June 12, 2024 • 43 mins
Parney, Michael Phillips, and Joe T are joined by former MLB pitcher and current Head Coach of the IUP men's baseball team, Steve Kline!
Steve shares his favorite memories from the big leagues, dives into how he transformed a struggling 2-35 program into a Division II College World Series contender, and reveals which MLB fan bases heckled him the most, among many other stories!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right, everybody, we're back for the party time, Inning
number two. The party pub clubs here. I'm actually in
Sandbridge Beach, Virginia the seventh inning stretch. Stop by and
see us. I love Sandbridge Beach, Yes, Sebert Realty, I'm
trying to get you the sponsor this podcast. So Sanbridge
Beach is the place to be. Steve Klein per Will
(00:26):
Clark suggested that any one Steve Clin is inning number
two's key guess. But before we do that, Joe t
is currently not here because apparently, MP, what's going on
with our pub club or jot Joe did?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The Internet's not working wherever Joe T is.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I just you tell him where he is and they'll
understand why.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, he's at the Diamond.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So there's if you need. If you need concrete, Jo
T's good right now is an unlimited supply of concrete
at his disposal. He does not have functioning wireless internet though.
That's that's asking too much. It's too much to ask.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Oh. So Steve Clyin is ating number two, And first
of all, MP, what did you think of aning number
one with Will Clark?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I thought it went well. I mean, Will's got so
many great stories talking about convincing Ricky Henderson to steal
bases out there.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Oh gotta go.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I love hearing from these guys. And you know, the
statute of limitations is over right, so they could they
could tell their stories now, and you do. You do
a great job getting it out of it. It's so
fun to hear these guys in their stories from from
playing days.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Well and most of my friends MP. It's easier to
get stories out of them in parties pub because I
got some juice in them. But when they're doing this,
they're not drinking, so it's a little bit harder to
point out. But we're going to have a really good
time with Steve Klin. Steve Klein pitching the big leagues
for over ten years, uh and he started with the
Montreal expos. So one shot. Since Joe t is dealing
(01:59):
with the hamsters and can't participate in the Yeah Party's
pub club, he's saying hell known today to the internet,
Uh Party's pub club. One shot? You got one shot?
Two part question? One shot, two part question, who is
your favorite Montreal Expo of all time? Because Steve Klin
(02:21):
was an expo? And then secondly, who is your favorite
relief pitcher not named Steve Klein of all time.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Sure, you're right, you gotta go. You gotta go down
that road. You gotta qualify it because and he's in
the he's like playing for a natty right now, like
the group he's coaching. That's going to be fun to
hear about.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
To Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which when I was at Olptoona,
they call it I up. But everybody that I knew that,
what the I up? You don't want to stood for?
I usually party? That's what.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Day party school. He's at the right spot, don't you
worry about that. Give me a little Tim Rain's, a
little Tim Ryan. I'm not going Andrey Dawson. I want
to throw the change up. Go a little Tim Rains here.
What you know what I really want to say? Shout
out to Yupie the mascot. That's a good mascot, right
not see's a good mascot. Yupie was a good mascot.
Nats need to bring him down and replace Screech the Eagle.
(03:14):
There's my hot take for the show right there. Look,
I hate the Yankees, so I can't pick Mariano Rivera
up but I got all the respect in the world
for him and his pitching what he does. So I
guess I gotta go a different direction than because I
got to pick away from that. I covered the Washington
Nationals for a few years. The chief Chad Cordero, was
(03:36):
a good dude. Never had any games to close because
and that's weren't any good But had there been games
to close, chief would have got the job done.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Chad Cordero, I would have lost every penny that I owned.
I mean, I thought, who is Chad Cordero? No offense?
I never That's okay. So I'm going to play the
game too. I'm going to take the place with Jos's
internet list, and I'm going to play the game too.
So I'm down here in Party's pub and as you
(04:04):
would imagine our party at a seventh Ny stretch, as
you imagine at the Seventhay stretch, I've got you can
see right behind me in MP there's a picture of
a puzzle of Madison Bumgardner that my uncle, my ninety
four year old uncle, put together of Game seven World
Season twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I don't remember that. I've repressed that memory. I don't
know he was he playing the Royals that day?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Was I there?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I don't know, I've repressed the memory. Shout out, Jeff Montgomery.
Royals close are great. We'll put him on the board too.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So you were were you in game seven?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
In game six and seven? I was the both of them.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I was there in the front rower. Have we talked
about this before?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You showed me a ring on many occasions it looks nice.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Hey we won.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
The next year we beat the Mets. I'm not mad.
I one Royals World Series, honestly, and my thirty nine
years on this earth. That's about. That's about all you
can ask.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
For, That's right. So I got a picture over here
of my favorite Lea pitcher of all time, and he's
I'm fortunate. This is what the show is all about. Uh.
I used to love watching him pitch. Uh. And now
he was at our wedding. He invited Tanya Knight to
(05:14):
his Hall of Fame induction and that would be the
one and only Lee Arthur Smith.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yes, yeah, well that's that's an easy pick. Yeah,
nicely done, Lee Arthur Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
And you talk about I'd love to have him on
the podcast sometime. One of the greatest storytellers that I've
ever known in baseball is Lee Arthur Smith. So Lee,
we love you and you're my favorite leaf pitcher of
all time.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Bonus shout out, I might answer the question for the
fourth time. Billy Wagner shout out. Billy Wagner deserves.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Me well and Wags will have Wags on too. Wags
is a good friend doing a great job, just like
Steve Kine doing a great job coaching the great game
of baseball. I don't know they should be in the
state playoffs right now, so well, Joe t is a
hell no say hell no, hell no. We got Steve
Klink coming up as our main guest on Party Time
(06:05):
Podcast Any number two with the Party's Pub Club being
held down by the one and only Michael Phillips MP
on the mic because jot sucks at the Internet. Let
go all right, everybody. I guess we're getting ready for
any number two. We had a great Party Time Inning
number one with Will the Thrill Clark. So we're going
(06:26):
from the penthouse to the verbial for verbial ship house
with our second guest for the second inning. But before
we do that, we have yes is the folks the
Parney Pub Club in the house remotely. We got MP
on the mic, Michael Phillips, who has a returney, and
(06:46):
then the illustrious one and only Joe T, who's not
his birthday empty this time. It's just plain old jot.
But it looks like he's overtaking the Diamond press box
right now. So Jo T is here, Guys, how are
we doing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I'll listen to Joe T any day. I don't I
don't need a reason.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And then our guest when we do party time, as
we said in our first inning, it's going to be
about my life in baseball, the relationships that we've made
in baseball, and the characters that we've become friends with
in the great Game of baseball. And Will Clark even
mentioned our second inning guest by name in inning number one.
(07:29):
You might know him as a longtime major league relief pitcher.
He was a guy with a dirty hat. All you,
Saint willis Cardinal fans. And it's really appropriate that Steve
clin is known, after over ten years in the big
leagues for wearing a dirty hat. I think that's really
really appropriate. The ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls across
the world, please welcome to Party Podcast. Any number two,
(07:52):
the one and only Steve Plin Kleiner.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Hell yeah, thanks guys, what's on?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
That's right, Joe T. Are you happy that we have
Steve Klin as any number two guests?
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Hell yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I got to spend a couple of hours with him
yesterday when they were in town, and it was a blast.
Always a good time being around Steve Klin. Joe T.
You're just supposed to say, hell yeah, hell no, I
got in there, damn right, Hell yeah, hell yeah. Find
he own Party Time podcast. We tell a lot of stories.
(08:31):
You have a ton of stories, some that you probably
shouldn't tell. But I want to start it out, and
it's a conversation, not an interview, So let's just start
with our personal relationship. Uh. I think we met in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania for the first time at a Phillies event. You
remember that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yes, Andy Tracy was getting put into the uh he
was named the coach of the Waning Sport team, the Crosscutters,
and Larry Anderson there, Dick Allen was.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
There, Harry Harry Gallows was there. Yeah, God, I love
that guy. One time I was one time I was
doing a Philly's function and Harry Callous was speaking and
he said, ladies and gentlemen, I give you greetings from
Whitey Richie Ashburn, who is currently at the Hunoman Hospital
(09:22):
awaiting the birth of his next future wife. Anyways, so
let's just okay, Jo, let's let's talk about the relationship
you and I built from that day in Williamsport. I
love you. You're one of the most authentic people. John
O'Connor called me today and asked me a few questions
(09:45):
about you, and I use the word authentic. Talk about
your personality and how that's helped you throughout the course
of your career.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Oh well, let's start out. It was at the Jannetti Hotel.
