1
00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:07,600
Speaker 1: Opening Day twenty twenty four, Dad, my Hall of Fame

2
00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:12,360
Speaker 1: baseball writer Dad and myself, little old Jeff Kirkshen, Tim Kirkshin.

3
00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,400
Speaker 1: We're finally doing our podcast together. And no better day

4
00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,200
Speaker 1: of the year than to release it than on Opening Day.

5
00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,239
Speaker 2: Right, It's a national holiday in this country. It was

6
00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,959
Speaker 2: certainly a holiday in our house growing up, Jeff, parents

7
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,520
Speaker 2: take their children out of school for Opening Day. That's

8
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,519
Speaker 2: how important it is. It means that summertime is coming,

9
00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,280
Speaker 2: vacations are coming. It's the greatest day of the year,

10
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,760
Speaker 2: and it's also opening day for our podcast. Is this

11
00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:43,400
Speaker 2: Great Game? Or what Now?

12
00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,879
Speaker 1: Which is named after your second of three books? And

13
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,400
Speaker 1: I'm really glad we went with this one. Not I'm

14
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,160
Speaker 1: fascinated by Sacrifice Flies the podcast?

15
00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,960
Speaker 2: Right, agreed? Now, this podcast is going to drop every week?

16
00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000
Speaker 2: Did I use that verb properly? Drops on Tuesday? Is

17
00:00:59,040 --> 00:00:59,440
Speaker 2: that right?

18
00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 3: Yeah?

19
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,960
Speaker 2: I'm way behind on the Lincoln. On the Lincoln's correct,

20
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:08,360
Speaker 2: It's gonna drop every Tuesday. There is no heavy lifting here.

21
00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,040
Speaker 2: There's not going to be screaming back and forth. We're

22
00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,200
Speaker 2: not going to be breaking a whole lot of stories

23
00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,760
Speaker 2: on a weekly show. It is going to be a joyous, playful,

24
00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,919
Speaker 2: fun podcast. We're going to have a guest every week.

25
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,880
Speaker 2: Our first guest is our dear friend Eduardo Perez of ESPN.

26
00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,479
Speaker 3: Who told a story I'd never heard.

27
00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,959
Speaker 2: I've known him for twenty five years that when he

28
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,119
Speaker 2: was a kid, when he was a kid, he used

29
00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,280
Speaker 2: to serve beers to Johnny Bench and Pete Rose out

30
00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,800
Speaker 2: of a keg in the Reds Clubhouse when he was

31
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:39,800
Speaker 2: thirteen years old.

32
00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,600
Speaker 1: Can I just say, in comparison, I think Eddie won

33
00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,640
Speaker 1: the lottery when it came to baseball dads. He has

34
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,880
Speaker 1: a Hall of Fame baseball player Dad, he played Major

35
00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:50,720
Speaker 1: League baseball.

36
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,320
Speaker 3: And I love you, but I got the dinky sports

37
00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,120
Speaker 3: writer side of the baseball dads.

38
00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,200
Speaker 2: And let's be clear about the Hall of Fame stuff here, Jeff,

39
00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 2: they're the players. I'm I'm just a writer and that's

40
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:02,920
Speaker 2: how this worked.

41
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,480
Speaker 1: But I have to brag about you and say, in

42
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,240
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, you were enshrined in Cooperstown under the

43
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,760
Speaker 1: Baseball writer section of the Hall of Fame. And Dad

44
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:13,880
Speaker 1: look at it like this, Yeah, okay, we were not

45
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,760
Speaker 1: blessed with the height or you've got great hands and

46
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,800
Speaker 1: great athletic ability, but your two brothers are the real

47
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,840
Speaker 1: athletes in the family. You took what you were born with,

48
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,720
Speaker 1: which is an art form of telling stories, and you

49
00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,120
Speaker 1: made it into a Hall of Fame career.

50
00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:30,000
Speaker 3: I'm so proud of you.

51
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,680
Speaker 1: You are my personal and my professional hero, and I

52
00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,560
Speaker 1: mean that from the way we were raised. I always

53
00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,079
Speaker 1: wanted to be a dad, which I have a six

54
00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,680
Speaker 1: month old who were currently have the baby mind in

55
00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:42,959
Speaker 1: the background of the podcast.

56
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 3: It's a relationship show. And you taught me how to

57
00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:46,839
Speaker 3: be a dad.

58
00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:48,800
Speaker 1: You taught me how to be a storyteller, and so

59
00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,520
Speaker 1: to be able to do this podcast with you, it's

60
00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,240
Speaker 1: my dream come true.

61
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:54,639
Speaker 3: I don't want to get choked up.

62
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,520
Speaker 2: But it really is special. And we knew from a

63
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,120
Speaker 2: very early age that Jeffrey Kirchen was not going to

64
00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,360
Speaker 2: follow in his dad footsteps as a baseball writer, which

65
00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,080
Speaker 2: is okay, you were watching whose line is it? Anyway?

66
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,400
Speaker 2: When you were seven years old, you were preparing for

67
00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,920
Speaker 2: your career and now you are an accomplished morning radio

68
00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,120
Speaker 2: show host country music talk in Philadelphia. So we're going

69
00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,160
Speaker 2: to have some music talk while we're on here. Even

70
00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,880
Speaker 2: though it's obvious that I don't know anything about music.

71
00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 2: I've made that abundantly clear. I've been to three concerts

72
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,520
Speaker 2: in my entire life, and I'm sixty seven years old.

73
00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:33,519
Speaker 2: But there's gonna be a bit of a crossover there.

74
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,040
Speaker 2: But help me with this, Jeff, from the start. You've

75
00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,240
Speaker 2: told me the other day that Ed Sheeron is Mike Trout. Now,

76
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 2: now quickly explain how Mike Trout and Ed Sheeron are

77
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 2: the same in the history of sports and music.

78
00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,040
Speaker 1: You have to understand when I talk to you about

79
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,960
Speaker 1: anything that's not baseball related, it's like comparing you have

80
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,000
Speaker 1: to talk to a child, right, I have to compare

81
00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,480
Speaker 1: it in terms that you can understand. So when I

82
00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,720
Speaker 1: say that Edge Sharon is the Mike Trout of music,

83
00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,760
Speaker 1: he writes music, he performs, he puts out albums.

84
00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,080
Speaker 3: He's that good. So he's a five.

85
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 2: Tool singer, is what you're saying.

86
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,040
Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, So this is obviously we got to get

87
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,760
Speaker 1: back to the most important part of today, which is

88
00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,839
Speaker 1: the holiday that is Opening Day, and we have a

89
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,880
Speaker 1: lot We have twenty six weeks of the baseball season

90
00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:25,200
Speaker 1: in order to talk about all of the crap that

91
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,719
Speaker 1: we want to get into as well as the music

92
00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:29,039
Speaker 1: industry and whatever it might be.

93
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,960
Speaker 3: But it's about opening Day today, right.

94
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,560
Speaker 2: But before we get there, I want to explain what

95
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,719
Speaker 2: this whole podcast is about. Is this a great game

96
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,320
Speaker 2: or what? This whole podcast is a tribute to my father.

97
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:46,360
Speaker 2: Jeff your grandfather, and we named you after my father.

98
00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,120
Speaker 2: The second book I wrote is called Is This a

99
00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,960
Speaker 2: Great Game or What? Because my dad had the greatest

100
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000
Speaker 2: feel for baseball. He loved the sport. He was a

101
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,359
Speaker 2: really good player. And the number of times I watched

102
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,520
Speaker 2: him like slap his forehead with something of baseball. What happened?

103
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,480
Speaker 2: He look at me to go, is this a great

104
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,880
Speaker 2: game or what? That is the reason that I wrote

105
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,160
Speaker 2: that book. He is the reason that we have a podcast.

106
00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,120
Speaker 2: And there is my dad up there holding Jeffrey Kirchin.

107
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,080
Speaker 2: I think you're about eighteen years old. In that you

108
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,239
Speaker 2: were a very small child as and I was even

109
00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 2: smaller than you at that age. But that's the point

110
00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,240
Speaker 2: of this. And again, this is gonna be a fun,

111
00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:28,200
Speaker 2: playful podcast that we're gonna do twenty six weeks during

112
00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:29,920
Speaker 2: the regular season. I can't wait.

113
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,400
Speaker 1: As mentioned before, EDWARDO Perez, former major leaguer, current ESPN

114
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,680
Speaker 1: baseball analyst is going to join us to give his

115
00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,039
Speaker 1: take on opening Day. I can't wait to talk to

116
00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:40,480
Speaker 1: a former player and the son of a former player.

117
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,760
Speaker 1: So he's been in dugouts and around baseball his entire life,

118
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:45,960
Speaker 1: similar to a certain degree of the way I grew

119
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,760
Speaker 1: up in a baseball household. Opening Day is a holiday.

120
00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,960
Speaker 1: Let's get your kind of quick hits. Quick hits here

121
00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,800
Speaker 1: on your favorite Opening Day stories. After covering the game

122
00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,880
Speaker 1: for one hundred and seventy right.

123
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,240
Speaker 2: Well, I have a million of them, Jeff, I'm going

124
00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,680
Speaker 2: to personalize a couple of these, because that's what makes

125
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,520
Speaker 2: opening days so special. Twenty seventeen, I went to Stephen Vote,

126
00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,600
Speaker 2: who's now the manager of the Guardians. He was the

127
00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,040
Speaker 2: primary catcher for the Oakland A's at the time, and

128
00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:16,679
Speaker 2: if we had a talent show in baseball, he would

129
00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,200
Speaker 2: win every time. Like you, he can sing, he can dance,

130
00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:22,760
Speaker 2: he can play the piano, he can do anything.

131
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,560
Speaker 3: But I can't hit a ninety. Well neither can I.

132
00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,000
Speaker 2: Well aware, So on Opening Day of twenty seventeen, I

133
00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,600
Speaker 2: go to Stephen Vote. We're doing the game at wardaprezkar

134
00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:34,719
Speaker 2: Ravach and myself. We're doing the game from the booth,

135
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,680
Speaker 2: and I say, Stephen, could you tape something for me

136
00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,240
Speaker 2: before the game that we can play before your first back?

137
00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:42,560
Speaker 2: Can you give us something great?

138
00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:42,760
Speaker 4: Like?

139
00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,160
Speaker 2: Can you give us the in a van down by

140
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,120
Speaker 2: the River skit from Saturday Night Live? Trust me, Jeff,

141
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,719
Speaker 2: I've seen this nobody, but nobody does it better Rice

142
00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,719
Speaker 2: divorce and living in a van down the River. Sorry,

143
00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,240
Speaker 2: Steven Vote says, I can't do that. That's just for

144
00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 2: my teammates. So he says, but I'll sing for you.

145
00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,200
Speaker 2: So on three hours before the first pitch on opening day,

146
00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 2: in full uniform, he sings three three Disney songs for me.

147
00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:20,120
Speaker 2: It was including something from The Little Mermaid.

148
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,600
Speaker 3: Which was yes, I remember this.

