WEBVTT - Winter Is Coming 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:06.840 Is this a great game or what with the Hall 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:10.119 of Famer Tim Kirkschen, I'm his son, Jeff Kirkshen and Dad. 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.720 We may be virtual, but we were just together for 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.320 the Thanksgiving holiday. But we're now back home after spending 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:20.280 a wonderful time in sunny Florida. 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:21.680 Wow, it was amazing. 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:26.520 I'm not sure I was in the same Florida as you, Jeff, 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:30.600 because when we played golf on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.160 it was about forty eight degrees and howling wind. Would 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.800 hardly call that sunny Florida. But no complaints. We had 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:41.160 a great time. We hit the ball okay, actually both 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:43.880 of us, not to worry, and we had a great 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:47.599 time at Uncle Andy's house and everyone had a blast. 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.400 The food was so good, the kids were so good. 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:55.000 So hugely successful Thanksgiving and you got home in one piece, 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:57.160 connecting through Charlotte, right. Yeah. 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.200 The first day we landed, we got there a day 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:03.080 early and it was gorgeous. We had no clothes packed 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.559 for the weekend for nice weather. We all had pants 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:07.640 and sweatshirts, so we were able to go to the 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.360 beach and enjoy it. And then you're right, it did 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.360 get a little bit chilly from there. But then you're 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.040 leaving out a crucial detail of the trip. You mentioned 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.800 we played golf and I did not hear the end 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:21.280 of it two three years ago when we were in 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:25.680 Santa Rosa Beach and the old guys as you guys 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:29.800 call yourselves beat the young guys by ten strokes, and 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:35.320 now the young guys had our revenge and one were 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.399 you planning on leaving that detail out. 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.080 I'm really happy that you guys played way better than 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.920 the last time. Okay, I still object to the fact 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.440 that you had four players on your team and we 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.800 only had three, and one has an artificial hip. Me 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:57.000 Uncle Andy has a bad back. Even though he hit 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.640 the ball a long way and Uncle Nico ran a 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.560 ten the day before, we still only lost by one shot. 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:07.000 You guys played well. You deserve to win. And it 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.680 was dramatic, even though we didn't realize the time. But 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:13.040 Michael Kirkchin rolled in what a twenty footer on eighteen 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.360 for a part of when the whole thing, but we 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.600 didn't even know how what the scores were at the time. 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:20.720 It would have made it ten times more dramatic. 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:23.760 Agreed, Yeah, absolutely more dramatic. And it was not an 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:24.600 easy putt. 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:25.240 Dad. 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.440 You're right, you did have three players. But to defend 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.440 the decision, we did allow you guys to play the 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:35.040 different tea boxes, which you're entitled to as seniors. And 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:39.120 I think every senior should play the senior teas because 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:40.240 you just can't hit it as far. 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:44.920 In That's Life, we used the senior tees six times 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:48.320 out of eighteen holes. Okay, wasn't every hole. There were 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:52.000 six select holes where we played the gray tees. Look, 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.440 you're burying the lead from the whole weekend, jeff A. 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.920 First off, I got on an airplane without a printed 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:04.240 boarding pass. I got it on my phone. I presented 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:05.960 it to the guy at the counter. I did it 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:10.600 all by myself. Lane showed me how to do a screenshot, 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:17.320 so the QR code wasn't just on my phone, it 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.160 was on the photos in my phone, so just in 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.000 case anything went wrong with the Internet, I still had 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.960 my photos. This was a big moment for poor pop Pop. 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.600 I got on an airplane without a printed boarding pass. 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:31.560 Eduardo Perez needs to hear about this. 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.840 He does, because this has been a very big hurdle 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.400 for you to get over. In the technology of twenty 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:39.920 twenty five, and you say, what. 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:43.320 If there's no internet? What if my phone dies? What if? 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:47.080 This all understandable concern in stead absolutely, but if you 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:49.600 put it in your Apple wallet, it will be there 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.800 waiting for you internet or not. And I'm so glad 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:56.320 you made it and you were able to get where 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:59.400 you needed to go without having to get a printer 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.240 at the air Airbnb we were staying at, or have 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.560 to go to a I don't even know where you 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.160 would go if you don't have a printer. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:07.400 I'm proud of you. 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.160 You've grown up quite a bit here on this podcast 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:11.440 in two and a half years. 