1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. Hi everyone, welcome to 2 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: the Deal. 3 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 2: I'm Jason Kelly alongside my partner Alex Rodriguez. All right, Alex, 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 2: this week something a little bit different kind of I 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 2: went a little rogue, like I went away from the 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 2: deal for just a few minutes. 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: You know, you have your businesses. 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 2: I have mine, And I did an interview with a 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 2: guy who I think it's fair to say as a 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: hero of yours, cal Ripken Junior. It's part of a 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 2: series that I'm doing for Bloomberg Originals called power Players. 12 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,319 Speaker 1: You got a chance to watch it, I. 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 3: Mean an icon of icons, right, Jason, I'm so excited 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 3: about this. 15 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 4: First. 16 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 3: I don't know if you know this, but col was 17 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 3: my hero growing up. My mother bought me a great 18 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 3: poster I think for like my ninth birthday, which lived 19 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 3: on top of my bed till I graduated from high 20 00:00:59,320 --> 00:00:59,959 Speaker 3: I might have been a rook. 21 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 4: He's still at eighteen. 22 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 3: It was still there because he was the tallest shortstop, 23 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 3: right he was six four two twenty five. He gave 24 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 3: me hope that someone tall like me can't play shortstop. 25 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 3: And I think Derek Jeter had the same inspiration as well. 26 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 3: But I love Cal for so many reasons because he 27 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 3: is the epitome of sticking with it. He is the 28 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 3: epitome of what I call narrow and deep. I mean, 29 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 3: if you think about it, for the last forty five years, 30 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 3: he's done two things. He's played baseball at a Hall 31 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 3: of Fame level, and two he's taught baseball to little kids, 32 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 3: And I think it's just wonderful. 33 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: I too, grew up watching Cal Ripken. 34 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 2: I mean I remember, like so many people do, watching 35 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 2: him break that record. When you think about sort of 36 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 2: the best known athletes of our time, especially when you 37 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 2: and I were younger, he's up there. 38 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: I mean, there's no one like. 39 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 3: Him in many ways, Jason. He is almost single handily 40 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 3: responsible for bringing baseball back after the nineteen ninety four strike, 41 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 3: which I was. 42 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: A part of. 43 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 3: Yes, and look, you were in George Sound in the 44 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 3: early nineties and he was breaking records right down the 45 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 3: street from you, which phenomenal. 46 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was fascinating to spend time with him. So 47 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 2: I went down to Aberdeen, which you know is kind 48 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: of in the middle of nowhere. It's like, if you've 49 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 2: ever driven down ninety five from New York to DC. 50 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 2: You pass by this complex, it's sort of like sitting 51 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 2: up on this hill and as you go back there 52 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 2: and I mean, you would dig this so much. He's 53 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 2: focused on teaching baseball to little kids, particularly with his foundation, 54 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 2: but the business is much bigger than that Ripkin Baseball. 55 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 2: It's centered around three baseball complexes, one in Aberdeen, the 56 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 2: one I visited, one in Tennessee, and one in South Carolina. 57 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 2: Each of these places has replicas of world class baseball stadiums, 58 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,839 Speaker 2: places you're very familiar with Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium. And 59 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 2: what Cal, his brother, and the team do is they 60 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 2: really sell the Ripkin experiences to young players. And those 61 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 2: experiences include training camps, on site tournaments, stuff like that. 62 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 3: And this is going to be I think a generational 63 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 3: asset for the Ripkin family. Obviously, Rippin Senior started the legacy. 64 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 3: Everything's around him and what he taught Billy Ripkin and 65 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 3: cow and I believe Ryan, his son, Cal Ripkin's son 66 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 3: will ultimately one day maybe take over this business. Who 67 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 3: also played college baseball at the University of South Carolina. 68 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 2: That's right, yeah, And it's also interesting too because this 69 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 2: gets right into the heart of what we talk about 70 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 2: in the show every week because Cal and his brother Billy, 71 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 2: they did a deal. They got into business with Josh Harrison, 72 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: David Blitzer and Unrivaled. You know, a couple episodes ago, 73 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 2: we were talking to Jesse Jacobs about the TCG investment 74 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: into Unrivaled and all the ambition around youth sports. One 75 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: of the interesting things that I discovered, which which Alex 76 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: I think you will appreciate too, is this idea of 77 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 2: when I first saw that deal, I thought, oh, okay, 78 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 2: well that's nice. 79 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: Billy and Cal like built. 80 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 2: This business and you know, sort of get paid and 81 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 2: go off and do something else, when in fact, they 82 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 2: were doubling down and they are making this bigger and 83 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 2: bigger and part of this big empire. 84 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: The deal. 85 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 3: I want to just kind of lean in here a 86 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 3: little bit because from Afar Jason, you knew that Cal 87 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 3: and Billy were working on something around sports. It was 88 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 3: very admirable, but you never thought about the business. You 89 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 3: looked at it more. At least I did as a 90 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 3: civic duty to Cal Senior's voice that Billy and Cal 91 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 3: were kind of bringing onto the next generation, and all 92 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 3: of a sudden, two of the Titans buy into the business. 