149
00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,520
Speaker 2: So we play the clip of the Little Mermaid before

150
00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,880
Speaker 2: his first at bat, and in his first at bat,

151
00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,840
Speaker 2: seconds later, he hits a home run. It was unbelievable.

152
00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,320
Speaker 2: It was like from under the sea to over the fence.

153
00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,800
Speaker 2: It was like from Ariel to Ariel. It was unbelievable.

154
00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,120
Speaker 2: Those are the moments that have no importance in baseball history.

155
00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,440
Speaker 2: But how can that not be unforgettable? When a guy

156
00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,680
Speaker 2: sings you a song about a mermaid and then he

157
00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,040
Speaker 2: hits a home run. A few seconds later.

158
00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:54,760
Speaker 1: You mentioned baseball history. I want to get to the

159
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,920
Speaker 1: most important in the history of the game, opening days.

160
00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,520
Speaker 1: But I'm sure you have more personal stories of your

161
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,600
Speaker 1: favorite opening Yeah.

162
00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:03,680
Speaker 2: A couple of years ago, Joey Vado is playing for

163
00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,440
Speaker 2: the Reds. Future Hall of Famer Joey Vado. What a

164
00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,000
Speaker 2: character here, right, Oh my gosh. On my way to

165
00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,320
Speaker 2: Atlanta for Opening Day to do the game with Ravi Eduardo,

166
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,600
Speaker 2: David Kohne i on Earthed that Joey Vado has never

167
00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,600
Speaker 2: popped out to the picture in his career. Now, I

168
00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,920
Speaker 2: understand it's hard to pop out to the picture, doesn't

169
00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,600
Speaker 2: have very often, but not once in fifteen years. And

170
00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,640
Speaker 2: I'm actually thinking to myself on the way to Atlanta,

171
00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,480
Speaker 2: this would be great if I'm doing a game and

172
00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,480
Speaker 2: Joey Vado pops out to the picture on opening eight.

173
00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,280
Speaker 2: What are the chances? Zero percent chance? So sixth inning

174
00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,640
Speaker 2: rolls around and he hits a foul pop up, the

175
00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:46,800
Speaker 2: picture runs over and catches it, and I am now hyperventilating.

176
00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,000
Speaker 2: I'm in the dugout. I'm absolutely going berserk. I'm apoplectic

177
00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,000
Speaker 2: because this is exactly what I had prayed for Look,

178
00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,320
Speaker 2: it's pathetic, Jeff that I knew that he never popped

179
00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,800
Speaker 2: out to the picture. It's even more pathetic that I

180
00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:02,720
Speaker 2: was that excited that he did. So I got on

181
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,559
Speaker 2: with rab from the booth and I explained the whole

182
00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,840
Speaker 2: how this has never happened before, and my voice is

183
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,440
Speaker 2: completely out of control. I sound like I'm ten years old.

184
00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,560
Speaker 2: And RAVI looks at Cody, who hadn't worked much with me,

185
00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,640
Speaker 2: and said, Tim gets a little excited at when he does,

186
00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:22,120
Speaker 2: his voice tends to go up. So Steven vote Joey

187
00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,000
Speaker 2: Vado two of my favorite thing.

188
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,680
Speaker 1: Not to divert too much, but you mentioned your voice,

189
00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,640
Speaker 1: and we have a lot of similarities, and it's so funny.

190
00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,640
Speaker 1: I host a country morning show in Philadelphia on ninety

191
00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,040
Speaker 1: two five X to you, and and when mostly you

192
00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,560
Speaker 1: know men figure out that I'm Tim Kirchen's son, they go, oh,

193
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,160
Speaker 1: my gosh, that's what it is. They'll listen to my

194
00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,599
Speaker 1: show and Philly and think, I've heard this before, but

195
00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:46,079
Speaker 1: I don't know.

196
00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:47,400
Speaker 3: I don't know who Jeff is.

197
00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,439
Speaker 1: He's a new guy in the air, and they say, oh,

198
00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,760
Speaker 1: it makes sense that you're Tim Kirchen.

199
00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,120
Speaker 2: Such all right. The voices are terrible. Mine is awful.

200
00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,880
Speaker 2: Yours is almost as bad. But that's not the point.

201
00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,199
Speaker 2: We are providing content here and stories also, so my

202
00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,120
Speaker 2: in spring training of nineteen eighty two, this is my

203
00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,200
Speaker 2: first year, is a full time, full time beat writer

204
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,319
Speaker 2: and with the Dallas Morning News the Rangers, my team

205
00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,839
Speaker 2: are playing in Cleveland, and just a couple of weeks

206
00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,880
Speaker 2: before spring, before the opener, Mickey Rivers and the mischievous

207
00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,000
Speaker 2: centerfielder for the Rangers comes up to me. I'd known

208
00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,720
Speaker 2: him for three weeks in my life, and he goes, Tim,

209
00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,319
Speaker 2: can you loan me two thousand dollars? I said, Mickey,

210
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,760
Speaker 2: I'm making fourteen thousand dollars a year. I don't have

211
00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,760
Speaker 2: two thousand dollars period. Buddy Bell, also the Rangers, comes

212
00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,040
Speaker 2: up to me and says, whatever you do, don't load

213
00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:40,640
Speaker 2: Mickey anybody. You'll never see it again. I think Mickey

214
00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:42,920
Speaker 2: had a bit of a gambling issue. Not the point.

215
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,800
Speaker 2: The point is on opening day of nineteen eighty two,

216
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,800
Speaker 2: the rookie center fielder for the Rangers, George Wright, went

217
00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,760
Speaker 2: three for four. Rangers win eight to three. I go

218
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,840
Speaker 2: to George right after the game and say George, did

219
00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,640
Speaker 2: you have a good time today, and he goes, yeah,

220
00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,360
Speaker 2: I've never been to a major league game before. Stop it. Yes,

221
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,360
Speaker 2: So the first major league game he'd ever attended, he

222
00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,320
Speaker 2: got three hits. Think about that. And then I just

223
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,480
Speaker 2: heard this story recently that Mickey Rivers, who loved George

224
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,520
Speaker 2: Wright and wanted him to make the team, faked an injury,

225
00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,280
Speaker 2: fake day hamstring injury, and said I can't play. You

226
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,839
Speaker 2: gotta put me on the DL for Opening Day. That's

227
00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,880
Speaker 2: how George Wright ended up on the team. That's how

228
00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:28,280
Speaker 2: George Wright's career began, is that Mickey faked an injury

229
00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,000
Speaker 2: and George Wright went out and got three hits in

230
00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,200
Speaker 2: the only major league game he'd ever attended. That's the

231
00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:35,360
Speaker 2: beauty of Opening Day.

232
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,840
Speaker 1: And most people in their first major league game are like,

233
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 1: I down.

234
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,960
Speaker 3: Three soft serves and he got three hits.

235
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,000
Speaker 1: He got three hits. It's a little bit different there,

236
00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,600
Speaker 1: all right. So we've talked your person. I know you

237
00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,439
Speaker 1: could go on for hours on your favorite Opening Day

238
00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,240
Speaker 1: stories because you have attended quite a few yourself, but

239
00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,320
Speaker 1: I want to talk more kind of the I guess

240
00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,200
Speaker 1: the perspective of your historical knowledge of the game biggest

241
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,080
Speaker 1: opening days in the history of the game.

242
00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,160
Speaker 2: Well, I'm not sure there's a way around. Nineteen forty

243
00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,080
Speaker 2: seven Jackie Robinson debuted with the Dodgers and changed the

244
00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,480
Speaker 2: game by breaking the color barrier. That has to be

245
00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:12,080
Speaker 2: number one.

246
00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,080
Speaker 1: And I think, Dad, you know, this is our first

247
00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,520
Speaker 1: episode of the podcast, but week by week we're kind

248
00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,040
Speaker 1: of kind of have a theme, I guess you could say.

249
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,760
Speaker 1: And definitely, during Jackie Robinson Day major League Baseball, we

250
00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,680
Speaker 1: really got to dedicate a little more time to the

251
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,680
Speaker 1: impact of that. Not to be nerdy, but I took

252
00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,680
Speaker 1: a lot of courses in college about the impact of

253
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,920
Speaker 1: African American politics and the civil rights movement and how

254
00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,520
Speaker 1: big Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was not just

255
00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,040
Speaker 1: for baseball but for the country.

256
00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:40,400
Speaker 3: I want to get more into that.

257
00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,560
Speaker 1: But you're right, that's probably the number one most important

258
00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:44,240
Speaker 1: opening day.

259
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,440
Speaker 2: Right And number two is nineteen seventy four. I was

260
00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,360
Speaker 2: a senior in high school and Hank Aaron is going

261
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,280
Speaker 2: for home run number seven point fifteen to pass Babe

262
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,920
Speaker 2: Ruth as an all time home run hitter. So the

263
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,400
Speaker 2: backstory is that the Braves, Hank's team had determined he

264
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,080
Speaker 2: wasn't going to play the first three games of the

265
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,000
Speaker 2: season in Cincinnati because they wanted him to hit seven

266
00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,760
Speaker 2: fourteen and seven fifteen at home.

267
00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,360
Speaker 1: So he entered the season at seven to one, three

268
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:16,240
Speaker 1: run shy of Babe Bruth's.

269
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,559
Speaker 2: Record, right, and they were going to sit him out,

270
00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,240
Speaker 2: and Buie Kune, the Commissioner of Baseball, said no, no, no,

271
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,720
Speaker 2: He's playing. So on opening Day that year, he had

272
00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,360
Speaker 2: a home run off of Jack Billingham to hit number

273
00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,839
Speaker 2: seven fourteen. They go back to Atlanta, still at seven

274
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,560
Speaker 2: fourteen and Hank Aaron while I'm watching the game with

275
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,120
Speaker 2: my dad, your grandfather, my two brothers in the living

276
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,600
Speaker 2: room on Stoneham Road, he hits number seven fifteen. It

277
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,560
Speaker 2: was an unforgettable moment. And the backstory there is that

278
00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,120
Speaker 2: Tom House was a relief pitcher for the Braves, and

279
00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,400
Speaker 2: all the relievers got spots where they were allowed to

280
00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,320
Speaker 2: line up behind the center field fence by seniority in

281
00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,240
Speaker 2: case they were able to catch number seven, so that

282
00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,360
Speaker 2: they could say, I want who caught it right, So

283
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,599
Speaker 2: Cecil Upshaw, their most veteran reliever, got right down the

284
00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,160
Speaker 2: left field line. Because Hank tend to hook the ball.

285
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,120
Speaker 2: Tom House got the last pick. He was way out

286
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,280
Speaker 2: in left center field and he said, I didn't think

287
00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,360
Speaker 2: there was any chance it was coming to me. And

288
00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,080
Speaker 2: then he told me years later, the ball goes up

289
00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,520
Speaker 2: and Tom Howse never even moved and caught it right here,

290
00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,400
Speaker 2: and he had the last pick. He had the last pick.

291
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,520
Speaker 2: Then he ran the ball in and when he got

292
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,520
Speaker 2: to home plate, Hank Aaron was a home plate and

293
00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:34,320
Speaker 2: he was crying at home plate because the pressure was off.

