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Speaker 1: From the Burke shears to the sound from wherever you

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Speaker 1: live in MLB America, This is inside the Parker. You

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Speaker 1: give us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the

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Speaker 1: scoop on major League Baseball. Now, here's Baseball Hall of

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Speaker 1: Fame voter number one oh three, Rob Parker. Rob Parker,

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Speaker 1: here you there. Let's go on the podcast today, players

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Speaker 1: Union boss Tony Clark. We'll talk with him and Seattle

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Speaker 1: Mariners TV broadcaster Dave Sims. That and much more. Get

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Speaker 1: started now to lead off, it's getting robbed and keep

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Speaker 1: him on. Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories

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Speaker 1: in Major League Baseball. Number one. Bravo to Boston Red

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Speaker 1: Sox manager Alex Cora, who said he will not and

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Speaker 1: ot go to the White House on Thursday with his

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Speaker 1: team to celebrate his team's championship from a year ago

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Speaker 1: with President Donald Trump. And what I respect the most

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Speaker 1: about corps decision. And of course he has the right

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Speaker 1: to make any decision he wants. That's why we live

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Speaker 1: in this country. But the thing I love is he

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Speaker 1: didn't make up any excuses. He wasn't vague or lame.

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Speaker 1: He said he wasn't going because of the way that

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump handled Corus Puerto Rico in the aftermath of

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Speaker 1: Hurricane Maria. Playing and simple. We heard David Price say

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Speaker 1: he wasn't going because it was baseball season, but the

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Speaker 1: president team was going. But in this case, I loved

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Speaker 1: that Cord stated his reason why and moved on. And

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Speaker 1: there was a funny line by Steve Buckley, the longtime

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Speaker 1: Boston Herold columnists who left and went to the Athletic.

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Speaker 1: He said minorities and black players weren't going to the

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Speaker 1: White House. That basically the White Sox was showing up

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Speaker 1: to Trump's White House. I thought that was awesome. Number

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Speaker 1: two show, Hey at Tony returned for the l A

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Speaker 1: Angels on Tuesday Night, which is a big deal for

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Speaker 1: Major League Baseball to get another star back in action.

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Speaker 1: He of course, was injured last season, had Tommy John

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Speaker 1: surgery on his pitching elbow. So he's back. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: be batting third against the Tigers in Detroit, and he's

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Speaker 1: only gonna hit this year. And I think that's a

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Speaker 1: shame because it robs us the fans of seeing a

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Speaker 1: guy who could pitch up with that kind of talent

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Speaker 1: and hit as well. First time we had seen something

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Speaker 1: like this since Babe Ruth played major League baseball. So

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Speaker 1: he was a star out of the gate last year

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Speaker 1: and was something to watch. People flocked to sea whenever

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Speaker 1: he pitched and whenever he was playing for the Angels.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully he will be able to bounce back this year.

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Speaker 1: Just hit let the arm recover, because I hope that

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Speaker 1: they don't stop this and make him just a hit her,

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Speaker 1: especially if he has a good year with the bat,

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Speaker 1: and then they could just say, well, he plays well

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Speaker 1: as a hitter. We should just leave him as a

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Speaker 1: hitter and not go back to pitching. I think that

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Speaker 1: would be a shame. He was as good as a

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Speaker 1: picture in the major leagues a year ago. So Otani,

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Speaker 1: welcome back to baseball, and I hope and I wish

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Speaker 1: that you will returned to the mound, if not this year,

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Speaker 1: at least next year and be a double threat something

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Speaker 1: that people want to see a major League baseball number three.

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Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I'm all into Chris

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Speaker 1: Paddock from the San Diego Padres. Are you kidding me?

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Speaker 1: This guy not only has a fastball and can strike

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Speaker 1: people out, and I love that about him, but he's

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Speaker 1: willing to stir it up a little bit, mix it up.

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Speaker 1: When he faced off against the Mets Monday night in

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Speaker 1: San Diego, he was talking smack. Paddock was calling out

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Speaker 1: Met slugger Pete Alonso. Alonso at in the National League

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Speaker 1: Rookie of a Month for April, and Paddock made his

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Speaker 1: feelings very clear. He said he was coming for him.

