Speaker 1: This is off season Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: Get in on the show by calling eight six six
Speaker 2: eight seven hashtag Dodger Talk and now your host, David Basse.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Dodger Talk, one of two shows we have
Speaker 1: for you this week. David Vase with you until eight
Speaker 1: o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: Our next show is going to be Thursday night at
Speaker 1: seven o'clock. Miguel Rojas and Max Munsey are going to
Speaker 1: join us on Thursday night tonight. We've got a great
Speaker 1: show for you because I feel like people are ignoring
Speaker 1: the fact that in Major League Baseball games this year
Speaker 1: there is going to be a significant rule addition technology wise,
Speaker 1: as the automated strike zone is coming to Major League
Speaker 1: Baseball games, not just spring training games, but actual major
Speaker 1: league games. It is being implemented where a batter, the catcher,
Speaker 1: or the pitcher can challenge balls and strikes twice. You
Speaker 1: got two challenges for nine innings, and from my understanding,
Speaker 1: if it goes extras, you'll be given one extra challenge.
Speaker 1: So if you challenge a pitch and you're wrong, you
Speaker 1: lose that challenge. There is no going back, and that's
Speaker 1: happening this year, and I have some questions, so I
Speaker 1: thought i'd bring in our resident umpire who has been
Speaker 1: on the show a few times, and that is thirty
Speaker 1: year Major League veteran umpire Brian Gorman, who lives in
Speaker 1: the Knejo Valley and also is a Major League Baseball observer. Basically,
Speaker 1: he's watching the umpires the games and kind of just
Speaker 1: gathering information on how umpires do individually as a crew.
Speaker 1: He's out at Dodger Stadium virtually every home game, so
Speaker 1: I've gotten to know Brian Gorman, who actually was the
Speaker 1: home played umpire the day that Sean Green had his
Speaker 1: four home run nineteen total base record setting day back
Speaker 1: in two thousand and one. So Brian Gorman is going
Speaker 1: to educate us and maybe clarify some of the questions
Speaker 1: I have about this automated strike zone that's coming to
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball. Brian Gorman is going to join us
Speaker 1: at seven point thirty. We have phone lines open at
Speaker 1: eight six, six, nine, eighty seven, two five seventy. Did
Speaker 1: you even know this was coming into play? And basically
Speaker 1: it's trying to generate more offense where the edges of
Speaker 1: the strike zone may be eliminated to try to force
Speaker 1: pitchers to come more into the strike zone and not
Speaker 1: risk getting a fifty to fifty call going against them.
Speaker 1: Did you even know the automated strike zone is coming
Speaker 1: into play in twenty twenty six major league games? I
Speaker 1: feel like many of you were not aware of this,
Speaker 1: and that's why I wanted to shine a spotlight on
Speaker 1: it tonight, especially with Major League umpire Brian Gorman at
Speaker 1: seven point thirty. And did you see it in spring training?
Speaker 1: Did you like it in spring training? Major League Baseball
Speaker 1: in the Commissioner's office is telling us that you wanted this,
Speaker 1: You gave good reviews to this in spring training last year.
Speaker 1: And my biggest question is David vasse strike zones a
Speaker 1: lot different than Ronnie Fossio's strike zone. And if you
Speaker 1: remember watching Ricky Henderson, he was whatever height he was,
Speaker 1: but when he got into the batter's box, he was
Speaker 1: dramatically bent over at the waist, so his height was
Speaker 1: a lot different in the batter's box than it was
Speaker 1: standing straight up in left field. Have they accounted for that?
Speaker 1: We'll ask Brian Gorman eight six six two five seventy
Speaker 1: is the phone number coming up in fifteen minutes. I'll
Speaker 1: let you know about a former fan favorite that is
Speaker 1: back on the open market that could find his way
Speaker 1: back to the Dodgers. But I wanted to tell you
Speaker 1: about my day. You may have heard Petros and Money
Speaker 1: mock me for speaking to a fraternity, but you know,
Speaker 1: I have preconceived notions about frat guys and they're usually accurate.
Speaker 1: Look at Matt money Smith frat guy, Bullseye one hundred
Speaker 1: percent frat guy. I'm sure you're not shocked knowing that.
Speaker 1: But anyway, I talked to a group of very nice
Speaker 1: fraternity men. The Sigma Chi Alumni Los Angeles chapter today
Speaker 1: held a small gathering for Joe Davis, who was part
Speaker 1: of that fraternity at his college in Wisconsin, a very
Speaker 1: small college. And I love how he said it because
Speaker 1: he kind of tore down the walls as why he
Speaker 1: joined this fraternity because he did play football there and
Speaker 1: it was kind of a fraternity for athletes at this college.
Speaker 1: But anyway, the story goes back a year ago where
Speaker 1: I was contacted by a member of the Sigma Ui
Speaker 1: Los Angeles chapter that wanted to honor Joe with this
Speaker 1: honor of being a significant sig and I guess to
Speaker 1: be able to get that honor, somebody has to write
Speaker 1: a letter to vouch for the person's character. And I've
Speaker 1: known Joe Davis since the first day he started with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers and have never wavered in liking him. I
Speaker 1: like Joe Davis personally, and also he's pretty good at
Speaker 1: what he does, right. I like him and I respect
Speaker 1: him because he's always prepared. He puts in the work,
Speaker 1: and he's the best baseball broadcaster right now in America,
Speaker 1: arguably top five. We all have our biases, but I
Speaker 1: would put him in the top five. How about that,
Speaker 1: We'll agree. But for a guy that took over for
Speaker 1: the legend, not just a legend, but the legend. Not
Speaker 1: too many people succeed as much as Joe Davis has succeeded,
Speaker 1: and a lot of that has to go to his characters.