294
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,400
Speaker 2: He had passed Babe Ruth and he was the all

295
00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:38,800
Speaker 2: time home run hitter.

296
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:40,960
Speaker 3: That's incredible. And you remember watching that as a.

297
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,320
Speaker 2: Kid, Oh yeah, and you were Let's see, I was

298
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:45,800
Speaker 2: a teen, I was seventeen years old.

299
00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:46,160
Speaker 4: Yeah.

300
00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:51,160
Speaker 2: So the following year, nineteen seventy five, Frank Robinson was

301
00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,320
Speaker 2: the Indians manager, and he's the first African American manager

302
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,640
Speaker 2: in baseball history. Starting that day, he was also a

303
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,920
Speaker 2: player manager. But he didn't put himself in the lineup

304
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,400
Speaker 2: on the first day. So Phil Segy, his general manager,

305
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,320
Speaker 2: came down and said, Frank, you got.

306
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,440
Speaker 3: To play today. This is your day.

307
00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,160
Speaker 2: So reluctantly he put himself in number two in the

308
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,040
Speaker 2: order for the Indians. He comes up in the first

309
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,680
Speaker 2: inning and Doc met Itch, a pitcher for the Yankees,

310
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,360
Speaker 2: seventy three thousand people watching this game, gets ahead zero

311
00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,920
Speaker 2: to two on Frank Robinson and then throws in this

312
00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:30,240
Speaker 2: filthy slider just missing off the outside part of the plate,

313
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,880
Speaker 2: and Frank takes it for ball one. And Frank told

314
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,760
Speaker 2: me years later he started thinking, he goes, this son

315
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:37,880
Speaker 2: of a bitch is trying to strike me out on

316
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:39,080
Speaker 2: three pitches.

317
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,400
Speaker 3: On my day, Nobody does.

318
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,520
Speaker 2: That to me. And he hit the next pitch over

319
00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,440
Speaker 2: the left center field fence for a home run, and

320
00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,880
Speaker 2: that is Frank Robinson. And to finish the history lesson

321
00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,960
Speaker 2: nineteen twenty six, Eddie Rommel faced Walter Johnson, who is

322
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,760
Speaker 2: the greatest pitcher in the history of the game, and

323
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,640
Speaker 2: they both pitched on opening Day and Walter Johnson won

324
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,520
Speaker 2: one to nothing, and both pictures went fifteen innings. And

325
00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,200
Speaker 2: Walter Johnson was thirty eight years old when he pitched

326
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,640
Speaker 2: a one nothing shut out in fifteen innings on opening day.

327
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,560
Speaker 1: You're hard pressed to get a pitcher pitching six innings.

328
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,520
Speaker 2: Look, if anyone pitches a complete game on opening Day today,

329
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,880
Speaker 2: I will give you one thousand dollars. He went fifteen

330
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,280
Speaker 2: innings at age thirty eight.

331
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,280
Speaker 1: Let me read your mind. What were you gonna say next?

332
00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:31,000
Speaker 1: Tell me I'm wrong?

333
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:32,880
Speaker 3: Were you gonna say? Guess where I went to high.

334
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:33,440
Speaker 2: School, Jef?

335
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,240
Speaker 3: Walter Johnson High School. But that's the barrel. Well, this

336
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,200
Speaker 3: proves that I went to Walter Johnson High School. I

337
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,960
Speaker 3: have right. And let's see how well you know my life, Jeb.

338
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,400
Speaker 2: What was the name of the school paper, the pitch,

339
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,680
Speaker 2: what was the dame of the what was the name

340
00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:48,960
Speaker 2: of the of the yearbook?

341
00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,160
Speaker 1: And any chance listen and this is the funny part

342
00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,560
Speaker 1: about the podcast, and you'll take through this journey.

343
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:57,760
Speaker 3: A lot of these stories are.

344
00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:57,960
Speaker 2: New to me.

345
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,160
Speaker 1: I mean that, and I love being a student of

346
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,760
Speaker 1: the game and listening to these history lessons, but a

347
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,720
Speaker 1: lot of them I could definitely probably finish for you,

348
00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:06,879
Speaker 1: especially when.

349
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:08,399
Speaker 3: It comes to to wind up.

350
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,680
Speaker 2: I tend to repeat myself once in a while, Jeff,

351
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:13,840
Speaker 2: but we have a new audience.

352
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,879
Speaker 1: We have the great stories, and you should repeat your

353
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,359
Speaker 1: best stories for this podcast.

354
00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:19,199
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

355
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,840
Speaker 1: Okay, So Walter Johnson History of the Game, and I

356
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,480
Speaker 1: think you're leaving out one massive opening day of all time,

357
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,680
Speaker 1: which would be the only no hitter an opening day right.

358
00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:35,240
Speaker 2: Bob Feller of the Indians, who was Pop's all time favorite,

359
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,480
Speaker 2: Pittuer told me he's the greatest picture I've ever seen.

360
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,080
Speaker 2: He pitched a no hitter on opening gates, the only

361
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,560
Speaker 2: time in major league history that a picture has thrown

362
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,280
Speaker 2: a no hitter on opening Day. And if you believe that,

363
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,680
Speaker 2: everyone's you know, average before the game is zero zero zero.

364
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,240
Speaker 2: It's the only game in major history where everyone's average

365
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,120
Speaker 2: after the game was the same as it was before

366
00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:02,119
Speaker 2: the game, zero zero zero. So that's where Bob Feller

367
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,520
Speaker 2: ranks in baseball history. Only guy to do that.

368
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,480
Speaker 1: Eduardo Perez is going to be joining us to give

369
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,280
Speaker 1: his take. I'm really excited to get talking with him.

370
00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,280
Speaker 1: But to wrap up our well, we're gonna talk opening

371
00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,240
Speaker 1: Day with him, of course, but to wrap up just

372
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:15,400
Speaker 1: you and I on Opening Day.

373
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,879
Speaker 3: Do you have any quirk gins that you want to share.

374
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,360
Speaker 2: Let's be clear, We're gonna have quirchins on every episode

375
00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,639
Speaker 2: of this podcast. Quirk Gins are just the funny things,

376
00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,160
Speaker 2: the quirky things that I love to come up with.

377
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,120
Speaker 2: I've been doing this literally since I was seven years old.

378
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,119
Speaker 2: Now I'm sixty seven, and I'm still doing it a

379
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,879
Speaker 2: quirk gin. For instance, this is a very small one.

380
00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:40,840
Speaker 2: Prince Fielder and his dad, Cecilfielder, finished their careers with

381
00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:45,200
Speaker 2: exactly three hundred and nineteen home runs. Jeff, that's impossible

382
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,879
Speaker 2: that that could happen, So a couple of quirkchins for

383
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:53,560
Speaker 2: opening Day. Four different players have hit three home runs

384
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:59,320
Speaker 2: on opening Day, Toughye Rhads, Matt Davidson, Dimitri Young, and

385
00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,720
Speaker 2: George Bell that Jeff, I know you don't know much

386
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,520
Speaker 2: about baseball, but seriously, have you ever heard of any

387
00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:06,520
Speaker 2: of those four guys.

388
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,399
Speaker 3: Well, I'll tell you right now.

389
00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,680
Speaker 1: Toughie Road sounds like a character in the Cars series

390
00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:12,320
Speaker 1: from Disney Pixar.

391
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,880
Speaker 3: No, I haven't heard of a Toughy Rose, but I'm

392
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:18,040
Speaker 3: guessing he played in eighteen ninety one.

393
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,639
Speaker 2: Or no, Toffie Roads did this in nineteen ninety four.

394
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 2: Now get this, Jeff. He had five career homers entering

395
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,600
Speaker 2: Opening Day, and he hit three in one game against

396
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,800
Speaker 2: Dwight Gooden, who was close to being the most dominant

397
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,040
Speaker 2: pitcher in baseball at the time.

398
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,480
Speaker 1: Revisit five home runs for his entire career leading then

399
00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:38,880
Speaker 1: he had.

400
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:42,639
Speaker 2: Three in one game, and he finished his career with

401
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,800
Speaker 2: twelve home runs, but three of them came on opening Day.

402
00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:51,000
Speaker 2: This is why it's so beautiful now. The record another

403
00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,680
Speaker 2: quirk gin that only I love for most home runs

404
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,879
Speaker 2: by a player on opening day is not one opening

405
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,040
Speaker 2: day that would be a record is eight. Hen Griffy Junior,

406
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,679
Speaker 2: Frank Robinson, Adam Dunn all hit eight homers on opening

407
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,240
Speaker 2: day in their careers. And yet, and yet, Johnny Bench

408
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,080
Speaker 2: hit three hundred and eighty nine homers and never hit

409
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,160
Speaker 2: a home run on opening days. Adrian Beltrade our newest

410
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,119
Speaker 2: Hall of Famer, four hundred and seventy seven homers, none

411
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:24,879
Speaker 2: on opening day. Madison Bumgardner, a pitcher, hit two homers

412
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,560
Speaker 2: on opening days, the only pitcher ever to do that,

413
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,520
Speaker 2: but Adrian Beltraye never did. And then and then, in

414
00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 2: the early two thousands, the Mets had a little infielder

415
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,640
Speaker 2: named kas Matsui who hit the first pitch that he

416
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,600
Speaker 2: saw that season, of course, on opening day, for a

417
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,119
Speaker 2: home run, and the next season he hit the first

418
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 2: pitch that he saw of the season for a home run.

419
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,720
Speaker 2: Only man ever did a home run on the first

420
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,400
Speaker 2: pitch he saw on opening day two years in a row,

421
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:56,520
Speaker 2: and just follow it up the next year.

422
00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:58,639
Speaker 3: The next year he was hurt.

423
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,520
Speaker 2: The next year he wasn't active on opening Day, but

424
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,919
Speaker 2: in his first game back, which was like April twenty first,

425
00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,000
Speaker 2: he had a home run in his.

426
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:08,680
Speaker 3: First at bat.

427
00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,399
Speaker 2: Not not part's pitch, but still three years in a row,

428
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:14,400
Speaker 2: three years in a row he had a home run

429
00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:16,800
Speaker 2: in his first at bat of the season. Two of

430
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 2: those were on the first pitch. And just to show

431
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,760
Speaker 2: you again, Jeff, how pathetic I am. I did a

432
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,120
Speaker 2: note for Sports Illustrated. You know, early nineties, mid nineties,

433
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,200
Speaker 2: Ron Karkoweis catcher for the White Sox, went over five

434
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,200
Speaker 2: with five strikeouts in one game, and I checked. He's

435
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,360
Speaker 2: the only player ever to go over five with five

436
00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:38,800
Speaker 2: strikeouts in one game. So I checked every year for

437
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,800
Speaker 2: almost thirty years to find the next guy to do it.

438
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,600
Speaker 2: And last year, twenty twenty three, Max Munsey of the Dodgers.

439
00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,080
Speaker 3: My money was either on Max Monsey or Kyle Schwarber.

440
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,119
Speaker 3: I wasn't here which one was gonna do it.