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Speaker 1: We'll see on Monday who the top dog is. And

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Speaker 1: then Paddock went out there against National League Cy Young

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Speaker 1: Award winner Jacob de Gram and he turned in a

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Speaker 1: brilliant outing to seven and two third innings eleven strikeouts,

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Speaker 1: including Alonzo twice. And then afterwards, with all the swagger

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Speaker 1: in the world, Paddock said, quote, would you rather be

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Speaker 1: Rookie in a month or Rookie of the year. Nothing

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Speaker 1: against Pete. Guy's a great guy and he well deserved

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Speaker 1: the Rookie of a Month. But I just wanted to

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Speaker 1: have a little fun out of it. Get me fired up,

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Speaker 1: get my team fired up. He did. The Padres beat

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Speaker 1: the Mets four to nothing. Here comes the big interview. Listen,

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Speaker 1: let's welcome in Tony Clark, the executive director of Major

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Speaker 1: League Players Association, since of course, the strongest union in

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Speaker 1: the country had a fifteen year major league career. Tony.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having always a pleasure

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Speaker 1: you know that, Tony. So let's just jump right in.

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Speaker 1: What's the current state of the relationship between ownership and

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Speaker 1: the union. I think, as as much as anything, they

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Speaker 1: have their interests, we have ours. Um. We would like

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Speaker 1: to think that there's an intersection between a number of

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Speaker 1: those interests. But uh, there's a lot of work that

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Speaker 1: needs to be done, um and a lot of discussions

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Speaker 1: that need to be had, and so we'll we'll work

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Speaker 1: through those and see how they manifest themselves moving forward.

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Speaker 1: Earlier this spring, it looked like collusion was going on.

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Speaker 1: None of the big guys were getting signed. You know,

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Speaker 1: people were wondering spring training that started, and then all

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Speaker 1: of a sudden, boom, Many Machado signs for three hundred

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Speaker 1: and then Bryce Harper signs for three Already, my trout

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Speaker 1: signs for four hundred and thirty million dollars. So the

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Speaker 1: floodgates and open. What happened? Well, I think that's a

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Speaker 1: very good question. Uh, every off season, we once the

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Speaker 1: off season expires, we we sit down with with agents

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Speaker 1: and have a conversation about what their experiences were in

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Speaker 1: their conversations were against the backdrop of how that particular

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Speaker 1: market may have manifested itself. This uh, this that these

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Speaker 1: last two markets have been unlike any we've seen in

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Speaker 1: a long time. And so uh with Manny's agents with

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Speaker 1: rights agent obviously Mike was was not a free agent, um,

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Speaker 1: but with his agent as well, along with a number

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Speaker 1: of other players who who were able to sign during

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Speaker 1: the course of the off season. We we investigate each

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Speaker 1: of those interactions and each of those discussions and each

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Speaker 1: of those uh contract negotiations to determine uh how it

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Speaker 1: all happen. UM. This offseason is no different. UH. Those investigations,

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Speaker 1: those discussions are are ongoing. UM. Uh. It seemed to

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Speaker 1: to demonstrate there at some point in time that that

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Speaker 1: teams actually did have money and and we're willing to

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Speaker 1: spend them. We have no idea why the timing was

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Speaker 1: what the timing was. We also have no idea why

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Speaker 1: Dallas kikeel And and Craig Kimball are still on the market, um,

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Speaker 1: which which is another issue. UH. And concerned that I know,

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Speaker 1: not just uh not just a concern on our side,

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Speaker 1: but fans alike who are still still trying to figure

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Speaker 1: out why their team hasn't, uh hasn't figured out a

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Speaker 1: way to bring either of those two players in. So

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Speaker 1: a lot of concerns still remain, a lot of questions

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Speaker 1: remain unanswered. Um. But based on what we saw this offseason,

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Speaker 1: which was different than and what we saw the season prior,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of work that needs to be done

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Speaker 1: in that regardless. Also, Tony, if I remember correctly, you

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Speaker 1: were saying at some point that too many teams not

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Speaker 1: trying to win, I e. To Miami Marlins. That's my opinion.