93 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 3: Josh Eris and David Blitzer as you mentioned, and you go, oh, 94 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,239 Speaker 3: these guys do not get involved unless it's top tier, 95 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 3: and they know how to scale a business, they know 96 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 3: how to recruit world class and now they have turbo 97 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 3: charges business. I would think about it as Facebook buying 98 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 3: Instagram and off they go. 99 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, oh wow, that's a great analogy. I hadn't thought 100 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 2: about that. Anyway, it was fascinating to do. I knew 101 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 2: you would like it, so I'm. 102 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: Glad you got a chance to watch it. 103 00:04:49,720 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 2: Without further ado. Here's Power Players. Kyl Ripkin, Welcome back 104 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 2: to the deal. I'm Jason Kelly. Well, as you heard 105 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 2: me talk to Alex about, I have this whole other 106 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 2: life outside of him. I do another series for Bloomberg 107 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 2: called Power Players, and it's a super exciting series for 108 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 2: me because I get to go and visit really influential 109 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 2: people in the broader sports world. I traveled all over 110 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 2: the world for this season, but actually for the premiere, 111 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 2: I didn't have to go that far. I got in 112 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 2: my car and I drove down to Aberdeen, Maryland to 113 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 2: see none other than Cal Ripken Junior, the iron Man 114 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 2: himself and I showed up to this incredible complex that's 115 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 2: there that Cal and his brother Billy have built and 116 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 2: really expanded over the years. It's the cornerstone of their 117 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 2: youth baseball empire. So you have to keep in mind. 118 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 2: You drive up to this and there are baseball fields 119 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 2: as far as the eye can see. It's just off 120 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 2: of I ninety five. There's even a hotel there where 121 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: players can stay. And it's built to mimic Camden Yards, 122 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 2: which of course is the famous ballpark in Baltimore where 123 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 2: Cal and Billy and his dad, Cal Senior all hung 124 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 2: around and played baseball and managed baseball for so many years. 125 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Here's Cal Ripken. I'm going to go. 126 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 2: Back aways and ask what I think is a pretty 127 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 2: obvious question. I'm going to read stats that you know 128 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,919 Speaker 2: very well, and eighty four hits, four hundred and thirty 129 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 2: one home runs, two Golden Gloves, Rookie of the Year, 130 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 2: most Valuaball player times, two World Series champion, and of 131 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 2: course the most famous setheator. 132 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: But I know it's two. 133 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 2: Thousand, six hundred and thirty two consecutive games played unmatched career. 134 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: Why are you doing this? 135 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 4: Let me give you a. 136 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 5: Perspective Now, someone just reminded me of the day that 137 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 5: you played twenty one years with the Orioles in and 138 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 5: around here, and now you've been out of the game 139 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 5: twenty two years. 140 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 4: Wow. 141 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 5: So that's a forty three year window, a chunk of 142 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 5: time when you retire from baseball. I mean, you have 143 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 5: a wonderful career. And I was forty one. I got 144 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 5: to play a long, long time. But you're not ready 145 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 5: to pack it in. You're ready to do something. And 146 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 5: I enjoyed the feeling that I got, or I hate 147 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 5: to use the word platform, that you get from being 148 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 5: a player. I always enjoyed the influence you had with kids. 149 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 5: I always enjoyed the game of baseball. I always enjoyed 150 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 5: what Dad represented about baseball. My first fourteen years of 151 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 5: my life was following him around in the minor leagues 152 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 5: as a manager and then get a chance to come 153 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 5: to the big leagues and then have a big league career. 154 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 5: And so Dad communicated through kids, through clinics and baseball 155 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 5: and all that. He was a great teacher, but he 156 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 5: kind of talked about life through baseball, and so Billy 157 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 5: and I wanted to extend that from a content teaching standpoint. 158 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 5: You know, I thought we could help players be a 159 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 5: little bit better, but experientially, that's what Billy and I valued, 160 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 5: and we wanted to try to bring that sort of 161 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 5: experience to the kids. So I didn't look at it 162 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 5: as a money making entity. At first. It seemed like 163 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 5: it was more philanthropic. And then you realize that if 164 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 5: you're going to do this, it's got to wash its 165 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 5: own face. No matter how well you did or how 166 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 5: much money you put aside, the model has to work. 167 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 5: And it seemed like in the early days there was opportunities. 168 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 5: There was abundant opportunities everywhere. We could go down any 169 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 5: path that we wanted to go down, and I think 170 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 5: many times we were going down too many paths. And 171 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 5: it wasn't until we started to really think what are 172 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 5: we good at, what can we really do for the 173 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 5: kids that we started to make the business side work. 174 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 5: But when you look at it now, that couldn't be 175 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 5: more proud. Some of the complexes that we visit and 176 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 5: that we have under our control. Now it's the same 177 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 5: sort of feeling in all the complexes for the kids. 178 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 5: You know, sometimes I say baseball is dying in a way, 179 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 5: you know, from a youth standpoint, less people are playing, 180 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 5: but of the less people that are playing, more of 181 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 5: them are playing more baseball. But you see the spirit 182 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 5: capture the spirit of baseball, just like it was when 183 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 5: Billion and I were kids. You feel like the whole 184 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 5: world revolves around baseball. When you're in it. It's fun, 185 00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 5: it's great, and we couldn't be more proud of of 186 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 5: contributing to some of that happiness and some of that 187 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 5: joy that Billy and I felt. 188 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 2: Tell me about those early days and sort of getting 189 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 2: into it. I mean, you're retiring from baseball. You and 190 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 2: Billy are trying to figure out that next chapter, Like 191 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 2: what are those conversations like as you're kind of doing 192 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 2: that trial and error. 193 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 5: Billy and I are a little different in the fact 194 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 5: that I'm optimistic and you think you can do anything, 195 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 5: you know, especially coming off your baseball career, and now 196 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 5: you're getting into this. 197 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 4: I dreamed a little bit bigger. 198 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 5: Billy is more practical, and so we always had conversations 199 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 5: every time you come in. You know, you blow things 200 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 5: up and you make it bigger, and let's do this, 201 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 5: let's start small. And so I think the lesson that 202 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 5: both him and I learned probably more me was that 203 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 5: it has to make business sense, and maybe planning would 204 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 5: have been a little bit better. But in many ways 205 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:52,599 Speaker 5: you're learning as you go, and I think one of 206 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 5: the lessons what you learn when you go through the 207 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 5: minor leagues is that you don't know how good you're 208 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 5: going to be. You just got to keep doing things 209 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 5: and trying things and out how you do it, and 210 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 5: then keeping those things in disregarding the other ones. In 211 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 5: this it seemed like we were trying new things going 212 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 5: on in all different directions. Maybe a better business plan wouldn't 213 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 5: have been the right way to start, maybe not, but. 214 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: Things What were some of the things you tried that 215 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: didn't work? If you remember. 216 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 5: Well, again, it was pretty capital intensive to do the fields. 217 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 5: The story with the warehouse here, I wanted to have 218 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 5: a building that would give the kids a feel and 219 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 5: there was a development opportunity, but first we thought of 220 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 5: it as a office building. We would have done really 221 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 5: bad if we did the office building. And then we 222 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 5: started to look into it, and then the feasibility studies 223 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 5: came back about what about a hotel that's right off 224 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 5: ninety five, et cetera, et cetera. So going down that 225 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 5: path of getting that done. I take great pride in 226 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 5: the fact that we had to convince Bill Marriott to 227 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 5: change the branding of the box to allow us to 228 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 5: do this. It's a double Marriott hotel. And that meeting 229 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 5: was a little nerve wracking going down there and trying 230 00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 5: to present your vision what you want to do. 231 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 4: Because Bill was really quiet. 232 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 5: You didn't say a word, which made you feel like 233 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 5: you had to present more and to keep pitching, you know, 234 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 5: and saying, Okay, he's not getting I'm dying here. 235 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 4: But at the end he kind of gave. 236 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 5: A little cheapish smile and says, I get it. You know, 237 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 5: we'll do it. Yeah, And that was a good feeling. 238 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,079 Speaker 5: But just some of the things you run into, how 239 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 5: do you get the fields built, how do you run 240 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 5: your tournaments, the teaching entity. It seemed like everybody trusted 241 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 5: their kids with us, and we were thinking, Okay, they're 242 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,199 Speaker 5: all going to be about the same baseball level. These 243 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,200 Speaker 5: are all baseball intense kids or whatever else. But then 244 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 5: you realize that there's a big range of skill level. 245 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 5: So then you had to get your curriculum, so to speak, 246 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,199 Speaker 5: where everybody could benefit. And then sometimes we went through 247 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 5: a period. Well, we'll just evaluate them real quick, and 248 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 5: then we'll put them in different groups, and then we'll 249 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 5: be able to give them the more advanced kids, some 250 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 5: more advanced, we'll give them the kids that need a 251 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 5: little more simple, more simple. But when you start throwing 252 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,559 Speaker 5: a number of kids in there, the numbers become overwhelming, 253 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 5: and you got to trying to figure that out. So 254 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 5: I think that's probably normal growing pains in any sort 255 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 5: of business that you the realities of what you're thinking. 256 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 5: What you're thinking is not always the reality. 257 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know you mentioned that the Bill Marriott story, 258 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 2: And I do wonder what that feeling is like for 259 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 2: you because, and I'll say it in a way that 260 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 2: you would never say it. It's like you're cal Ripkett, 261 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 2: Like you're used to walking into a room of people 262 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 2: like what do you need? 263 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: What can I do for you? You're my hero. 264 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 2: I've been to a fan since I was a kid, 265 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,959 Speaker 2: and here, like, you're not just like asking for something, 266 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 2: You're asking for a big something. 267 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: What's that feeling like for you? 268 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 5: There is an advantage to having that sort of reputation 269 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 5: or that sort of name. We could get a meeting 270 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 5: with most anybody. We want to get a meeting with. 271 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 5: But the hard part is what. 272 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 4: Do you do then? 273 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 5: And that's what we're worried about all the time, is 274 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 5: that substantively it has to match what your persona is, 275 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 5: I guess and I never thought, you know, we're baseball players. 276 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,319 Speaker 5: Now we're getting into some areas which I think Billy 277 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 5: probably helped to pull us back down a little bit 278 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 5: now because I kept thinking, well, let's we can talk 279 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 5: to this person, we can talk to that person, Let's 280 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 5: do this, let's do that. Billy said, let's do this, 281 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:11,559 Speaker 5: And so Billy probably grounded us a whole lot more. 282 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 5: And I kept thinking, because you could get a meeting 283 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 5: with anybody else. And I think we're generally feeling that 284 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 5: we could partner, you know, And maybe that was a 285 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 5: philanthrope more than philanthropic view that we have, Like with 286 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:25,800 Speaker 5: the foundation, we feel if you want to help kids, then. 287 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 4: We're with you. Let's all do it together. 288 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 5: In a business sense, you have to think a little 289 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 5: differently how that works, but still a partnering sort of idea, 290 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 5: bringing different resources to the table was a good thing 291 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 5: and you just have to figure out how that all works. 292 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, So tell me about the sort of initial concept 293 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 2: like going way back to this place where we're sitting, 294 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 2: if you. 295 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 5: Want to go back to the seed of the idea. Well, 296 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 5: I mean Dad ended up leaving baseball, and Dad at 297 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 5: a baseball school, and Billy left baseball before I left baseball, 298 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,439 Speaker 5: and then Billy did some of the baseball school stuff. 299 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 4: He kind of ran it. 300 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 5: And I always had the vision when I stopped is 301 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 5: that we were looking for places to bring Dad's baseball 302 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 5: school into Aberdeen or to have the fields. And then 303 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 5: we bumped into an effort too for the minor league 304 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 5: team that they were looking at the same time. We 305 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 5: looked at each other, you know, because we were looking 306 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 5: at similar spots here in Aberdeen, and we decided to 307 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 5: come together. So I helped them, and I thought the 308 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 5: vision of creating a kid's complex, a teaching facility to 309 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 5: play tournament games here, and also you would have the 310 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 5: vision of the start of a pro career over there, 311 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 5: so you could actually then carry that over and watch 312 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 5: like the next phase. If you're really good and you 313 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 5: get up the ladder of high school, you get drafted, 314 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 5: and all of a sudden, now this is where you go. 315 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 5: And then obviously we have Cameron Yards down the street 316 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 5: where you can see the big big league product. So 317 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 5: that was sort of the vision coming in and how 318 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 5: we were going. 319 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 4: To do that. 320 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 5: Billy and I liked celebrating the individuality of a field. 321 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 5: Like from a design standpoint, we didn't like quads. You know, 322 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 5: they're the most efficient use of your space, but they're 323 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 5: angled in four areas and balls are flying everywhere. We 324 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 5: wanted to make each field have its own identity. And 325 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 5: then we liked the fact that we played in Fenway 326 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 5: where there's a green monster. You know, the game can 327 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 5: be played a little bit differently based on the dimensions. 328 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 5: That's the beauty of baseball. And so we set out 329 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 5: to do that in the design aspect of here. So 330 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 5: kind of go on teeter and back and forth. From 331 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 5: a business standpoint, I retired from baseball. I took on 332 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 5: the whole project myself over here. We didn't have a 333 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 5: team for the minor league team. I had to find 334 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 5: a team, move a team, go through territorial issues with 335 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 5: the Phillies, the Orioles, and the Wilmington Blue Rocks that 336 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 5: was down the street and the Orioles, Mister Angelos created 337 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 5: an affiliate to get in the New York Penn League team, 338 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 5: but somebody else had to get out of the New 339 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 5: York League. So all that happened in the time that 340 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 5: I retired and your building a stadium, which I was 341 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 5: on the hook for the third of that was on 342 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 5: the hook for have a team at the time, so 343 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 5: my focus went immediately over there. 344 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 4: Billy's focus was. 345 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 5: A little bit more in the start of this side 346 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 5: of the of the street, the kid's side, that was 347 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 5: a resounding success in the minor league team over there, 348 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 5: we found a team, came in, we sold it out 349 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 5: for the first ten or twelve years, and then the 350 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 5: kid's side was developed a little bit more slowly. But 351 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 5: now when you look at it, we've maximized our lot. 352 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 5: We got a number of fields over here. We have 353 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 5: a good following, good reputation all the way around, and 354 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 5: it's fun to come on the complex and see how 355 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 5: the two stadiums interact. But the seed of it was 356 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 5: just to be able to help kids out and create 357 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 5: an experience. And really Dad was really interesting because Dad 358 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 5: kept his baseball school small, smaller so he could have 359 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 5: one on one interaction with the kids. He didn't want 360 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 5: to make it so big. I was of the thing is, well, 361 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 5: we can make it really big and we can help 362 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 5: more kids. Billy was more like my dad, so we 363 00:16:57,840 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 5: had sort of a model in there in between where 364 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 5: we wanted to be more hands on so that we 365 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 5: would get a chance to teach and move through like 366 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 5: Dad's model. 367 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, we got to talk about your dad. 368 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 2: I mean, his name, his ethos clearly is so deeply 369 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 2: baked into this. 370 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: This is the family business. 371 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 2: I mean, there's no other family that is probably as 372 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 2: deeply embedded in this sport as as yours. Like, how 373 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 2: does that influence your decision making? How does it influence 374 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 2: the way that you and Billy have decided to do 375 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 2: this as businessmen? 376 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 5: Huh, Well, I would look at it a little different 377 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 5: than that. The family business was professional baseball because Dad 378 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 5: was in professional baseball. I guess if you add it 379 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 5: up close to forty years maybe and first fourteen years 380 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 5: as in the minor leagues, the Oriels were a great organization. 381 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 5: They were developing players and Dad was part of sending 382 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:50,919 Speaker 5: the players to the big leagues. 383 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 4: And then right in my high school year. 384 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 5: He had a chance to come to the big leagues 385 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 5: as a coach, and I got a chance to experience 386 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 5: a little bit of that, but the family business wasn't 387 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 5: using you know, our success in baseball to actually expand 388 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 5: on that. 389 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,120 Speaker 4: I mean that that was a night away in baseball. 