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Speaker 1: What's Up, Mets fans, Welcome back to a special episode

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Speaker 1: of the Mets Stuff Podcast. Today, not gonna be hearing

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Speaker 1: from us, Instead, you're gonna be hearing from how We

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Speaker 1: Rose and Mets owner Steve Cohen. These are two of

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Speaker 1: the most important figures in Mets world and two guys

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Speaker 1: who know introduction, So don't forget to come back and

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Speaker 1: listen to our regular episodes as well. We've been doing

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Speaker 1: a ton of offseason content and we're doing a bunch

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Speaker 1: during the regular season. After every single series, we drop

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Speaker 1: a new episode, so we hope to hear from you

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Speaker 1: guys soon.

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Speaker 2: Get Up, Get.

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Speaker 3: Up, Hian, Welcome to a very special edition of the

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Speaker 3: Mets Up Podcast. I'm Howie Rose, the radio play by

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Speaker 3: play voice of the New York Mets, and I want

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Speaker 3: to thank our regular hosts on this feature, James Sheiano

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Speaker 3: and Mark Louino, who heard the owner was going to

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Speaker 3: be on and they said, oh no, we're not the

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Speaker 3: ones gonna talk to him.

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Speaker 2: You take it.

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Speaker 3: So I am more than happy to welcome Steve Cohen,

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Speaker 3: the chairman and chief executive officer, as well of course

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Speaker 3: as the owner of the New York Mets, and Steve

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Speaker 3: first off, thanks so much for being here. And you know,

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Speaker 3: I think back to the last time we did this.

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Speaker 3: I think you would own the Club Bowl for about

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Speaker 3: all of six weeks and then we were hit with

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Speaker 3: the pandemic. Does that seem like a generation a go now?

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Speaker 2: Man? That first year was a wild one. A lot

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Speaker 2: lot going on that first year, but yeah, we managed

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Speaker 2: through it somehow, and so looking forward to this year,

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Speaker 2: and by the way, I want to congratulate you, Howie,

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Speaker 2: you on being inducted in the METS Hall of Fame

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Speaker 2: along with Al and Gary and Howard, and looking forward

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Speaker 2: to that. I think the day is June third, and

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Speaker 2: I want to forget Jay Horwitz. He's going to get

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Speaker 2: the Achievement Award. Yeah, it should be a great day.

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Speaker 2: I'm really looking forward to it.

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Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate that. And you know, between Tom Saver

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Speaker 3: and me, you know, we've combined for three hundred and

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Speaker 3: eleven wins and three cy Young Awards, so I feel like, yeah,

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Speaker 3: equal footing, that's about.

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Speaker 2: Right, And you know it's always been a good combo.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.

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Speaker 3: And I do miss Tom, by the way, having worked

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Speaker 3: with him as well as grown up watching him. But

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Speaker 3: that was then and this is now, and what's now

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Speaker 3: is also really aimed at the future. And you're going

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Speaker 3: to have a futuristic new scoreboard. We're going to get

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Speaker 3: into a lot of different things about the ball club.

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Speaker 3: And but I know that we've already seen some pictures

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Speaker 3: start to leak at least in terms of the scale,

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Speaker 3: skeletal frame of the big new scoreboard. How different is

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Speaker 3: it going to be from what we've had so far?

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Speaker 2: Well, all I know is when I'm looking at the

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Speaker 2: scoreboard from my box, I'm squinting. Okay, I don't think

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Speaker 2: you're gonna have to squint to see this. It's going

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Speaker 2: to be The graphics are going to be amazing. It's,

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Speaker 2: you know, the newest technology. We're excited. I mean, I

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Speaker 2: think it's going to add a lot to the you know,

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Speaker 2: game and fan experience. So it's it's just an example

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Speaker 2: of some of the stuff that we're thinking about and doing,

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Speaker 2: uh that the fans will when they get to the ballpark,

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Speaker 2: they'll see some changes, changes in different sections of the ballpark,

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Speaker 2: different lounges. You know, it's part of my commitment to

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Speaker 2: continually try to improve the fan experience at the park.

