WEBVTT - A Mazterclass 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:06.680 Is this a great game or what with the Hall 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:09.520 of Famer Tim Kirkshon. I'm his son, Jeff Kirkshon, And 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:14.240 here we are Dad. Another episode and another snowstorm. 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:16.640 We had to shovel out of right before recording. 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.120 How long did you shovel this morning, Jeff? 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.880 I mean, I did end up helping a couple of neighbors, 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.600 So I ended up being out there a couple hours, 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:29.600 just because I was the first. 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:31.680 One in my neighborhood to get done. 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:34.600 And then I saw some other people out there struggling, 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:36.360 so I walked around with my shovel. 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:39.280 I would say I was out there. Then McKinley came out, 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.360 wanted to have a snowball fight, and there was then 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.440 she wanted to drive in her bike in her car 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.320 once I got everything cleaned off. So I was there 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.080 for two and a half hours, easily, right. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.400 It took me two hours to do our driveway. Of course, 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:57.600 our driveway is longer than your driveway. Our driveway is 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:02.280 longer than certain runways at Washington Reagan Airport. So I 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:06.199 was out there for two hours, and I'm feeling good. 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:10.119 You fell asleep, took a nap and fell asleep today 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:11.280 did I hear that properly? 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.640 Yeah, you had to call me because we had a 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.120 set time for recording. And all of a sudden, my 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.080 phone is buzzing and I look at it and it's 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.360 five minutes past our allotted recording time. And I have 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:28.520 fallen asleep in my daughter's bed during her naptime. 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.080 And keep in mind, I was so tired. 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.640 Dad, that I looked at the clock and I had 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:38.080 thirty minutes. I said, oh, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:40.800 gonna I'll be fine. I won't fall back asleep, And 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.800 all of a sudden, it's thirty five minutes later, and 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.120 I have been asleep for thirty five. 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.760 Minutes, and you called me, and I apologize. I don't 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:49.960 like being late for things. 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.320 Yep, it's OK, Yeah I'm late. When you were a kid, 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.720 I would lie down next to you on your bed, 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:01.480 like every night, well to make sure that you got 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:06.160 to sleep because you had such a difficult time. And famously, Jeff, 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.919 you you got really quiet, and I thought, great, I've 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.440 got it. This is it. He's asleep. He's not going 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.120 to say he's asleep. And then you looked at me. 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.480 You're like four years old, it said, my toe hurts. 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:22.120 What did that mean? My toe hurt? It was just 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.760 another stalling tactic by four year old Jeff Kirchen. And 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.560 now you're thirty two and you're still taking NAT. 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:29.720 My toe still hurts. 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.120 But yeah, yeah, yeah, no worry. 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.600 But that's the that's the dreaded storyatic arthritis that I 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.000 was just diagnosed with at age thirty two. 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.960 So well, you know, I feel like. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.720 I'm thirty two inside, but I walk like I'm fifty two. 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:49.840 So the new medication, Dad, is hopefully gonna make me 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:52.400 feel a little bit better. But I want you, Dad, 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.720 I'm going to sound like you here. Are you ready, Jeff? 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:57.320 I want you to ask me about my hat? 0:02:57.919 --> 0:02:58.200 Yeah? 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:00.920 What I want you to ask about my hat? 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.880 What is what is that? The Polar Express? Is that 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:07.480 the Tom No? What does that say? Polar Express is 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.240 Tom Hanks who played like everyone it was great? 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:16.520 Yeah, no, this is this is the polar Plunge. This 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:20.639 past weekend, the Special Olympics Pennsylvania hosted and and polar 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.440 plunges across the country. Of course, it's uh for the 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:27.920 Special Olympics and those incredible athletes. And what we did 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.720 was we had pools set up outside Citizens Bank Park 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:37.480 in South Philadelphia, freezing cold. Me and a couple of 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:42.040 my coworkers were hosting the event, and I jumped into 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.600 a pool pool filled with water. 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:46.040 In the middle of the winter. 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.480 Now, what were you wearing, Jeff? Did you have a 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:52.680 sweatsuit on, a swimsuit, regular clothes? What did you have? 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.440 You know, some people they dress up, they have you know, 0:03:56.640 --> 0:04:00.160 cool two two's or outfits, or they wear onesies with 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:03.080 animals on them or something. I just wore a bathing 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.440 suit and a longsleeve shirt and I jumped in and Dad, 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.240 you know me in water, we don't exactly get along. 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:10.880 Okay. 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.560 I didn't learn how to swim until I was fifteen 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:14.120 years old. 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:15.480 That's the story for another time. 