WEBVTT - Kurtz So Good 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:06.320 Is this a great game or what with the Hall 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:09.360 of Famer Tim Kirkshin. I'm his son, Jeff Kirkshin. And 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.400 it's a big week in Major League Baseball because we 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:16.279 have the trade deadline, buyers and sellers, the sprint to 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:18.239 the finish. So we're gonna get to all of that, 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:20.840 of course, But Dad, I want to look back at 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.200 what was an incredible induction weekend in Cooper Sound that 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:25.439 you got to be at. 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:26.880 As a member as well. 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:31.040 Congratulations, it must be cool going back since twenty twenty 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.120 two when you were inducted. Now every year Hall of 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:34.920 Famer Tim Kirkshin walking around. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:38.000 Yeah, that's not why I go back, Jeff, Why. 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.000 You go back what I'm saying. It's cool, isn't it. 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.040 Yes, it's very cool, But we're not We're the most 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:48.360 You are painfully humble, a right like it. It's frustratingly humble. 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:50.800 And I love you and it's such a great quality 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.320 of yourself. But just tell me right now, it's kind 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:54.640 of cool to be a Hall of Famer. 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.360 I'm not a Hall of Famer. I was honored by 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:00.960 the Hall of Fame. The players are the Hall of Famers, 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.319 at least that's the way it's explained to me. Can 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:07.000 we please move on here? I want Here's what happened, Jef. 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:09.800 This is so this is so typical of the Hall 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.560 of Fame. And you've been there multiple times. You've been 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:15.760 to the Oda Saga Hotel. You know, no matter where 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.440 you go, there's no telling who you might run into. Okay. 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.640 So I walked into the Oda Saga for the first 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:25.880 time on Friday, you know, big weekend. Friday is a 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.600 really big day there. And literally three seconds after I 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:35.080 walk in Tony cal Ripkin Junior and Ken Griffy Junior, 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.000 the two greatest juniors, by the way, ever to play 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.760 in the major leagues. They walk around the corner together 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.360 and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, these are the first 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:47.360 two guys I run into. So Ripken sits down. I 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:51.600 just casually ask him, so, how's everything going. What you've 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.760 been doing lately? And he said, I just got back 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:58.840 from an African safari. Okay, and he and his what 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.520 he and his white went on an African safari and 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.880 had the greatest time ever. So here's what he said. 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.600 And I did not understand this. He said, it was 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.640 so great. We saw the Big five animals within the 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.560 first twelve hours. Now, do you know what the first 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:19.000 the big five animals are on an African safari? You 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.320 want to take a guess, because I got a couple 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:21.880 of them wrong. 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:29.720 Yeah, okay, let me think it's got to be the lion, one, elephant, 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.680 two giraffe. Not. 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.400 I was surprised by that. Really, giraffe wouldn't be yeh. Look, 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.160 I'm not doing the rankings here, Jeff. This isn't the 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:44.000 best of all Tim's safari team. Okay, all right? 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:49.399 Rhino rhino, Yes, it brings me shades of ace Ventura 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:54.359 right now, I don't I don't know what else it 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:54.880 would be. 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:57.919 Giraffe is not one? An antelope? 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:05.440 Now think of your your brother in law on Kelly's side. Buffalo, right, buffalo? 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:07.240 And what's the last one? 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:12.639 Last one is a leopard? Okay? So Cal Jr. Is 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:16.400 driving around in an He showed me the truck in 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:21.120 which he's driving around in and it's a jeep and 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.800 it doesn't have any doors on it. And I said, 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.840 how close did you come to a lion? And he 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:28.840 points to the ground like two feet away and he 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.840 said that closed. I said, I'm talking to the Iron Man. 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.040 Who didn't miss a game for sixteen years. And I 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:37.160 asked if he was afraid. He goes, no, we were 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.840 with the guides that they knew what they were doing. Jeff, 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.560 I'm not going on a safari, okay. I'm not going 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.240 where there's a lion two feet away from me and 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:48.960 I don't have an armored I'm not sitting inside of 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:52.360 an armored car. Are you doing that? Dad? 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:53.080 You're not going. 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:55.520 You got afraid when you took me to see Lion 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:56.640 King in movie theaters. 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.600 Do you think you're Do you think you're gonna be okay? 