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:15.680 Well, thank you, Jeff. Also, another great takeaway was that 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.680 McKinley hope, you're a beautiful two year old. My granddaughter 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:24.200 she got Santa a picture taken was Santa Claus. Now 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:28.320 what I found How long do you think you waited 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.679 in line in relatively cold weather to get a picture 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:33.960 with Santa Claus? At least forty five minutes? 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:36.479 I think it was between forty five and an hour 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:37.000 for sure. 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.440 Okay, Well, the part that I found amusing was that 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.159 Santa had to go to the bathroom, so he left 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.479 his post while people were waiting, And I'm not faulting 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.840 him for doing this, but he came and waited in 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:56.240 line in the little restaurant that we were all waiting 0:04:56.279 --> 0:05:00.480 in to eat and everything else, and there's Santa in 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.839 line and there were only two bathrooms open. Don't you 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:05.880 think that would have been a good moment for someone 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:09.000 to say, Hey, Santa, people are waiting on you. You can 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:12.040 go ahead of us first. Instead, he patiently waited. 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.680 His churn agreed, Well, I think he marked everybody who 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.440 didn't let him pass on the naughty list, So I 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.240 think it was a test of anybody who didn't let 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.760 Santa go there. And poor guy unbuckle that big belt 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:28.279 and everything, but Santa made it out. Our cousins got 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.479 some photos with Santa in line for the bathroom, but 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:33.920 we got it with the big tree. And McKinley has 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:37.200 not stopped talking about it. In fact, that yesterday was 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.440 the first day of McKinley's Advent calendar, you know you 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:43.880 get those little calendars right the doors. And also our 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.560 Elf on the Shelf arrived. 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.680 Are you familiar he came from the North Pole? 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:51.320 Oh yeah, well aware of Elf on the Shelf. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.760 Yeah, so he has arrived in our home, and he's 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:58.719 gonna get himself into very precarious situations. I will be 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.400 sure to have some Elf on the shelf highlights for 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:05.600 you come next week on the podcast. We're going once 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.200 a week now in the off season, every single Tuesday 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:10.120 you can hear. So I'll pull together some of the 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.840 best locations where the elf got on the shelf. It's 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.000 better than Jeff on a deck, right, I mean I 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.880 offered to sit on people's deck and drink a cocktail 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:21.479 and we could celebrate that way. 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:23.280 That's not bad. What would you be? 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.679 You would be Tim on the rim. You'll go dunk 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:29.640 on people's basketball rims. We'll have to bring up a 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:31.960 foot ladder, but we could get it happening, all right. 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.480 We'd have to be a five foot hoop six foot 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.760 hoop for me to dunk it. But that's another story 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:37.520 for another day. 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.320 Well, it was a great trip, Dad, such a great 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:40.960 time had. 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.200 I'm just glad to be back home. 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.800 And we can't ignore what's going on in baseball right now, Dad. 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.480 On Sunday, it's the start of the Winter. 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:54.640 Meetings, right, and the Winter meetings are crazy three four 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:58.680 days and this year they'll be in Orlando. Every executive 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:00.919 in the world is there, and there are a million 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:04.119 more executives than when I first went to my first 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.760 Winter Meetings in nineteen eighty two, which, by the way, 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.720 things have changed so much, Jeff. With the Winter Meetings 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:16.080 in nineteen eighty in Hollywood, Florida, Roland Heman, the mischievous 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.920 general manager of the White Sox at the time, put 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.200 a sign up in front in the lobby that said 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.680 open for business, and then he said, the White Sox 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:31.320 made four trades on that first day. That's how things 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:34.640 used to work. Guys would put a side open for business. 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:37.400 And Jeff, back then, like in eighty two, when I 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:40.960 first started covering, you go into the hotel lobby and 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.520 all the general managers are there because nobody has a 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.960 cell phone back in nineteen eighty two, so you just 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:51.960 went up to gms everywhere and said, what's going on 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.520 with the trade or whatever. Now you can't even find 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:59.320 the general managers anywhere because they all have their cell phones. 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:03.960 They all have, you know, their army of people next 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:07.320 to them in their suites and they're looking up a 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:11.720 million different things. Like in eighty two, though, Jeff, when 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:13.920 everyone was in the lobby. It was my first full 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.920 year covering the Winter meetings. I was scared to death 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:22.160 to leave the lobby. So the Winter meetings were in Hawaii, 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:25.800 and I am not kidding you, Jeff. I never left 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:29.120 the hotel, meaning I did not go out on the beach, 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.640 We didn't go out to eat, because I was so afraid, 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.240 as a really young writer that I was going to 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.400 miss something at my first Winter Meetings that I stayed 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.400 inside the entire time. It could have been held in 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.960 whatever Iowa, Idaho, it could have been held in North Dakota, 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:47.600 wouldn't have mattered was it was in Hawaii, and I 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.440 never left the hotel because I was so afraid that 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.240 I was going to miss them. Can you imagine that? 