Speaker 1: Is this a great game or what with the Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer Tim Kirkshin. I'm his son, Jeff Kirkshon, and
Speaker 1: we are officially into.
Speaker 2: The second half of the baseball.
Speaker 3: Season, right. It's so good, Jev. And you celebrated the
Speaker 3: second half by redoing your unfinished basement. I am so
Speaker 3: proud of you. This is exactly how I would have
Speaker 3: done it. It is impeccable now in your unfinished incredibly organized.
Speaker 3: I had to go in there with McKinley, your daughter,
Speaker 3: my granddaughter this morning to find something, and everything was obvious.
Speaker 3: She pointed at it knew exactly what she wanted because
Speaker 3: everything is so organized. Way to go.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So our basement studio, which we're coming to from
Speaker 1: right now, is in one section of the basement. Then
Speaker 1: there's like a whole section that's got a big couch
Speaker 1: and a TV and.
Speaker 3: A roller coaster explained.
Speaker 1: And our friends London and Chris, they have two girls
Speaker 1: themselves and they have this plastic little Tyke's roller coaster
Speaker 1: that I guess their girls aren't playing with much anymore.
Speaker 1: And McKinley loves it.
Speaker 3: Well. I was down here this morning for an hour
Speaker 3: with her. It was absolutely glorious. But she gets on
Speaker 3: the roller coaster. Now it's just a small roller coaster,
Speaker 3: and I haven't seen this before, but she gets on it,
Speaker 3: and I keep thinking she's gonna fall off. Instead, it
Speaker 3: was great. She loved it, and she has nothing. I'm
Speaker 3: the worst of all time with roller coasters, as we know.
Speaker 3: I'm afraid of them. Anything it's too high, anything that's
Speaker 3: too fast, anything moves too quickly. I can't do it.
Speaker 2: Well, dad.
Speaker 1: And she also hit a milestone. She'll turn two on
Speaker 1: August the tenth. She hit a milestone.
Speaker 2: She knows her name.
Speaker 3: Now, right, So she said today McKinley Kirchen today, and
Speaker 3: I could understand the kirkchin. She said it better so
Speaker 3: than some radio show hosts that I've been on have
Speaker 3: said it over the years. So I'll take it. It
Speaker 3: was great.
Speaker 1: I have the very first time she ever said it
Speaker 1: on video, and so I brought a clip with us today,
Speaker 1: So let's play that.
Speaker 3: And what's your name, Kenny Kirchen, Good Carol.
Speaker 2: So that's McKinley Kirkchhin.
Speaker 3: That's so cool.
Speaker 2: McKinley kirchen. My daughter who you know?
Speaker 1: Emily and McKinley did a podcast sitting in these very
Speaker 1: chairs as well. Really yeah, I mean McKinley talks a
Speaker 1: lot but doesn't really say much, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: It sounds like you, hey, hey, just kidding.
Speaker 2: That was a good one.
Speaker 1: But thank you for the compliments on the unfinished basement.
Speaker 1: I get it from you are type, a overorganized type.
Speaker 1: So that section of the basement is right next to
Speaker 1: our studios, and you gotta be able to find your stuff,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, So, Jeff, before we get to the second half,
Speaker 3: I forgot to tell you this last week. Hunter Brown
Speaker 3: of the Big Train, of course, Houston Astro's All Star pitcher.
Speaker 3: I saw him at the All Star Game, and I
Speaker 3: forgot to tell you this, but I'd love to ask players, like,
Speaker 3: who did you meet here that you've always wanted to
Speaker 3: meet And it's like the first time and it's always well,
Speaker 3: they got to shake, you know, Sho Hay's hand, or
Speaker 3: you know, I met Aaron Judge for the first time.
Speaker 3: Hunter Brown looked at me and he said, Joe Tory.
Speaker 3: Joe Torre is eighty five years old, and Joe Tory
Speaker 3: was there as like the legendary manager who was in
Speaker 3: the dugout with Aaron Boone for the All Star Game.
Speaker 3: Actually went to the mound to make a pitching change.
Speaker 3: It was so great. Joe Tory is one of my
Speaker 3: favorite people ever. And Hunter Brown said, I said, Hunter,
Speaker 3: you know he was a great hitter, and he looked
Speaker 3: at me and he goes, I know like that, like
Speaker 3: he didn't want to just meet him because he's this
Speaker 3: decorated Hall of Fame manager. He also recognized that Joe
Speaker 3: Tory was a great player in his day.
Speaker 1: I think there's such a united effort between players and
Speaker 1: former players. I mean, we've heard so many great stories
Speaker 1: of Ted Williams, for example, nineteen ninety nine All Star
Speaker 1: Game Fenway Park. Just wanting to talk to these players
Speaker 1: about what do you see when you're up there? How
Speaker 1: do you read the ball? Because they have something in common.
Speaker 1: They can do something that ninety nine point nine percent
Speaker 1: of the world can't do, and that's hit.
Speaker 3: A fastball right. Absolutely. And speaking of the Hall of Fame,
Speaker 3: Jeff Tomorrow's guest is Big Billy Wagner, Hall of Fame
Speaker 3: relief pitcher. He will go in on Sunday. I will
Speaker 3: be in Cooperstown this weekend. I will leave I will
Speaker 3: go there Friday. Cannot wait. It's my favorite weekend of
Speaker 3: the year. And Billy Wagner just told us all sorts
Speaker 3: of stories, a couple which I've never heard before, and
Speaker 3: he made us laugh and he made a smile, and
Speaker 3: Billy Wagner insisted that he's five, 't ten. I still
Speaker 3: question that. But for later on today, we'll have a
Speaker 3: team tim where we're gonna have the shortest players at
Speaker 3: each position in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2: It's gonna make us feel very comfortable.
Speaker 3: Right, Billy Wagner yelled at me. It was really funny.
Speaker 1: He was hilarious. All right, So you'll get that interview
Speaker 1: tomorrow on the feed. So make sure dad takeaways.
Speaker 3: All right, million takeaways to start the second halb the
Speaker 3: start of the second half, because everything is fresh and
Speaker 3: you say, all right, we're going, we're moving, we're rolling. Well.
