August 15, 2025 • 29 mins
For Shop Talk, Coach Bill dives into "The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life."
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Everybody's still courting with an army and normal folks. Welcome
to shop talk. Oh look, Alex just walked in. O. Look,
look there he is.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
You got to stop this theater active Therris.
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It feels like I feel like I'm doing like the
nineteen thirties, like radio TV, where everybody sat around and
looked at a radio and just listened to it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
That's what I know.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
You're going insane when you're up at four thirty each morning,
and like this is your way to like give yourself
a little break.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Here comes Alex.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You've been with me five days this week. Over Alex.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Hold it, here comes Alex. The door's opening.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
He's still ugly. That wasn't happen.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's pretty good anyway. How you doing, man good?
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We had actually an awesome premium members call last night
that was a lot of fun.
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If we had more premium members, it could have been
more awesomer.
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Well, so there are forty five premium members is that's
who can make the call.
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So we need five hundred and forty five PRIMISCHAC.
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Just to be clear, though, we're putting it on pause
for a couple of months while we're starting through some stuff.
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But we got some exciting announcements coming up.
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Yeah, there's some announcements coming up.
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And the premium members know it, but nobody else can.
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Right now, that's the benefit of being a premium member.
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You get the inside scoop on what's going on. And
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thing up. That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna blow
this thing up.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
All right, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Welcome to shop Talk. We're going to talk about the
methene Manifesto. Mike Metheni. And this is hard for me
because I'm a huge Cubs fan and he played for
everybody but the club Cubs, and he's really best known
for playing for the cubs nemesis, the Saint Louis Cardinals.
But anyway, Mike Methani played Major League Baseball for thirteen
(01:57):
seasons as a catcher for the Brewers, the Blue Jays,
the Cardinals, the Cardinals, and the Substruisco Giants. Let's see,
not Kansas City, not in Carolina, so he played for
teams not in fake barbecue cities. He then coached his
kids bag we.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Got to drop this the X get and old.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I'll leave it alone. But that's the last one. Can
we just leave that in there? Sure? Okay? Good? He
then Oh, look, somebody's barbecuing right over there. Do you
smell it? Let's go get some all right. He then
coached his kids baseball teams after his retirement, and then
coached professionally as the manager of the Cardinals seven seasons
(02:42):
and the Royals for three. So you know, the guy
spent about twenty five years in Major League Baseball, and
Matheeni was known as a really tough, really good player
and a really good manager. Then he coached his kids,
which I love. And when coaching these kids, he sent
(03:03):
a letter to the team's parents that has since gone viral,
and the letter inspired him to write a book about it,
called The Matheni Manifesto, A Young Manager's old school views
on success in sports in life.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I'm going to read it to you after the break
from these generous sponsors.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Would you just sit behind your curtain and pull some levers.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It sounded like you're about to read it.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
No, I'm going to read it to you. And I
have read this probably ten times before, and every single
time I read it, I'm inspired by it, and I
think it's a great shop Talk fodder. So right after
these brief messages from our general sponsors, the Metheni Manifesto
(03:49):
on Shop Talk number sixty five, everybody, welcome back. Alex
(04:16):
and I are showing down on some good Memphis barbecue ribs,
and I'm going to take a break and have a
donut from Gibson's and read you this letter because Memphis
is also the home of the bus donuts on Earth.
All right, letter from Mike Mathene. I've always said that
(04:36):
the only team that I would coach would be a
team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason
for saying that is that I've found the biggest problem
with you sports has been the parents. I think that
it's best to nip this in the bud right off
the bat, and I think the concept that I'm asking
all of you to grab is that experiences all about
(04:56):
the boys. If there's anything about it that includes you,
we need to make a change of plans. My main
goals are as follows. To teach these young men how
to play the game a baseball right away, to be
a positive impact on them as young men, and to
do this with class. We may not win every game,
but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents
(05:17):
in every game we play. The boys are going to
play with respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires
no matter what. With that being said, I need to
let you know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda,
I have no orterior motive other than what I've said
about my goals. I also need all of you to
know that my priorities in life will most likely be
(05:38):
part of how I coach and the expectations I have
for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for
my life, and I have never been one for forcing
my faith on someone's throat. But I also believe it
cowardly and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe
you as parents need to know for yourselves and for
your boys, that when the opportunity presents itself, I'll be
(06:00):
honest with what I believe. That may make some people uncomfortable,
but I did that as a player, and I hope
to continue it in any devor that any endeavor that
I get into. I'm just trying to get as many
potential issues out and the open. From the beginning. I
believe that the biggest role of the parent is to
be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you
(06:22):
ask most boys what they would want their parents to
do during the game, they would say nothing. Once again,
this is all about the boys. I believe that a
Little League parent feels that they must participate with loud
cheering and come on, let's go, you can do it,
which just adds more pressure the kids. I'll be putting
plenty of pressure on these boys to play the game
the right way, with class and respect, and they will
(06:44):
put too much pressure on themselves in each other. Already,
us parents need to be silent, constant source of support.
Let the record stand now that will not We will
not have good umpiring. This is a fact. And the
sooner that we all understand that, the better off we
will be. We will have balls that bounce in the
dirt that will be called strikes, and we have balls
(07:05):
over our heads that will be called strikes. Likewise, the
opposite will happen with strike zone. While we're pitching. The
boys will not be allowed at any time to show
any emotion against umpire. They will not shake their head
or pout or say anything to the umpire. That's my job.
I will do it well. I once got paid to
handle those guys, and I will let them know when
(07:25):
they need to hear something. I'm really doing all of
your parents a favor that you probably don't realize. At
this point. I've taken out any work at all for
you except to get them there on time and enjoy
the thing that these boys need to hear is that
you enjoyed watching them, and you hope they had fun.
I know that it's going to be very hard not
(07:45):
to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to
your son, but I'm confident that this works in a
negative way for their development and their enjoyment. Trust me
on this. I'm not saying that you cannot clap for
your kids when they do well. I am saying that
if you hand your child over to me to co them,
then let me do that job. A large part of
how your child improves is your responsibility. The difference for
(08:07):
kids at this level is the amount of repetitions they get.
This goes with pitching, hitting, and fielding. As a parent,
you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting practice,
hitting ground balls, or finding an instructure who will do
this in your place. The more of this your kids
can get, the better. This is the one constant that
I've found with players that reach the major leagues someone
(08:29):
spent time with them away from the field. I am
completely fine with your son getting lessons from whoever you
see fit. The only problem I have is if your
instructors telling your son not to follow the plan of
the team. I will not teach a great deal of
mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental approach
and expect the boys to comply. If I see something
(08:50):
the shun is doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I
will talk with the instructor and clear things up. The
same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have
a pitching philosophy. We will teach the pitchers and the
catchers how to call a game and why we choose
the pitches we choose. There's no guessing. We will have
a reason for the pitches we throw. A pitching coach
will be helpful for the boys to get their arms
(09:11):
in shape and be ready to throw in spring rives.
Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher.
We will not overuse these young arms and will keep
close watch on the number of innings the boys are throwing.
I will not be throwing so much info at these boys.
They're going to suffer from overload, but eventually they're going
to get it. I'm a stickler about the thought process
(09:32):
of the game. I will be talking NonStop about situational hitting,
situational pitching, and defensive preparation. The question they are going
to hear the most is what were you thinking? What
were you thinking when you threw the pitch, What were
you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking
before the pitcher's thrown were you anticipating anything. I'm a
(09:53):
firm believer that this game is more mental than physical,
and the mental may be more difficult, but can be
taught and can be long learned by a ten or
eleven year old. If it sounds like I'm going to
demanding these be demanding of these boys, You're exactly right.
I'm definitely going to be demanding their attention. And the
other thing that I'm going to requires effort, their attitude,
their concentration, and their effort and things that they can control.
(10:15):
If they give me these things every time they show up,
they'll have a great experience. The best situation for all
of us is for you to plan on handing these
kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you
drop them off, and plan on them being mine for
the two or so hours that we have scheduled for
a game or the time that we have scheduled for practice.
I would like for these boys to have some responsibility
(10:37):
for having their own water, not needing you to keep
running to the concession stand, or having parents behind the
dugout asking their sons if they're thirsty or hungry or
too hot. And I would appreciate it if you would
share this information with other invited guests, like grandparents. If
there's an injury, obviously we will get you to help.
But besides that, let's pretend they are at work for
(10:59):
a short amount of time that you've been granted the
pleasure of watching. I will have them at games early
so we can get stretched and loosened up. I will
have a meeting with just the boys after the game.
After the meeting, there are all yours. Again, as I'm
writing this, I sound like the Little League Nazi, but
I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.
I truly believe that the family is the most important
(11:21):
institutional lives of these guys. With that being said, I
think that the family events are much more important than
the sporting events. I just asked that you're consider the
rest of the team and let the team manager and
myself know when you will miss, and to let us
know as soon as possible. I know that there will
be times where I'm going to miss, either for family
reasons or other commitments. If your son misses a game
(11:42):
or practice, it's not the nd of the world, but
there may be some sort of repercussions, just out of
respect for the kids that put in the effort to
making it. The kind of repercussions could possibly be running,
altered playing time or position in the batting order. Speaking
of batting order, I would like to address that right
from the top as well, seeing that next to playing
(12:04):
time is the second most complained about issue, or actually
tied for second with position on defense. Once again, I
need you to know that I'm trying to develop each
boy individually and I will give them a chance to
learn and play any position they're interested in. I also
believe this team will be competitive, and when we get
in a situation where folks and on winning like a tournament.
We're going to put the boys in position that will
(12:26):
give the team the best opportunity. I will talk to
the boys individually and have them tell me what their
favorite position is and whatever the position they'd like to learn.
As the season progresses, there's a chance your son maybe
playing position they don't necessarily like, but I will need
you to support their role on the team. I know
that times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons
my father taught me was that my coach was always right,
(12:49):
even when he was wrong. The principle is a great
life lesson about how things really work. I hope that
I'll have enough humility to come to your son if
I treat it and wrong and apologize. Our culture has
lost this respect for authority, mostly because the kids here
parents constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.
(13:11):
I need all of you to know that we're most
likely going to lose many games this year. The main
reason is that we need to find out how we
measure up against the local talent pool. The only way
to do that is play against some of the best teams.
I'm convinced if the boys put their work in at
home and give me their best effort that we will
be able to play with just about any team. Time
will tell. I also believe that there's enough local talent
(13:33):
that we will not have to do a large amount
of travel, if any. This may be disappointing for those
of you who only play baseball and look forward to
being out of town, but I also know that this
is a relief for the parents that have traveled throughout
the United States and Canada for hockey and soccer looking
for better competition. In my experiences, we've traveled all over
the Midwest and have found just as good competition right
(13:55):
in our backyards. If this season goes well, we will
entertain the idea of travel in the future. The boys
will be required to show up ready to play every
time they come to the field church stucked in, hats
on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees.
It's not an excuse for lack of hustle. There is
not an excuse for lack of hustle on a baseball field.
(14:16):
From their first step outside the dugout, they will hustle.
They will have a fast job to their position, to
the plate, and back to the bench. When they make
an out, We will run out every hit harder than
any team we play. We will learn how to always
back up a play to help our teammates. Every single play,
every player will be required to move to a spot.
Players that do not hustle and run out balls will
(14:39):
not play. The boys will catch on to this quickly.
The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are
not thinking about the next play and what they possibly
could do to help the team. Players on the bench
will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking
with them about situations and what they would be doing
if they were in a specific position or if they
were the batter. There's as much to learn on the
(15:00):
bench as there is on the field if the boys
want to learn all of this will take some time
for the boys to conform to their boys, and I'm
not trying to take away from that, but I do
believe they can bear down and concentraight hard for just
a while while during the games and practices, we'll be
(15:21):
right back. I know this works because this is how
I was taught the game and how our parents acted
in the stands. We started our little league team when
I was ten years old in little sub suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
(15:43):
We had a very disciplined coach the expected the same
from us. We committed eight summers to this man, and
we were rewarded for efforts. I went to Michigan, one
went to Duke, one went to Miami, two INChO North Carolina,
one went to Central Florida, one went to Kinstate, and
the other smaller division wander Division two baseball. Four of
(16:03):
us went on to play professionally. This was coming from
a town where no one had ever been recruited by
a single college. I'm not saying that this is what's
going to happen to our boys, but what I do
want you to see is that the system works. I
know that right now you're asking yourself if this is
what you want to get yourself into, and understand that
for some of you it may not be the right fit.
(16:25):
I also think there's a great opportunity for these boys
to grow together and learn some lessons that will go
beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as
possible whether or not this is a commitment that you
and your son want to make. Thanks Mike Mathennie, Holy moly,
we don't have two hours for shop talk. But this
(16:45):
kicks helicopter parents right in the pants, and the end
of it reminds me so much of when Bill Wooden.
I think Bill Walton showed up to practice after being
gone a summer for coach wouldn't and Coach Wooden's rules
were cropped haircut off the collar, which Walton did is
(17:09):
freshman year, comes back his sophomore year does again junior size.
But by then Bill Walton was all American and all everybody.
And so he comes back a senior year having been
up in the Pacific Northwest with a redhead full of
hair halfway down his back and sideburns everywhere, and Coach
(17:30):
Wooden said, hey, Bill, you know what's up with all
the hair and the sideburns. And he started talking about
how he'd grown, he'd matured, he was now a young man.
Clearly he didn't say it, but in the back of
his mind he's like, you can can't live without me.
I'm the all American and said that he just felt like,
(17:53):
you know, he had the right to express his individuality,
to which Wooden said, Bill, I am so proud of
you for feeling so strongly about your individuality. I appreciate
the way you've communicated it, and you know, I respect
your decision to do what you want to with your hair,
(18:15):
and UCLA Basketball will miss you. This year, Walt went
straight into the locker room, cut his hair, shaved his
sadge to practice. In other words, there's a certain way
this team's going to handle themselves and handle their discipline.
And this is what expected to be part of this organization.
(18:35):
And I understand if you don't want to be part
of that, you're free to go. But this is how
it's going to be because in the real world, there
are simply things you're going to have to do that
you may not want to do. And that's what Metheeni
is not only teaching these boys, but these parents. I
coached so many years, and he is so he's convinced
(18:59):
that the only thing he's ever going to coach as
orphans because the real problem with coaching kids is the parents.
It's so true. Rarely can you not reach a kid. Rarely,
very rarely in thirty three years have I ever had
a kid. I'm just like, he's uncoachable. I can't deal
with it. But there have been Yeah, I mean even shaves,
(19:21):
but I mean young kids do. And in girls basketball
the same thing. But holy smokes, I'm not going to
do it. I could name I could name twenty to
thirty parent situations that I thought, There's no way I'm
ever going to get these parents to see things for
(19:43):
how was supposed to be. And Mike Methene has done
a beautiful job in trying to explain to parents I'm
going to do a great job for your sons if
you'll sta out of the way and be a parent
and let me coach. And the helicopter parenting thing, the
individuality thing, the commitment to your teammates, all of it.
(20:04):
I think it speaks. I think it speaks volumes. And
the proof is in the pudding when you when you
read the list of where all of those kids, after
eight years ended up playing in college and four professionally
off that little team out of Columbus that have never
(20:25):
ever had one single baseball team baseball kid recruited. That's
not just about talent. It's also about attitude and approach,
and that's basically what the Mathena Manifesto is about. This
was Alex's I did for Shop Talk, so I'm going
to allow him to speak now. But that was pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
You're gonna say so nice about me for lots.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Actually is a great idea, and I've read it one
hundred times before, and actually I use some of this
and my own coaching, especially when talking about team discipline
and selfish and stuff. And also there's a small line
in there where he says he's hope he's humble enough
to apologize when he's wrong. I say that to all
(21:10):
of my teams too, because I'm a human being and
I don't make the best calls all the time, and
I make mistakes and sometimes I get on the wrong
the wrong kid. And the humility as a coach to
apologize rather than to think that that shows some kind
of weakness is uh is a poor coaching technique. And
(21:31):
the fact that he even says that in this letter
is awesome. I mean, if you want to coach, read
this letter, follow this manifest want to be a Yeah,
if you want to be a good parent, read the letter.
It's great stuff. It is when'd you first read it?
Speaker 2 (21:49):
I probably heard about it one one viral and then
I think I shared with you. I got to spend
a day with him, which is cool. So my friend
runs a school and they were looking for good speakers,
and I had a connection to Mike, so I got
to book them for the school and got to spend
the day with him, and it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
That's pretty cool he is is he is cool a
guy as he seems.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah, he's great. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The only thing I'll add is on the travel you sports.
I know we talked about this before, but Jack Murucci
my friend who accidentally created the number one selling baseball bat.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
And they're just a funny story and of it, so
you know, don't tell all the story. Maybe we do
that for a shop. Yeah, okay, but just remember Jack
Murucci made some bats down at LSU.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
But he said, like his kid ended up playing college baseball,
but he knew early on that his son wasn't going
to be in the major leagues. So it's like a
little kid he could tell, like, you do not have
the god given talent to play in the major leagues.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
You're good, you're fine for high school ball and even
college ball, but you just don't have that.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And so he said, we're not doing travel ball.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yes, a waste of time and money.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Like and he also talked about how it took away
took away from the love of the game like you
do that you're treating these kids like they're going to
work at a job, whereas they can't enjoy the pure
fun enjoy of baseball. And the kids who didn't do
the travel and just had a great summer and they're
coming back and enjoying playing the sport.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Plus you can put some false impressions in these kids' heads.
And I mean, it's not very cool to be sixteen
or seventeen years old and finally come to the recognition
that you're not good enough to go play pro ball,
although you're a really good high school player. Maybe play
some college ball. But you know, when you do too
(23:32):
much of this stuff starting at eight, nine and ten
years old, I mean, you run the risk of a
pressing an eighteen year old that should really be celebrating
his fun baseball seasons.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
It kind of reminds me of if we should close
wrap on the shop talk.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
It's a long one, but.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
There's someone really rich who I interviewed once who said, like,
you know, we do not stay at fancy hotels as
a family. We're going to like stay at the holiday
in and like, and I don't want to send my
kids up for failure expectation of like, hey, you're going
to make all this money and live this lifestyle, and
if you don't live this lifestyle, you're a failure. Like
why would I do that to my kids?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
I love that. It's good stuff, all right. So that's
shop Talk number twenty five, the Metheni Manifesto. It I
read every word of it, but obviously can google it
and read it again if you want to pick up
some nuggets a wisdom out of it. As we close,
want to say this. On August twentieth, we're hosting a
(24:33):
live recorded podcast in Memphis with Peter Mudubazi. Is that it?
Speaker 3 (24:38):
That's right?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
That's right. Who is known as get this the foster
dad Flipper.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
The reason why Phil just you know, he's not flipping kids,
that's not he Actually he took on so many kids.
He was trying to figure out, like what can I
do for work that would helped me have like a
flexible schedule, So he quit his normal job and started
flipping houses.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Is that really it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (25:01):
So it's the combination of his two things. The foster
dad Flipper, I got it.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So that's who we're doing a thing with. He's the
most famous foster dad in all of America. He's fostered
like forty seven kids. He's fostered on as many kids
as we have shop talks. He's adopted three, he's about
to adopt three more. And this radical love he has
for children has gone viral and he's got two hundred
(25:29):
to two point five million followers on social media. So
come to it. Do you know what's going to be?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah, So we are doing it at a GOPA Child
and Family Services office. They're co presenting the event with us.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
It's not cool, it makes complete sense. So RSVP on
August twentieth. Foster Dad Flipper dot Event, bright dot com.
Fosterdadflipper dot Event Bright dot com. Live recording at Memphis
on August twentieth.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
What time, eleven thirty to one.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So we're doing it as one of the lunch and
listens for your feel free to bring your lunch there too.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, bring your lunch. Listen. Meet this guy. Hear the
story Peter moved to Baisi. Pretty cool. Then we're doing
another one. We're doing another live event. This one's an Oxford, Mississippi,
otherwise known as Camelot, God's Country and the best place
on Earth because that's where all misses. It's on August
twenty eighth. Alex is working me to the bone. So
(26:27):
we're doing this one with Sparky reared. Sparky was the
DNA students when I was there, before and after it
spent a long time. Sparky was a huge mentor and
inspiration to me. Remains an inspiration to me, and I
would dare say he's my friend. There was a lot
(26:47):
that went on when I was at Ole miss that
he helped me with. When I was down there, I
took a class from him on leadership, and so much
of what I learned from him in those days will
apply in my life today. So Sparky wrote a new book.
It's called The Dean Memoirs and Missives. And Sparky is
(27:12):
one of the funniest guys. He's got a thousand stories.
Some are hilarious, some are inspirational, some will tug at
your hearts. There's no way you can sit, not sit
and listen to this man for an hour and a
half and learn and laugh and grow. So August twenty eighth,
what time is this thing?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
It's like six thirty where the end at old myths.
We're doing it with the old Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
There you go. We'll go over's book have a good
time with them, so you can come to that. So
RSVP for that, which is Sparkyirden dot Event, Bright dot com.
Sparkyirding dot Event, Bright dot com. Guys, please RSVP to
these two things. Calm, have fun, go to both, but
definitely RSVP because these things are starting to get popular
(28:01):
and spots do fill up. So that's shop Talk number
sixty five. That's the uh, that's kind of the the
work we've got going on. And if the shop Talk
has inspired you to get involved, do so. Lots of
stuff you can listen to on an Army and Normal
(28:22):
Folks get involved on If you have any ideas for
shop Talk or an Army and Normal Folks, let me know.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us and I will respond. If you like the
shop talk, share it friends and on social, subscribe to
our podcast, rate it, review it, join the army at
normal folks dot us. Help us grow this thing. The
(28:44):
more of you working, the more of you talking, the
more of this community we have, the more impact we
can have on our country. Alex Anything else.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
No, we got to close this one up.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
There clock on it.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
There's a clock on your schedule. You got to go
coach football soon.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
That's right, alright, that's Shop Talk number sixty five. We'll
see guys next week.
Everybody's still courting with an army and normal folks. Welcome
to shop talk. Oh look, Alex just walked in. O. Look,
look there he is.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
You got to stop this theater active Therris.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It feels like I feel like I'm doing like the
nineteen thirties, like radio TV, where everybody sat around and
looked at a radio and just listened to it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
That's what I know.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
You're going insane when you're up at four thirty each morning,
and like this is your way to like give yourself
a little break.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Here comes Alex.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You've been with me five days this week. Over Alex.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Hold it, here comes Alex. The door's opening.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
He's still ugly. That wasn't happen.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's pretty good anyway. How you doing, man good?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We had actually an awesome premium members call last night
that was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
If we had more premium members, it could have been
more awesomer.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, so there are forty five premium members is that's
who can make the call.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So we need five hundred and forty five PRIMISCHAC.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Just to be clear, though, we're putting it on pause
for a couple of months while we're starting through some stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
But we got some exciting announcements coming up.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, there's some announcements coming up.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And the premium members know it, but nobody else can.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Right now, that's the benefit of being a premium member.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
You get the inside scoop on what's going on. And
trust me, y'all, there's some big news coming and uh,
there's a lot going on. Sure about to blow this
thing up. That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna blow
this thing up.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
All right, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Welcome to shop Talk. We're going to talk about the
methene Manifesto. Mike Metheni. And this is hard for me
because I'm a huge Cubs fan and he played for
everybody but the club Cubs, and he's really best known
for playing for the cubs nemesis, the Saint Louis Cardinals.
But anyway, Mike Methani played Major League Baseball for thirteen
(01:57):
seasons as a catcher for the Brewers, the Blue Jays,
the Cardinals, the Cardinals, and the Substruisco Giants. Let's see,
not Kansas City, not in Carolina, so he played for
teams not in fake barbecue cities. He then coached his
kids bag we.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Got to drop this the X get and old.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I'll leave it alone. But that's the last one. Can
we just leave that in there? Sure? Okay? Good? He
then Oh, look, somebody's barbecuing right over there. Do you
smell it? Let's go get some all right. He then
coached his kids baseball teams after his retirement, and then
coached professionally as the manager of the Cardinals seven seasons
(02:42):
and the Royals for three. So you know, the guy
spent about twenty five years in Major League Baseball, and
Matheeni was known as a really tough, really good player
and a really good manager. Then he coached his kids,
which I love. And when coaching these kids, he sent
(03:03):
a letter to the team's parents that has since gone viral,
and the letter inspired him to write a book about it,
called The Matheni Manifesto, A Young Manager's old school views
on success in sports in life.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I'm going to read it to you after the break
from these generous sponsors.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Would you just sit behind your curtain and pull some levers.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It sounded like you're about to read it.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
No, I'm going to read it to you. And I
have read this probably ten times before, and every single
time I read it, I'm inspired by it, and I
think it's a great shop Talk fodder. So right after
these brief messages from our general sponsors, the Metheni Manifesto
(03:49):
on Shop Talk number sixty five, everybody, welcome back. Alex
(04:16):
and I are showing down on some good Memphis barbecue ribs,
and I'm going to take a break and have a
donut from Gibson's and read you this letter because Memphis
is also the home of the bus donuts on Earth.
All right, letter from Mike Mathene. I've always said that
(04:36):
the only team that I would coach would be a
team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason
for saying that is that I've found the biggest problem
with you sports has been the parents. I think that
it's best to nip this in the bud right off
the bat, and I think the concept that I'm asking
all of you to grab is that experiences all about
(04:56):
the boys. If there's anything about it that includes you,
we need to make a change of plans. My main
goals are as follows. To teach these young men how
to play the game a baseball right away, to be
a positive impact on them as young men, and to
do this with class. We may not win every game,
but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents
(05:17):
in every game we play. The boys are going to
play with respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires
no matter what. With that being said, I need to
let you know where I stand. I have no hidden agenda,
I have no orterior motive other than what I've said
about my goals. I also need all of you to
know that my priorities in life will most likely be
(05:38):
part of how I coach and the expectations I have
for the boys. My Christian faith is the guide for
my life, and I have never been one for forcing
my faith on someone's throat. But I also believe it
cowardly and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe
you as parents need to know for yourselves and for
your boys, that when the opportunity presents itself, I'll be
(06:00):
honest with what I believe. That may make some people uncomfortable,
but I did that as a player, and I hope
to continue it in any devor that any endeavor that
I get into. I'm just trying to get as many
potential issues out and the open. From the beginning. I
believe that the biggest role of the parent is to
be a silent source of encouragement. I think if you
(06:22):
ask most boys what they would want their parents to
do during the game, they would say nothing. Once again,
this is all about the boys. I believe that a
Little League parent feels that they must participate with loud
cheering and come on, let's go, you can do it,
which just adds more pressure the kids. I'll be putting
plenty of pressure on these boys to play the game
the right way, with class and respect, and they will
(06:44):
put too much pressure on themselves in each other. Already,
us parents need to be silent, constant source of support.
Let the record stand now that will not We will
not have good umpiring. This is a fact. And the
sooner that we all understand that, the better off we
will be. We will have balls that bounce in the
dirt that will be called strikes, and we have balls
(07:05):
over our heads that will be called strikes. Likewise, the
opposite will happen with strike zone. While we're pitching. The
boys will not be allowed at any time to show
any emotion against umpire. They will not shake their head
or pout or say anything to the umpire. That's my job.
I will do it well. I once got paid to
handle those guys, and I will let them know when
(07:25):
they need to hear something. I'm really doing all of
your parents a favor that you probably don't realize. At
this point. I've taken out any work at all for
you except to get them there on time and enjoy
the thing that these boys need to hear is that
you enjoyed watching them, and you hope they had fun.