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Speaker 2: And so you know, will continue to do that along

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Speaker 2: the way. I know that you've had listening sessions conducted

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Speaker 2: with many of the fans. How have those work, what

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Speaker 2: kinds of ideas have been exchanged, and how many of

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Speaker 2: them do you think you can successfully implement? Well, I mean,

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Speaker 2: we have fifty acres of asphalt that's the parking lot,

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Speaker 2: right and what can we do with it? And so

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Speaker 2: it's really important for me to reach out to the

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Speaker 2: community and try to listen to some of the things

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Speaker 2: that they would like to see. I mean, we have

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Speaker 2: an amazing waterfront right there. We want to connect the

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Speaker 2: waterfront to you know, Flushy Metal Park going through where

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Speaker 2: our stadium is, and so you know, all sorts of

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Speaker 2: interesting idea high speed ferries as opposed to people driving,

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Speaker 2: and community type facilities that you know will enhance you know,

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Speaker 2: just being being in the area and and attract people

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Speaker 2: down the ballpark in the in the surrounding area that

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Speaker 2: we're going to develop. I mean, we're we're going to

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Speaker 2: be we're thinking about an entertainment complex. I mean, I've

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Speaker 2: listened to the fans and you know, they they've been

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Speaker 2: telling me there's nothing to do, you know, before the

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Speaker 2: game and after the game, I kind of disagree with that.

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Speaker 2: You can get your muffler changed and you can get

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Speaker 2: your okay, but well, you know, they might open light

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Speaker 2: for the right price. So other ballparks have lots of entertainment,

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Speaker 2: lots of reason to stay around the ballpark, restaurants and

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Speaker 2: bars and other forms of entertainment. There's no reason why

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Speaker 2: we can't do that too, And so we're actively listening

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Speaker 2: to the community, actively listening to the fans. I always say,

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Speaker 2: I'll take a good idea from anybody, and but I'm

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Speaker 2: enjoying the whole process of just engaging and trying to

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Speaker 2: figure out, you know, what to do with fifty acres

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Speaker 2: of asphal.

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Speaker 3: What kind of a timeline do you have for when

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Speaker 3: something visible and tangible will sprout, whether it's a restaurant,

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Speaker 3: whether it's some sort of housing complex or other type

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Speaker 3: of entertainment areas. What in the short term do you

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Speaker 3: envision coming first?

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Speaker 2: Well, you know, I do think we're going to have

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Speaker 2: to create a master plan, and we're in the process

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Speaker 2: of thinking about that and thinking about possibilities, and so

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Speaker 2: it's listen, this is going to take a while. I mean,

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Speaker 2: to do something great and to build it is not

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Speaker 2: going to be a you know, something that's going to

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Speaker 2: happen overnight. But you know, I'm thinking long term, and

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Speaker 2: I'm thinking about what's best for the community, what's best

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Speaker 2: for our fans over the next ten to twenty years.

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Speaker 3: Where would that stuff be located. Would that be on

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Speaker 3: the other side of Civer Way, or will that area

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Speaker 3: be used for parking And maybe things even closer to

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Speaker 3: the ballpark will pop up.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're going to use the parking lot and then

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Speaker 2: build garages and try to improve the traffic flow at

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Speaker 2: the same time, if we can spread out people arriving

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Speaker 2: to the ballpark and leaving after the game, leaving at

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Speaker 2: different times and maybe sticking around having a drink or

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Speaker 2: having a bite after the game, it'll smooth out the

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Speaker 2: traffic situation that we're in right now, where everybody leaves,

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Speaker 2: arrives at the same time, it leaves at the same time,

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Speaker 2: and so I think I'll actually make for a better

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Speaker 2: fan experience we do traffic, and so that's one of

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Speaker 2: our goals.

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Speaker 3: We talk a little bit about the scoreboard, but I

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Speaker 3: know there are some other things going on inside the

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Speaker 3: ballpark having to do with things other than specifically the team,

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Speaker 3: which we're going to get to in a moment. But

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Speaker 3: when somebody shows up in April to City Field, apart

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Speaker 3: from the new scoreboard, what else will they notice right

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Speaker 3: off the bat is different and perhaps and hopefully better.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we're improving seating around the stadium. We're building out

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Speaker 2: in right field. We're building out a whole new section.

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Speaker 2: I think the fences are coming in eight feet to

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Speaker 2: accommodate what we're designing. There's new low's sitting, low's seating

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Speaker 2: where suites used to be. We're planning out additional places

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Speaker 2: where people can hang out and have a drink and

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Speaker 2: hang out with their buddies. And so you know, it's

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Speaker 2: all in an effort. When you go to a game,

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Speaker 2: the game is the most important thing, but the world's changed.

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Speaker 2: People want to be entertained in different ways, and we

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Speaker 2: want to provide that entertainment for whether it's the hardcore

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Speaker 2: fan or whether the casual fan. Well, the best way

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Speaker 2: to entertain them, of course, is to put a winning

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Speaker 2: team on the field. It helps, That help you, That

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Speaker 2: helps in one Yeah, it sure helps. And you thought

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Speaker 2: you'd help it even more when it looked like Carlos

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Speaker 2: Correa was going to sign with the Mets. But that's

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Speaker 2: the last thing from the offseason I want to touch on.