Speaker 1: So I was more than happy to speak on his behalf,
Speaker 1: write that letter on his behalf. And it was a
Speaker 1: good group of guys. And Patrick Muldoon, legendary actor, Daytime Star,
Speaker 1: also Saturday Morning Cameo Star. He did play Jeff at
Speaker 1: the Attic who stole Kelly Kapowski away from Zach Morris. Ronnie,
Speaker 1: this is legit stuff. If you want to see my
Speaker 1: picture with Muldoon, who is an LA native, grew up
Speaker 1: in sam Pedro, knows the Papadakus as well, loves the Dodgers,
Speaker 1: is going to join us on Dodger Talk next week.
Speaker 1: You can find our photo with Muldoon at officially vass
Speaker 1: on Instagram. But nonetheless, there was a Q and a
Speaker 1: session after Joe made his small, short speech, which we
Speaker 1: all appreciated. And a guy that has accomplished as much
Speaker 1: as he has and is in the middle of his
Speaker 1: career doesn't need to go on with a speech speech speech.
Speaker 1: Only guys that have not accomplished a lot need to
Speaker 1: remind us how much they've done. But nonetheless, there was
Speaker 1: a Q and a session after, And I don't know
Speaker 1: it sparked something inside of me because multiple people at
Speaker 1: that luncheon were asking him how does it feel to
Speaker 1: fill the shoes of Vin Scully? And I don't know
Speaker 1: that just rubbed me the wrong way because it's not
Speaker 1: like it's his first year. I think this is his
Speaker 1: tenth eleventh year doing this since then retired. And my
Speaker 1: thing is, and I think we all have to come
Speaker 1: to that conclusion, nobody is ever going to be Vin Scully.
Speaker 1: Once you come to that realization, I truly believe you'll
Speaker 1: appreciate Joe Davis as much as you should. And at
Speaker 1: that luncheon, I said, you know what, it's at the
Speaker 1: point now that when Joe Davis isn't calling games, we're saying,
Speaker 1: is that person good enough to fill his chair? When
Speaker 1: Joe Davis is not calling a Dodger, Fox eleven or
Speaker 1: Fox Sports game, that guy has to fill Joe Davis's chair.
Speaker 1: And I just wanted to share with you some of
Speaker 1: the moments that Joe Davis has called in the last
Speaker 1: three years. And the final call is not even a
Speaker 1: Dodger call. It's one of my favorite Joe Davis's call
Speaker 1: from the twenty twenty three NLCS Bryce Harper's humongous home run.
Speaker 1: So just to remind you how good Joe is, here's
Speaker 1: a reminder. Here's the O two pitch bounces coming up.
Speaker 3: Stabat that chap you dona come out? The Dodgers stand
Speaker 3: tall head when called du back, titles.
Speaker 4: Taylor the Tyne run or says deliveries prevent hits about.
Speaker 3: Right field, sees gun jibby mate junny Game one of
Speaker 3: the World Series, drilled on the field in deep held
Speaker 3: con no way the girl Rojas.
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts playst gun the guy haven't had a head
Speaker 1: in a month.
Speaker 3: Hit of the ninth thirty of Game seven, he said,
Speaker 3: a tiny home run.
Speaker 1: I'm a seven pitch Shepherd gets some of.
Speaker 3: Their little seventh fail doctors save.
Speaker 1: Those are just a few of the highlights of the
Speaker 1: big calls Joe Davis has had on a national stage
Speaker 1: in the last three years, and thankfully a lot of
Speaker 1: them are Dodger calls. But that Phillies, Diamondbacks NLCS, Joe
Speaker 1: Davis made me want to watch it. And that call
Speaker 1: that Bryce Harper home run to me, when you say
Speaker 1: Joe Davis is probably the second or first call that
Speaker 1: comes to mind, right after his call of Freddie Freeman's
Speaker 1: walk off Grand Slam in Game one of the twenty
Speaker 1: four World Series. So my point is, and this got
Speaker 1: stirred up around the parade time and World Series. Look,
Speaker 1: when Joe calls a die and them being in the
Speaker 1: World Series and everybody having a lot of jealousy and
Speaker 1: envy of the Dodgers, He's going to take the brunt
Speaker 1: of it. He's never going to win, and Joe buck
Speaker 1: faced the same thing. One team's fan base believes that
Speaker 1: he's a homer for the other and vice versa, and
Speaker 1: that just comes with the job. But I love Vin Scully.
Speaker 1: I will keep Vin Scully's calls alive on Dodger Talk
Speaker 1: as long as I'm doing it, no matter what day
Speaker 1: of the week it is. But once you come to
Speaker 1: the realization that there is never going to be another
Speaker 1: Vin Scully and you can enjoy his calls all you want.
Speaker 1: Joe is one of, if not the best, of the
Speaker 1: current broadcasters in baseball right now. And don't let Mad
Speaker 1: Dog Russo know that he was at FanFest hugging it
Speaker 1: up with other players. But my point to all that
Speaker 1: him hosting the parade maybe a little too soon for
Speaker 1: everybody else. The World Series was over, he wasn't calling
Speaker 1: it anymore. He went back to being the Dodger broadcaster,
Speaker 1: and in fact, he was the Fox Sports broadcaster before
Speaker 1: he was the Dodger broadcaster. So I just wanted to
Speaker 1: set the record straight on all that. I never talk
Speaker 1: about Joe but today you know that was my experience
Speaker 1: in life, So just wanted to bring that up and
Speaker 1: as we Vin Scully generation fans would try to replicate
Speaker 1: his calls. Now kids ten eleven years old are doing
Speaker 1: the same thing, but it's Joe Davis's calls that they're
Speaker 1: replicating and trying to emulate. So just keep that perspective.
Speaker 1: And in my mind, since Chick Hern and Vin Scully retired,
Speaker 1: there's only two guys that have come close to you know,
Speaker 1: I don't want to say filling their shows, but I'll
Speaker 1: just say this period, the two best Laker and Dodger
Speaker 1: broadcasters since Chick and Vin retire, respectively, have been Spirodidis
Speaker 1: and Joe Davis. Period. My apologies if I offend anybody else,
Speaker 1: but that's that's facts, and that's the reason why the
Speaker 1: Sigma Chi Los Angeles chapter Jim Lawson asked me to
Speaker 1: write that letter. If I didn't like Joe Davis or
Speaker 1: didn't respect him, or didn't think he was a good guy, hey,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have showed up today, and first and foremost,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have even give I would have ignored that
Speaker 1: message that was sent to me via social media. So
Speaker 1: that's the record, and hopefully you appreciate all our guys.
