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Speaker 1: Is this a great game or what our Cooperstown addition?

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Speaker 1: And today we bring you the greatest catcher of all time.

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Speaker 1: Johnny Bench is our interview for today.

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Speaker 2: Dad.

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Speaker 1: He is hysterical, he is amazing. He's the MC for

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Speaker 1: all of the Hall of Famers in Cooperstown and we

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Speaker 1: were there for the whole weekend.

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Speaker 3: What a great time we had with Johnny.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we had a great time period. You cannot

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Speaker 2: have a bad time in Cooperstown.

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Speaker 4: It is a.

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Speaker 2: Ludicrously charming town in upstate New York. Everybody there is

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Speaker 2: so happy. There is a shared love for the game,

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Speaker 2: and that's what this podcast is all about, Jeff. It's

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Speaker 2: also a very emotional place. I've seen people weeping in

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Speaker 2: that town because of the joy of what baseball and

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Speaker 2: Cooperstown brings. And on Saturday night, the night before the induction,

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Speaker 2: I went to a Tigers party and Jim Leland, whose

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Speaker 2: number was retired by the Tigers, he got up and

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Speaker 2: spoke at the party before the induction and he just

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Speaker 2: broke down. Because that's what Cooperstown will do to you.

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Speaker 2: That's how important and powerful and beautiful that place is.

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Speaker 2: And Jeff, I believe that's where you got your start

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Speaker 2: as a radio guy and you were only ten years old.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll never forget it.

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Speaker 1: There was a line of media and w fu V

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Speaker 1: out of Fordham in New York City. Bob Aarons was

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Speaker 1: the program director there and Dad was doing radio row

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Speaker 1: and he moves on to the next radio station.

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Speaker 3: And there's me following behind as I always did.

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Speaker 1: And Bob Aaron sees me and says, well, do you

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Speaker 1: want to come on and talk about being a kid

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Speaker 1: at Cooperstown? And I did an interview with two student

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Speaker 1: radio broadcasters. And when I left that interview and Dad

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Speaker 1: and I finally got to meet again because he's still

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Speaker 1: doing radio row, and I'm sure you were on a

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Speaker 1: radio show next.

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Speaker 3: To us, being like, what's going on over there with

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Speaker 3: my son.

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Speaker 1: But when we finally were able to recap, I remember

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Speaker 1: it vividly, saying to you, that's what I want to do,

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Speaker 1: not be interviewed, but I wanted to be one of

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Speaker 1: those radio broadcasters that was interviewing me. And we actually

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Speaker 1: I feel like I'm on the tonight show.

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Speaker 3: We have a clip clip.

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Speaker 1: Here's a little bit of my interview I did with

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Speaker 1: WFUV at Cooperstown years ago.

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Speaker 2: Just a little while ago. You heard Sam Kirkshan, who

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Speaker 2: has a new book out, and we actually grabbed his

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Speaker 2: son from Jeff. How are you doing, buddy, I'm doing great.

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Speaker 2: Everything's going well. Yep.

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Speaker 5: The Hall of Fame is such a great place for

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Speaker 5: baseball and it's just so much fun, so many baseball fans,

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Speaker 5: so many great people.

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Speaker 3: You sound like your dad or right now.

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Speaker 1: Your dad said you want to do what he does

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Speaker 1: one day, and you're getting your shot today.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, it's great. I mean I always I like writing,

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Speaker 5: and I love baseball, and you know I like to talk. Well,

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Speaker 5: I guess I guess I can get somewhere.

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Speaker 2: Well, you sound like you're a booming Borough cast.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and that was kind of the start. That's when

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Speaker 3: I knew. That's when the light bulb went off for me. Dad.

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Speaker 3: And I can't thank you enough for Bob.

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Speaker 1: Aaron's enough for bringing me on, but for you for

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Speaker 1: teaching me all I know and love about broadcasting and storytelling,

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Speaker 1: because I wouldn't have the career as a radio host

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Speaker 1: now in the Philadelphia area without that moment.

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Speaker 3: I firmly believe.

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Speaker 2: That, right, Jeff, that sounded like a clip from you

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Speaker 2: last week. Your voice hasn't changed that much. Really give

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Speaker 2: me a little more credit. There was a tiny bit

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Speaker 2: of puberty that hit me.

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Speaker 3: So Dad. What are your takeaways from our weekend in Cooper, Sam.

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Speaker 2: Well, Jeff, they're always the same. It's the speeches and

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Speaker 2: the people who were honored and inducted. Jerry Freeley won

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Speaker 2: the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

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Speaker 2: I've told you if I could put any beat writer

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Speaker 2: in charge of my baseball beat in all the years

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Speaker 2: that I covered, it would have been Jerry because I

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Speaker 2: know we're not gonna get beaten on a story as

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Speaker 2: long as he's there. And Joe Castiglione, who has done

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Speaker 2: the Red Sox games for forty two years, won the

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Speaker 2: Frick Award Most Deserved. He did it. He's done the

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Speaker 2: Red Sox for forty two years. Jeff, and I've told

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Speaker 2: you before, with play by play guys, it's like they're

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Speaker 2: a member of the family. They come into your living

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Speaker 2: room every night, and Joe is your dad, he's your grandfather.

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Speaker 2: He's your cuddly little uncle who teaches you about baseball.

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Speaker 2: Those guys were absolutely great at their job and honored

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Speaker 2: by the Hall of Fame. That was so cool. And then,

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Speaker 2: of course there are the players. So Todd Helton went

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Speaker 2: in first. He made a great speech. As we know,

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Speaker 2: Todd Helton is the greatest player in the history of

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Speaker 2: the Rockies. I told you once, Jeff, that one of

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Speaker 2: his former managers, Buddy Bell, told me that Todd Helton

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Speaker 2: understands the competition of the game better than anyone he

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Speaker 2: ever managed or played with, and that pretty much covers everything.

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Speaker 2: Adrian Beltray went in second. I will never forget the

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Speaker 2: face of joy that he showed every single day that

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Speaker 2: he played in the major leagues. And the story that

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Speaker 2: he told during his speech was that they put him

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Speaker 2: at second base as a ten year old because they said,

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Speaker 2: you're gonna be too short to play anywhere else. Well,

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Speaker 2: he got a whole lot bigger, unlike you and me.

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Speaker 2: But at age that same year they switched him to

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Speaker 2: third base. One kid said, I want to play second.

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Speaker 2: You switched to third. He's been playing third ever since.

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Speaker 2: He got more hits than any third baseman in the

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Speaker 2: history of the game over three thousand and As we

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Speaker 2: talked about before, Jeff, he's one of the five greatest

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Speaker 2: defensive third basemen. I've ever seen. And he did it

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Speaker 2: while never wearing a protective cup, which I told you.

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Speaker 2: I said, Adrian, how could you do that? Why didn't

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Speaker 2: you wear a cup? He put his hands up and said,

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Speaker 2: that's what these are for. So I told that story

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Speaker 2: to Ian Kinseler, who played second base next to him

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Speaker 2: or near him with the Rangers all those years, and

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Speaker 2: I told him that story and he goes, no, he

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Speaker 2: didn't wear a cup because he's crazy. And he meant that.

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Speaker 2: He meant that in the nicest way.

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Speaker 1: And did you see the moment on stage when David

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Speaker 1: Ortiz snuck up to touch Adriane Beltray's.

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Speaker 2: Head If you don't know, Adrian Beltray hated it if

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Speaker 2: anybody touched his head under any circumstances. Teammate, human beings, anybody, right.

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Speaker 2: So David Ortiz, also from the Dominican, right before Adrian

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Speaker 2: Beltra is to deliver the biggest speech of his entire life,

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Speaker 2: he jumps out of his seat in the Hall of

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Speaker 2: Fame group behind and goes and rubs Adrian Beltray's head.

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Speaker 2: It was just priceless, beautiful, And Jim Leland of course

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Speaker 2: went in as one of them as a manager and

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Speaker 2: He's one of the best managers I've ever seen. His connection,

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Speaker 2: his communication with players is virtually unprecedented. And I will

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Speaker 2: tell you, Jeff, this is a tiny bit self serving.

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Speaker 2: This spring he told me, he said, I'm working on

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Speaker 2: my speech. I'm thinking about using this line in my speech.

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Speaker 2: Do you think this would work? So he gives me

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Speaker 2: the line. This is in spring training. We're in Tampa.

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Speaker 2: I said, Jim, not only should you use that line,

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Speaker 2: you should lead with it. And he said that, And

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Speaker 2: he said during his speech that he said to his

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Speaker 2: wife Katie, Katie, in your wildest dreams, can you believe

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Speaker 2: that I'm going to the Hall of Fame? And his

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Speaker 2: wife Katie said, Jim, You're not in my wildest dreams,

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Speaker 2: which got this tremendous applause and laughter. And he did

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Speaker 2: exactly what we told him to do. He kind of

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Speaker 2: led with it. It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was laughing and

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Speaker 2: on his side, as they always have been.

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Speaker 3: That is incredible.

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Speaker 1: I've only been married less than two years and I

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Speaker 1: already feel that from my own wife is amazing.

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Speaker 2: Join the club, bub We got it.

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Speaker 1: You got forty years with your mom, with your wife,

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Speaker 1: my mom's and it's all the same, all.

