Speaker 1: Well, last weekend was a great celebration weekend for Rick Monday,
Speaker 1: who fifty years ago saved the American Flag at Dodger
Speaker 1: Stadium wearing the Cubs uniform. Not only was Rick celebrated
Speaker 1: at Dodger Stadium, but he's going to be celebrated the
Speaker 1: rest of the summer in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame as the American flag that Rick Monday brought
Speaker 1: back to Dodger Stadium is now at the Baseball Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame and is going to be part of the
Speaker 1: country's two hundred and fiftieth celebration out there in Cooperstown.
Speaker 1: And right now is a man that was joined at
Speaker 1: the hip with Rick Monday last weekend at Dodgers Stadium,
Speaker 1: and he's the man, a great eight one eight man
Speaker 1: from Chatsworth High School, and he is now the president
Speaker 1: of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the one and only
Speaker 1: Josh Rawitch. Josh, thanks a lot for the time, and
Speaker 1: it was great to see you back at Dodger Stadium
Speaker 1: last weekend.
Speaker 2: Thanks David. I love being a love representing the eight
Speaker 2: one eight, but more Inportant. I love being back that
Speaker 2: way and seeing all of you guys, So thank.
Speaker 1: You, Josh. You've been around Rick Monday a long time.
Speaker 1: Had you ever come that close to the American flag
Speaker 1: that he saved back in nineteen seventy six?
Speaker 2: No, I really hadn't. Honestly, It's funny. I was thinking
Speaker 2: about this recently the twenty five years ago when he
Speaker 2: was celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of this incredible moment.
Speaker 2: I was a writer for Dodgers dot Com and I
Speaker 2: wrote about it for the Dodgers' website. So pretty crazy
Speaker 2: that quarter century later. Was part of the team that
Speaker 2: transported it back here, and it's now in our vault,
Speaker 2: getting ready for exhibit here coming up very soon in Cooperstown.
Speaker 1: Can you share with us for baseball fans that are
Speaker 1: coming out for the inauguration weekend for the new class
Speaker 1: of this year's Baseball Hall of Fame and throughout the
Speaker 1: entire summer the celebration of America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean this, and this exhibit is a big
Speaker 2: focal point for that. But all summer long, we'll be
Speaker 2: celebrating America two fifty and it kicks off over Memorial
Speaker 2: Day weekend. Actually going to play in our Military Classic,
Speaker 2: which is a tribute to service and sacrifice. Obviously, he's
Speaker 2: a very proud veteran. So we have several former Big
Speaker 2: leaguers who are veterans that are going to be playing
Speaker 2: in this game, and many players who played in the
Speaker 2: Big Leagues who either had family members who served or
Speaker 2: supported the troops. So it all starts Memorial Day weekend
Speaker 2: and all sorts of cool events here, and we're also
Speaker 2: going to have the opening of a different exhibit that weekend,
Speaker 2: the Rules of Baseball, which go back to eighteen fifty seven,
Speaker 2: literally the document that from the Convention of eighteen fifty
Speaker 2: seven that codified baseball rules. So all sorts of cool
Speaker 2: stuff for people to see here in Cooperstown. And then
Speaker 2: he'll be back again Hall of Fame weekend in late
Speaker 2: July to be honored once again for his dedication to
Speaker 2: raising awareness for military causes and for that move fifty
Speaker 2: years ago that saved the flag at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. And when you talk about having the rules
Speaker 1: of baseball, were those written by Alexander Cartwright? What are
Speaker 1: the rules of baseball? What do they look like?
Speaker 2: So it really is in a way almost like a
Speaker 2: constitution document. If you go to the Smithsonian or you
Speaker 2: go to one of the museums in DC and you
Speaker 2: see behind the really special glass. These were basically about
Speaker 2: about fifteen pages or so that came out of the
Speaker 2: Knickerbocker convention in fifty seven. So it wouldn't have been Kartwright.
Speaker 2: It would have been a group of people who were
Speaker 2: part of the New York Knickerbockers, and they got together
Speaker 2: in February of fifty seven to try to start to
Speaker 2: figure out, Hey, which rules we want to play by?