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Speaker 2: I know that he is under contract to another team,

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Speaker 2: so you're limited and what you can say, but any

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Speaker 2: misgivings about how it all shook out, right, Listen, I

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Speaker 2: really can't talk about it because he is playing for

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Speaker 2: another team other than when I wish him well. And

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Speaker 2: we have a pretty good team ourselves, let's not forget.

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Speaker 2: I mean, so I'm excited about the team, and I'm

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Speaker 2: excited about the possibilities.

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Speaker 3: Well, as far as the payroll goes, you know, it's

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Speaker 3: still pretty hefty even without Carlos Korea. And there was

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Speaker 3: a really interesting interview that you gave to ESPN's Jeff Passing,

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Speaker 3: and that was just posted very very recently, and you know,

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Speaker 3: in reading that, you really do get a stronger sense

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Speaker 3: of the wide disparity between the larger market teams and

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Speaker 3: the higher payroll teams and those who you know, frankly

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Speaker 3: put some money in their pockets along with you saying

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Speaker 3: anyway that they spend it on player development. It is

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Speaker 3: a wide disparity. But at this point, how essential is

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Speaker 3: it to continue to spend while you wait for a

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Speaker 3: farm system to take shape. But is this something meaning

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Speaker 3: surpassing the tax to the extent that you have so

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Speaker 3: far that you can see happening for the next two

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Speaker 3: or three years or however long it takes, to where

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Speaker 3: you feel the farm system is built up to what

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Speaker 3: you would like it to be. Listen, I mean I

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Speaker 3: made a commitment to the fans that I was going

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Speaker 3: to put a great product on the field, and I

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Speaker 3: inherited the farm system that was hollowed out, and I've

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Speaker 3: been investing in the farm system, investing in new technologies,

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Speaker 3: investing in personnel, and trying to drive the farm system

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Speaker 3: to where I think it needs to go. You know,

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Speaker 3: with obviously Billy at the Helm one of my markers

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Speaker 3: of success.

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Speaker 2: I have a couple of markers. Okay, one's going to

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Speaker 2: be let's win a World Series at some point, right

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Speaker 2: that would be funn The second thing is I want

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Speaker 2: to I'm a big development guy. That's what I do

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Speaker 2: at point seventy two, you know, I develop a lot

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Speaker 2: of my future stars internally at the firm, and I

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Speaker 2: want to do the same thing at the METS. I

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Speaker 2: think that the fans love when prospects come up. They

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Speaker 2: get excited by homegrown talent, and I think, why can't

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Speaker 2: we develop quality players in a consistent, sustainable way like

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Speaker 2: some of the best clubs in the major leagues. And

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Speaker 2: that's my goal, and that's another marker of success. How

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Speaker 2: far away do you think you are from that right now?

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Speaker 2: Obviously the scenario changes every year because of the draft

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Speaker 2: to bring new promising players into the organization.

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Speaker 3: Every team does that, But what is your timeline for

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Speaker 3: sustainability where you don't have to be as concerned about

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Speaker 3: spending to the extent that you have so far.

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Speaker 2: Listen, it's going to take at least three to you know,

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Speaker 2: three to five years. I mean, I consider last year

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Speaker 2: really the first year we got in the right place

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Speaker 2: where making the changes that need to be made, of

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Speaker 2: finding the right people to be part of the organization.

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Speaker 2: And so that's step one, right, But in any turnaround,

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Speaker 2: it doesn't happen overnight. I mean, a player that comes

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Speaker 2: into an organization, it may take them five years to

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Speaker 2: get to the major leagues. And so it's you know,

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Speaker 2: it's our goal to find those players, develop those players,

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Speaker 2: turn good players into great players. And and if we

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Speaker 2: can accomplish that, I think it's gonna I think I think,

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Speaker 2: I think it's something that the organization is going to

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Speaker 2: be proud of, and I think the fans are gonna

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Speaker 2: love it.

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Speaker 3: So was the Dodger model that you looked at when

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Speaker 3: you took over this team still the one that appeals

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Speaker 3: most to you, and still the one that you adhere to.

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Speaker 2: Well, the way I would describe it is the Dodgers

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Speaker 2: have won a lot of divisions, have actually won a

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Speaker 2: World Series, and they have the number one form system

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Speaker 2: according to uh caseball analysts, various analysts in the major leagues.