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Speaker 2: Right, So Joe Mauer went last. And Joe Mauer, Jeff

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Speaker 2: is the salt of the earth kind of guy, a

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Speaker 2: Saint Paul, Minnesota guy who grew up there, and he

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Speaker 2: played his entire career with the Twins. He's one of

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Speaker 2: the greatest hitting catchers of all time. He changed the

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Speaker 2: game with the offense that he brought from brought behind

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Speaker 2: the plate, and that's why he was a first ballot

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Speaker 2: Hall of Famer also. But Jeff, it was his connection

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Speaker 2: to Saint Paul. It was his connection to Twins fans

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Speaker 2: that was so obvious to me. Boy did those Twins

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Speaker 2: fans show up, as did fans from everywhere else. But

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Speaker 2: never forget, Jeff that the Twins when Joe Mauer played there,

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Speaker 2: every year they had a bowling tournament at the bowling

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Speaker 2: Alley behind the KFC in Fort Myers, not exactly the

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Speaker 2: greatest part of town, let's put it that way, and

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Speaker 2: people would pay money regular fans to go bowl with

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Speaker 2: the Twins players. Joe Mauer used to bring his own

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Speaker 2: bowling ball to the tournament. He would bring it on

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Speaker 2: the airplane to take it to spring training. That's how

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Speaker 2: much he cared about competing in the team bowling tournament

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Speaker 2: with the fans, and every time a fan would like

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Speaker 2: get a strike, they would get a high five from

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Speaker 2: Joe Mauer. To me, that just speaks to how much

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Speaker 2: he loves his city and the fans who live there.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's a perfect time to talk about who I

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Speaker 1: believe to be our game changers multiple of the week

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Speaker 1: this week, it's the fans. It's you, It's the people

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Speaker 1: we met while walking down the street on the Saturday

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Speaker 1: of Hall of Fame induction weekend in Cooperstown, New York.

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Speaker 1: We were at the Hall and if you've never been there,

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Speaker 1: it is the most magical street, not even just an

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Speaker 1: induction weekend. It has a certain childhood like amusement park

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Speaker 1: vibe that just glows. And Dad, you and I walked

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Speaker 1: all the way down from the National Baseball Hall of

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Speaker 1: Fame all the way to the bottom of the street

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Speaker 1: where our friends at Baseball as a Mark, and the

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Speaker 1: amount of people we met that are huge baseball fans

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Speaker 1: wanted to talk to you, And the coolest thing I

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Speaker 1: have to say about watching you interact with all of

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Speaker 1: these amazing baseball fans status it's not Hey, Tim, I

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Speaker 1: love your stuff, and you're like, hey, thank you. You

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Speaker 1: always ask them because you want to hear from the fans. Hey,

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Speaker 1: you're wearing this twins Jersey, tell me are you from

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Speaker 1: there originally?

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Speaker 3: Did you ever see Kirby Bucket? Did you ever see

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Speaker 3: Joe Mauer?

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Speaker 1: Tell us those stories of what you heard from the

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Speaker 1: fans in Cooper se.

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Speaker 2: Well, Jeff, that's the most interesting. That's where great stories

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Speaker 2: come from, when you actually speak to another human being

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Speaker 2: and say, tell me about you. So I saw an

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Speaker 2: elderly guy there. I said, is this your first time here?

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Speaker 2: He goes No. I came the year that my hero

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Speaker 2: Brooks Robinson was inducted.

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Speaker 4: Wow.

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Speaker 2: And I have come back every year and I will

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Speaker 2: come back every year until the day I die. That's

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Speaker 2: how intoxicating Coopersown is. Once you've been there, you have

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Speaker 2: to keep going back. It is that seductive. Of course,

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Speaker 2: I introduce you to my friend Chris. Chris I met

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Speaker 2: two years ago. Chris is the guy who's a young guys,

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Speaker 2: late twenties, and he went to Coopersown with his father

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Speaker 2: every year for like ten years, and this made me cry.

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Speaker 2: Two years ago his dad died, and when I saw

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Speaker 2: him two years ago the year I was honored, Chris

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Speaker 2: went by himself and it was the first induction he'd

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Speaker 2: ever been to by himself. And that's the kind of

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Speaker 2: stuff that really matters to me. And when I asked him,

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Speaker 2: I said, Chris, where do you stay while you're here?

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Speaker 2: He says, well, I rent this tiny little room. It's

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Speaker 2: just above a funeral parlor in Coopersoun, and it's just

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Speaker 2: the most priceless thing. This is what you do to

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Speaker 2: get there. So this year he didn't stay above the

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Speaker 2: funeral parlor. He stayed in almost as small a place,

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Speaker 2: and he had three buddies with him, and they brought

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Speaker 2: their cots and they slept just so they could sleep

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Speaker 2: in downtown Cooper's Oud on Main Street, so they could

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Speaker 2: wake up in the morning and be in the heart

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Speaker 2: of that little town.

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Speaker 1: There was one fan that I had an opportunity to

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Speaker 1: talk to, and I actually witnessed you talking to them

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Speaker 1: as well, and he kind of stopped you as you

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Speaker 1: were walking away from one fan. He says, Hi, excuse,

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Speaker 1: excuse me, And I thought I heard him call you something,

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Speaker 1: but I wasn't sure what it was. And he goes, hey,

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Speaker 1: do you still live in Minnesota? And uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: politely as you do. He said, I know, I've never

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Speaker 1: lived in Minnesota, and he goes, oh, really, well, did

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Speaker 1: you like.

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Speaker 3: Playing for the Twins?

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Speaker 2: Don't say? I had to tell him he never played

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Speaker 2: major league I said, uh, I'm not a baseball player.

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Speaker 2: I think that's pretty obvious. And he said, well, what

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Speaker 2: are you so? I'm a writer. He thought I was

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Speaker 2: a guy who played for the Twins. And I'm trying

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Speaker 2: to go back and find a Twins player who's roughly

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Speaker 2: my age who played for the Twins. Maybe Steve Lombardozi,

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Speaker 2: but he was the second baseman. But he's about eight

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Speaker 2: inches taller than me. It couldn't be me. That's the

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Speaker 2: first time I've ever gone to Cooperstown and been mistaken

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Speaker 2: for a major league player. I've been mistaken for others,

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Speaker 2: as we know, a guy who works at Applebee's. We

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Speaker 2: know all about that one. But yeah, this arm right,

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Speaker 2: this guy was a little bit confused us. He thought

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Speaker 2: I played for the Twins. I had to explain sadly

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Speaker 2: that I did. But Jeff, you.

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Speaker 3: Love the kicker.

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Speaker 1: The kicker dad is that he after you explained that

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Speaker 1: you are clearly not the person that he thinks you are,

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Speaker 1: and you are clearly not a former major league baseball player.

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Speaker 1: He still said, my wife wants me to get you

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Speaker 1: to sign this hat. You don't know who this guy is,

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Speaker 1: and you're gonna go back and tell your wife, Hey,

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Speaker 1: I had this guy that you wanted.

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Speaker 3: It blew in you. So of course you signed it

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Speaker 3: and walked away.

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Speaker 1: And there was there was one really great signature that

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Speaker 1: we have to bring up that you signed. And this

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Speaker 1: was really really cool because he is actually collecting signatures

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Speaker 1: on a Hall of Fame jersey. On the right side

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Speaker 1: is all of the baseball writers that have been enshrined

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Speaker 1: into the Baseball Hall of him and all of the

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Speaker 1: baseball broadcasters that are on You.

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Speaker 3: Remember signing that jersey? He had the signature all down

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Speaker 3: each side.

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Speaker 2: Yes, And it's the first I told him it's impossible

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Speaker 2: to sign a jersey properly. First, I have the worst

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Speaker 2: signature in the history signatures. But it's really hard to

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Speaker 2: sign something like what somebody's read. It's on somebody's back, right,

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Speaker 2: So you and he stretched it out so much and

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Speaker 2: then I signed it like right under Peter Gammon's my

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Speaker 2: all time baseball writer hero. So that was a thrill

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Speaker 2: for me to be on a jersey in which the

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Speaker 2: whole left side were Hall of Fame Baseball writers.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's get dad to the quark gins, because I

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Speaker 1: know I really want to get to Johnny Bench here

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Speaker 1: on the show, and I know people are graciously awaiting.

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Speaker 1: I know my good friend Joe Bell has been texting

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Speaker 1: me ever since the photo went out of me you

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Speaker 1: and Johnny saying when is the Johnny episode dropping? He

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Speaker 1: can't stop texting me about it. So we're gonna get

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Speaker 1: to it in a minute here. But what are your

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Speaker 1: quark gins for this book?

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Speaker 2: I've only got a few, because again, Jeff, we only

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Speaker 2: had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to work with this week

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Speaker 2: because you know, of the All Star break. But I

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Speaker 2: found an interest saying that Corbin Burns started the All

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Speaker 2: Star Game for the American League, and then he started

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Speaker 2: the first game of the second half for his team,

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Speaker 2: and he started it in the same ballpark, in this case,

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Speaker 2: Globe Life Field. So since two thousand, since nineteen sixty nine,

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Speaker 2: I mean, the only pitcher that's ever done that is

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Speaker 2: Tim Linsecam. In two thousand and nine, Rowdy tells of

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Speaker 2: the Pirates against your Phillies had three sacrifice flies in

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Speaker 2: one game only. He's one of only three players to

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Speaker 2: do that since two thousand and His batting line, Jeff,

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Speaker 2: and you know how much I love them, is one

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Speaker 2: zero zero three. It just doesn't look right. Edgar Martinez

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Speaker 2: Hall of Famer two thousand and two is did this

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Speaker 2: in two thousand and two. Is the only other player

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Speaker 2: since two thousand to have a one zero zero three line.

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Speaker 2: So it's one at bat and three sacrifice flies. And last,

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Speaker 2: I'm just gonna test to you again on this, Jeff Jr.

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Speaker 2: Don Alvarez of the Astros hit for the cycle on Sunday.

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Speaker 2: Just give me the four guys that I keep telling

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Speaker 2: you about who never hit for the cycle and are

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Speaker 2: in the Hall of Fame, even though there are a

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Speaker 2: lot more than four.

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Speaker 1: Hank Aaron, Right, Baby, Ruth, Yes, Ted Williams, No, oh,

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Speaker 1: not Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Willie Mays.

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Speaker 2: And yes, sorry, here's how you remember it, Babe, Ruth,

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Speaker 2: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, that's it all right,

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Speaker 2: Let's move on.