Speaker 2: We all had There's a lot of different ways the
Speaker 2: game is being played. And there's a gentleman in San
Speaker 2: Diego named Hayden Trubet who bought these rules about ten
Speaker 2: years ago or so and is loaning them to us
Speaker 2: for the next five years. So rick flag is only
Speaker 2: on display this summer. The rules of Baseball will be
Speaker 2: out for the next five years here in Cooperstown, alongside
Speaker 2: all sorts of other really cool stuff to come see
Speaker 2: and do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame is definitely
Speaker 1: a pilgrimage every baseball fans should take at some point
Speaker 1: in time in their lives. And we're joined right now
Speaker 1: by the president of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Josh
Speaker 1: Rawitch and Josh Gosh. Obviously, the country's two hundred and
Speaker 1: fiftieth birthday did not sneak up on you. How long
Speaker 1: did it take to work with Rick and his wife,
Speaker 1: Barbara Lee to plan on getting the American flag to
Speaker 1: honor not only America's birthday but the anniversary of him
Speaker 1: saving the flag fifty years ago.
Speaker 2: Well, you're right, it's not an easy process, and they've
Speaker 2: been very careful. It really has never left their possession
Speaker 2: since this happened fifty years ago. So I think I
Speaker 2: may have first mentioned it to him maybe three years
Speaker 2: ago or so, I think when the Dodgers had the
Speaker 2: All Star Game maybe, or at some point a couple
Speaker 2: summers ago. And then it was last spring training. We
Speaker 2: sat down for dinner and I kind of explained to
Speaker 2: him the care and the tension of detail that our
Speaker 2: team puts into making sure that it's safe, it's secure,
Speaker 2: that it's in proper humidity and light and temperature controlled casing.
Speaker 2: So once I think he realized he and Barbara Lee
Speaker 2: understood just how closely we'd look after it, they started
Speaker 2: thinking more seriously about it. And then just I guess
Speaker 2: it was late last fall, Rick was honored by the
Speaker 2: Bob Feller acta valor foundation in DC, and I went
Speaker 2: to that event and they let us know that they
Speaker 2: were on board. They were going to let us bring
Speaker 2: this thing to Cooper's town. And honestly, everybody here is
Speaker 2: so excited because it's just it's so rare to have
Speaker 2: something that unique. I mean, it's just such a We
Speaker 2: have an incredible collection of baseballs and bats and gloves
Speaker 2: and all these amazing things from Dodger history and baseball history,
Speaker 2: but this is this is about as singular and artifact
Speaker 2: as you can get. There is nothing else like this,
Speaker 2: and to have it here this summer is going to
Speaker 2: be really cool.
Speaker 1: When can fans start to see it? When can they
Speaker 1: start to see this exhibit that you and the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame have put together this summer? What's the first
Speaker 1: date of you know, fans wanting to plan a trip
Speaker 1: out there to see all this.
Speaker 2: So the Memorial Day weekend in May May twenty second, third, fourth,
Speaker 2: We'll open the exhibit on Friday night in a little
Speaker 2: bit of a private event, and then Saturday, which is
Speaker 2: the day of the Classic fans are still tickets available
Speaker 2: for that, So if people wanted to make a trip
Speaker 2: for a Memorial Day weekend, I highly recommend it. It's
Speaker 2: a really cool time and it'll run all the way
Speaker 2: through Labor Day weekend. That's usually our kind of busy
Speaker 2: season here in Cooperstown, and then we'll eventually return it
Speaker 2: to him as we get into the fall. But if
Speaker 2: you want to see the flag, you got to come
Speaker 2: this summer. And then there's all sorts of other amazing
Speaker 2: Dodger stuff here. I mean you can imagine every year
Speaker 2: we collect artifacts from the World Series. So there's a
Speaker 2: whole exhibit focused on the twenty five championship with all
Speaker 2: sorts of cool things from Miguel Rojas and Otani and
Speaker 2: Freddie and then you just go back and timed Jackie
Speaker 2: Robinson and Campanella, Drysdale, Cofax, just artifacts from Dodger history
Speaker 2: that would really blow Dodger fans' minds if they came
Speaker 2: out here to see it.
Speaker 1: And to get tickets to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: It's simple. Baseballhall dot Org is where you can make
Speaker 1: all your plans. And you brought up last year's World Series.
Speaker 1: We did see you during the World Series last year.
Speaker 1: What do you have from Miguel Rojas since he was
Speaker 1: the hero to save the season.