Speaker 3: The second half is the same as the first half.
Speaker 3: For Trek Schoopl, who had another great performance on Sunday
Speaker 3: Night Baseball, no walks, eleven strikeouts, Jeff Now he's averaging
Speaker 3: one point one walks per nine innings and eleven point
Speaker 3: six strikeouts per nine innings. That leads the Major leagues
Speaker 3: this year. No pitcher has ever led the major leagues
Speaker 3: in both of those categories qualified pitcher in the same season.
Speaker 3: That is where he is heading. And he did it
Speaker 3: last night. Jeff wondering, is my wife gonna give birth
Speaker 3: tonight during the game. That's how close they are to
Speaker 3: having a baby? Which I mean, seriously, how does a
Speaker 3: pitcher go out there knowing his wife might be giving
Speaker 3: birth in the fourth inning of the game and he
Speaker 3: goes out and throws a gem against the range?
Speaker 1: Well, hold on, dad, I don't know if you know this,
Speaker 1: but I played in a rec league kickball game just
Speaker 1: hours before my wife was induced with McKinley, and I
Speaker 1: had two hits.
Speaker 2: So I mean, are we.
Speaker 1: Talking about Sunday Night baseball rec league kickball?
Speaker 2: I think they're the same.
Speaker 3: Are they called hits in kickball? Also? Yeah, you called
Speaker 3: it a hit?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I hit one. I had two home runs in
Speaker 2: my career and kick yeah.
Speaker 3: I keep telling you you're a good athlete. I don't
Speaker 3: want to hear about this anymore. But I still don't
Speaker 3: understand how you kick a kickball with your left foot.
Speaker 3: What is wrong with you?
Speaker 1: I just had a conversation with somebody about this. Yesterday
Speaker 1: we had some friends over and he my buddy Tom.
Speaker 1: He's dominant right hand everything except for any stick sports,
Speaker 1: so he.
Speaker 2: Plays hockey left hand.
Speaker 1: And he said, what about you, because we were talking
Speaker 1: about both of our daughters, like McKinley, my daughter seriously
Speaker 1: right handed and everything, throws a ball, coloring, whatever. But
Speaker 1: I said, I do everything right except for I kick
Speaker 1: a ball left footed. And he goes, how do you know,
Speaker 1: I said, if you were to football, punting, kicking, soccer
Speaker 1: left footed, I can't even kick with him. I couldn't
Speaker 1: even try, probably tear an acl if.
Speaker 3: I tried, right well, I was thinking about Derek Scuoble
Speaker 3: last night. What happens if his wife has the baby
Speaker 3: in the third inning? What does he do? I think
Speaker 3: he stays and pitches the game wouldn't be fair to
Speaker 3: the team, or the bullpen or anything else. Plus, I
Speaker 3: think once you make the commitment I'm pitching tonight, you
Speaker 3: have to finish. Never forget the story, though, Jeff from
Speaker 3: nineteen ninety, I'm sure I told you this. Tom Browning,
Speaker 3: late Tom Browning, reds pitcher at the time starting pitcher,
Speaker 3: really good run through a perfect game in the big leagues.
Speaker 3: He's in the bullpen because he's a starting pitcher, and
Speaker 3: his wife is in Oakland with him for the World
Speaker 3: Series in nineteen ninety Reds and A's and she goes
Speaker 3: into labor and he's got to go to the hospital,
Speaker 3: so he doesn't even tell anyone where he's going. He
Speaker 3: goes to the hospital and full you to four. Okay,
Speaker 3: the game gets late and it gets close, and suddenly
Speaker 3: lou Panella calls down to the bullpen and says, you
Speaker 3: better get browning up just in case we go to
Speaker 3: extras and we might need some help. And they say,
Speaker 3: he's not here. He's gone. So he was at the
Speaker 3: hospital where his wife gave birth to a healthy child.
Speaker 3: So I saw him the next day because he went
Speaker 3: to the hospital in his uniform. I said, Tom, didn't
Speaker 3: anyone say anything that you were in your uniform? And
Speaker 3: he goes, no, he said, I think they just thought
Speaker 3: I was like a big fan of the team.
Speaker 2: That is incredible.
Speaker 1: Well, you know you mentioned if she went into labor
Speaker 1: in the third inning. At least my experience, I was
Speaker 1: not involved at all in that baby being delivered.
Speaker 2: Shout out to the nurses, Shout out to the doctor.
Speaker 1: I was just there for moral support, that of which
Speaker 1: I'm an overly optimistic guy, and even I broke down
Speaker 1: at one point.
Speaker 2: I said, I can't do this.
Speaker 3: You need to stay strong. You're not doing anything, Jeff.
Speaker 3: So I think she would get through it.
Speaker 1: Women are mothers, are incredible, They're powerful. It's magic what
Speaker 1: they can do, and us guys are just along for
Speaker 1: the front.
Speaker 3: Wait, Stan all right, Speaking of being great, though, the
Speaker 3: Brewers have won ten games in a row through through Sunday,
Speaker 3: they are now tied with the Cubs for the best
Speaker 3: record in the National League, and they are just behind
Speaker 3: the Tigers for the best record in Baseball. The Brewers
Speaker 3: are dangerous, Jeff. Now that they've got Jacob Mazerowski for
Speaker 3: the whole second half and Brandon Woodruff has come back
Speaker 3: from major arm issues to join the rotation with Freddie Peralta,
Speaker 3: they have a chance to be very dangerous. And I
Speaker 3: tell you that, Jeff, because the first World Series I
Speaker 3: ever covered was in eighty two and the Brewers were
Speaker 3: in it against the Cardinals, and it was such a
Speaker 3: thrill for me because I'm a beat guy covering the
Speaker 3: Texas Rangers. But I'm going to the World Series and
Speaker 3: I'm writing all the game stories. It was absolutely the best,
Speaker 3: and so many of those Brewers I'll never forget how
Speaker 3: much I enjoyed being around. One of them, of course,
Speaker 3: was Jim Gantner, their second baseman. His nickname was Gumby,
Speaker 3: and Gumby was like the most popular guy on the
Speaker 3: team and a tough, hard nosed little guy. But in
Speaker 3: the offseason he also had a lube business, like where
Speaker 3: like you would like change somebody's so as part of
Speaker 3: an auction item for the Brewers, Jim Gander would go
Speaker 3: to your house and change your oil in the driveway,
Speaker 3: and he is the second baseman for the Brewers. Gumby
Speaker 3: would go to your house and change your oil. I
Speaker 3: don't care what anyone says, Jeff, that is the greatest
Speaker 3: auction item.
