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Speaker 1: Is this a great game or what?

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Speaker 2: With Tim and Jeff kirkshin And we are into October.

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Speaker 2: Today's guest is Jason Bennetti, who is the voice of

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Speaker 2: the Detroit Tigers on television.

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Speaker 1: He is a good friend of ours and he made.

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Speaker 2: Us laugh so hard, and his Tigers team is doing

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Speaker 2: so great in the postseason, even making it defying the odds.

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Speaker 2: We're going to talk about the Tigers, We're going to

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Speaker 2: talk about his inspiration as a broadcaster, and so much more.

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Speaker 2: But October Baseball, Dad, has been un believable and we're

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Speaker 2: only a week in to it. I had the opportunity

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Speaker 2: to go to Game two of the NLDS in Philadelphia.

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Speaker 1: I live right outside Philly.

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Speaker 2: First time ever the Mets in the Phillies have ever

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Speaker 2: met in the postseason, which is crazy, but the atmosphere.

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Speaker 1: In Philadelphia was unbelievable. That the energy around this October

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Speaker 1: is amazing.

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Speaker 3: How many times have I told you in your life

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Speaker 3: there is nothing in the world better than October baseball

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Speaker 3: And what we've seen this first week of the postseason

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Speaker 3: has been sensational. And your wife, Emily, I mean, she's

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Speaker 3: not the greatest baseball fan, but it is growing on her.

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Speaker 3: How did she enjoy that game?

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Speaker 1: She had such a great time.

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Speaker 2: But I have to give her a lot of credit

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Speaker 2: because she has learned so much about this game. She

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Speaker 2: looks at me in the third inning and goes, everybody's

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Speaker 2: batting stance is so different, like there's no right way

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Speaker 2: to do it because everybody does.

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Speaker 1: It a different way.

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Speaker 2: And I thought that was such an astute observation from

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Speaker 2: a k Newish baseball fan.

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Speaker 3: Wouldn't you say yes, Jeff. And it's a reminder to

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Speaker 3: all of our young coaches who are teaching our young

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Speaker 3: kids how to play. Let the kid have his own stance,

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Speaker 3: whatever works. The beauty in one of the million beauties

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Speaker 3: of this sport is that no one would have swung

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Speaker 3: the back and set up like Stan Musial. No one

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Speaker 3: else ever did that, and he's one of the greatest

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Speaker 3: hitters of all time. So it's beautiful that Emily came

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Speaker 3: up with that. And I just love this time of

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Speaker 3: year how this game grabs people and then keeps them forever.

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Speaker 3: The postseason is so seductive, and now it's got Emily

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Speaker 3: Kirchin completely hooked on baseball, and that is what is

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Speaker 3: so beautiful about it.

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Speaker 2: And The other observation she made, which I just love,

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Speaker 2: is she is equally now as fascinated about sacrifice flies

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Speaker 2: as you are.

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Speaker 1: Because there was a runner on third and I.

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Speaker 2: Said, all we need is a deep flyball, that's all

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Speaker 2: we need. I'm just you know, shouting out to the stadium,

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Speaker 2: and she goes, that'd be pretty fascinating, wouldn't it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So she's in it, Dad. So I'm at the NLDS.

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Speaker 2: You're covering the Alds on the radio side of things

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Speaker 2: in New York there right now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. And Game one of our series, Royals at Yankees,

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Speaker 3: featured five changes in scoring. First postseason game ever that

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Speaker 3: had five lead changes in the same game, and they

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Speaker 3: happened in consecutive innings. So the last game of any kind,

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Speaker 3: regular season or postseason to have five lead changes in

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Speaker 3: five consecutive innings was the Yankees and the Mariners in

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Speaker 3: nineteen ninety five. Jeff, Wow, this is why the game

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Speaker 3: is so great, especially in October, is that things happen

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Speaker 3: and we hear, well, that's never happened before in a

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Speaker 3: postseason game, and it happens like that in every postseason

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Speaker 3: and it happens almost in every postseason game. And that's

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Speaker 3: what's so beautiful about baseball in October.

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Speaker 2: Make sure to listen to Dad on the radio ESPN

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Speaker 2: Radio for the rest of the ALDS.

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Speaker 1: That's going to be a lot of fun.

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Speaker 4: Dad.

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Speaker 1: Any other takeaways going on right now in your head.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's the same thing, Jeff. Baseball in October is amazing.

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Speaker 3: And what is separating this one from maybe some others

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Speaker 3: is the star power that we see in the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: Look at the American League playoffs. I believe the four

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Speaker 3: best players in the American League this year, the four

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Speaker 3: guys who are going to finish in the top four

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Speaker 3: of the MVP voting are still in the tournament. It's

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Speaker 3: Aaron Judge, It's Bobby Witt Junior, It's Juan Soto, and

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Speaker 3: it's Jose Ramirez. They're still alive. So anyone who wants

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Speaker 3: to watch great players, this is the place to watch it.

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Speaker 3: In the American League and the National League is pretty

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Speaker 3: much the same thing. The guys who are going to

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Speaker 3: finish one to two in the MVP voting in the

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Speaker 3: National League this year are Shoheo Tani and Francisco Lindor,

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Speaker 3: and they are both playing in the postseasons. For all

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Speaker 3: this talk over recent years, what are the players without

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Speaker 3: Mike Trout. Yes, it's sad that Mike Trout didn't play

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Speaker 3: all anything but one series, and that this is Sho

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Speaker 3: Hay's first postseason ever, but it's better late than ever.

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Speaker 3: Those guys are here now. There is star power everywhere.

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Speaker 3: But the flip side, Jeff, is that you know Mookie

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Speaker 3: Bett's future Hall of Famer, one of the best players

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Speaker 3: in the game went through Sunday Oh for his last

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Speaker 3: twenty two in the post Eavle and Aaron Judge. For me,

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Speaker 3: the best player in the game this year is Oh

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Speaker 3: for his last fourteen in the postseason, and in his

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Speaker 3: last ten postseason games he's hitting one twenty five. Jeff,

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Speaker 3: I'm not being critical. I'm trying to make a point

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Speaker 3: which I try to make every day, and you're the

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Speaker 3: only one who listens. This is the hardest game in

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Speaker 3: the world to play. This is the only of the

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Speaker 3: major sports where the great players aren't always great every

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Speaker 3: time they're out there. They might not even be great

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Speaker 3: in October because of the degree of difficulty in the game.

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Speaker 3: When Lebron James has a bad playoff game, he goes

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Speaker 3: eighteen six and five. That's a bad game for him.

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Speaker 3: For baseball players, you have a bad game, you're zero

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Speaker 3: for four with three strikeouts, as Aaron Judge was in

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Speaker 3: Game one of the ALDS. But we also know he

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Speaker 3: could turn around and hit three homers in one of

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Speaker 3: the games in this series and no one would be surprised.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what makes this game so challenging. And I

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Speaker 2: want to reference a tweet I saw, actually, so Nick

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Speaker 2: Castiano is clearly, you know, a home run in Game

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Speaker 2: two of the NLDS and then obviously the walkoff hit

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Speaker 2: in the bottom of the ninth. But his brother tweeted

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Speaker 2: out and said, you know, they say the hardest thing

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Speaker 2: in the world is to hit a baseball, But if

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Speaker 2: you ever tried to be a bartender while your brother

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Speaker 2: is playing in the NLDS, Now, that's.

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Speaker 1: Hard tending bar and trying to watch the game at

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Speaker 1: the same time.

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Speaker 3: I love it. Nick cass is a profound, deep thinking

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Speaker 3: guy and he's gotten some really big hits for the Phillies.

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Speaker 3: Last takeaway, Jeff Tito Francona is back in baseball. And

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Speaker 3: if I could stand up and applaud right now, I

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Speaker 3: would because I promise you the game is always always

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Speaker 3: better when Tito is involved. He did our podcast earlier

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Speaker 3: this spring, and Jeff, did you laugh a thousand times

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Speaker 3: out loud. Yes, he is a man of.

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Speaker 1: The people, so to speak.

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Speaker 2: It did not feel like you were talking to a

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Speaker 2: manager at all. He just seemed like one of the guys.

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Speaker 2: He was fantastic as a guest for us.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, that's why he is going to go to

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Speaker 3: the Hall of Fame as a manager someday. Is because

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Speaker 3: he can relate to all sorts of people. He recognizes

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Speaker 3: as a manager that this is a stressful situation. People

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Speaker 3: are uncomfortable here, and he is the absolute master of

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Speaker 3: breaking the tension no matter where it is and making

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Speaker 3: everyone feel good again. And he usually does it through

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Speaker 3: his sense of humor. I think I told you this

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Speaker 3: story once, but dice K Matsuzaka was pitching for the

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Speaker 3: Red Sox and you know, he had a really bad

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Speaker 3: outing and this Japanese reporter, God bless him, try to

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Speaker 3: ask a question in English and they're like fifty people

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Speaker 3: in this cramped interview room and the guy is just

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Speaker 3: stumbling on every word. God bless him. He's trying so hard,

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Speaker 3: so and everyone in the room is now uncomfortable just

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Speaker 3: because of all the tension caused by this poor guy

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Speaker 3: trying to ask a question. And when he's finally done,

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Speaker 3: Tito looks at him and goes, you're from western Pennsylvania,

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Speaker 3: aren't you, which, of course is where Tito is from.

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Speaker 3: The entire room, including the Japanese reporter, just broke up

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Speaker 3: in laughter. And that's what Tito does as a manager,

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Speaker 3: senses where he can step in and make people more comfortable,

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Speaker 3: no matter who the people are, but mostly it's his players.

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Speaker 3: I got an uncomfortable hitter, an uncomfortable pitcher here, I'm

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Speaker 3: gonna go make him feel better and then he's gonna

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Speaker 3: perform better. That's why the Reds won enormously by hiring

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Speaker 3: Tito Francona to be their manager.

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Speaker 1: We thought we.

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Speaker 2: Would bring together a new segment called eight Men in Playoff,

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Speaker 2: obviously on one of our favorite movies.

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Speaker 1: Eight Men Out.

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Speaker 2: So with the eight teams remaining in the playoffs, stad

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Speaker 2: you have chosen one player in that you want to

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Speaker 2: kind of highlight to tell a story about, so we

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Speaker 2: can learn a little bit more about players on these teams.

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Speaker 3: Right, right, So we'll start with the Tigers. Trek Scooble

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Speaker 3: is the best pitcher in baseball right now. He had

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Speaker 3: an astoundingly good year. He's gonna win the Cy Young unanimously.

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Speaker 3: He won the Triple Crown of Pitching. Jeff. He he

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Speaker 3: throws one hundred miles an hour with an elite change up.

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Speaker 3: And in the game we did in Game one against

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Speaker 3: the Astros, he started Jose L Twove off with a

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Speaker 3: change up. He told his manager AJ Hinch halfway through

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Speaker 3: the season, and Aj said, don't ever forget. Don't be

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Speaker 3: afraid to start off a hitter with a change up.

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Speaker 3: And Trek Scooble said, I will never throw first pitch

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Speaker 3: change up to the first batter of the game until

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Speaker 3: I get to the postseason. And then jose Al Tuovay,

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Speaker 3: who's renowned for attacking that first pitch, that middle beltige

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Speaker 3: fastball and hit a homer on the first pitch, swung

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Speaker 3: out of his shoes at a change up and he

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Speaker 3: got him out. And after the inning, Trek Scooble came

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Speaker 3: into Aj Hinch looked at him and said, I told

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Speaker 3: you I was going to do that. I mean, that's

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Speaker 3: how beautiful it is. The other thing we learned about

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Speaker 3: him maybe too much information. But I didn't know this.

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Speaker 3: Aj Hinch told us that Trek Scooble sweats more than

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Speaker 3: any man alive, and he goes through four undershirts in

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Speaker 3: the span of a game. He has to change his

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Speaker 3: shirt four times because he's sweating so profusely. And the

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Speaker 3: other thing I learned about him, Jeff, is his dad

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Speaker 3: is a principal in the school system, not at Erk's school,

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Speaker 3: but he used to be a teacher at Erk's school,

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Speaker 3: and he was Tarik's science teacher in the eighth grade. Jeff,

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Speaker 3: you remember how you know just how awkward, how clumsy

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Speaker 3: we all were, especially the guys as an eighth grader,

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Speaker 3: And he said his dad would look at him and know,

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Speaker 3: my son is not paying attention. So I'm going to

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Speaker 3: call on him in class and say, all right, Trek,

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Speaker 3: what's the answer to the question? Knowing that he didn't

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Speaker 3: know the answer, but he said, my dad did it

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Speaker 3: all with a big heart to teach me how to

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Speaker 3: pay attention a little bit better. I just love it

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Speaker 3: that the best picture in baseball told me his story

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Speaker 3: about his dad being the science teacher in the eighth grade. Okay,

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Speaker 3: then we turned to the to the Guardians, Jeff and

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Speaker 3: I'm trying to just get a cross section of people.