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Speaker 2: It's a pretty good recipe. Okay, so they've done a

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Speaker 2: great job. There are other teams that do a great job,

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Speaker 2: and there's no reason in the world wide we can't

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Speaker 2: we can't do the same.

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Speaker 3: And they've continued to spend two And I saw on

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Speaker 3: the pass an article and and you know in other

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Speaker 3: places too, where you know you felt, look, I'm not

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Speaker 3: doing anything the Dodgers didn't do X number of years ago.

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Speaker 3: In the percentages over the text thresholds are pretty similar

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Speaker 3: to what the Dodgers did. Do you feel when you

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Speaker 3: know you're around other owners that they they look at

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Speaker 3: you from a different standpoint than they would even the Dodgers'

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Speaker 3: owners now, is that part of the initiation of being

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Speaker 3: a big spending new owner. And and do you feel that,

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Speaker 3: you know, you're looked at differently by the rest of them?

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Speaker 2: You know, I really don't worry about stuff like that,

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Speaker 2: you know. I mean, I'm really focused on the Mets

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Speaker 2: and driving success for the Mets. And you know, I mean,

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Speaker 2: I've laid out a plan that I think has been

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Speaker 2: pretty clear. I'm laying out play out my goals. I've

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Speaker 2: been consistent. I want a sustainable winning and and you know,

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Speaker 2: and and and the way to have sustainable winning, I

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Speaker 2: think is to develop a strong farm system and and

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Speaker 2: and and then supplement with free agents and and if

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Speaker 2: we can accomplish that, I don't know why we can't,

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Speaker 2: then I'm not going to worry about what other people think.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to try to accomplish my goals and and listen,

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Speaker 2: I'm never satisfied. I'm always trying to improve the team.

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Speaker 2: I mean, that's my goal and so you know, but

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Speaker 2: we have to be thoughtful about it, and we have

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Speaker 2: to do it in a way that that works works

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Speaker 2: for the team, you know, short term into intermediate term,

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Speaker 2: long term, you know, I'm always thinking about what's next.

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Speaker 2: I know Billy and the team and the baseball operations team,

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Speaker 2: they're always thinking about how to constantly improve the team.

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Speaker 2: And by the way, we have some great prospects coming

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Speaker 2: up that I think that you know, obviously we know

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Speaker 2: about Alvarez, we know, but baby, you know Vanos and

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Speaker 2: there are others coming along, and so you know, hopefully

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Speaker 2: they'll start to make an impact this year at some

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Speaker 2: point and and we can look forward to, you know,

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Speaker 2: accomplishing some of the goals that I've laid out.

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Speaker 3: And now that you've had a couple of years experience

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Speaker 3: at this, have you gotten more involved in not so

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Speaker 3: much making the nuts and bolts baseball decisions. Certainly from

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Speaker 3: a contractual standpoint, if there's a big ticket player you're pursuing,

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Speaker 3: obviously you're gonna you know, you're going to have to sign.

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Speaker 2: Off on that.

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Speaker 3: But have you gone into baseball operations at all with

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Speaker 3: some ideas since you've been here, or are you just

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Speaker 3: leading that to Billy and the staff.

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Speaker 2: I leave it to them. I have good questions, you know.

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Speaker 2: I try to hold them accountable like I would anybody

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Speaker 2: who works for me. But they're the experts. I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to tell them what to do. What my job

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Speaker 2: is to provide the resources they need, you know, the

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Speaker 2: ability to hire the people that they need, so that

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Speaker 2: we can accomplish the goals that I've just talked about.

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Speaker 2: I'm not going to pick the players. That's that's their job.

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Speaker 2: If I got to pick the players, then we got

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Speaker 2: a problem. Okay, I'll let the experts pick them, and

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Speaker 2: then my job is to make sure that you know

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Speaker 2: they're supported enough so they can accomplish the goals that

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Speaker 2: we've laid out.

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Speaker 3: One of the goals you laid out from the very

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Speaker 3: first time you spoke to the media as Mets owner

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Speaker 3: was that you'd like to win a World Series within

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Speaker 3: three to five years. I would assume nothing's changed as

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Speaker 3: far as your wish list goes. But where do you

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Speaker 3: feel you're at right now in terms of being able

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Speaker 3: to satisfy that wich.