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:03.800 Jeff, I'm a chicken. I'm good with dogs. Every other 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.560 animal not so good. And again, when that snake showed 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.200 up at our house was it was like an anacon 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.480 that came to the front door and I ran for 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.080 the hills. Yes, I'm the biggest chicken in the world, 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:17.200 but at least we've established the Big five. So while 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.839 we're talking about this, Ken Griffy Junior is listening. He 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.000 takes out his phone and he shows us. He says, 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:31.799 I have fourteen hundred pictures from his safari African safari, 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:36.560 but not fourteen hundred total, fourteen hundred pictures Jeff of 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:40.760 a catch and kill in the wild. I can't. I 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.840 think a will to beast was involved. And the pictures 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.799 were stunningly good because Ken Griffy Junior is really good 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:51.000 at this. But I couldn't look at those for more 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.159 than like five seconds before I was just completely grossed out. 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.560 But it just shows you that Here I walk into 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:01.960 baseball Mecca, the ODIs Hotel, two of the greatest players 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.159 of all time walk around the corner, and all we're 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.400 talking about is the Safari, which I don't know anything about, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:09.200 and I have no interest in going on because I'm 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:09.800 a big chicken. 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:15.719 Yeah, and chickens would not do well in the African safari, right, absolutely, 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:17.479 lotim of the food chain, right. 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.440 So, Jeff Again, then wherever you go, you just keep 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.880 running into people who have an interesting tory to tell. 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.840 So I saw Mike Schmidt who met you at the 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.800 Oda Saga and had a twenty minute chat with Mike 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.599 Schmidt the greatest third Basement of all time on the 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.719 veranda because you had just moved to Philadelphia. Correct. Yeah. 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.320 I talked to him about country music and country music 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:42.760 radio in Philly, and he was it was a highlight 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:43.240 for sure. 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.160 Well, well, he told me a story that I said, 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.680 how's everything going here? And this is Mike Schmidt, who 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:55.240 understands how the world works. But he goes, yeah, last night, 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:58.720 Carlton Fisk and I, you know, one of the five 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:02.560 greatest catchers maybe of all time. He said, we saw 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:08.160 each Row, and I whispered to Carlton Fist, Hey, do 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.839 you think we should go get a picture with him? 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.520 And you're Mike schmidd, You're the greatest third basement of 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.640 all time. You're with Carlton Fisk. You don't need permission 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.200 to go ask each Row if you could have a 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.400 picture with him. Look, you and I would ask permission, 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.599 and I would say no because that's a conflict of 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.839 interest for me. But I just found it odd. Do 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:30.920 you find it odd at all that Mike Schmidt was 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.680 just a little bit hesitant to go up to one 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:35.040 of the newest Hall of Famers. 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.520 I think it's I think it's a game recognizing game dad. 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:42.520 They recognize how good he was in his prime and 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.560 how deserving he is to be in the Hall of Fame. 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:46.520 Mind you, I. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:50.240 Saw a list of every player that has three hundred 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.400 hits or more in their career, right, the three thousand 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.520 hit club, right, And on that list it was here's 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:58.080 how many hits all of these players had before they 0:06:58.120 --> 0:06:59.400 turned twenty six. 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:02.839 And then at the very bottom is each row with 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:03.600 zero zero. 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:07.880 Right. Yes, Jeff, look, I'm not disputing the greatness of 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.720 each row. I'm just saying, when you're in the club, 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.200 you would think you could go up to anyone in 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.400 the club and just say, can I have a picture 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.480 with you? So Mike Schmidt goes up to each row, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.480 shakes his hand and says or bows to him and says, 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.840 I'm Mike Schmidt, and each row, with tremendous reverence, goes 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:31.640 like this, oh my like that. That that's how Hall 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:34.920 of Famers look at each other. And maybe that's exactly 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:38.200 the way that Mike Schmidt was looking at each row. 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.360 You know, ten gold gloves like Mike Schmidt had, you know, 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:44.840 ten straight two hundred hit seasons all that. So I 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.160 just thought that was pretty cool. 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.080 That is an also amazing. 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.200 I was out at the golf course. I'd love to 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:52.640 hang out at the golf course at the Oda Saga 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:57.480 outside the Oda Saga, the leather Stocking golf course which 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.360 you played maybe your greatest round ever on Jeff, it 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.240 was really you played great that day. 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.440 Not surely my best back nine of all time. 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:08.320 I think I pard six or seven holes on the 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.240 back nine. I had a really good round. 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.400 Right So, Ozzie Smith was sitting next to Mike Schmidt. 