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Speaker 1: We've got our Kirchen quandary, and it's perfect because it's

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Speaker 1: about Babe Ruth this week, right, dare right.

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Speaker 2: And I spoke at the Babe Ruth Museum this week

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Speaker 2: in Baltimore. If you've never been to the Babe Ruth Museum,

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Speaker 2: it's where Babe Ruth grew up. And it's like two

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Speaker 2: hundred yards from where Camden Yards the ballpark is located.

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Speaker 2: Right now. So the question, our question, our quandary for

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Speaker 2: the day, Jeff is and again these there can be

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Speaker 2: no hate involved in this question. We will not put

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Speaker 2: up with it on a show like this. All right,

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Speaker 2: this is a Valentine for baseball fans. If we took

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Speaker 2: Babe Ruth in his physical prime nineteen twenty, let's say,

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Speaker 2: and we dropped him into today's game, and we gave him,

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Speaker 2: Jeff a full year to figure out how to hit

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Speaker 2: a slider, what bat to use, maybe to do some

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Speaker 2: strength and conditioning, maybe to get himself into even better shape. Okay,

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Speaker 2: and he was six two two fifteen, two twenty. What

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Speaker 2: would Babe Ruth do in today's game? What would he hit?

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Speaker 2: How many home runs would he hit? I'm going to

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Speaker 2: start with you on this and then I'm going to

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Speaker 2: tell you what I think. And I am so in

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Speaker 2: the minority, but you go ahead.

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Speaker 1: I don't actually know where you're gonna land with this,

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Speaker 1: So I feel like I might be in the minority

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Speaker 1: in saying I think he's going to be an average

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Speaker 1: baseball player. I think he's going to be a start harder.

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's going to be a bench player.

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Speaker 1: But I don't think he's going to be a Bryce

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Speaker 1: Harper level, a Sho Heo Tani level, because the game

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Speaker 1: was so different.

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Speaker 3: Back then than it is now.

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Speaker 1: I think that it's so easy to draw comparisons to

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Speaker 1: the NBA because you see the physicality of the NBA.

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Speaker 1: Back in the fifties and sixties, it was a different game.

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Speaker 1: Now it's completely different from then. But it's hard to

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Speaker 1: really understand how much faster balls are going from the

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Speaker 1: pitcher's arm because video is just not the same as

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Speaker 1: it used to be, and the difference between an eighty

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Speaker 1: eight eighty nine mile per hour fastball and one hundred

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Speaker 1: and two from Paul Skins now is an obscene difference.

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Speaker 1: So I say he plays major League baseball, but I

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Speaker 1: do not think that one year is a long enough

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Speaker 1: time for him to turn things around and learn how

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Speaker 1: to hit to the degree and level that he was

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Speaker 1: back in his.

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Speaker 2: Prime, right, Jeff, I know exactly where you're coming from

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Speaker 2: on this. I think you're in the vast majority of

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Speaker 2: people who think he could play but wouldn't be great.

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Speaker 2: I disagree. I think he would be great today. I

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Speaker 2: think he would hit over three hundred I think he

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Speaker 2: would hit forty home runs in multiple seasons. I think

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Speaker 2: he would drive in one hundred runs. Remember, he was

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Speaker 2: a great athlete in his day. He stole over one

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Speaker 2: hundred bases in his career. He had one hundred and

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Speaker 2: thirty six triples. He was a great basketball player. He

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Speaker 2: was six two, two twenty in his prime, and he

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Speaker 2: could run. Jeff, he hit tape measure shots, you know,

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Speaker 2: one hundred and fifteen years ago. That's how amazing Babe

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Speaker 2: ruth was in his prime. I think once he figures

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Speaker 2: out how to catch up to ninety eight miles an hour,

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Speaker 2: I think he would have figured it out. Now again,

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Speaker 2: we're going to leave this up to our listeners and

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Speaker 2: to our viewers on this. If you think I'm crazy,

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Speaker 2: go ahead, but just don't tell me that Babe Ruths

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Speaker 2: is some big, fat, unathletic guy, because that simply is wrong.

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Speaker 1: You can chime in right now, Great Game or what

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Speaker 1: dot com. You can also follow us on all the

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00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,840
Speaker 1: socials you can do at Great Game or what on

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Speaker 1: x or Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Every week a best

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Speaker 1: of All tim And this week, Dad, you're gonna go

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Speaker 1: through the best Hall of Fame team. Now, keep in

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Speaker 1: mind that this arguably is the best players of all

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Speaker 1: time at each position, and that is up to debate

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00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:35,600
Speaker 1: when it comes to your team. So if you want

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00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 1: to let us know what your best of all tim

403
00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:40,080
Speaker 1: All Hall of Fame team would be, you can do so,

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00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:41,560
Speaker 1: Great Game or what dot Com?

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Speaker 3: Dad, what do you got?

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Speaker 2: Well? Again, this is my list. It's not the correct list.

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00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,120
Speaker 2: It's not the only list. It's my list. Your list

408
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:52,120
Speaker 2: should be different than mine. That's the beauty of this exercise.

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Speaker 2: My first baseman is lou gerrig He's the best of

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Speaker 2: all time at that position. Rogers Hornsby said second at

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Speaker 2: four hundred four a five year period. Jet Hannas Wagner

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00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:07,359
Speaker 2: is the shortstop, the first superstar player, everyday player of

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Speaker 2: the twentieth century. Third base is Mike Schmidt. Ten homer

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Speaker 2: run titles. I'm sorry, Mike Schmidt, ten gold gloves, eight

415
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:19,720
Speaker 2: home run titles. Ted Williams is my left fielder, second

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Speaker 2: greatest hitter ever for me. Willie Mays is the centerfielder,

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Speaker 2: second greatest player ever for me. Babe Ruth is the

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Speaker 2: right fielder, greatest player ever for me. Walter Johnson, and

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Speaker 2: I'm wearing my Walter Johnson sweatshirt here one of three. Hey,

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00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,639
Speaker 2: did I ever tell you I went to Walter Johnson?

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Speaker 3: Do you goot high school?

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Speaker 4: There?

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00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,720
Speaker 2: Lefty Grove is my left handed pitcher. Start the arguments

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00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:48,240
Speaker 2: anytime you like. And Mariano River is my relief pitcher.

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Speaker 2: And catching all my pictures is of course Johnny Bench,

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Speaker 2: who I still believe is the greatest catcher of all time.

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Speaker 2: But now that Josh Gibson's numbers have been thrown in,

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00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,960
Speaker 2: we're gonna have to reevaluate year. But Johnny Bench is

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Speaker 2: my greatest catcher of all time, and Jeff He's coming

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00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:13,960
Speaker 2: up next. Welcome back to is this a great game

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Speaker 2: or what? We are joined by the greatest catcher of

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Speaker 2: all time, Johnny Bench. Thanks for being with us.

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Speaker 4: Johnny always a pleasure, my son.

434
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,760
Speaker 2: Jeff, He's got my voice and my height. Unfortunately I

435
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:26,879
Speaker 2: passed them both along.

436
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,119
Speaker 4: Sometimes that works out. He ought to be in this

437
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,280
Speaker 4: jock here at radio man or going into the pipes,

438
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:34,000
Speaker 4: and all of a sudden you go under the radio

439
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,280
Speaker 4: voice and when you start doing yeah, we can fake

440
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:38,960
Speaker 4: it if we need to. But Jeff, nice to see you.

441
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,160
Speaker 3: Johnny, thank you so much for joining the show.

442
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,840
Speaker 1: You were the number one choice for guests when we

443
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:45,199
Speaker 1: were going to have a chance to do this in

444
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,359
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame. And my dad has told this

445
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,280
Speaker 1: story a number of times.

446
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,320
Speaker 3: When he was asked to.

447
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: Be a member of the Hall of Fame under the

448
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,199
Speaker 1: Baseball Writers. You gave him a call right after he

449
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,080
Speaker 1: found out. Do you remember that phone call.

450
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,000
Speaker 4: Of course, I call all the I mean it's not

451
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 4: particularly I mean it's not one one of a kind.

452
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,760
Speaker 4: I mean, obviously I had my Tim and respected him

453
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,119
Speaker 4: for so long and enjoy more than anybody. You know,

454
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 4: the way he treats the game, the way he broadcasts

455
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 4: the game and made funds of the game, how it

456
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 4: all evolves. But I call all the new inductees to

457
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 4: try to welcome them. I think it's important for me

458
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,440
Speaker 4: to do. I don't do it for the Hall or

459
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 4: I don't do it. I just do it for myself.

460
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 2: Johnny you told me that day. You said, Tim, it's

461
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,760
Speaker 2: moments like this that take you back to Little League.

462
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 2: And I was just about ready to cry again, and

463
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,000
Speaker 2: you said, and let's face it, Tim, you can still

464
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 2: fit into a Little League uniform. Do you think that

465
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:44,040
Speaker 2: was really necessary to tell me that?

466
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,920
Speaker 4: Well, it was a Kurtchean thing. You know, there are

467
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,560
Speaker 4: Kurchian things in our lives that everybody still. I know,

468
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:51,639
Speaker 4: I get such a kick out of you when you

469
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,960
Speaker 4: when the people emulate you, and I never could. I

470
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,440
Speaker 4: don't have that kind of voice. But well, it's good

471
00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:59,800
Speaker 4: that you but you're you know, you're self deprecating and

472
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 4: so many ways you accepted you. That's what That's why

473
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:04,919
Speaker 4: I'd admire and respect you, and that's why it was

474
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,400
Speaker 4: easy to call you for the especially for your Hall

475
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:08,880
Speaker 4: of Fame in selection and induction.

476
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 2: Right, Johnny, you came to my speech and I people

477
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,800
Speaker 2: asked you, why are you going to Tim Kirchin's speech,

478
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,720
Speaker 2: and you said, well, I need to see him cry?