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Speaker 3: But Stephen Vote, the manager of the Guardians, is going

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Speaker 3: to win the Manager of the Year, and he should.

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Speaker 3: Rookie manager had only spent one year as a coach

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Speaker 3: in the major leagues, and he took that team to

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Speaker 3: a division title. And again, he is like the most

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Speaker 3: normal guy in the whole world. He can relate to

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Speaker 3: people so beautifully. And I remember in doing a story

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Speaker 3: on him this spring, Max Munsey, one of his former

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Speaker 3: teammates with the A's, told me before Stephen Vote had

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Speaker 3: ever managed a major league game, he said, he has

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Speaker 3: all the makings of a Hall of Fame manager someday. Wow,

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Speaker 3: that's how well Steven Vote. You know, you know, can

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Speaker 3: talk to people and can relate to people. He told

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Speaker 3: me the story again when he was oh for twenty

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Speaker 3: five in his first twenty five at bats in his

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Speaker 3: major league career. He went home for the winter and

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Speaker 3: he was teaching young kids how to hit. Okay, it

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Speaker 3: was part of what he did and one of the

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Speaker 3: dads and Stephen Vote told me, he said, I'm sure

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Speaker 3: some of the dads were going, why are we letting

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Speaker 3: this guy teach our children how to hit. He can't hit.

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Speaker 3: He's over twenty five. But he recovered from that, made

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Speaker 3: a couple All Star teams. He was great. But the

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Speaker 3: only Stephen Vote story you need to know about really

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Speaker 3: rising to the occasion is his final major league game.

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Speaker 3: His kids, his three children came up to the press

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Speaker 3: box at the Oakland Coliseum, got on the public address system.

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Speaker 3: This was all arranged and said, now batting our dad,

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Speaker 3: and then he hit a home run in his final

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Speaker 3: major league at bat. I mean, Jeff, seriously, that's the

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Speaker 3: guy running your team. I'm totally comfortable that's the guy

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Speaker 3: who's running my major league team.

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Speaker 1: How about the New York Yankees?

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Speaker 3: For eight men in all right, So, Jazz Chisholm has

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Speaker 3: really given them some energy and a real edge to

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Speaker 3: their team since being acquired from the Marlin. So Aaron

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Speaker 3: Boone told me the other day. He said, Boonie is

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Speaker 3: in the middle of a game and in between innings

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Speaker 3: they have like some seventies music come on over their loudspeaker,

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Speaker 3: and Boonie, who can really dance, by the way, it's

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Speaker 3: just kind of groove into it in between innings like this,

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Speaker 3: and Jazz Chisholm walks by him and he goes, hey, like,

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Speaker 3: you got some really good moves there, and he says,

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Speaker 3: and he's now walking to the plate, taking it bad,

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Speaker 3: and he goes, after I hit a home run here,

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Speaker 3: I'm gonna do that little shimmy that you were just doing.

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Speaker 3: So jazz Chisholm wedged the plate and hit a home

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Speaker 3: run as he predicted, came back and looked at his

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Speaker 3: manager and gave it one of the little chimmy. I mean,

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Speaker 3: that's impossible, that can't happen. But a beautiful story between

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Speaker 3: Jazzism and his playful manager, Aaron Bood.

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Speaker 2: Last, but not least in the American League have our

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Speaker 2: Kansas City.

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Speaker 3: Royals, right, and Salvador Perez their catcher who we all

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Speaker 3: think is thirty nine years old, but he's only thirty

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Speaker 3: four because he's been around so long. He's going to

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Speaker 3: the Hall of Fame someday. Jeff, it's finally occurred to

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Speaker 3: me that he doesn't just he's not just going to

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Speaker 3: get there. I think he's going to get there for

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Speaker 3: sure now. And he is. According to Robbie Grossman of

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Speaker 3: the team of the Royals, he's the best leader that

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Speaker 3: Robbie's ever been around, and Robbie's been a lot of

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Speaker 3: different places, so it starts there. He's a really good catcher,

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Speaker 3: He's been one forever. He's gigantic behind the plate. He

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Speaker 3: was a giant kid, so when he grew up in Venezuela,

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Speaker 3: he would try out for teams when he was like

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Speaker 3: seven years old, but he was so much bigger than

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Speaker 3: everyone else that he had to duck down at the tryouts,

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Speaker 3: so people didn't realize how tall he was compared to

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Speaker 3: everyone else, because back then it wasn't just an age thing.

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Speaker 3: It was also a size thing. So if you were

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Speaker 3: way bigger than everyone else, they wouldn't let you play.

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Speaker 3: That's how and Salvador Prez was told a couple times,

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Speaker 3: you can't play little league baseball, you're too big, but

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Speaker 3: he obviously played it, excelled at it, and now he

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Speaker 3: is a really good future Hall of Fame major league catcher,

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Speaker 3: something we didn't have to worry about when we were

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Speaker 3: growing up on Jab.

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Speaker 1: No, it was the opposite.

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Speaker 2: In fact, there was this trend on TikTok where you

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Speaker 2: might have seen this.

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Speaker 1: They've done it with some major League.

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Speaker 2: Baseball players where like pr Staff will be like, hey,

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Speaker 2: can you sign this for me to one of the players,

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Speaker 2: and it's a picture of them from like high school

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Speaker 2: that they posted on Facebook, like one hundred years ago,

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Speaker 2: and there they're all super embarrassed by the photo. Well,

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Speaker 2: they printed out a photo of me. I was a

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Speaker 2: sophomore in high school. And I'm not kidding. Our digital

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Speaker 2: program director Rachel, she said, are you in the fourth grade?

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Speaker 2: I was in the tenth and she was not kidding.

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Speaker 2: It was a terrible, terrible photo.

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Speaker 3: Speaking of height, of course, we have Jason Bennetti coming offs.

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Speaker 3: We do, and all three of us are under five

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Speaker 3: seven and a half, maybe under five seven, so as

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Speaker 3: we will discuss, this is the shortest podcast in the

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Speaker 3: history of podcasts. And as a result, I have the

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Speaker 3: all short team.

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Speaker 2: You know what I think we should do, Dad, let's

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Speaker 2: eight men in save the National League.

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Speaker 1: You brought it up.

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Speaker 2: I want to hear your all time short players of

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Speaker 2: Major League.

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Speaker 3: Base Okay, Well, Jeff, I'm the one determining what short

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Speaker 3: is because I am an expert on this, being four

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Speaker 3: foot eleven as a sophomore in high school and five

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Speaker 3: foot four and a half now and shrinking. So to me,

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Speaker 3: the qualification is you have to be five foot at

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Speaker 3: eight or under, so that leaves out Jose Ramirez at

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Speaker 3: third base. Dustin Pedroia somehow is listed at five foot nine.

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Speaker 3: If he's five foot nine, I'm the heavyweight champion of

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Speaker 3: the world because he's he not okay. So and mel

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Speaker 3: Ott was five foot nine. So anyone who's complaining, how

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Speaker 3: could you leave this guy out? I can only go

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Speaker 3: by their official heights, which aren't always exact, but I'm

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Speaker 3: going with what I have. So the catcher, and I

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Speaker 3: believe the greatest short player ever, the greatest one under

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Speaker 3: five to eight or under is Yogi Barra, who was

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Speaker 3: five foot seven, three time MVP, and to me, after

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Speaker 3: Johnny Bench, is the greatest catcher of all time. At

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Speaker 3: first base, Jeff I had a hard hard time finding

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Speaker 3: a five foot eight inch first baseman because as we know,

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Speaker 3: it's a position for bigger, taller players. But the best

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Speaker 3: one I could fine was what a beautiful name Joe Judge,

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Speaker 3: who was five eight. He got twenty three hundred and

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Speaker 3: fifty two hits for the Senators, the Dodgers, and the

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Speaker 3: Red Sox, and he's essentially a foot shorter than Aaron

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Speaker 3: Judge and unbelievable. Joe Judge was a really good first baseman,

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Speaker 3: the best I could find five foot eight and under

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Speaker 3: second base. We're gonna have to use two because I

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Speaker 3: can't leave one of them out. Joe Morgan is the

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Speaker 3: second greatest short player of all time. Joe Morgan five

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Speaker 3: foot seven inch second baseman, won the MVP two years

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Speaker 3: in a row in the National League and is certainly

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Speaker 3: one of the three greatest second basemen of all time.

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Speaker 3: But I need two second basemen because Jose Altuve, who

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Speaker 3: I just saw five foot six, He's going to go

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Speaker 3: to the Hall of Fame and the things he does

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Speaker 3: at that size. Told you that Alex Cora told me

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Speaker 3: several years ago. Pound for pound, Jose al Twovey is

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Speaker 3: the strongest player in baseball and he weighs one hundred

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Speaker 3: and sixty f five pounds. Just another reminder, Jeff, this

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Speaker 3: game is open to all shapes and sizes. It's wonderful

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Speaker 3: and my third basement. I had trouble finding a third baseman.

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Speaker 3: Jose Ramirez would be perfect because of everything that he's

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Speaker 3: done with the Guardians, but he's listed at five to nine,

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Speaker 3: so I had to go to John McGraw who's one

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Speaker 3: of the three greatest managers of all time but played

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Speaker 3: third base in his prime got over a thousand hits.

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Speaker 3: And our shortstop is Joe Sewell. Joe Spooll is a

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Speaker 3: Hall of Famer, Jeff and Joe Sooll struck out for

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Speaker 3: his career. He's a Hall of Famer one hundred and

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Speaker 3: fourteen times in his career and in his second to

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Speaker 3: last season, Jeff, he struck out three times in five

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Speaker 3: hundred and seventy six at bats.

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Speaker 1: Unbelievable.

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Speaker 3: I told you on the podcast last week that gian

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Speaker 3: Carlos Stanton has thirty four strikeout games in his career

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Speaker 3: and Joe Swell had a three strikeout season with five

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Speaker 3: hundred and seventy six at bats. So that's my infield.

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Speaker 3: My outfield is Hack Wilson five foot six. He wore

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Speaker 3: a five and a half shoe. I wear a seven

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Speaker 3: and a half. I'm two sizes bigger than a guy

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Speaker 3: who drove in one hundred and ninety one runs in

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Speaker 3: the nineteen thirty season, and he's a Hall of Famer.

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Speaker 3: Of course, Kirby Pucket five foot eight is my center

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Speaker 3: fielder and Jeff we talked about Kirby Pucket and what

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Speaker 3: a great leader he was. Randy Bush, former teammate of

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Speaker 3: Kirby Pucket with the Twins, once told me the best

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Speaker 3: thirty minutes of every day when you're on the Twins

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Speaker 3: is when the clubhouse door is closed, all the media leaves,

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Speaker 3: and from six thirty to seven o'clock every night, Kirby

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Speaker 3: Pucket walks around that room and gets everyone ready to

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Speaker 3: play a major league game. That's what great leaders do,

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Speaker 3: and that's who Kirby Puckett was. He left us way

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Speaker 3: too soon. And the last one is Tim Rains, who

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Speaker 3: in his prime was the closest thing we had to

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Speaker 3: Ricky Henderson. You could make a case he's the greatest

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Speaker 3: leadoff hitter in the history of the National League. His

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Speaker 3: nickname was Rock because he was rocks out. And I

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Speaker 3: have to tell you, Jeff, the year I played in

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Speaker 3: the celebrity Softball game. In one inning, Tim Rains was

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Speaker 3: the first basement and I was the second basement. And

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Speaker 3: there's a slow roller down the first base line, and

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Speaker 3: I cut in front of a Hall of Famer to

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Speaker 3: feel the ball and flip it to the pitcher covering first,

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Speaker 3: and Tim Rains looked to me like, what are you doing?

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Speaker 2: What are you doing?

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Speaker 1: I played in the.

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Speaker 3: Big leagues and he laughed. He laughed so loud that

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Speaker 3: I would run in front of a Hall of Famer

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Speaker 3: to make a defensive play. So those are my three outfielders.