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:57.640 I can imagine you doing that, yes, and knowing you know, Dad, 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.880 and knowing your commitment to the job. Actually, we had 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.480 Ken Rosenthal on a couple of weeks ago at the 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.240 end of the baseball season, So make sure to go 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:06.320 listen to that if you missed it. 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.959 It was fantastic, Dad. 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.640 He talked about your work ethic in those early days, 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:14.720 not that you don't have it now. You absolutely do, 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.520 but in a different way. But I'm not surprised at 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.840 all at anything you did in those years pre kids, 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.079 early in your career, hungry as all, and I'm just 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:25.640 shocked you didn't play pickup ball? 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.240 Was there a court in the lobby? 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.560 Oh yeah, we played a lot. We played pickup quite 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:34.720 a bit during the winter meetings. Once I established myself 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.040 and understood how to do the job, I didn't have 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.920 to stick in the lobby the whole time. Again, Jeff, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.760 things have changed so much. When I first started covering, 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.959 there was this rule, or there was this kind of philosophy. 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:51.000 The general manager with the largest bar wins the winter 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:55.480 meetings every year, meaning they stay out late, all the 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.120 general managers drinking together, and that's how a trade ended 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:04.080 up happening. Paul Owens, nicknamed the Pope, was the Phillies manager, 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.800 but also at one point the Phillies general manager. And 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.800 I'll never forget one night, really late, he's out with 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.160 a bunch of other general managers, and he's in a 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:19.120 coat and tie, and pretty late at night, he shows 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.559 everyone at the bar how to do a hook slide. 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.319 A hook slide, of course, Jeff, you do with your 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.200 baseball pants and spikes. He did it with a coat 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.080 and tie on to show everyone. Look, our guys today 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:34.360 don't know how to do a hook slide. Let me 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:36.200 show you how to do it. He did it in 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:39.760 the bar at one thirty in the morning. Oh my gosh. 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:42.480 He was such a piece of work. And there was 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:46.360 a He called the writers once at two o'clock in 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.839 the morning, the Phillies writers. He called him at two 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.920 o'clock in the morning to announce that we just got 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:57.400 Suitor in a trade. Now, back then, Jeff Bruce Suiter 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:02.680 was the premier closer in the game, future Hall of Famer. Well, 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:07.040 he didn't indeed acquire a guy named Suitor, but I 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:11.000 believe the guy's name was Burke Suitor, not Bruce Suitor. 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:13.840 And he woke up all the writers just to tell 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:16.679 him we got Burke Suitor in a deal. They didn't 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.640 think it was very amusing because Burke Suitter didn't turn 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:23.160 out to be a massively important player. That's how the 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.880 that's how the Winter Meetings used to operate, Jem. And 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.960 then years later guys stopped hanging out at the bar, 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.640 and they all hung out in the uh in the 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.320 weight room in the morning, doing their their running and 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:37.880 they're walking and they're all that. I mean play. The 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.080 young gms are in incredible shape now. I think most 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.080 of them played pick a ball. So they'll find a 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:46.440 pick a ball court somewhere in Orlando, and I'll bet 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:49.600 there are a bunch of spirited games going on between 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:50.359 the gms. 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:52.559 We need to get you on a pickleball court that 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:53.720 have you ever played? 0:11:55.679 --> 0:12:00.640 I played once, but it was briefly and I didn't 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.160 even know the rules, and I wasn't with a group. 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:07.920 I just kind of joined in. It was bad. I know, 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:09.840 it was a long time ago. I don't know if 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.560 I'd be any good at it with an artificial hip. 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:15.400 I can't move side aside very well anymore. But I 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.680 need to take it up. It's an old man's game 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.960 to some degree, although some young guys really play well, 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:23.240 and Karl Ravits is really good at it. So I 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.320 would like to start to play. Yet. That might be 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.679 something I do for my New Year's resolution. Play pick 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:29.000 a ball. 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:30.360 Really, that's a good idea. 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.880 I mean, yeah, you're right, Rabi is a big pickleballer, 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.720 So maybe next time you see him you will have 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:37.000 a couple games under your belt. 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:38.240 You can have that taken care of. 