Speaker 2: Of all time.
Speaker 1: It's better than when Kevin Malone in the office offered
Speaker 1: to do your taxes federal and state.
Speaker 3: Oh God, it's so good, all right. Trade deadline's also
Speaker 3: coming up, Jim.
Speaker 1: I have never been this excited for a trade deadline.
Speaker 1: I think with the expansion of the wildcard, Dad, it
Speaker 1: makes a lot more people buyers, which I think makes
Speaker 1: it difficult because there's more spots and more buyers. But
Speaker 1: I'm ready for some big moves this season.
Speaker 3: And Euhano Suarez of the Diamondbacks might be the biggest
Speaker 3: name to move. He's got thirty five home runs, He's
Speaker 3: an above average defensive third baseman, now team leader, Yankees, Mets, Cubs,
Speaker 3: all sorts of teams are gonna want this guy. My
Speaker 3: guess is he's gonna move. So he started this. He
Speaker 3: just had two straight multi homer games. The record is
Speaker 3: three straight multi homer games, and the last time it
Speaker 3: was done was by Jeff Devannon, who was just like
Speaker 3: a kind of a infielder in the big leagues. He
Speaker 3: hit thirty three career homers. He hit twelve during the
Speaker 3: two thousand and three season, but in two thousand and
Speaker 3: three he got to June the first with two home
Speaker 3: runs for the season, and then hit two home runs
Speaker 3: in three consecutive games. Seriously, how does that happen? I mean, like,
Speaker 3: Babe Ruth never did that, you know, Barry Bonds never
Speaker 3: did that. Hank Aaron never did that. Jeff Devannon did that.
Speaker 3: He was the last guy to do it.
Speaker 2: So six of his thirty three home run.
Speaker 3: Came in a three days fan two in each game.
Speaker 3: This is why baseball is so beautiful. All Right, you
Speaker 3: saw the Ronald Lacuna throw. It's several days late, but
Speaker 3: you saw the throw right.
Speaker 1: It was unbelievable. It was it was shades of Roberto
Speaker 1: Clemente in right field.
Speaker 3: Right. So, Clemeny made so many great throws. He is
Speaker 3: the greatest defensive right fielder ever and the greatest throwing
Speaker 3: outfielder that I have ever seen. So he made this
Speaker 3: famous throw in the seventy one World Series, which I
Speaker 3: watched live and never forgot it. But I did apparently
Speaker 3: forget it because Merv Retmand, who was a hitting coach
Speaker 3: for the Rangers when I covered them in the early eighties,
Speaker 3: I said, that throw from Clemenny, I can't And Merv
Speaker 3: was the runner on the play. And I'm talking to
Speaker 3: Merv and I had forgotten, sadly that Merv was the runner.
Speaker 3: And I said, when Clemeny threw that guy out at
Speaker 3: third and Merv Rehtman goes that guy that guy was
Speaker 3: me and he said, and I was safe at third.
Speaker 3: He was. The difference is irv Retmand knew that Clemeny
Speaker 3: could throw it from there to third base in the air.
Speaker 3: And make a great throw. The Yankee run for good.
Speaker 2: He forgot he didn't even slide.
Speaker 3: That can't happen, JEP. Doesn't take away from the amazing
Speaker 3: throw by Acunya. Let's just be clear. Roberto Clemeny has
Speaker 3: the greatest throwing arm ever. Acunya is amazing, but he's
Speaker 3: not as good as Roberto Clemtty.
Speaker 2: There's so many clips.
Speaker 1: I love this of Roberto Clemene making throws to home
Speaker 1: with nobody coming right, you know, because they just they're
Speaker 1: just like, we're not going like so he's making this
Speaker 1: beautiful throw right, catches it right here, right, and there's
Speaker 1: nobody coming because it's like we're not running on you anyway, dude.
Speaker 3: Why infield was such a great thing to watch when
Speaker 3: I was growing up and when I was covering early on,
Speaker 3: I would get to watch these great right fielders throw
Speaker 3: to the plate without anybody running, but you could see
Speaker 3: how strong their arms were. It was great, speaking a
Speaker 3: strong Aaron Judge hit another first inning homer on Sunday.
Speaker 3: That's thirteen first inning home runs this year. The record
Speaker 3: is eighteen, set by Judge last year and Alex Rodriguez
Speaker 3: in two thousand and one. So let's keep an eye
Speaker 3: on that and we'll stay in New York. The Mets
Speaker 3: retired David Writes number five on Saturday in a wonderful,
Speaker 3: heartwarming ceremony at City Field. Did you watch any of it?
Speaker 2: It was so beautiful.
Speaker 1: I saw his whole family arrive for it. It was
Speaker 1: a really really special day.
Speaker 2: And I want to you to tell me this.
Speaker 1: Where does he land amongst the greatest Mets of all time?
Speaker 3: Well, you understand, Jeff, the Mets have never had an MVP,
Speaker 3: which is still incredible. They've been there since nineteen sixty
Speaker 3: two and have never had an MVP. So to answer
Speaker 3: your question, and this is we're going to throw this
Speaker 3: out there for all Mets fans. We need your help
Speaker 3: because I find this to be really difficult to answer.
Speaker 3: Tom severs number one. That's easy. I think Mike Piazza
Speaker 3: is the second greatest Met of all time. I think
Speaker 3: David Wright's the third greatest Met of all time, and
Speaker 3: the fourth greatest is is very much up for debate,
Speaker 3: as is number three. I think also Dwight Gooden, Darryl Straw,
Speaker 3: Howard Johnson, Jacob de Graham. I mean, picking the four
Speaker 3: best Mets players of all time. Not easy now, and
Speaker 3: so let us know in the comments.