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Speaker 3: My starting pitcher is Bobby Schantz. Jeff who won the

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Speaker 3: nineteen fifty MVP for the Philadelphia A's. He's a pitcher,

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Speaker 3: Jeff five foot six, one hundred and thirty nine pounds. Jeff,

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Speaker 3: even I weigh more than one hundred and thirty nine pounds,

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Speaker 3: not much more. And he is ninety nine years old

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Speaker 3: and still with us. How great is that?

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Speaker 1: That's amazing.

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Speaker 3: It's so good. And the last one is our relief pitcher,

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Speaker 3: Elroy Face who in nineteen fifty one he went eight

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Speaker 3: fifty nine. He went eighteen and one, and he used

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Speaker 3: to throw Jeff what they called a palm ball, which

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Speaker 3: was kind of a change up from today. But a

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Speaker 3: five foot eight inch pitcher went eighteen and one in

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Speaker 3: nineteen fifty nine. So in honor of Jason Bennetti, that

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Speaker 3: is my all short team in Major League history.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's wrap up our eight men in Dad, Thank

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Speaker 2: you so much for doing that we move on to

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Speaker 2: the National League.

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Speaker 1: We start with the Philadelphia.

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Speaker 3: Phillies, right, and your boy Bryce Harper just hit his

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Speaker 3: seventeen postseason home run. The only Nation League players that

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Speaker 3: have more postseason home runs than Bryce Harper or Albert

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Speaker 3: Poohols and Harper's teammate Kyle Schwarber with eighteen. And never

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Speaker 3: forget Jeff two years ago when he hit the home

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Speaker 3: run against the Padres to get the Phillies into the

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Speaker 3: World Series. Essentially, I will never forget that run around

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Speaker 3: the bases by Bryce Harper. There was no raising of

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Speaker 3: the roof, there was no smiling. He just ran around

434
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,560
Speaker 3: the bases as if to say, this is what I

435
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 3: was born to do, was to hit a home run

436
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 3: like this to take my team to the World Series.

437
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 3: For the Mets, I'm going with Pete Alonso, who of

438
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,199
Speaker 3: course hit the biggest home run of his career, a

439
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:53,640
Speaker 3: three run homer that got the Mets into the LDS.

440
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,840
Speaker 3: I think, and I may be wrong, this might be

441
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,920
Speaker 3: the home run that gets the Mets to re sign

442
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:04,080
Speaker 3: him long term because they recognize that even though he's

443
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 3: not a great first baseman and he strikes out an

444
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,120
Speaker 3: awful lot, you can always count on him to get

445
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 3: a big hit. Jeff, He's a different guy, and I

446
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,679
Speaker 3: love him for it. I did a ride to the

447
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,280
Speaker 3: ballpark with him in spring training years ago, and he's

448
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,800
Speaker 3: just he's just such an interesting guy. He was out

449
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,200
Speaker 3: walking his dog at five o'clock in the morning when

450
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,479
Speaker 3: I came to pick him up, and his dog weighs

451
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,200
Speaker 3: like one bound. You would think with a big straw

452
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,200
Speaker 3: guy like Pete Alazzo, he would have some enormous dog.

453
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,040
Speaker 3: But he's walking his tiny little dog at five o'clock

454
00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,480
Speaker 3: in the morning, which he does every day, which I love.

455
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,200
Speaker 2: Let's move on to the Los Angeles Dodgers, number one

456
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:40,360
Speaker 2: seed in the National.

457
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,199
Speaker 3: League, right, and again, you just can't talk about the

458
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 3: Dodgers without talking about Shoheo Tani, who played in eight

459
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 3: hundred and seventy five regular season games, most among active

460
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,560
Speaker 3: players without appearing in the postseason, and in his second

461
00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 3: postseason played appearance, he hit a three on homer, totally predictable,

462
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,080
Speaker 3: and then the way he just threw his bat was

463
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,920
Speaker 3: like one of the great moments I've ever seen from

464
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 3: shoe Aotani, and just another reminder it's like, whatever this

465
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 3: guy wants to do, he does it. He becomes the

466
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 3: greatest combination of pitcher hitter we've ever seen. And then

467
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 3: when pitching was taken away, he becomes the first fifty

468
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,160
Speaker 3: to fifty guy ever. He nearly wins the Triple Crown,

469
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 3: and he does things that no one has ever done

470
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,000
Speaker 3: in this game. And I go back, Jeff to spring

471
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,720
Speaker 3: training when one of the Dodger coaches told me that

472
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,840
Speaker 3: everything that Shohy does is surgical. What a beautiful word

473
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,880
Speaker 3: for what he does. Every step he takes, every throw

474
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 3: he makes, every swing he takes, there's a purpose behind it,

475
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,760
Speaker 3: and every one of those is to make him a

476
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:50,679
Speaker 3: better player.

477
00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:53,679
Speaker 2: Last, but not least, the San Diego Padres, who do

478
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:54,280
Speaker 2: you got for them?

479
00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,439
Speaker 3: So I got Michael King for that. Michael King pitched

480
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:02,920
Speaker 3: seven innings in his first start of the postseason, gave

481
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:08,200
Speaker 3: up five hits, no walks, twelve strikeouts. So after the game,

482
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 3: somebody asked him, was this exactly what you were expecting

483
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:16,920
Speaker 3: from your first postseason start? And he said no, I

484
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 3: was expecting to give up fewer hits. So Aaron Boone,

485
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:26,639
Speaker 3: who managed him with the Yankees, like laughed out loud

486
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 3: because he knows Michael King is the most confident player

487
00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,640
Speaker 3: he's ever been around. And every time Michael King goes

488
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,520
Speaker 3: out there, he thinks he's gonna throw a no hitter.

489
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,600
Speaker 3: And even though he has a seven five, zero zero

490
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,160
Speaker 3: zero twelve outing, it's still not good enough because he's

491
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,880
Speaker 3: so confident he thought he should have thrown seven hitless

492
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,800
Speaker 3: innings with twelve strikeouts. That's who Michael King is, and

493
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,800
Speaker 3: that's why the Podres have a real chance in this

494
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,000
Speaker 3: postseason A. They have really good starting pitching. But Michael

495
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,600
Speaker 3: King's gonna go out there and face no matter who

496
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,080
Speaker 3: it is, no matter what game it is, thinking I

497
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,159
Speaker 3: am going to dominate this because his confidence is so

498
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:09,639
Speaker 3: far off the charts.

499
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,120
Speaker 2: Our friends, it's Stratamatic, the market leader in sports simulations.

500
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,840
Speaker 2: Every single week for the past couple months, we have

501
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,480
Speaker 2: had them simulate something that's been going on, whether you

502
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,880
Speaker 2: suggested it or we came up with ourselves. But this

503
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 2: has been such an exciting October, Dad, And you said

504
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 2: at the beginning of all of this, before the Wildcard

505
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,679
Speaker 2: round even started, all twelve teams really have a chance

506
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,199
Speaker 2: to win. I mean that you could make an argument

507
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,720
Speaker 2: for all twelve and that's not the same every single year,

508
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,840
Speaker 2: So we decided to take for the Division Series. Starting

509
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 2: just a couple of days ago. Before it even started,

510
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 2: they ran a simulation on who is going to win

511
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 2: the World Series with the eight remaining teams, and I'm

512
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 2: going to run through each series quickly to get to

513
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,480
Speaker 2: our simulated World Series champion. So they have the Cleveland

514
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,680
Speaker 2: Guardians beating the Detroit Tigers in four games.

515
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,040
Speaker 1: The they have the Kansas City.

516
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,120
Speaker 2: Royals beating the Yankees in five games of the DS.

517
00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,040
Speaker 2: Interestingly enough, New York taking the first two games and

518
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 2: then Kansas City winning the next three. They have Philadelphia

519
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 2: beating the Mets in four games. The Mets took game one.

520
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 2: In their simulation, the Mets took game one and then

521
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,600
Speaker 2: Philly won the next three. And then they have San

522
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:27,920
Speaker 2: Diego beating the Dodgers in four games. LA took game one,

523
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,760
Speaker 2: San Diego to win the next three. According to the simulation,

524
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 2: we move forward Dad to the ALCS. Kansas City in

525
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,560
Speaker 2: seven games takes down Cleveland, and this is the real

526
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:44,160
Speaker 2: shock Dad, San Diego sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies to make

527
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:44,640
Speaker 2: it to.

528
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:47,080
Speaker 1: The World Series.

529
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:52,880
Speaker 2: And then, according to our friends at Stratamatic, Kansas City

530
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,280
Speaker 2: in six games beats the Padres. Winning the twenty twenty

531
00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,120
Speaker 2: four World Series.

532
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 3: That is amazing. And again it speaks directly, and we

533
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:05,959
Speaker 3: don't know if they're right or not, but they ran it.

534
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,240
Speaker 3: And I'm not shocked. Nothing should shock anyone from the

535
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four postseason, because that's the way baseball has

536
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 3: been played this year. The Royals, of course, have not

537
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:22,120
Speaker 3: won the World Series since two thousand and fifteen, but

538
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,720
Speaker 3: before that, of course, the last time they won was

539
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:30,720
Speaker 3: nineteen eighty five, and they also won in nineteen eighty. Well,

540
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 3: the Phillies won in nineteen eighty. But I was talking

541
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,640
Speaker 3: to George Brett the other day. This was so great.

542
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 3: George Brett one of the great hitters of all time,

543
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,480
Speaker 3: the greatest Kansas City Royal ever. So he had a

544
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 3: famous homer off of Goose Gossage in nineteen eighty into

545
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 3: the third deck at Yage Stadium. And I was talking

546
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 3: to George about that the other day at the batting

547
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,120
Speaker 3: cage and he goes, I can't believe that was forty

548
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 3: four years ago that I hit that home run. And

549
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,440
Speaker 3: he looked at me and he goes, I bet there

550
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,400
Speaker 3: are a bunch of coaches on our team, because George

551
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:02,040
Speaker 3: still works for the Royals. He said, who weren't even

552
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,560
Speaker 3: alive when I hit that home run? And we went

553
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 3: through the list of coaches and like most of the

554
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:11,480
Speaker 3: coaches hadn't even been born when George Brett hit that

555
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 3: home run at Yankee Stadium. And there I am sitting

556
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 3: at the batting cage talking to him about that homer.

557
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,880
Speaker 3: It was just prices, Just another reminder, Jef, how important

558
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 3: the history of the game is. That George Brett, who

559
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,240
Speaker 3: is the greatest Royal ever, hits that homer and then

560
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,280
Speaker 3: regales people as I tell them, tell us about the

561
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:35,800
Speaker 3: homer off of Goose Gossage. Today's guest is Jason Bennetti,

562
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 3: the TV play by play voice for the Detroit Tigers.

563
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,680
Speaker 3: The Tigers obviously that heroic comeback in the regular season

564
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,320
Speaker 3: that I'm rocking my my Syracuse shirt and celebration of

565
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:51,400
Speaker 3: my fellow Syracuse alumni as a guest here today. Love it,

566
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,400
Speaker 3: Jason Bennetti, go cues, All.

567
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,520
Speaker 1: Right, Well, let's throw it to Jason Bennetti. We have

568
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:56,600
Speaker 1: a great time with him.

569
00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,200
Speaker 2: Don't forget to follow and subscribe, share the podcast with

570
00:31:59,240 --> 00:31:59,719
Speaker 2: your friends.

571
00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:06,360
Speaker 1: Jason Bonnetti's up next, Welcome.

572
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 3: Back to Is This a Great Game or What? And

573
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:13,280
Speaker 3: our special guest this week is our dear friend Jason Bennetti,

574
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 3: who is the voice, at least the TV voice of

575
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,000
Speaker 3: the Detroit Tigers. Jason, I've got my own podcast with

576
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,680
Speaker 3: my son. How great is this?

577
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 4: It's a great podcast or what. One of the things

578
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,800
Speaker 4: that I really miss about being at ESPN is getting

579
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,520
Speaker 4: to do the one off game here and there with you,

580
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:41,400
Speaker 4: where we get to talk about your notebooks and your

581
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:48,360
Speaker 4: writing implements, and your unbelievable height, and there's so many

582
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 4: other topics that people care deeply for.

583
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,440
Speaker 3: Right well, speaking to height, this has got to be

584
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,000
Speaker 3: the shortest podcast ever. Jeff, what are you five six?

585
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,160
Speaker 1: Five to six on a good day?

586
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,120
Speaker 3: All right, I'm five four and a half. I've flipped

587
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 3: under five to five in my old age. Jason, are

588
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,040
Speaker 3: you taller than both of us?

589
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:10,480
Speaker 4: For the first time ever, I'm the tallest person on

590
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:11,400
Speaker 4: a podcast.