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Speaker 2: Well, I haven't wony yet, right, and that's two years

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Speaker 2: in so times run it out. Hey, listen, you got

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Speaker 2: to set high goals in life, right. I mean, if

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Speaker 2: you don't set goals that are that seem hard to accomplish,

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Speaker 2: you're not going to accomplish anything. So you know, I've

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Speaker 2: set high goals. I always set high goals for myself

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Speaker 2: and whether you know, whether it's at the Mets or

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Speaker 2: whether at my point seventy two or other things I

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Speaker 2: do in life, and we're going to do our best

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Speaker 2: to accomplish them. And but ultimately, I think what I've

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Speaker 2: learned is to win a World Series, you've got to

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Speaker 2: put yourself in position every year, and then you get

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Speaker 2: a little luck and sometimes it falls your way. Only

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Speaker 2: one team wins, twenty nine teams lose, okay, And there

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Speaker 2: are a lot of good teams out there and they're

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Speaker 2: trying to do the same thing I'm trying to do.

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Speaker 2: And so, but the I think the way to get

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Speaker 2: there is increase your probability, and increase your probability is

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Speaker 2: to be in the playoffs on a consistent basis with

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Speaker 2: a team that can go deep into the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: We have won one hundred and one games during the

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Speaker 3: regular season last year, and yet it ended in disappointing fashions.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, listen, I mean it happens, right, I mean, if

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Speaker 2: when we drew it up on the on the board,

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Speaker 2: that's not how we drew it up ending And but

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Speaker 2: you know, Listen. It gets back to my point. Once

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Speaker 2: you get into playoffs, anything can happen. But you've got

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Speaker 2: to keep putting yourself there. And if we keep putting

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Speaker 2: ourselves there, things are gonna fall away at some point

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Speaker 2: or another.

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Speaker 3: Do you feel you're better now as a team than

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Speaker 3: you were last October when it ended? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: I do, I really do. I think I think this

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Speaker 2: is a team that seasoned. I think it's you know,

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Speaker 2: it's a team that you know likes playing together. I

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Speaker 2: think that year together winning one hundred wins wins, I think,

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Speaker 2: you know, should embolden them, make them perhaps more confident.

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Speaker 2: You know a lot of players coming to New York

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Speaker 2: and it's not easy adjusting right away, and so you know,

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Speaker 2: another year under their belt, and you know, I'm excited

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Speaker 2: about how the team looks. We're going to be very

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Speaker 2: competitive and we'll see what happens.

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Speaker 3: What do you take from last year that you really

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Speaker 3: embrace and said, boy, that was great, that was special.

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Speaker 3: That's something we can do on a sustainable basis year after.

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Speaker 2: Year on the field and off. Yeah, listen, I mean,

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Speaker 2: I mean I went out to Milwaukee for the clinching

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Speaker 2: into the playoffs, and that was fun, right, I mean,

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Speaker 2: the Mets hadn't made the playoffs in a while, and

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Speaker 2: so you know, we got a little taste of being

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Speaker 2: in the playoffs and obviously we want to go further

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Speaker 2: and so, you know, but that was an accomplishment, right,

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Speaker 2: we want one hundred one games, and so you know,

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Speaker 2: it didn't end the way we wanted to, But overall,

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Speaker 2: I would call it, you know, a pretty successful season

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Speaker 2: and moving the team in the right direction, you know,

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Speaker 2: like you know, things don't happen overnight, right, I mean

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Speaker 2: you've got to measure prog us along the way, and

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Speaker 2: I think we I think as an organization we made

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Speaker 2: significant progress. Well, since you've taken over, you had to

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Speaker 2: get the front office in place. Billy Eppler of course,

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Speaker 2: then Buck show Walter as manager. How do you evaluate

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Speaker 2: their relationship, you know, in terms of, you know, being

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Speaker 2: as much on the same page as a general manager

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Speaker 2: and manager can be. And more to the point, where

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Speaker 2: are you in terms of your relationship with both of

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Speaker 2: them and how that dynamic operates. You know, I get

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Speaker 2: along great with Buck and I get along great with Billy.

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Speaker 2: I mean, listen, I'm talking to Billy every day. The

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Speaker 2: organization is more than just Billy and Buck. Right, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of talented people in the organization, a lot

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Speaker 2: of talented people that we've hired over the last year,

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Speaker 2: and you know, building new processes, bringing new technology, new

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Speaker 2: ways of doing things, improving the training of our play

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Speaker 2: you know, listen, I hope. I assume it's going to

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Speaker 2: pay off at some point, right, I mean, and you know,

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Speaker 2: obviously we talked about analytics before, and you know, I'm

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Speaker 2: investing in all parts of the organization, and you know, listen,

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Speaker 2: I'm used to doing this. I do this at seventy two.

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Speaker 2: But you got to be patient, right, because investments don't

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Speaker 2: pay off right away. The great if they did, but

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Speaker 2: they don't always pay off right away.