Speaker 2: Let us know.
Speaker 1: You can leave a review, you can comment on social media,
Speaker 1: whatever you want to do. Message us at great Game
Speaker 1: or what dot com if you're a met fan, or
Speaker 1: if you're just a fan of the game and you
Speaker 1: know the game well enough.
Speaker 3: First time I met David Wright, chip rookie player, and
Speaker 3: first time we meet him thirty seconds in, I think
Speaker 3: this guy gets it. This guy understands exactly where he
Speaker 3: is and what he's doing. And after his rookie year,
Speaker 3: I'll be close on this story. He goes back and
Speaker 3: lives in his parents' house where he grew up, and
Speaker 3: he was sleeping on the top bunk with his little
Speaker 3: brother in the lower bunk. He's a major League baseball
Speaker 3: player sleeping on the top bunk. This is why we
Speaker 3: have to love David Wright, and we have to love
Speaker 3: what the Mets did with his number.
Speaker 1: So if you are having your kids move in with
Speaker 1: you right now in their twenties, you can ask them,
Speaker 1: why aren't you playing major League baseball?
Speaker 3: Good point?
Speaker 1: All right, dad, Let's move on to thes What do
Speaker 1: you have for us?
Speaker 3: Remember, Jeff, we had the hit by pitch note earlier
Speaker 3: this year that Frank from the Elias found for me
Speaker 3: even though I told him, twenty nine hit batters in
Speaker 3: one day sounds like a lot. First day in major
Speaker 3: league history there ever been that many. So the other
Speaker 3: day TJ. Friedel of the Reds got hit three times
Speaker 3: in one game. Okay, it's thirty ninth times since nineteen
Speaker 3: hundred that anyone has been hit three times in a game.
Speaker 3: That ties the major league record. But the interesting thing
Speaker 3: is this is the third time this year that a
Speaker 3: player has been hit three times in the same game.
Speaker 3: Tyler Freeman and CJ. Abrams also got hit three times
Speaker 3: in a game, so we've already done it three times.
Speaker 3: The only other season in which there were three times
Speaker 3: one batter got hit three times in a game was
Speaker 3: in two thousand and six. Nomar Garciapara and get this
Speaker 3: reed Johnson got hit by a pitch three times twice
Speaker 3: in the same season, including in the same month. It
Speaker 3: was April of two thousand and six. He got hit
Speaker 3: three times in a game, and like three weeks later
Speaker 3: he got hit three times again. Now he got hit
Speaker 3: a lot. He got hit twenty one times that year,
Speaker 3: one hundred and thirty four times in his career. But
Speaker 3: I've always been fascinated by hit batters who gets hit
Speaker 3: all the time. I've told you Mickey Mantle got hit
Speaker 3: thirteen times in his entire career, Tony Gwynn twenty four
Speaker 3: times in his entire career. Really great players fight away
Speaker 3: to not get hit because they don't need to get
Speaker 3: hit in order to get on base.
Speaker 1: Well, Tony Gwynn famously was afraid to break his own
Speaker 1: bat up there, right, So he's not one to crowd
Speaker 1: the plate. I liked, you know, he's the one to
Speaker 1: let the ball come to him, because every time he
Speaker 1: break a bat, it was like losing a family brighter.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, So I looked up eleven different guys have had
Speaker 3: three thousand plate appearances in their major league career and
Speaker 3: been hit less fewer than three times in their careers.
Speaker 3: And these guys got hit three times in one game.
Speaker 3: John Cruk, our all time hero Cruoky, he got hit
Speaker 3: twice in four thousand, six hundred and three played appearances.
Speaker 3: So TJ. Friedel got hit more times in one game
Speaker 3: than Krucky got hit in four thousand, six hundred and
Speaker 3: three played appearance. That's the most played appearances. For anyone
Speaker 3: with fewer than three hit batters. And of course Mark
Speaker 3: Lemke holds the all time major league record. He had
Speaker 3: three thousand, six hundred and sixty four played appearances and
Speaker 3: never got hit by a pitch. And the interesting part
Speaker 3: is Krucky and Mark Lemke were absolutely fearless baseball players.
Speaker 3: So if anyone ever says, oh, they were afraid of
Speaker 3: the ball, they didn't want to get hit, complete opposite
Speaker 3: with them. Lemke was a switch hitter, and it's just
Speaker 3: incredible to me that you could bat, you know, three
Speaker 3: hundred and fifty times a year for ten years and
Speaker 3: not get hit by a pitch. That's what happened to
Speaker 3: Mark Lemke.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I didn't play much ball in my life,
Speaker 1: but I mean nine to you right when you start,
Speaker 1: kid pitch, I got it five times in a game.
Speaker 2: I think kids have no control.
Speaker 3: Right of course, like the big leaders. And that's that's
Speaker 3: part of the hit batter you know, crazy we got now, Jeff,
Speaker 3: We've got a lot of guys with violent stuff who
Speaker 3: don't really know how to command it. And that's why
Speaker 3: the hit by pitch rate is where it is. Hey,
Speaker 3: Elias Diaz had two squeeze bunths in one game the
Speaker 3: other day? How about bad? So his batting line was
Speaker 3: one at bad zero hits, zero run scored two RBIs
Speaker 3: one zero zero two. But I checked Brett Wisely of
Speaker 3: the Giants had two squeeze bunths already this year, so
Speaker 3: he's not the first guy to do it. Just another reminder, Jeff,
Speaker 3: when you're looking for first of all time or first
Speaker 3: in a long time, baseball seems to make things happen
Speaker 3: all the time. Did you check with Elias about Elias?
Speaker 3: I called Frank from the Elias about Elias Diaz. I
Speaker 3: did there.
Speaker 2: You're well done.
Speaker 3: I love it. It's great, all right, all right. We
Speaker 3: had some great pictures of record this week, Jeff. We
Speaker 3: had the Bailey Falter Jonathan Cannon picture of Record Falter Cannon, Falter, Cannon,
Speaker 3: cannon falter. Yeah, yeah, I would have been pretty bad
Speaker 3: on what a pirate ship or something?