390 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 4: That was the idea of Billiy and I. So it 391 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,239 Speaker 4: was more of the professional. 392 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 5: Side, and I think sometimes you've learned so much by 393 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 5: playing so long at the highest level and you want 394 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 5: to have that sort of talent that you want to 395 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 5: deal with. So I think Billy a lot of times 396 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 5: was thinking about that, and then you in some ways 397 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 5: you got to go all the way back to the 398 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 5: beginning and then simplify and start to build the blocks 399 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 5: up for how you're going to help, you know, a 400 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 5: talented kid become a better baseball player. 401 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 2: It's interesting too that your dad very early on saw 402 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 2: that sort of teachable aspect of the game and really 403 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 2: embrace that. 404 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: It sounds like well with his school and I. 405 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 5: Think he always had a soft spot for kids that 406 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 5: especially didn't have a good fatherly influence, you know, and 407 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 5: he was a. 408 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 4: Fatherly influenced in the minor leagues. 409 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 5: You know, kids were coming in right out of high school, 410 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 5: your first time away from home or first time doing 411 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 5: you know, a lot of these things, and so he 412 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 5: was looking out for them as well as trying to 413 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 5: make them big leaguers. And so that sort of legacy 414 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 5: started us in creating the foundation in Dad's name to 415 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 5: use baseball the way he did to get in front 416 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 5: of kids, kids that didn't have all the same advantages, 417 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,679 Speaker 5: and we would give them an opportunity to move in 418 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 5: a positive direction. That was sort of Dad's impetus. And 419 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 5: so it all played in the experiential side when you're 420 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 5: actually doing tournaments and all that kind of stuff, you're 421 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 5: feeding from, you know, Dad's thoughts to do things the 422 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 5: right way. He used to always say, if it's worth doing, 423 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 5: it's worth doing right. You know, you make more of 424 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 5: a mess of it if you do it halfway. You 425 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 5: got to go back and do it again and again, 426 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 5: those sorts of things. So Dad's voice and Dad's thoughts 427 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 5: are in, you know, our every day thinking process. 428 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 4: But it does get confusing. 429 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,920 Speaker 5: You have the Cawrochmen Senior Foundation is that we we 430 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 5: target kids and use baseball in which to get in. 431 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 4: Front of them. 432 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 5: Yeah, and now that's expanded all across the country. You know, 433 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 5: we're doing we call them youth development parks where we've built, 434 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,359 Speaker 5: you know, over one hundred and fifteen, one hundred and 435 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 5: twenty of those by now, which costs a million a million. 436 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 4: And a half dollars a pop. 437 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 5: And it's all to give them a safe place in 438 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 5: these areas in which to do anything they want. It's 439 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 5: a sports field. And then now we're even into stem centers. 440 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 5: You know, we're getting into curriculum in schools and those 441 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 5: sorts of things, and the success we've had there, you know, 442 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 5: it has been good. So a lot of times when 443 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 5: people look at it's hard to separate the work that 444 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,360 Speaker 5: you do for the foundation under Dad's name, and then 445 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,880 Speaker 5: also under the name that you're doing for building kids 446 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 5: complexes and having an experience, a tournament experience, and also 447 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 5: you know, a teaching one. So the growth of those 448 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 5: things have kind of side by side in some ways. 449 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 5: In the early days, I was thinking the foundation, we 450 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 5: hard well, built a board really well, and that grew 451 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 5: really fast, and you know, you could see the success 452 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 5: of having the right people in the right places. This 453 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 5: side was a little bit more slow. We had people 454 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 5: that might have been the right people at the time. 455 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 5: But then you know, as you're going you get your 456 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 5: team together and you're building the model because it's interesting. 457 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 5: You build a model first, and then you could duplicate 458 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 5: it some other place to help more kids. But I 459 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 5: think that we were trying to duplicate the model before 460 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 5: we had the model in some ways interesting. And Dad 461 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 5: would say about that. He says, you're getting too big 462 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 5: for your briches. And that's where Billy's practical sort of 463 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 5: common sense would say, here, let's do this. 464 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 4: Let's do this first. I'm thinking, but we can do this. 465 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,120 Speaker 4: We have influence in there. 466 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 5: We can go to California, we can go right and 467 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 5: they're saying, come on back. 468 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 2: So one of the things I was especially interested to 469 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 2: talk to Cal Ripkin about was coming together with David 470 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 2: Blitzer and Josh Harris. These are two private equity tycoons 471 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 2: who have gone heavy into the world of sports. They 472 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 2: own a bunch of professional sports teams, including the Washington Commanders, 473 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 2: Philadelphia seventy Sixers, and more. They've also made a huge 474 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 2: bet on the world of youth sports. And so I 475 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 2: asked Cal what it was like when he first met 476 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 2: up with David Blitzer. So, tell me about like the 477 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 2: coming together with but I mean, do you remember meeting 478 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 2: him vividly. 