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Speaker 3: Can you kind of evaluate or sum up that technology

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Speaker 3: and how enhanced it is from what existed when you

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Speaker 3: got here, and what specifically it does to improve the

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Speaker 3: product on the field.

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Speaker 2: The whole point is that, you know, is to take

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Speaker 2: players that are already good at you know, and talented

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Speaker 2: and find ways to improve them. And I think we

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Speaker 2: can do that, and other teams are doing that. And

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Speaker 2: there's no reason in the world why, you know, utilizing

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Speaker 2: technology bringing the best and brightest in the industry that

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Speaker 2: you know, we we we we you know, why can't

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Speaker 2: we take and try to you know, make them as

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Speaker 2: you know, you get get, you know, take the get

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Speaker 2: their potential to be whatever it can be.

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Speaker 3: I enjoyed watching you give Buck show Walter his National

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Speaker 3: League Manager of the Year award recently at the Baseball

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Speaker 3: Writers Dinner for you to have you know, essentially been

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Speaker 3: the one to sign off on hiring him and Billy

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Speaker 3: Eppler's recommendation. How gratifying was it to you? And just

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Speaker 3: how much more can you take us inside the relationship

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Speaker 3: that you have with Buck, who's got very strong ideas

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Speaker 3: about how he runs a clubhouse.

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Speaker 2: And a game.

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Speaker 3: And where do you fit in in terms of little

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Speaker 3: things you like to impart to someone who's been in

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Speaker 3: the game his entire life.

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Speaker 2: Listen, I might have an idea and I'll throw it

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Speaker 2: by Billy and or have Billy talk to Buck on it,

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Speaker 2: and it's actually they do their thing. Okay. I mean

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Speaker 2: I've I'm lucky enough that I was able to track

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Speaker 2: someone of Buck's quality, and you know, it's a total professional.

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Speaker 2: The players love playing for him. I think he won

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Speaker 2: some games for us last year. You know, with with

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Speaker 2: how he thinks about the game while it's happening. He

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Speaker 2: prepares our ballplayers for all sorts of situations that you know,

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Speaker 2: I wouldn't even be able to think about or even

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Speaker 2: thought that was important. And so you know, we gotta,

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Speaker 2: we gotta. We got a great guy. Players love him,

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Speaker 2: fans love him. It kind of fits my philosophy at

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Speaker 2: best and brightest. Has your child.

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Speaker 3: Changed as you've evolved over these last couple of years

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Speaker 3: and kind of got comfortable with owning a baseball team?

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Speaker 3: Is all about have you changed in terms of maybe

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Speaker 3: your vision for how that was going to play out

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Speaker 3: and how it's operating right now?

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Speaker 2: Listen, you learn right so you know the way you

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Speaker 2: thought it was going to be versus the way it is.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, running a baseball team, you know,

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Speaker 2: it's still it's a small business, but it's actually pretty complicated.

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Speaker 2: I Mean there's a lot that goes into creating a

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Speaker 2: team that can win one hundred and one times and

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Speaker 2: the amount of effort that's put in by the entire staff,

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Speaker 2: and you know, and and and find it in deciding

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Speaker 2: who we're gonna put on the roster. You know, how

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Speaker 2: how all that works. I mean, what's going on in

435
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:29,240
Speaker 2: the minor leagues, you know what I mean that the

436
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,040
Speaker 2: amount of forward thinking that has to take place how

437
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:37,880
Speaker 2: to build your starting rotation, you know, I mean, there's

438
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,199
Speaker 2: a lot of intricacies that have to be dealt with,

439
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,240
Speaker 2: and it's a lot more complicated than someone on the

440
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,480
Speaker 2: outside looking can imagine. And so I mean the fans

441
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,920
Speaker 2: that always see what's really going on, and but there's

442
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,240
Speaker 2: a lot of thought put into day to day stuff.

443
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,400
Speaker 2: And but that's what it takes to compete. I mean,

444
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 2: you know, because we're competing as twenty one other teams

445
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:03,600
Speaker 2: are doing the same thing.

446
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,600
Speaker 3: One of the things you told us in that very

447
00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,240
Speaker 3: first Zoom and frankly the very first press conference that

448
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,119
Speaker 3: you had after becoming the owner, was that you wanted

449
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:17,040
Speaker 3: to work as hard as possible to embrace the tradition

450
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 3: and the history of the franchise and more than anything,

451
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,439
Speaker 3: welcome the alumni back into a situation where they feel

452
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 3: connected to the team again. And having been part of

453
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,080
Speaker 3: Old Timer's Day last year, I can tell you how

454
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,919
Speaker 3: incredibly special that was because every one of those players

455
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,399
Speaker 3: on the field had the same expression. I mean, it

456
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,639
Speaker 3: was almost like baseball Woodstock. You know, have seen the

457
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,199
Speaker 3: way those guys were just so happy to feel a

458
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 3: part of things again. How can you do things like that?