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:42.199 So that's for the Winter Meeting Sunday that all kicks off. Dad, 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.080 You're going to be covering all the action from Bristol, 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.920 Connecticut on ESPN, So make sure that you're covering or 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.440 following along on ESPN to se Dad's coverage of that. Also, Dad, 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:53.480 the big news that we're going to be covering more 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.560 after the vote is had next week is this very 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:02.600 big ballot, the Contemporary base Era Committee ballot, which is 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.760 going to be announced on December seventh, the voting results. 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:08.960 And this is a big, big vote that a lot 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:09.839 of big names. 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:11.520 Explain what it is first off. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.000 Well, first off, this is a special committee. There are 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:19.040 sixteen people on the committee. I have been on four 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:23.160 of these special committees in my career. It is a 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:27.160 tremendous privilege. You sit in a room with three other 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:34.600 writers slash historians, four executives from baseball retired and current, 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:39.000 and eight former players, a total of sixteen people. That's 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.280 usually how the committee is made up, and you go 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:46.120 back and forth on all the candidates and it is 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:51.920 a fascinating process. It is really emotional because there are 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.800 players in there who are trying to get a teammate 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:58.319 or a former teammate in. It's all very fair, it's 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.040 very democratic. But like you have to get seventy five 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.560 percent to get in on the Writer's ballot, you have 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:07.400 to get seventy five percent to get in on this 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:10.640 ballot also, so you have to get twelve out of sixteen. 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.560 And Jeff, here are the Here are the players from 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:20.920 the contemporary baseball era, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:29.040 Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, Fernando Belenzuela. 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:34.000 Now I can make a pretty darn good case for 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.080 all eight of them. Certainly the first seven that I 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.680 mentioned would be a little harder for me to make 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.120 it a Hall of compelling Hall of Fame case for 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:47.880 Fernando Velezuela, even though he was amazingly good. But you know, 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.880 Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens had ten years on the 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.840 Writer's ballot and the most they got to was sixty 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.720 four percent after ten years, got to get to seventy 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.920 five percent their first year on a special committee ballot 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:03.880 Like this was a couple of years ago, and I 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:08.120 believe each guy only got two out of sixteen votes, 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.400 got to get twow So this thought that Bond's and 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:15.000 Clemens are just gonna cruise in on a special ballot. 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.640 All I can say is it didn't happen the first time, 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.280 and I don't expect any cruising in on any ballot 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:25.280 this time either. We'll see, but you know, for what 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.440 it's worth, Jeff, if you erase everything else, Roger Clemens 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.000 for career value might be the best picture we've ever seen, 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:36.080 and Barry Bonds for career career value might be the 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.280 best hitter we've ever seen. And that we didn't see 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:43.080 Ted Williams, we didn't see Babe Ruth. But it's hard 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:45.960 to argue that when you're just looking at the raw numbers. 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.120 But of course there will be an argument no matter 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:49.880 what with Bonds and Clements. 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:52.680 Yeah, Dad, you know, I'm a child of the steroid era, 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.520 and by that I mean I grew up my years 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:59.960 of first remembering baseball was the early or the late nineties. 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:04.920 Excuse me, and that for me, they have to be 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:05.560 in the hall. 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:10.480 I understand the steroid aspect of it, trust me, I know, 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.000 but to ignore the heroes of so many people's childhood 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:16.320 and of such an era of how big it was, 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:18.640 We're not going to get into this now, but I 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.760 am pro and I know I'm probably make an enemy 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.000 here on the podcast, and that's not what we're out 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.600 to do on this show. But it's just kind of 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.400 the way I feel growing up in that generation, all 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.640 of these guys that I watched so many of them 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:35.080 on the outside of the hall. It just it's just said, 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:36.400 that's all I'm going to say. 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:38.840 There, I understand. And I voted for Bond to Clemens 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.560 every year they were eligible, and I wasn't particularly proud 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.640 of that. I just thought there was a tacit agreement 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:45.840 out there that all sorts of guys are using this. 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.880 Nobody is testing, nobody's getting in trouble, They're being encouraged 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:53.280 to do it. And that's why I voted for bond 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.040 to Clements. And yet anyone who doesn't vote for them, 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.040 I totally understand. Let's just run through a few more. 