Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bass saying for Dodger.
Speaker 2: Talk, we're getting set for first pitch between the Dodgers
Speaker 2: and Pirates, and we're joined right now by one of
Speaker 2: the best national rioters in the country, that is USA
Speaker 2: Today's own Bob Nightingale.
Speaker 3: Bob, thanks a lot for the time, appreciate.
Speaker 4: It, my pleasure. Thanks, thanks as always, David.
Speaker 2: A little known fact, Bob Nightingale covered the Dodgers once
Speaker 2: upon a time for the La Times. What do you
Speaker 2: remember the most about your experience covering the Dodgers on
Speaker 2: a daily basis in the eighties and nineties.
Speaker 1: You know, I was actually living in northern San Diego
Speaker 1: and so traffic wasn't that bad. I went rigally with
Speaker 1: the La Times to cover the Potterres and the Angels
Speaker 1: and the Dodgers.
Speaker 4: So yeah, great time.
Speaker 1: It was a fun thing and there was nothing like
Speaker 1: Vero Beach.
Speaker 4: I still remember. It was a guy no one want
Speaker 4: to call his name. Out was suburban paper.
Speaker 1: So it was the lockout year, so it was actually
Speaker 1: a long spring evemember that the food was unbelievable.
Speaker 4: Vero Beach.
Speaker 1: You know, you're drinking every night and stuff. This guy
Speaker 1: gained forty pounds in spring training?
Speaker 3: Was that eighty one?
Speaker 4: No? No, this is a lockout for ninety four ninety five.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so you were you were stuck in the
Speaker 2: lockout at Vero Beach, Florida.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1: So, you know, had all the replacement players, Tommy holding
Speaker 1: court every day, and I just thought that was so cool.
Speaker 1: You know, you're doing your stories or someone asking for
Speaker 1: your what cocktail you want your dining. You know, there's
Speaker 1: Colfax in one chair, there's Drysdale. But you know, it
Speaker 1: was just a great time.
Speaker 2: The new generation only knows Eric Carrows as the broadcaster,
Speaker 2: but ninety four ninety three, when you were covering the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: Mike Piazza and Eric Carrows were the two biggest stars
Speaker 2: in LA at that time. What do you remember the
Speaker 2: most about covering Mike Piazza and Eric Carross the players
Speaker 2: with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, just had how much fun they used to have.
Speaker 1: I mean, they were the Golden Boys and Memra Boys.
Speaker 1: I think they lived together at that point in Manhattan Beach.
Speaker 4: And so yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 1: You know, remember going on the road with those guys
Speaker 1: and just it's like one big family. But yeah, tremendous guys.
Speaker 1: And then both guys were a blasphy around and it
Speaker 1: was it was it was a fun time. I mean
Speaker 1: they uh, you know, will never see those times again.
Speaker 1: Those a blast back then.
Speaker 3: Bob Night.
Speaker 2: Gail is our guest from USA today. You were with
Speaker 2: the Dodgers when they were in Arizona last week. What
Speaker 2: do you take away from your time being around the
Speaker 2: team and just the perception of the Dodgers around Major
Speaker 2: League Baseball?
Speaker 4: Just how deep they are. I mean, they've had all
Speaker 4: these injuries.
Speaker 1: You know, Lookie Betts has come back, you'll struggle a
Speaker 1: little bit.
Speaker 4: Obviously.
Speaker 1: Some guys haven't performed like they hoped. You know, they
Speaker 1: lose their snell and glass now and they don't blink. Uh,
Speaker 1: that's amazing, you know, like we talked about David, I mean,
Speaker 1: having you know, eleven twelve homegrown players is amazing and
Speaker 1: they haven't they haven't blinked. And uh, you know how
Speaker 1: many teams could survive losing this many players and you know,
Speaker 1: two fists or a starting rotation and say hey we're fine.
Speaker 4: And you know they given credit. I mean a lot
Speaker 4: of patients.
Speaker 1: I mean everbody one in Soasaki back in the minor leagues,
Speaker 1: at least in the bulletpin. They said, no, he'll be fine,
Speaker 1: He'll be fine, And sure enough, you know, he's pitching
Speaker 1: better than ever, Bob.
Speaker 2: We are witnessing maybe the greatest player of all time
Speaker 2: and maybe the greatest season of all time in show
Speaker 2: heo Tani. Is there anything more that can be added
Speaker 2: to what he's doing? Are are we failing to appreciate
Speaker 2: fully what we are watching in real time?
Speaker 1: I think we are. I mean, now we're thanking for granted,
Speaker 1: I mess them are. When he came over his first
Speaker 1: spring training, people said, oh, he's a bust, he's never
Speaker 1: going to do this, and uh, I remember covering the
Speaker 1: Dodgers with the Hideo Nomo and they said the same
Speaker 1: thing about Nomo. But just you know, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: each row a lot of times when the guy's come
Speaker 1: from Japan, it's just the first spring, it's filling out process,
Speaker 1: and the ones's lights come on, they turn it on
Speaker 1: and sure enough, I mean I was looking to fit
Speaker 1: way too much time looking up Babe Ruce best years
Speaker 1: in uh, you know, pitching and hitting, you know, and
Speaker 1: never did he win over you know, ten games and
Speaker 1: hit over twenty home runs. So we always say, oh,
Speaker 1: best player, says s Babe Ruth. Well maybe he's the
Speaker 1: best player ever, you know, and going past Babe.
