Speaker 1: This is off season Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: Get in on the show by calling eight six six
Speaker 2: non eight seven two five seventy four hashtag.
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk and now your host, David Maasse. Welcome to
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk. David Basse with you until eight o'clock tonight
Speaker 3: here on AM five to seventy LA Sports. We got
Speaker 3: a great hour of Dodger Talk for you. Keicky Hernandez
Speaker 3: is going to join us in about forty minutes, but
Speaker 3: we are starting off, leading off the show with two
Speaker 3: of my favorite players from my favorite Dodger team, and
Speaker 3: that was the miracle nineteen eighty eight World champion Dodgers.
Speaker 3: Will you talk about these days the Dodgers being perceived
Speaker 3: as Goliath, Well, back in nineteen eighty eight, they were, David,
Speaker 3: and these two men were drafted a year apart by
Speaker 3: the Dodgers in the late seventies. I won't give away
Speaker 3: which year for both these guys out of respect to
Speaker 3: one of them, but these two guys have been for
Speaker 3: a long time in their baseball lives and have a
Speaker 3: never dying friendship to this day. They were huge parts
Speaker 3: of the Dodgers winning the nineteen eighty eight World Series
Speaker 3: and still keep tabs on the team and you can
Speaker 3: be up close and personal with them wearing their number
Speaker 3: nine and number fourteen, respectively. In January, at the Dodger
Speaker 3: Adult Fantasy Camp, there are still a few spots open.
Speaker 3: It's almost sold out, but you can be there with
Speaker 3: our guests Mike Soosha and Mickey Hatcher if you go
Speaker 3: to Dodgers dot com slash Fantasy Camps and they join
Speaker 3: us right now. Mike and Mickey, thank you so much
Speaker 3: for taking the time out. It's great to have you
Speaker 3: guys together.
Speaker 4: All right, David greenor are you going first, Mike or what?
Speaker 2: Well? Mickey?
Speaker 4: You they called you first, evidently, Mickey, so you go first.
Speaker 2: Hey, uh no, you're the manager. Go ahead.
Speaker 3: So guys, maybe you could fill us in here. I
Speaker 3: mean this, this friendship did not end in nineteen ninety
Speaker 3: or nineteen ninety one or even you know, when you
Speaker 3: guys were done being together on the angels. How close
Speaker 3: are you to this day? And where does that come from? Mike?
Speaker 4: Well, we're yeah, we're close except when he beats my
Speaker 4: butt in the golf course and we're not that close.
Speaker 4: But you know what, David, it was a great time.
Speaker 4: I mean We still keep in touch with guys that
Speaker 4: we played with in the minor leagues coming up through
Speaker 4: the Dodge organization, and then that eighty eight team was
Speaker 4: so special. There's a bond there and you know, whether
Speaker 4: it was Oral or Kirk Gibson or or t Bone Shelby, everybody.
Speaker 4: I mean, we all keep in touch. And I think
Speaker 4: that's the bond that you get from playing on a
Speaker 4: championship team. And I've known Mickey, you know, you know,
Speaker 4: since nineteen seventy seven when he signed, so you know,
Speaker 4: we've been we've been together, Ron Rennicky, all of us.
Speaker 4: We're just we're good friends and we enjoy each other's company.
Speaker 3: Do you feel that way about Mike Mickey?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I mean we came up. We have many
Speaker 2: stories that uh, you know, we developed over the years
Speaker 2: and and the bond. But you know what the greatest
Speaker 2: thing was not only the players that we had an
Speaker 2: opportunity to be part of, It was Peter O'Malley and uh,
Speaker 2: you know, that friendship has still been really close from
Speaker 2: an owners to his players, and we still keep in
Speaker 2: touch a lot and and do lunches together. And I
Speaker 2: think that's that's a special part about being a Dodger.
Speaker 3: I know Mickey comes out to Dodger Stadium a lot.
Speaker 3: His wife, Patty, is a big time Dodger fan. I
Speaker 3: think Dodger fans would love to know from two great
Speaker 3: champions themselves, what you thought about this year's World Series.
Speaker 3: Hatch do you want to start? Since you really follow
Speaker 3: it and your wife has a great passion for it.
Speaker 2: Still, Oh yeah, definitely and car Mike Sosher remembers probably
Speaker 2: every play that happened from Game one to Game seven,
Speaker 2: but I can only remember a couple and you know,
Speaker 2: the game sometimes are won by inches, and uh, you know,
Speaker 2: it was just a great game to watch, going back
Speaker 2: and forth and just seeing uh, you know, Roberts just
Speaker 2: managed a great job in Game seven, especially with that
Speaker 2: defensive move and uh, you know, inches, the guy leading
Speaker 2: off one more foot on third base and the World
Speaker 2: Series goes to Toronto. So uh, it was an exciting
Speaker 2: game going back and forth, especially for the fans. I mean, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, uh, to me, I really, I really think
Speaker 2: it's going to go down as one of the Dodgers'
Speaker 2: best World series.
Speaker 3: Mike, when you were watching Game six and uh, it's
Speaker 3: the ninth inning, they're they're going to more starters. Tyler
Speaker 3: Glass now gets the first out on the first pitch. Uh,
Speaker 3: and you see Keith a Hernandez use his own baseball
Speaker 3: like you to shade in to be able to pull
Speaker 3: off that game endo double play. Just the sequence of
Speaker 3: events that took place to end game six in game
Speaker 3: seven is that? Have you ever seen World series games
Speaker 3: end that way?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, David, that was one of the most
Speaker 4: exciting series I think I've ever witnessed. When we were
Speaker 4: with the Angels, you know too, our seven game series
Speaker 4: with the Giants was so back and forth and we
Speaker 4: managed to you know, beat him in seven games. But
Speaker 4: not only was this the seventh game, the Dodgers going
Speaker 4: on the road and winning every game was back and forth,
Speaker 4: back and forth. And what I like about it was,
Speaker 4: I really feel the Dodgers stepped up and won the game.
Speaker 4: Toronto didn't hand them anything. The Dodgers had to make
Speaker 4: plays they did, They had to do things in the
Speaker 4: offensive end, and they you know, got some some incredible
Speaker 4: hits that you know, just just got them back into
Speaker 4: the game. And the home runs were exciting. So I
Speaker 4: think the way Mickey already talked about Dave Roberts. He
Speaker 4: did a terrific job. I think remolding that bullpen with
Speaker 4: a lot of the starters in Game seven was the
Speaker 4: only way they were could get that done, and they
Speaker 4: did it. And masasak or Yama mode I should say,
Speaker 4: did his best impersonation of or Horsheiser an Ada come
Speaker 4: out of the bullpen and getting you know, and saving
Speaker 4: the game. And that was what an exciting series.
Speaker 3: Hey, Mike, since you are and known as being a catcher,
Speaker 3: caught more games than anybody else in Dodger franchise history.
Speaker 3: In game seven, you know, one play where the Dodgers
Speaker 3: by an inch could have lost the World Series was
Speaker 3: with the infield in and the play at the plate
Speaker 3: bases loaded Isaiah Connor falefa just a hair behind the
Speaker 3: throw by Miguel Rojas to Will Smith, can you explain
Speaker 3: you know, that situation for a catcher and how maybe
Speaker 3: his foot could have slipped off?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, Will Smith's incredible. I think as a catcher,
Speaker 4: you're told to put your foot right on the middle
Speaker 4: of the plate so as you do reach for the ball,
Speaker 4: your foot will stay on the plate. And I think
Speaker 4: he did, but the timing Rojas had kind of played
Speaker 4: in between hop he lost his balance a little bit,
Speaker 4: but he showed his great arm strength and threw a
Speaker 4: bullet home and Will stretch forward and just barely got,
Speaker 4: you know, the runner. And I think Mickey already said it.
Speaker 4: They're very passive at third base on their lead because
Speaker 4: they don't want they don't want to get you know,
Speaker 4: get you'll get a line drive double play. But there's
Speaker 4: a left handed hitter up and if that line drive
Speaker 4: is hit to the right side of the infield, you
Speaker 4: could be aggressive at third base and still get back.
Speaker 4: And and I think that's uh, you know, that's the
Speaker 4: little things that I think maybe get lost under you know,
Speaker 4: they get lost like water under the bridge. But if
Speaker 4: he if he had another two foot lead, then Mickey's
Speaker 4: right that the series goes to Toronto's favor, and but
Speaker 4: Will Will kept the slot of the plate. I think
Speaker 4: Rojas made a great play after he lost his balance,
Speaker 4: and the Dodgers jumped up and won the game. And
Speaker 4: I think that's what they can feel good about.
Speaker 3: That's the voice of Mike's Sooshia and Mickey Hatcher teammates
Speaker 3: World champions as the Dodgers, so won it back in
Speaker 3: nineteen eighty eight as David slaying Elias, slain the Mighty
Speaker 3: Mets and slaying the Oakland A's in five games, beating
Speaker 3: the Mets in seven games, and Mickey, you know Miguel
Speaker 3: Rojas hitting that home run in Game seven of the
Speaker 3: World Series with the Dodgers down to their final two outs.
Speaker 3: I'm not going to say it was exactly the same situation,
Speaker 3: but did it remind you of a guy in Shay
Speaker 3: Stadium keeping your season alive against the Mets and Dwight Gooden.
Speaker 2: Oh, definitely. Sosia's home run was just amazing. And I'll
Speaker 2: tell you what, Rojas, that pitch was a pretty nasty
Speaker 2: pitch for him to pull and hit a home run,
Speaker 2: and you know it was just I kind of like
Speaker 2: Rojas's day. Man. That play second base was amazing and
Speaker 2: that home run and you can see it lifted the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: I mean it lifted their bench, It lifted everything for them.
Speaker 2: So that was that's going to be one of the
Speaker 2: most memorable home runs I think in that series.
Speaker 3: Mickey, you understand this. You were the leader of the Stuntman,
Speaker 3: a group of bench players in nineteen eighty eight. That
Speaker 3: if a guy got hurt all of a sudden, you
Speaker 3: had to be ready or coming off the bench to
Speaker 3: pinch it. You had an incredible World Series filling in
Speaker 3: for Kirk Gibson. You hit three sixty eight. Arguably, you know,
Speaker 3: if it wasn't for fifty five, could have been named
Speaker 3: the World Series MVP. But can you appreciate how tough
Speaker 3: it was for Rojas not to play for the entire
Speaker 3: World Series, get in in game six and have such
Speaker 3: a huge impact in the last two games. How do
Speaker 3: you do that?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I just think you know, it's like, you know,
Speaker 2: even when I was in the World Series, we had
Speaker 2: a bunch of guys we knew our career was coming
Speaker 2: to an end. This was our moment, and you just
Speaker 2: stay into the moment and you you take every advantage
Speaker 2: you can to that moment. I think the same thing
Speaker 2: with Rojas. You know, he knows he's coming to the
Speaker 2: end of the end of his career, and you know what,
Speaker 2: he wanted to be ready, and he wanted that one
Speaker 2: opportunity and he turned into be about a twenty five
Speaker 2: year old kid and that those two innings and it
Speaker 2: was just a great moment for him. So no matter
Speaker 2: how his his life goes on, or whether he's going
Speaker 2: to retire or whether he's going to try to keep playing.
Speaker 2: This is going to be remembered in his family and
Speaker 2: his life, and it's just a great feeling.
Speaker 3: Mickey Hatcher, you were on Mike's social's coaching staff with
Speaker 3: the two thousand and two Angels that found a way
Speaker 3: to come back so many times in that seven game
Speaker 3: win over the Giants and O two. Did this World
Speaker 3: Series remind you of that seven game World Series win
Speaker 3: by the Juice?
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm telling you what we just Mike did a
Speaker 2: great job with those players and putting them together and
Speaker 2: from the start of the season teaching them what it
Speaker 2: took to win and and we had to do the
Speaker 2: little things just like the Dodgers had to do, uh
Speaker 2: to win this game. And uh, you know, it was
Speaker 2: just watching those guys go through get out there in
Speaker 2: game six. Uh you know when we were down and
Speaker 2: even when Dusty Baker went out to the mound to
Speaker 2: take the guy. Uh, I remember the pitcher's name out
Speaker 2: or te can see our players say we're going to
Speaker 2: win this game. We're going to win this game. And
Speaker 2: and I think sitting back as a coach and seeing
Speaker 2: your players still having that energy to want to win
Speaker 2: that game means a lot to you.
Speaker 3: Yeah that was Ramon Ortiz, right, Mike, Daddy, he took out.
Speaker 4: And Russ Russ Russe or teeth yeah, Russell t y yeah, yes.
Speaker 3: And do you remember the the feeling that you had
Speaker 3: before game seven? Could you as you're as you're watching
Speaker 3: game seven start in Toronto, do you have some of
Speaker 3: those same feelings that you had maybe managing game seven
Speaker 3: in two thousand and two, what Dave Roberts may be
Speaker 3: going through.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, you're you're you're so busy, and it's
Speaker 4: good busy because you're getting uh, you know, you're getting
Speaker 4: everything together, you're getting your matchups, you're getting uh you know,
Speaker 4: you've already done all your scouting and everything and your
Speaker 4: pitcher and catcher should be on the same page. So
Speaker 4: you're ready for this game to start. I think that
Speaker 4: little anxiety like you're saying, let's get going, let's get going. Uh,
Speaker 4: you just want to you just want to get going
Speaker 4: and and and get get some momentum built and hopefully
Speaker 4: win a game. Uh. But but you know, you're you're
Speaker 4: you're still doing so much. David to prepare up until
Speaker 4: you know you take the field, and I think it
Speaker 4: just keeps you saying so you're not dwelling on things
Speaker 4: too much, but we uh, you know, the team. One
Speaker 4: of the things I really liked about the Dodger club.
Speaker 4: I mean you talked about Key k and being able
Speaker 4: to just use his experience. These guys played free, and
Speaker 4: I mean they didn't play with with with any burden
Speaker 4: or maybe if they if they missed a play or
Speaker 4: or if they were going to make a play. They
Speaker 4: played aggressively. Of defense, they played aggressively run the bases
Speaker 4: and in the batter's box. And that's the same thing,
Speaker 4: you know two with our club. Our club was very
Speaker 4: aggressive in every aspect of it. They didn't think about
Speaker 4: making mistakes. They thought about making plays. And I think
Speaker 4: that's when it comes down to crunch time and everyone's
Speaker 4: going to point to a lot of the things that
Speaker 4: happened in that game. The Dodgers made plays. And I
Speaker 4: think what you're alluded to with Kay Hernandez in left field,
Speaker 4: he knew when he caught that ball exactly where he
Speaker 4: was throwing it. Rowhouse made a great pick, doubled off
Speaker 4: the runner, and games over so I think that had
Speaker 4: a lot to do with why they you know, why
Speaker 4: they played so well.
Speaker 3: Mike Soosie and Mickey Hatcher are joining us on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: I want to go back to when you guys were
Speaker 3: on the same staff, Mike the manager, Mickey the hitting coach,
Speaker 3: because this year when the Dodgers played the Angels, I
Speaker 3: was privy to a conversation of Dino Ebel and Tim
Speaker 3: Salmon praising Mike Soosha and Mickey Hatcher just about the
Speaker 3: message you guys sent, the tone, especially Mike at the
Speaker 3: beginning of the season where you needed team at bats,
Speaker 3: whether it was Albert Pooholz, Mike Trout, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Mickey,
Speaker 3: do you remember those type of meetings that Mike would
Speaker 3: have and did you see some of those team at
Speaker 3: bats from guys like Otani and Freeman that reminded you
Speaker 3: of the message you guys had.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, we had an opportunity to go in
Speaker 2: there and see the players that get and have you
Speaker 2: know a year under our bell watching these guys play.
Speaker 2: And I remember in the offseason, Mike before spring training says,
Speaker 2: we got to get these guys together. They don't know
Speaker 2: how to win, and and he proceeded with the game
Speaker 2: plan of you know, we've got to move runners. The
Speaker 2: worst scenario, we got a runner on second base, we
Speaker 2: got to get him to third. We got to score them. Uh,
Speaker 2: we got to move runners over. You know, we've we've
Speaker 2: got to play that type of game. Uh, knowing to
Speaker 2: use the big part of the field in those situations
Speaker 2: and and not just give away in at bat, Uh
Speaker 2: give yourself an attempt to get a hit, but get
Speaker 2: the job done. And Uh, in spring training, these guys
Speaker 2: started doing it. We said, hey, these bats don't count. Uh.
Speaker 2: You know, Mike had the meeting and he said, I
Speaker 2: applied it as a hitting coach and said, hey, we're
Speaker 2: going in the spring training these have bats don't count.
Speaker 2: But this is what we're going and and uh, he's
Speaker 2: got to start doing it. And you know, here guys
Speaker 2: moving a runner to third base for the other guy
Speaker 2: to get an RBI. You see him start giving knuckles
Speaker 2: and uh, they got really into it. And it was amazing.
Speaker 2: And when we started the season, we probably had the
Speaker 2: worst record the starting the season. What was our record, Mike.
Speaker 4: When we were like this season fourteen, Yeah, we were
Speaker 4: struggling like, yeah, fourteen. And then the guys they kept
Speaker 4: doing it. Yeah, yeah, they kept doing it. You know,
Speaker 4: Mickey remember with Troy Glass, it was funny. We're talking
Speaker 4: about moving runners, a guy on second and Troy saying.
Speaker 4: Troy says, he goes, Mike, I can't hit a ground
Speaker 4: ball a second, I said, And Mickey goes, Troy, we're
Speaker 4: not asking. We don't want you hit a ground ball
Speaker 4: a second. If we're on the other team and hit
Speaker 4: her like you hit the ground ball to second with
Speaker 4: a guy on second, We're saying, thank you. We want
Speaker 4: you knock down the centerfield wall. We want you hit
Speaker 4: the ball left center. Centerfield us a big part of
Speaker 4: the field. And he exhaled. He goes, oh, thank you, okay,
Speaker 4: I can do that. And uh and Tim sabon, Tim
Speaker 4: Savon and spring training and the guy was on second
Speaker 4: base and uh, and he hit a ball off the
Speaker 4: batter's eye in center field. And he came back and
Speaker 4: he goes, should I apologize? I said, heck no, you
Speaker 4: shouldn't apologize. I said, it is a big part of
Speaker 4: the field. If you had it out of the ballpark,
Speaker 4: it's a beautiful thing. I said that. You know that
Speaker 4: that's what we're talking about. But you know, the big
Speaker 4: thing was these guys. These guys, they they understood it,
Speaker 4: and they played great baseball, and they really blended with
Speaker 4: great base running, situational hitting, and plus when we look
Speaker 4: about you talk about the middle of the lineup, and
Speaker 4: you had you know, Ga and Tim Salmon and Gloss
Speaker 4: and her stat up at hitting second and ex Stein
Speaker 4: leading off. These guys fed the whole lineup and and
Speaker 4: and it was really a it was really a lineup
Speaker 4: that was I think, very underrated. But these guys are
Speaker 4: one of the top lineups in baseball for a number
Speaker 4: of years, and they showed it in O two.
Speaker 3: Do you guys still believe if you were on the
Speaker 3: same staff, with the way the game has been played
Speaker 3: the last ten something years, do you think players would
Speaker 3: still be open to Mike's Oshi and Mickey Hatcher saying, hey,
Speaker 3: I need twenty five team at bats the entire year.
Speaker 3: I need twenty five team at bats. Do you feel
Speaker 3: like that would still be in play today?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, there's some different philosophies out like strikeouts
Speaker 4: another out which I don't know what Moron came up
Speaker 4: with that line. A strikeout is not just another out.
Speaker 4: But I think what I think, I think what's important
Speaker 4: is you know, like like I say, you talk to
Speaker 4: Darren Nurseat, who was a great team player. Anyway, he
Speaker 4: would do it anyway he's gonna get he's gonna go
Speaker 4: over six hundred plate appearances. And we were talking to
Speaker 4: these guys, So you guys are gonna get six hundred
Speaker 4: plate appearances if you don't have the twenty five team
Speaker 4: at bats that we're talking about to where you get
Speaker 4: two strikes, you know, you got to shorten it up
Speaker 4: and pull the ball in the ground if you're a
Speaker 4: stat or ga to get a guy from from second
Speaker 4: to third, you know, and and two strikes, shorten it
Speaker 4: up and maybe hit that sack fly instead of and
Speaker 4: take the RBI. But you're not trying to hit home run,
Speaker 4: then that's on you. And I think as you communicate
Speaker 4: with these guys, and I think you know, there's a
Speaker 4: there's a lot of baseball players understand that part of it.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of guys that are not going to
Speaker 4: strike down those situations. And I think that that those
Speaker 4: are the guys that stand out and you just know
Speaker 4: they're going to help their team win. And as I said,
Speaker 4: you're gonna get six hundred plate appearances for most of
Speaker 4: the player apparenties. You're free to swing and do whatever
Speaker 4: you want, but that team at bat comes and it
Speaker 4: presents itself to you.
Speaker 2: We need it.
Speaker 4: And I think I think, guys, you know, I think
Speaker 4: ball players now would would rally around that and would
Speaker 4: embrace that also.
Speaker 3: Do you remember those those talks, Mickey, And do you
Speaker 3: believe that in today's game that players would accept that
Speaker 3: as well? And did you see it from the Dodgers
Speaker 3: in twenty five?
Speaker 2: You start seeing it on more teams now, you really do.
Speaker 2: You start seeing a little bit more bunning. You start
Speaker 2: seeing it, But you know, it's like Mike says, I mean,
Speaker 2: come on, a two strike approach. You know, that's when
Speaker 2: you got to like get up there and battle with
Speaker 2: that picture. And it's just a swing and misses that
Speaker 2: are are just amazing to me, especially on pitches that
Speaker 2: are right there with two strikes. And you know that
Speaker 2: was Mike's biggest biggest thing was, Hey, come on, guys,
Speaker 2: two strikes, you know, maybe come off the knob. We've
Speaker 2: we've got to battle up there. We've got to put
Speaker 2: that ball in play. And uh, you know, strikeouts, that's
Speaker 2: just an easy out for anything you put a ball
Speaker 2: in play, they can make an air, they can throw
Speaker 2: it away, they can there's a lot of scenarios that
Speaker 2: could happen, you know, that can't happen if you're slinging miss.
Speaker 3: Dave Roberts is actually one of the managers that are
Speaker 3: active today that actually echoes what you guys have said.
Speaker 4: Well, I know Dave, I know he was that type player,
Speaker 4: and he understands it. I think you see players, I
Speaker 4: mean you see Will Smith choking up and putting the
Speaker 4: ball play in some of the situations. You know, Freddie Freeman,
Speaker 4: I mean, these guys are professional hitters. Even you know
Speaker 4: Show Hey, he he's got such an a great idea
Speaker 4: of what to do in a batter's box. MOOKI, you know,
Speaker 4: MOOKI bet same way. Mickey and I were contact hitter.
Speaker 4: So we had a guy on third base and less
Speaker 4: than two outs, and if we struck out, which you
Speaker 4: know sometimes it happens, sometimes you just get beat. We
Speaker 4: you know, we were we were upset with ourselves. We
Speaker 4: were more upset because we knew what was waiting for
Speaker 4: us in the dugout from tom of the sword as
Speaker 4: we're walking back and you walking back to the dougout
Speaker 4: and you can see you can see Tommy turning purple
Speaker 4: like like just saying, what's the ball in play? What
Speaker 4: are you doing? And you know that was that was
Speaker 4: the worst part of you know, the worst part about
Speaker 4: striking out in the situation like that.
Speaker 3: All right, before I let you guys go, you're not
Speaker 3: answering this question, Mike, this is only for Mickey Hatcher.
Speaker 3: Mickey Hatcher. Okay, there was a manager with the Angels
Speaker 3: manage one team for nineteen years, had unprecedented success. For
Speaker 3: those nineteen he won more games than any other Angels
Speaker 3: manager in the history of that franchise, sixteen hundred and
Speaker 3: fifty wins, won the only World Series in Angels franchise history.
Speaker 3: Don't you believe that guy should be in the Hall
Speaker 3: of Fame as a manager, And don't you believe number
Speaker 3: fourteen should be retired in Anaheim?
Speaker 2: Mickey, Oh, I do you know one thing that you
Speaker 2: and you can hear how Mike speaks, and you know
Speaker 2: he can remember a pitch forty years ago, what this
Speaker 2: guy did and whatever. But he's always had a passion
Speaker 2: for the game and he's always wanted to win. You know,
Speaker 2: there's you know, I don't care if you give him
Speaker 2: the worst team in baseball. He's going to make him
Speaker 2: learn how to win. And I think that that was
Speaker 2: his passion as a manager. But the players really respect him.
Speaker 2: He has that. You know, he's able to bring him
Speaker 2: in the office and have the one on one uh,
Speaker 2: you know, like like he's like their father. And that's
Speaker 2: why I think you hear like the Salmon's and the
Speaker 2: Erstes and all those kind of guys. Uh, just how
Speaker 2: much passion they had for Mike as a manager. I mean,
Speaker 2: their career was probably one of the differences in that
Speaker 2: they've ever had being playing baseball. And they'll tell you that,
Speaker 2: and uh, you know, I think it's going to happen
Speaker 2: for Mike.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 2: But I think in baseball, uh, he's well known. You
Speaker 2: go to an event and all these players from different
Speaker 2: teams or whatever, they want to go and and talk
Speaker 2: to Mike and and and listen to his uh philosophies
Speaker 2: and stuff like that, and uh, you know, he just
Speaker 2: has a passion and uh, and that's going to take
Speaker 2: him a long ways.
Speaker 4: And I do, But can I answer that question?
Speaker 3: No, no, because I know it you Mike, just shut up.
Speaker 2: That was my turn.
Speaker 4: Let me just say this real quick. I know you
Speaker 4: got to cut us off, but real quick, I want
Speaker 4: to say this. You know, this game's about playing it.
Speaker 4: This game isn't about coaching and managing it. When you're
Speaker 4: in the backyard with your brother and you're playing up
Speaker 4: just you know, you're just playing baseball with him, and
Speaker 4: you're making up situations. You're the one up at bat
Speaker 4: with three two bases loaded, and you hit the home
Speaker 4: run to win the game like Freddie Freeman did or
Speaker 4: Kirk Gibson did, and and you know you're the one
Speaker 4: that hits it. You're not the one managing and putting
Speaker 4: guys in. So for me and I know Micky the
Speaker 4: same way, we loved playing the game, and we love
Speaker 4: playing the game for the Dodgers. Uh. And that's a
Speaker 4: special feeling of of of of playing the game that
Speaker 4: you can take with you now. We like coaching, I
Speaker 4: love managing, but it doesn't compare to playing the game.
Speaker 4: And that's where our hearts are is really as ballplayers,
Speaker 4: and in particular with the Dodgers, we had great experience
Speaker 4: and fortunately you know one won some championships there and
Speaker 4: that's what we'll we'll take for over with us, and
Speaker 4: that means what means the most to me.
Speaker 3: That's why you're special. Okay, if you're if you're a player,
Speaker 3: you love the player. I want you in the legends
Speaker 3: of Dodger Baseball. I want you wearing a blue coat
Speaker 3: one day. And I would love to have as many
Speaker 3: stunt men put in as legends of Dodger Baseball as well.
Speaker 3: Just the group of the stuntmen and Mike Sosha, how
Speaker 3: about that.
Speaker 4: I like the stumpman getting in because those guys, those
Speaker 4: guys were huge for us in eighty eight. And all
Speaker 4: the pieces fit. And you know, you said one time
Speaker 4: that we might have been the you know, David, you
Speaker 4: say we might have been the worst World Series team,
Speaker 4: Dodger team.
Speaker 3: I did not say that. Bob Costa said it.
Speaker 4: I don't care what Bob Costas does. You repeated it,
Speaker 4: and let me tell you what the pieces fit. We
Speaker 4: were a great team that had a tremendous pitching staff,
Speaker 4: great bullpen, and players like the stunt men that played free,
Speaker 4: they played loose, they did whatever whatever the situation was
Speaker 4: that Tommy wanted to do. He could do because we
Speaker 4: all had the back control to do it. And going
Speaker 4: down the whole lineup, we would get bunts down. We
Speaker 4: could hit and run. We put the ball in play
Speaker 4: with two strikes, and once in a while you hit
Speaker 4: the ball good and went out of the park. And
Speaker 4: I think that as you talk about the stuntman in
Speaker 4: that group with Mickey and and and uh Rick Dempsey
Speaker 4: and and Danny Heap and Dave Anderson. I know I'm
Speaker 4: leaving missing somebody, Mickey, but you guys, you guys were
Speaker 4: so important does not only during the season, but in
Speaker 4: the playoffs. And and and uh and and we were.
Speaker 4: We were a terrific team in eighty eight. Very underrated
Speaker 4: as to the talent on the team and how it
Speaker 4: worked and how we played. And I just don't like you, David,
Speaker 4: saying we're one of the worst championships dot your teams
Speaker 4: on paper. I don't like that.
Speaker 3: I never said that.
Speaker 4: I said, how.
Speaker 2: Many wins, Mike, we had ninety how many wins?
Speaker 4: Ninety something wins?
Speaker 3: You were I feel like, yes, ninety four great wins.
Speaker 3: You guys were, David. The Mets were Goliath, the A's
Speaker 3: were Goliath. Nobody thought you guys could beat them. You know,
Speaker 3: I was getting phone calls as a ten year old
Speaker 3: by adults just like you know, mocking my Dodgers at
Speaker 3: that point in time, and I said, you just wait,
Speaker 3: this team can do it. So it wasn't a slight
Speaker 3: to call you David. David's a great name, yea, a
Speaker 3: great biblical reference.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're trying to worm yourself out of that one.
Speaker 3: As always, that's what I do. I just punch my
Speaker 3: way out of the corner. Hey, you know, I might
Speaker 3: sign up for this fantasy camp just so I could
Speaker 3: be there, maybe to be managed or coached by Mickey
Speaker 3: Hatcher and Mike Soosha. How about that.
Speaker 4: I'll tell you what. I can only picture you at
Speaker 4: a baseball uniform running around, and I'm about to start
Speaker 4: laughing right now.
Speaker 3: Maybe I'll wear number nine one day and number fourteen
Speaker 3: another day. How about that?
Speaker 4: You're if you're playing defense, you better have shing guards on,
Speaker 4: wear a batting helmet out there in the field, and
Speaker 4: have a double cup on. Because I don't know what's
Speaker 4: going to happen you, David.
Speaker 3: You guys, I will say this, and I don't care
Speaker 3: what my wife thinks. Nineteen eighty eight was the greatest
Speaker 3: year of my life. To this day, I will say
Speaker 3: that flat out. You guys brought baseball to life for
Speaker 3: so many of us and made so many of us
Speaker 3: young people in Los Angeles in nineteen eighty eight fall
Speaker 3: in love with the Dodgers and fall in love with
Speaker 3: the game of baseball. And you guys were two huge
Speaker 3: parts of the Dodgers, and you guys, as long as
Speaker 3: I'm doing this, nobody will forget the eighty eight Dodgers
Speaker 3: as great as you were. And nobody will forget Mike's
Speaker 3: osha and Mickey Hatcher and the rest of you guys.
Speaker 4: I appreciate that, David. It was a special year for
Speaker 4: all of us, that's for sure.
Speaker 3: All right, Mike, can't wait to come over me and Mickey?
Speaker 3: What time do you want us over for Christmas? We
Speaker 3: look forward to it.
Speaker 4: We celebig Christmas on the twenty six So come on
Speaker 4: over there.
Speaker 3: Thanks guys, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Okay, bye, all right, fue.
Speaker 3: There they go, Mickey Hatcher and Mike's soosha. That was awesome.
Speaker 3: That was definitely a bucket list. It's one thing to
Speaker 3: interview one of them, but both of them together. Uh,
Speaker 3: just spectacular. We're gonna take a break when we come
Speaker 3: back your phone calls, and also we'll get to my
Speaker 3: conversation with Keike Hernandez coming up from this past Saturday
Speaker 3: at the Polo Ralph Lauren store. They treated us great,
Speaker 3: trust us great, and I can't wait to share keyk
Speaker 3: with you as well. Mike Soosha, Micky Hatcher, Forever, Dodgers
Speaker 3: don't go anywhere more Dodger Talk around the corner thanks
Speaker 3: again to Mike's Sooshia and Mickey Hatcher taking time out
Speaker 3: of the busy holiday season to join us on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. That
Speaker 3: certainly was a bucket list thing for me. I mean,
Speaker 3: those guys were larger than life. When I was growing
Speaker 3: up in the San Fernando Valley and loving the Dodgers,
Speaker 3: that nineteen eighty eight team was so special, and I
Speaker 3: love that they still have that competitive spirit where they
Speaker 3: don't like being called the weakest team or the most
Speaker 3: unexpected team to win the World Series. But I always
Speaker 3: feel like those East Coasters give the sixty nine Mets
Speaker 3: a little too much shine. The eighty eight Dodgers were
Speaker 3: just as much of a Cinderella. Nobody picked them team,
Speaker 3: but they did have the MVP and the saw Young
Speaker 3: on the same team that year, and that was Kirk
Speaker 3: Gibson and Oral Hersheisers, So they did have talent more
Speaker 3: than what they were giving credit for. Steve Sachs was
Speaker 3: their second basement and leadoff hitter Mike Soosha, who eventually
Speaker 3: caught more games than any other Dodger in history, was
Speaker 3: part of it. Hersheiser, Tim Leary, Tim Belcher, to name
Speaker 3: a few, and Jay Howell closing. Just a great team.
Speaker 3: And if you don't know about the eighty eight Dodgers,
Speaker 3: sports net LA did a great piece on the eighty
Speaker 3: eight Dodgers a few years back. You can fight it,
Speaker 3: I'm sure online. And if you listen to this show,
Speaker 3: you know how much the eighty eight Dodgers mean to me.
Speaker 3: And I just thought it was interesting to hear two
Speaker 3: Dodger World Series champions, you know, thirty plus years later,
Speaker 3: give their thoughts on what they saw this year in
Speaker 3: the Dodgers twenty twenty five World Series Championship. It's great
Speaker 3: to get that type of perspective. Eight six six nine,
Speaker 3: eight seven two five, seventy is the phone number if
Speaker 3: you want to talk about what Mike's oshi Mickey Hatchers
Speaker 3: said about the World Series. If you want to get
Speaker 3: into the hot stove, we can do that as well.
Speaker 3: Really kind of quiet right now. I don't expect any
Speaker 3: big splashes from the Dodgers until maybe the new year.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's obviously talks going on, but we're getting
Speaker 3: closer to Christmas and it feels like the Tigers are
Speaker 3: still in limbo about whether or not they want to
Speaker 3: trade Trek's Schooble. If they do want to trade Trek
Speaker 3: schoobl the Dodgers seem to be the most obvious destination
Speaker 3: because the Dodgers have the young pitching and players that
Speaker 3: are major league ready to try to get the Tigers
Speaker 3: to be competitive in the Al Central even without Schooble.
Speaker 3: So that's where things stand. And coming up in about
Speaker 3: seven minutes, we'll hear from Keith Hernandez. We had a
Speaker 3: great time this past Saturday at the Citadel and Commerce
Speaker 3: in front of the Polo Ralph Lauren store. They were
Speaker 3: such gracious hosts. They went above and beyond, and Keik
Speaker 3: was taking pictures with fans seemingly for two hours, but
Speaker 3: they cut it off after an hour. He was like
Speaker 3: Santa Claus in front of the polo Ralph Lauren Storre.
Speaker 3: So thank you to everybody that took care of us,
Speaker 3: especially Christina Choi, who is so cool. Let's go out
Speaker 3: to New Jersey, Sam Dodger talk, how you doing? Sam David?
Speaker 5: I cannot believe I was speaking to the legend right now.
Speaker 3: Now, I was talking to two legends. You're just talking
Speaker 3: to me.
Speaker 2: Ha ha.
Speaker 5: So I actually have three questions for you, Bill. Let
Speaker 5: me know how many time you could got to. My
Speaker 5: first question is a hot though question, which is how
Speaker 5: likely do you think it would be for the Dodgers
Speaker 5: to sign Boba Shot and move Mookie to the outfield
Speaker 5: or let's say Sonia Kyle Tucker.
Speaker 3: I don't believe Mookie Betts is going back to right field.
Speaker 3: He's the Dodgers shortstop. They have said that already. If
Speaker 3: the Dodgers do, here's the challenge with signing Bob Bashett,
Speaker 3: and I am all in on signing Bob Bashett because
Speaker 3: I believe he could be the Dodgers' third baseman in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty seven and beyond, a guy that could be
Speaker 3: versatile to play third and second base this year, But
Speaker 3: how does it fit? How will it fit with Max
Speaker 3: s Munsey at third base, who is still one of
Speaker 3: the best playoff performers that Dodgers have, and we saw
Speaker 3: how much the Dodgers missed him when he was out
Speaker 3: of the lineup. But Tommy Edmond's hurt, he's not going
Speaker 3: to start the season or he's going to be delayed.
Speaker 3: Key K Hernandez can't play untill June. You got an
Speaker 3: unproven has Song Kim. So I feel like bo Bishett
Speaker 3: fits at second base, But what do you do when
Speaker 3: Edmund comes back and key K comes back? So I'm
Speaker 3: all in with Bishett, and I don't you know, I
Speaker 3: would be surprised maximunths he played more than one hundred
Speaker 3: and twenty games this year considering some of the injuries
Speaker 3: he's had the last few years. So I just think
Speaker 3: he fits really well. But how does he fit in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty six? That's the tough part.
Speaker 2: Got it?
Speaker 5: And my next question for you is being that I
Speaker 5: live in New Jersey. I am harassed NonStop. I met Send,
Speaker 5: especially now because the Dodgers just signed Edwin Diaz, as
Speaker 5: well as Yankee fans who tell me that the Dodgers
Speaker 5: are ruining baseball. David watching my response to based as
Speaker 5: such a thing, say.
Speaker 3: The Mets are spending a lot of money, but just
Speaker 3: not spending it the right way. The Padres, We're spending
Speaker 3: a lot of money and their windows seemingly has closed.
Speaker 3: I mean they you know, there's other teams that spent
Speaker 3: a lot of money that just haven't been able to
Speaker 3: take down the Dodgers. So you know, Mets fans, you know,
Speaker 3: cannot throw rocks from a glass house.
Speaker 5: And what about the deferments.
Speaker 3: It's part, it's part of the game. It's not it's
Speaker 3: not not allowed. They're just they're just five steps ahead
Speaker 3: of everybody else.
Speaker 5: Wow, couldn't have said a better myself. And David, the
Speaker 5: last question for you is more about the league in general,
Speaker 5: which is do you think the Anthony Rendon Angels contract
Speaker 5: is the worst contract in baseball history?
Speaker 3: It's right up there, yeah it is. I mean, how
Speaker 3: many has he even played? One hundred and sixty two
Speaker 3: games for the Angels And you know what, I don't know.
Speaker 3: Thank goodness, he didn't want that la lifestyle because the
Speaker 3: Dodgers talk to him as well. So very happy he
Speaker 3: chose Anaheim right.
Speaker 5: Speaking of spending money in the right places, that's an
Speaker 5: example of where you're shutting spend your money.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sometimes the best trades you make are the best
Speaker 3: signings you make are the ones you don't. And look
Speaker 3: that was they dodged the bullet right there, and nobody's
Speaker 3: thinking about Anthony Rendon after back to back World Series championships.
Speaker 3: Thanks for the phone call, Sam, appreciate it. You can
Speaker 3: listen to Dodger Talk like Sam on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3: You could follow me on ex at the Real Underscore
Speaker 3: DV and somebody sent me a message. Mike Sooshia and
Speaker 3: Mickey Hatcher were like Keik a Hernandez and Will Smith.
Speaker 3: That's a pretty good comparison. Although Will Smith is a
Speaker 3: little bit better of a hitter than Mike Sooshia was
Speaker 3: in some ways well he was, but certainly two Dodger
Speaker 3: catchers that have had two of the biggest clutch home
Speaker 3: runs and Dodger history, obviously Will's go ahead home run
Speaker 3: in the eleventh inning of Games seven of this year's
Speaker 3: World Series and Mike Sosia's home run off of Dwight
Speaker 3: Gooden to tie Game four at Shay Stadium save the
Speaker 3: Dodgers from going down three games to one to the
Speaker 3: Mets in the NLCS in nineteen eighty eight. They would
Speaker 3: eventually beat the Mets in seven games in eighty eight.
Speaker 3: So if I had people ask me all the time,
Speaker 3: what are your top five Dodger postseason home runs? And
Speaker 3: you know, obviously Kirk Gibson and Freddie Freeman's home runs
Speaker 3: all right at the top. But Will Smith's home run
Speaker 3: this year in the eleventh inning has got to be
Speaker 3: right there. Mike Sosiaz in the eighty eight NLCS right there.
Speaker 3: Justin Turners walk off home run in Game two of
Speaker 3: the seventeen NLCS right up there, Miguel Rojas, I mean,
Speaker 3: two outs to go and he hits that game tying
Speaker 3: home run. So you know, both Freeman walk off home
Speaker 3: runs and those others are are at the top of
Speaker 3: my list, a long way with our very own Rick
Speaker 3: Monday's home run in Game five of the eighty one
Speaker 3: NLCS eight six six, nine, eight, seven, two five seventy
Speaker 3: is the phone number. Just to alert you schedule alert
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk again tomorrow night at seven o'clock. River Ryan
Speaker 3: is going to join us tomorrow night and Petro some
Speaker 3: Moneys show on Thursday. In case you missed, it is
Speaker 3: only two hours now at the BJ's. What city is
Speaker 3: it in, Ronnie, I forgot what city it's in.
Speaker 2: In West Covina.
Speaker 3: That's right, BJ's in West Covina two to four o'clock
Speaker 3: on Thursday. Dodger Talk tomorrow night at seven o'clock and
Speaker 3: when we continue here on Dodger Talk, Keik Hernandez will
Speaker 3: join us. Don't go anywhere. We're with you until eight
Speaker 3: o'clock right here on a five seventy LA Sports. Happy
Speaker 3: holidays to all of you. I know Hanukah started yesterday.
Speaker 3: Happy Honikah to all of you, and Merry Christmas and
Speaker 3: happy New Year. Tonight and tomorrow our last two shows
Speaker 3: of Dodger Talk before the New Year. We'll be back
Speaker 3: with you the second week of January unless there is
Speaker 3: breaking Dodger news, and if that's the case, then we
Speaker 3: will be back with you. So always on standby no
Speaker 3: matter what's going on. You never know what. Andrew Friedman
Speaker 3: has up his sleeves, so you know, he may be
Speaker 3: lighting the mania right now, he might be opening presents.
Speaker 3: But hey, if the phone rings and there's a big
Speaker 3: time agent or Scott Harris from the Detroit Tigers on
Speaker 3: the other line. You know he's picking that up. So look,
Speaker 3: the Dodgers aren't done. They're gonna keep big game hunting
Speaker 3: because that's what they do, and then be able to
Speaker 3: fill out the bench and the depth of their forty
Speaker 3: man roster like they've been known to do over the
Speaker 3: course of the last decade or so. Thanks again to
Speaker 3: Mickey Hatcher and Mike Sosha. Appreciate them coming on. And
Speaker 3: there are a couple of spots left for the Dodgers
Speaker 3: Adult Fantasy Camp, which is taking place at camel Back
Speaker 3: Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. You get to live like a
Speaker 3: big leaguer. Go to Dodgers dot com slash fantasy camps
Speaker 3: to sign up, and Mike and Mickey are the life
Speaker 3: of the party. From what I understand in our guy
Speaker 3: Steve Sachs and Steve Garvey are out there as well
Speaker 3: Eric Carros. So you get to rub elbows with some
Speaker 3: of the great Dodgers and have your own uniform and
Speaker 3: play some games and have some fun. It's a great time.
Speaker 3: Key k Hernandez will not be out there. You know,
Speaker 3: one day I could see Key k being part of
Speaker 3: these fantasy camps and it will be a party, that's
Speaker 3: for sure. It was a party on Saturday at the
Speaker 3: Polo Ralph Lorenz store in Citadel, at the Citadel in Commerce,
Speaker 3: at the Citadel Outlet stores, and had a chance to
Speaker 3: talk to Key K for the first time since the parade.
Speaker 1: Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 6: Last night was a blast, and I'm hoping that today
Speaker 6: is as fun as it was last night.
Speaker 1: But I'm just happy to be here.
Speaker 6: Anytime I gonna be in La with some Doctor fans,
Speaker 6: it's always a good time. And like always, thank you guys,
Speaker 6: thanks for the love.
Speaker 3: What's it like to be as beloved as you are
Speaker 3: in this city? I mean, these people showed out for
Speaker 3: you wherever you go. It seems like there's always a
Speaker 3: big following, a big group of fans.
Speaker 6: It's overwhelming at times, but it's truly appreciated. It's very
Speaker 6: humbling to h to know that I'm supported and loved
Speaker 6: as much as I am here in this city so
Speaker 6: far away from my home in Puerto Rico. But you
Speaker 6: know that love always goes back to them. And it's
Speaker 6: been nine years on this team, and it's been the
Speaker 6: best nine years of my life.
Speaker 3: Back to back World Series champions. It happens so quickly.
Speaker 3: What's it been like for you since the parade? Just
Speaker 3: soaking in what you guys were able to accomplish.
Speaker 6: Oh well, I had surgery, so I didn't have much
Speaker 6: time to think about it.
Speaker 1: But the only thing that you know it comes to
Speaker 1: your minus. Let's do it again, simple.
Speaker 2: Three.
Speaker 3: Pete has a nice ring to it.
Speaker 6: Uh yeah, I think that's trademark. So we can't do it.
Speaker 6: But I like to go back to back to back.
Speaker 3: Have you watched any of the highlights of Game six
Speaker 3: or Game seven? The play specifically that you made to
Speaker 3: end Game six.
Speaker 6: I watched it a few times, But the one that's
Speaker 6: always everywhere is when Pis almost killed me. So I've
Speaker 6: watched that one a few times.
Speaker 3: And when you see it from that angle, you were
Speaker 3: involved in it. From what I understand, did you believe
Speaker 3: the ball fell? And when you watch it, do you
Speaker 3: still think the ball is going the drop before the
Speaker 3: play is completed?
Speaker 6: Uh No, when I think about it now, when I
Speaker 6: look at it as one, I still think I could
Speaker 6: have caught it.
Speaker 1: Two. I don't know why he jumped, but I'm just
Speaker 1: glad he caught it. That's that's it.
Speaker 3: Is it true that you you thought the ball dropped
Speaker 3: and you thought you lost the World Series before he
Speaker 3: let you know what happened.
Speaker 6: Yeah, because I mean I was I had my back
Speaker 6: towards the field and then I was stopping slowing down
Speaker 6: to get you know, I was basically underneath the baseball,
Speaker 6: and last thing I thought was gonna.
Speaker 1: Happen was somebody who's gonna run me over.
Speaker 6: And as soon as he ran me over, I just
Speaker 6: I thought there's no way he was going to catch it.
Speaker 1: You know, I was underneath the ball and he ran
Speaker 1: me over. So we lost.
Speaker 6: And as I'm on the ground, I'm just thinking, I
Speaker 6: just we just lost the World Series and I'm laying.
Speaker 1: On the ground.
Speaker 6: That's going to be replayed forever, and it's still being
Speaker 6: replayed forever.
Speaker 1: But for the other reason.
Speaker 3: No doubt, everybody's very happy Andy pa has was able
Speaker 3: to run you over and catch it. When you look
Speaker 3: back at what a close teammate of yours, Yoshiyama Mota,
Speaker 3: was able to do, we think back to you taking
Speaker 3: him out after one of the Padres games in the
Speaker 3: DS last year. Whatever you said obviously worked, not only
Speaker 3: last October, but the entire season. How proud are you
Speaker 3: of Yamamoto and the warrior that he was for you
Speaker 3: guys this year?
Speaker 1: Really proud.
Speaker 6: Obviously, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have won
Speaker 6: the World Series. But you know, basically our conversation went,
Speaker 6: it was just basically telling him, man, I think you're
Speaker 6: the best picture in the world.
Speaker 1: Just go out there and show people who you are.