Speaker 2: Well, it's actually an amazing story. We really were a
Speaker 2: little hesitant to ask for his bat, and had Freddie
Speaker 2: had already confirmed that he was giving us his bat
Speaker 2: from the eighteen eighty Games. So we actually asked Rojas
Speaker 2: for his batting gloves and he had said, you know,
Speaker 2: I promise these to the patron saint in Venezuela. And
Speaker 2: I said, well, we can't possibly ask you to take
Speaker 2: it back from that promise, and he said, what if
Speaker 2: I gave you the bat, which is really pretty special.
Speaker 2: So we do have here on display Miguel's bat, alongside
Speaker 2: jerseys from Shohey and Dave Roberts, and the glove that
Speaker 2: Mookie used to turn the final double play off, all
Speaker 2: sorts of cool stuff from not only that World Series,
Speaker 2: but obviously the one before it, all of the Dodgers Championships,
Speaker 2: the last out ball from nineteen eighty eight, all just
Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, a Dodger fan who comes here is
Speaker 2: going to have an amazing time and play some golf,
Speaker 2: get on the lake and see America's most perfect village.
Speaker 1: No doubt, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New
Speaker 1: York is certainly a destination spot for every Dodger fan,
Speaker 1: especially since history has been made seemingly every night the
Speaker 1: last few years. And Josh, how about the two guys
Speaker 1: that are going into the Hall of Fame part of
Speaker 1: this year's class, Andrew Jones, but specifically Jeff Kent, who
Speaker 1: you were around a lot when you were working for
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. Is it surreal to be in contact with
Speaker 1: Jeff Kent and be the guy that is the president
Speaker 1: of the Baseball Hall of Fame when he's being inducted.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good word for it. I'm more than anything,
Speaker 2: We're just happy for these guys. I mean, you spend
Speaker 2: your whole career and in Jeff's case, arguably, if not
Speaker 2: the greatest offensive second basement of the last fifty years,
Speaker 2: certainly one of the top two or three to see
Speaker 2: him get get elected. And he really wasn't expecting it.
Speaker 2: I mean, he really honestly was very surprised when we called.
Speaker 2: And I think that makes it even more special. He
Speaker 2: had kind of moved on to totally different life in
Speaker 2: Texas and now all of a sudden, he said. All
Speaker 2: these baseball memories come rushing back from the Dodgers and
Speaker 2: the Giants, from the Astros, the Mets, the Indians. He
Speaker 2: played for a number of teams, and Andrew obviously is
Speaker 2: really well known in Atlanta, but he did spend that
Speaker 2: one year in Los Angeles, and these guys are just
Speaker 2: thrilled as well as Carlos Speltron. Lots of great memories
Speaker 2: for him in the game and one of the better
Speaker 2: center fielders and switch hitters of all time. So it's
Speaker 2: gonna be a great class, it's gonna be a great
Speaker 2: summer out here, and truly just honored to be a
Speaker 2: part of it.
Speaker 1: It'll be more surreal for you when number twenty two
Speaker 1: is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Josh, that's when
Speaker 1: life will really collide for you.
Speaker 2: Well, I've had a lot of friends who've already told
Speaker 2: me they've started making plans and they want to stay
Speaker 2: at our house. But yeah, being there the day that
Speaker 2: he was drafted and now potentially seeing him in a
Speaker 2: few years make his way into the Hall of Fame
Speaker 2: here would really be pretty special, pretty unique.
Speaker 1: No doubt I will be there, but I won't stay
Speaker 1: at your house.
Speaker 2: Josh, thanks buddy. We'll work on a hotel room for
Speaker 2: you somewhere far away.
Speaker 1: That sounds good. That's exactly the way he would want it. Josh,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for the time. Looking forward to seeing
Speaker 1: how this exhibit comes together beginning Memorial Day weekend. Rick
Speaker 1: Monday the American flag that he saved fifty years ago
Speaker 1: part of an incredible exhibit at Baseball's Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: in Cooperstown. And the man that has the vision for
Speaker 1: all this is the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: Josh Rawitch. Josh, thanks a lot, and we look forward
Speaker 1: to seeing you soon.
Speaker 2: Thanks Dave being on and talking to you guys. Take
Speaker 2: care all right.
Speaker 1: Baseballhall dot org is where you can get all your tickets,
Speaker 1: set up your whole trip for the Baseball Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame