WEBVTT - David Ortiz: How to Swing for the Fences 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:09.320 For as long as I can remember, the start of 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:12.879 spring has been heralded by baseball players reporting to training 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:17.840 camp with a new season getting underway. Bringing with it 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:22.200 are enduring optimism for our favorite teams and the summer 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:27.080 to come. Baseball has sent us through wars, depressions, and pandemics. 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.680 It's seen Jackie Robinson break the color barrier seventy five 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:36.120 years ago. This eightful and players like je Marshall and 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:40.720 Roberto Clemente opened doors of possibilities to new generations of 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:45.360 players from across Latin America. Over All these decades, baseball 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:48.320 has always been more than a game. It's become part 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.680 of who we are. So why am I telling you this? 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.440 Because after a long, dark off season and a lockout 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:59.600 that put the schedule in jeopardy, baseball is back and 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.120 there's no better person to help us celebrate than our 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:06.399 guests today, A once in a generation player who embodies 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.160 the best of baseball both on and off the field. 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.800 He's a ten time All Star, three time World Series champions, 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:17.600 seven time Silver Slugger, soon to be Baseball Hall of Famer, 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:20.640 and a hero to fans young and old from New 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:25.840 England to the Dominican Republic David Ortiz. During his fourteen 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.720 years with the Boston Red Sox, David helped lead the 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:33.080 team to three championships, including ending the infamous eighty six 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:36.800 year curse the so called Curse of the Bambino in 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:41.039 two thousand four. He also set and still holds the 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.559 team record for most home runs in a single season 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:46.679 with fifty four, and is widely considered one of the 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.960 greatest designated hitters in the history of the game. He's 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.280 also always been focused on giving back off the field, 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:58.520 particularly through the David Ortiz Children's Fund, which provides critical 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:03.320 cardiac services the children in need. David, thanks for being 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.720 here today, Mr President. How are you. I'm good. It's 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.359 nice to hear your voice. It's good seeing you. Obviously 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.560 you in a minute. Um. I think everyone who will 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.760 be listening to this podcast knows who you are and 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.840 knows probably that you came from the Dominican Republic, But 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.120 that doesn't explain how you fell in love with baseball 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.680 and how you've finally got a chance to play in 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:28.960 the major So tell us how old were you when 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:31.840 you started playing, How were you when you knew you 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:33.639 fell in love with the game, and how old were 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.160 you when you realized you had a chance to make 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.079 the Major's Well, first of all, I want to say 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.480 hi to all your audience. It's an honor. So we 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:47.440 having this podcast you Mr President and uh In my case, 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:52.560 I would like people to understand importance of discipline, dedication 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.320 and one of the most important things. I always take 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.600 a lot of pride on on the things that I do, 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.880 especially when my family list in ball. And and that's 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:06.680 where my story begins. You know, I was a kid 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.720 coming from uh String neighborhood back in the Dominican Republic. 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:16.119 But I have a couple of parents who are They 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:21.640 wasn't professionists, but they one thing to get to be 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.280 done the right way. My mom emphasized a lot of education. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:30.280 My dad as well. And my dad was very good 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:34.840 baseball player. And but back then it came to be 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:40.000 a professional ball player baseball player, it was harder than 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:44.320 what it is nowadays. So my dad is just the 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.040 kind of guy that he had a lot of faith 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:50.840 on God and he always told me the story that 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:55.840 once he had a quick baseball he basically went to 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:59.160 church and prayed to God to have that his first 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:02.880 child was a boy, and and that be came to 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:05.960 be a baseball player. What I learned from it is 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:10.120 that dream come true. You know, God have faith and 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:15.320 got it, and you gotta change your dreams. And at 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.720 some point if you have dedication and discipline, he can 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:20.960 come through, you know. And my dad skins. I was 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.720 a kid, I remember my favor. My very first toy 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.600 was a baseball back and ball in the glove. But 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:33.320 me being a lefty back then in the Dominican it 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.520 was hard to found a left under blow. So my 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:41.679 dad bought me a right handed glove. I used to 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.560 wear it in the hands when I used to wear 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.920 and sometimes I used to wear in the left in 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.680 the hand castaball take the glove off and throw the baseball. 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:54.039 And when I was like eight or nine, he got 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.800 me into this one literal league team because he used 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:59.360 to see down when he comes back from work. He 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:02.120 used to see and to watch me playing baseball on 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.160 the street in front of the house. And my dad, 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:07.800 for some reason he thought I had something especial going on, 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:13.920 and since that he started emphasizing on me following up 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:18.640 with baseball because he said that when I was like 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.480 nine ten years old, the kids that were a ready 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:25.480 fourteen and fifteen, used to pick me on their team 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.120 to play with him. They used to fight to help 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:32.080 me playing in dirt team because he said that my 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.480 hands in that coordination at the age of nine ten, 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:39.000 it was very special. So my dad he just he 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:43.279 just fall in love where he pushed me, pushed me. 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.920 I was. I was the type of guy that at 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:51.960 some point I truly fall in love with basketball just 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:56.120 watching Michael Jordan's and all those guys doing that. That 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:59.760 in the NBA was pretty big. Back in the Dominican Republic, 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.080 I used to love being the basketball court playing basketball. 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.360 You know. I used to go to the baseball field 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:09.159 and then if I see a basketball cortin as, I 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.440 used to stop at the basketball court, start playing basketball 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:14.920 and forget about baseball. That's how crazy it was about baseball, 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:19.040 about about basketball at the time. But my dad keep 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:21.240 from pushing me, keep from pushing me. He used to 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:24.880 go sometimes to the baseball court and be like, hey, no, no, no, 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:26.520 that's not what you're gonna be. You're gonna be a 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:32.000 baseball player. Here, let's go to the baseball field. And 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.479 he had got to the point where one day, I 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:39.920 don't know where I remember I was on my way 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:43.680 to play basketball, and then they had a baseball game 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.640 going on and they were missing a couple of guys, 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.800 so they know that I used to practice base but 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.080 and I was into it, and the guy pulled me 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.360 into the game and then I hit two homes. When 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:59.080 that happened, I was like, wow, I think I can 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:05.240 do this. I can't do this. So I started like 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.560 playing more baseball, and I started following in love more 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:12.560 with the game. Baseball was my thing. We were in 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.600 Chicago and I was in the bar. We are Ellis 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:19.720 Bert after the game and the NBA was there, so 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:26.040 J having security coming to get uh Ellis Burt and 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:30.520 myself to come and join him, and uh that was 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:33.000 the time whatever minute, And I told him straight up, hey, look, 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:37.040 you know what, because of you, I almost not get 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.440 to be playing baseball right now. He was like what, 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.920 And then I started doing the breakdown for him and 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.240 we were laughing and and it was fun. And but 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:52.280 like I said, you know, Uh, I was lucky enough 0:07:52.320 --> 0:08:00.760 to have parents uh focus on education and sport at 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:05.400 the same time without ruined the attention for anyone of 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.240 or the two things. Educational sport. They want to make 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.840 sure that I educated myself in that