Lovable Reunion - Kris Bryant on his MAGICAL 2016 MLB MVP year & Cubs World Series + Ross & Rizzo's HILARIOUS hazing

This week on The Lovable Reunion podcast, David Ross and Anthony Rizzo are joined by former Chicago Cubs teammate and NL MVP Kris Bryant to look back at their magical 2016 title run and Bryant’s baseball career. The trio breaks down the epic World Series Game 5 at Wrigley Field, Joe Maddon’s leadership, hilarious clubhouse stories, what it felt like to beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 to become MLB champions, and more.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Anthony Rizzo, David Ross, Chris Bryant. Welcome back to another
episode of Lovable Reunion. I'm Anthony Rizzo, my partner David Ross,
joined by twenty sixteen MVP Chris Bryant. Welcome to the show.

(00:21):
Can you believe it's been ten years?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, I've been on quite a journey since then. Yeah
I can. Yeah, but no, it's it's been cool to
see everybody get together and seems like everybody hasn't changed
too much, so it feels like literally yesterday. Yeah, and
it does the.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Stories come out and you're gonna hear all the characters
kind of talk and how we get all the stories
out for this, But we're taking it back from the beginning, right,
like drafted number two overall?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Who was talent?

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Who was number one that year?

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Mark A Pell was Stanford? Wow?

Speaker 4 (00:56):
Pitcher to Houston? Right Pitcher? Houston? Yeah, yeah, yep.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
It was kind of weird, Like I I guess during
that time, I knew I knew I wasn't going to
be the first pick. It was like it was the
definitely two or three and I was like cubs in
into the Rockies, which is so weird that I'm i Rockies.
But yeah, that was that thirteen years ago. Now, wow, So.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
I remember when you got drafted him, Chris and I
didn't get off to the best start in our relationship.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
According to your lens, right, Yeah, for sure, I was.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
When you get drafted, you come in usually as a
high draft pick. KB comes in and he takes batting
practice with us, and you know, you you bring him in,
you ask him what they signed for and what you
signed for slot slot.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Money, but his slot.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
We made him say the exact number, and it was
it was a high amount, right to the decimal.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, right, And I was giving him a little bit
of crap.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
And later on in our relationship he told me, like,
you're so mean to me when you first came.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, yeah, you do. You. I think you were the
hot shot. I mean, didn't you just sign your extension
to your You were feeling yourself a little bit.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Everybody was rich.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
That's nice, but it wasn't just like you weren't just
like right next to me. It was like you were
across the whole clubhouse. You made sure everybody heard I
was talking. And then now playing with you for seven
years is like and you still would do that. But
in a good way.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
I've known that from the best, though, for you got
the best. One of the best compliments I've ever gotten
is Garrett cole goes, I don't understand why everyone loves
you so much. You can literally yell at someone tell
him to basically fuck themselves, and they walk away smiling,
and I'm like, yeah, I learned that from the best. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
Us, Well, we didn't get off to I remember the
first start I'm in.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
I'm in spring training in fifteen.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
I had just gotten there and I'm calling him c
B for Chris Bryant for like.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
Oh first week, and finally he calls me.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
Over and he's like, hey, Rossy, my name Chris is
spelled with a K.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I was like week to tell me you you you
remember that you were probably the first guy I played with,
like with the full beard.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
That was great. I just came out of I was
literally thinking about this deal day. I was like, so,
I'm just used to playing with twenty one year old
like in college, and then you get drafted, then you
get thrown right into big league spring training, and then
there's a bunch of old guys like.

Speaker 4 (03:23):
Like me, Oh it was old, yeah, but it's thirty eight.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Dude. I was like, I didn't know how to talk
to you. Like I obviously could relate to you more
because you were younger, but then like you and then
Lester was there and I'm like, I don't know what
to say to this guy. Camp. Yeah in the middle league. No,
it wasn't. Fourteen was my first big league?

Speaker 3 (03:42):
Was yeah, yeah, because Scotty got that in the contract.
Scotty Bee got in the contract. Gotta get they gotta get.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
The first round, the second pick. You should be you
should be big.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Then remember the training room. This is what my favorite
stories it was. I hear about this Chris Bryant. Guys
got all these minor league homers and stuff, and I
think we were really training together, getting all our physicals
and stuff. And you were laying on the table and
I walked in and I'm just like, how many how
many homeworks you hit last year?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
No? No, it was in spring and spring That's why
it was. It was two and fifteen. I was doing great.
How many you have my league year before, like forty
three or something. No, I was hitting all the homers
in spring and like I was like, really good, this
is good. Trying to try and keep my head down
and not like and I'm just I think I was

(04:27):
like taping my wrist for a game. And I had
like eight or eight home runs that time at the time,
in the in spring, and you're like, hey, CB, how
many home runs you got? And I was like, uh eight,
and you and you loud laughed across the whole training room.
You're like, ah, no, you don't. You got zero. You
haven't hit any of the show yet. And then you
walked out. You walked out into I was like the

(04:48):
weight room, and I'm like, yeah, I don't remember.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
I don't think we ever did this. But when you
finally when you passed him on home runs, I noted.
I wanted to call you and be like a motherfucker.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Review.