Speaker 2: You can't have your cannon's faltering?
Speaker 3: Right? Well, I found that one an interest.
Speaker 1: Jack Sparrow would not have been happy with that one.
Speaker 3: We had a great one on Sunday, brought to us
Speaker 3: by Steve Sparks, who for a former Major League picture
Speaker 3: was on our podcast. He's definitely our boy. I am
Speaker 3: now convinced he's the biggest seam head of any former
Speaker 3: player that I have ever met. Because he sent me
Speaker 3: this last night, I'd already recognized it. Caleb Ort and
Speaker 3: Brian Wu were the Pictures of Records, so we had
Speaker 3: an Ort Wu. Now it doesn't form anything, but he
Speaker 3: just wrote me a very few letters in the Pictures
Speaker 3: of Record.
Speaker 1: Well, if you put him together, you could say, hey,
Speaker 1: can you look at this wart on my well.
Speaker 3: I tried to make something out of Ort and Wo.
Speaker 3: But you know, we only had four letters that we're
Speaker 3: dealing with here, three o's.
Speaker 1: We had a member of the family, as we call them,
Speaker 1: people who listened to our show. Remember when Steve Sparks
Speaker 1: gave us, he sent in an attendance, right, and I
Speaker 1: think it was Palin Dramer thirty three and three right, yeah,
Speaker 1: wrong here, yeah.
Speaker 3: But somebody messages us and said, I can't believe you
Speaker 3: guys missed this. Three to three is the area code
Speaker 3: in which they were playing in That is I'm telling you, Jeff,
Speaker 3: we have some very clever readers, and I'm bommed.
Speaker 1: I don't have it on me like this. Is just
Speaker 1: coming up because we brought Steve Sparks. So whoever you are,
Speaker 1: you know who you are, you messaged me.
Speaker 3: And I responded because Steve Sparks is our guy, right,
Speaker 3: So I looked it up the last time we had
Speaker 3: and this is a little surprising, a three letter last
Speaker 3: name for the winning and losing picture last year, Luise
Speaker 3: Heel of the Yankees last year, and Brian wu And
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty three we had Colin Ray and Drew Rahm,
Speaker 3: and we had Dylan Lee and Derek Laws. So it
Speaker 3: wasn't nearly as unusual as I thought it was gonna
Speaker 3: be three letters. I mean, no pitchers ever pitched with
Speaker 3: fewer than three letters in his last name, and we
Speaker 3: had two. So we've had four three letter matchups in
Speaker 3: the last three years.
Speaker 1: I always think three letters just kind of looks funny
Speaker 1: on a jersey. But I would take that over Crow
Speaker 1: Armstrong on a jersey any day of the week, right,
Speaker 1: poor guy. I mean, he's got his letters down his
Speaker 1: ribkekes right, a lot of letters, but there's there's a
Speaker 1: hyphen in there, right still, But I mean, right, it's
Speaker 1: not salta imachia. You're right, right, all right in speaking
Speaker 1: of corkschinstad and speaking of members of our family who
Speaker 1: are sending things in. Josh Rosen sent this and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna I'm just gonna read it what he wrote, Hello,
Speaker 1: Tim and Jeff. I immediately thought of you two after
Speaker 1: leaving today's July twentieth Angels Phillies game.
Speaker 2: At Citizens Bank Park.
Speaker 1: First of all, awesome that he was thinking of us, right,
Speaker 1: and right means he's in the area and we're filming
Speaker 1: and skip back Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2: The Angels won eight to two.
Speaker 1: In a thorough drum in every facet sounds like a
Speaker 1: Phillies fan right there. But the most fascinating is that
Speaker 1: the Phillies made twenty seven outs as to all losing teams, right,
Speaker 1: but not a single one was to the outfield. There
Speaker 1: were twenty groundouts, including double plays, six strikeouts, and a
Speaker 1: line out to third.
Speaker 2: To end the game.
Speaker 1: My question is, when was the last time a team
Speaker 1: made no outfield outs in a game?
Speaker 2: If ever? Thanks thank you Josh for this great one.
Speaker 3: Well, I called Frank from the Elias because I wouldn't
Speaker 3: know how to find that on my own, and to
Speaker 3: my astonishment, it's happened two other times this season an
Speaker 3: a team did not have an outfield put out in
Speaker 3: a game. Which do you find that odd too?
Speaker 1: I was really hoping because I told you this on
Speaker 1: my ride home. You called Frank in the matter of
Speaker 1: about five minutes.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I told Frank, I said, our relationship might end
Speaker 3: with this question, but I need your help very quickly.
Speaker 3: Can you tell me? And like a minute later he
Speaker 3: had the answer, That's what Frank is capable of doing.
Speaker 3: I was hoping this would be not since the live
Speaker 3: ball era have we seen it, right, seeing a team
Speaker 3: go an entire game without an outfield put out?
Speaker 1: Well, it was interesting during I was watching the game
Speaker 1: that game, and you know the Tom McCarthy was saying, like,
Speaker 1: nobody's really hit a ball hard today, Yeah, because nobody's
Speaker 1: even gotten it out on the infield at that point. Now,
Speaker 1: they did end up having a solo homer, thank goodness,
Speaker 1: but no no outs made by the outfielders.
Speaker 2: They must have been pretty.
Speaker 3: Bored out right, it must have been. Yeah. So on.
Speaker 3: On June the twenty fifth, nineteen seventy six, Jeff Toby
Speaker 3: Harra played a double header for the Texas Rangers at
Speaker 3: shortstop against the White Sox. And did not have a
Speaker 3: put out or an assist in the game. So it's
Speaker 3: the only shortstop stop. It's the only time in Major
Speaker 3: league history that anyone's played a double header at shortstop
Speaker 3: without a putout or an assist. Travis Jackson, Hall of Famer,
Speaker 3: had the previous record where he had one total chance
Speaker 3: in a doubleheader and Toby Harra came along and broke it.