same time. Play 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.480 is for and thanks to your parents. And then we 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.160 all owe him a lot because your dad cat you 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.440 in baseball and you broke the curse of the m 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:24.920 Vino in two thousand four. That's exactly how he went 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:32.400 down and started the Yokers. The You know, this is 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.360 very interesting to me because I've spent a lot of 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.520 time in the Dominican Republic over the last twenty years, 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:42.800 and one of my closest friends and college classmates and 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:44.760 still lives there. We do a lot of work together 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:48.560 and and we've talked a lot about how how rich 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:52.480 the baseball heritage is there. Even the great Satchel Page 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:56.440 played in the Dominican Republic back in this nineteen sixties 0:08:56.440 --> 0:09:00.040 and fifties. He'd go down there. So there is a 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.520 long history there, and there's a most Americans don't know it, 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.559 but there's a kind of a Latin American World Series 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:12.680 every year with Mexico, the American Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:17.360 Cuba and uh. It was several years ago. It was 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:20.800 in Jalisco, and I was invited to go down and 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.600 be there when we threw out the first pitch with 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.240 the great boxer Canelo, and thank goodness, he threw the 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:31.840 ball and I didn't have to, so his arm was 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:36.800 slightly better than mine. Oh my good did you think 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:40.800 a lot when you played that you were basically walking 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:45.000 in the staffs of one Marshall Sammy Sells, the great 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:49.480 Dominican players before. Were you aware that you were carrying 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:55.520 this heritage forward? Reality is suppression that I, uh, I 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.240 was the kid that all I have a mind when 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.280 that's first joke into the pro was founding the way 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:07.360 to help my family. We were poor family coming from 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.280 the dominic, and my mom and dad I used to 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:13.280 work extremely hard to pay for the school, to pay 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:19.280 for food. We didn't have any extra things because we 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:26.079 can't afford it. And my childhood was really good because 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:32.439 he was full of love in respect, but nothing else. 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:37.679 We don't have any financial statement. It was the type 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:39.400 of living that it was in the day by day 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:47.160 type of things and it was basically, you know, surviving 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.320 type of thing. And but my my mom and dad 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:56.240 they hold on tight, they protect uh their kids. They 0:10:56.280 --> 0:11:00.560 always try their best to take care of us the 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:05.360 way they can. At the time when I was like sixteen, 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:09.600 seventeen with all the pressure that I was living into it. 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:12.640 I know exactly what I need to be and what 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:15.600 I want to be. I just don't know what it 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.040 was gonna take me to get there, but I know 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:24.720 my mind has very clear the things that I need 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:29.600 to do. Two, put my family in a situation because 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:32.800 I was the only way out. I was their only 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.280 way out. It was the only way out but me. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:42.920 So I know that I had that responsibility, and I started, 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:46.280 you know, working on trying to learn what it takes 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.640 to be one of those guys that you just mentioned. Well, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.360 I'm very moved by what you said about your mother, 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.320 and I know you lost her about twenty years ago. 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.160 I think this year in the car accident. Yes, and 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.880 you were paying tribute. You're at you every home running. Yes. 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.199 I remember when I lost my mom. I was playing 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:08.880 for the Twins and it was after New Year Dead. 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.760 My mom used to go to busy her family, you know, 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.160 New Year, you know, and that one time it was 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:17.600 like basically saying goodbye, because on the way back home 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:22.120 they asked it happened, and I was pretty close to 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:26.800 my mom. I was, I was, you know, my mom was. 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.480 I always give some hard time to my sister saying 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:34.840 that I was my mom favorite child. She just spoiled 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:36.800 man enough, you know what I'm saying, My moments to 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.199 love cooking and just sit down and watch me eat. 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.080 She used to call me her big boy, you know. 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.920 And we had that type of connection. And once that happened, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:54.680 that that heat home hard, you know, because my career, uh, 0:12:54.679 --> 0:13:03.920 he would just beginning, and it was something that no 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.960 one is prepared for that, you know. And and I 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:15.160 remember I went to spring training in March. I remember 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.280 I used to celebrate my mother's birthday because her birthday 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:20.720 was marched four wards. We were in the middle spring 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:29.920 training and that day that it was her birthday. Uh. 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.120 I remember getting to the field, I got to the 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:37.320 parking lot and I was just bawling, crying, and I 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:42.400 just sitting down by myself in the parking lot, and uh, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:47.000 the whole team came out and picked me up. And 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:51.400 I remember my boy, Buddy Hunter, he was he was 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.240 my teammate at the time. He was the first one 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:56.840 who coming and grabbed me. And you know, everybody was 0:13:56.880 --> 0:14:01.880 super cool. And I was in the line of that 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:06.240 day and I remember I hit two homers on that game, 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.520 and the first thing that came to my mind after 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.760 I hit the first summer was doing that that celebration 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.880 when I got to the plate. And since that day, 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:19.480 it was like the best feeling I have had after 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:21.320 I hit the home run. I bet you still miss 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:26.680 your mother? Oh yeah, every day? My mother dad twenty 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:33.840 nine years ago, last January six, and uh, I still 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.280 think about her, you know all the time. That's a 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.160 different love, Mr President, That's a different love. You know, 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.360 you got your wife, you got your kids, you got 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.560 your family member, you got everybody, you got friends. But 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.440 the love coming from mom is is different. That's why 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:51.680 I always tell my kids, you love for your mom 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:53.200 is the love for your mom, you know, it's it's 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:57.920 it's something that is extremely different. That connection is different. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.200 I'm a guy that I'm buy so many lovely people, 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.760 so many people, like my family is based on that 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.640 sprained love everywhere, but that one type of love is different. 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:17.720 So you became famous in Boston for many things, but 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.200 no one will ever forget the speech you gave in 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:28.160 Fenway Park after the Boston Marathon bombing, and uh, you 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:34.640 captured the feelings of everybody in Boston, but also one 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:38.400 of the hearts of everybody in America from how did 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.880 that happen? How did you come to be speaking and 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.320 saying that? Do you did you? Did you know what 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:46.560 you were gonna say when you started talking? No idea, 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.240 no idea. But the one thing that I always tell 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:58.080 everyone is that first of all, this country it means 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:01.840 everything to me. You know, um, this is going to 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:05.720 give me the opportunity to me and my family to 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.560 have a future. And I always keep from telling people, 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.120 you know, like it's going through to me, it's just 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:18.120 like the Dominican Republic. Uh, It's a country that means 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:22.920 everything to me. The thing was traveling. I was a 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.600 Boston rehabit and when I saw all that things happening, 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.320 I thought I was watching a movie because I couldn't believe. 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:37.240 Like the marathon, like who is not related to the marathon? 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:40.800 Like the marathon is what we raise money to fight disease, 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:45.680 you know, it's what we where everybody get together for 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:51.240 the cause. That means a lot to everyone. And when 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.920 I saw that going down and I was, I was, 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.480 I got stuck. I don't I don't even know what 0:16:56.560 --> 0:17:01.160 to think. And I started getting frustrated because I always 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:07.000 the rest Socks do a great job we with all 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:11.640 of us as a player, making sure that we are 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:15.560 involved in the community service. You know what I'm saying. 