479
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,600
Speaker 2: And I came through did not?

480
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:20,679
Speaker 4: You did? You did? And if you can't, I mean

481
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,000
Speaker 4: there's no emotional feelings. I mean when you think how

482
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,000
Speaker 4: many years back, you know, when you first had three

483
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 4: and a half years old, and I'm telling people I

484
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,520
Speaker 4: want to be a major league baseball player, and you know,

485
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,880
Speaker 4: and they do. And then the first grade, second grade,

486
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:36,399
Speaker 4: Missus Rosser, asked what do you want to be in?

487
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,080
Speaker 4: I said, I want to be a major league baseball player,

488
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 4: and all the kids laughed. In the eighth grade, they asked,

489
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:42,879
Speaker 4: what do you want to be in? I want to

490
00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,399
Speaker 4: be a major league baseball player, and they laughed because

491
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,160
Speaker 4: in the eighth grade, I got in school a year early.

492
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,240
Speaker 4: So I was five foot two, same size hands, same

493
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,480
Speaker 4: sized feed, same size head. So nobody so the only

494
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,760
Speaker 4: people scouting me at that time was Barnum and Bailey.

495
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,159
Speaker 4: I wasn't. I wasn't, so nobody believed it. Then I

496
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,840
Speaker 4: grew nine inches the next two years and my junior year,

497
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:05,920
Speaker 4: they didn't laugh so much.

498
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,240
Speaker 2: Is that right? Yeah, let's just finish up with you.

499
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,480
Speaker 2: Also came to our party that night. You were the

500
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 2: only player that came to our.

501
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 4: Nobody else likes you too.

502
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:20,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, Johnny, you stayed there for ninety minutes. It was unbelievable,

503
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,960
Speaker 2: and all my friends met you was like the biggest

504
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,200
Speaker 2: thrill that they've ever had.

505
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 4: But before well, the family was there. I mean, you

506
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:27,400
Speaker 4: brought a whole family. It was cool.

507
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,159
Speaker 2: Yeah, if you remember at the party the night before,

508
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 2: I go to Johnny so I can introduce him to

509
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,639
Speaker 2: my two brothers, Matt and Annie, and I said, Johnny,

510
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,680
Speaker 2: we want to get some pictures. Could could you help

511
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,919
Speaker 2: us with some pictures? So we wanted to take a

512
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:42,680
Speaker 2: picture with you instead.

513
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:43,640
Speaker 3: What did you do?

514
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:44,919
Speaker 4: I took the family?

515
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,920
Speaker 1: Even better, He's dragging chairs across the venue to set.

516
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,480
Speaker 3: Okay, you sit here, Matt, you're here, Tim, you're here.

517
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 3: It was it was beautiful.

518
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 2: And then finally after ten minutes, I say, Johnny, we

519
00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 2: need a picture of you with the family. So he

520
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,680
Speaker 2: hands his camera to this other gentleman and says, can

521
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,600
Speaker 2: you take pictures of me with the Kirkchen family? And

522
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 2: you handed the camera to Paul Ballader, who had more

523
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 2: hits than the Willy Bays, which I mean one night

524
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:14,919
Speaker 2: that was for us.

525
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:16,359
Speaker 4: But we're all Hall of famers and that was a

526
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,040
Speaker 4: fun part of it. Did the pictures turn out?

527
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,080
Speaker 2: Oh? They were great. No, Johnny. I have a digital

528
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:25,679
Speaker 2: photograph machine at my home which runs twenty four hours

529
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,520
Speaker 2: a day, and you're in about ten of the pictures.

530
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 2: Like snapping pictures of us. It was absolutely priceless.

531
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,200
Speaker 3: In spirit of this podcast.

532
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,320
Speaker 1: It's just a digital frame, a digital photograph machine.

533
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,200
Speaker 3: Sounds like something from nineteen sixty.

534
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:42,520
Speaker 4: Leave us alone if you want to be smart, okay, fine,

535
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,080
Speaker 4: but leave us alone at lone.

536
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,280
Speaker 2: So, Johnny, I'm not sure you remember this. What happened

537
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,560
Speaker 2: after the big party? Tell us jes So.

538
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,680
Speaker 1: Dad has this great weekend in twenty twenty two, and

539
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,120
Speaker 1: we had this party after his speech, and you were there,

540
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,720
Speaker 1: as Dad mentioned, But I don't know if you realized

541
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,879
Speaker 1: we had a bus coming. But you had gotten in

542
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,280
Speaker 1: the car to head back towards the Oda Saga and

543
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: hitched a ride with my cousin, his niece.

544
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,680
Speaker 3: That's right, and you sat do you remember, well, there were.

545
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 4: You couldn't you couldn't avoid getting in a car with

546
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 4: a kirch and everybody was in. Everybody in the family,

547
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,160
Speaker 4: everybody in the state, everybody in the country were all there.

548
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,200
Speaker 3: And you sat in the back of their mini van.

549
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,200
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, that's right, with their.

550
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,919
Speaker 3: Two children under two and children, and you didn't just

551
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,040
Speaker 3: sit there and squeeze and you were singing.

552
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,440
Speaker 4: We had to do the stuff, we had to keep

553
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:33,920
Speaker 4: them happy.

554
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 2: Johnny, You're the greatest catcher of all time? Why would you.

555
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,040
Speaker 4: Do something like it? Was? I'm a used to was?

556
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,040
Speaker 2: We were so Johnny. I told my niece Anna, I said,

557
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 2: do you know who? You who? You drove back to town.

558
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,520
Speaker 4: You got to be fifty years old and even heard

559
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:48,760
Speaker 4: of me.

560
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,600
Speaker 2: I said, he's the greatest catcher ever. And she waid, what,

561
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 2: I had no idea. So we learned something. So, Johnny,

562
00:28:55,680 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 2: let's pivot to baseball. Your induction was in nineteen eighty nine.

563
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 2: You went in with Karl Streemsky, Al Barlck and Red SHANDEANSTI. Okay,

564
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 2: I did What was that day like for you?

565
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,320
Speaker 4: Well, the thing I remember with most is that we

566
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,440
Speaker 4: flew it. They flew us in from Cincinnati on a

567
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:17,000
Speaker 4: charter and my mom and dad and we got the

568
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,960
Speaker 4: limo picked us up. We drove to the front of

569
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 4: the hotel and I said, checked in. I said, I'm

570
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 4: going to go unpack. I went upstairs. I came out

571
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 4: of the room walking down the hall, and here's nas Slaughter. Hey,

572
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 4: I just met your dad. I get the elevator. Pee

573
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,520
Speaker 4: Reese comes off the elevator. Hey, I just met your dad.

574
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 4: I get down in the lobby. Ted Williams said, Hey,

575
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,080
Speaker 4: I just met your dad. My dad's got Roy Campanella

576
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,240
Speaker 4: around the neck in the wheelchair talking to me. So

577
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,320
Speaker 4: in my induction speech, I introduced the family except my dad,

578
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 4: and I said I would introduce my dad, but I'm

579
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:53,920
Speaker 4: sure most of you have met him by now. So

580
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,800
Speaker 4: my dad had wanted to be a major league catcher,

581
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,520
Speaker 4: and the war came along. He served two hitches, so

582
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,200
Speaker 4: when he came out it was too late. He had

583
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 4: the family, and so I always say I didn't go in,

584
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,080
Speaker 4: my dad went in at first.

585
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,200
Speaker 1: That's amazing, and that's what we this father son podcast.

586
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:12,440
Speaker 3: It's the greatest thing in the world.

587
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,920
Speaker 1: The relationship you've had with your father and that I

588
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:16,240
Speaker 1: have with mine is incredible.

589
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 3: Now being a dad, I appreciate it even more.

590
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 2: Tell us about your first All Star Game in sixty eight.

591
00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,800
Speaker 4: Well, I was chosen as an ultranatet. You know, I

592
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:31,080
Speaker 4: think it was Tom Haller and Jerry Grody or Rudney Hundley,

593
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,520
Speaker 4: and I was chosen as a third catcher. And I'm

594
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 4: sitting in his locker in the astronome and I'm just watching,

595
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,600
Speaker 4: you know, everybody go by. You know, here's Bob Gibson,

596
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,840
Speaker 4: here's Willy McCovey here, and Willie is sitting straight across

597
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 4: from me in the locker room. I mean he right

598
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 4: over to that, and he got up and walked over

599
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 4: and said, you should have been to start and catch it.

600
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 4: I didn't need anything else in my life, right. That

601
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:02,240
Speaker 4: meant everything to me. And they almost it was a

602
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:07,240
Speaker 4: ninth inning and they're telling Red to put me in. Well,

603
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:09,000
Speaker 4: I don't have any other catchers. He said, he's not

604
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 4: gonna get a hurt, punny man. So I caught the

605
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 4: ninth inning of that ballgame, and I you know, it

606
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,480
Speaker 4: was a just unbelievable moment for me. But really from

607
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,240
Speaker 4: that time on, and you know, I was even more

608
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,400
Speaker 4: proud that he asked for me to present the Lifetime

609
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,680
Speaker 4: Achievement and Gold Glove Awards to him on New York.

610
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 4: So we had a wonderful, wonderful history and I was thankful.

611
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,360
Speaker 4: But you know, you don't you never you know, I

612
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,840
Speaker 4: always learned him when I was young, and never expect

613
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,959
Speaker 4: expect people to be impressed with who you are, what

614
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,760
Speaker 4: you've done, because if you go through that, don't expect

615
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,280
Speaker 4: it because it's you know, there are people out there.