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Speaker 1: You know where they stripped down the team, they don't

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Speaker 1: sign any players. Is that like a bad thing for

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Speaker 1: the union as well? Where teams are looking at it,

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Speaker 1: if we can't win a championship basically where we're not

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Speaker 1: going to compete and we're not going to sign any players,

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Speaker 1: well we think it's bad for the game. Uh. There,

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Speaker 1: There's there's so many different phrases that have been used

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Speaker 1: over the years in regards to our game. When teams

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Speaker 1: show up in spring training, hope, springs, eternal, everyone's excited

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Speaker 1: about the possibilities. Uh, you don't hear that near as

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Speaker 1: much anymore. Um, and a lot of that stems from

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Speaker 1: the inactivity that we see during the off season, and

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Speaker 1: the inactivity than anyone individual team um uh seems to

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Speaker 1: be focused in on or or engaged with. What I

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Speaker 1: mean by that is, uh, you can't improve your club

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Speaker 1: during the off season with the talent that's available out there. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And we seem to have fewer and fewer teams who

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Speaker 1: are interested in or engaged in those conversations. And so

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Speaker 1: whereas hope this spring eternal for for all thirty teams,

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Speaker 1: what's manifested itself over the last few years is much different, Tony.

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Speaker 1: What about young players? And we saw Aussi all Bees

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Speaker 1: uh sign a seven year, thirty five million dollar contract

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Speaker 1: with the Atlanta Braves. And you know, thirty five million

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Speaker 1: is guaranteed, but long term, it looks like he sold

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Speaker 1: hisself short. Is that a good deal for players to

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Speaker 1: to jump on some guaranteed money or is it to

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Speaker 1: wait it out a little bit before you put your

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Speaker 1: name on a contract that long for that kind of money. Well,

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Speaker 1: I think every player needs to make that determination for himself.

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Speaker 1: We we engage the agent, We engage the player and

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Speaker 1: make sure that they have as much information as possible

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Speaker 1: against the background of the decision that they're looking to make. Uh.

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Speaker 1: The system is flexible uh enough to where the players

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Speaker 1: have that right and the teams have the right to

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Speaker 1: approach them. Um. Uh. You know, as a result, there

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Speaker 1: are going to be deals that that have some folks

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Speaker 1: scratching their heads, and they're gonna be some other deals

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Speaker 1: that that have folks nodding to suggest that that deal

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Speaker 1: made sense. Um. We've seen them all, and we've seen

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Speaker 1: them all over the course of of of our game's history.

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Speaker 1: So with that flexibility still intact, and with with players

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Speaker 1: still able to make those individual decisions. UM, it's going

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Speaker 1: to continue in some fashion or another. How about you,

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Speaker 1: Tony doing this job? What do you like about running

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Speaker 1: the players union? And give me also what you don't like? Well.

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Speaker 1: I love our game. I'm passionate about our game and

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Speaker 1: our fraternity is the most important thing to me. So

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Speaker 1: having an opportunity to to breathe into and engage in

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Speaker 1: discussion about our game and how to move our game forward,

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Speaker 1: I enjoy that to the extent that that also provides

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Speaker 1: an opportunity to uh protect and advance the interests of

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Speaker 1: our members. Um, those that have come before those that

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Speaker 1: are actor and active now and uh in an attempt

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Speaker 1: to to to provide opportunities for the next generation. UH

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Speaker 1: my son being one of them who has aspirations of

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Speaker 1: playing pro ball. Um, I enjoy all of that, UH,

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Speaker 1: and I'm grateful and humbled by the opportunity to continue

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Speaker 1: to do it, Tony, yes or no answer to to

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Speaker 1: finish up Kyler Murray didn't make a mistake passing up

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Speaker 1: baseball for football. Yes or no? No, The answer is

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Speaker 1: a little bit longer than that. They know is solely

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Speaker 1: tied to him doing what he's passionate about. Tony, Thank

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Speaker 1: you so much, class act. My man will see you

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Speaker 1: down the road. Appreciate you. I appreciate the time, Rob,

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Speaker 1: anytime it's time for the Pocket Protector Centro. The analytic

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Speaker 1: numbers you need to know, Well, maybe FS one's Anthony

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Speaker 1: Masterson is his name, and BS analytics is his game.