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.640 And I don't even like being in water. If my 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.200 head goes under, I end up with an ear infection. Anyway, 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.880 the point is I did it because these brave, incredible 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:27.360 special Olympics athletes are doing it too, and I said, 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.640 I gotta do it. I gotta support the cause. And 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:33.719 I jumped in. And the air temperature outside Dad was 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:35.280 like forty five. 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:39.520 Oh, oh, that's okay, all right, twenty five fifteen, that's different. 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.479 You got lucky, right, forty five was not bad. Right. 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:46.760 We had the one decent day in like a month 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.799 and a half in the Philadelphia area and it happened 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:51.320 to be the day of the polar plunge. And I 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.800 don't I don't know if I would have done it 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:55.400 if it was twenty five out there. 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:57.520 It was bad, but we did it and it was 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:58.240 a great time. 0:04:58.360 --> 0:04:59.920 How long were you in the water? 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.400 I mean about as fast as it takes for the 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:07.080 pitch to be delivered from the pitcher. 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:10.599 Oh, so you jumped in, You did your job and 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.520 got right back out. Oh. 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:15.440 I jumped in, Dad, and I was running towards the 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.400 stairs of the pool immediately. 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:20.840 It was a It was not a here I am 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:21.920 splashing around. 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:24.600 I'm proud of you for doing something for such a 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:28.200 good cause. And we all know you're not very good 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.880 in the water. You're not very good on land either, Jeff, 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:35.239 but the water really bothers you. And I still don't 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.640 understand how you could have flown in a like a 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.279 jet that was going like a thousand miles an hour 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:43.680 and you you're not afraid of heights and all this 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.679 other stuff, but you just have trouble in the water. 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.159 I don't blame you. We'll have to get that fixed 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:51.440 when you're you know, maybe fifty years old or something. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.920 Yeah, you're I had a chance to go on a 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:58.400 US Navy Blue Angel back in my time in Cleveland, Ohio. 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.000 They took a media member up before the Cleveland Air Show. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:06.480 And yeah, yeah, that was wouldn't do it again. 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:09.320 And the reason why is I would want somebody else 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:13.960 to have that opportunity because it was so incredible, so invigorating, 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.400 but also so scary and so difficult. You're fighting the 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.080 laws of nature while you're up there, right, but it 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:21.520 was absolutely amazing. 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.520 All right, Well, speaking of amazing, Jeff, I'm going to 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.279 spring training on Thursday. I'm usually the first guy in 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.479 spring training. This year, I'm going to be the last 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:31.800 guy in spring training, but not the point at least 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:35.599 I'm going. And forty five years ago was my first 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:40.720 spring training at the nineteen eighty two Rangers. I covered them. 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.080 I went in eighty one, but it really didn't count. 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:47.880 Eighty two really counted because it was it was my 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.839 first as a full time, full time beat writer. So 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.279 I get to Pompino Beach, Florida, and Jeff, I haven't 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.320 traveled a whole lot at this point, so I'm not sure. 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.560 I've never been to Pompino Beach. All sorts of things 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.000 are going on. And I look on a map back 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:03.960 when we used to look at maps to figure out 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.479 how to get places, and it said down in the 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:11.920 right hand corner Municipal Stadium, home of the Washington Senators. 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:17.880 They had moved ten years earlier to Texas, and they 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.040 were still on the map as the Washington Senator. So 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.400 I'm thinking right away, maybe the Rangers are not a 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.120 big deal here in Papaino. And boy did I ever 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:31.360 find that out, because the stadium, as quaint as it was, 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.840 was tiny. They only had one extra field, and it 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.560 was like a half field, like a little field, with 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.280 the left field fence was about a one hundred and 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.480 twenty feet away. You just took infield there. And this 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:45.720 is a terrible story, Jet, but I'm gonna tell you anyway, 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.320 and I'm gonna leave the guy's name out. One day 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.640 on that side field, one of the Rangers pitchers looked 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.679 up in the air and there was a seagull flying 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.840 and he's doing a pitching drill in the stretch to 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.360 please I don't want to offend anyone here, just want 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.880 to tell a story. And he looks and he says, 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.760 to everyone who cared to listen, I'm gonna wheel And 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.600 instead of throwing it to second base in a pickoff drill, 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.720 he said, I'm gonna hit that seagull. So he's fun. 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:17.040 He threw it. He threw the ball. This is awful. 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:19.520 I can't believe I'm telling this. He hit the seagull 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:22.960 and the seagull landed like right next to second base. 