Speaker 3: Toby Harra also so drove in eight runs in the doubleheader,
Speaker 3: but defensively he had no chances. And what is so
Speaker 3: special about Toby Harrah?
Speaker 2: Toby Hara?
Speaker 3: What's his last name?
Speaker 2: It's a Palandra.
Speaker 3: There you go, look at that. Not too many of that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you better knock in eight runs if
Speaker 1: you're not doing anything on the field, right, might be a.
Speaker 3: Tea help defensively. So I asked Toby about that because
Speaker 3: I covered it with the Rangers. I said, Toby, how
Speaker 3: is that possible? And he just looked at me and
Speaker 3: he goes, that was a weird day. Well, of course
Speaker 3: it was. You're the shortstop. You should be involved in
Speaker 3: every plight, right all right. Lastly, for the for the
Speaker 3: Quirkschin Jeff Xander Bogart's hit his eighth Grand Slam of
Speaker 3: his career, So he has many Grand Slams as Willy
Speaker 3: Mays eight Willie Mays, Xander Boguards. Xander Bogart is a
Speaker 3: good player. Willie Mays now has the same number of
Speaker 3: Grand Slams as Xander Bogart.
Speaker 1: Up next to is this a great game? Or what
Speaker 1: on this state? In baseball history? Dad has a special
Speaker 1: team tim for the shorties out there.
Speaker 3: You know what A yeah, it's up shorty. Have you
Speaker 3: ever said that to somebody? Hey shawty, No, I've been.
Speaker 3: People have called me that, but not It's like a
Speaker 3: fun nickname to call someone. They mean it like literally
Speaker 3: for me. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so we'll do that and then we're going
Speaker 2: to bring it back. It's in the cards.
Speaker 1: We're going to open a deck of cards and talk
Speaker 1: about the players. It's all coming up next on this
Speaker 1: is a great game or what on this state baseball history?
Speaker 1: Welcome back to is this a great game?
Speaker 3: Or what?
Speaker 2: What do you have today? Dad? For July the twenty second.
Speaker 3: Well on this date in nineteen thirty Philly's picture Phil Collins.
Speaker 3: Phil Collins hit a home run in the fourth and
Speaker 3: fifth inning of a game it's unusual for a picture
Speaker 3: did two homers in a game, especially in back to
Speaker 3: back innings.
Speaker 2: Do you know what he said to the opposing picture.
Speaker 3: No, he said I could feel it in the air tonight.
Speaker 3: That's what he told me. When well, that's what I
Speaker 3: heard he said before the game.
Speaker 1: I thought he whispered to the opposing picture, come stop
Speaker 1: your crying.
Speaker 2: It'll be all right. Just take my hand, hold it.
Speaker 3: Tight, right, Jeff. That's pretty all someome good Phil Collins
Speaker 3: wrap And that's from Tarzan. Tarzan, and that's the song
Speaker 3: that Kelly and I danced to at her wedding.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a very emotional moment. That's one of
Speaker 1: our favorite songs sometimetime.
Speaker 3: I cried all the way through that. By the way,
Speaker 3: I took four dance lessons. Guy came into the house
Speaker 3: to give me dance lessons just to prep for one
Speaker 3: dance with Kelly Kirkchin on the day she got married.
Speaker 3: And I was really bad fourth lesson, so I've already
Speaker 3: gone through three. He looked at me very politely, said
Speaker 3: still little stiff, And I told him, I said, I'm
Speaker 3: more wooden than Pinocchio. You know that I can't dance
Speaker 3: and then the kicker is I Kelly criticism. Kelly actually
Speaker 3: made a minor mistake in the father Daughter dance, and
Speaker 3: I was not the one that made the mistake. What
Speaker 3: are the chances of that? I would have put a
Speaker 3: lot of money down gambling wise, the dancing's not your future. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I remember that he was a funny dance instructor, and
Speaker 3: I was a terrible dancer and still am. And I
Speaker 3: don't think there's ever hope me getting better. Agree, Well, yeah.
Speaker 1: Dad, you're sixty eight. Can't teach an old dog nu
Speaker 1: dance moves?
Speaker 3: All right? This date in nineteen sixty, Ted Williams stole
Speaker 3: a base. So he stole He's one of four players
Speaker 3: to steal a base in four different decades. Ted Williams
Speaker 3: stole twenty four bases in his career, got caught seventeen times.
Speaker 3: But because how his career began, it began in thirty nine,
Speaker 3: it ended in sixty he stole a base in four
Speaker 3: different decades.
Speaker 2: Do you have the other I do?
Speaker 3: Can I?
Speaker 2: Can I take a game?
Speaker 3: You can?
Speaker 2: Pete Rose?
Speaker 3: No, no, try, Pete Rose didn't start till sixty three. No, no, Ricky, Yeah,
Speaker 3: Pete Rose could have but he didn't. Rickey Henderson did.
Speaker 3: Ricky Henderson did. Got to think of longevity. This guy
Speaker 3: is a shortstop who has all the vowels in his name.
Speaker 3: The one that you Marvis skel Yes, very good, and
Speaker 3: the last one is on our all short Hall of
Speaker 3: Fame team. He played first base when I played second
Speaker 3: base for an inning in the celebrity softball game.
Speaker 2: Tim Rains, there you go, there it is.
Speaker 3: So it's Tim Rains, Omarvis skel Ted, Williams, Ricky Henderson
Speaker 3: a stolen base in four different decades.
Speaker 2: It's a pretty good lineup right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And speaking of good lineups, on this date in
Speaker 3: nineteen eighty nine, Carlistremsky umpire, Al Barlick in field of
Speaker 3: Red Shandy's and Johnny Bench all went into the Hall
Speaker 3: of Fame. And I bring that up, Jeff, as we
Speaker 3: think about the Hall of Fame coming up. And I
Speaker 3: don't want to be corny about this, but the most
Speaker 3: powerful part of any Hall of Fame weekend is when
Speaker 3: so Johnny Bench gets to the guys who enter the
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame and takes him out on the veranda
Speaker 3: and has him look at that beautiful lake and says
Speaker 3: I want you to look at that lake for one minute.
