Speaker 1: The quest for the three peat has begun.
Speaker 2: Only four teams in Major League Baseball history have won
Speaker 2: three consecutive titles. The Dodgers are the favorites to become
Speaker 2: the fifth fifth.
Speaker 1: This is world Champion Dodger Talk. Here we go again.
Speaker 2: We're got to running.
Speaker 3: Back hosted by Dodgers at Cider David Vassie in the mix.
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk is brought to you by La County Public
Speaker 3: Works Champions recycled beverage containers make the play Recycle Today,
Speaker 3: and by Children's Hospital LA from colds to cancer. We
Speaker 3: got this to get in on the show called eight
Speaker 3: six six not eighty seven two five seven day and
Speaker 3: be sure to follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, David Vasse.
Speaker 2: Welcome to a very special off night Dodger Talk. David
Speaker 2: Vase with you until eight o'clock tonight here on AM
Speaker 2: five seventy LA Sports. The Dodgers are getting set for
Speaker 2: a six game road trip in Pittsburgh and Chicago. The
Speaker 2: South side of Chicago as the Pirates and White Sox
Speaker 2: are on the schedule the next six nights, and we
Speaker 2: will have all the action for you starting tomorrow afternoon,
Speaker 2: with our coverage beginning at two thirty. First Pitch with
Speaker 2: Rick Monday and Tim Nevert tomorrow from Pittsburgh at three forty.
Speaker 2: It's Skeens Day. That's right. Eric Lower will be facing
Speaker 2: Paul Skeens tomorrow. It should be an exciting game whenever
Speaker 2: Skeens is on the mound and facing the back to
Speaker 2: back defending world champion Dodgers. We've got a great show
Speaker 2: for you tonight. And the reason why it's a great
Speaker 2: show is because we are going to celebrate a guy
Speaker 2: that has meant a lot to the Dodgers the last
Speaker 2: ten years, and that is the one and only Chris Taylor.
Speaker 2: And he is going to join us at seven point fifteen,
Speaker 2: his first interview since officially retiring from Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2: And of course so many great moments with the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: What were your great moments of Chris Taylor? And maybe
Speaker 2: if you call in now and you want to talk
Speaker 2: to Chris Taylor, maybe I'll connect you with Chris Taylor
Speaker 2: so you can celebrate CT three yourself over the phone.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy. When
Speaker 2: I think of Chris Taylor, the moments I think of
Speaker 2: is the first time I ever met him when he
Speaker 2: was traded to the Dodgers. Do you even remember who
Speaker 2: he was traded for. He was traded for a guy
Speaker 2: by the name of Zach Lee. Remember Zach Lee, the
Speaker 2: former college quarterback that turned into a pitcher that never
Speaker 2: really panned out in the Dodger organization. Great guy, by
Speaker 2: the way, But the Dodgers traded Chris Taylor, or traded
Speaker 2: Zach Lee for Chris Taylor in June of twenty sixteen,
Speaker 2: and I remember meeting Chris Taylor for the first time
Speaker 2: in pitt That's right where the Dodgers are right now.
Speaker 2: I remember exactly where I met Chris Taylor, who was
Speaker 2: right outside the Dodger Clubhouse. We walked to the dugout,
Speaker 2: we did a pregame interview. And other than that first impression,
Speaker 2: of course, if I go in chronological order here, I'm
Speaker 2: gonna think about his incredible twenty seventeen season, and I'll
Speaker 2: never forget his leadoff home run in Game one of
Speaker 2: the twenty seventeen World Series. I'll never forget his incredible
Speaker 2: Game seven catch in Milwaukee in twenty eighteen the NLCS.
Speaker 2: I'll never forget his wild Card walk off home run
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one, which arguably was his best season
Speaker 2: in the big leagues. So those are the moments that
Speaker 2: flash through my mind when you talk about Chris Taylor.
Speaker 2: We'd love to hear yours. And like I said, if
Speaker 2: you want to have a chance to talk to Chris Taylor,
Speaker 2: phone lines are open at eight, six, six, nine, eighty seven, two,
Speaker 2: five seventy.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: Are coming off winning two out of three from the Angels,
Speaker 2: and last year the Dodgers lost all six games to
Speaker 2: the Angels. This year, they swept the Angels in Anaheim
Speaker 2: and then they were able to take two out of
Speaker 2: three from the Angels at Dodgers Stadium. Despite losing thirteen
Speaker 2: to five, the Dodgers took two out of three from
Speaker 2: the Angels and now are heading off on an East
Speaker 2: Coast road trip, a family trip in Pittsburgh where there's
Speaker 2: a lot of families. I'm glad I didn't show up
Speaker 2: on this road trip because I heard there's a lot
Speaker 2: of overflow families over there in Pittsburgh right now. I mean,
Speaker 2: why would you want to take your family to Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: I have no idea why you would want to do that.
Speaker 2: But okay, the Dodgers thought they would treat their families
Speaker 2: to a very special night in Pittsburgh. Congratulations. I guess
Speaker 2: what the Dodger dads are saying to their families. If
Speaker 2: you want to earn, if you want to go to Chicago,
Speaker 2: you have to earn Chicago by going to one of
Speaker 2: my bottom five cities that the Dodgers go to in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: Right now, I mean, how many Pimanti brothers can you
Speaker 2: have on one trip? I want to know that. And
Speaker 2: you know, okay, great, you're going to Chicago. But come on, hey,
Speaker 2: by the way, coming up in ten minutes, Chris Taylor
Speaker 2: is going to join us his first interview since his
Speaker 2: official retirement. Chris Taylor is going to join us, So
Speaker 2: we can't wait for that. Coming up at seven fifteen
Speaker 2: eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number, by the way, in this series that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers and Pirates are going to face off against
Speaker 2: It's Schemes versus Lower tomorrow then Jared Jones against shoe
Speaker 2: Hey Otani. And my understanding is the blister that Otani
Speaker 2: has been dealing with is not an issue. He is
Speaker 2: going to pitch and there's not going to be any
Speaker 2: sort of you know, blister that prevents Otani from making
Speaker 2: that start. And then the finale of this series on Thursday,
Speaker 2: Justin Robleski will be going up against Mitch Keller. And
Speaker 2: speaking of show Heyotani. By the way, we'll get to
Speaker 2: Tucker and Mookie Betts after we talked to Chris Taylor.
Speaker 2: But show hey Otani. Everybody was freaking out in the
Speaker 2: month of April. And remember in Toronto Otani told me,
Speaker 2: don't worry, I will get going in May. Well, he
Speaker 2: certainly has got going in May. In the last month.
Speaker 2: In the last thirty days, Otani ranks number one in
Speaker 2: all A Major League Baseball in batting average three seventy
Speaker 2: nine average in the last month, on base percentage four
Speaker 2: sixty nine, slugging percentage six point fifty three. He's he
Speaker 2: has the third most hits in all A Major League
Speaker 2: baseball with thirty six. He has five home runs, He
Speaker 2: has seven doubles nineteen RBIs my point, and also should
Speaker 2: I bring up the pitching In ten starts, sixty one
Speaker 2: innings logged, allowed just five earned runs. Hitters are only
Speaker 2: hitting a buck forty four against Otani. He has sixty
Speaker 2: seven strikeouts and eighteen walks in ten starts. Joey Vado
Speaker 2: on Dan Patrick's show two weeks ago was way ahead
Speaker 2: of this, and that wasn't even when O'twani started taking
Speaker 2: off again offensively. This is possibly, if he continues on
Speaker 2: this trajectory, the greatest single season we have seen from
Speaker 2: any player in baseball history. And it's not even close.
Speaker 2: Barry Bonds and those seventy something home runs Okay, great, yeah, okay,
Speaker 2: a lot of people don't even recognize that. Barry Mark
Speaker 2: McGuire and breaking Roger Maris' record, and Sammy Sosa with
Speaker 2: the sixty something home runs. Great years, but nothing like this.
Speaker 2: Babe Ruth, Are you kidding me? Are we still comparing
Speaker 2: go Tani to Babe Ruth? Here's the tiebreaker. Anybody that
Speaker 2: brings a Babe Ruth to you when it comes to
Speaker 2: Show hal Tani, I could send Show Hal Tani in
Speaker 2: a time machine and he would dominate Babe Ruth's Major
Speaker 2: League Baseball generation. You bring Babe Ruth to twenty twenty six,
Speaker 2: the only thing he's dominating is me at a bar.
Speaker 2: That's it. That's the only thing Babe Ruth is dominating
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty six. Hank Aaron, he had an incredible,
Speaker 2: incredible career, but no season like this. This is the
Speaker 2: single greatest season by any baseball player. And if you
Speaker 2: have one that you think is better, I would love
Speaker 2: to know it. Eight six six nine, eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number. We're gonna take a
Speaker 2: time out here on Dodger Talk. When we come back,
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor will join us, a guy that will forever
Speaker 2: be part of Dodger history, especially in this era of
Speaker 2: greatness of Dodger baseball. David Vasse with you until eight
Speaker 2: o'clock right here on a five seventy LA Sports. David
Speaker 2: Vasse off Day, Dodger Talk with you until eight o'clock
Speaker 2: tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers open up a three game series in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.
Speaker 2: It'll be Paul Skeens on the mound for Pittsburgh, and
Speaker 2: it'll be Eric Lower on the mound for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: But right now, forget about the twenty six Dodgers. We
Speaker 2: care about a man that left it all on the
Speaker 2: field for the Dodgers from the moment he was traded
Speaker 2: here in June of twenty sixteen, until the night that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers say goodbye to Chris Taylor in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2: A man that was the co NLCS MVP in twenty seventeen.
Speaker 2: A man that made one of the greatest catches in
Speaker 2: NLCS history in twenty eighteen. A man that was an
Speaker 2: All Star in twenty twenty one and had a walk
Speaker 2: off wild card home run for the Dodgers. That is
Speaker 2: the one and only fan favorite CT three Chris Taylor. Chris,
Speaker 2: thanks a lot for coming on the show, and congratulations
Speaker 2: on a great career.
Speaker 4: Thanks Versa. That's a very nice intro. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Hey, I wish I could go on and on, Chris,
Speaker 2: but I mean, the fans certainly have showed their outpouring
Speaker 2: of support for you. Were you surprised that you got
Speaker 2: as much attention as you did about your retirement?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Honestly, the way it all went down was kind
Speaker 4: of strange. I didn't I wasn't anticipating making it public,
Speaker 4: and then it ended up getting leaked, I guess, and
Speaker 4: then and then people thought I was unretiring, and it
Speaker 4: was like kind of embarrassing. So then I'm like, Okay,
Speaker 4: now I have to say something. But no, it was
Speaker 4: all fine. It was it was cool after I made
Speaker 4: the post or after it came out, seeing all the support.
Speaker 4: I got a lot of very nice texts, and yeah,
Speaker 4: it's cool to uh to see all the love, especially
Speaker 4: from Dodgers fans, obviously playing almost ten years with them
Speaker 4: and you know, still I still think they're the best
Speaker 4: fans in baseball. And yeah, it's it always feels good
Speaker 4: to know that you were appreciated.
Speaker 2: So there was no retiring unretiring. It was just some
Speaker 2: members of the media jumping the gun a little bit
Speaker 2: too fast.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's kind of a weird way it happened. I mean,
Speaker 4: long story short, I kind of told I was with
Speaker 4: the fault like these at the time, I kind of
Speaker 4: told them that I was done. I got hit by
Speaker 4: a pitch and fractured my arm.
Speaker 1: First.
Speaker 4: I don't think a lot of people know that, but
Speaker 4: I told them that I was going to probably that's
Speaker 4: it for me. I'm going to go home with my family.
Speaker 4: And then so I, you know, signed the papers and
Speaker 4: I think it was voluntary retirement. And then so that
Speaker 4: was the transaction and that got released right away, and
Speaker 4: then when we had it switched to the IL, you know,
Speaker 4: just to try to keep it under wraps a little bit,
Speaker 4: but it was too late at that point. And then
Speaker 4: when I got switched, people thought I unretired and was
Speaker 4: coming back. It was very strange.
Speaker 2: Yes, and I know you don't love attention, and it's
Speaker 2: never and it never has been about you, But I
Speaker 2: feel like you never really fully understood how much you
Speaker 2: meant to your teammates into your fans. Do you understand
Speaker 2: that a little bit more now?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I mean I always knew the Dodger fans were always great.
Speaker 4: They were always very supportive, and I always felt loved there.
Speaker 4: You know, obviously I had some tough years towards the end,
Speaker 4: but you know, I always felt like the fans. You know,
Speaker 4: there's always gonna be some a mix of especially when
Speaker 4: you're struggling, but I felt like the the there was
Speaker 4: plenty of loyal Dodger fans that still supported me even
Speaker 4: through my struggles, and I really appreciated that.
Speaker 2: No doubt they always will when you look back at
Speaker 2: your career, I don't know if you've had a chance
Speaker 2: to reflect, Have you had a chance to reflect on
Speaker 2: your career. Is it still too soon?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's still kind of like I don't think it's
Speaker 4: fully hit me, you know. Right now, I'm just like
Speaker 4: kind of enjoying being home. I was away from my
Speaker 4: family for two months, you know, which was really tough
Speaker 4: in and Salt Lake, Utah, and my family was here
Speaker 4: in Manhattan Beach. I was flying back home every Sunday
Speaker 4: night after our games for our off day on Monday,
Speaker 4: and then meeting back up with a team on Tuesday,
Speaker 4: and you know, just to try to be here as
Speaker 4: much as I could with them while I was playing
Speaker 4: in Triple A. And that was just a really tough
Speaker 4: two months stretch. And for me obviously being away, and
Speaker 4: then for my family and my wife kind of basically
Speaker 4: being a single mom for two months, I was a grind.
Speaker 4: And so now I'm just kind of enjoying being a
Speaker 4: full time dad, stay at home dad, spending time with
Speaker 4: my family. We're going to do some things I've never
Speaker 4: gotten the opportunity to do. We're going to do some
Speaker 4: traveling and uh, yeah, so I don't think I've really
Speaker 4: fully reflected on it. But when the news of the
Speaker 4: retirement came out, you know, I saw the love and support,
Speaker 4: so that was really cool.
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor is our guest, a man that will never
Speaker 2: be forgotten in Dodger history. And can you believe that
Speaker 2: Dodgers are in Pittsburgh right now? Chris? And what do
Speaker 2: you remember about your first day in Pittsburgh wearing a
Speaker 2: Dodger uniform?
Speaker 4: That was my first game as a Dodger. I think
Speaker 4: it was yeah, yeah, very cool. I think I remember
Speaker 4: coming to the Dodgers and expecting to be way more
Speaker 4: nervous and than I was with the Mariners, just because
Speaker 4: it's the Dodgers. You know, It's like bigger stage, more fans,
Speaker 4: more publicity, higher expectation, and all of the above. And
Speaker 4: it was funny when I got there and stepped into
Speaker 4: the clubhouse. And I think that's part of what makes
Speaker 4: the Dodgers so good, was I wasn't very nervous at all.
Speaker 4: I was very comfortable. They do a great job of
Speaker 4: like letting all their players know like, you're here for
Speaker 4: a reason, we want you to be the best version
Speaker 4: of yourself, and there's no fear of failure. I feel
Speaker 4: like there's no hesitation. They want you to play aggressive,
Speaker 4: and you know, I felt that and I thought that
Speaker 4: was a big reason. It kind of brought out the
Speaker 4: best in me, where in the past I might have
Speaker 4: put too much pressure on myself, or prior to that,
Speaker 4: I might have put too much pressure on myself and
Speaker 4: played a little nervous or whatever it is, which would
Speaker 4: be common for many young players in the big leagues.
Speaker 4: And I think the Dodgers do a great job of
Speaker 4: letting their young guys specifically be comfortable in their own
Speaker 4: skin and do what got them there.
Speaker 2: Chris, I never asked you this, since we were always
Speaker 2: in the moment, and I didn't never wanted to put
Speaker 2: you on the spot more than I did. But you
Speaker 2: had a lot of close teammates, a lot of great teammates.
Speaker 2: What bonds did you form with those guys and how
Speaker 2: close are you still with the guys from that played
Speaker 2: with you from twenty seventeen to like twenty twenty.
Speaker 4: Yeah, extremely close. I think those years you just mentioned,
Speaker 4: you know, those are some of that core group of guys.
Speaker 4: Those are some of my best friends. Those are probably,
Speaker 4: to me, my closest teammates and guys that I keep
Speaker 4: in touch with, you know, guys that were at my wedding,
Speaker 4: you know, my wife is great friends with their wives.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it's uh, it was a very close group,
Speaker 4: and you know that that's not gonna change now that
Speaker 4: I'm done playing.
Speaker 2: Did Corey seeger text? You I heard he's not a
Speaker 2: very good Texter.
Speaker 4: Me and Corey are both very similar in that way,
Speaker 4: But he did he did send me a tack.
Speaker 2: Yeah, my dream is one day to have a reunion
Speaker 2: with the twenty seventeen Dodgers for obvious reasons.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was a that was a special group. I
Speaker 4: still think that might have been the best team I
Speaker 4: ever played on, even though we never won.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you guys were You guys were on another level
Speaker 2: that year. And do you remember the feeling you had
Speaker 2: when you hit that lead off home run in Game
Speaker 2: one of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 4: Kind Of I've always said, like those big moments for me,
Speaker 4: I sort of black out, But I think there was
Speaker 4: definitely some shock. You know, that entire year was a
Speaker 4: bit of a shock for me to go from what
Speaker 4: I had where I was before that, and then, you know,
Speaker 4: have the best year of my career and the biggest
Speaker 4: moments in the World Series and I'll see s MVP.
Speaker 4: It is just like all these things. It didn't. It
Speaker 4: felt very surreal.
Speaker 2: You know, it's weird, I you know how nostalgic I get.
Speaker 2: But rightfully so. You had so many great moments. The
Speaker 2: team gave us so many great moments that Dodger fans
Speaker 2: hadn't had in so many years. The team was just
Speaker 2: in Milwaukee. And no, I'm not talking about the slide.
Speaker 2: I was. I was looking at the leftfield wall, CT,
Speaker 2: and I was just envisioning you taking that route to
Speaker 2: catch that fly ball in Game seven of the eighteen NLCS.
Speaker 2: That's the only thing I think about when I go
Speaker 2: to Milwaukee.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean definitely maybe my biggest probably definitely my
Speaker 4: biggest defensive moment of my career. And just I think
Speaker 4: as a player, when you look back at everything, those moments,
Speaker 4: moments like that at the biggest stage, you know, that's
Speaker 4: why you play the game. That's what you do it for.
Speaker 4: All the hard work, all the failure, like all the
Speaker 4: low points, it's all worth it because of moments like that.
Speaker 2: My other memory view CT is after you hit the
Speaker 2: walk off home run against the Cardinals in the twenty
Speaker 2: one wildcard game. If you fast forward after the NLDS
Speaker 2: and beating the Giants. At some point we were flying
Speaker 2: back to Atlanta maybe for Game six, and you were
Speaker 2: sitting in one of those first class seats and you
Speaker 2: were you just look really really drained, like you had
Speaker 2: given everything at that point in time for one hundred
Speaker 2: and six win team. It just seemed like such a
Speaker 2: grind for you guys to get to the NLCS and
Speaker 2: to try to win that thing.
Speaker 4: I don't remember the moment you're talking about, but I've had,
Speaker 4: I know, I mean, as I'm sure it's true the
Speaker 4: flights in the playoffs, and I think a lot of
Speaker 4: players can speak to this. Your body is so worn down,
Speaker 4: your mind is worn down, like because you're just so
Speaker 4: drained because you give everything you can in those games
Speaker 4: and a lot of them are long games. And yeah,
Speaker 4: so it doesn't surprise me at all. I know, in
Speaker 4: a lot of those flights, I am like, there's no
Speaker 4: way I'm gonna be able to play tomorrow or the
Speaker 4: next day or whatever it is. But of course, as players,
Speaker 4: you know, we kind of figure it out and find
Speaker 4: a way and are we bounce back quickly. But yeah,
Speaker 4: some of those flights in the postseason, guys are limping
Speaker 4: on and off that plane. It's no joke, Hey.
Speaker 2: Chris, is that what makes what the Dodgers have done
Speaker 2: the last two years that much more incredible? With everything
Speaker 2: that you just said, the playoffs.
Speaker 4: Are, Yeah, it's hard that baseball. It's so hard to
Speaker 4: go back to back because I feel like very rarely
Speaker 4: does the best team actually win the World Series in baseball.
Speaker 4: It's just like so much of it is who gets
Speaker 4: hot at the right time, and then also the fashion
Speaker 4: in which they did it last year the probably the
Speaker 4: best World Series I've ever seen in my lifetime. So yeah,
Speaker 4: that was a special World Series for them, for sure.
Speaker 4: That was pretty incredible.
Speaker 2: All right, Chris, We appreciate you coming on, and I
Speaker 2: love that I am sharing you with the fans because
Speaker 2: everybody appreciates how you left it all out on the field,
Speaker 2: and you do such great things still to this day.
Speaker 2: I mean, I just saw a photo of you showing
Speaker 2: up unexpectedly to surprise little leaguers, and you and Mary
Speaker 2: do such a great job with the CT three foundation.
Speaker 2: I have no doubt that's going to continue, and I'm
Speaker 2: just very grateful how humble you've been through your great
Speaker 2: time with the Dodgers. You've treated me like family. You've
Speaker 2: treated my kids like family, and I feel like LA
Speaker 2: will forever treat you like family because of everything that
Speaker 2: you've done in the spirit You've done it with so
Speaker 2: on behalf of Los Angeles and Dodger fans from the
Speaker 2: South Bay to Downey to the San Fernando Valley. Just
Speaker 2: thank you for everything you did and the way you
Speaker 2: went about it.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Ves, and this feeling really as mutual. I
Speaker 4: have a love for the Dodgers and all of Los
Speaker 4: Angeles County. This is obviously my home now here in
Speaker 4: Manhattan Beach, and yeah, I'm very grateful for all of
Speaker 4: this love and support.
Speaker 2: If you ever need tickets to a game, let me
Speaker 2: know CT Well, well, keep in touch. Thanks for doing this,
Speaker 2: appreciate it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2: There, he goes. Chris Taylor, one of the iconic Dodgers
Speaker 2: of the last fifteen years, has been one of those
Speaker 2: guys that when you look back at this period of
Speaker 2: time of Dodger baseball, you will see a lot of
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor highlights because he meant that much to the
Speaker 2: team's success. And in case you didn't have a chance
Speaker 2: to call in in time to talk to Chris Taylor.
Speaker 2: I would love to hear your favorite Chris Taylor moment.
Speaker 2: Eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number more Dodger Talk until eight o'clock right
Speaker 2: here on a five to seventy. LA Sports A great
Speaker 2: guy to work with over his ten years as a Dodger.
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor, in case you missed it, joined us. If
Speaker 2: you want to hear the full conversation after the show,
Speaker 2: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. And don't
Speaker 2: forget to continue to support Chris Taylor and his wife Mary.
Speaker 2: They do such great things with the CT three Foundation,
Speaker 2: and I really hope they keep that Polar Plunge rolling
Speaker 2: because it's such a great event in February. I mean
Speaker 2: now that he's not playing, they could do it in
Speaker 2: the summer. So that's a great event for a great
Speaker 2: cause and hopefully they keep it going. So thank you
Speaker 2: to Chris Taylor for coming on the show. And heyesus
Speaker 2: from South Almonte. You're on Dodger Talk. Great to hear
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor's voice. I know you wanted to get on
Speaker 2: to talk to him, but he had a run. But
Speaker 2: thank you for calling in.
Speaker 5: Oh, thank you, David, thanks for taking my call. I
Speaker 5: just wanted to share a story that I have from
Speaker 5: twenty twenty one Playoffs Game five versus the Brains. Me
Speaker 5: and my son went to the game and we would
Speaker 5: always take a jersey of who we thought would have
Speaker 5: a great game, and I took CT three's twenty twenty
Speaker 5: World Championship jersey, the gold Ones. Yeah, and he hit
Speaker 5: those three home runs at what man A croub went wild.
Speaker 5: A couple of people noticed that I had the jersey.
Speaker 5: They were recording on their phone. They would tell me
Speaker 5: turn around and h and record that I had the jersey.
Speaker 5: We're all jumping around, and my son was like that,
Speaker 5: you're probably the only one in the stadium wearing a
Speaker 5: CP jersey. I'd like to think there's other people wearing it,
Speaker 5: but man, that was one of the great memory that
Speaker 5: I got from CT three. Great guy, great player. I
Speaker 5: know he bled his heart out for Doctor Blue, and
Speaker 5: I just wanted to share that story with you guys.
Speaker 2: David, Hey, I love that story. Haeseus and those three
Speaker 2: home runs in Game five. Because the Dodgers didn't win
Speaker 2: that series, a lot of people forget about it. Jesus
Speaker 2: but that was a great game, another clutch, great game
Speaker 2: by Chris Taylor that year. You're one hundred percent right,
Speaker 2: and if Max Scherzer wouldn't have tapped out before Game six,
Speaker 2: they may have won that NLCS and gone to the
Speaker 2: World Series.
Speaker 5: Yeah, he was, he was.
Speaker 6: He got paid.
Speaker 5: That's why he didn't want to go. He didn't want
Speaker 5: to play that of the He didn't want to pitch
Speaker 5: that game.
Speaker 2: Esverdd Jesus, Esverdad. Thank you for calling in appreciate it. Hey,
Speaker 2: that's a great story and maybe one of the most
Speaker 2: forgotten great games. Chris Taylor had a three homer game
Speaker 2: in Game five of the twenty one NLCS. Eight six
Speaker 2: six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers start a six game road trip tomorrow in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: Three in Pittsburgh against the Pirates and then three against
Speaker 2: the upstart young Chicago White Sox, who are just two
Speaker 2: games back of the Guardians in the nl Central or
Speaker 2: Al Central. And one of the young Dodgers that never
Speaker 2: really got a chance to play every day with Max
Speaker 2: Munsey and Freddie Freeman holding down the corners is Miguel Vargas,
Speaker 2: who is having an unbelievable great year for the White
Speaker 2: Sox and Miguel Vargas and the White so will face
Speaker 2: the Dodgers beginning Friday night on the South Side of Chicago,
Speaker 2: and there's a really good chance you could have Miguel
Speaker 2: Vargas starting at third base for the American League and
Speaker 2: Max Munsey starting at third base for the National League
Speaker 2: in July's All Star Game. And right now you can
Speaker 2: go to MLB dot com and vote for the All Stars.
Speaker 2: That's the way it goes now. So I would encourage
Speaker 2: you to vote not only for the Dodgers, but also
Speaker 2: for a guy like Miguel Vargas, who you know, just
Speaker 2: was a young player, never had the runway to be
Speaker 2: able to have the growing pains with Max Munsey and
Speaker 2: Freddie Freeman playing for the Dodgers trying to win a
Speaker 2: World Series. So you look back at that three way
Speaker 2: trade during the summer of twenty four between the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: the White Sox and the Cardinals. Out of those three teams,
Speaker 2: I would say the Dodgers in White Sox certainly came
Speaker 2: out on with the Dodgers winning the World Series, Tommy
Speaker 2: Edmond being a key part winning the NLCSMVP Michael Kopek,
Speaker 2: being healthy that year, was one of the bullpen dogs,
Speaker 2: a tremendous relief pitcher for the Dodgers in twenty four
Speaker 2: down the stretch and in the postseason. And the White
Speaker 2: Sox got Miguel Vargas, who you remember. After he was
Speaker 2: traded the White Sox were in Oakland. He looked very
Speaker 2: sad to be on the White Sox, but it gave
Speaker 2: him an opportunity to play every day and here he
Speaker 2: is having his breakout year. So this will be a
Speaker 2: fun road trip. It starts tomorrow with the Dodgers facing
Speaker 2: Paul Skens. Our coverage begins at two thirty with Tim
Speaker 2: Kats and Morongo Casino Dodgers on deck. First pitch from
Speaker 2: P and C Park in Pittsburgh at three point forty
Speaker 2: with Rick Monday and Tim Neverett. The only question is
Speaker 2: does Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts come out of their
Speaker 2: season long slumps starting on this road trip might be
Speaker 2: hard tomorrow against Paul Skins, But who do you have
Speaker 2: a higher concern level for, Mookie Bets or Kyle Tucker.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say both equally. I'm a little concerned Mookie
Speaker 2: Betts is thirty three years old. He does have one
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty at bats right now. I said, you
Speaker 2: got to give him some time, and Kenny Landro, the
Speaker 2: former Dodger, told me, you got to give this guy
Speaker 2: at least one hundred and fifty at bats before you
Speaker 2: start making a judgment on where Mooki Betts is at
Speaker 2: this season, especially coming off that strained right o bleak.
Speaker 2: So when you look at it, you have to give
Speaker 2: Mooky Bets the benefit of the doubt. But we're getting
Speaker 2: close to that point in time where we are going
Speaker 2: to send it to the jury here on whether or
Speaker 2: not Mookie Bets can come out of this, because it's
Speaker 2: the second straight year Mookie Bets has had a bad
Speaker 2: start to the season. And remember Mookie Bets didn't come
Speaker 2: out of slump until September and after five lessons hitting
Speaker 2: lessons with JD Martinez. JD. Martinez told us in spring
Speaker 2: training that he flew out to LA a couple of
Speaker 2: different times to work with Mookie Betts, on top of
Speaker 2: meeting him at an off site betting cage when the
Speaker 2: team was in Tampa, Florida in September. The only issue
Speaker 2: now is JD. Martinez is an official employee of the Mets.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure Uncle Stevie Cohen would appreciate JD. Martinez
Speaker 2: helping out Mookie Bets and the Dodgers now that he
Speaker 2: works for the Mets. Mookie's hitting a buck eighty three
Speaker 2: with six home runs and seventeen RBIs the only reason
Speaker 2: why he gets a little bit more of a grace
Speaker 2: period is because he's won three World Series in LA
Speaker 2: and he's playing a premium position and helping the Dodgers defensively.
Speaker 2: Can you say that about Kyle Tucker and right field,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure you can. Everybody bashed Taoscar Hernandez last year.
Speaker 2: Is Kyle Tucker that much better of a right fielder
Speaker 2: than ta Oscar Hernandez? I thought he was, and I
Speaker 2: would say he is maybe a little bit, but not
Speaker 2: by the margin that you would expect it to be.
Speaker 2: And my only concern about Kyle Tucker is that last
Speaker 2: year he had a wrist injury the second half of
Speaker 2: the season and was a two thirty hitter. He only
Speaker 2: hit five home runs and one hundred and forty three
Speaker 2: at bats the second half of last year, and so
Speaker 2: far this season that's exactly who he is with the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: The only difference is he is hitting some doubles. He
Speaker 2: has fifteen doubles and only five home runs. But if
Speaker 2: you take the second half of last year with the
Speaker 2: Cubs and the first half so far with the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: Kyle Tucker is a two thirty three hitter and his
Speaker 2: OPS is barely above seven hundred. Now, I will say this,
Speaker 2: the perception that Kyleyle Tucker does not care is completely false.
Speaker 2: I know for a fact he cares. I know for
Speaker 2: a fact he's not happy. But does it have to
Speaker 2: go back to what we've talked about with certain Dodgers
Speaker 2: that come over here. Is it too much analysis? Does
Speaker 2: the Dodger hitting coaches need to scale back the information
Speaker 2: they're giving Kyle Tucker. Does Kyle Tucker need to go
Speaker 2: more on the spectrum of Freddie Freeman to kind of
Speaker 2: move away from all that information. Sometimes less information is
Speaker 2: better for certain hitters. I don't know the inner workings
Speaker 2: of all that, but I do know the Dodgers, and
Speaker 2: we all know this, are very heavy in analytics, and
Speaker 2: maybe that is paralysis by analysis for certain players, especially
Speaker 2: a guy like Kyle Tucker. But Aaron Bates and Rob
Speaker 2: van Zoyek. How much are they really trying to change
Speaker 2: Kyle Tucker. They're just trying to help him be the
Speaker 2: best version of Kyle Tucker. I would imagine eight six six, seven,
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out
Speaker 2: to see me, Valley, Ben, You're on Dodger Talk with
Speaker 2: David basse Hi Ben.
Speaker 6: Hey, David, thanks for taking my call. Man loved the show.
Speaker 6: I was cool hearing from CT three. I wanted to
Speaker 6: bring up one of my favorite memories, or one that
Speaker 6: just stands out to me at least was one of
Speaker 6: It was twenty seventeen in the World Series Game five,
Speaker 6: that crazy back and forth game between the Astros and
Speaker 6: I remember Chris Taylor came up with two outs in
Speaker 6: the ninth inning and the and the Dodgers were losing,
Speaker 6: and he tied the game with a base hit. I
Speaker 6: think the Dodgers lost that game, but that's still a
Speaker 6: moment that came up to me. That just speaks to
Speaker 6: how clutch he was in those big moments.
Speaker 2: That was a wild game. A lot of people thought
Speaker 2: that was the most entertaining World Series game they ever saw.
Speaker 2: It was thirteen to twelve and it went into extra innings,
Speaker 2: and you're right, Chris Taylor had a big hit to
Speaker 2: tie the game in the ninth inning. I mean, when
Speaker 2: you talk about clutch players for the Dodgers from twenty
Speaker 2: sixteen to about twenty twenty two, I would say Justin Turner,
Speaker 2: I would say Key k Hernandez, and I would say
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger. Those would be my foremost
Speaker 2: clutch players the Dodgers had during that period of time.
Speaker 2: And I actually forgot about that. That was an epic
Speaker 2: game that had so many different lead changes, and I
Speaker 2: forgot about that because of the way everything else went down.
Speaker 2: But yeah, Chris Taylor singled to score Austin Barnes off
Speaker 2: of Kris Davinski, a reliever for the Astros that year,
Speaker 2: one of the better ones. The Dodgers scored three runs
Speaker 2: in the top of the ninth inning to tie it
Speaker 2: at twelve. If they win that game, they win the
Speaker 2: World Series, even with the Astros cheating Ben.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I remember Quigue wasn't I think Quig hit
Speaker 6: a homer and Cody Bellinger too also, I think was
Speaker 6: part of that rally in the ninth inning.
Speaker 2: You're right, Yeah, great memory. That's right. Yeah, Cody Bellinger,
Speaker 2: uh was on base when Yasiel Puig hit a two
Speaker 2: run home run. So yeah, great, great memory. And it's
Speaker 2: unfortunate the Astros were cheating their way to the World Series.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's on the forefront of my mind because I
Speaker 6: just I just recently watched this really good PBS documentary
Speaker 6: that covered the whole Houston scandal. Really yeah, it's it's
Speaker 6: it's it's on PBS, and uh yeah, really good coverage.
Speaker 6: You know, they talked with insiders from you know, the Astros,
Speaker 6: the I think the whistleboat blower, the original.
Speaker 2: Guy who yeah, Mike Fires, the.
Speaker 6: Athletic Yeah, I think they interviewed him. Yeah, it was
Speaker 6: It was pretty good. Uh so did.
Speaker 2: They talk to any Dodger Mine?
Speaker 6: No, they didn't. They didn't. Even the twenty seventeen World
Speaker 6: Series was not covered as much as I would want
Speaker 6: it to be, But nonetheless I thought it was good,
Speaker 6: good information. I love documentaries.