616
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,120
Speaker 4: Fifty thousand people go to a baseball game, twenty five

617
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 4: thousand leave happy, twenty five thousand leave upset, and they

618
00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,920
Speaker 4: saw the same thing. I go two for five, I

619
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,479
Speaker 4: had two home runs, drive than five runs. I go

620
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,920
Speaker 4: out to the restaurant after the game. Bar guy walks

621
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,440
Speaker 4: up and says, hey, I saw you strike out and

622
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 4: pop up. So if you go out there and believe

623
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,280
Speaker 4: everybody's supposed to be impressed with who you are, what

624
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,640
Speaker 4: you've done, you know you're still you. You know, I

625
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,360
Speaker 4: grew up in a town of six hundred and sixty

626
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 4: one people. We had to go look for a ninth

627
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 4: player some days just to finish Little league. And so

628
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,720
Speaker 4: I grew up pulling cotton and chopping peanuts, or chopping peanuts,

629
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,880
Speaker 4: combining peanuts, bailing. Hey, So I'm just I'm just the

630
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,440
Speaker 4: same guy, and I'll always be my mom and dad's son.

631
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 2: So cool. Tell us more about your your dad, Johnny,

632
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,880
Speaker 2: and tell us please the Bob Gibson story that you

633
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 2: told me, because if you don't tell it, I'm gonna

634
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 2: tell it.

635
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,080
Speaker 4: Well, my dad, my dad served the two inches in

636
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 4: the war. He came back and we started. He started

637
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,360
Speaker 4: working for his uncle who had a propane business. We

638
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,479
Speaker 4: delivered propane to the houses and to the farms for

639
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,320
Speaker 4: irrigations in the tanks and stuff. I did that when

640
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 4: I was fifteen. But my dad and I would watch

641
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 4: the Game of the week every Saturday with Geene Kirby,

642
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 4: Pee Wee Reesing and Dizzy Dean. But we would go

643
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:08,520
Speaker 4: down to Helms Grocery. We'd get a half gallon neapolitan

644
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,080
Speaker 4: ice cream. We'd fill our bowls up and we'd sit

645
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,600
Speaker 4: there and eat it while we watched the game. Now, Dad,

646
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,440
Speaker 4: he had actually batted against Satchel Page in little sandlot stuff.

647
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,360
Speaker 4: After he did and I watched him playing. He could

648
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 4: do lots of stuff. But he'd sit there and like

649
00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:27,360
Speaker 4: all every fan you know, how and hell could he

650
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 4: watch it? How can he miss that? Hell? I can

651
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 4: hit that guy? Good hit him? Alchemy, Ralph thirty throwing Kirby,

652
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,600
Speaker 4: Hell I can hit that guy. So it was embedded

653
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,480
Speaker 4: to me. And so I get called up by the

654
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,920
Speaker 4: Reds to Saint Louis, up to Cincinnati, and we go

655
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,560
Speaker 4: to Saint Louis and I called Mom and Dad, I said,

656
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,320
Speaker 4: I can get you tickets I'll get you a room,

657
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,360
Speaker 4: come on up to Saint Louis and watch. So I said, okay,

658
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:54,200
Speaker 4: So they up they come, and so at first night,

659
00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 4: I'm going to really impress the hell out of them.

660
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 4: But we faced a picture of the name of Bob

661
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 4: Gibson that first time. And I don't know if the

662
00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 4: dr was one one two that year or what, but

663
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,560
Speaker 4: all of a sudden, I'm up there and I strike out,

664
00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,280
Speaker 4: and I go up the second time and I strike out,

665
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,120
Speaker 4: and I go up the third time and I strike out.

666
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:16,720
Speaker 4: And I'm coming back and I'm walking by the battery

667
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 4: on deck circle and just before I get to the

668
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,040
Speaker 4: dug and our manager was Dave Bristol. Dave was kind

669
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 4: of like Sergeant Carter on Gomer Pyle USMC. You didn't

670
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 4: think of anything but baseball. There was nothing but baseball.

671
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 4: And I start to smile as I get to the

672
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,240
Speaker 4: on deck circle. And by the time I reached the dugout,

673
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,719
Speaker 4: I'm grinning and he's down here. It's took three or

674
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:39,520
Speaker 4: four steps in, so you had to walk down around.

675
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,359
Speaker 4: He looked up me and said, what hell, it's so funny.

676
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:45,839
Speaker 4: I was just thinking, I don't think Dad can hit

677
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:51,040
Speaker 4: this guy. That's what you do.

678
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 2: How great Bob gives. Yeah, even your dad good to

679
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:54,719
Speaker 2: hit it?

680
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:55,520
Speaker 4: Goodn't all?

681
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,960
Speaker 2: I said, Johnny, you, over the years have become don't

682
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,040
Speaker 2: be humble about this MC of the Hall of Fame.

683
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,960
Speaker 2: When a new player comes in, you're always the first

684
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,799
Speaker 2: one to welcome him. You are the ringleader. Where did

685
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,720
Speaker 2: that come from? Did you take that mantle on yourself

686
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:13,399
Speaker 2: or did someone pass it to you?

687
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,319
Speaker 4: No, no, no, no, I'm just I'm a welcomer. I'm

688
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,520
Speaker 4: just a guy who greets people and likes people and

689
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,000
Speaker 4: befriends people. And I think they deserve a call. I

690
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,239
Speaker 4: don't know if anybody else calls or not. I don't

691
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,239
Speaker 4: worry about it. They don't ask me to do it.

692
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,200
Speaker 4: That's just who Johnny is. You know, my mom and

693
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:29,840
Speaker 4: daddy and all, we'd be proud of it. But I

694
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,799
Speaker 4: I like to be personal. I like to be respectful.

695
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,680
Speaker 4: I like to congratulate people on the awards that they win.

696
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,120
Speaker 4: And so when I call them, I told them then

697
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 4: I give them my advice keep a diary right, and

698
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 4: I tell you you know after if it's the induction,

699
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,000
Speaker 4: when the announcement is made, I tell him start now.

700
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:52,160
Speaker 4: But I talked to all three last week and I said, now,

701
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:53,799
Speaker 4: this is going to start, so I want you to

702
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:56,359
Speaker 4: I want you to keep your diary, and I want

703
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,480
Speaker 4: your wife to keep a diary because this is going

704
00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:00,920
Speaker 4: to buy so fast, and you're going to think on

705
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 4: Monday or Tuesday, what the heck happened? All three of

706
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:05,359
Speaker 4: them say, come up to me, and I say, I'm

707
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:05,960
Speaker 4: a diary going.

708
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 2: Did you keep a diary?

709
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:10,040
Speaker 4: I didn't. That's why I wanted to learn.

710
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:10,799
Speaker 2: I learned.

711
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 4: I learned.

712
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:14,680
Speaker 1: So one of the highlights for my dad in back

713
00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two when we were here was right

714
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,799
Speaker 1: pretty much above us was the verandah and you pulled

715
00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,839
Speaker 1: him aside, and what advice did you give him on

716
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 1: his weekend joining this club.

717
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 4: Well, I'm not I have another ritual that I do afterwards.

718
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,200
Speaker 4: But you know, to enjoy the moment, But you're going

719
00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,919
Speaker 4: to spend so much time trying to accommodate everybody else,

720
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,080
Speaker 4: and you're going to forget the moment of what you achieved.

721
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,680
Speaker 4: So you have to take a minute and think about

722
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,759
Speaker 4: who you are and where you are. This isn't all

723
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:53,719
Speaker 4: about them anymore. It's about me and so I hope

724
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:55,000
Speaker 4: that's what I share.

725
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,480
Speaker 2: Exactly what you did, Johnny, was the highlight of my

726
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,000
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame weekend. That I sat on that varana

727
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:02,279
Speaker 2: with the greatest catcher of all time. You told me

728
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,120
Speaker 2: to look at that lake for one minute. I did

729
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 2: do not say a word, think about where you are,

730
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,879
Speaker 2: how you got here, and how many people helped get

731
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,319
Speaker 2: you here. And I'm sorry I teared up because it

732
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,239
Speaker 2: was the most emotional moment of that weekend for me.

733
00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,520
Speaker 4: And I've done it for years, and you know, it

734
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,960
Speaker 4: seemed odd to some of the guys. Right then I

735
00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:25,960
Speaker 4: had cal rippinkins, Can I get them? Can I help

736
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,799
Speaker 4: you get them in their chair? I mean, it's like,

737
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,279
Speaker 4: you know, you always think somebody's you know, oh it's

738
00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 4: kind of corny and everything else. But and then I

739
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,719
Speaker 4: have every almost year after year they said they come

740
00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:40,919
Speaker 4: to men said thank you for doing that. That meant

741
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,160
Speaker 4: so much to me and the guys that you called

742
00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:47,480
Speaker 4: just to say, hey, congratulations, well deserved, you deserve to

743
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,439
Speaker 4: be here. You're going to have a great week. We'll

744
00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,839
Speaker 4: welcome you in and do all this stuff. And when

745
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,319
Speaker 4: they get here they say, thank you. That was a

746
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:58,200
Speaker 4: great call, and it's not for my own glory. I

747
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,480
Speaker 4: don't do it, but it's were there because I was.

748
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,799
Speaker 4: I was the guy. And when Pee Wee Reese put

749
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,879
Speaker 4: his arm around me after my speech, after I gave

750
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,040
Speaker 4: my speech induction speech, he put his arm around me

751
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,759
Speaker 4: and whispered in my ear that was great. You're a

752
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:17,480
Speaker 4: Hall of Famer.

753
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,480
Speaker 2: How'd you do on your speech, Johnny? Were you scared

754
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,080
Speaker 2: to death before you went up there or being you?

755
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:24,399
Speaker 2: Were you ready to go?

756
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 4: I did not. All I had was a few ideas

757
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,920
Speaker 4: and then you kind of winged it from there. Well,

758
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,280
Speaker 4: I didn't have any notes. No, no, no, I mean.

759
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,439
Speaker 1: This man walked around the Harris Theater local grocery store

760
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:40,919
Speaker 1: memorizing his ten page speech.