591
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 3: Oh, we love it now, Jason.

592
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:18,560
Speaker 1: We have so much we want to talk to you about.

593
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,040
Speaker 2: We obviously want to talk about the Tigers, which I

594
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,880
Speaker 2: believe to be the most exciting story in the postseason

595
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 2: but we're.

596
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,000
Speaker 1: Gonna get to that in a minute. I want to ask.

597
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 2: You because my favorite movie of all time is Anchorman,

598
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,520
Speaker 2: and I want to ask you about the sketch that

599
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:35,600
Speaker 2: you guys put together.

600
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,880
Speaker 1: Was that was during COVID right where you instructed.

601
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 2: My dad to play the great one of the greatest

602
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,840
Speaker 2: comedy characters of all time, Brick Tamblin I love lamp.

603
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:48,440
Speaker 1: Tell me about how this whole thing came about.

604
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 4: Yeah, I thought it was going to rupture our friendship

605
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 4: for good, and I still think it may. So I

606
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 4: was sitting around at home and I thought, you know

607
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,080
Speaker 4: what would be funny. You know what I miss is

608
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,840
Speaker 4: talking to other sports announcers. So I wonder what if

609
00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,800
Speaker 4: we got a bunch of sports announcers to do scenes

610
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,200
Speaker 4: from movies. So Len Casper, the then TV voice of

611
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:16,320
Speaker 4: the Cubs now White Sox radio voice, and I re

612
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 4: enacted the uh the Phil Connors meets Ned Ryerson's scene

613
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 4: from Groundhouse Day. Needle knows ned Ned that one's a doozy, right,

614
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,680
Speaker 4: So we do that, and then Dan Bernstein, local radio

615
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,799
Speaker 4: guy in Chicago sports talk host, and I did a

616
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,640
Speaker 4: scene from The Princess Bride. And then we got We

617
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 4: got Dan Docketch to do the uh, the courtroom scene

618
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:44,040
Speaker 4: from a few Good Men. That's only just because I

619
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:49,480
Speaker 4: wanted to yell at Dan Dockett. You can't handle it, right,

620
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,160
Speaker 4: I just like yelling at Dan Docketch. So then you know,

621
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,319
Speaker 4: we started doing multiple characters scenes. So Mike Hall and

622
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,680
Speaker 4: Robbie Hummel and I did a scene from Talladega, and

623
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:03,880
Speaker 4: then the brilliant idea came upon us that we should

624
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 4: do Anchorman and who fits the part of Brick Tamlin vacuous,

625
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:17,000
Speaker 4: lack of information sportscaster. Then then Tim Kirkchin, you are

626
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:21,520
Speaker 4: the very opposite of Brick Tamlin. You don't love lamp,

627
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:26,799
Speaker 4: you love Tony Gwin's bath. And then you know, the

628
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,319
Speaker 4: phone call started. So we got Dan Shulman to play Anchorman,

629
00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,919
Speaker 4: you know, Ron Burgundy, and then his son Ben, who

630
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,239
Speaker 4: wasn't even in the sports casting racket as yet, H

631
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 4: played I believe it was Brian Fantana, and then I

632
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,440
Speaker 4: played I think Champ Kind or whatever. And then you, Tim,

633
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,880
Speaker 4: you played the great you know, weather forecaster Brick Tamlin.

634
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,600
Speaker 3: Jason. How many times did I tell you I'm not

635
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,399
Speaker 3: doing this? This will be the stupidest thing ever. And

636
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,719
Speaker 3: you coerced me. You talked me into that. How did

637
00:35:58,760 --> 00:35:59,359
Speaker 3: you do that?

638
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 4: I think Jeff had a part in it, because Jeff

639
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:05,920
Speaker 4: loves the movie, and so Jeff was like, well, Dad,

640
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,000
Speaker 4: you know, good for your Q rating. Right, That's kind

641
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,920
Speaker 4: of how it went, Jeff, I said, Dan.

642
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:13,520
Speaker 1: As your son. I don't know if I could forgive

643
00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,239
Speaker 1: you if you don't do this. It's my favorite movie

644
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: of all time.

645
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 3: I even combed my hair like Brick Tamblin, and I

646
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,799
Speaker 3: found a suit in my house, a brown suit. It

647
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:31,280
Speaker 3: was hideous that actually matched. I actually looked like Brick Tamblin.

648
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,920
Speaker 3: And what you don't know, Jason, is that the real

649
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:39,040
Speaker 3: Steve Carell. Somebody put out on Twitter that someday Steve

650
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,080
Speaker 3: Carell is gonna look like Tim Kirchen when he gets

651
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 3: really really old. Is I'm three years older than the

652
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,239
Speaker 3: real Steve Carrell, but he's gonna look like me when

653
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:54,040
Speaker 3: he gets really really old. It was the dumbest thing

654
00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,799
Speaker 3: I've ever been a part of. I am practicing my

655
00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,480
Speaker 3: lines and I'm thinking, I love lamp. What does that?

656
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 3: I don't even know what that means.

657
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 4: It was so bad it's brilliant script writing, and it's

658
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:09,000
Speaker 4: comedic genius, and you nailed all the marks. And honestly,

659
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 4: Sportscaster scenes got renewed after that, and what ended up

660
00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 4: happening as a jumping off point after that. You know

661
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 4: Ken Levine, the coach Cheers writer Ken Levine, he became

662
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:25,000
Speaker 4: a Mariner's announcer and an Orioles announcer. He saw that,

663
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:27,680
Speaker 4: he saw a couple of the Sportscaster scenes, but he

664
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,440
Speaker 4: saw that one and he said, you know what, I

665
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:34,120
Speaker 4: think I can get. George went to do norm for

666
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,680
Speaker 4: a table read of Cheers, so we got like ten

667
00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:42,280
Speaker 4: people together. I played Frasier, Chip Carey played Sam Malone.

668
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:47,000
Speaker 4: Susan Walton played Carla, and he did two table full

669
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:51,040
Speaker 4: table reads and Cheers episodes after that with George went

670
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:55,640
Speaker 4: as Norms. They you have not lived until you've seen

671
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,600
Speaker 4: Dave Fleming as Cliff Clavin.

672
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,320
Speaker 3: It's a doggy dog world and I'm wearing milkbone underwear.

673
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:10,960
Speaker 3: Oh my god, George went, that is so great. So

674
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,480
Speaker 3: I did the scene. It was the stupidest thing I've

675
00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:18,560
Speaker 3: ever been a part of. And Kevin Brown, who's unbelievably

676
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,399
Speaker 3: funny and clever and a tremendous play by play guy.

677
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,399
Speaker 3: He called me out of the blue to say, that's

678
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,680
Speaker 3: like the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

679
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,359
Speaker 3: I said, Kevin, it was awful. He said, Tim, it

680
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:34,600
Speaker 3: was gold. It's gold TV. I said, all right, whatever

681
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,960
Speaker 3: you say. But I only did it because Jason Bennetti

682
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:41,239
Speaker 3: asked me to, and because Dan Shulman was involved. I

683
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:43,920
Speaker 3: figured if the greatest voice in the history of radio

684
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:46,760
Speaker 3: could do this, then I could do it also.

685
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,520
Speaker 2: Well, I want to talk about something that Jason does

686
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,880
Speaker 2: that I've heard is iconic. Jason, I have heard you

687
00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,440
Speaker 2: and I are Syracuse guys, and my dad pretty much

688
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,200
Speaker 2: is an honorary one after sending two children there, he's

689
00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:01,800
Speaker 2: pretty much in debt to them forever.

690
00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:06,320
Speaker 1: But I heard you do a mean McDonough impression.

691
00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 3: Is that true?

692
00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,919
Speaker 4: Well, Jeff, delighted to be here with you, with Ben

693
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:16,680
Speaker 4: McDonald and Jessica and Bella's Memorial Park at Camden Yards.

694
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:22,279
Speaker 4: I'm Sean mcconough. The thing about it is, I love

695
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,960
Speaker 4: Sean dearly. He's been unbelievable to me, and so I'm

696
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,799
Speaker 4: always concerned people are gonna think I'm making fun of him.

697
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:32,560
Speaker 4: I love his voice. It is so iconic. And evidently,

698
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:37,400
Speaker 4: according to my sources at that series, he walked in

699
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:41,759
Speaker 4: to maybe Kevin Brown's booth, maybe Kevin Brown's booth, and

700
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:45,160
Speaker 4: he said, he said, how do you pronounce Heston's last name?

701
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:49,680
Speaker 4: On just double checking? And Kevin says, you know, kurtz

702
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,799
Speaker 4: Dat's siland Jay and Sean goes, that's what I was

703
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:56,280
Speaker 4: hoping for for all those games with Bella's silent.

704
00:39:56,040 --> 00:40:03,240
Speaker 3: Ja Jason that it is perfect. I was the dugout

705
00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:06,279
Speaker 3: reporter for Sean for four years with Booty and with

706
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,799
Speaker 3: Rick Suckcliffe. You sound exactly like him. Now, who don't

707
00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,080
Speaker 3: be humble here? Who else do you do? Really well?

708
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,080
Speaker 3: Give us somebody else that we all know?

709
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:23,719
Speaker 4: So you know the cartoon character Droopy Dog. Yes, I'm sad,

710
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:29,880
Speaker 4: Hello you Happy People's He's always standing there like waving

711
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:33,680
Speaker 4: the flag, right, He's like, what would you like to

712
00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:39,360
Speaker 4: go to clear? So there's that. There's you know, Chris Kelly,

713
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:41,239
Speaker 4: the Sports Center voiceover guy.

714
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:42,520
Speaker 3: Of course.

715
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:48,759
Speaker 4: Sports Centator brought to you fine apples, cookie Chris in

716
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:55,280
Speaker 4: crusted chicken at Applebee's. It's always like a really heavily

717
00:40:55,400 --> 00:41:00,160
Speaker 4: Americana infused dish like it's some ridiculous thing he's got an.

718
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,839
Speaker 3: The night I was walking through an airport, a guy tacklebe.

719
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,440
Speaker 3: He didn't even say hello. He says, I've seen you

720
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,080
Speaker 3: before somewhere. Don't tell me where I know you from.

721
00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,759
Speaker 3: I know you from somewhere. You you work at Applebee's,

722
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:18,480
Speaker 3: don't Jed, I no, I don't work at Applebee's. And

723
00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:22,480
Speaker 3: my cousin Amy, after hearing this story, got me a

724
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:27,279
Speaker 3: polo shirt from Applebee's with Timmy written on it. Every

725
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:29,239
Speaker 3: once in a while, I just wear it. One day,

726
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:34,120
Speaker 3: I'm gonna wear it into Applebee's and order a crusted chicken,

727
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,920
Speaker 3: crusted whatever it is that is glorious.

728
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,480
Speaker 1: Yes, who had the chicken? Wantan tacos?

729
00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:51,920
Speaker 4: Right? You're the spinach art to choke somebody, Guaranteed somebody

730
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:54,200
Speaker 4: will be a huge baseball fan, and they'll say, wow,

731
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:58,080
Speaker 4: Tim's falling on hard times.

732
00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:04,560
Speaker 3: Well, Jason, speaking of Rick Suckcliffe, you worked with Rick

733
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:08,560
Speaker 3: Suckcliffe several times, right, And he's a foot taller than you.

734
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,319
Speaker 3: He's more than a foot taller than me. And he

735
00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:15,120
Speaker 3: doesn't remind he doesn't mind reminding you how much taller

736
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:17,080
Speaker 3: he is than you as he always says to me.

737
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:19,640
Speaker 3: He says, Timmy, you're always the first one to know

738
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:22,120
Speaker 3: when I fart. That's what he used to say to me,

739
00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:26,960
Speaker 3: like before every broadcast we did. After a hundred of them,

740
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,759
Speaker 3: I said, Sun, I've already heard the joke before, so

741
00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 3: don't worry. That is typical Rick Suckcliffe. But he picked

742
00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,480
Speaker 3: on me mercilessly because he's my friend and he's a

743
00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,440
Speaker 3: great teammate. He went, he must have gone after you

744
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:43,040
Speaker 3: a million times for being really short. Also correct.

