on the MLB

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<v Speaker 2>Ballpark passport.

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, it's an MLB Ballpark Passport dot com and it's

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<v Speaker 4>on there. We have an awesome Facebook group also that

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<v Speaker 4>for they want some real, live, you know, working information.

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<v Speaker 4>It's the Facebook group is Ballpark Stampeders, and it's a

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<v Speaker 4>wonderful group. They poster stamps from all over the country

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<v Speaker 4>every night, and I think now we have people coming

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<v Speaker 4>in from all over the world to ballgames with the book.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh it's just uh yeah. And we're small business. We

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<v Speaker 4>don't advertise at all, and so we we've been award

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<v Speaker 4>of mouth. And I appreciate you so much for you

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<v Speaker 4>having me on your program.

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<v Speaker 3>You got it when it started.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, man, those were great days. And I'm just so

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<v Speaker 2>happy and excited for you. And shout out to all

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<v Speaker 2>the stam Peters listening. Shout out to our guy Bill

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<v Speaker 2>Bray who's listening, and congrats on all this and and

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<v Speaker 2>keep it rolling and keep me posted on stuff unfolding,

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<v Speaker 2>all right, I sure will, brother, Thank you, Thanks Tim,

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<v Speaker 2>Take care