761
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,600
Speaker 4: Is Ohidrin Beltray and he's got his folder, you know,

762
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 4: right under his arm. And I said, could I see that?

763
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:49,320
Speaker 4: And he said, no, you can't see that. I already

764
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 4: heard about you because I took a couple of a

765
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,400
Speaker 4: couple of money here. I took, you know, his notebook,

766
00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:56,200
Speaker 4: one of our inductees' notebooks.

767
00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:00,840
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, wait, you took a notebook, the notes

768
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:02,560
Speaker 2: away from a guy was going in the Hall of Fame.

769
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:03,400
Speaker 2: And it was he.

770
00:39:03,719 --> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 4: Was going ready to go out for the speech, and

771
00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:08,879
Speaker 4: oh my god, he's good and we'd laugh when he's

772
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,239
Speaker 4: walking around the room. And then first thing he says,

773
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,839
Speaker 4: I heard about you guys. Come up. Now, I heard

774
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:19,520
Speaker 4: about you. Stay away. Can't you imagine people who don't

775
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:21,520
Speaker 4: like to talk to begin with. I mean, you know

776
00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,759
Speaker 4: how public speaking is for people. It's not doing it.

777
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,520
Speaker 4: But no, I had it all. I didn't have anything, really,

778
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:30,800
Speaker 4: I just got up. I was eighth grade. I was

779
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:33,480
Speaker 4: Johnny Bench from the Binger four h club and for

780
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:35,840
Speaker 4: my speech, I have chosen birds of the World. I

781
00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 4: mean it was interesting because I just got a note

782
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,880
Speaker 4: from a uh from back home. It was he's going

783
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,520
Speaker 4: to be night Leland's going to be ninety six years old,

784
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,840
Speaker 4: and he was the four age leader of Kato County

785
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 4: and back in those days. And I'll be forever grateful

786
00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 4: that I learned to stand up and speak, you know,

787
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,160
Speaker 4: and memorize. I never had a problem memorizing anything. I

788
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,600
Speaker 4: could each would have a poem. I would do it

789
00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:02,600
Speaker 4: before class was over.

790
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:04,719
Speaker 1: It sounds like if you didn't make it to the

791
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:06,320
Speaker 1: ball field, you could have made it to the stage.

792
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,600
Speaker 1: Because I've heard you have a great singing voice.

793
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,480
Speaker 4: You know, I know the words and sometimes and you're

794
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:15,320
Speaker 4: a performer. I sang with a symphony with Eric Knsel

795
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:18,640
Speaker 4: in the Cincinnati Pops. I played professional golf. I played

796
00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:22,480
Speaker 4: nine senior Toure events. I bowled professionally. I used to

797
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,239
Speaker 4: play tennis once a year and gave it up. It

798
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:31,200
Speaker 4: just got to be too much work. So I love music,

799
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:34,160
Speaker 4: you know, and I wish i'd had. I had a

800
00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 4: thor ecotomy, which is a lung. I had lung surgery

801
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:41,360
Speaker 4: four days after I turned twenty five. I had developed

802
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 4: a Cox City o yd micosis, which is called the

803
00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,880
Speaker 4: Valley fever. And so a lot of people, I know,

804
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,839
Speaker 4: they are not aware of it. But four days after

805
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:53,000
Speaker 4: the seventy two playoffs in the World Series, I went in.

806
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:55,319
Speaker 4: They cut me from here all the way back to here,

807
00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,759
Speaker 4: and it was a brand new surgery. It was used

808
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:01,959
Speaker 4: with taples that they had never done before because usually

809
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 4: they open up your back and my doctor Gonzalez was

810
00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:09,239
Speaker 4: trying to avoid that. And so you know, when you

811
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:11,359
Speaker 4: tell people, how what do you think of your career?

812
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 4: And I said, well, it wasn't as good as it

813
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:18,120
Speaker 4: would have been because the difference the difference in greatness

814
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:21,920
Speaker 4: is about five to six inches because that's where you

815
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:28,520
Speaker 4: hit the ball. So in my physical ability and I

816
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 4: had twenty five vision, I could actually get to the

817
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,839
Speaker 4: ball out there. So hitting the ball out here as

818
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:38,200
Speaker 4: opposed to hitting it there. You know, now things are slower.

819
00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:41,759
Speaker 4: I mean your reaction in a baseball you have a

820
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,319
Speaker 4: ninety mile on hour base fastball, you have point four

821
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,920
Speaker 4: to two seconds from the time it leaves the pitcher's

822
00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:49,920
Speaker 4: hand till it crosses home plate. Yeah, point one seven

823
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 4: seconds reaction time. So the brain the cameras are the

824
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,799
Speaker 4: eyes the cameras. The brain sees the camera and so

825
00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,759
Speaker 4: it has to identify location, speed, spend and then send

826
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,920
Speaker 4: them send the signal to the nerves and muscles and

827
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:07,319
Speaker 4: they react. And that after they cut the nerves and

828
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:10,160
Speaker 4: cut the bone and cut the muscle, then I was

829
00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:13,120
Speaker 4: I was down to probably a little less and I

830
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:18,160
Speaker 4: so I never had the career that I think I

831
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 4: could have had.

832
00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,040
Speaker 2: Johnny, you don't play golf anymore? Is that correct?

833
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:26,239
Speaker 4: Warranty ran out I had when I was eighteen, I

834
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:29,160
Speaker 4: was driving back from I had broken my thumb in Buffalo,

835
00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 4: and I went to I went back to Oklahoma City.

836
00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,160
Speaker 4: And when I drove up to Witchdall see my American

837
00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:40,879
Speaker 4: Legion teammates play. And I drove back to Oklahoma City,

838
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:44,560
Speaker 4: stayed with my brother Orlan highway. Pulled out to pass

839
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:47,000
Speaker 4: the bus. Here's the drunk driver on the wrong side.

840
00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:49,279
Speaker 4: I hit the brakes, hit me right in the door.

841
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:53,360
Speaker 4: I didn't regain conscious. I gained conscious getting into the ambulance,

842
00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:56,640
Speaker 4: and then when I got I don't remember anything about it.

843
00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:58,120
Speaker 4: I think I remember the sort of going into the

844
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:01,839
Speaker 4: emergency room, and then the doctor came in afterwards. He said, son,

845
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,640
Speaker 4: you got the biggest bones I've ever seen in my life.

846
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:07,040
Speaker 4: He said, nobody but you would walk out.

847
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,560
Speaker 2: Of here by that build.

848
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 4: I had the thing and I and he said, but

849
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,520
Speaker 4: you know, later on you'll have larth ryders, you'll have problems,

850
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:18,000
Speaker 4: you'll have all the stuff. And so I've had both

851
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:22,719
Speaker 4: hips replaced. These are still perfect shave, but the back,

852
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,480
Speaker 4: the shoulders and all the stuff and everything else. It's

853
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:27,280
Speaker 4: almost like being a catcher every day.

854
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 1: Well, it's worth noting the fifty percent of the hips

855
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 1: on this podcast right now have been replaced.

856
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,160
Speaker 3: Dad has won two over there.

857
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,800
Speaker 1: I still have the originals at age thirty, Thank goodness.

858
00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:39,560
Speaker 1: And speaking of golf, my dad wanted to play golf

859
00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:43,120
Speaker 1: at Leatherstocking for Father's Day last year, and we took

860
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,359
Speaker 1: a picture on is it the the seventh hole right

861
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,400
Speaker 1: right at your plaque? And Dad sent you the photo.

862
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,120
Speaker 4: He did, right, and it was lying three or four.

863
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:55,919
Speaker 1: I don't remem he laid up twice to get there

864
00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:58,520
Speaker 1: at three hundred and forty six yards. As little guys,

865
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:00,799
Speaker 1: we're not getting there, maybe even too right.

866
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 2: Remember what you wrote to me when I sent you

867
00:44:03,239 --> 00:44:05,680
Speaker 2: the picture. Oh no, here's what you wrote.

868
00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:06,960
Speaker 4: How many foul balls did you take?

869
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:07,160
Speaker 1: Him?

870
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:09,080
Speaker 4: Ahead? You? I remember?

871
00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:11,640
Speaker 2: Actually you were kind for once you said you out

872
00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:15,120
Speaker 2: drove me again, And I wrote, and I hit a

873
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:18,160
Speaker 2: three wood, Johnny, you hit a golf ball three hundred

874
00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:21,960
Speaker 2: and forty six yards in nineteen ninety two. That's impossible.

875
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:24,160
Speaker 2: You can't do that, but you did well.

876
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:26,239
Speaker 4: I drove. I drove a four hundred and three yard

877
00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:29,360
Speaker 4: part four in Vegas, and then I three put it.

878
00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:31,879
Speaker 4: I don't really I mean, but it was like there

879
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:33,799
Speaker 4: was a plaque there at the Sarah Golf Yeah, at

880
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,160
Speaker 4: the golf course at Sarah, and I had a plaque air,

881
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:38,520
Speaker 4: So Johnny Bench drove this grain.

882
00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:43,320
Speaker 2: Johnny seven here on this diabolically difficult course, isn't uphill?

883
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,280
Speaker 4: I hit it good, right, Johnson? I hit it good.

884
00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:50,160
Speaker 2: John Smolts told me on an airplay once he said,

885
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,600
Speaker 2: Johnny Bench hit the cart path on that hole. I'm

886
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:54,280
Speaker 2: sure of it. Have you heard that before?

887
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:57,960
Speaker 4: Oh gosh, especially from Smoltzy, You can't. You know, he's

888
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,239
Speaker 4: gotta be the greatest golf forever, and he's gonna He's

889
00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:03,600
Speaker 4: got that drive and his spirit and he just nobody

890
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:04,640
Speaker 4: can hit it that far.

891
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,600
Speaker 2: Right, Johnny, you talked about how big your hands were

892
00:45:07,719 --> 00:45:09,719
Speaker 2: even when you were five. Yeah, my dad was like,

893
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:10,960
Speaker 2: where did they come from?