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:18.439 We go to hospital, we go to school, we go 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.439 to jobs, we we we we like the rest Socks. 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:25.320 I'm very proud about what I learned playing for the 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.480 rest Socks when they come down to community service, because 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:33.359 they made sure that we get involved with the community. 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.480 So one that was going on, I remember seeing a 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.639 black hawk flying by my house, and you know that 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.840 you don't see a black hawk every day. Who know 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.040 that when you see a black hawk there's something going down, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.320 And it was when all the chasing was going off. 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:59.720 Three days later, the team comes back in town. But 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:04.520 three days you know, just seeing all the people that 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:11.160 lost family members, that love body parts, all these beautiful 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.560 people that was trying to help, that was trying to 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:21.399 do things, it was very devastating. I mean I I was. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:27.240 I was very very upset. And the one thing that 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:31.240 he homed for me especially it was just one kid 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:38.080 that got killed, you know, that was something that it 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.080 was very devastating to me. So when the thing came 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:46.119 back in town, we are again and that was going 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:50.560 to be my first gig of the season, and we 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:52.960 had the ceremony going on going on my family. I 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.919 had no clue that they were gonna pick me to 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.280 go out there and say something to the fans. I 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:04.000 had no idea that happened, Like I want the ceremony 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.119 start going five minutes before. They were like, hey, we 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:08.879 want you to go out there, and I was in 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:10.159 the dog. We want you to go out there and 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:14.120 say something to the fans. And all I say out 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:21.359 there was me being a citizen. I never thought about 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:25.359 me being Dave Rutize, me being the face of the franchise, 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:28.560 me being who I was. All I thought about was 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.480 all the stuff that we went through through all those 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:37.040 days as an American citizen, and and that was what 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:41.159 I left over an amount when I took over the microphone. 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.600 And all I want to make sure when I say 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.880 what I say is that I want people to know 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.240 that even going through all that this is the greatest 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.960 country to live. Because I know where I come from, 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:56.680 and I know the lack of opportunity that you can 0:19:56.680 --> 0:20:00.119 have in the third world country. What is something that 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:04.320 here in this country, if you come in and work hard, 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:06.600 they give the opportunity to have that American dream that 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:11.359 we all talk about, and that was it. That was me. 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:17.520 You did a great thing for America that day. More 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:28.040 after this, when was your first season in the major 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:33.720 leagues and how old were you it was? I got 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.879 cold up my first game, very first game, was a 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:41.240 really feel something that I think it was the best 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:43.960 experience of all time because you're talking about one of 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:48.600 day uh legendary fields. Growing up as a kid, my 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:53.359 favorite player was Carby Pocket, and carry Pocket at the 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.000 time was working in the front office for the Minnesota Twins. 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:01.960 But when I got cold up, he was there. Uh 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:04.280 he was in the clothhouse, and I think it was 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:06.400 the greatest thing and the reason why he he came 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:08.159 to be my favorite player, it was because when I 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:11.920 was a kid, I had no patience to sit down 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:14.240 to watch the baseball game, and my dad's in the 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:18.639 playoffs between the Braids and the Minnesota Twins. He basically 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:23.080 forced me to see on to watch the game, and 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.200 I sit down, and that was when Kirby made that 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:30.880 that incredible cash in center field that we all remember, 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:34.840 and he went out there to hit and then he 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:39.320 hit a bomb. So as a kid that I stayed 0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:44.560 with me forever. So when I got traded from Seattle 0:21:45.600 --> 0:21:49.720 to Minnesota, the one guy that I wanted me, I 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:53.240 mean badly, was Kirby. And Kirby was so good to me. 