459
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,240
Speaker 3: I don't expect a full blown old timer's day like

460
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 3: that where you bring back as many as you did,

461
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:54,879
Speaker 3: But well, what kind of things do you plan on

462
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,600
Speaker 3: doing with the alumni to keep them engaged on a

463
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:58,440
Speaker 3: regular basis?

464
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 2: Listen, I mean they want to they want to be engaged,

465
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 2: and they care about the Mets. And it was so

466
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,639
Speaker 2: great seeing everybody enjoy themselves. I mean, I guess we

467
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,879
Speaker 2: hadn't had an old Timers Day since nineteen ninety four,

468
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 2: which remarkable, and so I called it like sort of

469
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,120
Speaker 2: low hanging fruit. That was an easy one to do.

470
00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,040
Speaker 2: I mean I knew, you know, it went even better

471
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,399
Speaker 2: than I ever imagined. I mean I was sitting in

472
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,520
Speaker 2: the locker room with a lot of the eighty six Mets,

473
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,919
Speaker 2: and the stories they were telling, I mean, it was

474
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,600
Speaker 2: just phenomenal. I was just like, this is great.

475
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,280
Speaker 3: Did they clean them up for you or no?

476
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,920
Speaker 2: Well, they definitely gave me the PG version and and

477
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:45,840
Speaker 2: and but I mean, you know, so, I mean being

478
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 2: out on the field and you can see how much

479
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,760
Speaker 2: fun they were having and so, and the fans loved

480
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 2: it too, right, it was just an incredible day, incredible

481
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,400
Speaker 2: data have you know, such incredible memories of your favorite

482
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,000
Speaker 2: ballplayers and so. Uh, you know, I was really happy

483
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,040
Speaker 2: the way it went. But it's the type of stuff

484
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,879
Speaker 2: we can do, right, I mean, you know, I'm still

485
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 2: thinking about Bobby beniad if I can get him, you

486
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,840
Speaker 2: know what that what would that entail? I'm not you know,

487
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:15,960
Speaker 2: we'd have to design it, but I'm telling you it

488
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,840
Speaker 2: would be fun, okay, and we'd love that Bobby doing.

489
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 2: And he's he you know, he travels around with his son,

490
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,600
Speaker 2: who's a terrific golfer, and so he has to you know,

491
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,439
Speaker 2: hopefully schedule can make it work. But if not, if

492
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:32,920
Speaker 2: you can't do it this year, I'll be on him

493
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:33,400
Speaker 2: next year.

494
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,439
Speaker 3: So I'm envisioning like this big ceremony on the field

495
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:38,439
Speaker 3: on July first.

496
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:43,040
Speaker 2: I gotta find board, big check. I mean, it's got

497
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:44,280
Speaker 2: to be big though, you know.

498
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,320
Speaker 3: Okay, so I got one of those that sounds if

499
00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,680
Speaker 3: you're throwing those around, that sounds like a good idea, right.

500
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,199
Speaker 2: You know, Just like then let him figure out how

501
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 2: to carry it home.

502
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:58,920
Speaker 3: Well, here's here's the thing about that, you would get

503
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,359
Speaker 3: great coverage national. I mean, you would think that most

504
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:07,119
Speaker 3: people would take it in the spirit in which it's intended.

505
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 3: It'd be fun.

506
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,639
Speaker 2: You know, I just go with my instincts and you know,

507
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,480
Speaker 2: let's let's just have fun with it, because it's become

508
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 2: almost an iconic day, you know, become you know, something

509
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 2: that just became viral, and so why not just go

510
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,600
Speaker 2: with it and then make you know, enjoy it and

511
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,359
Speaker 2: and you know, make it fun.

512
00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:28,760
Speaker 3: Is Bobby on the same page with that, if he

513
00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 3: can make it?

514
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:34,040
Speaker 2: I think Bobby. I think Bobby is thinking about it

515
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,360
Speaker 2: and considering it, and I've had good conversations with him.

516
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,119
Speaker 2: So we'll see. You know, who knows. Can we get

517
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,360
Speaker 2: you a lot of attention? That's for sure. That's also good,

518
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 2: you know. So I think we're playing the Giants this year,

519
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,800
Speaker 2: San Francisco Giants, So it's a good you know, it'll

520
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 2: be it'll be a great day at the ballpark.