Speaker 2: Rooth, Yeah, I mean, you can't even compare the talent
Speaker 2: level that Otani is facing each and every night as
Speaker 2: a hitter compared to who Babe Ruth faced as a
Speaker 2: hitter when he was playing.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and it was stunned.
Speaker 1: You know, when the game last week when he pitched
Speaker 1: against the Diamondbacks, he was on base five times. I
Speaker 1: think he was on you know, I don't remember him
Speaker 1: going the dugout maybe once. And I was talking mcguil
Speaker 1: Rojas after that game he says, I don't think he
Speaker 1: sat down the entire time, but just his energy level,
Speaker 1: I thought for sure when he was, you know, hang
Speaker 1: on the bases and having to rush in and you know,
Speaker 1: grab his glove, that wear him out.
Speaker 4: Never did.
Speaker 2: Have you ever seen a player as focused and determined
Speaker 2: as Otani, not only for himself, but on nights that
Speaker 2: he pitches, it seems like he is going to wield
Speaker 2: the Dodgers.
Speaker 4: To a win. Yeah, he just saw focused. The preparation
Speaker 4: and routine.
Speaker 1: You know, I remember a couple of times the clubhouse
Speaker 1: will be empty and he's just there by himself, you know,
Speaker 1: looking at video, looking at his phone, studying things like that.
Speaker 4: But I like what Dave Roberts.
Speaker 1: Said when he says, you know, he's just so focused
Speaker 1: about not giving up a run. And I think the
Speaker 1: nationally Cy Young race, it could be the greatest nlcy
Speaker 1: Young race, or any any race for that matter. And
Speaker 1: for him to say, you know what, I can't have
Speaker 1: one bad game or I may lose this thing shot
Speaker 1: out to Misrowski or someone else in a uh and
Speaker 1: here he is, or you know Sanchez from Philadelphia, and uh,
Speaker 1: it's amazing how good this cra is. And we thought
Speaker 1: we'll never see anything like this since Bob Gibson. But
Speaker 1: this guy's put up Bob Gibson type.
Speaker 2: He ra, Hey, Bob, what would it take for Otani
Speaker 2: to get the vote over at Christopher Sanchez or Jacob
Speaker 2: Mizerowski to win the Cy Young.
Speaker 3: He's never won that award? What would it take?
Speaker 1: I think it's staggering era certainly below two, maybe below
Speaker 1: you know one six, something like that. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: certainly blow one will do it. So he's not gonna
Speaker 1: have the innings, those two wetter guys. You know, he's,
Speaker 1: you know, gonna be on the edge of qualifying. He's
Speaker 1: got to make sure to qualify to win the ER title.
Speaker 1: And I think Dave Roberts says to be cognizant of that,
Speaker 1: to make sure he gets a horn sixty two winnings,
Speaker 1: so he qualifies.
Speaker 4: As long as he does that, you know, if he.
Speaker 1: Wins the ER Towl, particularly a low him ount, I
Speaker 1: like his chances over Misrowski, you know, and Sanchez as well,
Speaker 1: then we'll see about those guys can keep it up,
Speaker 1: you know, mis Roskiet throwing that hard, that many pitches,
Speaker 1: you know, you almost you know, parash your fingers. I
Speaker 1: got to hope this kid never gets hurt.
Speaker 2: Well, it's not out of the realm of possibility. It's
Speaker 2: not out of the question for Otani to win the
Speaker 2: cy Young and MVP, because Clayton Kershaw did that not
Speaker 2: so long ago in twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1: No, absolutely, you know, justin berlinerd did it too, and
Speaker 1: I think right now he's by far the runaway winner
Speaker 1: for the MVP.
Speaker 4: I don't think there's any many close to him.
Speaker 3: MVP wise, not even Matt Olsen.
Speaker 1: I don't, uh, you know, Matt Olson's had a great year,
Speaker 1: but still there's just a big gap between and of
Speaker 1: course the catcher ball when it was doing great too
Speaker 1: in Atlanta until he got hurt, and he'll take some
Speaker 1: boats away.
Speaker 4: But no, I think it's a big, big gap. I
Speaker 4: really do.
Speaker 3: Well. We got long ways to go between now and then.
Speaker 2: And I know we're all talking about the trade deadline,
Speaker 2: but that's not until August second, either, Bob.
Speaker 4: We'll see what happens.
Speaker 1: I mean, everyone's looking at Ery schooball and everyone's going
Speaker 1: to have to rise in the Dodgers may asking Dave Roberts,
Speaker 1: what would happen if you guys signed or not signed,
Speaker 1: but you guys had traded for school ball, he goes
Speaker 1: this place with go berserk.
Speaker 4: It would baseball fians to go wild.
Speaker 3: Yeah they would.
Speaker 2: And you had a great column, two great columns last
Speaker 2: week about the Dodgers and putting into context what they've
Speaker 2: done and also oral Herscheis are still living good with
Speaker 2: that record of fifty nine consecutive scoreless innings. Bob, thanks
Speaker 2: a lot for the time, and look forward to seeing
Speaker 2: you in the postseason with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I've covered every postseason game since the
Speaker 1: COVID year of SO two thousand and one on, so
Speaker 1: look forward to it as always.
Speaker 4: David, thank you,