Speaker 3: I don't want you to say a word. I just
Speaker 3: want you to think about where you are, how you
Speaker 3: got here, and who helped you get here. It's the
Speaker 3: most emotional thing. He He did this with me when
Speaker 3: I was honored by the Hall of Fame three years ago,
Speaker 3: and it's still the most powerful thing professionally that has
Speaker 3: ever happened to me. Johnny Bench and I sat out
Speaker 3: on that verana and looked at that lake. It was amazing.
Speaker 1: Another shameless promotion of tomorrow's interview with Billy Wagner, who
Speaker 1: will enter the Hall of Fame this weekend. We're going
Speaker 1: to dive more into the inductees of this weekend on
Speaker 1: Thursday's episode. So make sure you keep listening. You subscribe
Speaker 1: wherever you're listening right now. Follow, you know, share it
Speaker 1: with a friend, all that good stuff. Leave us a
Speaker 1: review too, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all that stuff.
Speaker 3: We're not done yet. I know I usually do that
Speaker 3: at the end, but I thought I would add it. Dad,
Speaker 3: You've been tea The short Guy Team Tim. What do
Speaker 3: you Got for Us? By Jeff One of my favorite
Speaker 3: things about baseball, as I've told you a million times.
Speaker 3: It's open to all shapes and sizes as long as
Speaker 3: you have the skill to play the sport. It really
Speaker 3: doesn't matter how big or small you are, but you
Speaker 3: better have strong hands otherwise you're not gonna make it
Speaker 3: in this sport. So I looked up and I think
Speaker 3: I've got this right. The shortest guys at each position.
Speaker 3: If not, we're really really close on this. Yogi Barra
Speaker 3: is our catcher. He's five foot seven and he won
Speaker 3: three MVPs and finished second twice. So let's not forget
Speaker 3: how great a player Yogi Bear was. I a little
Speaker 3: trouble at first base finding a really short first baseman.
Speaker 3: Jake Beckley, who played a long time ago, is five
Speaker 3: foot ten. He's our shortest second baseman. Joe's first basement. Sorry,
Speaker 3: Joe Soole is our second baseman. He's five to six.
Speaker 3: Joe Morgan is five to seven. Joe sull is the
Speaker 3: guy who played an entire season and struck out three
Speaker 3: times the entire season. And Jeff we've had had twenty
Speaker 3: four now twenty four guys this year, twenty four times
Speaker 3: as a leadoff hitter, struck out four times in a
Speaker 3: game this season, and Joe Sewell didn't strike out four
Speaker 3: times for an entire season. That's how much the game
Speaker 3: has changed, all right, third base was hard to find
Speaker 3: a really short guy. George Kell five foot nine is
Speaker 3: our third baseman. Rabbit Moranville. They just don't have names
Speaker 3: like that now they don't. He's our Hall of Fame
Speaker 3: shortstop five foot five. Had a bunch of shorties, you know,
Speaker 3: Phil Rizzuto five to six, that type of thing. We
Speaker 3: Willie Keeler.
Speaker 2: I mean, is there my favorite stratomatic card out there?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: Eight plus plus stealing?
Speaker 3: Right right? We Willy Keeler. What a perfect nickname for
Speaker 3: a guy who is five foot four in the Hall
Speaker 3: of Fame. Amazing Hack Wilson who drove in one hundred
Speaker 3: and ninety one runs in nineteen thirty. He was five
Speaker 3: foot six and he had a five and a half
Speaker 3: size shoe. What yeah, I have a seven and a
Speaker 3: half shoe, he wears he wore a five and a
Speaker 3: half size shoe.
Speaker 2: You're down to seven and a half.
Speaker 3: I'm getting shorter, and my feet are getting shorter.
Speaker 1: Your feet are getting smaller. Yeah, you know what is
Speaker 1: the greatest pain in the world. Then, as we grow older,
Speaker 1: the only things that continue to grow are your nose
Speaker 1: and your ears.
Speaker 2: It's a true story.
Speaker 1: I'm not even being funny. Well, and you're a case
Speaker 1: study for that. Yeah, obviously have you seeing my daddy
Speaker 1: Pat's ears? God bless his heart. Him and I both
Speaker 1: we have.
Speaker 2: Very low hanging ears. And he's got sixty years on me.
Speaker 3: Who's got the smallest ears of any guests we've ever had?
Speaker 3: You remember the smallest ears? Remember this now our first guest,
Speaker 3: each of the first two.
Speaker 2: Oh, Eduardo Perez does have really small years. You've talked
Speaker 2: to him about that.
Speaker 3: I've known him for fifteen years. I finally looked at
Speaker 3: his ears the other day and I said, oh my god,
Speaker 3: look how smaller ears are, And he goes, you just
Speaker 3: figured that out. I got the smallest ears ever.
Speaker 1: I think him and Emily Kirkschen, my wife, probably similar
Speaker 1: sized ears. But she's four foot ten and didn't play
Speaker 1: Major League baseball.
Speaker 3: Big difference, all right. Tim Rain's our third outfield, Yeah,
Speaker 3: five foot eight. Clark Griffith is the shortest picture we
Speaker 3: can find in the Hall of Fame. He's nineteen hundred
Speaker 3: on he was five foot six. And Billy Wagner is
Speaker 3: our relief pitcher just out of you know, because he's
Speaker 3: just going in claims he's five to ten. I don't
Speaker 3: care if he's five to ten or six'. Ten he's
Speaker 3: short and he's, great and he's going into The hall
Speaker 3: Of fame On sunday and he. Will he was a
Speaker 3: spectacular guest for us tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Night check that.
Speaker 1: Interview make sure to follow so it pops up on your.
Speaker 1: Feed you can enable, downloads all that.
Speaker 2: Stuff you. Know people always ask Us dad, like how
Speaker 2: can we support the?
Speaker 3: Podcast number one thing you can do just hit that
Speaker 3: follow or subscribe.
Speaker 2: Button and remember we're on, YouTube so if you.
Speaker 1: Like watching YouTube, videos subscribe to us on YouTube full video.
Speaker 1: Podcast everything you hear every week is actually videoed for
Speaker 1: YouTube as. Well it's in the card Stat are you?