I got to meet the parn Star for the first time.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I was I think Carl Rabbits was there too, was.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Rabbit Yeah, the bar was and then uh, the best
part was so I got to be party and then
uh a couple of years later, I got to be
underneath the merit the uh and literally not underneath you,
but like bously at the Ristmond Squirrels and like I
heard all kinds.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Of there we go with the guys. We were five
rating already.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
I've been to San Francisco, a couple of times, so
we know, we never know what that people take the
wrong way, But I enjoyed it. Like I said, we
got to work with Party. I heard so many stories
about this guy from Scottie Rowland and Danny Held.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Guys like that Patty Burrell.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
And then when I got to go there, Ross Grimsley,
one of the best guys, told me some of so
many wonderful things about Shane Turner. So I got in there,
here comes Party. He just was a ball of energy
and uh infectious. He's an infectious disease, as we would say,
affect his personality. He just loves to He just makes
(11:03):
everybody feel wanted and want to be around. And I
just had so much fun. And we enjoyed the a
lot of nights in the Parney's Pub and Joe T's
Mafia table. You know, it's so much fun. The old
Golden Tea and all and all of the Carney's beautiful
couches all over the j T.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I remember one night climbing with a pitching coach and
he had to come out into the tunnel because the
bullpen was playing Golden Tea like five minutes before the
game started, and climb had guys, we have a game started,
and I think it was Hunter Stricken was like, we're
on the sixteenth hole. Cliner will be there in a minute,
don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Him and Joss, Him and Joss Oceans were down there
playing gold and Ochre. That's right, he's the he's with
the twins. He'll give up a couple more home runs
and it'll be okay. He's one of my favorites. Man
that got He gave me the extension belt every time
(12:00):
we got on the Southwest plate. You have the storages
come over and say, hey, fat guy's great.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Well, there's so many stories I want you to tell,
but I'm going to start with this one. So we
owned the Montgomery Biscuits obviously, and I went to the
Southern League Alf Star game. I think this was MP
back in like twenty seventeen. It was in Pensacola, Florida,
and I got in there a little bit late and
they were having the first All Star function at this
at this restaurant bar. So I walk into the restaurant
(12:31):
bar and there's everybody's in this one room except for
one guy sitting at the bar, and that one person
was Tony LaRussa. So I go and I sit down
next to Tony Russa and I said, hey, Tony, my
name's Party. We met a few times with Jimmy Leland,
but I want to tell you our pitching coach is
Steve Klein. And he went crazy. Do you remember this client? Yeah,
(12:56):
he goes, we got a call him. We got a
call him, Kleiner. Tell the story about why LaRussa wanted
me to FaceTime you, and then tell everybody what Marussa
was doing to you when you answered the FaceTime.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Yeah, so I see Party calling, I answer and Tony
Standard with his finger right at me, gave me the
middle finger and told me that, you know, nice cosural words. Yep,
but uh yeah party, Yeah, he's I love the russo
on that man, He's why did you do the finger?
It's great, But tell people why he did that? Because
I gave him the finger on National TV eve when
(13:30):
we're playing one time, Hey accidentally.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Accidentally and why why Cline, why did you give him
the finger?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Well that someone bits warm me up like fifty five times,
and a couple of family yelling at me the whole time.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I was so pissed off.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Now the bullpens are man, it's like there's nothing, there's
no place like the VAT. But when you're a Cardinal
and you're playing against the Cubs, it gets kind of heated.
He wore me up like six seven times. They kept
yelling that, screaming at me. It went on for a
couple of days, and then he said, hey, you're in
the game, and I said okay. So I was walking
and all of a sudden he slapped Stavars on the
(14:06):
ass and says, he's still in. I was like, so,
I just gave him the middle finger. I don't think
anybody would see it. The Cup guys caught me on TV,
and so eventually, eventually I come in the pitch and
I pitched, and I get the I actually get the
winn or the save or something. And after the game
the media asked them. They said, hey, did you get
a glimpse of client giving you the finger? He had
(14:29):
no idea. He gave me the shower. I was in
a shower, was I was louthering up. I was singing
all kinds of songs with soapball over me. Edgar I'll
never get Rent the Rhea and Fernandovini were in there.
With me, and he came in just mfmm cussing me out.
He's like, did you give me the finger? I'm like yeah.
(14:49):
He goes why I was pissed off.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
He goes go out there and tell them.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
He goes go tell the media. I punched you in
a face and you need to apologize. So I went
on and I told himself apologize to him. But ever
since then, every time I see him. I just saw
him last year at the win on warm up for
the Cardinals, and first thing he just rips on me.
He's like, I saw client naked. It's like two hundred
and sixty pounds of chewed up bubblegum.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
So he's like, like, you know, you guys, Do you
guys know Tony L. Russam met his wife in Richmond, Virginia.
What he was playing for, That's what met his wife,
Kinder and all your your talk big league career like
was being what what was your highlight? Was it being
(15:34):
a Cardinal? Because I don't think an MP is from
the Midwest, So he gets it, like the Cardinal fan
base is something really special? Was that was that your
highlight of your career or was there something else?
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I think so I think the Cardinals, the Cardinal Nation,
the Birds on the batter are just a it's a
great traditional organization.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then I got to go to the Giants.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
They're both like powerhouse organizations, and I think the third
one would be Yankees, but they told me I sucked,
so I could never go there, so I hate. Yeah,
they took Jesse Rosco instead of me. That when you
take a fifty five year old guy and not me,
that means you suck, So thanks Sabs. But anyways, I enjoyed.
(16:17):
I enjoyed every moment with the same that. The Cardinals
are great. I mean, I mean this year we're having
our two thousand and four anniversary out there for their
losing to the Red Sox and breaking the Van Beino curse.
So I think there's not enough nineteen sixty four guys left,
so they're bringing it both squaddies back, so that'll be
an adventure of Tony. I get to see my boy
Tony again, so maybe I'll give him a finger from
the bullpen again or something some fun with it. But
(16:41):
I loved it there. I mean, like, the fans are awesome.
It's a it's a family atmosphere. It's kind of like
a college football game inside of a baseball field to
see a red comes out and it's uh and we won.
It was fun, It was enjoyable. I got to meet
some really good players there and some old timers that
were fun.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Who did you play with? Who did you well? You're
McGuire was with you there.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Right, McGuire, Paul's Edmunds, Larry Walker, y, Larry Walker. Yeah, yeah,
he's all, you're your dumb ass friend Scott Rowland. Who
let me tell you something about Scott? Wrong?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
We were.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
We both got we both got called into the office
to go for steroid testing. Right, So he said, We're
both standing with our shirts off, and he's like, we
have to get tested for steroids. He looks at me
and he goes, what the hell a they testing you
for Krispy Kreme donuts? I said, I guess, I said,
(17:39):
with a body like this, you gotta test it. I said,
we gotta find out this guy the best man. So
I'm not I had so many.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
How about tell these guys about the Mike Methini. What
you said on National TV.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
About him and my kids as white of my kids?
Oh yeah, so pissed that's him, I said, I said,
tell Mike, how's my how's my wife and my kids?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
On?
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I was saying it to him and he got so
pissedy he chased me around the locker room. My favorite
guy have all the time is Isray Housing. Know that
guy dumb Dumb was one of my favorite guys of
all time. He's just a heart of gold. Just he
was like that Bam bam kid from Freaking the food
sot so strong. When he grabbed a hold of you,
it was like it was game over, you know it
was it was like it was like mess over.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
With Bumgardner all over again. You know.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
It was just a tough, tough cookie. So so is
he is.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
He's relative works for our buddies. Crane Master Brian Isranhausen
is related to to your your isn Housing. I don't know.
I mean, do you want to tell the story real
quickly about maybe you don't okay?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
The police car the police car, oh so out in
Saint Louis, the cops are all the the bouncers at
the bars. They don't really mess with bouncers too much,
so they they make the police be the like security.
So one night, Missy's like, hey, let's get this guy drunk,
so we started getting one of the police officers got
it hammered and we're like, you can't drive home. Give
(19:10):
us your keys. He gave us, like a dumbass. He
gave us the keys and he goes and things to
the cop car and we must be driving down like
I seventy about one hundred miles probably the lights player
and Greg the cops. I called us. He's like, please
come back with my car. I don't want to get
in trouble. We're like busy was just he was insane.
(19:33):
One of the nicest guys I've ever met. But he
had so much fun with the guy. And he's from Olton, Illinois,
so he's right there, right across the river from you know,
stl So it was like a fun time. He just
he knew everybody. So we had so much fun. And
the cop was just like, I'm gonna lose my job.
Weren won't get you back. It was good, but we
had a really good time with it.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
We just think we didn't wreck though. That jo Jo
the world series with him, Yeah to the Red Sox
and that's right.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Yeah, that was the first one we had. We had
the bloody sock kirt showing the table for one.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Oh my god, Kleiner, I was at that series. I
didn't I didn't remember that you played in that series.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
No, I just slept out in the bullpen because we
were behind every game. We didn't even have a chance
to win, and I didn't pitch.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So Dalla Swayne was the third base coach for the
Red Sox. He was my manager in Altuna, and I
was staying at his place. I didn't realize that you were.
You were in that so that so, and and one
last thing. And again, this is just a conversation. I
read something the other day about when you were in Baltimore.
Why did you do to piss off the Orioles fans.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah, I told him it sucked, I said, I said,
it ain't no place like saying Louis. But this is
like I went from freaking heaven to hell real quick
and in two seconds. And they didn't like me too much.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Man, But I understand I sucked at I have to
apologize if anybody's an Oriole fan.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Uh. You know, I grew up loving them as a kid,
you know, so being two hours from them and then
I just didn't. I didn't perform there.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I just sucked.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
I sucked bad, so it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Fun me in p Haven. Any We're going to do
our one shots later, but any anything for for Kleiders
as far as his career. Kind of like when we
did I.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Love the bullpen guys who were around back when the
you know, the fans were on top of the bullpen
because you you got to engage with it. You know,
they moved them away from the fans in most of
the parks now, But was there a place you uh,
you know, I would imagine Chicago the fans were routy
with you, you know what would you uh where were
the spots where the fans were were, you know, back
and forth with you guys.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
The Vet. The Vet was the worst.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
One day I was paying for the expos. They thought
everybody was from They all thought we were French Canadians
from Montreal, so they're the Philly fans were towing. They're
literally throwing like cheese, steaks, soft pretzels. Skittles are the
worst when they were hitting you with skittles or Eminem's
because they hurt from upper upper tank. And I remember
the poorn beer on us and they're you know, they're
calling us all kinds of names, and uh. I was like, okay,
(22:08):
you know I'm from Pennsylvania. I'm thinking Jesus Christmas Stree.
You know I live. I live on Amish Country, but
Philadelphia is a different place. So Felipe lose signals for
me to come into game and I come running out,
you know, my rookie year. I'm running into the bullpen
and Felipe looks at me and he goes, you'll know
you didn't have to eat. And in the bullpen they
get ready before you came in. I was like, I
(22:28):
was like, that's survival and that was great. That was
right when the WWF wrestling was good and they're all like,
you know, the Rock was like, what's your name? That
doesn't matter what your name. All these kids, these thirteen
year olds with just screaming at uson Oh, we had
so much fun. Atlanta was tough. Atlanta was good. I
had my best quote ever in Atlanta. Some guy asked
me what was my record? I said, forty five minutes
(22:48):
on your mom and you got so just follow me.