521
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 3: I know there has been talk about a commercial that

522
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,120
Speaker 3: you might be running on the Super Bowl.

523
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 2: Is that is that happening? That is happening, okay, I

524
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 2: mean I've seen a preview of it. I think it's great.

525
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,679
Speaker 2: Andy Goldbert, my chief marketing officer, came to me with

526
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,040
Speaker 2: the idea. That's what I love. I love when ideas

527
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 2: come out of the organization that are new and different.

528
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:12,760
Speaker 2: You know, some are going to work and some are

529
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 2: going to just fall big duds. But you know, if

530
00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 2: you don't experiment and try new things, and so we're

531
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,320
Speaker 2: trying something new, right, and I think the fans are

532
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,400
Speaker 2: going to love it. And you know, I think it's

533
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:29,000
Speaker 2: a commercial well done. It's it's funny. They'll enjoy it.

534
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 3: By way of a sneak preview, is there anything that

535
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 3: could at least tip us off to about what it's about.

536
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 2: Well, you know we had the previews right of perusing

537
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,640
Speaker 2: you know, the camera, perusing a different desk and trying

538
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,440
Speaker 2: to identify, you know, whose desk it was. And so

539
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 2: the players will be part of this commercial.

540
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,480
Speaker 3: You know, those players are going to be in Fort

541
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 3: Saint Lucie before you know it. And so it's been

542
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,000
Speaker 3: fun looking back on twenty twenty two, but it's all

543
00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 3: about twenty twenty three now. And Steve, we really appreciate

544
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,160
Speaker 3: you taking time. Yeah, oh we're doing a big sun Mets.

545
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,480
Speaker 2: Thank you for doing this and yeah, we're only what'll

546
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 2: we be a week away, you know, a little more

547
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 2: than a week. You know, I can't wait, you know,

548
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,600
Speaker 2: so let's let's let's let's get it going, all right, Steve,

549
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:14,480
Speaker 2: thank you very much.

550
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 3: That is the owner of the New York Mets, Steve Cohen,

551
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,680
Speaker 3: And so if you consider this too, have been a

552
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:21,720
Speaker 3: win for the Mets. It's our first put up in

553
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,320
Speaker 3: the books for twenty twenty three, and hopefully there will

554
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:26,640
Speaker 3: be many many more.

555
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:27,800
Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us.

556
00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 4: No, we're really excited, you know. It's I got to

557
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,720
Speaker 4: see Eduardo today and Francisco and Beatty and just more

558
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,520
Speaker 4: guys are starting to pour in, and uh, you know,

559
00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,280
Speaker 4: it just reminded me how much I loved this team

560
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,240
Speaker 4: last year and how much fun I had with them,

561
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,840
Speaker 4: and I can't wait to start another season with them.

562
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,760
Speaker 4: It's gonna be it's gonna be a blast. And we're

563
00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 4: just excited to get to know the new guys. You know,

564
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:53,080
Speaker 4: we got a lot of new guys that were coming

565
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 4: to uh, coming to learn, and so we're gonna get

566
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:57,520
Speaker 4: everybody to try and pull the same into the rope

567
00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,880
Speaker 4: and uh and get the spring training started on the

568
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,240
Speaker 4: on the right foot, something that's really special in today's game.

569
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 4: Not many guys get to start with a team and

570
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,840
Speaker 4: in with a team, and that's my goal here. And

571
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,280
Speaker 4: I'm so excited that I got to sign the contract

572
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,240
Speaker 4: this offseason. You know, it really is a dream come true.

573
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 4: If you would have asked us if everything worked out

574
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 4: just right, you know, this is how it would have

575
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 4: worked out. You know, we would have been coming back.

576
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,520
Speaker 4: And so we're so excited about it, and we're excited

577
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,080
Speaker 4: to pursue a World series with the Cohens and the

578
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,400
Speaker 4: rest of the Mets organization putting it all together, of

579
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 4: the hitting, the running, the throwing, making sure that it

580
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,600
Speaker 4: all comes together so that we're first and foremost healthy.

581
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:37,920
Speaker 4: You can't help the team if you're not on the field.

582
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,640
Speaker 4: And then secondly, just trying to build on last year.

583
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 4: I felt like there's a lot of the things that

584
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,640
Speaker 4: I did really well last year, and so just trying

585
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,479
Speaker 4: to build on those and become a more consistent player.

586
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,920
Speaker 4: I think there's always room for improvement. But we're also

587
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 4: not trying to reinvent the wheel here, you know, just

588
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 4: kind of make things a little bit more consistent, work

589
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 4: on the small things, and just become a better player overall,