441
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,639
Speaker 2: Max Munsey went oh for five with five strikeouts on

442
00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,880
Speaker 2: opening Day, and Jeff, again, I woke up at you know,

443
00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,480
Speaker 2: six o'clock in the morning. Is all He's drank a

444
00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 2: diet mount Dew and devoured the box scores, which is

445
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 2: what I do every single day of my life. And

446
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,600
Speaker 2: there was as big as day zero for five with

447
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,639
Speaker 2: five strikeouts. It was like the greatest morning of my

448
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,159
Speaker 2: entire life that this had actually happened again when I

449
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,160
Speaker 2: checked it every Opening Day for thirty years.

450
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,480
Speaker 3: So I want to share with everybody listening. First of all,

451
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:21,119
Speaker 3: thank you.

452
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,520
Speaker 1: We have EDWARDO Perez coming up to join us to

453
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,119
Speaker 1: talk Opening Day and to talk his life as a

454
00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,439
Speaker 1: baseball player and growing up in a dugout with a

455
00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,000
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame baseball player father. But I want to

456
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,040
Speaker 1: make sure everybody knows that we have a website which

457
00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,960
Speaker 1: is crazy great game or what dot Com?

458
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,440
Speaker 3: I handled it. Don't worry, Dad, I know you're like.

459
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,080
Speaker 2: I don't know. You know, I wouldn't know how to

460
00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:43,399
Speaker 2: do that.

461
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:44,760
Speaker 3: You can go to Great Game.

462
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,560
Speaker 2: I rarely use my cell phone.

463
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 3: Great Game or what dot Com?

464
00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,159
Speaker 1: We also should share real fast to your point of

465
00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:57,560
Speaker 1: being technologically inadequate. We're in my basement in Montgomery County,

466
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,720
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania right now. Dad is going to in the times

467
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,399
Speaker 1: he's available drive to me because we're so scared of

468
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:06,560
Speaker 1: him having to set up his own computer just to

469
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:07,800
Speaker 1: do a podcast with his son.

470
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 3: We think, and I think it's a good idea.

471
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,359
Speaker 2: Easier for you to drive three hours way easier because

472
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 2: I am not gonna be tortured by the technology when

473
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 2: I'm by myself. I cannot begin to tell you how

474
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,080
Speaker 2: lonely I feel with me and technology alone in the room.

475
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 1: So we're gonna do We're gonna video our podcast so

476
00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 1: you can check it out. Great game or what dot com?

477
00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:32,680
Speaker 3: It's in the cards? Is this a great game?

478
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:32,919
Speaker 2: Or what?

479
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:33,840
Speaker 3: The podcast?

480
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,080
Speaker 1: And this is like a childhood memory of mine is

481
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,200
Speaker 1: ripping out all of the cards of a top spaceball

482
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:41,600
Speaker 1: card pack. It's the best feeling.

483
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,160
Speaker 2: It's the greatest And one of the traditions in our

484
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 2: house when we were growing up is our dad Pop,

485
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,440
Speaker 2: your grandfather used to buy his three boys a package

486
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,680
Speaker 2: of baseball cards on opening day. We didn't have enough

487
00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 2: money to go to the games on opening day in Washington,

488
00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,920
Speaker 2: d C. But that was one way that we signify

489
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 2: the opening of the baseball season was baseball cards. And

490
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,199
Speaker 2: I loved my cards. I played with my cards, we

491
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,639
Speaker 2: traded them, we played flips with it. Touchies with it

492
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,480
Speaker 2: like that. Other people used to take their cards, never

493
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,080
Speaker 2: take them out of the box and put them on

494
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,119
Speaker 2: the top of the closet, so they'd be worth a

495
00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 2: lot of money. Someday I couldn't do that. Plus, we

496
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,400
Speaker 2: used to take our cards and get them signed at

497
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,880
Speaker 2: the Shorham Hotel on Sunday mornings. Our dad would take

498
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 2: us down there. So one time I bring my Bert

499
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,720
Speaker 2: Campinera's card shortstop for the A's a million years ago.

500
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,440
Speaker 2: I see this guy walking through the lobby street clothes.

501
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 2: It's a hotel, and I'm sure it's Bert Campania. So

502
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,439
Speaker 2: I go up to him and I say, could you

503
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,600
Speaker 2: please sign this baseball card? And he looks at me

504
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 2: and he goes, I'd be happy to, but I'm not

505
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,520
Speaker 2: a baseball player. And he signed it anyway, And it

506
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,719
Speaker 2: turned out to be Harry Bellefonte, No, who ended up

507
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:59,119
Speaker 2: being way more accomplished and way more famous than Bert Campinia.

508
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 2: So I I have Harry Belafonte. He's autographed somewhere in

509
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:04,399
Speaker 2: my files.

510
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:05,119
Speaker 3: On the wrong card.

511
00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:06,959
Speaker 2: On the wrong card, of course.

512
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 1: All right, so let's open these up. We've got tops.

513
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 1: Let's see, this is a twenty twenty four Series one. Okay,

514
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 1: here we go, all right, Right out of the gate,

515
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,280
Speaker 1: we got Salvador Perez, no relation to Eduardo by the way,

516
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 1: our buddy who's on episode one.

517
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,359
Speaker 2: Salvador Perez, really good player, potential future Hall of Famer,

518
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,639
Speaker 2: gigantic behind the plate, Jeffrey buck Showalder used to call

519
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 2: him a giant pillow back there because he was so

520
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,679
Speaker 2: soft and he was so big. As a kid, he

521
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,200
Speaker 2: told me that he wasn't allowed to play in his league,

522
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,879
Speaker 2: even though he was the right age six or seven,

523
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,280
Speaker 2: if he was too big to be in the league.

524
00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,119
Speaker 2: So he told me he always used to have to

525
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,280
Speaker 2: duck down on yes at the tryouts to make sure

526
00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:52,680
Speaker 2: people thought he was smaller than he was. A couple

527
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,080
Speaker 2: times he got caught and they didn't let him play

528
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,600
Speaker 2: because he was too big, not because he was too old.

529
00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:58,760
Speaker 3: Right, he was too big.

530
00:25:58,920 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 2: Right.

531
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:01,240
Speaker 3: We never had that, oh for us, of course.

532
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 1: All right, Next up, we got Matt Olsen oh landa

533
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:06,320
Speaker 1: breaks all right, had a.

534
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,320
Speaker 2: Great season in twenty twenty three. I think he has

535
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,880
Speaker 2: a chance to win an MVP one day, and if

536
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 2: he does, he'll be the only player named Matt ever

537
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,679
Speaker 2: to win an MVP, and I think he has a

538
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 2: chance to be the greatest Matt of all time before

539
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 2: he's done. It's either Matt Williams or Matt Holiday. I

540
00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 2: think Matt Olsen will be the greatest Matt ever someday.

541
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,520
Speaker 1: Let's roll through a couple more of the pirates. Nick Gonzalez,

542
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 1: he got CJ.

543
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,600
Speaker 3: Abrams coming shortstop for the Nationals.

544
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,400
Speaker 2: Very impressive. Open another pack, We need some help. Oh okay,

545
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:35,840
Speaker 2: here we go.

546
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,359
Speaker 3: Let's go down to the Ooh.

547
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,920
Speaker 1: This is the hobby exclusive from our friends at TOPS.

548
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,960
Speaker 1: So let's see what we get in the cards for

549
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:45,440
Speaker 1: this one.

550
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,560
Speaker 2: I love that sounds ripping it.

551
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,360
Speaker 3: Here we go, Here we go, host your polls.

552
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:55,200
Speaker 2: Okay, hashtag my tops hit. Oh that's cool. Okay, Oh okay.

553
00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:00,760
Speaker 1: Everson Pereira of the New York Yankees, and this is

554
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,040
Speaker 1: a throwback.

555
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:03,000
Speaker 3: And oldie, but a goodie.

556
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: Montreal exposed Vladimir Guerrero.

557
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,200
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. Well, of course his son is vlad Junior,

558
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,439
Speaker 2: who plays for the Blue Jays, and Vla Guerrero was

559
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 2: a great player in his time. And apparently this is

560
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,680
Speaker 2: how you know poor he was when he got signed.

561
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,800
Speaker 2: He went to a tryout on a bicycle and he

562
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,520
Speaker 2: had two different kind of shoes on because he didn't

563
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,399
Speaker 2: have matching pair of shoes, and one was so big

564
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 2: that he had to wear like put extra socks in

565
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 2: there just so his feet would fit into these you

566
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,040
Speaker 2: know these shoes. They watched him work out for like

567
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,840
Speaker 2: twenty minutes and to sign him ended up being a

568
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 2: Hall of Famer.

569
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:46,000
Speaker 1: And last, but not least, Julio Rodriguez card here, and

570
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: I love these Seattle Mariners jerseys. I don't want to

571
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,880
Speaker 1: go into too much detail, but these City connect jerseys,

572
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 1: I love them so much, not as much as.

573
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 2: I love Julio Rodriguez. Talk about a star in the making.

574
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,520
Speaker 2: Jeffrey when he came up out of nowhere, he absolutely

575
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,919
Speaker 2: dominated his rookie year and he's got a chance to

576
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 2: be one of the best players literally we've ever seen.

577
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 2: He's that big, he's that strong, and he is so determined.

578
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 2: He is like the most studious player many act to.

579
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 2: One of the coaches told me he just leaves a

580
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 2: gathering of people saying I gotta go back to work,

581
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,080
Speaker 2: and he goes and hits or does something else. An

582
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 2: amazing young player.

583
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 1: And I think one of the most exciting teams at

584
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,639
Speaker 1: the end of the twenty twenty three season obviously didn't

585
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,159
Speaker 1: work out for them, but it's going to be an

586
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 1: exciting twenty twenty four for the Mariners and their fans.

587
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 1: That's what's in the cards, thanks to our friends at TOPS.

588
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 1: But coming up next on is this a great game

589
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:42,000
Speaker 1: or what the podcast, EDWARDO Perez joins.

590
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:50,479
Speaker 5: Us Eduardo Perez, Good morning, afternoon day, whatever it is

591
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 5: your time, Eddie, thank you for joining us for our

592
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:54,040
Speaker 5: opening day podcast.

593
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:54,520
Speaker 3: Welcome.

594
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 4: I want my two partners and I'm like leading off

595
00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 4: this bad boy too. I'm so excited.

596
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad we finally get some height on the podcast, Dad,

597
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 1: wouldn't you agree?

598
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,160
Speaker 2: Right? We talked about this on the air. Ones Ravi

599
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:12,840
Speaker 2: wears Karl Ravits wears a seven and a half shoe.

600
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 2: I wear a seven and a half shoe and Edward,

601
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,080
Speaker 2: you wear's a fifteen and it's an even smaller booth

602
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:20,160
Speaker 2: with me and Jeff.

603
00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 4: Jeff, tell me, tell me your shoe size is bigger? Please?

604
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,280
Speaker 3: It's eight and a half, Eddie.

605
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,080
Speaker 1: But Eddie, you know we share something in common. Somebody

606
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 1: stole my gym bag from the gym I was at

607
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,480
Speaker 1: and I said, jokes on them. No one's gonna be

608
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,440
Speaker 1: able to fit into my shoes and you probably could

609
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:34,960
Speaker 1: have the same.