I was like the client, what's your record? I said,
forty five minutes on your mom. I was like, I
told you. I told the Atlanta fans, I said, you
keep you keep yelling at me?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Are you out of my teammates?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I'm gonna go hit Tripper Jones right in the head
and we're gonna We're gonna edit and you guys won't
make the playoffs. We're gonna, I said, I'll hit Tripper,
knock him out. Be not. I'm like, oh, I will.
And it was just so great. The fans were just
uh there then they just let me have it. You know.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
That was oh man, that was everywhere with with Thrill.
We talked about when he started a big fight with
the uh the St. Louis Cardinals. Were you ever involved?
Did you ever plunk a guy like any anything like that?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Yeah, I mean we got into a big one with
uh the Pirates. When we were with the Montreal, Vesquez
hit the Armis Ramirez guy and we got into a
big You couldn't see it because there was no TV
in freaking Montreal, so we never had to wear you
have to worry about freaking Al Martin trying to push
me right in the face, almost knocked me out cold.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
It was great. Well, he was a linebacker in college,
wasn't he.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yeah, he swung and missed at me and then remember
Big Derek May, he was played Notre Dame. It was
a tight end or he he popped nol Martin and
I went to the ground. I was and I was
I was crawling. I was trying to punch out Martin
in the head because you know, I was on the
bottom of the pile. And then Kendall's jumping on the
top of me and laughing while he's like wrestling with people.
It was great. It's one of those insane moments as
(24:13):
a as a fight because you you know, when you
go out and these things, you don't know what's going
to happen. People are sucker punching and I almost got knocked.
He hit me right on the tip of my hat
and then my hat went off my head and I
was like, oh, I'm gone, I'm going after this guy.
And then that Big d May hit him and it
was like game on. So oh yeah, it was fine.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
It was run through some of the one offs we
did with throw, like the favorite place and all that
kind of stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Absolutely, I want to know too, where'd you learn where'd
you learn that sinker? Where you learned that movement? Where'd
that come from?
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Don't get donuts. If you have to throw a sinker,
you have to eat one. So now my uh, I
watched I was a big fan of Steve Carlton, but
I learned that from Greg Maddox.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
That's cool. Uh, where is your favorite?
Speaker 1 (24:57):
By the way, By the way, very nice name.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
That was a good name drop there was a quality.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I learned it from him. I did learn it from him.
And at my junior college because Leo was Only's son
played with me, so he would come up and work
out with with Leo in the off season. So I
he actually told me and Mike Maddicks played with me
in Montreal and he helped me with it too, so
we kind of worked and sink. So I had the
Maddix boys telling me how to do everything.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Wasn't it toughest hitter you faced regularly?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Uh? Lance Barkman was the guy I couldn't ever get out.
I could never get Lance out.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
And for for you, uh, you know so many different
spots along the way. Now you're a coach, What did
you know as a coach? What did you learn from
being a player that you put into play as you
coach the guys In terms of how you how you
would want to be coached.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
If you're going to drink in a bar, you gotta
drink in a dark area so no one sees your face.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Oh no, I just learned to.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Just to kind of calm down, relax. It's tough to
play the game as a As a player, you got
to know that it's not that easy. And as a coach,
we expect them to always be excellent. And you learned
that it's not that easy. Remember you play the game.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Do you have a favorite manager?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I love Boach, I loved LaRussa Uh. Dave mcimer one
of my favorite all time guys. Hell yeah, if you
guys know Mac, you know what I've talked about it.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Roll him off.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Hey, we we interrupted this podcast. Dave mckimer, Kleiner. We
used to have to go in and grab him before
our game started. He would be on his computer buying toys.
He was a toy collector. I'd be like, Mac, the
umpires are out there. He's like, hold on, I gotta
buy this toy story thing real quick. Hold on, I'll
be right out and the umpires be waiting for stocks.
(26:45):
Him was VP throwing, Hey, I have his headphone, said
that's great.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
I take over. I'm gonna go talk to this guy.
We're gonna scout. He won't come back for the rest
of the game. I love. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Did you have any run ins with the specific umpire.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Yeah, Froming always like to mess with me, Bruce Freming.
You know, I threw a ball at came Griffy Jr.
One time, right down the middle of the plate in
the Kingdome. That's how old I am. And uh he
called it ball and then Griffy ground out the second
base And when I was walking into the dugout, he goes, hey,
young blood, they don't pay to see him strike out,
they pay to see him hit. I was like, Okay,
(27:25):
I guess I'm screwed the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
That That reminds me of the story that you told
me in Parney's Pub one time about the spring training
game when you were trying to make the Cleveland squad.
Tell that story real quick with with one of them
from Mike Hargrove. Oh so so Grover.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
He puts me in. I'm not even on the forty
man roster or anything yet. And I had a pitch
against the White Sox, I mean the Royals. I'm sorry
and can't.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
And mister Scooter Tucker, that's you. That's your team.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Scooter Tucker took me deep. He had went about seven
hundred feet off, being kind of pimped it. So he
told me, like, so, Jesse Levis was the catcher, and
the next guy up was Bo Jackson, and he calls
Bo comes up and the guy looks like a human muscle. Right,
So I'm thinking Jesus Christmas Tree. And Jesse Levis calls
four fast balls off the plate, and every time I
(28:17):
threw a pitch, Grover screamed at me and called me
every kind of profane, nasty name you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
I'm like, who else is from the bitch? He's screaming
at you his pitching?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah, I didn't, and I had no clue because I
didn't know what the hell he was talking about. So
all of a sudden he comes out of the dugout
and he you know, he had the chew in the
back of en and he's right in my face and
he's spitting. I don't know if he's called me every
name in a book. He's like, you ain't no tough country.
He'll billy you know, boom boom and and jesse Levis
goes coach and he goes, I mean, he goes Grover,
(28:47):
he goes, it's my fault, and he goes, what do
you mean it's your fault? He goes, Well, Bo looked
at me and said, if he drills me, I'm gonna
kick this shit out of you and then go kick
the pitcher's ass. So jesse Levis called four pitchers on
the outside corner just to walk bow Jackson. Robert looks
at him, goes, okay. They runs back to the jesse
Levis goes, I just saved your life?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Was was there? We'll uh mp, we'll talk a little
bit about his coaching career in a second. But was
there any particular teammate or or player you played against
that you didn't like? Uh? Well, we didn't really talk
to a lot. You're liable, bro, Like you were of
the most likable people I know in America. Like like,
(29:31):
is there anybody be like, oh this guy man? I can't,
I can't. No, I mean I got along with everybody,
even Arry. I got along with Barry Bonds, bro.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
While everybody hates his guts, But uh, I mean he
was a you know, if you played with him you
kind of know him a little different, but uh, I
liked him. There was there wasn't too many. Social was
a little tough to deal with. If I had one
guy that was kind of like, you know, I told
like when people treat other people at crap. So Sosia
was probably the guy that was like the toughest to
deal with. But to me, it was great.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
He was great to my kids.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
So you know, it's like, but you saw him treat
how they treat people and I in baseball is about
Pete Rose style. You know, it's about treating the fans right,
being around, being right there to talk to them, and
you know, because you want them to come back out
as many times as you can, you know, to come
watch you. And pushing people away from the game was
not what we were taught about. Like today's world, these
kids don't even come out and sign autographs stuff. It
(30:20):
just frustrates me a little bit with that stuff. But
I get more about it when you're in the minor
league as a coach, you're telling guys get out there
and sign autographs, talk to people, you know, and I
know some guys coming with seventeen thousand cards, you know,
you know, but The best one was the guy in
Boston one time, part of this guy right for the
World Series. He's like, mister Klein, this guy's like eighty
years old. He's like, mister Klein, you signed this car
for me. I'm like, I'm like, yeah, okay. You know,
(30:40):
like a lot of people around, a lot of your
looking girls. I was like a raight sign this car
because I signed it. I started walking away. He turns around,
he goes, hey, client, I said yeah, he goes, you
suck on ice and you rip my card up right
in front of me, eighty year old. I was like,
you here, the eighty year old dude. I'm like, dude.
I was like, dude, I told the guy, I think
I shit bigger than you do. I don't know what he.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Was great.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
I don't know if is that your relations up there
and that that's.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
About Yeah, Fider and analytics. You had one of the
greatest quotes when you were the pitching coach of the Squirrels.
One of the greatest Steve clind quotes of all time
was when you were the pitching coach and I forget
who it was, and I'm glad I do I'm glad
I don't remember, because I would hate to have called
(31:30):
them out. But somebody was in our locker room and
they said, well, you know, he's got a really good
his spin rate is really really good, his spin rate
and his you know, all these analytical terms. And client said, yeah,
his spin rate's great, but you can't get anybody hugging out.
(31:50):
Talk talk a little bit about that. As now you
transition to the college game in your I an amazing job.
Like I hate being nice to you, but like you
were two of the team was two and thirty seven.
I remember Brian Sabean called me and saying, Arnie, what
is Klin doing? Is he tried to kill his career.
He's going to go coaching the school two and thirty seven.
But but talk a little bit about how you have
(32:12):
to deal with the analytics and your philosophy of just
whatever works, like get get people out, like talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Yeah, I think, uh once I started getting run out
of the game once analytics and we were all about
loyalty back in the day. You know, that's why I
left foot saves. And you know those guys all tell you,
oh yeah when they hell yeah, right right, Joe T.
But hell yeah, no, but when they when they run,
(32:40):
when they when they start talking to this analytical number,
I'm like, these propeller heads were just driving me nuts,
you know, like you couldn't even you know, I mean,
you had Shane Turner, We had tough those guys to
play the game. Now I got I had some girls
trying to tell me about things, and no offensive girls
in baseball.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
But I was like, this is not right. I said,
did you ever throw a ball? Have you ever been
out in the field?