745
00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,880
Speaker 4: Okay, so yeah, so this actually just happened. Well, first

746
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:48,560
Speaker 4: of all, back to the first time he and I

747
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:50,840
Speaker 4: worked together. He referred to me on air as a

748
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,799
Speaker 4: one day rental dad. It is very nice. So he

749
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:57,560
Speaker 4: comes up, he comes up to the booth. We're in

750
00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:00,440
Speaker 4: San Diego with the Tigers. I'm there with Dan in

751
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,879
Speaker 4: early September, and Sut comes up with his grandson and

752
00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:07,960
Speaker 4: he introduces me and we talk and he says, love you, man,

753
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:09,719
Speaker 4: I miss you in the whole thing. He goes, hey,

754
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:11,440
Speaker 4: do me a favor. I want to send a picture

755
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:14,080
Speaker 4: to Scott Harris from the Tigers. He goes, will you

756
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:16,200
Speaker 4: stand back to back with my grandson?

757
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,480
Speaker 3: Jason, I'm sorry I could beat that one. I was

758
00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:25,600
Speaker 3: in an elevator with sut There was a woman there

759
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:28,600
Speaker 3: with her with her daughter who was in like the

760
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:32,960
Speaker 3: third grade, and he put me next to this little girl.

761
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,880
Speaker 3: The mother was mortified. These total strangers in an elevator

762
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:41,160
Speaker 3: are having a height off between a sixty two year

763
00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:44,320
Speaker 3: old man and a ten year old girl. It was awful,

764
00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:45,800
Speaker 3: and it was typical Sun.

765
00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:51,440
Speaker 4: He is. He is really my most likely friend to

766
00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:53,320
Speaker 4: jump in a river, right.

767
00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:01,680
Speaker 3: All right, Jason, I love Bill. I knew him on

768
00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:04,919
Speaker 3: a different level than you did because I'm thirty years

769
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:07,160
Speaker 3: older than you, so I know him as the greatest

770
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,680
Speaker 3: college basketball player I've ever seen. Now, look he has passed.

771
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:12,799
Speaker 3: We're not here to be somber. We're here to be

772
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:16,480
Speaker 3: fun because Bill would want it that way. Your favorite

773
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:22,960
Speaker 3: Bill Walton story is what, oh, Tim, there are too many, right, Oh.

774
00:44:23,239 --> 00:44:26,799
Speaker 4: I love him so much. He's such a joy. He's

775
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,600
Speaker 4: always inside of me, is what I would say, and

776
00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:33,640
Speaker 4: I just I would say. We did the Maui Invitational

777
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:36,240
Speaker 4: for ESPN. It was the first time I'd ever worked

778
00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:40,160
Speaker 4: with him, and we're doing the game and he goes,

779
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,080
Speaker 4: he goes, did your dad ever play for Jerry Tarcadia

780
00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:48,279
Speaker 4: and you're talking about UNLV. For some reason, he asked

781
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,560
Speaker 4: if my dad ever played for Jerry Tarcanian. I said,

782
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:55,400
Speaker 4: my dad was an air traffic controller, because but wouldn't

783
00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:58,360
Speaker 4: it have been great if he played for Jerry Turcians?

784
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,759
Speaker 3: Why did he think your dad played at UNLV? Where

785
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:05,960
Speaker 3: do you get it from?

786
00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:10,759
Speaker 4: He just thinks stuff to just need all. There was

787
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,279
Speaker 4: a time I the last couple of years I was

788
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:15,880
Speaker 4: very fortunate to get to fly to his house with

789
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,720
Speaker 4: our great producer Tim Sullivan, and we did NBA games

790
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,960
Speaker 4: from Bill and Laurie's living room. And so we're sitting

791
00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:26,080
Speaker 4: at this table which has grateful dead stuff underneath, and

792
00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,319
Speaker 4: there's a smoke machine and he would say, we need

793
00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:31,600
Speaker 4: more smoke. And then we're doing the game and I

794
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,759
Speaker 4: was telling the story of how like Jamal Murray overcome

795
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:38,280
Speaker 4: an ACL injury or something like that, and he says,

796
00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:44,440
Speaker 4: what do you know about overcoming physical challenges? Totally seriously

797
00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:47,400
Speaker 4: gives me a little nudge in a wink, and I'm like,

798
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:54,560
Speaker 4: you can't do that, you clown. But everybody was just,

799
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:58,920
Speaker 4: you know, like everything touched his joy receptors in such

800
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:03,120
Speaker 4: a way, and I just I'm very fortunate to have

801
00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:05,400
Speaker 4: met a couple of Bill's friends. And I had dinner

802
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,840
Speaker 4: with one of those friends in Los Angeles a couple

803
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:11,400
Speaker 4: of months ago, not long after Bill had passed, and

804
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:16,920
Speaker 4: this friend, Andy Hill, gave me it's like a drinking glass,

805
00:46:17,040 --> 00:46:21,200
Speaker 4: a glass drinking vessel that's got one of the UCLA

806
00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:24,480
Speaker 4: team's full rosters on it. And Andy said to me,

807
00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:26,960
Speaker 4: I would love I know you have all these pens.

808
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,040
Speaker 4: I would love if you use that as a pen

809
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,319
Speaker 4: holder for your games that you call. So I have

810
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:34,719
Speaker 4: a little bit of Bill Walton in front of me

811
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:38,120
Speaker 4: now every game I do with his name there and

812
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:40,719
Speaker 4: the rest of the roster, and I just when there

813
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:43,040
Speaker 4: are moments when it's nine to one or whatever, I

814
00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:45,719
Speaker 4: just look at it and I think, you son of

815
00:46:45,719 --> 00:46:49,640
Speaker 4: a gun. He would have said something totally unbelievably ridiculous

816
00:46:49,719 --> 00:46:52,640
Speaker 4: right now. He did a baseball game with us. He

817
00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:56,000
Speaker 4: did the White Sox Angels in twenty nineteen, and I

818
00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,480
Speaker 4: thought I knew what I was signing up for, and

819
00:46:58,520 --> 00:46:59,760
Speaker 4: I was very wrong.

820
00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:03,480
Speaker 3: What did he know anything about baseball?

821
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:07,440
Speaker 4: First pitch gets fouled back and he goes.

822
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:14,320
Speaker 5: Whoa like He's cresting a roller coaster, and I thought,

823
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:17,520
Speaker 5: oh my goodness, I have no idea what I'm in for.

824
00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:19,839
Speaker 4: And I thought I did, But he came. He came

825
00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:26,000
Speaker 4: with dreams of paper about Mayor Daily and Studs Turkle

826
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:31,160
Speaker 4: and Chicago history and Reggie Jackson and all of this stuff.

827
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:34,759
Speaker 4: He knows baseball enough, but he came armed with so

828
00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:39,160
Speaker 4: much Chicago information and so much deep history of the game.

829
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:42,600
Speaker 4: And I just I will tell you one other memory.

830
00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,800
Speaker 4: There was a play at third somebody tried to swim

831
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,319
Speaker 4: over a tag at third base, and I had the

832
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:52,480
Speaker 4: hair brained idea that we should reenact that while Easton

833
00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:56,239
Speaker 4: replay was instituted, and I'm doing the swim move and

834
00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:58,440
Speaker 4: he hits me in the arm to make the tag,

835
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:01,280
Speaker 4: and I thought, you, when he's the son of a gun,

836
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:05,279
Speaker 4: you're still way stronger than I am. It hurt. It

837
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:06,120
Speaker 4: hurt bad.

838
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:12,000
Speaker 3: Bill Walton, So, Jeff. The first game I ever did

839
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:15,799
Speaker 3: with Jason Bennetti on baseball was at Yankee Stadium, I

840
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:18,759
Speaker 3: think was the Yankees and the White Sox, and I

841
00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:22,239
Speaker 3: just come back from the Little League World Series where

842
00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,360
Speaker 3: one of our researchers decided to be really funny and

843
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,239
Speaker 3: really clever, because he looked up how many of the

844
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:31,279
Speaker 3: kids at the Little League World Series the players were

845
00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:35,160
Speaker 3: taller than me, and he came up with fifty two

846
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:38,480
Speaker 3: percent of the twelve year olds were taller than me.

847
00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:42,280
Speaker 3: So I presented this fact to Jason on the air,

848
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:46,000
Speaker 3: telling him this was totally unnecessary. And what did you say?

849
00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:46,720
Speaker 3: Do you remember?

850
00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:50,239
Speaker 4: I said something real mean, I don't remember exactly what

851
00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 4: it was, but I said, I said, I said only

852
00:48:53,239 --> 00:48:54,240
Speaker 4: fifty two percent.

853
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:57,640
Speaker 3: I think you said sounds a little low to me.

854
00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:00,880
Speaker 3: That's exactly what you said, to which I screamed at

855
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,160
Speaker 3: him on the air, like you're not very tall either,

856
00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:06,319
Speaker 3: to which he said, what, I'm taller than you.

857
00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:09,680
Speaker 4: That's all that matters, you know, that is bowed away.

858
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:16,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, Jase. We asked all of our guests this, where

859
00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:21,160
Speaker 3: did your love of baseball come from? When? And where?

860
00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:26,760
Speaker 4: Yeah? So, I grew up in Chicago and I played

861
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:29,239
Speaker 4: a lot of video games. I'm part of that generation

862
00:49:29,440 --> 00:49:31,880
Speaker 4: who learned the game through video games. But I also

863
00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:34,759
Speaker 4: I went to a lot of White Sox games growing up,

864
00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:38,960
Speaker 4: and it was a lot of just kind of watching

865
00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:41,600
Speaker 4: things around the ballpark, you know. I was a kid

866
00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:44,080
Speaker 4: who was like, Oh, that's interesting. That person's doing that,

867
00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:46,480
Speaker 4: that person's doing this, just watching the crowd and all

868
00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:49,040
Speaker 4: of that. But I have a couple of distinct memories

869
00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:52,680
Speaker 4: of like the esoterica of baseball. One of my older

870
00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:56,640
Speaker 4: cousins once challenged me to count the light bulbs and

871
00:49:56,680 --> 00:50:00,479
Speaker 4: one of the light towers at New KMISKI just trying

872
00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:03,719
Speaker 4: to blind me, right, Like, of course you can't count them,

873
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:06,640
Speaker 4: you know, you're just trying to blind me. And then

874
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,160
Speaker 4: the other one is we were out in the bleachers

875
00:50:09,200 --> 00:50:11,960
Speaker 4: and Cleveland was in town and Albert Bell had just

876
00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:14,120
Speaker 4: kind of come on the scene, and there was no

877
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:17,359
Speaker 4: internet at the time, and the whole crowd in the

878
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:21,040
Speaker 4: bleachers was chanting Joey at him, and I had no

879
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:24,640
Speaker 4: idea why they were chanting Joey, and my dad and

880
00:50:24,719 --> 00:50:28,600
Speaker 4: I like called into Dan Patrick's radio show the next

881
00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:30,560
Speaker 4: day to try to find out why they were calling

882
00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:32,759
Speaker 4: him joe. That's how you did things back then, Right,

883
00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:35,640
Speaker 4: You find a radio show where you thought somebody might

884
00:50:35,719 --> 00:50:38,319
Speaker 4: know it, and you call and you asked the producer, right,

885
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:41,000
Speaker 4: and it turns out it's Albert Bell's real name. They

886
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,799
Speaker 4: figured out that his real name was Joey. But those

887
00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:47,919
Speaker 4: curiosities I think dragged me to baseball and we were

888
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 4: there a lot over the summer, and I would play

889
00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:52,960
Speaker 4: video games and kind of memorize and learn, and there

890
00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:57,120
Speaker 4: was a there was a computer game called front Page

891
00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:01,120
Speaker 4: Sports Baseball where you could build like a dynasty team,

892
00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:03,440
Speaker 4: and so I kind of got into a whole general

893
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:06,080
Speaker 4: manager thing through that as well. So it was a

894
00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:10,040
Speaker 4: combination of video games and then just like watching every night,

895
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:13,400
Speaker 4: being at the ballpark and just having a mind that

896
00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:16,440
Speaker 4: kind of wanders anyway, as the people who don't like

897
00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:18,719
Speaker 4: our telecast will say, like step to the Go, why

898
00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:24,480
Speaker 4: doesn't he talk? He's talking about the cotton candy again, Jason.

899
00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:27,640
Speaker 2: But you also, on top of being a great sports mind,

900
00:51:27,760 --> 00:51:29,480
Speaker 2: I think you're one of those great play by play

901
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:32,960
Speaker 2: guys with a very well rounded knowledge of the world

902
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,880
Speaker 2: around you, whether it's music, whether it's everything else, Like

903
00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:38,440
Speaker 2: did you like I loved whose line is it?

904
00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:38,880
Speaker 1: Anyway?

905
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:41,719
Speaker 2: Growing up and that's where I got my improv love

906
00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:44,840
Speaker 2: of of you know, kind of talking off the cuff.