Speaker 1: Tim Neverritt Stephen Nelson, Joe Davis, Rick Monday, who is
Speaker 1: the longest active tenured Dodger broadcaster. Rick Monday's been in
Speaker 1: the booth since nineteen ninety three. And this upcoming season
Speaker 1: is going to be the fiftieth anniversary that Rick Monday
Speaker 1: saved the American flag at Dodger Stadium. That's going to
Speaker 1: be celebrated. So be ready and we will all celebrate
Speaker 1: with Rick Monday. Eight six six, nine eighty seven two
Speaker 1: five seventy is the phone number when we continue on
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk your phone calls, and also I'll let you
Speaker 1: know which former Dodger is available. Will the Dodgers bring
Speaker 1: him home? We'll find out next right here on a
Speaker 1: five to seventy LA Sports. Coming up in fifteen minutes,
Speaker 1: you'll hear from former Major League umpire now MLB observer
Speaker 1: quote observer Brian Gorman, who in some ways works with
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball and he knows all the rules, He's
Speaker 1: briefed on all the rules and certainly had command or
Speaker 1: he would not have lasted for thirty years. So Brian
Speaker 1: Gorman is going to come up at seven thirty tonight,
Speaker 1: and our next show is on Thursday night at seven o'clock,
Speaker 1: Miguel Rojas and Max Munsey are going to join us.
Speaker 1: Had a chance to catch up with them at Dodger Fest,
Speaker 1: so we'll share that conversation on Thursday night. And in
Speaker 1: case you missed any of our show, our three hour
Speaker 1: bonanza at Dodger Fest this past Saturday, you can find
Speaker 1: all three hours on the iHeartRadio app. Just find it
Speaker 1: under Dodger Talk. You should make Dodger Talk a preset
Speaker 1: and you can listen to us live every single game
Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app and Dodger Talk and AM five
Speaker 1: seventy LA Sports on the iHeartRadio app show Heo Tani,
Speaker 1: Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Roki Sasaki, they all joined us,
Speaker 1: and Dave Roberts also joined us. And some of the
Speaker 1: takeaways from Saturday, as far as newsworthy takeaways, was Freddy
Speaker 1: Freeman's not doing the Worm anymore. And he said publicly
Speaker 1: on the stage, not with us, but basically said what
Speaker 1: he has told me privately last year that he wants
Speaker 1: to play until forty and he wants to see how
Speaker 1: close he can get to three thousand hits. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's an important number for a guy that is considered
Speaker 1: one of the best hitters of our generation and certainly
Speaker 1: has Hall of Fame career and all over it. He
Speaker 1: has two more years left on his deal, including this
Speaker 1: upcoming season. I would love to see the Dodgers just
Speaker 1: extend Freddy Freeman. I know the CBA is expiring at
Speaker 1: the end of this year, but once that's all settled,
Speaker 1: I don't want Freddy Freeman going into twenty twenty seven
Speaker 1: as a lame duck player. Extend that guy make he
Speaker 1: is a legacy player. I understand right now may not
Speaker 1: be the right time, but going into twenty twenty seven,
Speaker 1: when it's all settled and the dust is settled after
Speaker 1: whatever happens when the CBA expires, Freddy Freeman should end
Speaker 1: his career with the Dodgers. I know everybody's starting to think, oh,
Speaker 1: it'd be great if he ended in Atlanta. Yeah, maybe
Speaker 1: if you're a Braves fan, But if you're a Dodger fan,
Speaker 1: it would be great if Freddy Freeman ended his career
Speaker 1: with the Dodgers. Because I hate to break this to
Speaker 1: all the Braves fan Braves fandom out there, Freddie Freeman's
Speaker 1: two most signature moments in his career are with the Dodgers. Sorry.
Speaker 1: I know he won a World Series championship with the
Speaker 1: Braves and hit a big home run against the Astros,
Speaker 1: But nothing's bigger than hitting the only walk off Grand
Speaker 1: Slam in a World Series game against the Yankees with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, and then hitting a walk off home run
Speaker 1: in an eighteen inning affair in last year's Game three. Sorry.
Speaker 1: If you're a Braves fan and Freddie Freeman ends his
Speaker 1: career the next four years as a Dodger, there's a
Speaker 1: real argument to be made that Freddie Freeman should go
Speaker 1: into Cooperstown with LA on his hat, not an A
Speaker 1: but a Dodgers cap on his hat if he finishes
Speaker 1: his career with the Dodgers. Now, don't get me started again.
Speaker 1: We already set our piece on Carlos Beltran. The cheater
Speaker 1: may can get into the Hall of Fame. I guess
Speaker 1: cheaters are accepted now in Cooperstown. Whether you say Barry
Speaker 1: Bonds cheated, well so did Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Beltran
Speaker 1: was proven to cheat. He's going in with a Mets cap,
Speaker 1: Jeff Kent's going in with the Mets Giants cap, and
Speaker 1: whoever else?
Speaker 2: Who?
Speaker 1: Who else? Oh, Andrew Jones, who in my opinion, is
Speaker 1: a marginal Hall of Famer going in with the Braves cap.
Speaker 1: If defenses mean so much in center field, then Jim
Speaker 1: Edmonds should be a Hall of Famer. How is Andrew
Speaker 1: Jones and Carlos Beltran in the Hall of Fame? But
Speaker 1: Steve Garvey's not and Morey Wills is not. Somebody has
Speaker 1: to explain that to me. One day, eight six six nine,
Speaker 1: eight seven, two five seventy is the phone number. Let's
Speaker 1: go out to Long Beach. David, You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: How you doing good, David? How are you great day today? David?