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Have you ever? Human error is the big part of
this game, and human successes a lot of times is
about your toughness and your metal breakdown. And I just
think we're so worried about numbers. I'm worried about getting
that guy out, the guy, a six foot four to
two hundred and fifty pound guy across the seeing sixty
feet from you, that wants to whack the crap out
of you, And we're worried about is my ball spinning? Right?
(33:19):
Who gives a crap? Just get the guy out. However
you had to do it, if you had to roll it,
throw it underhand, spin on it, you know, put some
raws or whatever. Just throw it. Let him get a guy.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Out, And do you guys away from that, do you
guys use a lot of numbers? Do you use numbers
at all? At iep No.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
The only number I can't even count it. I got
to suspended last year because we played fifty one games.
You're only supposed to play fifty So I got in
trouble there. So I had to take a four game
hit for screwing that up. So that was not fun.
But I just wanted to play baseball, so I used
to play one hundred and sixty two of these things,
you know, And I think kids want to play ball.
They the numbers are if you can match them up.
(33:56):
But I don't even know if my pit my pitcher's
gonna throw it in the other batter's box or he's
gonna throw it over the plate. So I don't know
why numbers are, you know. And the old day, the
giants were taught, they were taught to throw the four corners.
How you had to learn how to pitch in and
how to pitch away, just in case you face a
hit or that could hit in. You got to be
able to throw in here. Now today, these these numbers
are all about you have to throw to your quadrant
(34:16):
where you like, you know, and this is your spind
and you have an excellent breaking ball, like no the
hit or will tell you to have excellent stuff. You
throw a picture the guy. That means you're pretty damn good.
So and we saw a lot of pictures like Timmy
Lynski Conda thrown anything he wanted up there, the rosin
bag anything they still want to hit it.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
That's how good he was. So grinder. Kleiner was our
pitching coach and he army. Was it what year was it, Kleiner?
Two thousand and when you started talking to iup about
potentially getting one one so MP and JOT I would
be working at the Squirrels. You know how like back
in the day, I would run all over the place.
(34:53):
I didn't stop for one second. I'm out on the
field and so I'm coming through the tunnel one night.
We're playing a game, guys. Game is going on, and
Cline's pacing up and down the tunnel with his cell
phone and I'm like, what is he doing? Bro? And
then he gets off the phone. I'm like, Kleiner, We're like,
the game's going on, what are you doing? He goes,
I'm recruiting for I U P. I gotta I gotta
(35:14):
get some there were we were two and thirty seven,
last somebody Richmond, the Richmond Brave players. I was trying
to get that seventeen U club down there.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Give me some players.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Guys out there scouting the dizzy bat race I had.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Bogy was out on the focus was doing the game,
so I was okay. So when Bogy came in town,
I just let him be the pitching coach. I took
a vacation to tell I don't probably want my money
back if.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
They know, well, no, Ha'll be listening to this, trust me.
So you screwed yourself in those seriousness in MP If
you have a journalistic question after this one, that'd be cool.
But how did you turn it around for Mike? Like,
I'm gonna say it's slow so everybody hears me. I
U P. It was two and thirty seven, the year
(36:02):
before Steve Kline took over and had baseball coach two
wins thirty seven losses. How the hell are you getting
ready to go play in the College World Series for
Division two? How did you do it?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Just? I have really good coaches that we all preach
the same thing pays to be a winner. You know,
we competition breeds.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Man.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Once you get some people like hungry, and I think
they felt that pain of that losing. It's not fun.
I mean, you know, I played for the expos I
know what losing was like. And you start winning, it's
it's so much better. So you got to preach these
kids winning is more important than just developing. You know,
mom and dad can't help you play this game no more.
(36:44):
You have to do it on your own. And I
just instill it in them. You just got to hold
them accountable. Every kid wants to be held accountable, even
in these travel teams. But the mom and dad's gonna
get the helicopter parents kind of get crazy. But at college,
I still have some parents that call and cust me
out a little bit and hell off all I am.
But hey, I'm trying to teach your kid toughness because
(37:04):
this world's gonna eat you up. Man. It's a it's
a vicious world and you better be ready for it.
But I just thought we just taught toughness. Enjoy baseball
and give it everything you got and go when you're playing.
It's about time just to play. Nothing else really matters.
You're gonna screw up.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I know that we all.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
I screw up a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
It's a game of failure, bro, It's a game of failure.
Baseball is a game of failure.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
And I felt, you see my great point average in
West Virginia, it was it was probably it was probably
like Bob Gibson's he r A back in nineteen six.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Listen, I listen. If you went to a class at
West Virginia University, I will be shocked if you went
to a class I went to.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Ay, I went to lunch. One time, we went to breakfast,
I'm sorry, and one of the football players to stand
next to me, and you know how they put like
toast down on the bottom where all the grease comes
off the bake, you know, off the bacon and stuff.
And this guy goes, man, that's the best French toast
I've ever had. And I was like, he was like
six or five U three. I wasn't gonna say anything. Guy,
(38:01):
he would have picked me up slamming thing. I was like,
you know how we love rich toast in my family. Clider,
Oh yes, I know you lost some French what you got?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
You used to coach wrestling too.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, I coach high school wrestling for twenty two years.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
What what's your wrestling background. Did you wrestle?
Speaker 3 (38:22):
I wrestled about ninth and tenth grade and then so
back in the day, I had a wrestle Angle.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
Right, he was what he's talking about.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I know who he's doing.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
That's that's the name.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
He was a human muscle. So the guy who wrestled
in front of me, Bobby Ferraro, was unbelievable. He was
just a stunt. So he was like a two time
national national champ, two times state champ and he uh
he's dad coach of buck Now, so he was so
he was always a way better than me. So I
had to go and go with Angle and he just
toyed with me.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
I was like a fish.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
He just I was like, he's gonna pin me. I
was trying to pin myself. That's how strong the song
of this was.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
So you just trying to roll over.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
He's like, no, I need to get some He goes,
I need to get a workout in. I was like,
it's a little street. I didn't have hearing my arm
pitch yet and that guy was throwing me. But uh yeah,
Kurt angle Man He was like, if you're out here
in this western Pennsylvania party, you know, he's a god.
He's like him and Fukavich are both like gods out here.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
So Peter, Peter, so MP we brought We brought Kurt
Angle in for an appearance in one of our Wrestling
Wrestling former wrestling Star appearances, and I had Climb call him. No,
we sent him a video, didn't we? Climb? He client
did like a w WE like, where are you, Kurt Angle?
You beat me a ninth grade, but you're not gonna
(39:44):
get me again. I watched you, Kurt Angle.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I said, I'm not I said, I'm not five eight,
one hundred and sixty pounds. Somewhere I'm six foot two
or two hundred and fifty pounds, and I'm gonna come out.
And what is Angle say to me?
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Party?
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Don't quit your day job, Climb.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
Clians you Yeah, we lost. We lost Joe Tea for
a man, I think the hamster quit running on the
wheel somewhere somewhere out there. Yeah, well we'll get a
new hamster.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Turn back.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
You have a favorite party's pub guest during your time
in Richmond parties?
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Oh my god, Dave that was our guy man.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
He drank some freaking moonshine and some drinks in that place,
and he did the joke the best Joe pest I've
ever seen.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Him, just hearing at us.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
He just staring at He's there, He's just staring at us.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Looks like a j hawk on mat not doing anything.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
He looks.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Don't come kick my ass. I think you're great.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
You mentioned eh, Dicky Dog was one of the best
man He was a cool cat man. That kid was
just suff He's a study. He goes out of Miami
right now, enjoying life with allose you know, ear rings
and necklaces and stuff.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
And I just love him.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
He's a He's a dignity dog, baby dog.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Well, I don't see why we've been going for over
a half hour now, but Empy, you got anything left
for Cliner as we wrap up here?
Speaker 2 (41:13):
This is fantastic. I think very disrespectful of Joe t
to duck out in mid interview. Well, well we'll talk
to him about get the pub club in line.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Will Clark, can I give a Will Clark story for
you since he Yeah, of course, so Will Clark.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Okay, real quick, we're we're in.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Arizona all that we have instructional like and these kids
are out and Steve Decker comes and down and he's,
you know, screaming at the kids. You got it, and
he put the machine up to like one hundred miles pround.
He's like, you need to hit the ball to the
right field. If you didn't, you had to go run
a lap. So every kid ran a lap. We had
forty kids just they foiled the ball off and they
had to go run a lap. And he gets him
the dugout and Decker's just freaking wearing them out and
(41:49):
telling him how great it is, and he goes, am,
I right. Will Will looks at him and goes, you
need to get laid right the Decker And it was
so great the kids. All the kids start laughing at
Decker got so as it just walked off.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Did you ever face Will Clark? Oh yeah, yeah, he
was good. We'll tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Hey, he got to hit off me. Everybody got a
hit off me, so don't worry about it. I was
I shared equally to everybody. It was a fight at
the backreck when I pitched Partie. Everybody was fighting getting
in there dead well.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Connie we're gonna We're gonna wrap this portion of the
Party Time Podcast number two, MP, You're an awesome pub
club as usual. Joe T might be put on probation
after this. You and I have to have a vote.
There you go, baby Kleiner. Thank you for being who
you are. You're so authentic. Thank you for being so
(42:42):
impactful to me and my family. We all love you
very much and uh we're so happy you can make
it uh with jin to to our wedding. When Tyy
and I got married, m P was there. I don't
know if you guys bumped into each other or not,
but P was drunk and puke and over the table.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
By the end of the night, we were all bumping
into each other. Nobody wants that was straight lined. By
the end of that night, it was great.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Blina. Thank you, Thank you for joining us, especially as
you're on this journey with iup baseball. By the time
this show has dropped, we'll know if you want the
whole thing or and how far you went. But from
all of us at Party Time, MPJT, the Pub Club,
good luck in the world series, and thank you for
loving us because we love you right back. It was
(43:25):
fun I had a blast. Thank you so much.