907
00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:47,920
Speaker 2: How did you get a love of music and other things?

908
00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:52,120
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was. I was a huge fan of Saturday

909
00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:57,120
Speaker 4: Night Live. Its stand up comedians in general, like George Carlin,

910
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:03,359
Speaker 4: Robin Williams, Dennis Mill more recently John mulaney. But those

911
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:08,000
Speaker 4: those guys and their deliveries, and like Norm McDonald, who

912
00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:11,280
Speaker 4: I got I got to meet before he passed. Really

913
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:16,839
Speaker 4: it was a very, very fortunate circumstance. So we're in

914
00:52:18,160 --> 00:52:21,920
Speaker 4: We're Bart Fox, the basketball producer, and Robbie Hummel and

915
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,200
Speaker 4: I had done a basketball game in Columbus. It was

916
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:29,480
Speaker 4: very early twenty twenty before the pandemic, and they had

917
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,040
Speaker 4: to go fly somewhere. So I was sitting at Eddie

918
00:52:32,080 --> 00:52:36,600
Speaker 4: George's restaurant alone and Norm McDonald comes walking in with

919
00:52:36,719 --> 00:52:39,719
Speaker 4: a couple of like entourage members whatever it was, right,

920
00:52:39,960 --> 00:52:42,799
Speaker 4: and so he sits down and I just say like, hey,

921
00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:45,439
Speaker 4: you know, I really do enjoy your work. And he's like, yeah,

922
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:49,640
Speaker 4: you know, thanks for that day. And then we get

923
00:52:49,640 --> 00:52:51,600
Speaker 4: to talk and he asked what I do. We start

924
00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:55,680
Speaker 4: talking about hockey, and we're just messing around. Sports is on,

925
00:52:55,840 --> 00:52:58,400
Speaker 4: We're just talking like people. And in the middle of

926
00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:03,160
Speaker 4: this conversation, no joke guys, Norm MacDonald says to me, hey, uh,

927
00:53:03,560 --> 00:53:08,960
Speaker 4: you remember when they caned that kid in Singapore? And

928
00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:11,680
Speaker 4: I go, yeah, actually, like it was kind of in

929
00:53:11,760 --> 00:53:15,000
Speaker 4: my wheelhouse at my age, like Michael Fay I think

930
00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:17,359
Speaker 4: was his name. He goes, yeah, that uh that guy,

931
00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:23,480
Speaker 4: You uh you think they're still doing that? And I go, Norm,

932
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:26,640
Speaker 4: I have no idea, I have no clue. He goes,

933
00:53:26,760 --> 00:53:29,000
Speaker 4: because I, uh, I got a little bit of a

934
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:32,719
Speaker 4: weird nephew and he's in Singapore. You uh you think

935
00:53:32,719 --> 00:53:36,640
Speaker 4: they're gonna cane him?

936
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:37,959
Speaker 1: And that was it.

937
00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:43,080
Speaker 4: Then we went back to hockey. So guaranteed he was

938
00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:46,560
Speaker 4: trying out a bit or something. So like when he passed,

939
00:53:46,960 --> 00:53:52,800
Speaker 4: I googled Nor McDonald, Singapore, Norm MacDonald, caning, Norm McDonald, everything,

940
00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:56,920
Speaker 4: depend I never found the bit, but he was just

941
00:53:57,760 --> 00:54:01,560
Speaker 4: such a creative mind that he just figured see what

942
00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:03,239
Speaker 4: this guy thinks of this canaan beit.

943
00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:06,200
Speaker 3: Jason, you talked about Chicago and the White Sox. Who

944
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,040
Speaker 3: was your guy? Was there one player that you especially

945
00:54:09,239 --> 00:54:10,760
Speaker 3: liked on those White Sox teams?

946
00:54:11,360 --> 00:54:12,200
Speaker 4: Robin Ventura?

947
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:12,759
Speaker 3: Oh?

948
00:54:12,800 --> 00:54:15,560
Speaker 4: Actually I was a huge Robin Ventura fan. There were

949
00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:17,359
Speaker 4: a couple of games he went on a run where

950
00:54:17,360 --> 00:54:19,759
Speaker 4: he hit a bunch of Grand slams. Yeah, and I

951
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,200
Speaker 4: happened to be at one or two of those and

952
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:24,719
Speaker 4: I just I loved the batting stance, like I would

953
00:54:24,719 --> 00:54:28,279
Speaker 4: emulate the batting stance. I just I love the way

954
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:30,920
Speaker 4: he played. He was always the guy that got like

955
00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:36,760
Speaker 4: slightly forgotten because of Frank, but Robin was a hero.

956
00:54:36,960 --> 00:54:39,640
Speaker 4: And then I got to cover his teams when he

957
00:54:39,680 --> 00:54:42,280
Speaker 4: was the manager, very early in my White Sox tenure,

958
00:54:42,320 --> 00:54:43,640
Speaker 4: which was a thrill.

959
00:54:43,840 --> 00:54:47,160
Speaker 3: I think he hit fourteen Grand slams in his career,

960
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:49,000
Speaker 3: which you know, he was a good hitter, but he

961
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:52,960
Speaker 3: didn't hit enough homers to have fourteen Grand slams. But

962
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:55,520
Speaker 3: he did now quickly. I know you've heard this, Jason.

963
00:54:55,560 --> 00:54:59,040
Speaker 3: But he of course charged around against Nolan Ryan famously

964
00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:02,600
Speaker 3: and got punched out by Dolan Ryan. So he told

965
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:04,920
Speaker 3: me the story what happened there. Ryan hit him in

966
00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:08,800
Speaker 3: the back and he throws so hard that it hurt

967
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:14,520
Speaker 3: so much that Robin Ventura couldn't think clearly anymore. He

968
00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:17,240
Speaker 3: was in He was like completely out of his mind

969
00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:21,040
Speaker 3: because of the pain. So he runs to the mound,

970
00:55:21,160 --> 00:55:24,279
Speaker 3: not even knowing what he's doing. He gets halfway there

971
00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:27,960
Speaker 3: and he goes, what am I doing. I'm charging Nolan Ryan,

972
00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:30,880
Speaker 3: But he said it was too late. You can't turn

973
00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:34,600
Speaker 3: around once you've gone halfway there. You have to go

974
00:55:34,680 --> 00:55:36,480
Speaker 3: the whole way. And he said that I went there

975
00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:39,120
Speaker 3: and he punched me in the head about ten times.

976
00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:42,600
Speaker 3: But old Robin Matua has one of the great dry wits,

977
00:55:42,680 --> 00:55:44,839
Speaker 3: one of the great sense of humors ever. You must

978
00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:47,120
Speaker 3: have seen that, Jason many times.

979
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:53,319
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, he no, he He is a highly understated,

980
00:55:53,719 --> 00:55:56,920
Speaker 4: really funny person. And one of the memories that I

981
00:55:57,040 --> 00:55:59,799
Speaker 4: have of my first White Sox couple of years is

982
00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:04,520
Speaker 4: one day in spring training because they did the I

983
00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:07,640
Speaker 4: want to say it was the College World Series together

984
00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:12,000
Speaker 4: Sean McDonough, Robin Ventura and I had dinner in Arizona

985
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:15,319
Speaker 4: and listening to them tell stories, and there was I'm

986
00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:17,640
Speaker 4: not gonna name who, but there was a guy who

987
00:56:17,719 --> 00:56:20,239
Speaker 4: Sean like didn't want to do the games with because

988
00:56:20,239 --> 00:56:22,480
Speaker 4: he loved Robin so much. And he was like, tell him,

989
00:56:22,520 --> 00:56:24,879
Speaker 4: will you just will you? Will you keep your flight

990
00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:28,680
Speaker 4: games their flight till tomorrow? Please, I want you to

991
00:56:28,719 --> 00:56:31,600
Speaker 4: do these games, whatever it might be, and Robin just

992
00:56:31,640 --> 00:56:33,880
Speaker 4: giving him grief. It was. It was some of the

993
00:56:33,880 --> 00:56:35,680
Speaker 4: great storytelling you'll ever hear.

994
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:39,880
Speaker 3: So, Jason, you went from Syracuse eventually to the White Sox,

995
00:56:39,960 --> 00:56:43,040
Speaker 3: had a great career as the White Sox broadcaster. But

996
00:56:43,080 --> 00:56:46,160
Speaker 3: then last year you went from the White Sox to

997
00:56:46,400 --> 00:56:50,200
Speaker 3: the Tigers. And you went from and this is fairly obvious,

998
00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:54,239
Speaker 3: the worst team in modern baseball history, and you went

999
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:56,120
Speaker 3: to a team that hadn't been to the playoffs in

1000
00:56:56,280 --> 00:56:59,799
Speaker 3: ten years, went thirty one and thirteen, and now there

1001
00:56:59,880 --> 00:57:03,719
Speaker 3: is in the playoffs. How do you explain this remarkable

1002
00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:07,320
Speaker 3: transformation of your career? How did you get that lucky

1003
00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:08,520
Speaker 3: to end up there.

1004
00:57:09,200 --> 00:57:12,000
Speaker 4: I'm gonna get hit by a bus next week, That's

1005
00:57:12,040 --> 00:57:17,120
Speaker 4: what it comes down to. Really. No, I was very

1006
00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:20,400
Speaker 4: fortunate that there was an opening with Detroit and that

1007
00:57:20,440 --> 00:57:24,960
Speaker 4: they had interest, and I will say it worked out

1008
00:57:25,240 --> 00:57:32,040
Speaker 4: beautifully because they were extremely thorough. I had so many meetings,

1009
00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:34,400
Speaker 4: I had so many interviews, and I would have it

1010
00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:38,280
Speaker 4: no other way because I got to meet I would

1011
00:57:38,320 --> 00:57:41,400
Speaker 4: say ten to twelve people within the organization just in

1012
00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:44,440
Speaker 4: the interview process. I had dinner with Scott Harris, Jeff Greenberg,

1013
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:47,640
Speaker 4: and aj Hinch just to talk about my job and

1014
00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:50,440
Speaker 4: how I do it and how I'd cover the team

1015
00:57:50,680 --> 00:57:53,840
Speaker 4: and all of those things, but also just to talk baseball,

1016
00:57:53,880 --> 00:57:55,760
Speaker 4: and you know, Scott Harris is one of the most

1017
00:57:55,760 --> 00:57:59,400
Speaker 4: curious people. Aj Hinch, Jeff, They're all the same. They're

1018
00:57:59,520 --> 00:58:02,000
Speaker 4: very cure as people who just want to ask what

1019
00:58:02,040 --> 00:58:05,520
Speaker 4: you think, to try to distill their problem with even

1020
00:58:05,560 --> 00:58:09,680
Speaker 4: more information. And I guess what I'm most proud of

1021
00:58:10,880 --> 00:58:15,240
Speaker 4: is that, you know, after eight years of doing a team,

1022
00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:19,800
Speaker 4: you can kind of get really synched up with that team.

1023
00:58:20,040 --> 00:58:23,080
Speaker 4: It can be just either you do that team or

1024
00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:27,240
Speaker 4: you're not doing a team. You know, you become synonymous

1025
00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:29,920
Speaker 4: with that team. But nobody really wants to be a

1026
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:33,040
Speaker 4: one hit wonder. I think that's the fear of a

1027
00:58:33,040 --> 00:58:37,120
Speaker 4: lot of creatives. And to have the Tigers have eight

1028
00:58:37,240 --> 00:58:41,800
Speaker 4: years of my Shenanigans, eight years of tape, and they

1029
00:58:41,880 --> 00:58:44,439
Speaker 4: could have watched any five seconds of it and said,

1030
00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:46,760
Speaker 4: you know what, we're going to go with either a

1031
00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:50,720
Speaker 4: known commodity we like more or an unknown commodity. Because

1032
00:58:50,760 --> 00:58:53,360
Speaker 4: this is kind of played out and it's attached to Chicago.

1033
00:58:53,960 --> 00:58:58,760
Speaker 4: But I'm really thankful that the Tigers were there because

1034
00:58:58,800 --> 00:59:02,840
Speaker 4: they think about things in this sort of forward thinking,

1035
00:59:03,440 --> 00:59:07,560
Speaker 4: kind of esoteric let's be highly creative, you know, the

1036
00:59:07,600 --> 00:59:11,600
Speaker 4: way aj Hinch structures his bullpen and the opener and

1037
00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:15,160
Speaker 4: everything that he does is kind of the way and

1038
00:59:15,200 --> 00:59:17,920
Speaker 4: it's not about me, but you guys know me well enough.