I know that it's going to be very hard not
(07:45):
to coach from the stands and yell encouraging things to
your son, but I'm confident that this works in a
negative way for their development and their enjoyment. Trust me
on this. I'm not saying that you cannot clap for
your kids when they do well. I am saying that
if you hand your child over to me to co them,
then let me do that job. A large part of
how your child improves is your responsibility. The difference for
(08:07):
kids at this level is the amount of repetitions they get.
This goes with pitching, hitting, and fielding. As a parent,
you can help out tremendously by playing catch, throwing batting practice,
hitting ground balls, or finding an instructure who will do
this in your place. The more of this your kids
can get, the better. This is the one constant that
I've found with players that reach the major leagues someone
(08:29):
spent time with them away from the field. I am
completely fine with your son getting lessons from whoever you
see fit. The only problem I have is if your
instructors telling your son not to follow the plan of
the team. I will not teach a great deal of
mechanics at the beginning, but I will teach mental approach
and expect the boys to comply. If I see something
(08:50):
the shun is doing mechanically that is drastically wrong, I
will talk with the instructor and clear things up. The
same will hold true with pitching coaches. We will have
a pitching philosophy. We will teach the pitchers and the
catchers how to call a game and why we choose
the pitches we choose. There's no guessing. We will have
a reason for the pitches we throw. A pitching coach
will be helpful for the boys to get their arms
(09:11):
in shape and be ready to throw in spring rives.
Every boy on this team will be worked as a pitcher.
We will not overuse these young arms and will keep
close watch on the number of innings the boys are throwing.
I will not be throwing so much info at these boys.
They're going to suffer from overload, but eventually they're going
to get it. I'm a stickler about the thought process
(09:32):
of the game. I will be talking NonStop about situational hitting,
situational pitching, and defensive preparation. The question they are going
to hear the most is what were you thinking? What
were you thinking when you threw the pitch, What were
you thinking during that at bat? What were you thinking
before the pitcher's thrown were you anticipating anything. I'm a
(09:53):
firm believer that this game is more mental than physical,
and the mental may be more difficult, but can be
taught and can be long learned by a ten or
eleven year old. If it sounds like I'm going to
demanding these be demanding of these boys, You're exactly right.
I'm definitely going to be demanding their attention. And the
other thing that I'm going to requires effort, their attitude,
their concentration, and their effort and things that they can control.
(10:15):
If they give me these things every time they show up,
they'll have a great experience. The best situation for all
of us is for you to plan on handing these
kids over to me and the assistant coaches when you
drop them off, and plan on them being mine for
the two or so hours that we have scheduled for
a game or the time that we have scheduled for practice.
I would like for these boys to have some responsibility
(10:37):
for having their own water, not needing you to keep
running to the concession stand, or having parents behind the
dugout asking their sons if they're thirsty or hungry or
too hot. And I would appreciate it if you would
share this information with other invited guests, like grandparents. If
there's an injury, obviously we will get you to help.
But besides that, let's pretend they are at work for
(10:59):
a short amount of time that you've been granted the
pleasure of watching. I will have them at games early
so we can get stretched and loosened up. I will
have a meeting with just the boys after the game.
After the meeting, there are all yours. Again, as I'm
writing this, I sound like the Little League Nazi, but
I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved.
I truly believe that the family is the most important
(11:21):
institutional lives of these guys. With that being said, I
think that the family events are much more important than
the sporting events. I just asked that you're consider the
rest of the team and let the team manager and
myself know when you will miss, and to let us
know as soon as possible. I know that there will
be times where I'm going to miss, either for family
reasons or other commitments. If your son misses a game
(11:42):
or practice, it's not the nd of the world, but
there may be some sort of repercussions, just out of
respect for the kids that put in the effort to
making it. The kind of repercussions could possibly be running,
altered playing time or position in the batting order. Speaking
of batting order, I would like to address that right
from the top as well, seeing that next to playing
(12:04):
time is the second most complained about issue, or actually
tied for second with position on defense. Once again, I
need you to know that I'm trying to develop each
boy individually and I will give them a chance to
learn and play any position they're interested in. I also
believe this team will be competitive, and when we get
in a situation where folks and on winning like a tournament.
We're going to put the boys in position that will
(12:26):
give the team the best opportunity. I will talk to
the boys individually and have them tell me what their
favorite position is and whatever the position they'd like to learn.
As the season progresses, there's a chance your son maybe
playing position they don't necessarily like, but I will need
you to support their role on the team. I know
that times have changed, but one of the greatest lessons
my father taught me was that my coach was always right,
(12:49):
even when he was wrong. The principle is a great
life lesson about how things really work. I hope that
I'll have enough humility to come to your son if
I treat it and wrong and apologize. Our culture has
lost this respect for authority, mostly because the kids here
parents constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child.
(13:11):
I need all of you to know that we're most
likely going to lose many games this year. The main
reason is that we need to find out how we
measure up against the local talent pool. The only way
to do that is play against some of the best teams.
I'm convinced if the boys put their work in at
home and give me their best effort that we will
be able to play with just about any team. Time
will tell. I also believe that there's enough local talent
(13:33):
that we will not have to do a large amount
of travel, if any. This may be disappointing for those
of you who only play baseball and look forward to
being out of town, but I also know that this
is a relief for the parents that have traveled throughout
the United States and Canada for hockey and soccer looking
for better competition. In my experiences, we've traveled all over
the Midwest and have found just as good competition right
(13:55):
in our backyards. If this season goes well, we will
entertain the idea of travel in the future. The boys
will be required to show up ready to play every
time they come to the field church stucked in, hats
on straight, and pants not drooping down to their knees.
It's not an excuse for lack of hustle. There is
not an excuse for lack of hustle on a baseball field.
(14:16):
From their first step outside the dugout, they will hustle.