479 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 5: The interesting part about being cal Ripken is that, as 480 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 5: I said that, you can get a meeting or talk 481 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 5: and to me, I always thought anybody ever met when 482 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,959 Speaker 5: to talk baseball. And then I was thinking, Okay, we'll 483 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 5: talk a little baseball, and then I'll ask business questions 484 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 5: because now you have someone hugely successful that have gone 485 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 5: through and they have all this information that so you're 486 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,400 Speaker 5: trying to grab something back. You're giving the baseball inside 487 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 5: stories and you're saying, but what about this? And I 488 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 5: remember that because David helped sort of organize, you know, 489 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 5: some of the business thoughts, because as I communicate our 490 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,360 Speaker 5: success or our path, it seems like we were all 491 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,679 Speaker 5: over the place, and because opportunity was pretty abundant. But 492 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 5: it's still you've got to focus on what you're doing 493 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 5: and you got to build a model. And I remember 494 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,159 Speaker 5: asking him for advice or how to do this, or 495 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 5: just some of the concepts, and he was very open 496 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 5: and I think that we had a good interaction back 497 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 5: and forth. What I would say was when I first 498 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 5: went into business, you're thinking, okay, look, I'm overmatched. I 499 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 5: was twenty years in baseball. I was playing a game 500 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 5: over here. Now I gave everybody else twenty or twenty 501 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:20,919 Speaker 5: five years a head start, you know, and now I 502 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 5: got to catch up. But then the process is you 503 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 5: realize the success that you had in the sport, some 504 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 5: of the principles and values, the way you go about 505 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 5: things or whatever it is, they definitely moved towards the 506 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,439 Speaker 5: business side. And so it's just kind of understanding how 507 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,919 Speaker 5: to place your work ethic, your persistence, and all that 508 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 5: kind of stuff into another model. So I've learned a 509 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 5: heck of a lot by being a baseball player for 510 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 5: twenty years, right, And the part about it was how 511 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 5: do you apply those things? 512 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 4: And I remember that meeting and that it was sort 513 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 4: of an application or this is how you apply it, 514 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 4: this is how you do it. 515 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,159 Speaker 5: So I was asking him a lot of questions and 516 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 5: we did hit it off pretty well, and so then 517 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 5: we went off and started to have a little bit 518 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 5: more success and started to organize our business a little 519 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 5: bit better. He was doing what David does and talk 520 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 5: about has his hand in a lot of things and 521 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,119 Speaker 5: his love for sports, and he was going through the 522 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 5: youth sports. At the time, we were trying to make 523 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 5: some sense out of parents' roles in the experience, putting 524 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 5: pressure on the kids and all that kind of stuff, 525 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 5: and this is what we wanted to try to create together. 526 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 2: How does it culminate into an actual business relationship because 527 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 2: it's cool to be swapping stories and giving advice, but 528 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,520 Speaker 2: like to actually put your businesses together is a whole 529 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 2: other thing. 530 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 4: Well, I mean, he. 531 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,359 Speaker 5: Had an interest in and he had some assets in 532 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 5: the youth baseball business. One of those assets we were 533 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 5: talking to them about running, you know, because they would 534 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 5: have to ramp up and this. 535 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:47,719 Speaker 4: Village. 536 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 5: And so that's where we sort of came back together. 537 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 5: And I really had no intention of kind of merging 538 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,679 Speaker 5: you know, our business interests at the time. But the 539 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 5: more we talk, the more they liked our management staff, 540 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 5: and we got a really good management team and we 541 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 5: were at the right place at the right time, I think, 542 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 5: and they said, Okay, before we grow things separately, why 543 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:10,919 Speaker 5: don't we consider growing together. And the growth part of 544 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 5: that was really interesting to me because that's the big 545 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 5: picture analysis again, is we were growing, but we were 546 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 5: growing sort of in a controlled way, and then every 547 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 5: time that you had an opportunity or something comes in, 548 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:23,359 Speaker 5: then you got to figure out, Okay, how do I 549 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 5: raise the money for this? 550 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:25,120 Speaker 4: How do we do that? 551 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 5: And David of course brought a sophistication to you know, 552 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 5: high little business that all of a sudden it's a 553 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,359 Speaker 5: good idea and it makes sense business wise or whatever else. 554 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 5: Capital is not going to be you know, an issue. 555 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 5: This is how you do it, and so all of 556 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 5: a sudden we felt I felt that the growth could 557 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 5: be accelerated, and I wanted to be able to move, 558 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 5: you know, at different parts of the country and expand 559 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 5: on the good work that we were doing. So then 560 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 5: once we start, it took us about six months back 561 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 5: and forth talking before we thought this was a good idea. 562 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 5: But I couldn't have asked for a better partner to 563 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 5: come in. And you know, the idea of expanding to 564 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,399 Speaker 5: other sports and then using the same model to have 565 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 5: tournaments and get in other sports, that sort of upside, 566 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 5: that sort. 567 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 4: Of growth really interests me. So yeah, that was why 568 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:09,040 Speaker 4: I came in. 569 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's interesting to look at that, I mean 570 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 2: because at first, blush cynical business journalists that I am, 571 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 2: I see the announcement, I'm like, oh that's cool, Like, 572 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 2: you know, Callumbilly have built their business and now they're 573 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 2: selling out. 574 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: Then you look at it and you're like, oh no, no, no, no, no, 575 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: they're like doubling down. They're like selling in in a 576 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: lot of ways. 577 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 2: So it's like, was that that was always the plan 578 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 2: or what was it that really like struck you about 579 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 2: this particular opportunity. 