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Speaker 1: What you got, Anthony? Oh you love acronyms, right, Rob.

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Speaker 1: Here's a fun one bad or batting average on balls

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Speaker 1: and play, which simply put, measures how often the ball

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Speaker 1: putting play is recorded as a base hit. Most seasons,

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Speaker 1: the league average balls and play is about three D

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Speaker 1: Now the stats site fan Graphs identifies three main components

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Speaker 1: of babbit as defense, talent, and luck. Great defenses will

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Speaker 1: keep it from happening, lowering the average on balls and play.

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Speaker 1: A talented hitter will hit the ball harder, giving himself

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Speaker 1: a better chance at basis falling in, and then luck

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Speaker 1: takes its turn as well. Now, for hitters, a large

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Speaker 1: sample of baded balls with the high BABBIT means continued

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Speaker 1: quality contact, but in the short term, a higher babbitt

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Speaker 1: than a player's career mark can mean that regression is coming.

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Speaker 1: Take the White Sox Tim Anderson, who one Player of

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Speaker 1: the Month thanks to elite leading four thirty five BABBIT.

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Speaker 1: His career marks entering this year was, don't expect that

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Speaker 1: hot start to continue at the same rate. Now, for pictures,

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Speaker 1: babbit is useful because they have almost no control once

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Speaker 1: a ball is put in play, as defense and lucks

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Speaker 1: take over. Take Max Scherzer. This season, he's struggling thanks

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Speaker 1: to an unsustainable three eight BABIT, which is the highest

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Speaker 1: in the NL. His career mark coming in was to

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Speaker 1: look for man Max to get back on track. Once

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Speaker 1: you find a little luck, all right, maybe we can

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Speaker 1: use that information. Maybe not thanks, Anthony. When Rob was

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Speaker 1: a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If I'm writing,

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Speaker 1: I'm ripping. Let's bring in a writer, a broadcaster, older

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Speaker 1: new Let's welcome in Dave Simms, the TV play by

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Speaker 1: play for the Seattle Mariners, a friend of mine. What's happening, Dave?

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Speaker 1: How are you doing? Thanks for for joining the podcasting. Well,

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Speaker 1: I'm glad to hear you got the podcast working, and uh,

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Speaker 1: pleasure to be on with you, no doubt about it.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about those Mariners right off the bat started

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Speaker 1: out thirteen and two. Uh kind of faltered since then,

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Speaker 1: but first when they started this season. They started this

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Speaker 1: season in Japan against the Oakland A's. Each year old

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Speaker 1: got to play. Tell me what that experience was like, Dave, Well,

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Speaker 1: it was my first time in Tokyo, and that that

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Speaker 1: was an experience in itself. I mean that cleanliness, the

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Speaker 1: efficiency of how they operate over there, with the pretty

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Speaker 1: impressive each year old. Seeing the fans react to etro,

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Speaker 1: I liken it to Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen,

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Speaker 1: Elvis Presley, James Brown wrapped in the jana On absolutely

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Speaker 1: perserk at the mere sight of him, and I just

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Speaker 1: kept you know, they played two games against the Himy

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Speaker 1: Eury Giants and they those are two games that didn't

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Speaker 1: you know, didn't count the exhibitions. But I was hoping

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Speaker 1: that for you old timers out there, that somebody would

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Speaker 1: do it. Denny McClain, that his uh, nickey manill just

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Speaker 1: lay one in there so I could hit it out.

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Speaker 1: Let the place go nuting. He did have a couple

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Speaker 1: of pitches he could have hit, and it just didn't

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Speaker 1: work out. I don't think. I think he went hitless

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Speaker 1: in the exhibition games and then he went hitless in

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Speaker 1: the regular season games against Oakland. But it was it

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Speaker 1: was a thrill to be a part of it. It

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Speaker 1: was really something special. Help me with King Felix Hernandez.