All right, everybody, we're back for the party time, Inning
number two. The party pub clubs here. I'm actually in
Sandbridge Beach, Virginia the seventh inning stretch. Stop by and
see us. I love Sandbridge Beach, Yes, Sebert Realty, I'm
trying to get you the sponsor this podcast. So Sanbridge
Beach is the place to be. Steve Klein per Will
(00:26):
Clark suggested that any one Steve Clin is inning number
two's key guess. But before we do that, Joe t
is currently not here because apparently, MP, what's going on
with our pub club or jot Joe did?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The Internet's not working wherever Joe T is.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I just you tell him where he is and they'll
understand why.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, he's at the Diamond.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So there's if you need. If you need concrete, Jo
T's good right now is an unlimited supply of concrete
at his disposal. He does not have functioning wireless internet though.
That's that's asking too much. It's too much to ask.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Oh. So Steve Clyin is ating number two, And first
of all, MP, what did you think of aning number
one with Will Clark?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I thought it went well. I mean, Will's got so
many great stories talking about convincing Ricky Henderson to steal
bases out there.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Oh gotta go.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I love hearing from these guys. And you know, the
statute of limitations is over right, so they could they
could tell their stories now, and you do. You do
a great job getting it out of it. It's so
fun to hear these guys in their stories from from
playing days.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Well and most of my friends MP. It's easier to
get stories out of them in parties pub because I
got some juice in them. But when they're doing this,
they're not drinking, so it's a little bit harder to
point out. But we're going to have a really good
time with Steve Klin. Steve Klein pitching the big leagues
for over ten years, uh and he started with the
Montreal expos. So one shot. Since Joe t is dealing
(01:59):
with the hamsters and can't participate in the Yeah Party's
pub club, he's saying hell known today to the internet,
Uh Party's pub club. One shot? You got one shot?
Two part question? One shot, two part question, who is
your favorite Montreal Expo of all time? Because Steve Klin
(02:21):
was an expo? And then secondly, who is your favorite
relief pitcher not named Steve Klein of all time.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Sure, you're right, you gotta go. You gotta go down
that road. You gotta qualify it because and he's in
the he's like playing for a natty right now, like
the group he's coaching. That's going to be fun to
hear about.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
To Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which when I was at Olptoona,
they call it I up. But everybody that I knew that,
what the I up? You don't want to stood for?
I usually party? That's what.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Day party school. He's at the right spot, don't you
worry about that. Give me a little Tim Rain's, a
little Tim Ryan. I'm not going Andrey Dawson. I want
to throw the change up. Go a little Tim Rains here.
What you know what I really want to say? Shout
out to Yupie the mascot. That's a good mascot, right
not see's a good mascot. Yupie was a good mascot.
Nats need to bring him down and replace Screech the Eagle.
(03:14):
There's my hot take for the show right there. Look,
I hate the Yankees, so I can't pick Mariano Rivera
up but I got all the respect in the world
for him and his pitching what he does. So I
guess I gotta go a different direction than because I
got to pick away from that. I covered the Washington
Nationals for a few years. The chief Chad Cordero, was
(03:36):
a good dude. Never had any games to close because
and that's weren't any good But had there been games
to close, chief would have got the job done.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Chad Cordero, I would have lost every penny that I owned.
I mean, I thought, who is Chad Cordero? No offense?
I never That's okay. So I'm going to play the
game too. I'm going to take the place with Jos's
internet list, and I'm going to play the game too.
So I'm down here in Party's pub and as you
(04:04):
would imagine our party at a seventh Ny stretch, as
you imagine at the Seventhay stretch, I've got you can
see right behind me in MP there's a picture of
a puzzle of Madison Bumgardner that my uncle, my ninety
four year old uncle, put together of Game seven World
Season twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I don't remember that. I've repressed that memory. I don't
know he was he playing the Royals that day?
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Was I there?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I don't know, I've repressed the memory. Shout out, Jeff Montgomery.
Royals close are great. We'll put him on the board too.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So you were were you in game seven?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
In game six and seven? I was the both of them.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I was there in the front rower. Have we talked
about this before?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You showed me a ring on many occasions it looks nice.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Hey we won.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
The next year we beat the Mets. I'm not mad.
I one Royals World Series, honestly, and my thirty nine
years on this earth. That's about. That's about all you
can ask.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
For, That's right. So I got a picture over here
of my favorite Lea pitcher of all time, and he's
I'm fortunate. This is what the show is all about. Uh.
I used to love watching him pitch. Uh. And now
he was at our wedding. He invited Tanya Knight to
(05:14):
his Hall of Fame induction and that would be the
one and only Lee Arthur Smith.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yes, yeah, well that's that's an easy pick. Yeah,
nicely done, Lee Arthur Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
And you talk about I'd love to have him on
the podcast sometime. One of the greatest storytellers that I've
ever known in baseball is Lee Arthur Smith. So Lee,
we love you and you're my favorite leaf pitcher of
all time.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Bonus shout out, I might answer the question for the
fourth time. Billy Wagner shout out. Billy Wagner deserves.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Me well and Wags will have Wags on too. Wags
is a good friend doing a great job, just like
Steve Kine doing a great job coaching the great game
of baseball. I don't know they should be in the
state playoffs right now, so well, Joe t is a
hell no say hell no, hell no. We got Steve
Klink coming up as our main guest on Party Time
(06:05):
Podcast Any number two with the Party's Pub Club being
held down by the one and only Michael Phillips MP
on the mic because jot sucks at the Internet. Let
go all right, everybody. I guess we're getting ready for
any number two. We had a great Party Time Inning
number one with Will the Thrill Clark. So we're going
(06:26):
from the penthouse to the verbial for verbial ship house
with our second guest for the second inning. But before
we do that, we have yes is the folks the
Parney Pub Club in the house remotely. We got MP
on the mic, Michael Phillips, who has a returney, and
(06:46):
then the illustrious one and only Joe T, who's not
his birthday empty this time. It's just plain old jot.
But it looks like he's overtaking the Diamond press box
right now. So Jo T is here, Guys, how are
we doing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I'll listen to Joe T any day. I don't I
don't need a reason.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And then our guest when we do party time, as
we said in our first inning, it's going to be
about my life in baseball, the relationships that we've made
in baseball, and the characters that we've become friends with
in the great Game of baseball. And Will Clark even
mentioned our second inning guest by name in inning number one.
(07:29):
You might know him as a longtime major league relief pitcher.
He was a guy with a dirty hat. All you,
Saint willis Cardinal fans. And it's really appropriate that Steve
clin is known, after over ten years in the big
leagues for wearing a dirty hat. I think that's really
really appropriate. The ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls across
the world, please welcome to Party Podcast. Any number two,
(07:52):
the one and only Steve Plin Kleiner.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Hell yeah, thanks guys, what's on?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
That's right, Joe T. Are you happy that we have
Steve Klin as any number two guests?
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Hell yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I got to spend a couple of hours with him
yesterday when they were in town, and it was a blast.
Always a good time being around Steve Klin. Joe T.
You're just supposed to say, hell yeah, hell no, I
got in there, damn right, Hell yeah, hell yeah. Find
he own Party Time podcast. We tell a lot of stories.
(08:31):
You have a ton of stories, some that you probably
shouldn't tell. But I want to start it out, and
it's a conversation, not an interview, So let's just start
with our personal relationship. Uh. I think we met in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania for the first time at a Phillies event. You
remember that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yes, Andy Tracy was getting put into the uh he
was named the coach of the Waning Sport team, the Crosscutters,
and Larry Anderson there, Dick Allen was.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
There, Harry Harry Gallows was there. Yeah, God, I love
that guy. One time I was one time I was
doing a Philly's function and Harry Callous was speaking and
he said, ladies and gentlemen, I give you greetings from
Whitey Richie Ashburn, who is currently at the Hunoman Hospital
(09:22):
awaiting the birth of his next future wife. Anyways, so
let's just okay, Jo, let's let's talk about the relationship
you and I built from that day in Williamsport. I
love you. You're one of the most authentic people. John
O'Connor called me today and asked me a few questions
(09:45):
about you, and I use the word authentic. Talk about
your personality and how that's helped you throughout the course
of your career.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Oh well, let's start out. It was at the Jannetti Hotel.
I got to meet the parn Star for the first time.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I was I think Carl Rabbits was there too, was.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Rabbit Yeah, the bar was and then uh, the best
part was so I got to be party and then
uh a couple of years later, I got to be
underneath the merit the uh and literally not underneath you,
but like bously at the Ristmond Squirrels and like I
heard all kinds.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Of there we go with the guys. We were five
rating already.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
I've been to San Francisco, a couple of times, so
we know, we never know what that people take the
wrong way, But I enjoyed it. Like I said, we
got to work with Party. I heard so many stories
about this guy from Scottie Rowland and Danny Held.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Guys like that Patty Burrell.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
And then when I got to go there, Ross Grimsley,
one of the best guys, told me some of so
many wonderful things about Shane Turner. So I got in there,
here comes Party. He just was a ball of energy
and uh infectious. He's an infectious disease, as we would say,
affect his personality. He just loves to He just makes
(11:03):
everybody feel wanted and want to be around. And I
just had so much fun. And we enjoyed the a
lot of nights in the Parney's Pub and Joe T's
Mafia table. You know, it's so much fun. The old
Golden Tea and all and all of the Carney's beautiful
couches all over the j T.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I remember one night climbing with a pitching coach and
he had to come out into the tunnel because the
bullpen was playing Golden Tea like five minutes before the
game started, and climb had guys, we have a game started,
and I think it was Hunter Stricken was like, we're
on the sixteenth hole. Cliner will be there in a minute,
don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Him and Joss, Him and Joss Oceans were down there
playing gold and Ochre. That's right, he's the he's with
the twins. He'll give up a couple more home runs
and it'll be okay. He's one of my favorites. Man
that got He gave me the extension belt every time
(12:00):
we got on the Southwest plate. You have the storages
come over and say, hey, fat guy's great.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Well, there's so many stories I want you to tell,
but I'm going to start with this one. So we
owned the Montgomery Biscuits obviously, and I went to the
Southern League Alf Star game. I think this was MP
back in like twenty seventeen. It was in Pensacola, Florida,
and I got in there a little bit late and
they were having the first All Star function at this
at this restaurant bar. So I walk into the restaurant
(12:31):
bar and there's everybody's in this one room except for
one guy sitting at the bar, and that one person
was Tony LaRussa. So I go and I sit down
next to Tony Russa and I said, hey, Tony, my
name's Party. We met a few times with Jimmy Leland,
but I want to tell you our pitching coach is
Steve Klein. And he went crazy. Do you remember this client? Yeah,
(12:56):
he goes, we got a call him. We got a
call him, Kleiner. Tell the story about why LaRussa wanted
me to FaceTime you, and then tell everybody what Marussa
was doing to you when you answered the FaceTime.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Yeah, so I see Party calling, I answer and Tony
Standard with his finger right at me, gave me the
middle finger and told me that, you know, nice cosural words. Yep,
but uh yeah party, Yeah, he's I love the russo
on that man, He's why did you do the finger?