1039
00:59:18,040 --> 00:59:21,280
Speaker 4: Like as somebody who lives with a disability, I have

1040
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:24,320
Speaker 4: to be a troubleshooter. I have to figure out how

1041
00:59:24,360 --> 00:59:26,479
Speaker 4: things are going to work even if they don't look

1042
00:59:26,600 --> 00:59:29,640
Speaker 4: like how everybody else does it. Well, that's the perfect

1043
00:59:29,720 --> 00:59:32,320
Speaker 4: spot for me, is somebody who's going to use their brain,

1044
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:35,760
Speaker 4: not just go based on everything that's been done before,

1045
00:59:36,080 --> 00:59:40,400
Speaker 4: just use their brain, deconstruct the problem, reconstruct it, and

1046
00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:44,560
Speaker 4: move forward. I understand that viscerally, and so I think,

1047
00:59:44,880 --> 00:59:46,920
Speaker 4: you know, I don't know if it's fate or if

1048
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:49,320
Speaker 4: it's just logic that we all ended up together, but

1049
00:59:49,400 --> 00:59:52,200
Speaker 4: that's the way the Tigers operate. And it couldn't make

1050
00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:55,760
Speaker 4: more sense if you tried to somebody like me.

1051
00:59:56,400 --> 00:59:59,520
Speaker 3: And that was what I took away from doing the

1052
00:59:59,520 --> 01:00:02,120
Speaker 3: two game games in the wild Card series. Jason, I

1053
01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:05,680
Speaker 3: had an idea of this, but it was really hammered home.

1054
01:00:06,120 --> 01:00:10,640
Speaker 3: It's just how unpredictable the Tigers are. You just can't

1055
01:00:10,680 --> 01:00:14,000
Speaker 3: figure out what their lineup's going to look like today,

1056
01:00:14,040 --> 01:00:16,600
Speaker 3: what their bench is going to look like, when is

1057
01:00:16,760 --> 01:00:20,360
Speaker 3: AJ gonna bring carry Carpenter into hit and you have

1058
01:00:20,680 --> 01:00:24,840
Speaker 3: zero chance of figuring out the entire pitching staff other

1059
01:00:24,960 --> 01:00:28,480
Speaker 3: than Trek Skouble. Their bullpen is a free for all.

1060
01:00:28,880 --> 01:00:33,360
Speaker 3: As aj called it multiple times, it's just pitching chaos.

1061
01:00:33,400 --> 01:00:36,240
Speaker 3: But again, Jason, you just said it. It is right

1062
01:00:36,320 --> 01:00:38,160
Speaker 3: up your alley, correct.

1063
01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:42,080
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's a fixer, Tim. And also you think about

1064
01:00:42,080 --> 01:00:45,680
Speaker 4: the web like armslought stuff right like Brennan Hannafee is

1065
01:00:45,720 --> 01:00:48,840
Speaker 4: not Tyler Holton is not Jason Foley is not. Brand

1066
01:00:48,920 --> 01:00:53,040
Speaker 4: Herder is not bow Brisky. They're all different types of people.

1067
01:00:53,440 --> 01:00:57,040
Speaker 4: But that ability to critically think and troubleshoot, like somebody

1068
01:00:57,080 --> 01:00:59,280
Speaker 4: had to do that for me, right, I can't look

1069
01:00:59,320 --> 01:01:02,280
Speaker 4: directly at a ca unless you know the glare is

1070
01:01:02,320 --> 01:01:05,360
Speaker 4: on my face and you can't see that's somebody had

1071
01:01:05,360 --> 01:01:08,600
Speaker 4: to take a chance. And for all these guys, aj

1072
01:01:08,840 --> 01:01:12,680
Speaker 4: Hinch is putting them in the best situation possible. Isn't

1073
01:01:12,680 --> 01:01:15,280
Speaker 4: that the idea of a manager Like I think sometimes

1074
01:01:15,280 --> 01:01:19,160
Speaker 4: we lose that because of convention. But aj Hinch is

1075
01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:22,560
Speaker 4: trying to put everybody in the best position possible for them.

1076
01:01:22,600 --> 01:01:26,040
Speaker 4: And the Andy E banyaz at bat is the perfect example.

1077
01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:29,200
Speaker 4: There are major league teams that would not employ Andy

1078
01:01:29,240 --> 01:01:33,680
Speaker 4: I Banyez because you see what seventy percent right handed starters.

1079
01:01:33,960 --> 01:01:37,160
Speaker 4: It's just not a value play if you don't see

1080
01:01:37,240 --> 01:01:39,680
Speaker 4: him for what he is, and it's a tormentor of

1081
01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:43,280
Speaker 4: left handed pitching. So at the core, this is about

1082
01:01:43,360 --> 01:01:45,720
Speaker 4: getting value out of people that might be on the

1083
01:01:45,760 --> 01:01:48,840
Speaker 4: discard pile. And I think that's that's exactly why we

1084
01:01:48,960 --> 01:01:51,800
Speaker 4: watch sports. That's what we want out of this whole enterprise.

1085
01:01:52,200 --> 01:01:55,160
Speaker 3: Jeff Andy Ebanyez was seven for forty two with one

1086
01:01:55,200 --> 01:01:58,640
Speaker 3: extra base hit in September and then his one extra

1087
01:01:58,680 --> 01:02:01,520
Speaker 3: base in October. What's the biggest hit of the season

1088
01:02:01,640 --> 01:02:04,960
Speaker 3: and the biggest hit of his life. But AJ had

1089
01:02:04,960 --> 01:02:08,120
Speaker 3: that whole thing planned. This is the guy I want

1090
01:02:08,440 --> 01:02:10,400
Speaker 3: if they have hater in this situation.

1091
01:02:10,480 --> 01:02:12,920
Speaker 2: That it worked, Aget, Jason, I have to give you

1092
01:02:12,960 --> 01:02:15,840
Speaker 2: so much credit for a line that sent chills up

1093
01:02:15,920 --> 01:02:19,120
Speaker 2: my body, and for Detroit fans and for baseball fans

1094
01:02:19,520 --> 01:02:22,480
Speaker 2: across the board, a city that doesn't care about the

1095
01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:27,440
Speaker 2: odds as a baseball team to match, my goodness, gracious,

1096
01:02:27,560 --> 01:02:30,640
Speaker 2: the artistry of that line. I just am so glad

1097
01:02:30,640 --> 01:02:32,320
Speaker 2: I get to talk to you to just thank you

1098
01:02:32,680 --> 01:02:36,880
Speaker 2: for that beautiful call you made, because it just matched.

1099
01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,120
Speaker 1: The energy of this team and that city so well.

1100
01:02:39,840 --> 01:02:42,880
Speaker 2: Did you have that in your head before or did

1101
01:02:42,920 --> 01:02:44,440
Speaker 2: that just come to you?

1102
01:02:45,600 --> 01:02:49,480
Speaker 4: So I was thinking a lot that week about like

1103
01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:53,200
Speaker 4: why this team mattered so much to people, because there

1104
01:02:53,240 --> 01:02:56,720
Speaker 4: have been playoff teams before. I didn't have the exact

1105
01:02:56,800 --> 01:02:59,840
Speaker 4: formulation in front of me in any way, and I

1106
01:03:00,160 --> 01:03:02,960
Speaker 4: wasn't going to say anything about the big picture if

1107
01:03:03,000 --> 01:03:06,400
Speaker 4: it didn't if it didn't matter. But as I was

1108
01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:10,000
Speaker 4: thinking about the way this team came back, and they

1109
01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:12,760
Speaker 4: did it again in a game that I think they

1110
01:03:12,760 --> 01:03:15,640
Speaker 4: would have lost in April or May. They were sleepwalking.

1111
01:03:15,720 --> 01:03:19,400
Speaker 4: It was three to nothing, they had games remaining, They

1112
01:03:19,440 --> 01:03:22,200
Speaker 4: could have gone and clinched at another time. It would

1113
01:03:22,240 --> 01:03:25,160
Speaker 4: have been fine, they didn't need the game per se.

1114
01:03:25,840 --> 01:03:29,320
Speaker 4: But them coming back again and the just the the

1115
01:03:29,400 --> 01:03:32,320
Speaker 4: shot of adrenaline that came from the crowd and Matt

1116
01:03:32,400 --> 01:03:36,000
Speaker 4: Vierling's head first slide to home plate when he looked

1117
01:03:36,040 --> 01:03:40,560
Speaker 4: like an actual Tiger. It felt like that that game

1118
01:03:40,800 --> 01:03:46,000
Speaker 4: encapsulated that team more than any other game that season,

1119
01:03:46,560 --> 01:03:49,760
Speaker 4: and I felt like it needed to be said something

1120
01:03:49,880 --> 01:03:53,680
Speaker 4: about this team and their ability to just not care.

1121
01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:56,600
Speaker 4: I didn't know how it would come out. I didn't

1122
01:03:56,680 --> 01:03:58,720
Speaker 4: know if I was going to say something about it.

1123
01:03:58,760 --> 01:04:02,520
Speaker 4: But that game matched this season and that runs so much.

1124
01:04:02,600 --> 01:04:04,200
Speaker 4: I felt like it was appropriate.

1125
01:04:04,600 --> 01:04:08,120
Speaker 3: Todd Fraser, Michael Kay and I did two games for

1126
01:04:08,160 --> 01:04:11,240
Speaker 3: the wild Card, and because it's exclusive, there was no

1127
01:04:11,400 --> 01:04:15,240
Speaker 3: Detroit TV obviously, right, So at three o'clock in the morning,

1128
01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:17,920
Speaker 3: I wake up and Todd has sent me a tweet

1129
01:04:17,920 --> 01:04:21,080
Speaker 3: that some guy set in and he wrote something like,

1130
01:04:21,840 --> 01:04:25,000
Speaker 3: I hope I never have to hear one more words

1131
01:04:25,120 --> 01:04:28,960
Speaker 3: spoken by Michael Kay, Tim Kirkten or Todd Fraser, because

1132
01:04:29,000 --> 01:04:32,720
Speaker 3: we're all so used to listening to the beautiful Jason

1133
01:04:32,760 --> 01:04:36,520
Speaker 3: Bennetti that we got clobbed just because we're not him.

1134
01:04:36,960 --> 01:04:39,640
Speaker 3: I mean, this happens all the time. Jason, you saw that?

1135
01:04:39,880 --> 01:04:40,960
Speaker 3: Tell me you saw it.

1136
01:04:41,520 --> 01:04:44,920
Speaker 4: Well, Todd sent it to both of us, So I

1137
01:04:45,040 --> 01:04:47,840
Speaker 4: wove up to that. What am I supposed to say?

1138
01:04:48,760 --> 01:04:52,400
Speaker 4: You know? So here's the thing. Here's the thing about that.

1139
01:04:53,320 --> 01:04:57,720
Speaker 4: Number one, I told my mom to stop using Twitter. Yeah,

1140
01:04:58,040 --> 01:05:02,240
Speaker 4: I told her to stop. And then number two, I

1141
01:05:02,560 --> 01:05:05,760
Speaker 4: just when I woke up, I pictured Todd Fraser saying,

1142
01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:07,800
Speaker 4: you know, big dog, you're not gonna believe this pretty

1143
01:05:07,840 --> 01:05:13,720
Speaker 4: big dog. It's unbelievable. And reading it in his flabbergasted

1144
01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:17,720
Speaker 4: Tom's River patois made my week.

1145
01:05:18,520 --> 01:05:21,480
Speaker 3: That was a very good Todd Fraser. He calls me

1146
01:05:21,640 --> 01:05:25,520
Speaker 3: big dog all the time. No person on Earth should

1147
01:05:25,800 --> 01:05:29,520
Speaker 3: should be called big dog less than me. It's ridiculous.

1148
01:05:29,880 --> 01:05:33,360
Speaker 4: Todd Fraser was on the White Sox in sixteen, so

1149
01:05:33,440 --> 01:05:35,520
Speaker 4: I got to know Todd with the White Sox when

1150
01:05:35,520 --> 01:05:37,960
Speaker 4: I was covering the White Sox and the White Sox

1151
01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:43,480
Speaker 4: staged a cornhole tournament, a beanbag tournament with fans of

1152
01:05:43,680 --> 01:05:47,720
Speaker 4: partnerships of two and I just said in the clubhouse

1153
01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:50,160
Speaker 4: one day to Todd, I was like, phrase, what do

1154
01:05:50,200 --> 01:05:53,160
Speaker 4: you think of us getting into the tournament and playing

1155
01:05:53,200 --> 01:05:56,040
Speaker 4: as a team. It got White Sox fans. So he's like, yeah,

1156
01:05:56,080 --> 01:05:56,680
Speaker 4: big dog.