They will have a fast job to their position, to
the plate, and back to the bench. When they make
an out, We will run out every hit harder than
any team we play. We will learn how to always
back up a play to help our teammates. Every single play,
every player will be required to move to a spot.
Players that do not hustle and run out balls will
(14:39):
not play. The boys will catch on to this quickly.
The game of baseball becomes very boring when players are
not thinking about the next play and what they possibly
could do to help the team. Players on the bench
will not be messing around. I will constantly be talking
with them about situations and what they would be doing
if they were in a specific position or if they
were the batter. There's as much to learn on the
(15:00):
bench as there is on the field if the boys
want to learn all of this will take some time
for the boys to conform to their boys, and I'm
not trying to take away from that, but I do
believe they can bear down and concentraight hard for just
a while while during the games and practices, we'll be
(15:21):
right back. I know this works because this is how
I was taught the game and how our parents acted
in the stands. We started our little league team when
I was ten years old in little sub suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
(15:43):
We had a very disciplined coach the expected the same
from us. We committed eight summers to this man, and
we were rewarded for efforts. I went to Michigan, one
went to Duke, one went to Miami, two INChO North Carolina,
one went to Central Florida, one went to Kinstate, and
the other smaller division wander Division two baseball. Four of
(16:03):
us went on to play professionally. This was coming from
a town where no one had ever been recruited by
a single college. I'm not saying that this is what's
going to happen to our boys, but what I do
want you to see is that the system works. I
know that right now you're asking yourself if this is
what you want to get yourself into, and understand that
for some of you it may not be the right fit.
(16:25):
I also think there's a great opportunity for these boys
to grow together and learn some lessons that will go
beyond their baseball experience. Let me know as soon as
possible whether or not this is a commitment that you
and your son want to make. Thanks Mike Mathennie, Holy moly,
we don't have two hours for shop talk. But this
(16:45):
kicks helicopter parents right in the pants, and the end
of it reminds me so much of when Bill Wooden.
I think Bill Walton showed up to practice after being
gone a summer for coach wouldn't and Coach Wooden's rules
were cropped haircut off the collar, which Walton did is
(17:09):
freshman year, comes back his sophomore year does again junior size.
But by then Bill Walton was all American and all everybody.
And so he comes back a senior year having been
up in the Pacific Northwest with a redhead full of
hair halfway down his back and sideburns everywhere, and Coach
(17:30):
Wooden said, hey, Bill, you know what's up with all
the hair and the sideburns. And he started talking about
how he'd grown, he'd matured, he was now a young man.
Clearly he didn't say it, but in the back of
his mind he's like, you can can't live without me.
I'm the all American and said that he just felt like,
(17:53):
you know, he had the right to express his individuality,
to which Wooden said, Bill, I am so proud of
you for feeling so strongly about your individuality. I appreciate
the way you've communicated it, and you know, I respect
your decision to do what you want to with your hair,
(18:15):
and UCLA Basketball will miss you. This year, Walt went
straight into the locker room, cut his hair, shaved his
sadge to practice. In other words, there's a certain way
this team's going to handle themselves and handle their discipline.
And this is what expected to be part of this organization.
(18:35):
And I understand if you don't want to be part
of that, you're free to go. But this is how
it's going to be because in the real world, there
are simply things you're going to have to do that
you may not want to do. And that's what Metheeni
is not only teaching these boys, but these parents. I
coached so many years, and he is so he's convinced
(18:59):
that the only thing he's ever going to coach as
orphans because the real problem with coaching kids is the parents.
It's so true. Rarely can you not reach a kid. Rarely,
very rarely in thirty three years have I ever had
a kid. I'm just like, he's uncoachable. I can't deal
with it. But there have been Yeah, I mean even shaves,
(19:21):
but I mean young kids do. And in girls basketball
the same thing. But holy smokes, I'm not going to
do it. I could name I could name twenty to
thirty parent situations that I thought, There's no way I'm
ever going to get these parents to see things for
(19:43):
how was supposed to be. And Mike Methene has done
a beautiful job in trying to explain to parents I'm
going to do a great job for your sons if
you'll sta out of the way and be a parent
and let me coach. And the helicopter parenting thing, the
individuality thing, the commitment to your teammates, all of it.
(20:04):
I think it speaks. I think it speaks volumes. And
the proof is in the pudding when you when you
read the list of where all of those kids, after
eight years ended up playing in college and four professionally
off that little team out of Columbus that have never
(20:25):
ever had one single baseball team baseball kid recruited. That's
not just about talent. It's also about attitude and approach,
and that's basically what the Mathena Manifesto is about. This
was Alex's I did for Shop Talk, so I'm going
to allow him to speak now. But that was pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
You're gonna say so nice about me for lots.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Actually is a great idea, and I've read it one
hundred times before, and actually I use some of this
and my own coaching, especially when talking about team discipline
and selfish and stuff. And also there's a small line
in there where he says he's hope he's humble enough
to apologize when he's wrong. I say that to all
(21:10):
of my teams too, because I'm a human being and
I don't make the best calls all the time, and
I make mistakes and sometimes I get on the wrong
the wrong kid. And the humility as a coach to
apologize rather than to think that that shows some kind
of weakness is uh is a poor coaching technique. And
(21:31):
the fact that he even says that in this letter
is awesome. I mean, if you want to coach, read
this letter, follow this manifest want to be a Yeah,
if you want to be a good parent, read the letter.
It's great stuff. It is when'd you first read it?
Speaker 2 (21:49):
I probably heard about it one one viral and then
I think I shared with you. I got to spend
a day with him, which is cool. So my friend
runs a school and they were looking for good speakers,
and I had a connection to Mike, so I got
to book them for the school and got to spend
the day with him, and it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
That's pretty cool he is is he is cool a
guy as he seems.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah, he's great. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The only thing I'll add is on the travel you sports.