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Speaker 1: Is he done? He got beat up by the Yankees

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Speaker 1: on Monday, eight hits, six on runs seven once told

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Speaker 1: on five innings. He always now with shulby five point

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Speaker 1: two zero one in three records. Now it was his

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Speaker 1: worst outing, uh, but he said the outing before uh,

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Speaker 1: he went seven innings, you know, one nothing lost in

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Speaker 1: San Diego, and he had another one where he left

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Speaker 1: the game with the tend to lead in the bullpen

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Speaker 1: blew it and the Marine expensively won the next In

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Speaker 1: the ninth inning, j Bous Pinch hit single. Uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's not the same picture he was say back in

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Speaker 1: when he won the sym where he hit the dominant fastball.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't have to dominate fastball anymore. He's got to

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Speaker 1: rely on the curveball. Let's just fits curveball and a changeup.

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Speaker 1: And last night the Yankees game plan was attack the

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Speaker 1: attack early and then in the in the at bat,

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Speaker 1: and they jumped them real early and I was too

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Speaker 1: enohing before he could even break the sweat. And then

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Speaker 1: it was a lot of hard contact. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: I don't know how. It's probably gonna be an in

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Speaker 1: and out kind of years. Last year in his contract

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Speaker 1: making twenty seven Bill, and I highly doubt that this

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Speaker 1: group would be bringing him back. This team is now

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Speaker 1: nineteen and a teen. This is as of Tuesday. Are

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Speaker 1: they filet all Bologna? Especially day when you think about

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Speaker 1: who they got rid of in the offseason Canoe and

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Speaker 1: Diaz and Sagara Paxton. Yes, they just loaded up the

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Speaker 1: truck when they get off to the Great Store. Some

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Speaker 1: fans hit me up on Twitter, They're like, it's a mirage.

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Speaker 1: They're not that good. Yeah, you know, it's uh, it's

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Speaker 1: it remains to be seen. There was a lot of

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Speaker 1: big names that were that were you know, jettison, and

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Speaker 1: their whole deal is to look as they call it,

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Speaker 1: there reimagining looking at the twenty and one season, because

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Speaker 1: when they got rid of all those names that you

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Speaker 1: just mentioned, ever replenished with a lot of guys who

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Speaker 1: are highly regarded from multiple organizations that to replenish the

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Speaker 1: farm system which was very low regarded. So they're hoping

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Speaker 1: that you know, they've got many of the guys that

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Speaker 1: are here now will hold the fort, and the guys

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Speaker 1: who are you know, building up reps and and gaining

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Speaker 1: experience in the minor leagues that they're gonna come up

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Speaker 1: here in the next couple of three years and and

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Speaker 1: they're real contenter. So that's the hope right now, I

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Speaker 1: tell you, right, you know, given a division it's not

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Speaker 1: real good. I mean I think they still have a

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Speaker 1: real good chance for second spot behind Houston. And in Houston,

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Speaker 1: I mean Houston should win this division. Of buying injuries,

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Speaker 1: I mean, if they would have injuries like Yankees have

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Speaker 1: right now, maybe that's a different story, but uh there

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Speaker 1: they are obviously the clear runaway favorite. Dave. Last thing,

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Speaker 1: you're one of the few African Americans who are doing baseball,

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Speaker 1: especially played by play and especially a non former player. Man,

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm very proud of you. What is that like?

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Speaker 1: And and tell me about your love in about a

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Speaker 1: minute for baseball. So I love baseball for a minute one.

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Speaker 1: I mean growing up with Philly and I was lucky

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Speaker 1: enough that my father was a Humanka sportsman. I grew

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Speaker 1: up going to games of County Macs dating mc will

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Speaker 1: Chamberlin all the time. But uh, convention Hall would always

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Speaker 1: see Jim Brown and when the Browns would come to town.

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Speaker 1: And as a pretty good athlete, and I knew that

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Speaker 1: if I could stay in it this way, you know,

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Speaker 1: if I didn't make it as a you know, as

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Speaker 1: an athlete, said to being as a right or a broadcast.