Speaker 1: Start to finish.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, well, you know, even though it's the off season,
Speaker 4: I appreciate you doing, you know, taking the time of
Speaker 4: doing this program. But I did want to comment on
Speaker 4: something you said about Vin Scully, you know, and Chick Hearn.
Speaker 4: I totally agree with you. They'll never be another Vinscully.
Speaker 4: They'll never be another Chick hern. And the good thing
Speaker 4: about them is whether the Dodgers were playing a bad
Speaker 4: game or if the Lakers were playing a bad game,
Speaker 4: they weren't afraid to call it as they saw, you know,
Speaker 4: and that's what made the game so enjoyable because they
Speaker 4: call it as they saw. They don't try to sugarcoat anything.
Speaker 1: You know, they keep it real one hundred percent. But
Speaker 1: you know what they I agree with you. They weren't homers,
Speaker 1: but you knew that they had the Lakers and Dodgers
Speaker 1: in their hearts. They never said we. Chick was a
Speaker 1: little more homer Ish than Vin Scully ever was. But
Speaker 1: that was Chick.
Speaker 2: That was.
Speaker 1: Everything that Chick was was great. And I learned from them.
Speaker 4: We all.
Speaker 1: I grew up listening to them, and that's why I'm
Speaker 1: a big believer and never sing we, and I never
Speaker 1: you know right now with the Dodgers. Have I ever
Speaker 1: put on the U, have I ever thrown a pitch?
Speaker 1: Have I ever tore up a knee? It's not we.
Speaker 1: If you're a broadcaster, it's the Dodgers. We all know
Speaker 1: Dodgers and people associated with the Dodgers have a rooting
Speaker 1: interest to a certain extent. But that's what Vin, Bob
Speaker 1: Miller and Chick Hern had. But they never were overtly Homers,
Speaker 1: and that's why we love them. And I think Joe
Speaker 1: Davis is similar to that.
Speaker 4: Totally agree with you, David thanks for the time, all.
Speaker 1: Right, thank you. David, and Rick Monday and Charlie Steiner
Speaker 1: are like that as well. I mean they've been a
Speaker 1: staying power for what twenty five years now they've been together.
Speaker 1: That's why I wouldn't say they ever replaced Vin Scully.
Speaker 1: They were there when Vin Scully was broadcasting. They never
Speaker 1: took over for Vin Scully except after the simulcast was
Speaker 1: over the first three innings. Let's go out to Mike
Speaker 1: in Hollywood. You're on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi.
Speaker 5: Mike, he did great to talk to you.
Speaker 4: Same listen.
Speaker 5: You were just talking about Andrew Jones in the Hall
Speaker 5: of Fame. I have been rankled for the last week.
Speaker 5: We can have him stay announced this. I know what
Speaker 5: he did his first twelve years of The Brave, and
Speaker 5: he had some really great moments, but I at his
Speaker 5: age thirty one season, I've just noticeded such a hall
Speaker 5: a drop off from a Hall of Fame player as
Speaker 5: what he did his here with the Dodgers. And maybe
Speaker 5: it's sour grapes on my part, but it just kills
Speaker 5: me to see that guy going to the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5: It was so horrible to watch live and in person.
Speaker 5: And I know you remember what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think one year should be held against
Speaker 1: a player if they're Hall of Fame worthy. But I
Speaker 1: just never thought Andrew Jones. See, I'm a small Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame type of guy. I'm not a big Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame guy. And Andrew Jones is in the big
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame like Harold Baines and Bill Mazeroski and
Speaker 1: now Carlos Beltran, Scott Rolling, all those guys shouldn't be
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame. I'm a small Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame type of guy. Sorry. And they keep changing the rules, right, Mike,
Speaker 1: they keep telling us peak six years. Really, when did
Speaker 1: we start hearing about that? Oh, because you wanted to
Speaker 1: change in the narrative. And if they put in Chase Uttley,
Speaker 1: and I love Chase Uttley, great guy, really good player.
Speaker 1: But if they put Chase Uttley in the Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: then there's no reason no. Mar Garcia Paras shouldn't be
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame either. Their numbers are similar,
Speaker 1: except Chase Uttley was a lifetime two seventy seven hitter,
Speaker 1: while Nomar won two batting titles and is a lifetime
Speaker 1: three thirteen hitter. So now they're trying to push for
Speaker 1: Chase Utley and changing the narrative for Chase Uttley.
Speaker 5: What Dave and you know what, it took so long
Speaker 5: for Jeff Kent to get in most home runs by
Speaker 5: a second baseman. Now he's finally going to get his due.
Speaker 1: It should have been in a long time ago.
Speaker 5: They keep yeah, they keep chasing. Oh it's this. Oh
Speaker 5: it's his defense. Oh it's this, It's that they keep
Speaker 5: changing the mirror. Just just make a call, you know.
Speaker 1: I thought, yeah, I'm not going until Kershaw's inducted. But Mike,
Speaker 1: I thought, Bob Costas said a great thing. We're getting
Speaker 1: into a very dangerous area of voting for the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame because we're getting to the point, well, if
Speaker 1: he's in, then why isn't he in? And when you
Speaker 1: do that, then all of a sudden, you're starting to
Speaker 1: lower the standard of players. And I think that's where
Speaker 1: the voters have gotten to, letting some of these players in,
Speaker 1: starting with Scott Roland.
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, that guy never feels like a Hall of
Speaker 5: Famer to me. I nothing against him. Had a great career,
Speaker 5: But can you tell the story of baseball without talking
Speaker 5: about Scott Rowland. Of course you can't.
Speaker 1: Yeah, just because I don't believe you're a Hall of
Speaker 1: Famer doesn't mean you had a really, really good career.
Speaker 1: People seem to get that twisted. Mike. I wish I
Speaker 1: had something to get you. You're a reasonable caller, call
Speaker 1: back any time.
Speaker 4: I talk to you.
Speaker 3: Day.