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:28.400 It was awful. And Charlie Huff, Charlie Up, one of 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.320 the funniest people of the world, just looked at us 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.040 and said, that's what happens when you don't wear a helmet. 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:38.920 So we had a dead seagull on the field in 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.520 spring training nineteen eighty two. Those are just a few 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.160 things that happened there. I've told you. Let's see if 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:47.640 you can remember the Mickey River story that I told 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.959 you from spring training. Mickey River is making four hundred 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.240 and fifty thousand dollars a year, the everyday center fielder 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:58.480 for the Rangers. Asked me what three weeks into spring training, 0:08:59.040 --> 0:08:59.839 He asked. 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:04.359 You for what twenty thousand dollars two thousand dollars too, 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.360 as if he could borrow two thousand. 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.439 I had to say, Mick, I'm making thirteen thousand dollars 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.960 a year. I don't have two thousand dollars to my 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:18.520 entire name. And Buddy Bell, who was the best player 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:20.720 on that team, just kind of whispered me Tim, like, 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.640 new guy on the beat, don't ever loan Mickey any 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:27.920 money because you're never never going to see it again. Yes, 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.680 that was a great spring for me. I got to 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.920 know Al Oliver really well, and they traded Al Oliver 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.840 at the end of spring training to the expos And 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.800 just to show you how the beat worked, I broke 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:47.199 that story. But I really didn't break it because Randy Galloway, 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.800 the great Randy Galloway, who I followed on the beat, 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:54.840 he broke the story. He gave me the story and 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.800 it went under my byline in the Dallas Morning News. 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.400 So my first breaking story as a beat guy at 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:07.160 the Morning News was was furnished by Randy Galloway, one 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.720 of the great beat writers of all time. So I 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.319 had and at the end of that spring training Jeff 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.400 the Rangers traded Ron Darling, who was a guest of 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.679 ours last year on the podcast. Really Good Picture won 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:23.000 a World Series with the with the Mets in nineteen 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.920 eighty six, and Walt Terrell, also a Very Good Picture, 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.080 traded both of them for Lee Mozzilly right the end 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:34.280 of spring training because they needed a left fielder. So 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:37.080 it turned out to be a really bad trade for 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.560 the Rangers. But I remember in reporting that story, I 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:44.040 called looking for Joe Klein, who was the farm director, 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:47.040 and I got his assistant and I said, I'm looking 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:52.000 for Joe. Is he there? And the assistant said, no, 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.559 Joe is dead. He jumped off the roof of the 0:10:55.679 --> 0:11:01.000 holiday and after hearing about the trade, So just shows 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.760 you how bad a deal that was. So that was 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:08.319 my first spring training as an everyday beat writer nineteen 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:12.280 eighty two. A completely different world than the one we 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:13.319 live in today. 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:19.160 Well, Dad, I know we're approaching March madness. But one 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.160 of my favorite spring training stories of all time was 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:28.000 when we were in Arizona and we watched your alma mater, 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:33.120 University of Maryland win the National championship. And that was 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.760 during a spring training trip. 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:36.480 Is that right? 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:39.079 Do you remember that we're in Arizona and we watched it. 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.640 We were in a hotel room with a dinky TV 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:45.320 and we watched that game, and I remember it because 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:47.280 of the time change as well. The game was a 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.680 little bit earlier, so us kids were able to stay 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.800 up and actually watch it. And your team, your alma mater. 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.560 The Terps win, and that was with Oh my gosh, 0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:58.439 Steve Blake was on that team. 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:02.880 What a great, such a fun experience go into these 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.640 baseball games running home in order to see this game 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:06.959 with you, and we got to watch it with you. 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:07.520 It was great. 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.880 And Wan Dixon made the big three pointer that broke 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.600 that game open, and there was plenty of time on 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.560 the shot clock, and it was one of those things 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.080 like should you be shooting at this early? And he 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.880 just drills the three and wins the game. So it 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:23.120 was Yeah, that was great and good memory, Jeff. That 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:28.240 might have been your first spring training and so this 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:31.480 is my forty first and that was your first. Very good. 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:41.720 All right, Dad, Well let's jump into the takeaways right now. 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:44.880 What's going on across Major League baseball. Obviously we're in 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:47.079 spring training, but there's some big news we got to 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:47.800 address right now. 