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:16.680 How great is that? So I'm sitting at a table 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:19.960 with the greatest defensive shortstop of all time and the 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:23.280 greatest third basement of all time, and we're just talking 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:25.480 about golf. So I said to Ozzie switch hitter, where 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:28.680 you you played right handed? He goes, yes, because you 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:30.640 know it's a right handed game. So we got to 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.640 talking about that, and Mike Schmidt then looks at me 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.280 and I got such a kick out of this, and 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:38.360 he goes, well, baseball is a left hand game, And 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:42.920 he said, how many advantages do you get being a 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:46.240 left handed hitter? He said, it's ridiculous. He goes, there 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:49.360 are so many more right handed pitchers, so you have 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:52.880 an advantage there. Plus you have like a two step 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:57.040 advantage getting to first base left hand left handed hitters 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.640 haven't made. Mike Schmidt looked at me and he was 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:03.079 kid but he wasn't completely kidding when he said this. 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.319 He said, this is what I would This is how 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.720 I would change the game. Every other inning. Instead of 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.440 running to first base when you hit it, you run 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:15.720 to third base when you hit it. So in the 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.800 odd number innings, you run to first. In the eve, 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.840 in the even numbered innings, you run to third. That way, 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:27.480 the right handed hitter has an advantage running to first. 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:31.960 And oz Ozzie Smith had the funniest look on his face, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:33.880 and he just looked at me and looked at Schmitty 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.600 and he goes, this is way too big for me. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.520 That's what he said. And I said, Schmitty, this is 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.120 way too big for me. Also, I just got to 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:44.440 kick that. There we are in a golf tournament and 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.000 the greatest third basement of all time is talking about 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.319 running to third base instead of the first base. Was right? 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:52.400 What it looks like in a t ball game when 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.440 the kid runs to the wrong Major league baseball is 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:55.839 going to be. 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.479 I think you did that when you were four, and 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:00.480 it was funny. Then I'm not sure sure it would 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.800 be funny on the major league level. So that those 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.480 were just a few things, just a few things that 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:10.480 I saw in Cooperstown, Jeff, I saw a million other things. 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.920 But it's just the greatest place in the world. And 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:16.040 I don't want to be corny about this. It's just 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:20.319 absurdly charming there. And if you haven't been, you have 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.719 to go. And you don't have to go during Hall 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.760 of Fame weekend because it's crowded and it's hot. But 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.440 if you want to just go up there and spend 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.720 three or four days seeing everything in that town, and 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:35.400 go there in March, or go there in September or October, 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:37.600 it's absolutely breathtaking. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.840 Dad, let's jump into the takeaways. I'm assuming some of 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.520 which are to do with the speeches of famers. 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.000 Yes, i have to go take something out of the oven. 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:50.040 I'm not kidding. I'll be right back, Okay, I'm. 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:54.760 Going to keep this in, all right, So this is 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:55.520 a good time. 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.320 I'm keeping all of this in. Dad is literally going 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.240 downstairs to put take something out of the oven. I'm 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:02.880 going to take this time to thank all of you 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:08.079 for listening and say, if you want to help our 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.960 podcast grow, the easiest way to do that is to 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:13.440 hit that subscribe button wherever you're listening right now, whether 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.400 it's on Spotify, whether it's on YouTube, if you're watching 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.720 Every single episode is YouTube videoed, so you can check 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:22.600 it out, subscribe there, you can follow on Apple Podcasts, 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.520 and the best part is it's completely free, so just 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:29.840 hit that button. You can even hit automatic downloads so 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:31.520 you don't have to wait for it to buffer. As 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:33.560 soon as you sit in your car or going on 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.240 your walk, or rowing your lawn, wherever you listen to 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.320 the podcast, it'll automatically be kind of ready on your phone, 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.240 which is really really cool fun. 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.200 He's back, okay, Jeff, All right, perfect, Dad. 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:46.560 I didn't even cut I just told everybody how they 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.960 can support the show. And so you saying that you 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:51.400 had to go get something out of the oven is 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:52.760 going to be in what did you have to get 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:53.360 out of the oven? 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:58.320 I got some turkey bacon out of the oven. I 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.520 haven't had a piece of bread, Jeff, not exaggerating in 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:05.400 a month. So I am making a bacon. I'm making 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.600 a BLT today using turkey bacon. 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.400 Well, I think I have you beat. I know I 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:11.880 have you beat. 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.120 I haven't had a piece of bread since June first. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:16.839 I've gone two months. 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:20.880 Almost now, no dairy and no gluten, Dad. 