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:56.600 He was like a father to me, Like he was 0:21:56.720 --> 0:22:01.560 the most fun guy to be year around, you know. 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:05.160 And and Kirby take care of all of us, all 0:22:05.240 --> 0:22:07.479 of us, you know, And he was working in the 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:09.560 front office in the spring training. Used to come down 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.000 and make sure that, you know, our mindset, of our 0:22:14.080 --> 0:22:17.240 preparation and everything was good to go. But at same time, 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:22.399 he was a cloud, which I think made baseball, you know, 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:25.880 even more fun when you have a guy like him, 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:30.520 you know, being him. It was something that that really 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:35.120 really helped us out. And unfortunately we're into losing Kirby 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:39.840 down the road. And when I got to Boston the 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:44.480 number that used to wear I Minnesota, he was already 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:48.560 one of his number that he was hanging up there. Uh, 0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:50.080 they asked me one number, I want to wear it? 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:53.280 And then I went from Kurby. Oh well yeah, that's 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:57.080 how he went down. But yeah, my first game was 0:22:57.119 --> 0:23:01.080 to really feel I remember amy so as I playing 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:04.960 right field, Mark Grays played first Gray. I used to 0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:07.159 be a first base on another time. So Mark Grays 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:11.000 was one of my hey were played to watch. So 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:14.840 Sammy told Mark Grays about it, and I remember Mark 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:17.240 Gray sending me one of his glove autographs to me. 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:21.080 That was everything. I lost it when I didn't see 0:23:21.119 --> 0:23:23.919 that glow it was it was, it was beautiful, It 0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:26.480 was beautiful, and that was what I got. My first hit, 0:23:26.560 --> 0:23:28.240 My first thing in the Big League was a double. 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:35.920 That's great. I remember in nine when I was still president, 0:23:36.000 --> 0:23:40.399 I went to Atlanta to celebrate the twenty five anniversary 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:44.639 of Henk Karen breaking Babe Bruce home run record and 0:23:44.720 --> 0:23:47.840 a lot of the great All Stars were there, but 0:23:48.000 --> 0:23:52.840 the only player that was playing still in doing well 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:56.520 who came with Sammy Celsis And I said, I can't 0:23:56.560 --> 0:23:58.919 believe you're here. I really appreciate you making the effort 0:23:58.920 --> 0:24:02.720 to come, And he said, uh no, no, no, I 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:04.600 had to be here. What you should want to know 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:07.439 is where the others are. Did they think we'd be 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:09.359 making all this big money if it hadn't been for 0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:13.679 Hank Aaron getting baseball and doing what he did, you know, 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:17.960 and I love the way baseball bills on each other, 0:24:18.720 --> 0:24:22.920 you know, traditions sometimes now a hundred years old. It's 0:24:22.960 --> 0:24:26.800 it's beautiful. And Hank Aaron and I became very close 0:24:26.840 --> 0:24:30.520 friends that He said something that night that I'll never forget, 0:24:30.640 --> 0:24:34.440 just because it's what I see often in the greatest athletes, 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:37.640 a certain humility, you know. And I said, I said, Hank, 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.359 who's the best player you ever played with her against? 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:45.080 And he said, oh, that's not close. He said William Mazes. 0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:48.880 He said, he, uh, he had the best arm from 0:24:49.160 --> 0:24:53.359 outfield since for Berto Clemente. He could run like a 0:24:53.440 --> 0:24:57.000 deer and he could hit like a demon, and he 0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:00.800 would have broken Babe Ruth record too, if the Giants 0:25:01.080 --> 0:25:04.399 hadn't moved to Candle State Park where the wind blew 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:08.680 oh yeah, from Blackfield right in the home flight. He said, 0:25:08.720 --> 0:25:11.760 there were nights even God couldn't at home running Candlestick. 0:25:14.880 --> 0:25:18.320 But I thought, you know, here's this guy celebrating his 0:25:18.520 --> 0:25:22.520 epic record talking about other people. And I see that 0:25:22.560 --> 0:25:25.119 all the time in baseball, a sense of the history, 0:25:25.200 --> 0:25:28.119 of the sense of the appreciation for other people. And 0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:31.160 I've always respected out about you the way you treat 0:25:31.200 --> 0:25:33.880 the game with respect, to treat the players with respect, 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:36.480 you know, you know, what now that you say that 0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:39.880 A few things before I forgot when you were talking 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:44.040 about Mr hang Aaron's I have a wonderful spirit with him. 0:25:44.080 --> 0:25:47.520 Before I got to hang out even more with him. 0:25:47.520 --> 0:25:50.640 I remember we one day without them for War Series 0:25:51.560 --> 0:25:55.320 and I went with the family to the Bahamas and 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:57.399 I'm sitting down having dinner with my family and the 0:25:57.480 --> 0:26:01.960 table and this yet man stand all right next to 0:26:02.040 --> 0:26:05.639 me and told me. I'm not looking at him and listening. 0:26:05.640 --> 0:26:09.040 I'm listening to what he's saying. And he said, hey, 0:26:09.080 --> 0:26:12.159 and with my grandson, can you sign this baseball for me? 0:26:13.080 --> 0:26:15.960 And I was like, of course. And then I got 0:26:16.000 --> 0:26:18.639