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:53.120 Yeah, Bill Mazowski died. One of the great people I've 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:57.040 ever met in the game. I believe he's the greatest 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:03.000 defensive second baseman of all time. Nobody, but nobody. Jeff 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.000 made the double play, the turn from second base, the 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.400 pivot from second base better than Bill Mazerowski. He's got 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:13.520 those short, stubby, really strong legs, and he would stand 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:16.440 right on top of the bag and anyone who wanted 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.480 to slide into him, he would say, go ahead, but 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.520 I'm not moving, and he didn't. Davy Johnson ended up 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.679 being a really good second baseman in his day, And 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:30.720 like so many others, they watched Bill Mazerowski play second 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:35.160 base and they patterned themselves after him. They watched him 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.839 and said, that's who I want to be. And he's 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.600 a Hall of Famer. Of course, his offensive numbers are 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.160 not overwhelming, but Jeff, it's really important to remember what 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:50.480 the nineteen sixties was like offensively. Okay, you look at 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:53.120 Bill Mazerowski's numbers that they don't blow you away, but 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:58.080 back then those numbers as the second baseman were above average. 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:02.080 But you take that and then you just include the defense. 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:04.840 That's how he's a Hall of Famer. And I believe, Jeff, 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.520 he had the biggest home run in Major League history. Now, 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.079 we're not going to include Hank aaron here because there 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.760 was so much more involved there in the passing of 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.800 Babe Ruth. You know, racism, hatred, all that. Hank Aarons 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.640 is in a different category. But I think Bill Mazerowski's 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.680 Game seven leadoff home run against the Yankees to win 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:31.720 that game ten to nine is the biggest home run 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:36.320 in Major League history because there've only been two walk 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:40.360 off homers to in the sixth game or seventh game 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.720 of a World Series Joe Carter in ninety three, but 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:49.280 that was in Game six, and this was in Game seven, 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:52.320 and the Pirates, who just got pounded in their three 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.320 losses in that series, came back to win and beat 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.280 the Yankees ten to nine. Let's see if you can remember, Jeff, 0:14:58.440 --> 0:14:59.600 the distinct. 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:04.640 In the Pirates get massively outscored in that series and still, yeah. 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.600 I used to know it by heart, but yeah, they 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:10.400 got outscored by like thirty runs in seven games and 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:14.600 they still won the World Series, just proving again you 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.240 can you can win a game fourteen to nothing, fifteen 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:18.840 to another and it doesn't matter. You got to win 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:19.480 the next day. 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.040 So yeah, so that was fifty five to twenty seven. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:27.800 Dad, that was the series nineteen sixty and they still won, 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:30.840 having been outscored by almost thirty run. 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.200 Let's see how good your memory is, Jeff. The ten 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.920 to nine final in Game seven, among other things. What 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:42.720 was the distinction of that game ten to nine? I 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:44.040 told you this before. 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.760 It was something it was there were well, okay, I 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.520 do remember that the Pirates of all four games they won, 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:52.280 they won each one by. 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:54.400 One or two. 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:57.920 No, no, I'm just talking about Game seven, Jeff. I 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.360 think this is important still, after all these zero strikeouts. 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:07.520 Zero strikeouts only that's the distinction. Zero strikeouts in Game 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.680 seven of the World Series. You know, Jeff, we average 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:14.560 eighteen strikeouts per game. Now, I've covered postseason games where 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.600 there were thirty strikeouts in the game zero. 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.600 It feels like we average eighteen strikeouts in it it. 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.800 Yes, yes, the strikeout rate is out of control. The 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.920 pitching we see today, the stuff is just ridiculous. So yeah, 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.320 just but that was a historic series. Arguably that's the 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.320 greatest game in the history of the World Series. I 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.600 think it's the biggest home run in Major League history 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.480 and it was hit by Bill Mazeroski. Who's again. I 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.760 met him a bunch of times, loved every second I 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:48.400 was with him. Really down to earth kind of guy. 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:52.360 And if you're remember Jeff at his Hall of Fame speech, 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:56.200 I think he only lasted about three minutes and thirty 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.560 seconds because he said a bunch of times, I'm not 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.120 going to get through this because he was so overcome 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:08.000 by emotion that he just started crying. He just started sobbing. 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:11.840 So if anyone ever wonders like how important the Hall 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:15.520 of Fame is to these players, go listen to that speech. 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:19.080 Sometime he was so overwhelmed he couldn't even finish it. 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:22.080 And no one had a problem with that, because that's 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.679 how important it was for Bill Mazerowski to make it 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:26.600 to Cooper's staff. 