Speaker 1: And he's done nothing but that.
Speaker 6: And for him to you know, go two complete games
Speaker 6: and a back to back starts and then not only
Speaker 6: win Game six, but then take them mount the very
Speaker 6: next day on no short rent, no no day's rest,
Speaker 6: and not only that, but to throw them the most
Speaker 6: outs out of any of our pitchers that night was incredible.
Speaker 6: He truly put a Superman cape on and he delivered.
Speaker 3: Is it fair to say going back to last year,
Speaker 3: you may have believed he was capable of doing what
Speaker 3: he did more than maybe he was before having that conversation.
Speaker 6: Potentially, And that's why I, you know, decided to take
Speaker 6: him outside of you know, a team environment, with without
Speaker 6: a team translator and all that, and.
Speaker 1: I basically just wanted him to believe what I believed
Speaker 1: in him, and I'm.
Speaker 6: Sure he's never really lacked confidence, but at times, you know,
Speaker 6: being in a different country and and you can I've
Speaker 6: been on that mound, even though I'm not a pitcher.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it's the loneliest feeling in the world.
Speaker 6: So I just wanted him to know that, you know,
Speaker 6: we us your teammates, we believe in you.
Speaker 1: We we think you're the greatest.
Speaker 6: And then you know we're we're right behind you, supporting you.
Speaker 1: And you know, he was able to relax a little bit.
Speaker 6: And deliver that Game five against the Padres, pitched really well.
Speaker 6: Game three against the Mets, did the same thing again
Speaker 6: in Game two against the Yankees, and then obviously the
Speaker 6: rest of his history. He had an unbelievable season, and
Speaker 6: like I said, he was super human in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: So is Kei K.
Speaker 3: A Hernandez, who is as club as they come. In
Speaker 3: the month of October, the Dodgers yesterday made it official,
Speaker 3: signing a fellow Puerto Rican, Edwin Diaz. Everybody's so excited
Speaker 3: about Timmy Trumpet. Does anybody have Timmy Trumpet on their phone?
Speaker 1: Yet?
Speaker 3: I know my son's playing it every time he goes
Speaker 3: to school. I find it hard to believe that Edwin
Speaker 3: Diaz leaving the Mets after all these years. Never called
Speaker 3: Keith a Hernandez. He actually said that he tapped into
Speaker 3: about how they treat families with the Dodgers. But how
Speaker 3: much did you play into recruiting Edwin Diaz?
Speaker 6: I played a little bit of a part, you know.
Speaker 6: I called Andrew and I let him know that, you know,
Speaker 6: the interest was legit, that the Dodgers were not just leverage,
Speaker 6: and you know that we had a real opportunity of
Speaker 6: going after this guy and getting this guy, uh, in
Speaker 6: my mind, the best closer in baseball right now.
Speaker 1: And you know, once I knew that the negotiations.
Speaker 6: Were getting real, I reached out to Sugar and I
Speaker 6: let him know that, you know, you, at the end
Speaker 6: of the day, you gotta do what's best for you
Speaker 6: and your family. But the one thing that I can
Speaker 6: assure you is that if you end up with the Dodgers,
Speaker 6: you're not gonna regret it one bit. You're gonna be
Speaker 6: just fine. Your wife and kids are going to be
Speaker 6: just fine. I told them. The worst thing about the
Speaker 6: Dodgers organization is that they're so far away from Puerto Rico,
Speaker 6: and if that's if that's the only thing that's bad
Speaker 6: about an organization, you know, you're in pretty good hands.
Speaker 6: And I just let them know, man like you come here,
Speaker 6: you know you're gonna have a chance to win year in,
Speaker 6: year out. And I think that this is the peak
Speaker 6: of baseball. And as far as an organization, I think this.
Speaker 6: You know, we play in the big leagues and the
Speaker 6: way that the Dodgers treat their people is the way
Speaker 6: that should be everywhere, but unfortunately it's not. And lucky
Speaker 6: for us we get to experience that, you know, for
Speaker 6: one hundred and sixty two games plus. And I just
Speaker 6: let him know anything you need any you know, your
Speaker 6: wife can reach out to my wife.
Speaker 1: Asks any questions that you need to ask, if.
Speaker 6: You have any doubt, no matter, it doesn't really matter,
Speaker 6: it doesn't have to be baseball, gonna be apartments.
Speaker 1: Whatever it is, just reach out. Feel free to reach out.
Speaker 6: And next time I heard from him was after I
Speaker 6: congratulate him for signing.
Speaker 3: That's beautiful. Key k Hernandez in the bond of Puerto
Speaker 3: Rico is so strong, even though Puerto Rico is so
Speaker 3: far away from La Key k Hernandez is locker. I
Speaker 3: expect to be very close to Edwin Diaz. Don't we
Speaker 3: need Key k Hernandez underneath the Dodgers Christmas tree again?
Speaker 3: We need keyk Hernandez back for a three p don't we.
Speaker 3: It feels like it's it's not a matter of if,
Speaker 3: but just when? Does it feel that way to you?
Speaker 6: I mean, yeah, but of course I just had surgery
Speaker 6: and I'm not gonna be ready for opening days, so
Speaker 6: there's no rush.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 6: If it ends up working our way and we come
Speaker 6: back to La, all that matters is that I'm ready
Speaker 6: for the second half and ready to do my thing
Speaker 6: in October.
Speaker 3: Love it and the fans want you here in LA
Speaker 3: for the full season, not just the second half of
Speaker 3: the year. We're here at the Polo Ralph Lauren store
Speaker 3: at the Citadel and Commerce. They had fitted Key k
Speaker 3: with some new swag myself and me too. So the
Speaker 3: last time you saw Keky and I together, he was
Speaker 3: talking about my nipples coming through my shirt. What do
Speaker 3: you think about this sweater? Does it hide the nipples?
Speaker 1: Still a little hard, but not as hard as they
Speaker 1: were that night?
Speaker 3: Okay, yes, that's the way we ended it out there
Speaker 3: at the Polo Ralph Lauren store and sit at the
Speaker 3: Citadel in Commerce. Don't go there now. That was Saturday.
Speaker 3: We had a great time and uh Kei k really
Speaker 3: enjoyed being there at the Polo Ralph Lauren store, meeting
Speaker 3: all of you, taking photos. A lot of families got
Speaker 3: their Christmas card pictures with keik I saw a whole
Speaker 3: softball team come out and take a picture with keik So,
Speaker 3: one of the more most popular Dodgers on this back
Speaker 3: to back World series team and going back to his
Speaker 3: time when he first started in twenty fifteen. That'll do
Speaker 3: it for us tonight on Dodger Talk. In case you
Speaker 3: missed our great conversation with Mike Sooshi and Micky Hatcher,
Speaker 3: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. We'll be
Speaker 3: back with you tomorrow night at seven o'clock. River Ryan
Speaker 3: is going to join us. I promise he won't leave
Speaker 3: his phone at home. Ronnie Fossio, thank you for your
Speaker 3: help and thank you for listening. We'll talk to you
Speaker 3: tomorrow night at seven Sea