580 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 5: David and Josh love the brand. We had private equity 581 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 5: take a run at us a number of times over 582 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 5: the years, and I had one of the private equity 583 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 5: person we have a fund, you know, we have the 584 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 5: own majority of the fund, Da da da da, and 585 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 5: we're saying we can monetize your brand way better than 586 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 5: you are. And I took that a little bit personal, thinking, well, 587 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 5: you probably could, but it's our name, it's what we're building, 588 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 5: whatever else, it's support And that didn't interest me, you know, 589 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 5: in those days. But then once you're talking to David 590 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 5: and Josh, they really liked the brand and they wanted 591 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:09,360 Speaker 5: to expand the brand in the same way that we 592 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 5: were thinking about expanding. Now, of course we can accelerate 593 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 5: it a little faster and grow a little faster because 594 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 5: of the partnership. But I was convinced and comforted that 595 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 5: we were all on the same page. It wasn't just 596 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 5: about trying to roll things together and then bundle up 597 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 5: assets and then sell them in a short period of time. 598 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 5: This is a longer term view. Yeah, And I really 599 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 5: like the longer term view. And the kids business has 600 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,719 Speaker 5: been a fun business. You know, sometimes it's crazy because 601 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,400 Speaker 5: parents are probably the ones that you have to worry 602 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 5: about the most. Because everybody feels that they have their 603 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 5: star athlete and they're going to put everything, all their 604 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,520 Speaker 5: resources into getting that person to college and getting into 605 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:45,120 Speaker 5: pro ball. 606 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: They're telling cal Ripkin that they are son is the 607 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: next cal Ripkin. 608 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 5: Right, So it brings along a little of that, and 609 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,840 Speaker 5: we try to help because to me, one of our 610 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 5: general philosophies, and maybe it's more me, is that. 611 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: Let's try to take pressure off the kids. 612 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 5: It seems like the way that you're playing more games, 613 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 5: there's more travel, there's more at stake, there's pressure that's 614 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 5: being applied to them. And I tell parents just on 615 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 5: the side, I go, you know, try to think of 616 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,679 Speaker 5: ways where you can alleviate some of that pressure, that 617 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,439 Speaker 5: you can make them enjoy the game and all that, 618 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 5: because if they have the talent to make it, they're 619 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 5: going to have to call on that their internal love 620 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,400 Speaker 5: of the game when they get to the hard parts, 621 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 5: when they get to the pro balld. It's got to 622 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 5: be from within. It can't be from you know, somebody 623 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 5: else forcing me to do this. It's got to be 624 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 5: that your love of it that carries you through those 625 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 5: challenging and difficult times. When you go from being a 626 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 5: big fish in a small pond to a small fish 627 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,560 Speaker 5: in a very big pond, that's when you have to 628 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 5: tap into your love. And this is the time that 629 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 5: you hope that you're cultivating a love of the sport 630 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 5: that they want to wear their uniform to bed for 631 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 5: a game tomorrow. That's how I used to feel. You 632 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 5: don't want to kill that joy and love. And by 633 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 5: playing so much baseball and making it more serious and 634 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,400 Speaker 5: professional at a earlier time, you run the risk of 635 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 5: doing that. 636 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 2: I hadn't done the math like you did at at 637 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 2: the beginning of the conversation about you know, essentially you've 638 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 2: now spent just slightly more time in business in post 639 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 2: career as you did playing baseball. 640 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: So what's your assessment at this point? How do you 641 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: like it? 642 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 5: I think I'm given way more credit than it's due 643 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 5: number one, not to play down We've had success, and 644 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 5: it's feel good success because I would imagine, if you 645 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 5: want to spend your money, you want to look at 646 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 5: it from a straight money standpoint. And maybe David will 647 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 5: convince me differently now that we're partners and we see 648 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 5: the big market. I think that I probably could have 649 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 5: taken the money that you were seeding the business and 650 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 5: keeping the businesses rolling that if you invested it someplace else, 651 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 5: you would have done a whole lot better, but it 652 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 5: wouldn't have given you the same feeling of accomplishment. And 653 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,719 Speaker 5: then this was an area I thought in business. I 654 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 5: liked the minor league baseball model in business because it 655 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,320 Speaker 5: was something I was familiar with, you know, and so 656 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 5: you learn business as you go in a model that 657 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,320 Speaker 5: you're comfortable with and the kid's business side. I don't 658 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:07,600 Speaker 5: know if there was other models that really supported what 659 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 5: we were trying to accomplish. And I don't know if 660 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 5: we even knew fully what we were trying to accomplish. What 661 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 5: it's what we knew how to do from a baseball standpoint, yeah, 662 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:17,479 Speaker 5: and so trying to make a business out of that 663 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 5: was fun. And so you know, twenty some years into it, 664 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 5: extremely proud of what we've been able to do. But 665 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 5: a lot of times I think people over state and 666 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 5: give me more credit than I actually deserve. 667 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, one thing that also strikes me that especially you know, 668 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 2: walking around here and then talking to David and hearing 669 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 2: you talk about it, is this name. You know, your name, 670 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 2: Billy's name, you know your dad's name. There's a tremendous 671 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 2: amount of value in it. Clearly, I would also think 672 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 2: you feel very protective of it too, And so as 673 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 2: you grow the business, you know, you hear Roger Goodell 674 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 2: talk about, you know, don't tarnish the shield. 