I know we talked about this before, but Jack Murucci
my friend who accidentally created the number one selling baseball bat.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
And they're just a funny story and of it, so
you know, don't tell all the story. Maybe we do
that for a shop. Yeah, okay, but just remember Jack
Murucci made some bats down at LSU.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
But he said, like his kid ended up playing college baseball,
but he knew early on that his son wasn't going
to be in the major leagues. So it's like a
little kid he could tell, like, you do not have
the god given talent to play in the major leagues.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
You're good, you're fine for high school ball and even
college ball, but you just don't have that.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And so he said, we're not doing travel ball.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yes, a waste of time and money.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Like and he also talked about how it took away
took away from the love of the game like you
do that you're treating these kids like they're going to
work at a job, whereas they can't enjoy the pure
fun enjoy of baseball. And the kids who didn't do
the travel and just had a great summer and they're
coming back and enjoying playing the sport.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Plus you can put some false impressions in these kids' heads.
And I mean, it's not very cool to be sixteen
or seventeen years old and finally come to the recognition
that you're not good enough to go play pro ball,
although you're a really good high school player. Maybe play
some college ball. But you know, when you do too
(23:32):
much of this stuff starting at eight, nine and ten
years old, I mean, you run the risk of a
pressing an eighteen year old that should really be celebrating
his fun baseball seasons.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
It kind of reminds me of if we should close
wrap on the shop talk.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
It's a long one, but.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
There's someone really rich who I interviewed once who said, like,
you know, we do not stay at fancy hotels as
a family. We're going to like stay at the holiday
in and like, and I don't want to send my
kids up for failure expectation of like, hey, you're going
to make all this money and live this lifestyle, and
if you don't live this lifestyle, you're a failure. Like
why would I do that to my kids?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
I love that. It's good stuff, all right. So that's
shop Talk number twenty five, the Metheni Manifesto. It I
read every word of it, but obviously can google it
and read it again if you want to pick up
some nuggets a wisdom out of it. As we close,
want to say this. On August twentieth, we're hosting a
(24:33):
live recorded podcast in Memphis with Peter Mudubazi. Is that it?
Speaker 3 (24:38):
That's right?
Speaker 1 (24:39):
That's right. Who is known as get this the foster
dad Flipper.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
The reason why Phil just you know, he's not flipping kids,
that's not he Actually he took on so many kids.
He was trying to figure out, like what can I
do for work that would helped me have like a
flexible schedule, So he quit his normal job and started
flipping houses.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Is that really it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (25:01):
So it's the combination of his two things. The foster
dad Flipper, I got it.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So that's who we're doing a thing with. He's the
most famous foster dad in all of America. He's fostered
like forty seven kids. He's fostered on as many kids
as we have shop talks. He's adopted three, he's about
to adopt three more. And this radical love he has
for children has gone viral and he's got two hundred
(25:29):
to two point five million followers on social media. So
come to it. Do you know what's going to be?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah, So we are doing it at a GOPA Child
and Family Services office. They're co presenting the event with us.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
It's not cool, it makes complete sense. So RSVP on
August twentieth. Foster Dad Flipper dot Event, bright dot com.
Fosterdadflipper dot Event Bright dot com. Live recording at Memphis
on August twentieth.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
What time, eleven thirty to one.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So we're doing it as one of the lunch and
listens for your feel free to bring your lunch there too.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, bring your lunch. Listen. Meet this guy. Hear the
story Peter moved to Baisi. Pretty cool. Then we're doing
another one. We're doing another live event. This one's an Oxford, Mississippi,
otherwise known as Camelot, God's Country and the best place
on Earth because that's where all misses. It's on August
twenty eighth. Alex is working me to the bone. So
(26:27):
we're doing this one with Sparky reared. Sparky was the
DNA students when I was there, before and after it
spent a long time. Sparky was a huge mentor and
inspiration to me. Remains an inspiration to me, and I
would dare say he's my friend. There was a lot
(26:47):
that went on when I was at Ole miss that
he helped me with. When I was down there, I
took a class from him on leadership, and so much
of what I learned from him in those days will
apply in my life today. So Sparky wrote a new book.
It's called The Dean Memoirs and Missives. And Sparky is
(27:12):
one of the funniest guys. He's got a thousand stories.
Some are hilarious, some are inspirational, some will tug at
your hearts. There's no way you can sit, not sit
and listen to this man for an hour and a
half and learn and laugh and grow. So August twenty eighth,
what time is this thing?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
It's like six thirty where the end at old myths.
We're doing it with the old Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
There you go. We'll go over's book have a good
time with them, so you can come to that. So
RSVP for that, which is Sparkyirden dot Event, Bright dot com.
Sparkyirding dot Event, Bright dot com. Guys, please RSVP to
these two things. Calm, have fun, go to both, but
definitely RSVP because these things are starting to get popular
(28:01):
and spots do fill up. So that's shop Talk number
sixty five. That's the uh, that's kind of the the
work we've got going on. And if the shop Talk
has inspired you to get involved, do so. Lots of
stuff you can listen to on an Army and Normal
(28:22):
Folks get involved on If you have any ideas for
shop Talk or an Army and Normal Folks, let me know.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us and I will respond. If you like the
shop talk, share it friends and on social, subscribe to
our podcast, rate it, review it, join the army at
normal folks dot us. Help us grow this thing. The
(28:44):
more of you working, the more of you talking, the
more of this community we have, the more impact we
can have on our country. Alex Anything else.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
No, we got to close this one up.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
There clock on it.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
There's a clock on your schedule. You got to go
coach football soon.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
That's right, alright, that's Shop Talk number sixty five. We'll
see guys next week.
Host
Bill Courtney
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