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.880 I mean, Don Mattingly was certainly the best player. I 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.560 think he was the best player in the American League 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.080 from nineteen eighty fourth or eighty nine, so for a 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.399 six year period, he was the best player in the 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:12.480 league after Keith o nandis he's the best defensive, third, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.960 first baseman I've ever seen, and won a batting title, 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:22.400 won an MVP, and nobody conducted himself more professionally as 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.840 a Major leaguer than Don Mattingley. Carlos Delgado, jeff Man. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:29.760 His numbers are amazing. You know, he had four hundred 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:34.040 and seventy three homers, fifteen hundred and twelve RBIs nine 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:38.280 to twenty nine ops. He's one of only fourteen players 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.720 all time with those numbers. You look at the other thirteen, 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.520 they're like the thirteen greatest hitters ever. So I think 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:48.159 Carlos Delgado has a real shot to get in this time. 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.960 You know, the first time on the ballot didn't go well. 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.199 But I think this is why these committees are formed, 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.080 so we can take another look at somebody who may 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.480 have been left out of the equation. And I think 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:00.840 del Got was one of those. 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.480 Yeah, and Dad, and it's worth noting too, if I'm 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:06.440 not mistaken. Didn't he win Roberto Clemente Awards? 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.320 He was so active, so much philanthropy. 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.879 This is so important when it comes to our league 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:17.719 that I know we don't necessarily exclude people if they 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:20.120 weren't good guys, but I think it should be considered 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:23.920 if they were a good guy. I mean, in my opinion, right, 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:26.840 I think that should be considered right. 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.720 And that, of course speaks directly to Dale Murphy, who's 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.840 one of the nicest people who's ever played Major League Baseball, 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:37.200 but also would compete to the end to beat you. 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.440 I'll never forget Tom Glavin, who was a teammate of 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:44.240 Dale Murphy, had to throw at Dale Murphy in a 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.440 game against the Phillies when Murphy had gone to the Phillies. 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.160 All right, there was a beanball thing going on, and 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:55.920 baseball etiquette was Tom Glavin had to hit Dale Murphy 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.679 with a pitch. Okay, that's just the way it worked 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:02.320 back then. Okay, this is early nineties or so. So 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:07.320 Tom Glavin threw it over Dale Murphy's head, way over 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:11.080 his head, and did not hit him, and then walked 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.160 off the mound, knowing he would be ejected for throwing 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:18.000 at a hitter intentionally. But he couldn't hit Dale Murphy 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:22.480 because he was Dale Murphy. But Dale Murphy was who 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:25.440 never got angry. I never heard him say a swear word. 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:27.399 One of the kindest people ever to play in the 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:31.280 big leagues. He was really upset because it was Tom 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:36.119 Glavin's job to hit him with a pitch as retaliation 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:38.520 for what was going on on the other side, and 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:42.080 he was upset at his former teammate. You should have 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.640 hit me with that ball instead, he threw it over 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.600 his head. Tells you a little bit about Dale Murphy, who, 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.359 by the way, jeff three hundred ninety eight homers, stole 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.520 one hundred and sixty eight bases, knocked in a thousand runs, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.600 and won five goal gloves. Only seven players of all 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.160 time can connect all four of those docs. That's how 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.679 good he was. And you know, eighty two through eighty seven, 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:07.200 six year period, you know, he Mike Schmid were the 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:09.720 two best players in the National League, and he won 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:12.840 back to back MVPs in eighty two eighty three. So 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:16.879 Dale Murphy makes a compelling case, and a lot of 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.760 people think he's got a shot this year, even though 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.240 he never made it on the writer's ballot. So Jeff 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:24.760 and then Jeff Kent is on the ballot. I voted 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.000 for Jeff Kent every year. You know, hit more home 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:30.000 runs than any second basement in history, won an MVP, 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:33.359 was a better defensive player than people think, wasn't the 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:35.600 most popular guy in the world, which did not help 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:38.359 him in the voting. That doesn't matter to me. I 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.160 voted for him every year, and I voted for Gary 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:43.800 Sheffield every year. Five hundred and nine homers and an 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:47.359 ops of nine oh seven. Willie McCovey, who I worshiped 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:50.040 growing up, one of the great first baseman ever, first 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:52.680 ballot Hall of Famer, he didn't have a nine oh 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.560 seven ops. And so Gary Sheffield, I think you know. Granted, 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.879 he's got some extra curricular stuff there which no need 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:02.439 to go into here. But the point is, Jeff, you 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.200 can make a case, a really compelling case for seven 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:08.639 of these guys being Hall of Famers. This is gonna 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:10.679 be a fascinating vote, and we'll. 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:12.720 Keep you updated on that next week onnes This a 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.280 great game or what. But coming up next, Dad, we're 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:18.920 gonna jump into one trade in this offseason thus far 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:22.119