675 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 4: You hear you know the. 676 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 2: Dallas Cowboys, don't tarnish the star, Like, how do you 677 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 2: ensure that you don't tarnish Ripken. 678 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 4: By trying to make good decisions? 679 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 5: The name enlightness thing is everywhere now and so when 680 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 5: you start to think about essentially building a brand and 681 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 5: all that kind of stuff, I think people now in 682 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 5: sports are thinking about building the brand before the brand 683 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 5: is built. And to me, the brand is built by 684 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 5: a collection of your choices and your decisions over time 685 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 5: and what your name resents. And then you have something 686 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 5: that has some sort of credibility or some sort of 687 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,960 Speaker 5: meaning to me. It's not artificially built. It's built, you know, 688 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 5: over time, and so we value that and we want 689 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,960 Speaker 5: to protect that. I think some of the deals that 690 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 5: we made, some of the marketing deals over my time, 691 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 5: there was always a what's the clause called a good 692 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 5: citizen type clause that protected them if you did something 693 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 5: stupid or something that they could get out of the contract, 694 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,200 Speaker 5: and I'd always insist on it back. I'd always say, okay, fine, 695 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,080 Speaker 5: I'll do that to you, but if something happens to 696 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 5: the company, you know, I want the same sort of 697 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 5: thing back. And maybe that gives you a little bit 698 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,239 Speaker 5: idea of how we think about it. 699 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: That's great. 700 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,160 Speaker 2: Now, a couple decades into being a business person, have 701 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 2: you been able to sort of like distill down like 702 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 2: what a cal Ripken deal is or the type of 703 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 2: business relationship you want to be a part of. 704 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 5: I think the most fundamental part is the people. The 705 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 5: quality of people that you're considering partnering with, the quality 706 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 5: of people that you bring in to your organization to 707 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 5: manage others. If I can use sort of the Oriel 708 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 5: example for a minute, when you go through a rebuilding process. 709 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 4: You've got to get the right. 710 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 5: Person at the top that trickles down and then they 711 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 5: consequently hire people and then you have to give them 712 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 5: responsibility and trust and those sorts of things. So I 713 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 5: think that's a normal part, but it begins with the people. 714 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, I remember in the endorsement world. 715 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:46,680 Speaker 5: I mean I had no training in figuring out what 716 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 5: choices do you make in the endorsement work, so you 717 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 5: had to go back on your instincts and my instincts. 718 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 5: I think I had a pretty lucrative jockey underwear offer 719 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 5: in front of me in my first or second year, 720 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 5: and I had also one side, I had a local 721 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:05,880 Speaker 5: milk opportunity. So he had these two opportunities you're weighing out, 722 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 5: and I couldn't see myself posing in my underwear, and 723 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 5: so I turned down that because it didn't feel. 724 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 4: Like it was me, like it was authentic enough. You know, 725 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 4: that's not who I was. I'm not. 726 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:20,160 Speaker 5: Jim Palmer had great success in it, and it's wonderful 727 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,960 Speaker 5: for him, but it didn't work for me. 728 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:23,600 Speaker 4: So I started thinking. 729 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: It's got to work for me, and local milk worked. 730 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 5: You know, I drank a lot of milk grown up. 731 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 5: I thought, that's how I got some of my size. 732 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 5: It was sort of a secret ingredient that was easy 733 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 5: and it worked. So when you're making these decisions, sometimes 734 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 5: you have to fall back just on your instinct and 735 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 5: trust your instinct a little bit more. I mean, you 736 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 5: had confidence that I built in baseball. I mean if 737 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 5: I was trying to hire a manager, if I was 738 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 5: in a position to hire a manager for a team, 739 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 5: I would know what questions to ask, you know, to 740 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 5: figure out what kind of manager of that baseball guy 741 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 5: that he would be. When you get into business, it's 742 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,320 Speaker 5: not always that clear, so you have to lean on 743 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 5: other people with expertise. It says, Okay, if we're hiring 744 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 5: a CFO, you've got to evaluate the. 745 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:05,880 Speaker 4: Financial part of his job. 746 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 5: But I can tell you if I like him, or 747 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 5: I can assess certain things from the interview, but I 748 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,319 Speaker 5: can't do it all. So and many times you have 749 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 5: to then come back to your instincts and say, okay, 750 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 5: now what Yeah, that's great, and trust your instincts. 751 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 2: The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly. 752 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,880 Speaker 2: This episode was made by Victor eveyas Stacy Wong. Annamazaakus 753 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 2: and Lizzie phillip Ar. The music was made by Blake Maples, 754 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 2: Brendan Francis. Neonham is our executive producer. Sage Fouman is 755 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 2: the head of Bloomberg Podcasts. Additional support from Kelly Laferrier, 756 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:50,040 Speaker 2: Ashley Hoenigg, Rachel Scaramzzino, and Elena So Los Angeles. Part 757 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 2: of this episode of the Deal featured my interview from 758 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,279 Speaker 2: the series Power Players. That's a show that's hosted by 759 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,840 Speaker 2: me Jason Kelly. The showrunner is Tom Connors. The producer 760 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,320 Speaker 2: and writer is Dominique Musaccio. The editor is Katarina Glanz. 761 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:10,799 Speaker 2: Creative director Rubob Shakir. Consulting producer Raymond Schillinger, Editorial supervisor 762 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:11,279 Speaker 2: David E. 763 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: Ravella. 764 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,359 Speaker 2: Executive producers Jason Kelly, Jordan Opplinger, Neville Jillette, Trey Shallowhorn, 765 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,839 Speaker 2: and Kyle Kramer. If you have a minute, subscribe, rate 766 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,319 Speaker 2: and review our show. It'll help other listeners find us. 767 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening. See you next time.