1157
01:05:56,520 --> 01:05:57,320
Speaker 2: What up a big boat?

1158
01:05:57,520 --> 01:06:00,920
Speaker 4: So we decide that we're gonna go up there and play,

1159
01:06:00,960 --> 01:06:04,120
Speaker 4: and White Sox TV shot a video and I was

1160
01:06:04,200 --> 01:06:06,200
Speaker 4: so bad at it because when I played in the

1161
01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:09,720
Speaker 4: backyard they were closer, right, You've got to really heave

1162
01:06:09,800 --> 01:06:13,120
Speaker 4: those things. I'm a tiny little fella, and so Frase

1163
01:06:13,280 --> 01:06:17,200
Speaker 4: is like knocking him down and he's eviscerating me. He's like,

1164
01:06:17,320 --> 01:06:20,600
Speaker 4: you gotta do better than this. But it's unbelievable how

1165
01:06:20,720 --> 01:06:23,680
Speaker 4: terrible you are at this. And I'm like, bro, you

1166
01:06:23,880 --> 01:06:26,160
Speaker 4: just swung and miss and another slider.

1167
01:06:30,560 --> 01:06:34,400
Speaker 3: Oh that is beautiful. One of my great pleasures in

1168
01:06:34,480 --> 01:06:38,200
Speaker 3: life now is doing games with Todd Fraser, especially at

1169
01:06:38,200 --> 01:06:41,160
Speaker 3: the Little League World Series, because we've all acknowledged now

1170
01:06:41,520 --> 01:06:43,640
Speaker 3: he's the biggest twelve year old in the history of

1171
01:06:43,680 --> 01:06:47,480
Speaker 3: the world. And there's no more delightful person to be around,

1172
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:49,480
Speaker 3: even though he'll scream at you and make fun of you,

1173
01:06:49,560 --> 01:06:51,600
Speaker 3: but that's what makes him Todd Fraser.

1174
01:06:51,600 --> 01:06:52,840
Speaker 1: It's absolutely amazing.

1175
01:06:53,320 --> 01:06:57,600
Speaker 4: You and Mike Monaco and Fraser together are like three

1176
01:06:57,720 --> 01:06:58,640
Speaker 4: ten year olds.

1177
01:07:00,120 --> 01:07:04,120
Speaker 3: It looks like he's ten. Yes in the face, I

1178
01:07:04,280 --> 01:07:06,960
Speaker 3: look like I'm ten in the body, and Todd is

1179
01:07:07,080 --> 01:07:10,760
Speaker 3: ten year old in his personality and everything else.

1180
01:07:11,320 --> 01:07:14,600
Speaker 4: He has never changed from the Toms River kids now,

1181
01:07:14,920 --> 01:07:15,560
Speaker 4: never change.

1182
01:07:15,680 --> 01:07:17,120
Speaker 1: It's why he loves that place.

1183
01:07:17,240 --> 01:07:19,360
Speaker 2: Jason, I don't want to slow us down here, but

1184
01:07:19,680 --> 01:07:23,240
Speaker 2: I just want to know from your perspective, spend ten

1185
01:07:23,320 --> 01:07:25,840
Speaker 2: years since the Tigers have played in the playoffs, and

1186
01:07:25,880 --> 01:07:28,600
Speaker 2: on Wednesday they're going to get a home game in

1187
01:07:28,640 --> 01:07:31,960
Speaker 2: the playoffs. Tell us about Kamerica Park, what is that

1188
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:32,760
Speaker 2: place going to be?

1189
01:07:32,920 --> 01:07:36,960
Speaker 4: Like? I cannot believe this is happening right now for

1190
01:07:37,040 --> 01:07:40,880
Speaker 4: this city because the Lions came so close to the

1191
01:07:40,920 --> 01:07:44,920
Speaker 4: Super Bowl, the Red Wings were a pulled goalie away

1192
01:07:45,040 --> 01:07:49,160
Speaker 4: from making a really incredible run to the postseason, and

1193
01:07:49,160 --> 01:07:52,160
Speaker 4: then for this Tigers team to do it. My answer

1194
01:07:52,320 --> 01:07:55,600
Speaker 4: is all I can tell you is that I've been

1195
01:07:55,680 --> 01:07:58,480
Speaker 4: told by my partner, Andy Dirks, what it was like

1196
01:07:58,600 --> 01:08:01,640
Speaker 4: in eleven and twelve, twelve, then thirteen when they were

1197
01:08:01,680 --> 01:08:04,600
Speaker 4: on that run. And now you couldn't hear yourself think.

1198
01:08:04,680 --> 01:08:07,920
Speaker 4: And I know Dan Petrie played at Tiger Stadium when

1199
01:08:07,920 --> 01:08:09,959
Speaker 4: it was like that as well. I just think there's

1200
01:08:10,000 --> 01:08:13,720
Speaker 4: a fervor for sports in that town that's a little

1201
01:08:13,760 --> 01:08:17,439
Speaker 4: bit different than what you get anywhere else. There's are

1202
01:08:17,800 --> 01:08:20,479
Speaker 4: I know people have said gritty tikes over and over again,

1203
01:08:20,560 --> 01:08:22,640
Speaker 4: but there is a grit and there is this like

1204
01:08:23,040 --> 01:08:26,640
Speaker 4: yeah will show you. And I feel like this Tigers

1205
01:08:26,680 --> 01:08:30,320
Speaker 4: team has yeah will show you written all over it.

1206
01:08:30,680 --> 01:08:33,120
Speaker 4: And I just hope there are some night games mixed

1207
01:08:33,120 --> 01:08:36,320
Speaker 4: in there, because that place is bonkers at night when

1208
01:08:36,320 --> 01:08:40,160
Speaker 4: it's good. That crowd Friday night felt like a playoff

1209
01:08:40,200 --> 01:08:42,960
Speaker 4: game and they were playing the one hundred and twenty

1210
01:08:43,080 --> 01:08:48,240
Speaker 4: loss Chicago White Sox. It was It floored me. I've

1211
01:08:49,000 --> 01:08:51,080
Speaker 4: you know, I haven't been to the World Series, but

1212
01:08:51,160 --> 01:08:53,320
Speaker 4: I got to do a couple of wild Card games

1213
01:08:53,320 --> 01:08:55,360
Speaker 4: at ESPN, and I don't know that you get a

1214
01:08:55,439 --> 01:08:58,679
Speaker 4: much better crowd than one and done like the twenty

1215
01:08:58,720 --> 01:09:02,040
Speaker 4: twenty one Yankee's Red Sox game at Fenway with the

1216
01:09:02,080 --> 01:09:05,360
Speaker 4: odds send to third base and all those moments. That

1217
01:09:05,439 --> 01:09:09,639
Speaker 4: place was a window rattlingly loud, and so was Wrigley

1218
01:09:09,760 --> 01:09:15,160
Speaker 4: for Rockies Cubs in twenty eighteen. Was it And so

1219
01:09:15,439 --> 01:09:17,439
Speaker 4: I just I think this place is going to be

1220
01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:20,160
Speaker 4: an absolute madhouse and I can't wait to see it.

1221
01:09:20,280 --> 01:09:22,599
Speaker 3: Jason, we could hold you here for another hour, but

1222
01:09:22,640 --> 01:09:25,040
Speaker 3: we're not going to do that because you have college

1223
01:09:25,080 --> 01:09:29,960
Speaker 3: football this weekend and you have NFL football game this weekend.

1224
01:09:30,040 --> 01:09:32,479
Speaker 3: I don't know how you do all of this, but

1225
01:09:32,880 --> 01:09:35,280
Speaker 3: I just want you to know how appreciative we are

1226
01:09:35,400 --> 01:09:38,519
Speaker 3: that you would come on today with Jeff and I.

1227
01:09:38,600 --> 01:09:41,920
Speaker 3: It's been an absolute treat and absolute blast. And I

1228
01:09:41,920 --> 01:09:46,360
Speaker 3: can say this with all honesty. I love baseball. I

1229
01:09:46,479 --> 01:09:57,480
Speaker 3: love Jason Bennetti and I love lamp. Yeah.

1230
01:09:57,720 --> 01:10:04,200
Speaker 4: I love you too, Tim Britt. I miss you. I

1231
01:10:04,240 --> 01:10:06,040
Speaker 4: miss you, I miss getting to see you, and I'm

1232
01:10:06,040 --> 01:10:09,120
Speaker 4: miss getting to see you by proxy, Jeff, that's one

1233
01:10:09,120 --> 01:10:12,400
Speaker 4: of my sadnesses from leaving ESPN is I really do.

1234
01:10:12,760 --> 01:10:13,559
Speaker 4: I miss you, guys.

1235
01:10:13,760 --> 01:10:16,720
Speaker 1: I miss being with you, mister sant.

1236
01:10:17,800 --> 01:10:19,880
Speaker 4: Your musket, I miss your musk.

1237
01:10:23,400 --> 01:10:25,760
Speaker 1: Oh, Jason, thank you for joining us.

1238
01:10:26,520 --> 01:10:31,080
Speaker 2: Thank you guys, Thank you Jason Bennetti for being our

1239
01:10:31,120 --> 01:10:33,439
Speaker 2: guest this week. He's busy this time of year with

1240
01:10:33,640 --> 01:10:36,599
Speaker 2: NFL and college games, and so for him to take

1241
01:10:36,600 --> 01:10:39,559
Speaker 2: the time for us was really awesome. Now, Jason brought

1242
01:10:39,640 --> 01:10:42,639
Speaker 2: up Robin Ventura as the guy he watched growing up,

1243
01:10:42,680 --> 01:10:44,640
Speaker 2: the one that really got him into baseball. Do you

1244
01:10:44,640 --> 01:10:47,840
Speaker 2: have any other great stories of Robin Ventura, Dad Well.

1245
01:10:47,880 --> 01:10:52,360
Speaker 3: I covered a game at Say Stadium and Robin Ventura,

1246
01:10:52,479 --> 01:10:56,040
Speaker 3: playing for the Mets, hit a grand slam, a walk

1247
01:10:56,120 --> 01:10:59,479
Speaker 3: off grand slam to end the game. But because the

1248
01:10:59,560 --> 01:11:04,879
Speaker 3: game and the series ended with that, he stopped running

1249
01:11:05,080 --> 01:11:07,639
Speaker 3: after he got to first base because like people were

1250
01:11:07,680 --> 01:11:11,120
Speaker 3: running on the field congratulating him, So it still goes

1251
01:11:11,200 --> 01:11:15,400
Speaker 3: down as a walk off single, even though the ball

1252
01:11:15,520 --> 01:11:19,120
Speaker 3: went over the fence because the only base that he

1253
01:11:19,280 --> 01:11:24,120
Speaker 3: accrued safely was first, because he never made it to second.

1254
01:11:24,520 --> 01:11:27,640
Speaker 3: But fortunately everyone else touched the next base and the

1255
01:11:27,760 --> 01:11:30,519
Speaker 3: run scored and the Mets won. But instead of getting

1256
01:11:30,680 --> 01:11:34,400
Speaker 3: credit for a walk off Grand Slam, he got credit

1257
01:11:34,439 --> 01:11:37,360
Speaker 3: for a walk off single even though the ball went

1258
01:11:37,439 --> 01:11:40,880
Speaker 3: over the fence. And the lesson here, Jeff, is anything

1259
01:11:41,280 --> 01:11:45,479
Speaker 3: can happen in October, which of course we're learning this

1260
01:11:45,600 --> 01:11:47,240
Speaker 3: October so so well.

1261
01:11:47,600 --> 01:11:49,320
Speaker 1: I'll always love doing this show with you.

1262
01:11:49,640 --> 01:11:53,280
Speaker 3: Well, there's nothing better than October. The wildcard round is great,

1263
01:11:53,520 --> 01:11:56,880
Speaker 3: DS is better, CS is better. World Series is the best,

1264
01:11:57,120 --> 01:11:59,120
Speaker 3: but all the rounds are fabulous.

1265
01:12:00,040 --> 01:12:00,960
Speaker 1: Ya, thank you so much.

1266
01:12:01,000 --> 01:12:03,439
Speaker 2: Good luck on the call, and to all of you listening,

1267
01:12:03,520 --> 01:12:05,439
Speaker 2: thank you for listening, and thanks for being a part

1268
01:12:05,479 --> 01:12:06,120
Speaker 2: of our family.