Speaker 1: All right, Mike, thank you. Yeah. I feel like we're
Speaker 1: getting into a big hall of fame. And what separated
Speaker 1: the Baseball Hall of Fame from the Football Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame and certainly the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame was
Speaker 1: that there was a little bit of a higher standard
Speaker 1: to be enshrined in Cooperstown. And now it's starting to
Speaker 1: become like the Pro Football Hall of Fame and certainly
Speaker 1: the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. Nobody allows more people
Speaker 1: in than the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. So uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's how I feel on it. And honestly, uh, if
Speaker 1: you start allowing some of these players to get in,
Speaker 1: you're taking the specialness away from the Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: and being and having a plaque there. Eight six six nine,
Speaker 1: eight seven two five seventy is the phone number coming
Speaker 1: up in five minutes. Brian Gorman is going to call in. Oh,
Speaker 1: here we go. All right, Before we go to break,
Speaker 1: I wanted to let you know what former Dodger is
Speaker 1: available again. Remember fan favorite Ben Rourtfitt who filled in
Speaker 1: for Will Smith so well, well, well, the Dodgers gave
Speaker 1: him a contract, but then there was a roster crunch
Speaker 1: and they had to take him off the forty man
Speaker 1: roster and try to get him through waivers. The Reds
Speaker 1: picked him up even with a one point two million
Speaker 1: dollars salary. Well, the Reds made it official, Sonny Huguenio
Speaker 1: Suarez to that one year, fifteen million dollar contract, Rortfit
Speaker 1: was designated for assignment. Ben Roortfitt is available, but still
Speaker 1: there is a waiver priority and the Dodgers' forty man
Speaker 1: roster is full right now, so they would have to
Speaker 1: clear a forty man spot, and also Rotfit would have
Speaker 1: to go through all the other teams. Feels like when
Speaker 1: you play for the Dodgers, even if your Ben Rohortfitt,
Speaker 1: other teams notice. So we'll see if he clears waivers
Speaker 1: and if the Dodgers bring him back. If not, Dalton
Speaker 1: Rushing more than capable, all right, Brian Gorman, Major League
Speaker 1: Umpire's gonna fill us in on this new automated strike
Speaker 1: zone that's coming into play in twenty twenty six. Don't
Speaker 1: go anywhere more Dodger Talk around the Corner on AM
Speaker 1: five seventy LA Sports. David Vasse Dodger Talk with you
Speaker 1: until eight o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy
Speaker 1: LA Sports. In case you missed any of our show
Speaker 1: from this past Saturday at Dodger Fest, you can find
Speaker 1: that on the iHeartRadio app. And our next show will
Speaker 1: be on Thursday night at seven o'clock and we'll share
Speaker 1: some of those interviews with you that we couldn't share
Speaker 1: on Saturday, including Max Munsey and Miguel Rojas. So you
Speaker 1: don't want to miss that show at seven o'clock with
Speaker 1: Max Munsey and Miguel Rojas. But like I mentioned in
Speaker 1: our last segment, there are going to be more changes
Speaker 1: to rules in Major League Baseball to basically generate more offense.
Speaker 1: And we saw it in spring training last year, the
Speaker 1: ABS system where the hitter or the catcher can challenge
Speaker 1: a ball or strike and you only have two per game,
Speaker 1: and talking to some guys that experienced this in the
Speaker 1: minor leagues. They believe it's going to force pitchers to
Speaker 1: come more into the strike zone. So we'll see how
Speaker 1: it plays out. But we are joined right now by
Speaker 1: one of Major League Baseball's observers. He certainly has observed
Speaker 1: a lot of baseball because he was an umpire in
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball for thirty seasons, three thousand, four hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty games. Umpired to be exact, and that is
Speaker 1: the one and only Brian Gorman. Brian, thanks a lot
Speaker 1: for the time, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: That's great to be on.
Speaker 1: So as we get closer to spring training, pitchers and
Speaker 1: catchers are reporting the day before Valentine's Day, I felt
Speaker 1: like this was a good night to remind fans that
Speaker 1: there are going to be more new nuances to the
Speaker 1: game of base ball. How do you feel about this
Speaker 1: ABS system from an umpire standpoint.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is this is going to be big this season.
Speaker 2: The biggest thing that I see about the ABS system
Speaker 2: is the number of challenges each team have two challenges
Speaker 2: per team for nine innings is really not that many,
Speaker 2: so you really have to be careful when you use them.
Speaker 2: So the strategy is really don't be so selfish in
Speaker 2: using one when you got nobody on and two outs
Speaker 2: and then you think a pitch is missed and you
Speaker 2: challenge it, and then you're wrong and you lose that challenge.
Speaker 2: Where you have a guy on second and third and
Speaker 2: one out, you might want to be you use that challenge.
Speaker 2: You don't want to lose it. So now the pitcher, catcher,
Speaker 2: and batter have to do it immediately. There's no delay
Speaker 2: and there's no signals from the dugout or anything like that.
Speaker 2: So the batter, pitcher and catcher have to challenge it
Speaker 2: immediately right after the pitch is called. So that that
Speaker 2: what's that even more strategy because you have to be
Speaker 2: careful when not to lose a challenge. So the situation
Speaker 2: is important, and you don't want to run out of
Speaker 2: challenges when it comes that you need one in the
Speaker 2: in the ninth inning, when you get some you're down
Speaker 2: a couple of runs and you have some guys on base.
Speaker 1: So just to be clear, you have two challenges for
Speaker 1: all nine innings. No challenges are going to be added
Speaker 1: in the ninth inning. What if extra innings occur.
Speaker 2: I think they have decided to maybe add a challenge
Speaker 2: if you still have your two challenges left. There's no
Speaker 2: change in it. But if you're out of challenges, you're
Speaker 2: thinking about adding a challenge. You if you if you
Speaker 2: have one challenge left and it's the top of the
Speaker 2: tenth inning, then you still have a challenge left. So
Speaker 2: the biggest thing is like, if you're right on a
Speaker 2: challenge and you get the call reversed, you keep that challenge.