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Speaker 1: And I've been able to do both. I am one

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Speaker 1: of the seven a few loan rangers in in the

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Speaker 1: baseball as you say, the non former player divisions. The

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Speaker 1: Robert Ford, the radio voice of the AS shows, and

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Speaker 1: Mike Playboard does pre posted the play by played for

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Speaker 1: the Cardinals on radio. It truly is a lone range

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Speaker 1: of situation because we only have out of what seven

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Speaker 1: players who might have we might have sixty African American players.

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Speaker 1: And sometimes I look at it and it really it

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Speaker 1: really bumps me out and it's very depressing. But I

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Speaker 1: love the game and I enjoyed it, you know, the

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Speaker 1: people that I worked with, and I get to you know,

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Speaker 1: I get to travel first class all around the country

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Speaker 1: and it's called day slug game. So uh, I don't

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Speaker 1: think if you don't have to worry about throwing a

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Speaker 1: benefit for me, no doubt you're one of the best

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Speaker 1: who does it. And Dave, we appreciate you being on

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Speaker 1: the podcast. My man Daveson, Thank you, Bud, fasten your

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Speaker 1: seat back, give me give me that. Here comes Marker's

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Speaker 1: top three MLB teams this week. Number three the Houston Astros,

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Speaker 1: returning its core. They're getting good starting pitching, the squad

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Speaker 1: is getting healthy, and they've been more consistent than of

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Speaker 1: course Boston and Cleveland. So they're going to take the

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Speaker 1: number three spots. Here's the controversy. Number two the Los

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Speaker 1: Angeles Dodgers. I know people in l A ain't trying

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Speaker 1: to hear that the Dodgers have a twenty three and

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Speaker 1: fourteen record as of Tuesday, and Cody Bellinger is just

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Speaker 1: running away with the m v P. I mean right now,

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Speaker 1: aside from being second in home runs to yellow, he's

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Speaker 1: first and everything else average, hits, r b as, runs,

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Speaker 1: on base percentage, slugging and ops number one. But I'm

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Speaker 1: still sticking with the New York freaking Yankees there number one.

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Speaker 1: Look at the success continuing without their stars they have.

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Speaker 1: They were mash unit in the Bronx eleven twelve, thirteen players.

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Speaker 1: We can't even keep track yet. They're twenty and fourteen

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Speaker 1: as of Tuesday, and they continue to win despite not

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Speaker 1: having their stars. They are the best team in baseball.

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Speaker 1: They gout the it's time for trash talk Twitter, Twitter

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Speaker 1: twit your chance to trash anyone or anything in Major

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Speaker 1: League Baseball. This trash is from Jonah Aaronson. He's ripping

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Speaker 1: the Red Sox. They're flat, their stars aren't playing like stars.

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Speaker 1: They obviously have World Series hangover, and it didn't sign

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Speaker 1: Greg Kimbrell, their stud closer, and their bullpen is struggling.

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Speaker 1: It stinks, and so do the Red Sox. If you

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Speaker 1: want to join in and you want a chance to

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Speaker 1: win a New Era Baseball cap. All you need to

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Speaker 1: do is hit me up at Rob Parker FS one

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Speaker 1: and trash anyone or anything in the world of Major

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Speaker 1: League Baseball. Now bringing the closer, here's why MLB is

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Speaker 1: better than the NFL or NBA, and it isn't even close.

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Speaker 1: Major League Baseball sells seventy million tickets a year. That's

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Speaker 1: for the major leagues. It outdraws the NFL, the n

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Speaker 1: b A, the NHL, and MLS combined. And don't tell me, oh,

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Speaker 1: they play a hundred and sixty two games. That's why. No,

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Speaker 1: if you combine all the games by all the other leagues,

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Speaker 1: they still outdraw all of the other sports combined. And

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Speaker 1: that's with the fact that all baseball games are on television.

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Speaker 1: People don't have to show up. They show up, They

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Speaker 1: fill the ballparks and it's an incredible thing. Major League

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Speaker 1: Baseball is the national pastime. Hands down. You can't get it.

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Speaker 1: This could be an inside the Parker to see you

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Speaker 1: next weekend, same bad time, same match station, m