It's great, But tell people why he did that? Because
I gave him the finger on National TV eve when
(13:30):
we're playing one time, Hey accidentally.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Accidentally and why why Cline, why did you give him
the finger?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Well that someone bits warm me up like fifty five times,
and a couple of family yelling at me the whole time.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I was so pissed off.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Now the bullpens are man, it's like there's nothing, there's
no place like the VAT. But when you're a Cardinal
and you're playing against the Cubs, it gets kind of heated.
He wore me up like six seven times. They kept
yelling that, screaming at me. It went on for a
couple of days, and then he said, hey, you're in
the game, and I said okay. So I was walking
and all of a sudden he slapped Stavars on the
(14:06):
ass and says, he's still in. I was like, so,
I just gave him the middle finger. I don't think
anybody would see it. The Cup guys caught me on TV,
and so eventually, eventually I come in the pitch and
I pitched, and I get the I actually get the
winn or the save or something. And after the game
the media asked them. They said, hey, did you get
a glimpse of client giving you the finger? He had
(14:29):
no idea. He gave me the shower. I was in
a shower, was I was louthering up. I was singing
all kinds of songs with soapball over me. Edgar I'll
never get Rent the Rhea and Fernandovini were in there.
With me, and he came in just mfmm cussing me out.
He's like, did you give me the finger? I'm like yeah.
(14:49):
He goes why I was pissed off.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
He goes go out there and tell them.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
He goes go tell the media. I punched you in
a face and you need to apologize. So I went
on and I told himself apologize to him. But ever
since then, every time I see him. I just saw
him last year at the win on warm up for
the Cardinals, and first thing he just rips on me.
He's like, I saw client naked. It's like two hundred
and sixty pounds of chewed up bubblegum.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
So he's like, like, you know, you guys, Do you
guys know Tony L. Russam met his wife in Richmond, Virginia.
What he was playing for, That's what met his wife,
Kinder and all your your talk big league career like
was being what what was your highlight? Was it being
(15:34):
a Cardinal? Because I don't think an MP is from
the Midwest, So he gets it, like the Cardinal fan
base is something really special? Was that was that your
highlight of your career or was there something else?
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I think so I think the Cardinals, the Cardinal Nation,
the Birds on the batter are just a it's a
great traditional organization.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then I got to go to the Giants.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
They're both like powerhouse organizations, and I think the third
one would be Yankees, but they told me I sucked,
so I could never go there, so I hate. Yeah,
they took Jesse Rosco instead of me. That when you
take a fifty five year old guy and not me,
that means you suck, So thanks Sabs. But anyways, I enjoyed.
(16:17):
I enjoyed every moment with the same that. The Cardinals
are great. I mean, I mean this year we're having
our two thousand and four anniversary out there for their
losing to the Red Sox and breaking the Van Beino curse.
So I think there's not enough nineteen sixty four guys left,
so they're bringing it both squaddies back, so that'll be
an adventure of Tony. I get to see my boy
Tony again, so maybe I'll give him a finger from
the bullpen again or something some fun with it. But
(16:41):
I loved it there. I mean, like, the fans are awesome.
It's a it's a family atmosphere. It's kind of like
a college football game inside of a baseball field to
see a red comes out and it's uh and we won.
It was fun, It was enjoyable. I got to meet
some really good players there and some old timers that
were fun.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Who did you play with? Who did you well? You're
McGuire was with you there.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Right, McGuire, Paul's Edmunds, Larry Walker, y, Larry Walker. Yeah, yeah,
he's all, you're your dumb ass friend Scott Rowland. Who
let me tell you something about Scott? Wrong?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
We were.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
We both got we both got called into the office
to go for steroid testing. Right, So he said, We're
both standing with our shirts off, and he's like, we
have to get tested for steroids. He looks at me
and he goes, what the hell a they testing you
for Krispy Kreme donuts? I said, I guess, I said,
(17:39):
with a body like this, you gotta test it. I said,
we gotta find out this guy the best man. So
I'm not I had so many.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
How about tell these guys about the Mike Methini. What
you said on National TV.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
About him and my kids as white of my kids?
Oh yeah, so pissed that's him, I said, I said,
tell Mike, how's my how's my wife and my kids?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
On?
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I was saying it to him and he got so
pissedy he chased me around the locker room. My favorite
guy have all the time is Isray Housing. Know that
guy dumb Dumb was one of my favorite guys of
all time. He's just a heart of gold. Just he
was like that Bam bam kid from Freaking the food
sot so strong. When he grabbed a hold of you,
it was like it was game over, you know it
was it was like it was like mess over.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
With Bumgardner all over again. You know.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
It was just a tough, tough cookie. So so is
he is.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
He's relative works for our buddies. Crane Master Brian Isranhausen
is related to to your your isn Housing. I don't know.
I mean, do you want to tell the story real
quickly about maybe you don't okay?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
The police car the police car, oh so out in
Saint Louis, the cops are all the the bouncers at
the bars. They don't really mess with bouncers too much,
so they they make the police be the like security.
So one night, Missy's like, hey, let's get this guy drunk,
so we started getting one of the police officers got
it hammered and we're like, you can't drive home. Give
(19:10):
us your keys. He gave us, like a dumbass. He
gave us the keys and he goes and things to
the cop car and we must be driving down like
I seventy about one hundred miles probably the lights player
and Greg the cops. I called us. He's like, please
come back with my car. I don't want to get
in trouble. We're like busy was just he was insane.
(19:33):
One of the nicest guys I've ever met. But he
had so much fun with the guy. And he's from Olton, Illinois,
so he's right there, right across the river from you know,
stl So it was like a fun time. He just
he knew everybody. So we had so much fun. And
the cop was just like, I'm gonna lose my job.
Weren won't get you back. It was good, but we
had a really good time with it.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
We just think we didn't wreck though. That jo Jo
the world series with him, Yeah to the Red Sox
and that's right.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Yeah, that was the first one we had. We had
the bloody sock kirt showing the table for one.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Oh my god, Kleiner, I was at that series. I
didn't I didn't remember that you played in that series.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
No, I just slept out in the bullpen because we
were behind every game. We didn't even have a chance
to win, and I didn't pitch.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So Dalla Swayne was the third base coach for the
Red Sox. He was my manager in Altuna, and I
was staying at his place. I didn't realize that you were.
You were in that so that so, and and one
last thing. And again, this is just a conversation. I
read something the other day about when you were in Baltimore.
Why did you do to piss off the Orioles fans.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah, I told him it sucked, I said, I said,
it ain't no place like saying Louis. But this is
like I went from freaking heaven to hell real quick
and in two seconds. And they didn't like me too much.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Man, But I understand I sucked at I have to
apologize if anybody's an Oriole fan.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Uh. You know, I grew up loving them as a kid,
you know, so being two hours from them and then
I just didn't. I didn't perform there.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I just sucked.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
I sucked bad, so it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Fun me in p Haven. Any We're going to do
our one shots later, but any anything for for Kleiders
as far as his career. Kind of like when we
did I.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Love the bullpen guys who were around back when the
you know, the fans were on top of the bullpen
because you you got to engage with it. You know,
they moved them away from the fans in most of
the parks now, But was there a place you uh,
you know, I would imagine Chicago the fans were routy
with you, you know what would you uh where were
the spots where the fans were were, you know, back
and forth with you guys.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
The Vet. The Vet was the worst.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
One day I was paying for the expos. They thought
everybody was from They all thought we were French Canadians
from Montreal, so they're the Philly fans were towing. They're
literally throwing like cheese, steaks, soft pretzels. Skittles are the
worst when they were hitting you with skittles or Eminem's
because they hurt from upper upper tank. And I remember
the poorn beer on us and they're you know, they're
calling us all kinds of names, and uh. I was like, okay,
(22:08):
you know I'm from Pennsylvania. I'm thinking Jesus Christmas Stree.
You know I live. I live on Amish Country, but
Philadelphia is a different place. So Felipe lose signals for
me to come into game and I come running out,
you know, my rookie year. I'm running into the bullpen
and Felipe looks at me and he goes, you'll know
you didn't have to eat. And in the bullpen they
get ready before you came in. I was like, I
(22:28):
was like, that's survival and that was great. That was
right when the WWF wrestling was good and they're all like,
you know, the Rock was like, what's your name? That
doesn't matter what your name. All these kids, these thirteen
year olds with just screaming at uson Oh, we had
so much fun. Atlanta was tough. Atlanta was good. I
had my best quote ever in Atlanta. Some guy asked
me what was my record? I said, forty five minutes
(22:48):
on your mom and you got so just follow me.