610
00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,320
Speaker 3: That's something we can share in common.

611
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,880
Speaker 4: The big question is that did they return them though?

612
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:47,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, like we don't need these, so Jeff.

613
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,400
Speaker 2: As you know, Eduardo is the greatest teammate ever. He

614
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 2: and I traveled for years together. We don't do it

615
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 2: nearly as much anymore, which sends me to no end.

616
00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 2: Let's just see how well Eduardo knows Tim and his

617
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 2: travel issues. What is it, EDWARDO, that makes me the

618
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:06,160
Speaker 2: happiest man in the world.

619
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,200
Speaker 4: Get there at least, I want to say, not even

620
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 4: two hours, three hours before your flight takes off, and

621
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 4: you sit there and you're able to just be calm

622
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 4: at the gate way before anybody, even the airplane gets there.

623
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 4: That's number one.

624
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:20,760
Speaker 2: What is in my hands?

625
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:25,040
Speaker 4: Oh, the ticket, you print it out. There is no

626
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 4: digitalization whatsoever. As a matter of fact, we were coming

627
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,360
Speaker 4: I believe it was from Phoenix. We had to stop

628
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 4: in Dallas and Dallas we were going to go to

629
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:39,160
Speaker 4: Fort Myers and everyone had their digital out, you know,

630
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,800
Speaker 4: ticket to get in. And we got on our plane.

631
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 4: They said, there's a malfunction on the plane. We need

632
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 4: to get off the plane, so please keep your tickets.

633
00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,240
Speaker 4: And we don't know yet if it's going to work

634
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 4: the digital side of it. And the only person there

635
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 4: that had their ticket attend and they did not have

636
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,120
Speaker 4: to make the long line was him, Perchase.

637
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,600
Speaker 1: Let me guess what my dad would have said, Eddie,

638
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,200
Speaker 1: I don't know if my Apple air iPods are gonna

639
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 1: turn off right now, Eddie, that's why I have the ticket.

640
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 2: Yes, And Jeff, you got to understand ed Wardo is

641
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,760
Speaker 2: the complete opposite of me. He told me once when

642
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:21,360
Speaker 2: we were in Bristol seven fifteen flight. He is leaving

643
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,600
Speaker 2: the hotel at five forty five for a seven fifty.

644
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,880
Speaker 2: He's gotta drive a half an hour to the airport,

645
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 2: turn in a rental car, get on a rental car bus,

646
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,120
Speaker 2: get in line, get through security, and then get on

647
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,280
Speaker 2: the plane. And he said, oh, plenty of time. Hour

648
00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 2: and a half. That's all I need. He doesn't even

649
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,640
Speaker 2: need a boarding pass. He just walks on the plane

650
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,040
Speaker 2: because he acts like he's been there before. But he's

651
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,040
Speaker 2: the one I must tell you. He got me on

652
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,040
Speaker 2: TSA pre he got me in the clear. Now I

653
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:59,040
Speaker 2: have the cream and the clear, and I get through

654
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 2: a lot easier. But I saw Edwardo once he and

655
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,960
Speaker 2: I were going to miss a flight in Chicago. Jeff,

656
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,080
Speaker 2: it was hilarious and there must have been two hundred

657
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 2: people in line. He said, follow me. He walks to

658
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,080
Speaker 2: the front of the line. He tells this woman we're

659
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 2: on TV. She has no idea who we are, nor

660
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,200
Speaker 2: should she. She said, he said, we're on TV. We

661
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,160
Speaker 2: have to get in right now, and she said okay.

662
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 2: It was unbelievable, all because he acted like he's been

663
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:26,320
Speaker 2: there before.

664
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,800
Speaker 1: Amazing, and he taught me. Eddie said, always just play

665
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,320
Speaker 1: it cool. We'll be fine, don't worry, don't stress about it.

666
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 1: Well Edwardo. Also when we had moved to Philadelphia, my

667
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 1: wife and I we wanted to go on the fourth

668
00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,680
Speaker 1: of July game, which was like the fifth of July

669
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,960
Speaker 1: for some reason. And I reached out and I knew

670
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,920
Speaker 1: you guys were calling the game, so I said, hey,

671
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 1: you know, we want to go to the game.

672
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,800
Speaker 3: And that's oh wow, yeah, we can see what.

673
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:49,120
Speaker 4: We can do.

674
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 1: Before I knew it, I got a text from Eddie.

675
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,440
Speaker 1: I got it handled. Don't worry about it.

676
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,640
Speaker 3: We figured it out of Edie. Eduardo had already taken

677
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:56,920
Speaker 3: care of.

678
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:58,360
Speaker 1: Now, Eddie, I want to I want to talk a

679
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:00,400
Speaker 1: little bit about Opening Day, but first I want to

680
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 1: get your take on Adrian Beltray's election to the Hall

681
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 1: of Fame. He'll get officially into the Hall this summer.

682
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,840
Speaker 1: And you're obviously very familiar with the Hall of Fame

683
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:12,840
Speaker 1: with your dad being a member of it back in

684
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:13,480
Speaker 1: two thousand.

685
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:14,720
Speaker 3: But he's now.

686
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 1: I think it's the fourth Dominican player to be in

687
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 1: and this is really exciting to see more and more

688
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:24,080
Speaker 1: representation of these players in the Hall of Fame.

689
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:24,920
Speaker 3: This is exciting.

690
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's really exciting. Look, I mean to join the

691
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,920
Speaker 4: ranks of Juan Marishaw and Pedro Martinez and Big Poppy

692
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 4: David Ortiz. We know Albert Poolhols is going to be

693
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 4: joining that class and most likely might be getting one

694
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,280
Speaker 4: hundred percent voting the way it looks. You know, Adrian

695
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,520
Speaker 4: getting ninety five and he was in shock of that.

696
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,880
Speaker 4: I don't know why he was, because he was that

697
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 4: type of player, especially once he turned thirty. It was like,

698
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,280
Speaker 4: You're going to go to Texas to see what Adrin

699
00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,400
Speaker 4: Beltray does, not only at the plate, not only on defense,

700
00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:01,640
Speaker 4: but also in the batter's box at and beyond deck circle.

701
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,640
Speaker 4: And it's just to see a former teammate of mine.

702
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,520
Speaker 4: I played with him in Seattle in two thousand and

703
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,680
Speaker 4: six at the end of my career, and to see

704
00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,600
Speaker 4: him excel from there once he got to Texas after

705
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:17,160
Speaker 4: having that one year stint in Boston. It played, it played,

706
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,680
Speaker 4: and it was exciting to see him go out there

707
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:20,759
Speaker 4: and represent right.

708
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,920
Speaker 2: Eddie, He's one of the five greatest defensive third basemen

709
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,920
Speaker 2: that I've ever seen. And he told me that he

710
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 2: never worked up and he played third base. Eddie, you're

711
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 2: probably wearing a cup right now. How do you explain

712
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,480
Speaker 2: that a guy could play third base his entire career

713
00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:40,719
Speaker 2: without using a cup? I asked him once, how did

714
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,279
Speaker 2: you do that? He shows me his hands and he goes,

715
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:44,560
Speaker 2: that's what these are for.

716
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,440
Speaker 4: How I can help but think? And when he was

717
00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:51,440
Speaker 4: sitting in that sofa and having the conversation about it,

718
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:53,480
Speaker 4: I looked to his left and I looked to his right.

719
00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:56,000
Speaker 4: He's got three kids too, so I mean he had

720
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,680
Speaker 4: really good hands. Because there is no way, there is

721
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,320
Speaker 4: no that you're gonna pay me. There's not enough money

722
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:04,439
Speaker 4: to tell me that I had to go to play

723
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:08,640
Speaker 4: third and not wear a cup. And a quick story

724
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,960
Speaker 4: with that, and God bless her soul. My grandmother, like,

725
00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:15,120
Speaker 4: you know, she passed in nineteen eighty four, A long time,

726
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,520
Speaker 4: but I grew up. My first thirteen years were privileged,

727
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,800
Speaker 4: as when my parents would leave, I would actually stay

728
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,680
Speaker 4: with my grandparents, and my grandmother taught me how to

729
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,120
Speaker 4: cook and everything. And one time I asked her, I said, Abuela,

730
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,800
Speaker 4: I need a cup, and then Spanish it's when a

731
00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:32,440
Speaker 4: coopa and she goes, oh, honey, don't worry, we have

732
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,040
Speaker 4: a lot of those in the back. And I'm like,

733
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:36,920
Speaker 4: we have a lot of cups in the back. I

734
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:40,160
Speaker 4: came from a baseball family, so I believed her. Gullaball.

735
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,520
Speaker 4: I'm eleven years old at the time, and she goes

736
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:45,600
Speaker 4: follow me and then she had all this glassware there

737
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,600
Speaker 4: and she's like, what do you need it for you're eleven.

738
00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:52,600
Speaker 4: I'm like, from baseball, a cup of banana cup. He's like, oh,

739
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:53,880
Speaker 4: I don't know if that is.

740
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,719
Speaker 2: The last cup. Story goes to Kent Hrbeck, who we

741
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,120
Speaker 2: all remember was a really great Minnesota to twins and

742
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,880
Speaker 2: when he retired. He told me he took his cup

743
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 2: and nailed it in his garage. That's the first thing

744
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 2: he did after he retired. And I called him like

745
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:16,320
Speaker 2: twenty five years later and he told me that cup

746
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:22,480
Speaker 2: is still in my garage. Whoo, love get hurt? Oh wow?

747
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:26,880
Speaker 2: All right, Eduardo, your first Opening day as a kid

748
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,919
Speaker 2: that you can remember that you went to with your

749
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,480
Speaker 2: dad and you're in uniform, not when you're three. But

750
00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:37,960
Speaker 2: what's the first one that you can remember going to

751
00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:40,280
Speaker 2: an opening day with Tony Perez's.

752
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,040
Speaker 4: Uniform in uniform that I was there in the dugout

753
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,960
Speaker 4: was nineteen eighty three with the Philadelphia Phillies. It was

754
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,759
Speaker 4: the first time we were allowed in the clubhouse and

755
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,160
Speaker 4: in the better sett in the dugout for the game.

756
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,680
Speaker 4: So that was really cool. But there's a story before that,

757
00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:57,239
Speaker 4: you know, because in nineteen eighty it was Pete Rose

758
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,319
Speaker 4: Junior with Pete Rose, and it would be you know,

759
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,439
Speaker 4: he would have Rose fourteen on his back, and I'm like, man,

760
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,440
Speaker 4: I was so envious of that. In the meantime, in

761
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,440
Speaker 4: nineteen eighty I was in Boston, though we weren't allowed

762
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:12,440
Speaker 4: on the field, let alone in the clubhouse. Way before

763
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,200
Speaker 4: games and anything. So we get to the Phillies in

764
00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:17,279
Speaker 4: eighty three and I'm like, Dad, I can be in

765
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:20,400
Speaker 4: the I can be in the dugout now. So my

766
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,239
Speaker 4: Dad's like, I got a surprise for you, shows up

767
00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 4: with a jersey and in the back of the jersey,

768
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,040
Speaker 4: I'm thinking it's gonna say Perez twenty four. I was

769
00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:34,799
Speaker 4: so pumped and it said that boy. I'm like, what.