Speaker 2: Yeah, hopefully there's a greater documentary on all that, Ben,
Speaker 2: because I don't know how you do a documentary on
Speaker 2: the cheating Astros and not bring up the twenty seventeen
Speaker 2: World Series. I feel like everybody just wants to sweep
Speaker 2: that under the rug, including the commissioner at the time.
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's true. I remember when Cody Bellinger was asked about,
Speaker 6: you know, the punishment, he said, Manfred was weak, the
Speaker 6: punishment was weak. I thought that was so funny.
Speaker 2: I never saw Cody Bellinger that angry, Ben, that was
Speaker 2: in spring training. I was standing right there. I had
Speaker 2: never seen Cody Bellinger that angry and that ready to
Speaker 2: just have no filter speaking publicly that spring training when
Speaker 2: all that came out, and all the Dodgers rightfully so
Speaker 2: that were part of the seventeen World Series. I mean,
Speaker 2: think about this, Ben, What the Astros did changed lives.
Speaker 2: Rich Hill never had another chance after that year to
Speaker 2: win a World Series. Andre Ethier and Chase Sutley retired
Speaker 2: after Game seven of the seventeen World Series. Those two guys,
Speaker 2: at least Chase Suttley has a ring with the Phillies,
Speaker 2: but he put a lot into being a Dodger, and
Speaker 2: Ethier played his whole career with the Dodgers and never won. So,
Speaker 2: I mean, what those guys did is unforgivable. And as
Speaker 2: much as Major League Baseball wants all of us just
Speaker 2: to forget about it. There's no chance anybody in LA
Speaker 2: or New York will ever forget about it. That should
Speaker 2: have been that should have been a Dodgers Yankees World
Speaker 2: Series before a Dodgers Yankees World Series in twenty four.
Speaker 1: Yeah no.
Speaker 6: And that was another thing that this PBS documentary covered
Speaker 6: was the careers that the cheating scandal altered. It was
Speaker 6: there was a reliever and yeah, so got released that. Yeah,
Speaker 6: he got cut after he gave up some runs and
Speaker 6: it and it turned out after the fact that they
Speaker 6: were using the trash can against him. And he was
Speaker 6: interviewed in that documentary.
Speaker 2: Yes, Ben, thank you for the phone call. Call back
Speaker 2: anytime and hopefully after a Dodger win in Pittsburgh tomorrow.
Speaker 6: Okay, all right, thanks.
Speaker 2: Ben, appreciate it. Yeah, I mean think about this. I
Speaker 2: mentioned the players, the veteran players for the Dodgers, guys
Speaker 2: like Logan Forsyth, Andre Ethier, Chase Lee, rich Hill that
Speaker 2: never had a chance to win another World Series. At
Speaker 2: least three of them retired and then Richill continued to
Speaker 2: try to chase it just never got it. But think
Speaker 2: about Clayton Kershaw. If the Dodgers don't win in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Think about the narrative that Clayton Kershaw would have behind
Speaker 2: him in his career. Obviously there were time and look,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna go through all of it because every season,
Speaker 2: every playoff series had its own unique characteristics on why
Speaker 2: things went sideways for Kershaw. But in twenty seventeen, he
Speaker 2: was on top of his game. Game one of the
Speaker 2: World Series, he shut down the Astros. Game five, he
Speaker 2: was on his game still, but they were cheating. They
Speaker 2: were taking sliders that nobody took all year long from Kershaw.
Speaker 2: His slider was nasty in Game five, go back and
Speaker 2: watch it. They continued to perpetuate the narrative that Kershaw
Speaker 2: couldn't win the big one in October, he couldn't deliver
Speaker 2: because remember he was taken out in the fourth or
Speaker 2: fifth inning after the Astros were, you know, seemingly responding
Speaker 2: after the Dodgers would put up crooked numbers. So uh,
Speaker 2: there were a lot of different people affected by that,
Speaker 2: more than what you know. And if you take a
Speaker 2: little deeper look into it, how many lives they changed.
Speaker 2: It's unforgivable. Eight six, six, nine, seven, two five seventy
Speaker 2: is the phone number all right. That'll do it for
Speaker 2: us on Dodger Talk tonight. Like I mentioned, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: tomorrow will start a three game series in Pittsburgh and
Speaker 2: then head to the South Side of Chicago. The pitching
Speaker 2: matchups starting tomorrow will be Eric Lower against Paul Skeens, show,
Speaker 2: Hey Otani against Jerry Jones, Justin Robleski against Mitch Keller.
Speaker 2: Our coverage begins tomorrow at two thirty. First pitch from
Speaker 2: P and C Park at three forty and yeah, maybe
Speaker 2: terrorized Petros on the secret textoso about possible rain and
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh tomorrow, But I feel like first pitch is gonna
Speaker 2: get off on Uh, first pitch is gonna happen on time,
Speaker 2: so don't worry about it. Thanks to Ronnie Fossio for
Speaker 2: all his help, and thank you to Chris Taylor. It
Speaker 2: was awesome to have him on the show, his first
Speaker 2: interview since officially retiring. You can find all that on
Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app. We will talk to you tomorrow before
Speaker 2: and after the Dodgers and Pirates get ready for Game
Speaker 2: one of the series at P and C Park. Have
Speaker 2: a great rest of your night. See you