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:24.000 But I will say I went to Jersey Mike's yesterday 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:29.640 they serve a gluten free bun really and it was listen, 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:32.199 is it as good as their baked bread? No, let's 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.280 let me put it out there. You can't beat bread 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:37.880 with something that's not bread, Okay, you just. 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:38.400 Can't do it. 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:39.920 But it was pretty darn good. 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:43.720 And I've had quite a few gluten free sandwiches bread rolls, 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.600 and this is by far the best. So I got 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:49.040 it Mike's way, and they doused it with the juice 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.600 as they call it, so it could kind of soak 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:52.640 the bread a little bit better. 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:54.640 Recommend check it out, Dad, serious. 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:56.880 Right, well, I'm making a belt on my own today 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:58.400 and it's going to be great, I hope. 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:00.760 All right, let's go into the takeaway. Can't wait to 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:02.480 see photos of the blt after. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.440 Right, well, Jeff, again, the takeaways are still We're just 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:07.600 going to go quickly back to the Hall of Fame. 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:11.600 The each Row speech was tremendous because he did it 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.319 in English, which was to the surprise of nobody, because 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:19.280 he's a really smart guy and he understood English when 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.240 he came here, you know, twenty five years ago. I'll 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.680 never forget, Jeff, the first interview that I did with 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:29.079 him was his first spring training, and you could see 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:33.280 the sense of humor that he already had and he 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:35.559 understood what I was saying. The two of us were 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:42.880 sitting on chairs in the outfield in Peoria, Illinois, where Peoria, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:48.760 Illinois Peoria Arizona, where the Ebertors were trading okay, and 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.640 so I asked him a bunch of questions, like what 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.840 is your favorite part about being in the United States 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.880 because he now lives here, because he's playing baseball here. 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.200 He said, hamburgers. I could eat hands every day. And 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.720 then he said, this is where I noticed a sense 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:07.120 of humor, which really came out in his wonderful speech. 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.560 I said, uh, so, what what disappoints you the most 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:14.880 about about America? And he said, everything breaks here. And 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.360 then he looks at me and he goes that chair, 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.240 that chair that you're sitting on, My collapse any second, 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.360 just be ready. And I thought, Wow, this guy's way 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:27.440 ahead of it when it comes to understanding our country 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.160 and what it takes to get along here. So speeches 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:34.160 were great, Dick Allen's widow was fabulous, Dave Parker's son 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:38.240 was great. Billy Wagner, of course, played up perfectly that 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.040 you know, I don't. I was never supposed to be 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.800 here and C. C. Stabathia talked about his battles to 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.720 get here and everything. So the speeches were great. Not 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.760 seen everywhere though. Jeff was the one that I went 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.400 to on Saturday. It was a packed house. By the way. 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:57.200 Tom Hamilton, play by play guy for the Cleveland Guardians, 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.000 went in with the Ford Frick Award, and my friend 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.720 and Tom Boswell won the Career Excellence Award this year 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:08.360 for baseball writing. He should have been in fifteen years ago. 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:13.240 But he made a stunningly good speech, which was no surprise. 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:16.520 And I grew up reading Tom Boswell. He's eight years 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:20.120 older than me, and so I grew up reading him 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.800 in the Washington Post. Then I ended up working right 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:27.360 next to him. And I'll never forget eighty six playoffs, 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.760 Angels and Red Sox. I'll be real close on this. 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:32.560 One of the games. He looks at me in the 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.600 second inning. We're sitting right next to each other covering 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:37.760 the game, and I'm honored because I'm sitting right next 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.480 to Tom Boswell and he looks at me. It's nothing, 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:42.440 nothing in the second inning, and he goes this is 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.400 a four to two game. I've seen this game before. 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:49.600 The final score was four to two, and he called 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:52.920 it at the second inning, but it was nothing to nothing. 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.360 So it was great. It was really, really a great 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.600 time in Cooperstown, and I am going to go back 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:03.400 every year if I'm allowed, because just being there is 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.040 the best weekend of the year, and it's just a 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:10.680 shared love of baseball, jeff from people who are there. 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:13.200 I told you a few years ago when I was 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:17.440 honored there. I walked to a special event on Sunday 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.080 morning and there was this you know, mid thirties guy, 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:22.160 I would say, standing on the side, you know, on 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.560 the side of the street, and he was getting autographs 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.320 and stuff like that. He asked me to sign his 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:28.720 bad I was thrilled, and I said, so where are 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.960 you from? He goes, I'm from San Diego. I drove here. 