770
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 2: That boy?

771
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,600
Speaker 4: I'm like, try again. And I had to work the

772
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:45,960
Speaker 4: games for the first few weeks of the season, and

773
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:49,120
Speaker 4: every time I was a ball boy, and every time

774
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 4: the umpire would say three, I had to have four

775
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,000
Speaker 4: balls just in case one was a foul ball. I'd

776
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,400
Speaker 4: give them four. He said four, I have that five

777
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,959
Speaker 4: in him. And after a while I was going nuts.

778
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,840
Speaker 4: I'm like, this isn't any fun. I was able to

779
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:03,839
Speaker 4: then they just say, you know what, just go sit down,

780
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,200
Speaker 4: sit down, pay attention to the game. And I think

781
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,240
Speaker 4: it's the best thing that ever happened to me, because

782
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,200
Speaker 4: I ended up seeing the game in a completely different light.

783
00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,279
Speaker 4: Around big leaguers during big league games, there's nothing like it.

784
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,759
Speaker 2: Well, right, tell us what Pete Rose told you that

785
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:19,520
Speaker 2: in the Dutch.

786
00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:23,680
Speaker 4: So I was playing seeds with John Denny and the

787
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,720
Speaker 4: pitcher it was the number two pitcher for the Phillies

788
00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:29,680
Speaker 4: that year, and we're flicking seeds and one of them

789
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,440
Speaker 4: flies over to Pete and hits him, and he snapped

790
00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:36,480
Speaker 4: at me and and you know, and he tells me,

791
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:38,879
Speaker 4: he's like, get over here right now, ed, sit here

792
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,560
Speaker 4: and watch the game and tell me what pitch is coming.

793
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,759
Speaker 4: And I'm like, I'm thirteen. I don't know what pitch

794
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,600
Speaker 4: is coming. I turned fourteen September eleventh. Wait a second,

795
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,399
Speaker 4: and he's like, you're gonna tell me, because you're gonna

796
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:54,680
Speaker 4: watch every pitch. And when you see what he does

797
00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:57,359
Speaker 4: with the glove, that's when you're going to know what

798
00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 4: the picture does if he does this, if he moves

799
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,319
Speaker 4: a finger, if he opens the glue. From here, and

800
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,120
Speaker 4: I didn't know the difference between a fastball and slider

801
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,960
Speaker 4: and a changeup. And that's when I first started noticing that.

802
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,360
Speaker 4: And he's sort of ruined me from then on because

803
00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:15,440
Speaker 4: I never saw the game the same way. I always

804
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,560
Speaker 4: had to look and see what the picture was doing.

805
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,800
Speaker 4: And actually it helped me out a lot moving forward

806
00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:22,959
Speaker 4: in my career. So I owe a lot to Pete.

807
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:24,759
Speaker 3: That's incredible.

808
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 1: I mean, that's incredible to think that you were thinking

809
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:30,959
Speaker 1: of that at thirteen, when some players aren't thinking about

810
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:32,839
Speaker 1: it at all until they get to the big dance

811
00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:35,680
Speaker 1: and they're told, hey, did you see anything? And I

812
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:37,600
Speaker 1: don't know what you're looking at. They just got a

813
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,840
Speaker 1: natural intuition. But it's different in the big leagues, right.

814
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,440
Speaker 2: And Jeff, nobody's better than Eddie at finding people who

815
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:48,359
Speaker 2: are tipping and seeing things that nobody else can see.

816
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:50,480
Speaker 2: I can't tell you how many times we did one

817
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,799
Speaker 2: hundred games together in the booth, Eddie and I and

818
00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:55,120
Speaker 2: he would just routinely look at me and go, you

819
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,400
Speaker 2: see what he's doing, See what he's doing, and I

820
00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:00,080
Speaker 2: could never see it. And he would show me the

821
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,440
Speaker 2: the most subtle little thing the pitcher was doing, and

822
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:07,160
Speaker 2: he goes, watch breaking ball, watch fastball, and he was right.

823
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,959
Speaker 2: And that all came right Eddie from sitting with Pete

824
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:13,040
Speaker 2: Rose and those guys and watched way the game.

825
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,000
Speaker 4: And in nineteen eighty three it helped me out a lot,

826
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:18,080
Speaker 4: because you know, I had two eyes going forward and

827
00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,279
Speaker 4: you know, as we all do, but in a ball

828
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 4: I bunted a ball off my left eye, and I

829
00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:27,680
Speaker 4: ended up having a traumatic cataract, and I had a

830
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,640
Speaker 4: hole in my retina the whole thing, and that had

831
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,479
Speaker 4: the laser shut, and I had a lot of eye

832
00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 4: issues and I couldn't get that cataract surgery back then.

833
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:40,120
Speaker 4: So I played my entire career really with my dominant eye,

834
00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,640
Speaker 4: the left eye, without having depth reception and not being

835
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:46,560
Speaker 4: able to see clear out of it. So knowing what

836
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 4: was coming really helped a lot. Johan Santana had one

837
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,360
Speaker 4: of the best changees, but he tipped. You know, you

838
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:54,319
Speaker 4: look at al lighter he was, he didn't, and he

839
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:56,200
Speaker 4: threw a lot of heart in so I just looked

840
00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:59,840
Speaker 4: hard in the entire time. Randy Johnson fastball slider, So

841
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:03,440
Speaker 4: I knew when the fastball was coming, so that eliminated

842
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,319
Speaker 4: the slider for me. That helped. So knowing what was

843
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:10,720
Speaker 4: coming really helped as far as timing. But spin wise, good.

844
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:11,799
Speaker 3: Luck Eddie for you.

845
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:16,080
Speaker 1: From a player's perspective, these players that are taking the

846
00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:18,319
Speaker 1: plate or taking the field on opening day, whether it's

847
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,239
Speaker 1: their very first one or it's their tenth one, is

848
00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:23,960
Speaker 1: there a different feeling for you or were you in

849
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,439
Speaker 1: such a rhythm that it was just another game, no there.

850
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:30,920
Speaker 4: It was never another game for me. I mean I

851
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,800
Speaker 4: had butterflies before every game, I really did. An opening

852
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,879
Speaker 4: day was a new beginning and you're like, Okay, what's

853
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:39,239
Speaker 4: going to happen now? It was. It was really cool.

854
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 4: I remember there was one. It was a Sunday night game,

855
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:44,440
Speaker 4: first game of the season, Sunday night baseball had it.

856
00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:47,759
Speaker 4: No other game. Everybody else started on Monday. And I

857
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,319
Speaker 4: was two thousand and six. It was my last year.

858
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,480
Speaker 4: But I was with the then Cleveland Indians and it

859
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:55,279
Speaker 4: was Mark Burley on the mound and I knew he

860
00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:57,440
Speaker 4: was going to be the starter. So I was like,

861
00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:00,560
Speaker 4: I get Opening Day with the you know, with with

862
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:04,239
Speaker 4: the Indians because Ben Broussard was my platoon guy at

863
00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,040
Speaker 4: first and I missed most of spring training because of

864
00:42:07,080 --> 00:42:09,839
Speaker 4: the World Baseball Classic that year, so I didn't play

865
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 4: during that Classic. I probably only got maybe ten at

866
00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,840
Speaker 4: bats the entire spring training and opening days. Mark Burley

867
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 4: and I go out and I hit a home run

868
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:22,640
Speaker 4: in my second at that and it's I'm like pumped up.

869
00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,839
Speaker 4: It's the top of the fifth inning, I believe, and

870
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 4: here comes the rain and I'm like, no, way we're

871
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,839
Speaker 4: going to get canceled opening Day. Hit the first home

872
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:35,600
Speaker 4: run of the season. No led, I led the league

873
00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 4: at home runs ten in two for an entire twenty

874
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:42,160
Speaker 4: four hour period because there were no other games on

875
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:42,800
Speaker 4: that Sunday.

876
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:45,600
Speaker 2: So, Eddie, you hit a home run on opening Day.

877
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,879
Speaker 2: We said earlier in the show that Johnny Bench hit

878
00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:52,120
Speaker 2: three hundred and eighty nine homers. Your hero, Johnny Bench

879
00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:55,640
Speaker 2: never hit a home run on opening day. Adrian Beltray

880
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,600
Speaker 2: four hundred and seventy seven homers, never hit a home

881
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:03,440
Speaker 2: run an opening day, and you did. Was was that

882
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:07,120
Speaker 2: your most memorable opening day? What was your first opening

883
00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:08,320
Speaker 2: day as a major.

884
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:11,200
Speaker 4: My first opening day as a major leaguer was with

885
00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:15,920
Speaker 4: the Angels in Minnesota and I was playing first base

886
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:20,200
Speaker 4: for the then California Angels. I had I had come

887
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:23,200
Speaker 4: up I had in ninety three. I had not done

888
00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 4: spring training at all with the team. I get called

889
00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:30,080
Speaker 4: up mid season. Then I have elbow surgery and rehabbed

890
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:33,040
Speaker 4: real well. JT. Snow was a part of the organization.

891
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,520
Speaker 4: They set him down and they said, Eduardo, You're going

892
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:39,480
Speaker 4: to be the opening day first baseman, and I was,

893
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 4: and it was I was. It was unbelievable. I mean,

894
00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:45,239
Speaker 4: I get to play with all those studs that the

895
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:48,880
Speaker 4: Minnesota Twins had in ninety three, and I was playing

896
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:53,040
Speaker 4: first base. It was cold as heck to menu and

897
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:55,000
Speaker 4: I was like, how do we get to this ballpark?

898
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,640
Speaker 4: We're going from Tunnel area to Tonnel skybriaks the skybridge

899
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 4: and never step a foot outside, but just for like

900
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,680
Speaker 4: the last block. But man, it was it was a

901
00:44:05,719 --> 00:44:08,879
Speaker 4: cool experience to be able to share that opening day

902
00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:09,839
Speaker 4: with my teammates there.

903
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:12,400
Speaker 2: That is so cool. Andy, tell us about the time,

904
00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:17,239
Speaker 2: hopefully where you went to spring training and and you

905
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:18,080
Speaker 2: didn't have a glove.

906
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:23,560
Speaker 4: Would So that was two thousand and six. I went

907
00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:27,200
Speaker 4: to the World Baseball Classic, and remember I could play first,

908
00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:28,880
Speaker 4: and they needed me to play third. I had my

909
00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:30,880
Speaker 4: third base club and they need me to play the outfield.

910
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,680
Speaker 4: I have my outfield glove. I had my first basemant.

911
00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 4: I had my backup gloves as well. I had gone

912
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:38,840
Speaker 4: I had gone to spring training at the beginning. I

913
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:40,600
Speaker 4: took them all because I was going to break them in.

914
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:43,000
Speaker 4: And then we go to Puerto Rico for the World

915
00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:47,839
Speaker 4: Baseball Classic and we get eliminated by Cuba and we're

916
00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:49,880
Speaker 4: staying in the same hotel, and I go over to

917
00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:54,239
Speaker 4: the Cuban side and I, you know, just to congratulate them.