Speaker 1: Ready oh, Yeah And i'll rip them as they, SAY
Speaker 1: i found this in cleaning out my unfinished.
Speaker 3: Faces, yeah you did a great. Job and you found
Speaker 3: my box score, book WHICH i need to take home
Speaker 3: just as proof THAT i cut out every box more
Speaker 3: of every game for twenty straight years like a fifth. Grader,
Speaker 3: okay so we're gonna start off With we've Got Curtis
Speaker 3: mead of The, Rays Curtis mead is From, australia SO
Speaker 3: i asked, him, like how did you end up in
Speaker 3: the big? Leagues and he, said, well we didn't play
Speaker 3: much baseball WHERE i was, from and he SAID i
Speaker 3: routinely had to play against people who were older than.
Speaker 3: Me so he, SAID i was like ten years old
Speaker 3: AND i was playing against adults like twenty year old
Speaker 3: because they didn't have enough, players AND i was pretty
Speaker 3: good and all that. Stuff so his, his you, know
Speaker 3: route to the major leagues was different than almost anybody.
Speaker 2: Else what's the favorite toy of every girl In? Australia The?
Speaker 3: Bobby, hey not, Bad it's pretty, good, RIGHT i just
Speaker 3: made that up out of.
Speaker 2: Nowhere thank, you Says suzuki of The.
Speaker 3: Cubs still not sure how we didn't make The All star. Team,
Speaker 3: SHOCKED i, mean with so many extra guys who made,
Speaker 3: it with guys being dropped off and everything. Else but,
Speaker 3: Look All Star, game win The. Pennant what's more? Important
Speaker 3: cubs winning the Penn it's more important than that. Guy
Speaker 3: if they, do will have a huge hand in that.
Speaker 1: And they'll have to hold off the very Hot. Brewers
Speaker 1: as we talked to you. Earlier, ABSOLUTELY i meant to
Speaker 1: say this. Earlier how incredible would it be The brewers
Speaker 1: make a run for the first full season after the
Speaker 1: passing Of Bob.
Speaker 3: Buker, well don't think That yuke isn't up in heaven
Speaker 3: right now pulling some. STRINGS i. THINK i know it sounds,
Speaker 3: corny BUT i believe in that. Stuff you, know your,
Speaker 3: grandfather my, Dad pop was pulling strings for The Red,
Speaker 3: sox his beloved team in two thousand and. Four Remember
Speaker 3: pop was born in nineteen. Nineteen he died in two
Speaker 3: thousand and. Three he was alive for eighty four, years
Speaker 3: and he was not alive during Any Championship World Series
Speaker 3: championship season by The Red. Sox so when they won
Speaker 3: in two thousand and, four we thought Maybe pops up
Speaker 3: and having pulling some strings for The Red, Sox AND
Speaker 3: i have no Doubt Bob buker is doing the same
Speaker 3: for The, brewers, who LIKE i, said are really good
Speaker 3: and are going to be a. Nightmare In, October.
Speaker 2: Pete alonzo of The New York.
Speaker 3: Mets Pete alonso had had played in three hundred and
Speaker 3: fifty three consecutive games and then because of a right hand,
Speaker 3: contusion did not Start sunday's game against The, reds but
Speaker 3: he played in the, game so he extended his game
Speaker 3: streak to three fifty, four which is the longest in franchise.
Speaker 3: History Pete Alonzo, postman he shows up all the time
Speaker 3: ready to, go and he had a Great All star
Speaker 3: game and a three run homer that would have won
Speaker 3: it if you, know The American league hadn't tied it
Speaker 3: in the bottom of the ninth and.
Speaker 2: Back to Back mets and this Pack Dad Brandon Nimmo.
Speaker 3: Well is one of my favorite guys because he's such
Speaker 3: a normal. Guy and of course he grew up In
Speaker 3: wyoming and all the people in his family were, cowboys
Speaker 3: and that was what he was going to be when
Speaker 3: he was growing. Up he was going to be a.
Speaker 3: Cowboy and then he started playing. Baseball they didn't even
Speaker 3: have a high school baseball team where he played because
Speaker 3: it's such a small. State but he, REALIZED i have
Speaker 3: some baseball, skills So i'm not going to go ride
Speaker 3: a horse for a. LIVING i did ask, him were
Speaker 3: you really good on a? Horse he goes everyone in
Speaker 3: our family was good on a, horse but he chose
Speaker 3: baseball as he should. Have.
Speaker 2: Instead Billy wagner, tomorrow, right.
Speaker 3: And then we have another podcast like we do Every,
Speaker 3: Thursday and On, thursday we'll talk more About Billy wagner's.
Speaker 3: Career we'll talk ABOUT Cc, Sabathia we'll talk about Each,
Speaker 3: Rosuzuki we'll talk About Dick. Allen we're going to talk
Speaker 3: About Dave. Parker we're going to talk about all the
Speaker 3: guys who are going into The hall Of fame On.
Speaker 3: Sunday it is a, magical magical day In. Cooperstown that
Speaker 3: town is, ludicrous charming AND i cannot wait to go
Speaker 3: back On.
Speaker 1: Friday and make sure that if you see my, dad
Speaker 1: if you're going to The hall Of, fame if you're
Speaker 1: going To, cooperstown if you see, him you just got
Speaker 1: to tell, Him, Hey i'm part of the. Family, yeah
Speaker 1: and he'll know that you're a podcast. Listener, well thank
Speaker 1: you so much for. Listening, Dad thanks for coming. HERE
Speaker 1: i know you got to get you got to get
Speaker 1: home to that dog so you can clean up all
Speaker 1: of the poop and pea spots on the.
Speaker 3: Carpet rexy is doing better. Better her AND i have
Speaker 3: had a nice. CHAT i told HER i was considering
Speaker 3: changing her name To egypt because she keeps leaving pyramids
Speaker 3: all over the. House BUT i think she got the
Speaker 3: hint and we're doing.
Speaker 1: Better thank you so much for, listening and as, always
Speaker 1: thank you for being a part of our.
Speaker 2: Family