I was like the client, what's your record? I said,
forty five minutes on your mom. I was like, I
told you. I told the Atlanta fans, I said, you
keep you keep yelling at me?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Are you out of my teammates?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I'm gonna go hit Tripper Jones right in the head
and we're gonna We're gonna edit and you guys won't
make the playoffs. We're gonna, I said, I'll hit Tripper,
knock him out. Be not. I'm like, oh, I will.
And it was just so great. The fans were just
uh there then they just let me have it. You know.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
That was oh man, that was everywhere with with Thrill.
We talked about when he started a big fight with
the uh the St. Louis Cardinals. Were you ever involved?
Did you ever plunk a guy like any anything like that?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Yeah, I mean we got into a big one with
uh the Pirates. When we were with the Montreal, Vesquez
hit the Armis Ramirez guy and we got into a
big You couldn't see it because there was no TV
in freaking Montreal, so we never had to wear you
have to worry about freaking Al Martin trying to push
me right in the face, almost knocked me out cold.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
It was great. Well, he was a linebacker in college,
wasn't he.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yeah, he swung and missed at me and then remember
Big Derek May, he was played Notre Dame. It was
a tight end or he he popped nol Martin and
I went to the ground. I was and I was
I was crawling. I was trying to punch out Martin
in the head because you know, I was on the
bottom of the pile. And then Kendall's jumping on the
top of me and laughing while he's like wrestling with people.
It was great. It's one of those insane moments as
(24:13):
a as a fight because you you know, when you
go out and these things, you don't know what's going
to happen. People are sucker punching and I almost got knocked.
He hit me right on the tip of my hat
and then my hat went off my head and I
was like, oh, I'm gone, I'm going after this guy.
And then that Big d May hit him and it
was like game on. So oh yeah, it was fine.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
It was run through some of the one offs we
did with throw, like the favorite place and all that
kind of stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Absolutely, I want to know too, where'd you learn where'd
you learn that sinker? Where you learned that movement? Where'd
that come from?
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Don't get donuts. If you have to throw a sinker,
you have to eat one. So now my uh, I
watched I was a big fan of Steve Carlton, but
I learned that from Greg Maddox.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
That's cool. Uh, where is your favorite?
Speaker 1 (24:57):
By the way, By the way, very nice name.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
That was a good name drop there was a quality.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I learned it from him. I did learn it from him.
And at my junior college because Leo was Only's son
played with me, so he would come up and work
out with with Leo in the off season. So I
he actually told me and Mike Maddicks played with me
in Montreal and he helped me with it too, so
we kind of worked and sink. So I had the
Maddix boys telling me how to do everything.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Wasn't it toughest hitter you faced regularly?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Uh? Lance Barkman was the guy I couldn't ever get out.
I could never get Lance out.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
And for for you, uh, you know so many different
spots along the way. Now you're a coach, What did
you know as a coach? What did you learn from
being a player that you put into play as you
coach the guys In terms of how you how you
would want to be coached.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
If you're going to drink in a bar, you gotta
drink in a dark area so no one sees your face.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Oh no, I just learned to.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Just to kind of calm down, relax. It's tough to
play the game as a As a player, you got
to know that it's not that easy. And as a coach,
we expect them to always be excellent. And you learned
that it's not that easy. Remember you play the game.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Do you have a favorite manager?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I love Boach, I loved LaRussa Uh. Dave mcimer one
of my favorite all time guys. Hell yeah, if you
guys know Mac, you know what I've talked about it.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Roll him off.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Hey, we we interrupted this podcast. Dave mckimer, Kleiner. We
used to have to go in and grab him before
our game started. He would be on his computer buying toys.
He was a toy collector. I'd be like, Mac, the
umpires are out there. He's like, hold on, I gotta
buy this toy story thing real quick. Hold on, I'll
be right out and the umpires be waiting for stocks.
(26:45):
Him was VP throwing, Hey, I have his headphone, said
that's great.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
I take over. I'm gonna go talk to this guy.
We're gonna scout. He won't come back for the rest
of the game. I love. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Did you have any run ins with the specific umpire.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Yeah, Froming always like to mess with me, Bruce Freming.
You know, I threw a ball at came Griffy Jr.
One time, right down the middle of the plate in
the Kingdome. That's how old I am. And uh he
called it ball and then Griffy ground out the second
base And when I was walking into the dugout, he goes, hey,
young blood, they don't pay to see him strike out,
they pay to see him hit. I was like, Okay,
(27:25):
I guess I'm screwed the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
That That reminds me of the story that you told
me in Parney's Pub one time about the spring training
game when you were trying to make the Cleveland squad.
Tell that story real quick with with one of them
from Mike Hargrove. Oh so so Grover.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
He puts me in. I'm not even on the forty
man roster or anything yet. And I had a pitch
against the White Sox, I mean the Royals. I'm sorry
and can't.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
And mister Scooter Tucker, that's you. That's your team.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Scooter Tucker took me deep. He had went about seven
hundred feet off, being kind of pimped it. So he
told me, like, so, Jesse Levis was the catcher, and
the next guy up was Bo Jackson, and he calls
Bo comes up and the guy looks like a human muscle. Right,
So I'm thinking Jesus Christmas Tree. And Jesse Levis calls
four fast balls off the plate, and every time I
(28:17):
threw a pitch, Grover screamed at me and called me
every kind of profane, nasty name you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
I'm like, who else is from the bitch? He's screaming
at you his pitching?
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah, I didn't, and I had no clue because I
didn't know what the hell he was talking about. So
all of a sudden he comes out of the dugout
and he you know, he had the chew in the
back of en and he's right in my face and
he's spitting. I don't know if he's called me every
name in a book. He's like, you ain't no tough country.
He'll billy you know, boom boom and and jesse Levis
goes coach and he goes, I mean, he goes Grover,
(28:47):
he goes, it's my fault, and he goes, what do
you mean it's your fault? He goes, Well, Bo looked
at me and said, if he drills me, I'm gonna
kick this shit out of you and then go kick
the pitcher's ass. So jesse Levis called four pitchers on
the outside corner just to walk bow Jackson. Robert looks
at him, goes, okay. They runs back to the jesse
Levis goes, I just saved your life?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Was was there? We'll uh mp, we'll talk a little
bit about his coaching career in a second. But was
there any particular teammate or or player you played against
that you didn't like? Uh? Well, we didn't really talk
to a lot. You're liable, bro, Like you were of
the most likable people I know in America. Like like,
(29:31):
is there anybody be like, oh this guy man? I can't,
I can't. No, I mean I got along with everybody,
even Arry. I got along with Barry Bonds, bro.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
While everybody hates his guts, But uh, I mean he
was a you know, if you played with him you
kind of know him a little different, but uh, I
liked him. There was there wasn't too many. Social was
a little tough to deal with. If I had one
guy that was kind of like, you know, I told
like when people treat other people at crap. So Sosia
was probably the guy that was like the toughest to
deal with. But to me, it was great.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
He was great to my kids.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
So you know, it's like, but you saw him treat
how they treat people and I in baseball is about
Pete Rose style. You know, it's about treating the fans right,
being around, being right there to talk to them, and
you know, because you want them to come back out
as many times as you can, you know, to come
watch you. And pushing people away from the game was
not what we were taught about. Like today's world, these
kids don't even come out and sign autographs stuff. It
(30:20):
just frustrates me a little bit with that stuff. But
I get more about it when you're in the minor
league as a coach, you're telling guys get out there
and sign autographs, talk to people, you know, and I
know some guys coming with seventeen thousand cards, you know,
you know, but The best one was the guy in
Boston one time, part of this guy right for the
World Series. He's like, mister Klein, this guy's like eighty
years old. He's like, mister Klein, you signed this car
for me. I'm like, I'm like, yeah, okay. You know,
(30:40):
like a lot of people around, a lot of your
looking girls. I was like a raight sign this car
because I signed it. I started walking away. He turns around,
he goes, hey, client, I said yeah, he goes, you
suck on ice and you rip my card up right
in front of me, eighty year old. I was like,
you here, the eighty year old dude. I'm like, dude.
I was like, dude, I told the guy, I think
I shit bigger than you do. I don't know what he.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Was great.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
I don't know if is that your relations up there
and that that's.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
About Yeah, Fider and analytics. You had one of the
greatest quotes when you were the pitching coach of the Squirrels.
One of the greatest Steve clind quotes of all time
was when you were the pitching coach and I forget
who it was, and I'm glad I do I'm glad
I don't remember, because I would hate to have called
(31:30):
them out. But somebody was in our locker room and
they said, well, you know, he's got a really good
his spin rate is really really good, his spin rate
and his you know, all these analytical terms. And client said, yeah,
his spin rate's great, but you can't get anybody hugging out.
(31:50):
Talk talk a little bit about that. As now you
transition to the college game in your I an amazing job.
Like I hate being nice to you, but like you
were two of the team was two and thirty seven.
I remember Brian Sabean called me and saying, Arnie, what
is Klin doing? Is he tried to kill his career.
He's going to go coaching the school two and thirty seven.
But but talk a little bit about how you have
(32:12):
to deal with the analytics and your philosophy of just
whatever works, like get get people out, like talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Yeah, I think, uh once I started getting run out
of the game once analytics and we were all about
loyalty back in the day. You know, that's why I
left foot saves. And you know those guys all tell you,
oh yeah when they hell yeah, right right, Joe T.
But hell yeah, no, but when they when they run,
(32:40):
when they when they start talking to this analytical number,
I'm like, these propeller heads were just driving me nuts,
you know, like you couldn't even you know, I mean,
you had Shane Turner, We had tough those guys to
play the game. Now I got I had some girls
trying to tell me about things, and no offensive girls
in baseball.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
But I was like, this is not right. I said,
did you ever throw a ball? Have you ever been
out in the field?