Speaker 2: But there has to be a penalty or they would
Speaker 2: challenge every pitch for sure. So if you're wrong on
Speaker 2: the challenge and the and the umpire got it right,
Speaker 2: you're down to one challenge. So and so that's that's
Speaker 2: the strategy part of it.
Speaker 1: So we saw this in spring training last year. The
Speaker 1: spring training facilities that had you know, the video scoreboards,
Speaker 1: you would see where the pitch was and you would
Speaker 1: know pretty quickly. I know, you have to challenge quickly.
Speaker 1: How quickly is the process to keep the game moving,
Speaker 1: whether it's a ball or strike.
Speaker 2: That's the key. You have to do it immediately. So
Speaker 2: you have to be sure that the pitch was messed.
Speaker 2: If you just like, go that was closed, I'm going
Speaker 2: to challenge it, you might lose that challenge and you'll see.
Speaker 2: You know, the umpires are so good that, you know,
Speaker 2: people all realize this. Ninety five to ninety seven percent
Speaker 2: of the pitch is called are correct. So when you
Speaker 2: use your challenge, you're challenging you know, three percent of
Speaker 2: the calls of the pitches thrown that day. So you
Speaker 2: better be right if you want to if you want
Speaker 2: to save your challenges.
Speaker 1: That's the voice a veteran Major League baseball umpire Brian Gorman. Now, Brian,
Speaker 1: I've talked to players that have experienced the ABS system
Speaker 1: in the minor leagues, and the one thing they point
Speaker 1: out about this that may be a flaw is that
Speaker 1: David Vas say strike zone is different than let's say,
Speaker 1: Brian Gorman strike zone. Does this automated strike zone take
Speaker 1: into account, you know, different batting stances like let's say
Speaker 1: Ricky Henderson or Pete Rose compared to Cody Bellinger.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the formula that they came up with is going
Speaker 2: to be based on the player's height, where a percentage
Speaker 2: of the lower percentage of the strike zone is based
Speaker 2: on the on the player's height, and the upper percentage
Speaker 2: of the strike zone is based on the player's height.
Speaker 2: So it will change depending on the taller player as
Speaker 2: opposed to a shorter player. East and west doesn't change.
Speaker 2: It's still the seventeen inches. So the higher end of
Speaker 2: the strike zone and the lower end of the strike
Speaker 2: zone will be adjusted for each player.
Speaker 1: Now, when you say a player's height, I mean Pete
Speaker 1: Rose was whatever he was, Ricky Henderson was whatever he
Speaker 1: was standing tall, But once they got into the back
Speaker 1: box and had that exaggerated bend over batting stands, their
Speaker 1: height was significantly different. Are we talking about batting stands height?
Speaker 1: Are we talking what they're listed in your program?
Speaker 2: We're talking. We're talking about the player's height when discussing
Speaker 2: the strike zone as this, if he's swinging at the
Speaker 2: pitch like you know, if you're a player and you
Speaker 2: just stand straight up, that has nothing to do with
Speaker 2: your strike sound. Your strike zone is determined as you're
Speaker 2: trying to strike at the pitch, So it changes lower
Speaker 2: in the upper end, in the lower end because your
Speaker 2: knees don't go any lower. But as you as you
Speaker 2: strike and swing to hit the pitch, that's what determines
Speaker 2: your upper and lower of the strike zone. So this
Speaker 2: formula they came up with is you know they're gonna
Speaker 2: they're gonna go with it, so I hope it works.
Speaker 2: We'll see in spring training.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like there might be some tweaks during
Speaker 1: the season or is this the technology the system depending
Speaker 1: on you know, if players start to complain about what
Speaker 1: their actual strike.
Speaker 2: Zone is, right, it's gonna it's gonna be an adjustment
Speaker 2: for everybody because they're gonna there's gonna be players saying, no,
Speaker 2: you know, my strike zune's too high or my strikes
Speaker 2: onus too low. But this is the formula can't came
Speaker 2: up with, and you know they have the ability to
Speaker 2: tweak it. But you know that's that's much higher than
Speaker 2: my pay grade when those decisions are made.
Speaker 1: No doubt, no doubt. Brian Gorman is our guest. He's
Speaker 1: one of Major League Baseball's observers. He's at Dodgers Stadium
Speaker 1: every game, watching the games, observing the umpires and a
Speaker 1: guy that umpired three thy four hundred and thirty games. Now, Brian,
Speaker 1: I remember one spring training game that the Dodgers were
Speaker 1: playing and Austin Barnes, who is known to have a
Speaker 1: great awareness of the strike zone, challenge four consecutive pitches
Speaker 1: and got them correct all four if that happens in
Speaker 1: a major league game, how much do does the homeplate
Speaker 1: umpires start to question himself? Is that one of the
Speaker 1: unintended consequences of technology that all of a sudden a
Speaker 1: major league umpire may not have the confidence to call
Speaker 1: balls and strikes? Could an umpire go into a slump
Speaker 1: in that type of situation?
Speaker 2: Oh, without question? What I saw is I'm glad, I'm
Speaker 2: glad I'm retired when this happened. Yeah, it's like you
Speaker 2: get having, you know, first pitch of the game being challenged,
Speaker 2: and you lose it that you know that would hurt you,
Speaker 2: that that searcher, you know, it gets in your head
Speaker 2: and says, oh my god, I got you know, two
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty five more pitches to call. But yeah,
Speaker 2: we'll see. I think, I think, I hope that what
Speaker 2: I said earlier about the ninety five percent of the
Speaker 2: pitches are called correctly. But I'm sure, I'm sure we'll
Speaker 2: have a situation where where there's you know, six or
Speaker 2: seven challenges early in the game and then and they've
Speaker 2: all been overturned, and it might be a long It's
Speaker 2: going to be a long night for some umpires.
Speaker 1: So Brian on the flip side, this might be validation
Speaker 1: for Major league gumpire to say, hey, this is proof
Speaker 1: we don't need a Twitter account to show our scorecard
Speaker 1: that's out there publicly. This will be proof that we're
Speaker 1: pretty good at our job.