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:32.560 Well, Dad, in spirit of the late great, why not 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.480 bring back an old team Tim that he's a part 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:35.639 of it. 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.880 Yeah, we've done this before. So if anyone complains that, hey, 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:42.600 I've heard this list before, this team Tim before, it's okay, 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:45.359 we're going to do it again as a tribute to 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:47.320 Bill Mazarowski. 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:49.520 Well let the record show Dad. 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.280 I think of any podcasts and any group of people, 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.879 our listeners, members of our family complain the least I 0:17:55.880 --> 0:18:00.760 have never experienced, in years of radio working for radio 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.920 stations across the country, experience people as kind and as 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.760 warm hearted as the people who listen to our show. Seriously, Dad, 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.960 it's incredible. How sweet the messages we get at Great 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:13.760 Game or what dot Com? 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:15.960 Wouldn't you agree? I mean, the messages we get are 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:16.520 just amazing. 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:20.639 Yeah, they're really kind hearted and sorry, Jeff, that's what 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:22.879 we're trying to get at here. We laugh and we 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.560 learn on this podcast. There's so much hatred in the world. 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:30.600 There's no reason to be spewed it here when it's 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:35.600 out there everywhere else. Agreed, Agreed, Okay, agreed about Jeff. 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:40.320 This is my team, Tim, my greatest defensive players at 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:43.199 each position. I say this every time. This is not 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.280 the correct list, This is not the right list. This 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:48.840 is my list. If you have a better list than 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.520 I do, I'd love to hear it. Johnny Bench is 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:57.400 the greatest defensive catcher of all time for me. Keith 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.680 Hernandez is the first baseman. And we had Johnny and 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:06.680 Keith as our guests right last year. How cool is that. 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:09.920 We're knocking out people on this list one after another. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:16.240 Bill Mazerowski at second, Brooks Robinson at third, sixteen Gold Gloves. 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.720 Ozzie Smith is the shortstop, and I think you could 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:24.159 make the case that he is the greatest defensive player 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:29.119 of all time at any position, given the importance and 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:34.119 the degree of difficulty of the position of shortstop. So 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:39.280 Ozzy's our shortstop. Carly Streemsky is our left fielder. I 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:42.080 grew up watching him play, not every day, but we 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.800 saw enough of him. Nobody played the wall better than him. 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:49.080 He was fabulous. Willie Mays is the greatest center fielder 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:51.680 of all time for me, and I saw him play, 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:53.800 maybe not in his prime, but I saw enough of 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:57.160 him to say I've never seen anyone play center field 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:02.280 like him. And Roberto Clementi is our right fielder. And 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:06.320 our picture is Greg Maddox, who in a close vote 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:10.119 over Jim Cott, I think Maddox won sixteen Gold Gloves. 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.480 And I'll never forget this story. Jeff walt Weiss played 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:16.840 with Greg Mannox in Atlanta. Walt Weiss was the shortstop 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:20.560 on Braves for at least a time when Maddox was there, 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:25.040 So what he told me was when Maddox would throw 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:28.080 to home plate, he never threw a ball straight unless 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.679 he really wanted to. He had natural movement on everything, 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:34.960 because that's what Greg Maddox could do better than anyone. 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:38.800 But on the one six' three double play where the 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:42.120 pitcher catches it and fires it to the, shortstop who 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.399 fires it to the first, Baseman Walt weiss told Me 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:48.919 Greg maddox threw the greatest four, seamer which is of 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.720 course a straight ball right to the, shortstop better than 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:55.399 any pitcher he's ever. Seen so pitches to the. Plate 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.120 he had natural movement on. It he made it move 0:20:58.160 --> 0:20:59.960 the way he. Wanted but when he caught a bow 0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:02.720 and KNEW i have to throw to a, base he 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:07.240 threw a perfect four seam. Striketh that's how Great Greg 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:09.360 maddox was as a fielding. 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:15.400 Pitcher Brooks robinson had Sixteen Greg maddox eighteen eighteen. 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:16.280 EIGHTEEN i did a. 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.640 QUICK i did a quick fact check for, You, dad 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:19.679 just to make sure you had that. 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:21.000 Right you're absolutely. 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:24.280 Right we just talked About Greg maddox's glove and how 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.000 huge it, was how big it, was and when you 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.920 put it up in comparison to our LITTLE a two, 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:32.000 thousands it's a big, difference. 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:35.119 Right, yeah he was really, Good. Jeff and he once 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:38.320 yelled at one of his second basemen for playing too 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:42.520 much up the middle and a ball got through into 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:47.200 the outfield to the second baseman's. Left, okay the guy 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:50.040 was shading up the middle a little bit too, much 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:52.720 and when the ball went, Through maddox was furious and 0:21:52.760 --> 0:21:55.760 he yelled at his own second. BASEMENT i told YOU 0:21:56.000 --> 0:22:00.560