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Have you ever? Human error is the big part of
this game, and human successes a lot of times is
about your toughness and your metal breakdown. And I just
think we're so worried about numbers. I'm worried about getting
that guy out, the guy, a six foot four to
two hundred and fifty pound guy across the seeing sixty
feet from you, that wants to whack the crap out
of you, And we're worried about is my ball spinning? Right?
(33:19):
Who gives a crap? Just get the guy out. However
you had to do it, if you had to roll it,
throw it underhand, spin on it, you know, put some
raws or whatever. Just throw it. Let him get a guy.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Out, And do you guys away from that, do you
guys use a lot of numbers? Do you use numbers
at all? At iep No.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
The only number I can't even count it. I got
to suspended last year because we played fifty one games.
You're only supposed to play fifty So I got in
trouble there. So I had to take a four game
hit for screwing that up. So that was not fun.
But I just wanted to play baseball, so I used
to play one hundred and sixty two of these things,
you know, And I think kids want to play ball.
They the numbers are if you can match them up.
(33:56):
But I don't even know if my pit my pitcher's
gonna throw it in the other batter's box or he's
gonna throw it over the plate. So I don't know
why numbers are, you know. And the old day, the
giants were taught, they were taught to throw the four corners.
How you had to learn how to pitch in and
how to pitch away, just in case you face a
hit or that could hit in. You got to be
able to throw in here. Now today, these these numbers
are all about you have to throw to your quadrant
(34:16):
where you like, you know, and this is your spind
and you have an excellent breaking ball, like no the
hit or will tell you to have excellent stuff. You
throw a picture the guy. That means you're pretty damn good.
So and we saw a lot of pictures like Timmy
Lynski Conda thrown anything he wanted up there, the rosin
bag anything they still want to hit it.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
That's how good he was. So grinder. Kleiner was our
pitching coach and he army. Was it what year was it, Kleiner?
Two thousand and when you started talking to iup about
potentially getting one one so MP and JOT I would
be working at the Squirrels. You know how like back
in the day, I would run all over the place.
(34:53):
I didn't stop for one second. I'm out on the
field and so I'm coming through the tunnel one night.
We're playing a game, guys. Game is going on, and
Cline's pacing up and down the tunnel with his cell
phone and I'm like, what is he doing? Bro? And
then he gets off the phone. I'm like, Kleiner, We're like,
the game's going on, what are you doing? He goes,
I'm recruiting for I U P. I gotta I gotta
(35:14):
get some there were we were two and thirty seven,
last somebody Richmond, the Richmond Brave players. I was trying
to get that seventeen U club down there.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Give me some players.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Guys out there scouting the dizzy bat race I had.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Bogy was out on the focus was doing the game,
so I was okay. So when Bogy came in town,
I just let him be the pitching coach. I took
a vacation to tell I don't probably want my money
back if.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
They know, well, no, Ha'll be listening to this, trust me.
So you screwed yourself in those seriousness in MP If
you have a journalistic question after this one, that'd be cool.
But how did you turn it around for Mike? Like,
I'm gonna say it's slow so everybody hears me. I
U P. It was two and thirty seven, the year
(36:02):
before Steve Kline took over and had baseball coach two
wins thirty seven losses. How the hell are you getting
ready to go play in the College World Series for
Division two? How did you do it?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Just? I have really good coaches that we all preach
the same thing pays to be a winner. You know,
we competition breeds.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Man.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Once you get some people like hungry, and I think
they felt that pain of that losing. It's not fun.
I mean, you know, I played for the expos I
know what losing was like. And you start winning, it's
it's so much better. So you got to preach these
kids winning is more important than just developing. You know,
mom and dad can't help you play this game no more.
(36:44):
You have to do it on your own. And I
just instill it in them. You just got to hold
them accountable. Every kid wants to be held accountable, even
in these travel teams. But the mom and dad's gonna
get the helicopter parents kind of get crazy. But at college,
I still have some parents that call and cust me
out a little bit and hell off all I am.
But hey, I'm trying to teach your kid toughness because
(37:04):
this world's gonna eat you up. Man. It's a it's
a vicious world and you better be ready for it.
But I just thought we just taught toughness. Enjoy baseball
and give it everything you got and go when you're playing.
It's about time just to play. Nothing else really matters.
You're gonna screw up.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
I know that we all.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
I screw up a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
It's a game of failure, bro, It's a game of failure.
Baseball is a game of failure.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
And I felt, you see my great point average in
West Virginia, it was it was probably it was probably
like Bob Gibson's he r A back in nineteen six.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Listen, I listen. If you went to a class at
West Virginia University, I will be shocked if you went
to a class I went to.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Ay, I went to lunch. One time, we went to breakfast,
I'm sorry, and one of the football players to stand
next to me, and you know how they put like
toast down on the bottom where all the grease comes
off the bake, you know, off the bacon and stuff.
And this guy goes, man, that's the best French toast
I've ever had. And I was like, he was like
six or five U three. I wasn't gonna say anything. Guy,
(38:01):
he would have picked me up slamming thing. I was like,
you know how we love rich toast in my family. Clider,
Oh yes, I know you lost some French what you got?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
You used to coach wrestling too.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, I coach high school wrestling for twenty two years.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
What what's your wrestling background. Did you wrestle?
Speaker 3 (38:22):
I wrestled about ninth and tenth grade and then so
back in the day, I had a wrestle Angle.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
Right, he was what he's talking about.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
I know who he's doing.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
That's that's the name.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
He was a human muscle. So the guy who wrestled
in front of me, Bobby Ferraro, was unbelievable. He was
just a stunt. So he was like a two time
national national champ, two times state champ and he uh
he's dad coach of buck Now, so he was so
he was always a way better than me. So I
had to go and go with Angle and he just
toyed with me.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
I was like a fish.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
He just I was like, he's gonna pin me. I
was trying to pin myself. That's how strong the song
of this was.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
So you just trying to roll over.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
He's like, no, I need to get some He goes,
I need to get a workout in. I was like,
it's a little street. I didn't have hearing my arm
pitch yet and that guy was throwing me. But uh yeah,
Kurt angle Man He was like, if you're out here
in this western Pennsylvania party, you know, he's a god.
He's like him and Fukavich are both like gods out here.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
So Peter, Peter, so MP we brought We brought Kurt
Angle in for an appearance in one of our Wrestling
Wrestling former wrestling Star appearances, and I had Climb call him. No,
we sent him a video, didn't we? Climb? He client
did like a w WE like, where are you, Kurt Angle?
You beat me a ninth grade, but you're not gonna
(39:44):
get me again. I watched you, Kurt Angle.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
I said, I'm not I said, I'm not five eight,
one hundred and sixty pounds. Somewhere I'm six foot two
or two hundred and fifty pounds, and I'm gonna come out.
And what is Angle say to me?
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Party?
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Don't quit your day job, Climb.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
Clians you Yeah, we lost. We lost Joe Tea for
a man, I think the hamster quit running on the
wheel somewhere somewhere out there. Yeah, well we'll get a
new hamster.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Turn back.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
You have a favorite party's pub guest during your time
in Richmond parties?
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Oh my god, Dave that was our guy man.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
He drank some freaking moonshine and some drinks in that place,
and he did the joke the best Joe pest I've
ever seen.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Him, just hearing at us.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
He just staring at He's there, He's just staring at us.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Looks like a j hawk on mat not doing anything.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
He looks.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Don't come kick my ass. I think you're great.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
You mentioned eh, Dicky Dog was one of the best
man He was a cool cat man. That kid was
just suff He's a study. He goes out of Miami
right now, enjoying life with allose you know, ear rings
and necklaces and stuff.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
And I just love him.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
He's a He's a dignity dog, baby dog.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Well, I don't see why we've been going for over
a half hour now, but Empy, you got anything left
for Cliner as we wrap up here?
Speaker 2 (41:13):
This is fantastic. I think very disrespectful of Joe t
to duck out in mid interview. Well, well we'll talk
to him about get the pub club in line.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Will Clark, can I give a Will Clark story for
you since he Yeah, of course, so Will Clark.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Okay, real quick, we're we're in.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Arizona all that we have instructional like and these kids
are out and Steve Decker comes and down and he's,
you know, screaming at the kids. You got it, and
he put the machine up to like one hundred miles pround.
He's like, you need to hit the ball to the
right field. If you didn't, you had to go run
a lap. So every kid ran a lap. We had
forty kids just they foiled the ball off and they
had to go run a lap. And he gets him
the dugout and Decker's just freaking wearing them out and
(41:49):
telling him how great it is, and he goes, am,
I right. Will Will looks at him and goes, you
need to get laid right the Decker And it was
so great the kids. All the kids start laughing at
Decker got so as it just walked off.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Did you ever face Will Clark? Oh yeah, yeah, he
was good. We'll tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Hey, he got to hit off me. Everybody got a
hit off me, so don't worry about it. I was
I shared equally to everybody. It was a fight at
the backreck when I pitched Partie. Everybody was fighting getting
in there dead well.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Connie we're gonna We're gonna wrap this portion of the
Party Time Podcast number two, MP, You're an awesome pub
club as usual. Joe T might be put on probation
after this. You and I have to have a vote.
There you go, baby Kleiner. Thank you for being who
you are. You're so authentic. Thank you for being so
(42:42):
impactful to me and my family. We all love you
very much and uh we're so happy you can make
it uh with jin to to our wedding. When Tyy
and I got married, m P was there. I don't
know if you guys bumped into each other or not,
but P was drunk and puke and over the table.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
By the end of the night, we were all bumping
into each other. Nobody wants that was straight lined. By
the end of that night, it was great.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Blina. Thank you, Thank you for joining us, especially as
you're on this journey with iup baseball. By the time
this show has dropped, we'll know if you want the
whole thing or and how far you went. But from
all of us at Party Time, MPJT, the Pub Club,
good luck in the world series, and thank you for
loving us because we love you right back. It was
(43:25):
fun I had a blast. Thank you so much.
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