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:36.200 So he drove from San Diego to Williamsport, I mean 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:40.080 to Cooper's Down. I mean that that's a long ride, Jeffrey. Yeah. 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:43.440 I mean, it's by far the most incredible place when 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:44.560 it comes to baseball. 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:46.400 You meet so many great people. 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:50.400 I know, my friends TJ and Karen were there, My 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.040 buddy Ralphie was there. They're all fans like they Tej 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.400 and Karen went for Hammy, as they call them. 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.840 They went for their broadcaster Dad, not for a. 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:03.880 I mean they are Indians, then Guardians fans, so CC 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:05.920 Sabathia as well, even though we went in as a 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.560 Yankee obviously spent a lot of time in Cleveland. My 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.560 buddy Ralphie went for CC Sabathia. He's a Yankee fan. 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:15.639 So I think it's really special what fans, How fans 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:17.880 make Cooper sound such an important part of their life. 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.320 It's really cool, absolutely tremendous. Okay, other things, Jeff, the 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.639 Blue Jays are really hot, Jeff. They're seventeen and five 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.480 in the month of July through Sunday, and they have 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:31.639 a chance to have the best winning percentage in any 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:36.359 month in franchise history. And remember they won two World 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.040 Series in a row, so this is impressive. Now, I'm 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.640 not suggesting they are this good and they're just gonna 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:44.440 run away with things, but there have been a bunch 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:46.719 of time they have the best record of baseball. I mean, 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.119 like six different teams seemingly have had the best record 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:52.679 of baseball at one point. This year, which makes it 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.160 so interesting. We're not sure who's good, We're not sure 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.840 who's not good anymore, and that's going to make for 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:02.680 an amazing stretcher out. And speaking of amazing, Jeff Nick 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.560 Kurtz went six for six, scored six runs, and had 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.320 eight RBIs. So just read off that line score six 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:16.560 six six eight, four homers, nineteen total bases. So he 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:20.320 and Sean Green are the only two players ever to 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:26.960 have six hits in a four homer game and the 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:31.040 kicker there. So arguably this is the greatest offensive performance 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.280 ever and he's the first rookie to do it, and 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:38.399 he did it in his sixty sixth major league game. 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:43.480 The previous record for fewest games to your first or 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:46.440 your four homer game is four hundred and twenty five 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.760 by Mark Witten. So he broke it by a mile. 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.240 And Mark Whitten, by the way, was later, not that year, 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.119 but not that long later, was sent to the minor 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.440 leagues after hitting four home runs in the game. Think 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.439 about that for a second. And by the way, Jeff 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:07.119 Sean Green hit four hit that four homer game nineteen 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:13.320 total bases. While I was on a school road trip 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:17.040 a what's it called field trip. Field trip with might 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:19.560 have been with Kelly to Williamsburg. All I know was 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.400 I was on a trip where I was in no 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.440 position to work and Sean Green went six or six 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:29.480 with four home runs drove it. It was just unbelievable. 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:30.520 I didn't know what to do. 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:35.560 Why Why does this happen to you when at the 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:37.960 most inconvenient times of all time? 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.600 I think it was Kelly, not your class, because I 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.680 went on all the field trips. And do you remember, Jeff, 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.159 what happened the first time I took the family to 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:50.399 Cape Cod and we're at a Cape Cod game? Do 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:54.680 you remember what happened? We're about in the seventh andy 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:56.800 of the game. We're having the time of our life 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:01.760 at Cape Cod and Felix Hernandez pitched a perfect game. 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:04.120 If you remember, Yeah, I remember. 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.040 I don't care what we're doing. When someone pitches a 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.760 perfect game and they call and say, can you get 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:11.919 on the phone with us, the answer is yes, of 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.119 course I can't. I'm not gonna say, hey, you're on 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:18.480 vacation with my family. It only took ten minutes, but that, Yeah, 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:22.520 strange things happen when I go away like that, and. 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:26.240 Dad to your point about records being set by nobody's 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:30.080 with all due respect Mark Whitten, former Major League baseball player. 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:33.399 Of course, it isn't Barry Bonds or Hank Aaron or 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:35.720 Babe Ruth or somebody else who hit four homers in 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:39.320 a game that early into his career. Speaking of Barry Bonds, 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:40.080 never did it. 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:44.600 Right, I mean, Jeff, Yeah, as we've been over David Ortiz, 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.520 Rafael opel Mao, Gary Sheffield five hundred homers each, never 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.480 hitting that three homers in a game, right, crazy. Hank 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:54.719 Aaron had won three homer game in the regular season, 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:58.320