Speaker 2: Right. I think that's happened in the minor leagues. There
Speaker 2: were a lot of these challenges. I think only about
Speaker 2: half of them were successful, so that means that the
Speaker 2: other half the umpire got it right. So you're gonna
Speaker 2: see even the pitches that are missed are probably missed
Speaker 2: within an inch of the play. Either either they just
Speaker 2: catch the corner or they're just slightly off the corner
Speaker 2: and that pitch was challenged. You're not going to see
Speaker 2: the pitch that's, you know, fourth five inches outside that
Speaker 2: you know, because they you know. I'm sure it happens
Speaker 2: once in a while, but not not very often.
Speaker 1: So have you seen how this works in minor league games?
Speaker 2: Brian, Yeah, yeah, I went to I probably went to
Speaker 2: about two dozen minor league games last year, and it's
Speaker 2: pretty good. I thought it would slow the game down.
Speaker 2: It doesn't seem to slow game down. I think I've
Speaker 2: only the most I've seenallenge was probably like maybe five
Speaker 2: or six a game, So I don't know what the
Speaker 2: average is, but that's for a nine to any game.
Speaker 2: I don't think that's many. And about half of those
Speaker 2: who were successful and then the other half the umpire
Speaker 2: got it right. So it didn't really affect the game
Speaker 2: time or that, you know, the enthusiasm of the fans raiming,
Speaker 2: and it just kind of banded a little bit to
Speaker 2: the strategy and and you know, obviously the fans wanted
Speaker 2: and you know what the fans. What the fans want,
Speaker 2: they usually get. So that's, uh, that's why we all
Speaker 2: go out there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, people in spring training last year enjoyed it, so
Speaker 1: it wasn't It didn't get bad feedback. Fans enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: And Dalton Rushing, who had the unique experience of being
Speaker 1: a catcher and a hitter in the minor leagues with
Speaker 1: all this going on, was a little torn. When I
Speaker 1: asked him about this last year, he said, as a catcher,
Speaker 1: I don't really love it because pitchers are forced to
Speaker 1: throw more in the strike zone, But as a hitter,
Speaker 1: I love it for that same reason. Did you see
Speaker 1: more offense? Did you see the pitchers have to fill
Speaker 1: up the strike zone more.
Speaker 2: I think it's gonna spur a little offense, you know,
Speaker 2: in the long run, that's what they want. You know,
Speaker 2: they want more stolen bases. They love about two years
Speaker 2: ago they did a survey with all the players, and
Speaker 2: you know, the triple was the number one thing, and
Speaker 2: I think stolen bases was number two. So that's why
Speaker 2: they made the base the bases bigger, and they limited
Speaker 2: you know, step offs for pitchers. So people want to
Speaker 2: see runs. So that's why most of these these rules
Speaker 2: changes are.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Everybody loves the offense. Chicks dig
Speaker 1: the long ball, as they used to say when Mark
Speaker 1: McGuire was playing. Brian Gorman is our guest from the
Speaker 1: Canaje Valley. That's where he hangs out these days. But
Speaker 1: Brian Gorman's not only here to talk about the rules,
Speaker 1: He's here to talk about games at the umpire that
Speaker 1: involved Dodger history. Back in May of two thousand and two,
Speaker 1: Sean Green hit four home runs and he had a
Speaker 1: major league record nineteen total bases and our guy, Brian
Speaker 1: Gorman was behind the plate that day in Milwaukee. What
Speaker 1: do you remember about that day as a home plate
Speaker 1: umpire and unbiased observer in that situation.
Speaker 2: He had a pretty good evening. It's kind of funny
Speaker 2: because to be part of history and you don't have
Speaker 2: to do anything. Every time he got to the plate.
Speaker 2: I don't even think I called the pitch on him.
Speaker 2: He swung him four of it went over the fence.
Speaker 2: So but yeah, he had a pretty good night.
Speaker 1: Are you aware as an umpire about a player having
Speaker 1: that type of game or are you focused pitch to pitch?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't. I didn't know he broke the record
Speaker 2: until probably a couple of days later. Obviously, you know
Speaker 2: he's having a pretty good night when he hit the
Speaker 2: second home run, then he hit his third home run,
Speaker 2: then he hits his fourth home run. But apparently it
Speaker 2: was something like nineteen nineteen total bases and he had
Speaker 2: a couple guys on. I think he set the RBI
Speaker 2: record and all that stuff. So yeah, he at his
Speaker 2: weedies that boy.
Speaker 1: I'll ask you this question too. Milwaukee is known as
Speaker 1: a hitters ballpark, as Sean Green can attest to, if
Speaker 1: it's a hitters ballpark, does that mean it's easier to
Speaker 1: see the baseball and the strike zone If you're a
Speaker 1: home played umpire, in a ballpark like.
Speaker 2: That, Not really. I think most of most of the
Speaker 2: ballparks have a good we call it background where they
Speaker 2: have you know, the green or the dark dark blue
Speaker 2: background where dead center fields. You know, the hitters use
Speaker 2: it as well. And most of the time these ballparks
Speaker 2: are pretty uniform with the background. Sometimes on a day
Speaker 2: game like and Wriglarly, sometimes they take some of the
Speaker 2: tarps off and they put fans in there, and that
Speaker 2: might make it a little bit difficult to track a ball,
Speaker 2: track a pitch, But most of the ballparks have good backgrounds.
Speaker 4: All right. Good to know.
Speaker 1: Hey, Brian Gorman, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 1: You always educate us, and this is something fans should
Speaker 1: be prepared for because it's going to be part of
Speaker 1: their game during the regular season that matters. So it's
Speaker 1: just a good heads up on what's to come as
Speaker 1: we get closer to spring training. So thank you so much.
Speaker 1: How this develops, no doubt, and maybe I'll see you
Speaker 1: up there in the Canejo Valley soon.
Speaker 2: I will be out there. I'll be up in the
Speaker 2: press box. Have an ice cream?
Speaker 1: All right, sounds good, Brian, Thanks for.
Speaker 2: The time, all right, thank you there he goes.