918
00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:58,120
Speaker 4: I go into their rooms and you know, these guys

919
00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,520
Speaker 4: are gloves, were just beat up and all this stuff,

920
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:04,480
Speaker 4: and I'm like, oh man. So I went back to

921
00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:07,120
Speaker 4: my room and I just grabbed my baseball stuff and

922
00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:10,319
Speaker 4: I said, here, guys, you need a first basement. You

923
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,279
Speaker 4: need an outfield man, you need an infielders man, you

924
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:14,720
Speaker 4: need another first you know. I gave them all my stuff.

925
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:18,120
Speaker 4: I get back to winter Haven and I'm asking players

926
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:20,360
Speaker 4: for can I borrow your glove because I don't have

927
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:23,920
Speaker 4: a glove. Now you're playing left field, Well, does anybody

928
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,439
Speaker 4: have an outfield glove that can lend me? And I'm

929
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:29,680
Speaker 4: playing opening day with a glove that was not mine.

930
00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:33,160
Speaker 4: As I was trying to break in gloves, people asked me.

931
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:35,359
Speaker 4: They're like, how many gloves do you have in your house?

932
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,319
Speaker 4: I was like, I don't have any one glove. I'm

933
00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:40,360
Speaker 4: looking right here. I had a buddy of mine the

934
00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:43,000
Speaker 4: other day, give me one of the gloves.

935
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:43,920
Speaker 2: That I gave him.

936
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,840
Speaker 4: And I grown up for us first basement.

937
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:48,960
Speaker 1: And the only reason why you have it is somebody

938
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:50,040
Speaker 1: else gave it back to you.

939
00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,440
Speaker 4: True and true story. I'm doing therapy last year for

940
00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:56,920
Speaker 4: my knee replacement that I did, and I see this

941
00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:00,640
Speaker 4: high school kid and I see all these school kids

942
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,799
Speaker 4: are there, and I looked to my right and I

943
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:09,680
Speaker 4: see a Mizuno glove that has the lettering in Katakana

944
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:13,080
Speaker 4: that say pad as Zoo. And I'm looking at it

945
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:15,400
Speaker 4: and I'm like, whose glove is that? And one of

946
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:18,440
Speaker 4: the kids goes, that's my glove, sir, and I'm like, no,

947
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,879
Speaker 4: it's not. I said, do you know what it says there?

948
00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:24,040
Speaker 4: He goes, I have no idea. I said, well, that's

949
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,960
Speaker 4: your glove and you don't know what it says. And

950
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:27,560
Speaker 4: he goes no, I said, let me tell you what

951
00:46:27,560 --> 00:46:29,799
Speaker 4: it says. It says he as Zoo. He goes, how

952
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:32,000
Speaker 4: do you know that? I said, because that's my glove.

953
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:33,400
Speaker 3: Like what do you do?

954
00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:36,560
Speaker 4: And I'm like, who gave you that glove? He goes,

955
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,800
Speaker 4: you know, Eli, And I'm like who. He goes Eli Morero.

956
00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,440
Speaker 4: I'm like, he stole my glove and then he gave

957
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:46,960
Speaker 4: it to his son, and his son then gave it

958
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:49,160
Speaker 4: to him when he was with the Cardinals back then

959
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:51,520
Speaker 4: gave it to him. He goes, sir, it's the best

960
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:53,680
Speaker 4: glove I've ever worn, and said, yeah, because I broke

961
00:46:53,719 --> 00:46:56,680
Speaker 4: it in. That was my glove, Jeff.

962
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:59,640
Speaker 2: This is why we love Eddie. He's a freaking major

963
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:03,440
Speaker 2: league baseball player. And he laughs at himself more than anyone. Eddie.

964
00:47:03,600 --> 00:47:07,279
Speaker 2: When your dad, we love your dad, Your dad loves you.

965
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:10,640
Speaker 2: You love your dad. Please just tell us what happened

966
00:47:10,719 --> 00:47:14,960
Speaker 2: when you called your Hall of Fame father to tell

967
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:18,319
Speaker 2: him that you were going to the big league for

968
00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:19,120
Speaker 2: the first time.

969
00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:22,880
Speaker 4: I go, Dad, I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I just

970
00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:25,520
Speaker 4: get news and I called him right away and I go, Dad,

971
00:47:26,080 --> 00:47:27,720
Speaker 4: I just got called up to the big leagues.

972
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:31,959
Speaker 6: And he goes why. I'm like, what do you mean why?

973
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,560
Speaker 6: Instead of being on set, he goes, you're not ready.

974
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,319
Speaker 6: I'm like, what do I'm not ready? I'm like, I've

975
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:41,080
Speaker 6: been raking down here. He goes, all right, all right,

976
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:42,239
Speaker 6: go get him.

977
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:45,560
Speaker 4: You know it was because he knew, you know, what

978
00:47:45,640 --> 00:47:47,319
Speaker 4: it took to get up there and to be able

979
00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:49,400
Speaker 4: to stay at the big leagues. And he always told me,

980
00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:51,120
Speaker 4: he said, look, it's really easy to get to the

981
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:54,359
Speaker 4: big leagues. It's hard to stay and it took me

982
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:57,120
Speaker 4: a while to understand that. But it was an up

983
00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,360
Speaker 4: and down career that I had in my twenties, trying

984
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:02,480
Speaker 4: to stay in the big leagues and not looking over

985
00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:05,640
Speaker 4: my shoulder every day, wondering if this was going to

986
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,600
Speaker 4: be my last day, or last opportunity or last at bat,

987
00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:12,840
Speaker 4: And that was stressful. But I then I understood I

988
00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:16,280
Speaker 4: wasn't ready. Defensively, I just moved to third base, and

989
00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:18,279
Speaker 4: he knew that there was a lot more to go.

990
00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:20,279
Speaker 4: He knew that I was ready when it came to

991
00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:23,440
Speaker 4: base running because he saw me run the bases, and

992
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:25,480
Speaker 4: he knew that I was very instinctual when it came

993
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:28,479
Speaker 4: to that, and hitting wise, he knew that I needed

994
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:31,239
Speaker 4: a lot of work. But I was ecstatic that I

995
00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:33,400
Speaker 4: made it to the big leagues because remember, in a

996
00:48:33,520 --> 00:48:35,480
Speaker 4: ball I had lost a lot of my eyesight in

997
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:37,840
Speaker 4: my left eye, so just getting there for me was

998
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:38,680
Speaker 4: an accomplishment.

999
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:42,040
Speaker 1: Well, Eddie, I think this is a great statistic for

1000
00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:45,640
Speaker 1: you to be reminded how rare it is to even

1001
00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:48,960
Speaker 1: have won it bat in Major League Baseball. Only just

1002
00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:52,840
Speaker 1: a little over twenty thousand people in the history of Baseball,

1003
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:56,520
Speaker 1: have ever thrown a pitch or had in it bat

1004
00:48:56,719 --> 00:48:59,319
Speaker 1: in a Major League ballpark in a game. Now, to

1005
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:02,760
Speaker 1: put that in active, the smallest ballpark is Progressive Field

1006
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:06,320
Speaker 1: in Cleveland. If you put every player in the history

1007
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:10,040
Speaker 1: of baseball one hundred and fifty odd years into that stadium,

1008
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:12,640
Speaker 1: we wouldn't even be seventy five percent full.

1009
00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:16,920
Speaker 3: And that's the entire stadium. The smallest stadium you put

1010
00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:17,920
Speaker 3: every player who ever.

1011
00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:20,040
Speaker 1: Had a moment to play Major League baseball, we're not

1012
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:23,520
Speaker 1: even seventy five percent capacity. So you talk about staying

1013
00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:26,000
Speaker 1: in the major leagues, but getting there in the first

1014
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:27,920
Speaker 1: place is an accomplishment in itself.

1015
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:29,880
Speaker 3: That's why it's such a big deal to play in

1016
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:30,520
Speaker 3: the bigs.

1017
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:33,200
Speaker 4: Now, you're one hundred percent right, And I appreciate you

1018
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:35,520
Speaker 4: telling me that because every year I do the Rookie

1019
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:41,280
Speaker 4: Development Program, and that's a program that Major League Baseball

1020
00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:45,000
Speaker 4: and the Players Association they agree on. They get it right,

1021
00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:48,520
Speaker 4: and I'm fortunate to see it. And I usually tell

1022
00:49:48,560 --> 00:49:51,040
Speaker 4: them how privileged they should be to even be in

1023
00:49:51,040 --> 00:49:55,120
Speaker 4: this program, and how some of them have already been

1024
00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:57,280
Speaker 4: to the big leagues and some are about to get there.

1025
00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:00,800
Speaker 4: So those numbers continue to rise, but not at at

1026
00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:03,160
Speaker 4: not at a quick level. And it said, that's that's

1027
00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 4: really impressive. I appreciate you telling me that, because I'm

1028
00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:06,560
Speaker 4: going to steal that from you. Eddie.

1029
00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:09,960
Speaker 2: This is a relationship show. It's me and Jeff, father

1030
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:12,880
Speaker 2: and son. What was it like for you to drive

1031
00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:16,760
Speaker 2: home after a game, a major league game with your father?

1032
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,120
Speaker 4: What was that like? You know, it's interesting, Tim, I

1033
00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:23,200
Speaker 4: don't know any other thing but that, and to me,

1034
00:50:23,480 --> 00:50:26,359
Speaker 4: just to grow up and okay, let's wait for dad,

1035
00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:29,319
Speaker 4: and let's start at the Let's start at the right

1036
00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:31,239
Speaker 4: when the game's over. And I was allowed in the

1037
00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:35,239
Speaker 4: clubhouse when they won. That was important. It was I

1038
00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:37,239
Speaker 4: loved the part that they won because the first thing

1039
00:50:37,239 --> 00:50:39,400
Speaker 4: that I would do is go straight to the keg

1040
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:44,680
Speaker 4: as a kid and preparing a lot. Oh yeah, would

1041
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:46,799
Speaker 4: I learned how to I'm telling you that of a

1042
00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:50,239
Speaker 4: tap as a I want to say maybe as a

1043
00:50:50,280 --> 00:50:52,799
Speaker 4: seven or eight year old, I knew how to be

1044
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:55,800
Speaker 4: able to get that beer without a lot of foam

1045
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:59,480
Speaker 4: on it, you know, just perfect. Because that was my dad.

1046
00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:01,640
Speaker 4: I got that ould beer for him right there after

1047
00:51:01,680 --> 00:51:04,200
Speaker 4: the game. That's what I love to do after games.

1048
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:06,120
Speaker 4: I never told you this on airon did I? But

1049
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:09,520
Speaker 4: so it was. And then later on in his career

1050
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:13,040
Speaker 4: when he started coaching, and everything was Buddy Bell ron

1051
00:51:13,040 --> 00:51:15,320
Speaker 4: Oaster the same way, and I was like, I got this, boys,

1052
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:17,360
Speaker 4: I got it. And I would fill out the picture

1053
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:20,840
Speaker 4: and then I'd pour some of the beer. Good game, guys.