894
00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:13,520
Speaker 4: That dad? My dad was only five nine and his

895
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,359
Speaker 4: was about that much shorter as all. It was, right,

896
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,200
Speaker 4: And now we've you know, we've got I've got to

897
00:45:19,239 --> 00:45:20,359
Speaker 4: be known for something, right.

898
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:22,160
Speaker 2: And we have a picture of you, of course, the

899
00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:26,000
Speaker 2: famous picture of you holding seven baseballs at one time. Yeah,

900
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,440
Speaker 2: I was that you just messing around one day and

901
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:29,160
Speaker 2: say I could do this.

902
00:45:29,239 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 4: You shag in the outfield when they're batting practice, and

903
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,399
Speaker 4: so you pick up four balls and you just put them.

904
00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:37,080
Speaker 4: I could pick up four balls and put them in

905
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:39,280
Speaker 4: the bucket because they take it up to the batting

906
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,160
Speaker 4: practice picture and they said, now making to get I

907
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:44,640
Speaker 4: saiding to get another one? I said, yeah, I think

908
00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:48,040
Speaker 4: I could got one. Then all of a sudden it

909
00:45:48,120 --> 00:45:51,080
Speaker 4: became six, and then it became seven, and then all

910
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 4: of a sudden it was like, we're you know you

911
00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:55,359
Speaker 4: like you do? You know you like today you'd send

912
00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:58,440
Speaker 4: it out on social media Johnny Ben's you know, grabbing

913
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,759
Speaker 4: six baseballs or five baseball? There are seven baseballs and

914
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:04,960
Speaker 4: all of a sudden it's for some reason people.

915
00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:06,960
Speaker 1: Love that it's a great photo and we're gonna we're

916
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,000
Speaker 1: gonna pull it up on the YouTube channel so people

917
00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:11,400
Speaker 1: can see it as well. Joe Mauer is getting inducted

918
00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:13,840
Speaker 1: this year. Is there ever a special tie for you

919
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,560
Speaker 1: when when a great catcher goes into the hall.

920
00:46:16,719 --> 00:46:19,319
Speaker 4: Well and catcher is the word. You know that that

921
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:23,279
Speaker 4: was a question as to you know Joe Mauer. Yeah,

922
00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:25,160
Speaker 4: you know when I was in I was playing in

923
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:29,880
Speaker 4: the senior event in Buffalo, I mean in Minnesota, in Blaine, Minnesota,

924
00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:33,719
Speaker 4: I was playing in the three senior championship and the

925
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,880
Speaker 4: reporter came out and said, have you heard about this?

926
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,200
Speaker 4: Kid Maer and I said, yeah, it's very, very impressive

927
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:41,879
Speaker 4: right now. And he said, well, what do you think

928
00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:43,200
Speaker 4: is he going to be? They're going he's going to

929
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:45,480
Speaker 4: be the next you. And I said, well, let's wait

930
00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:48,759
Speaker 4: six or seven years and then we'll see. You know,

931
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:51,799
Speaker 4: can he maintain it? Can't he do it without getting hurt?

932
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:56,120
Speaker 4: Can he? You know, it's just a how's your sustainability?

933
00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:58,920
Speaker 4: So he wound up, you know, seven years after that

934
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:01,719
Speaker 4: he got the hamstring, he had to go to first base,

935
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,080
Speaker 4: he had to do stuff and everything else. The batting

936
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,560
Speaker 4: titles nicest kid you'll ever meet. I mean, just a

937
00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:11,720
Speaker 4: wonderful man, great catcher. But again, you know, you judge

938
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:16,400
Speaker 4: someone for their hole, you know, their whole effort in baseball.

939
00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:20,239
Speaker 4: So the batting title's MVP and everything else carried him

940
00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:24,080
Speaker 4: through the catching I mean at seven years. I mean,

941
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:27,680
Speaker 4: you guys know whatever HOI however, you're going to rate

942
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:28,319
Speaker 4: them right?

943
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,880
Speaker 2: And your knees are so okay after all.

944
00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:34,719
Speaker 4: These years, I got big bones, Tim, Can you.

945
00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:36,920
Speaker 2: Get down in a catcher's stance right now?

946
00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:37,760
Speaker 4: Why?

947
00:47:41,239 --> 00:47:42,560
Speaker 2: I'm not what you should do?

948
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:44,839
Speaker 4: You want to show me? Can you?

949
00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:47,879
Speaker 2: I can? And it hurts and I'm only sixty seven

950
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:50,360
Speaker 2: years old, and I never caught a day in my life,

951
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:51,560
Speaker 2: and I still have trouble.

952
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:53,239
Speaker 4: If you touch the stove and it was hot, you

953
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:57,520
Speaker 4: didn't do it again, so you don't squat again, you know, No,

954
00:47:57,600 --> 00:48:00,560
Speaker 4: I don't. I don't have any need to go Yah.

955
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:02,640
Speaker 2: Right, good, good for you. Do you watch a lot

956
00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:05,320
Speaker 2: of baseball these days? And do you like what you see?

957
00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:08,719
Speaker 4: I don't have the time to watch a whole game.

958
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:11,440
Speaker 4: I'll watch certain games, I'll watch certain deals. I'm a

959
00:48:11,440 --> 00:48:13,560
Speaker 4: box score man. I've always been a box score man.

960
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:17,920
Speaker 4: I can't wait for I got MLB app I go in.

961
00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:20,160
Speaker 4: I watch every back score. Look, I go through every

962
00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:23,200
Speaker 4: almost every team every day, every team, Yeah, every day.

963
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:26,000
Speaker 1: Is there anything like My dad's a nut with box scores,

964
00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:27,799
Speaker 1: and I've become the same way. He's looking to see

965
00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:30,880
Speaker 1: if if a score line makes a phone number, or

966
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:31,680
Speaker 1: looking for.

967
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:34,520
Speaker 3: The you know, all of these little quirks. It is weird.

968
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:36,320
Speaker 1: Is there anything that you like to see in a

969
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:37,840
Speaker 1: box score that excites you?

970
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:40,040
Speaker 4: No? We have the Johnny Bench Catchers Award, which is

971
00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:43,200
Speaker 4: the college Catcher of the Year. I've included now women

972
00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:45,839
Speaker 4: as softballs, so now we have the Women's Softball Player

973
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:48,479
Speaker 4: of the Year. And we have four states around Red's

974
00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:53,759
Speaker 4: Country Kentucky, Ohiowa's, Virginia, Indiana, so we honor those kids. So,

975
00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:56,160
Speaker 4: I mean, we've got like fifteen twelve to fifteen guys

976
00:48:56,719 --> 00:48:59,200
Speaker 4: that have won the award or have been nominated for

977
00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:01,440
Speaker 4: the award that are in the major leagues. And so

978
00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:03,960
Speaker 4: I go in and see how they're doing. And Lattle Rushman,

979
00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:06,279
Speaker 4: you know, and then you got even Schober was a

980
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:08,840
Speaker 4: nominee at the time. Then you had Garrett Stubbs, and

981
00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,040
Speaker 4: then you go to Suzuki and then you go But

982
00:49:11,239 --> 00:49:13,640
Speaker 4: I love to see how they're doing. I mean I

983
00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:15,759
Speaker 4: try to follow their careers and what they're up to

984
00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:18,040
Speaker 4: and all the stuff, like to see who the pictures

985
00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:20,360
Speaker 4: are winning pictures. I like to go and see the stats,

986
00:49:20,719 --> 00:49:23,839
Speaker 4: who's got the RBIs, who's doing stuff. I just I

987
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:27,400
Speaker 4: just think it's it's really really fun for me. And

988
00:49:27,440 --> 00:49:29,120
Speaker 4: then I'll check the on the Reds and see and

989
00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:32,120
Speaker 4: what's the averages, what's all the stuff. So you know,

990
00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:34,120
Speaker 4: I try to stay involved. I mean, I still have

991
00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:35,200
Speaker 4: a connection.

992
00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:38,640
Speaker 2: That is so good. I just finished Johnny. When people

993
00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:42,600
Speaker 2: ask you, like, what is Cooper's Town like, especially on

994
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,160
Speaker 2: a weekend like this, how do you describe what this

995
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:46,680
Speaker 2: is like?

996
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:50,480
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, it's Norman Rockwell you know, it's

997
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:54,319
Speaker 4: it's a town that had a when I first came

998
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,600
Speaker 4: here and now it's been inundated with a lot of

999
00:49:56,640 --> 00:49:59,719
Speaker 4: sports show, sports shops, everything else and used to be

1000
00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:02,000
Speaker 4: a lot of mom and pops and stuff and everything else.

1001
00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:06,640
Speaker 4: It's I don't know, it's it's a hallowed ground place

1002
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:10,440
Speaker 4: that you know, you in your imagination, you think about

1003
00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,040
Speaker 4: where would you go, I mean into in the magical

1004
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:17,200
Speaker 4: and the Magical fairy Tales, you would go to Cooperstown

1005
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:20,640
Speaker 4: or what would it be like? And you can't imagine

1006
00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:22,880
Speaker 4: driving into the town and then seeing how quaint it

1007
00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:27,560
Speaker 4: is down the street it is the main street, little

1008
00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:31,040
Speaker 4: tiny houses on the way, And then you think about

1009
00:50:31,719 --> 00:50:33,680
Speaker 4: and you start it starts to grow on you. As

1010
00:50:33,719 --> 00:50:38,919
Speaker 4: the fans start to come, and they come with this

1011
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:45,279
Speaker 4: full of emotion, full of excitement. You know, they've got

1012
00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:48,200
Speaker 4: a player, they've got ten players that they've always followed

1013
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:50,799
Speaker 4: and known, and they want to see them. They want

1014
00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:53,440
Speaker 4: to catch a glimpse of them. More than anything. They

1015
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:57,520
Speaker 4: want to share it with their child, their grandson say

1016
00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:00,359
Speaker 4: you should have seen him. This guy was here, this

1017
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,480
Speaker 4: guy was there. I was in that stands when he

1018
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:04,960
Speaker 4: saw it. I did that. I saw it. I was there.