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball veteran umpire, Brian Gorman. He's what they
Speaker 1: call now a Major League Baseball observer. Basically, he's there
Speaker 1: to monitor the umpires, seeing how the flow of the
Speaker 1: game goes. He's not a supervisor, but a Major League
Speaker 1: Baseball observer, a man that umpired three thousan four hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty games in his thirty years in Major League baseball.
Speaker 1: So thank you to Brian Gorman. Always great to see
Speaker 1: him at Dodgers Stadium. And look, this is something that
Speaker 1: you have to be aware of if you're a baseball fan,
Speaker 1: that the game is going to change for more offense.
Speaker 1: But like I mentioned to him, and it seems like
Speaker 1: he didn't even have the answer to the question about
Speaker 1: different stances requires different strike zones. I don't know what
Speaker 1: Ricky Henderson's height was standing up, but it certainly wasn't
Speaker 1: the same when he was at the plate because he
Speaker 1: had that bent over backwards kind of batting stance, bent
Speaker 1: over forwards batting stand similar to Pete Rose, who wasn't
Speaker 1: a big guy, but even smaller when he was in
Speaker 1: the batter's box. Think back to or think now to
Speaker 1: let's say Cody Bellinger, who stands straight up, he's a
Speaker 1: lot different. His strike zone is a lot different than
Speaker 1: Freddie Freeman's, who is a tall guy six' four six,'
Speaker 1: five but when he's in his, batting stance he is
Speaker 1: not six' four. OR six' five i believe that would
Speaker 1: be that would be the great example, of a player's
Speaker 1: height if the player's height is going to, determine, Their
Speaker 1: Strike zone well freddy freeman's height in the media guide
Speaker 1: and in the program and online is A Lot different than.
Speaker 1: Freddie freeman's strike zone when he's bent at the knees
Speaker 1: and basically two or three inches, squatted towards the ground
Speaker 1: his strike zone is a lot different than it would be,
Speaker 1: standing up and Look It sounded like brian gorman had
Speaker 1: the same questions but obviously doesn't want to get In
Speaker 1: Hot Water with major league, baseball because he said if
Speaker 1: you go back to, listen to that interview that's, above
Speaker 1: his pay grade and going back the, last couple of
Speaker 1: years even major league players that were on rehab assignment, would,
Speaker 1: tell me that yeah, it's a great idea but they
Speaker 1: still haven't. Perfected everybody's Strike Zone what is. Jock peterson's
Speaker 1: Strike Zone what is? Max Munsey's strike zone because munsey
Speaker 1: bends his knees quite a, Bit at the plate so
Speaker 1: whatever it is height is when he's being, measured for
Speaker 1: this technology is not his strike zone when. He's at the,
Speaker 1: plate so to me that is going to be the
Speaker 1: biggest question in spring training and as we transition into
Speaker 1: games that count and. This, Technology In play also brian
Speaker 1: gorman pointed out that there are just two challenges per,
Speaker 1: team for nine innings maybe an extra one. Added for
Speaker 1: extra innings but do they have to have a team?
Speaker 1: Meeting in the dugout there's certainly players on every team
Speaker 1: that believe that every pitch that's called a strike. Is
Speaker 1: not a strike there are certainly pitchers that believe every
Speaker 1: call against. Them should be challenged so who is going
Speaker 1: to be in? Charge Of All that is dave roberts
Speaker 1: going to have? To have a meeting are they going
Speaker 1: to have to have a hitters meeting and discuss this
Speaker 1: amongst their game plan, against not only pitchers but also
Speaker 1: their game plan as it comes to who's allowed to
Speaker 1: challenge or when. They're going to challenge so there are
Speaker 1: some things and if there is a player that burns
Speaker 1: the challenges and they don't have any at the. End
Speaker 1: of the game is there going to be some issues
Speaker 1: in that clubhouse against that player that was over? Zealous
Speaker 1: with THE challenges and Like I, mentioned the brian gorman.
Speaker 1: Here's another, Unintended Consequence you know austin barnes had four
Speaker 1: consecutive challenges correct that shook that umpire that day in.
Speaker 1: Spring training last year you can see. An umpire's confidence
Speaker 1: waiver if that, were to happen again because we saw
Speaker 1: It Happen at camel back ranch in, a spring training
Speaker 1: game how is that going to play out in front
Speaker 1: Of Fifty. Thousand at dodger stadium that's. Going to be
Speaker 1: interesting so there are a lot of unintended consequences and
Speaker 1: something you shoul be AWARE Of that The Abs automated
Speaker 1: strike zone challenge system is coming into Play This Year,
Speaker 1: in major league baseball and the way it's going to
Speaker 1: work is if a, player challenges the pitch whether it's
Speaker 1: a ball, or strike against them they're going to tap
Speaker 1: their helmet and you're going To see, it on dodger
Speaker 1: vision the computer version, the automated strike zone whether or
Speaker 1: not it was a ball or strike and that's going
Speaker 1: to be shown in the, stadium and on television so.
Speaker 1: Be ready for that everybody's talking about a lockout that
Speaker 1: may or may not even happen over. A year from
Speaker 1: now how about talk about what's happening in the here
Speaker 1: and now that is Significantly Going to alter major league,
Speaker 1: games between the lines and that's. This automated strike zone so.
Speaker 1: A lot to consider in case you Missed That, conversation
Speaker 1: with brian gorman you can Find it. On the iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: app we'll be Back with you on thursday. Night at
Speaker 1: seven O'clock You'll hear From Max. Munsey and miguel rojas
Speaker 1: had a chance to. Catch up with them we'll Share those.
Speaker 1: Conversations on Thursday Night thanks to ronnie foscio. For all
Speaker 1: his help thanks. To you for listening you can follow
Speaker 1: me On X AT the real Underscore dv And On.
Speaker 1: Instagram at officially Vass my picture With muldoon at the
Speaker 1: Attic is. On that instagram page so. Thank you for
Speaker 1: listening we'll Talk. To you on thursday siya