1054
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:23,480
Speaker 4: But after the game, it was just it was us.

1055
00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:26,359
Speaker 4: It was normal. My dad as soon as he left

1056
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:30,239
Speaker 4: the ballpark never really talked about the game. It was like,

1057
00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:32,319
Speaker 4: how was your day? He wore it would be more

1058
00:51:32,360 --> 00:51:35,480
Speaker 4: about my mom, It would be more about okay, so

1059
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:37,799
Speaker 4: what did you do today that you know that we

1060
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:41,800
Speaker 4: need to know about, or conversations that had really nothing

1061
00:51:41,880 --> 00:51:46,520
Speaker 4: to do with the game, unless my brother or I

1062
00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:50,600
Speaker 4: would ask him about, hey, god, this situation, what happened here,

1063
00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:52,799
Speaker 4: or the umpire made a bag con is that he

1064
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:55,400
Speaker 4: actually didn't and he would explain that to us. But

1065
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,600
Speaker 4: those were the conversations we would have. The only thing

1066
00:51:58,640 --> 00:52:01,759
Speaker 4: I wish we would have had is the technology that

1067
00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:06,120
Speaker 4: we have today where we could watch games on the

1068
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:09,560
Speaker 4: West Coast and be able to sit and watch those together.

1069
00:52:09,640 --> 00:52:12,200
Speaker 4: And we never got that opportunity because technology was not

1070
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 4: there in the seventies and eighties, but just to be

1071
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:17,839
Speaker 4: able to listen to the radio to Marty and Marty

1072
00:52:17,880 --> 00:52:20,719
Speaker 4: Brennanman and Joe Nexsall when he would call on the road,

1073
00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:23,160
Speaker 4: because that's what we had. It was rare that games

1074
00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:26,440
Speaker 4: were televised. Then I would ask him about, Okay, can

1075
00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:28,319
Speaker 4: you take me through this at bat? Was that pitch

1076
00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:31,000
Speaker 4: really that bad that he got called out on strike three?

1077
00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:33,400
Speaker 4: Talk to me about the home run. Those are the

1078
00:52:33,440 --> 00:52:34,239
Speaker 4: things I wanted to know.

1079
00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:38,320
Speaker 2: Eddie. Tell us the story about the first uniform number

1080
00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:42,400
Speaker 2: that you were given when you went to the big league.

1081
00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:46,799
Speaker 4: Okay, so I was given twenty one and it was

1082
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:49,040
Speaker 4: twenty one and get called up. I see twenty one

1083
00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:52,560
Speaker 4: in my locker and I'm like, ooh, that's Roberto Comente.

1084
00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:56,919
Speaker 4: I grew up in Puerto Rico. Comente carried me and

1085
00:52:57,040 --> 00:52:59,520
Speaker 4: we grew up knowing the history of Cormente. Ive had

1086
00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:03,160
Speaker 4: the Linux and I took clinics at Roberta Clmente Sports City.

1087
00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:05,040
Speaker 4: I was like, this number is just way too heavy

1088
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:06,920
Speaker 4: for me. I had a home run that game with

1089
00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:09,640
Speaker 4: that uniform number, but I didn't want to wear it.

1090
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,480
Speaker 4: I thought I wasn't worthy of wearing number twenty one,

1091
00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:15,040
Speaker 4: I thought, you know, and today there's a lot of

1092
00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:18,920
Speaker 4: young young players that want to wear it because it's

1093
00:53:19,200 --> 00:53:22,080
Speaker 4: it's a prideful thing. But I thought it was just

1094
00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:24,759
Speaker 4: like we see Jackie's number right now in forty two,

1095
00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:26,919
Speaker 4: that it's just too big to wear.

1096
00:53:27,080 --> 00:53:30,400
Speaker 1: His impact not only on baseball but also on community,

1097
00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:32,879
Speaker 1: and that's why we have an award named after him.

1098
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:35,080
Speaker 1: He was that big and that impactful in the game

1099
00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:36,600
Speaker 1: and the communities he served.

1100
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:39,799
Speaker 4: And the curious thing and Tim you know this, we

1101
00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:42,120
Speaker 4: had Rick Sutcliffe as one of our partners, and I

1102
00:53:42,120 --> 00:53:44,719
Speaker 4: imagine he might be hitting clean up on your next show,

1103
00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:47,280
Speaker 4: in one of your next shows or something, but he's

1104
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:51,319
Speaker 4: he'll tell you he's won cy Youngs. His award that

1105
00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:53,840
Speaker 4: he's the most proud of is the Roberto Hermente Award.

1106
00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:56,239
Speaker 4: The same thing can be said without the Cooltholes. The

1107
00:53:56,239 --> 00:53:58,560
Speaker 4: same thing can be said with so many others that

1108
00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:01,440
Speaker 4: have won this award. I just saw Aaron Judge this

1109
00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:04,720
Speaker 4: year in Arizona get the award and he was humbled

1110
00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:06,799
Speaker 4: by it. And this is another man that has won

1111
00:54:06,880 --> 00:54:10,560
Speaker 4: the MVP Award. So people understand that when you start

1112
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:13,359
Speaker 4: making a difference in communities. It says a lot more

1113
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:16,600
Speaker 4: about you than just having the extraordinary ability of hitting

1114
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:17,640
Speaker 4: a ball and catching the ball.

1115
00:54:17,760 --> 00:54:19,960
Speaker 1: Eddie for you before we let you go, and we

1116
00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:22,000
Speaker 1: can't thank you enough for joining the podcast and being

1117
00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:24,759
Speaker 1: our very first guess. We couldn't have asked for a

1118
00:54:24,800 --> 00:54:27,839
Speaker 1: better first guest. I mean, before I had the opportunity

1119
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:31,120
Speaker 1: to call the celebrity softball game with my dad, I

1120
00:54:31,160 --> 00:54:34,799
Speaker 1: did it with Eduardo Perez thanks to his convincing of

1121
00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:37,680
Speaker 1: those at ESPN. Once again, Dad, I love you, but

1122
00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:38,839
Speaker 1: this man is my.

1123
00:54:38,920 --> 00:54:42,440
Speaker 3: Number one supporter and fan here. He's the one getting

1124
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:43,760
Speaker 3: me places in this career.

1125
00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:46,759
Speaker 2: We gotta let Eddie go. Jeff, Okay, he has to

1126
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:49,480
Speaker 2: go catch a plane. It leaves in twenty minutes and

1127
00:54:49,560 --> 00:54:51,080
Speaker 2: he's gonna and he has it left his house.

1128
00:54:51,120 --> 00:54:53,280
Speaker 4: He had a fifteen minute ride to the airport.

1129
00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:57,359
Speaker 1: Well, everybody, Eduardo Perez, thank you for joining. Is this

1130
00:54:57,400 --> 00:54:59,920
Speaker 1: a great game or what? With Tim and Jeff Kirkchin.

1131
00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:02,840
Speaker 1: We are huge fans of you. We consider you family.

1132
00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:05,279
Speaker 1: You're one of the Kirchens. So thank you so much

1133
00:55:05,280 --> 00:55:06,959
Speaker 1: for being our very first guest.

1134
00:55:07,040 --> 00:55:10,320
Speaker 4: We appreciate it, and thank you so much for having

1135
00:55:10,400 --> 00:55:12,759
Speaker 4: me be that first guest, I mean, I think the

1136
00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:16,759
Speaker 4: world of the Kirchen family and whatever I want. As

1137
00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,160
Speaker 4: soon as Tim called, I picked up and I'm like,

1138
00:55:19,239 --> 00:55:23,279
Speaker 4: of course I'm going to do this, and because I mean,

1139
00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:25,400
Speaker 4: why would you? Of course you're going to do.

1140
00:55:29,560 --> 00:55:32,160
Speaker 1: A big thank you to Eduardo Perez for joining us

1141
00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:34,239
Speaker 1: and being our very first guest on is this a

1142
00:55:34,239 --> 00:55:35,920
Speaker 1: great game or what We're going to be with you

1143
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:39,040
Speaker 1: every single week? This is obviously our opening day episode,

1144
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:41,640
Speaker 1: So go celebrate, cheer on your team. Got an exciting

1145
00:55:41,680 --> 00:55:44,680
Speaker 1: season of Major League baseball ahead. But before we wrap today,

1146
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:47,720
Speaker 1: I have one question. Who is Ken Herbeck?

1147
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:48,000
Speaker 4: All right?

1148
00:55:48,080 --> 00:55:48,319
Speaker 2: Ken?

1149
00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:51,360
Speaker 3: Why did he nail his jump to the wall of

1150
00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:52,080
Speaker 3: his garage?

1151
00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:55,040
Speaker 2: All right? He is the most human baseball player that

1152
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:57,720
Speaker 2: I've ever met. He he was a really good first

1153
00:55:57,719 --> 00:56:00,239
Speaker 2: base with the Twins, won a World championship in eighty

1154
00:56:00,360 --> 00:56:02,879
Speaker 2: seven and ninety one, and they used to always joke

1155
00:56:02,960 --> 00:56:06,680
Speaker 2: that in the big team party before a playoff series

1156
00:56:06,719 --> 00:56:10,120
Speaker 2: began in Minneapolis, Ken Herbeck was like the only Twins

1157
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:13,680
Speaker 2: player to go because the beer was free. That's who

1158
00:56:13,719 --> 00:56:16,400
Speaker 2: Ken Herbeck was. He was just like us, only he

1159
00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:20,080
Speaker 2: was a really good baseball player, and famously he went

1160
00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:23,200
Speaker 2: to a camp out once with Andy Bans, like another

1161
00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:26,480
Speaker 2: former player from a million years ago, and Andy told

1162
00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:29,759
Speaker 2: me that Ken Hrbeck brought a tape recording of his

1163
00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:32,840
Speaker 2: favorite farts to play around the camp. Yeah, to play

1164
00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:36,960
Speaker 2: around the campsite at the big campfire on the as

1165
00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:40,120
Speaker 2: they went camping. A typical classic Kent.

1166
00:56:40,080 --> 00:56:43,520
Speaker 1: Hrbeck, Oh my gosh, I mean, listen, the garage is

1167
00:56:43,560 --> 00:56:46,480
Speaker 1: the only room I'm allowed to decorate in my house.

1168
00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:49,600
Speaker 1: But if I then added on the tapes of my farts,

1169
00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:51,120
Speaker 1: I would no longer be married.

1170
00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:52,560
Speaker 2: Agreed me too.

1171
00:56:53,120 --> 00:56:54,920
Speaker 1: Is this a great Game of What? Every week with

1172
00:56:55,040 --> 00:56:58,600
Speaker 1: Tim Kirchen and Jeff Kirchen. Thank you, don't forget to subscribe.

1173
00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:01,040
Speaker 1: Check out our website great or what dot com to

1174
00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:03,000
Speaker 1: follow us on all the social media, and you can

1175
00:57:03,040 --> 00:57:06,080
Speaker 1: also check out all of the episodes on YouTube because

1176
00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:08,160
Speaker 1: we're doing the video thing. Go check us out Great

1177
00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:26,600
Speaker 1: Game or what dot com.