1019
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,720
Speaker 4: And they love to pass on their little midment for

1020
00:51:08,719 --> 00:51:11,319
Speaker 4: for them, it doesn't have to be one. It's all,

1021
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:13,520
Speaker 4: you know. It's not like going to see one a

1022
00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:17,239
Speaker 4: game and watch one particular player. You've got everybody here

1023
00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:18,279
Speaker 4: and it's tope.

1024
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:21,600
Speaker 1: It is magical. And I think the fans everybody has

1025
00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:24,439
Speaker 1: a childlike look in their eyes, no matter how old

1026
00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:27,160
Speaker 1: they are, seeing their heroes. It's like you're transported back

1027
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:30,040
Speaker 1: to being eight years old eating a hot dog at

1028
00:51:30,120 --> 00:51:33,319
Speaker 1: you know, Shay Stadium. For you, my dad's a three

1029
00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:36,560
Speaker 1: time grandfather now and you just recently became a grandfather.

1030
00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:40,040
Speaker 3: Congratulations, thank you. How is that for you? Is it

1031
00:51:40,120 --> 00:51:42,040
Speaker 3: the most incredible thing like it is for my dad?

1032
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,359
Speaker 4: Well, I'm you know, I never thought my oldest son.

1033
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:48,480
Speaker 4: I wasn't sure he would get married, and then I

1034
00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:51,040
Speaker 4: wasn't sure he'd ever want children and everything else. So

1035
00:51:51,600 --> 00:51:53,520
Speaker 4: you know, to have that child for the first time

1036
00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:56,440
Speaker 4: and hold it and everything else, and you say, you know,

1037
00:51:56,480 --> 00:51:58,400
Speaker 4: and you know you're not going to be there for

1038
00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:02,239
Speaker 4: his entire life. You know, how do we? You know?

1039
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:06,280
Speaker 4: And you and you think, Okay, they're gonna be great parents,

1040
00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:09,439
Speaker 4: and they're gonna give them an education, and they'll they'll

1041
00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:12,880
Speaker 4: be strict, probably too strict in some ways. Know, ain't

1042
00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:16,680
Speaker 4: my son? And is it? But that's that's what discipline is,

1043
00:52:16,719 --> 00:52:18,319
Speaker 4: and that's what you need and that's the way you

1044
00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:21,080
Speaker 4: need to learn. So you know, it's the same thing.

1045
00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:25,280
Speaker 4: Let me watch my children grow to see what they become. Lord,

1046
00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:27,719
Speaker 4: don't let that cold wind blow till I'm too old

1047
00:52:27,719 --> 00:52:30,640
Speaker 4: to die. Young and so I got a kid going

1048
00:52:30,680 --> 00:52:34,160
Speaker 4: into college. You got a kid going into sophomore. That's

1049
00:52:34,239 --> 00:52:36,640
Speaker 4: the love I just got married. I mean, my life

1050
00:52:37,080 --> 00:52:39,960
Speaker 4: couldn't be better right now. And the top it off,

1051
00:52:40,239 --> 00:52:44,879
Speaker 4: I get to be on the tim Kirchen, I mean,

1052
00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:47,799
Speaker 4: how can it get any better than this? I'm talking

1053
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:52,320
Speaker 4: about the cherry on top. We gotta leave right there.

1054
00:52:53,360 --> 00:53:00,800
Speaker 4: Watch my children grow to see what they become. Lord,

1055
00:53:01,160 --> 00:53:05,520
Speaker 4: that cold wind blow till I'm too old to die.

1056
00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:15,200
Speaker 3: Wow, I knew I could say, right Johnny Bench, thank

1057
00:53:15,239 --> 00:53:15,560
Speaker 3: you for.

1058
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:19,440
Speaker 4: Joining always for Timmy anything YouTube. Jeff, nice to be

1059
00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:22,160
Speaker 4: with you, and uh gosh, I hope this show goes.

1060
00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:24,160
Speaker 4: I hope you make some money because this is because

1061
00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:25,840
Speaker 4: I didn't get anything from where. I can tell you

1062
00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:28,919
Speaker 4: that I didn't get a shirt a T shirt. It's

1063
00:53:28,920 --> 00:53:31,160
Speaker 4: a hat or shirt. But maybe I'll get you to

1064
00:53:31,160 --> 00:53:33,200
Speaker 4: sign a baseball later on. Nice try.

1065
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:35,040
Speaker 2: We didn't get paid either.

1066
00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:38,160
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean I love that. I'm gonna

1067
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:41,200
Speaker 4: believe that one too. Yeah, well you wrote think I

1068
00:53:41,200 --> 00:53:42,560
Speaker 4: wrote in there with the head to let us.

1069
00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:46,320
Speaker 1: Oh my god, our chief investor, my dad's wife, my mom,

1070
00:53:46,719 --> 00:53:48,840
Speaker 1: she's we keep saying we need more money for travel.

1071
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,040
Speaker 4: Get your get your I'm trying to get in. Get

1072
00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:52,960
Speaker 4: him an agent. I mean, my gosh, he wants to

1073
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:55,479
Speaker 4: go up to the shop and and help them out,

1074
00:53:56,360 --> 00:53:58,759
Speaker 4: you know, let him pay you for being here. Now

1075
00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:01,720
Speaker 4: you gotta pay for gas to get from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

1076
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:03,640
Speaker 4: I just really feel bad now. I feel like I

1077
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:05,839
Speaker 4: want to put something. If you'll leave a tip camp,

1078
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,759
Speaker 4: maybe I'll yeah, I'll put something in it for you.

1079
00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:11,480
Speaker 4: I'm worried about you. I'll talk to Dan next to

1080
00:54:11,560 --> 00:54:13,520
Speaker 4: if I ever see whoever's on this program.

1081
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:17,000
Speaker 1: Oh my god, thank you, welcome, it was, Thank you

1082
00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:20,440
Speaker 1: thank you so much, Thank you to Johnny Bench. We

1083
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:23,719
Speaker 1: had so much fun for that in person interview. So

1084
00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:26,200
Speaker 1: if you're listening right, make sure you subscribe and follow

1085
00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:29,040
Speaker 1: wherever you're listening, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all of that stuff.

1086
00:54:29,120 --> 00:54:31,160
Speaker 1: But if you want to see it because we were

1087
00:54:31,160 --> 00:54:33,160
Speaker 1: in person with Johnny Bench, which is so cool, you

1088
00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:35,879
Speaker 1: can go to our YouTube channel Great Game or what Dad.

1089
00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,880
Speaker 1: I think there's one thing that I wanted to thank

1090
00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:42,160
Speaker 1: him during that interview that I didn't have the opportunity to.

1091
00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:44,799
Speaker 1: For those who have listened to the podcast, you know

1092
00:54:44,880 --> 00:54:47,799
Speaker 1: that my dad's brother, my uncle Matt, passed away from

1093
00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:53,280
Speaker 1: ALS last year on Labor Day, and before his passing,

1094
00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:56,799
Speaker 1: we were looking to do a charity event to bring

1095
00:54:56,840 --> 00:55:01,600
Speaker 1: awareness to ALS, and I remember talking to my and

1096
00:55:02,160 --> 00:55:05,840
Speaker 1: his first call was to Johnny Bench to do a

1097
00:55:05,840 --> 00:55:08,319
Speaker 1: little bit of a fireside chat with you Dad on

1098
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:11,920
Speaker 1: a stage, sell tickets, and every.

1099
00:55:11,719 --> 00:55:13,640
Speaker 3: Cent was going to go back to the cause.

1100
00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:19,640
Speaker 1: He without hesitation said yes after him, I will absolutely

1101
00:55:19,719 --> 00:55:22,640
Speaker 1: do that, And I think it speaks to the amazing

1102
00:55:22,680 --> 00:55:26,400
Speaker 1: relationship that you've had with him, but also to his heart.

1103
00:55:26,600 --> 00:55:29,759
Speaker 1: He has such a big part and unfortunately we weren't

1104
00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:32,000
Speaker 1: able to put that event together in time.

1105
00:55:32,040 --> 00:55:33,000
Speaker 3: Before his passing.

1106
00:55:33,480 --> 00:55:36,080
Speaker 1: But I just want to say a big thank you

1107
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:39,880
Speaker 1: from the Kirchen family to Johnny for being so gung

1108
00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:42,520
Speaker 1: ho and game to help out with this cause, and.

1109
00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:43,600
Speaker 2: Thank you for bringing that up.

1110
00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:44,000
Speaker 4: Jeff.

1111
00:55:44,120 --> 00:55:47,280
Speaker 2: I remember calling Johnny about that and I got about

1112
00:55:47,320 --> 00:55:50,560
Speaker 2: ten seconds into the discussion and he interrupted me and

1113
00:55:50,600 --> 00:55:53,359
Speaker 2: he said, I'm in Just tell me when that's who

1114
00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:54,239
Speaker 2: Johnny Bench is.

1115
00:55:54,760 --> 00:55:57,520
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for enjoying

1116
00:55:57,560 --> 00:55:59,520
Speaker 1: our interview with Johnny Bench. We had a great time

1117
00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:01,839
Speaker 1: at Cooper Down, and we can't wait the brand new

1118
00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:04,640
Speaker 1: episode next Tuesday on Is This a Great Game or what?

1119
00:56:04,760 --> 00:56:05,040
Speaker 3: Follow?

1120
00:56:05,120 --> 00:56:08,520
Speaker 1: Subscribe for free wherever you're listening right now, and as always,

1121
00:56:08,560 --> 00:56:10,120
Speaker 1: thank you for being a part of our family.