Speaker 4 (05:05):
Yeah, I rode that for a while.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
It's on for a backup catcher to rip the uh
the superstars on.

Speaker 4 (05:11):
The team, So I had to find my little angles.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
It was I got to find little It's one of
my favorite like baseball stories. Though, just like you doing that,
like not like you didn't do it in like a
malicious way. Yeah, I was like you like put me
into You're like, yeah, I don't I haven't done anything
yet in this game. You know, and it was like, yeah, job,
but then you lightened up on me because you're fucking

(05:33):
mvv you know.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
The one thing I learned, well, the one thing I
learned as a veteran, And you guys can relate to
this being in the game for as long as you have,
Like I came in getting ripped in a sometimes a
negative way by certain guys. You end up hating those
guys and then it made me go into a shell
rather than like you will get the best out of your.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
Teammates when you lift them.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
You know, you got to give them a hard time
and and do some you know, rookie hazing.

Speaker 4 (05:57):
But if you you make.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
Everybody comfortable, like hey, we're all in this together, you know,
it makes it where you guys can perform and relax
and be the best friself.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
You never really, I mean, the only stuff you got
was like playful panther, but it was.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Never like no also too, I mean, I think, I
guess I I don't know how you guys viewed me,
but I feel like I had a different personality and
some of the other guys like I was more reserved,
like I was. I'm not never been the loud loud
type of guy, and like I was always really hard
on myself, and I think I think that kind of
shone through. Like you guys been around me and when
I'm struggling, you're.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
Like, yeah, that kind of like yourself.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
It wasn't like it wasn't like he was just I
was just going out and there to be like, oh whatever,
I went over for it, like I wanted to do
good every game.

Speaker 4 (06:40):
And it's like you talked about the five or five
from getting in his.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
For five, three home runs, two doubles first time in
like history of the game or something, and we were
talking afterwards and he's like, hey, He's like I expect
to do that every night, and I'm like, oh, I
kind of mentality, but knowing you, and it wasn't in
like an arrogant or cocky way. It was just like,

(07:07):
you know, every night to the park, you could hit
five home runs in a game if you play right.
And yeah, like the mentality you always took and that's
why you were standards.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
But also to like, I think there's a fine line
there right. Like also too, I think that's a little
bit of my downball too, is like being that hard
on myself, Like it doesn't let you enjoy the moment
as much as you should.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
Right.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
Like so after that game, like I just had a
historic game and I'm like, well that was our job.
That was yeah, you guys tell me. But then I'm
like I'm already looking forward to the next game, and
like how But I mean there is a balance.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
There's a balance, And I think this goes over to life, right,
the balance of like working really hard, high expectations and
as much as we want perfection and knowing it's unattainable,
but striving for that and being also forgive yourself is like,
you know, find the positive in an zerover five game
when you play great defense and you know it's playing
behind Johnny Lester and John Lackey.

Speaker 4 (08:01):
I mean, we could get to those stories, but man.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
But it's like something we remember we had always thought,
Like I was hitting second and you're hitting third. We're
in like the ninth inning, Like we see ourselves like
five and six, and we're like we want that fifth
at bat, Like we're psyching ourselves out, like because like
you're zero for four or three. K's no baseball player
wants that fifth a bat, Like, but w're me and
you are constantly going back for like we need, we

(08:25):
want to fit bat, we want.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Because you get that hit, it seems pulls over to
the next day.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yeah, And that's a mental thing about being at the
top of the lineup that the eight hold hit or
that gets pinch hit for when you're down, you.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
Start playing that game in the third like, oh, ship,
I hit him up already, Like n I might get
six today. Yeah, right, And but that's the respect for
the leadoff hitters is like in the top of the lineup, guys,
like there's five at bats every day where you're hitting
seventh or eighth, you can kind of hide and maybe
sneak in three. If you go one for three, it's a.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
Great day, right, one for three with the walks, because
shooting at a.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
W So fifteen years when you when when you came
up spring training, you go off, you they they hold
you back for whatever reason. That's as while the whole
service time thing manipulated your service time one hundred collusion,
whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
But when you came up, we needed you.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
So a lot of times you see these guys get
called up to bad teams and it's like they kind
of get exiled the prospects, like they're like on their
own island where when you got called up, we needed
you and like we were excited because you were making
our team better. Yea, And for you, I always wondered
what I kind of know, but how was that for you?
Because first overall pick or second overall pick, Golden Spikes

(09:42):
Award winner, Minor League Player.

Speaker 5 (09:44):
Of the Year, billboards outside of Wriggly bill boards outside
of Wrigley, And I are texting him after a game
like there's a big science saying worth the wait the
big Adidas sign and he's in Triple A.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
He's in Des Moines and he's like, oh hey.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
Guys, thanks, that was crazy easy like that do you
put pressure on myself?

Speaker 2 (10:03):
But coming into the clubhouse, yeah, well so, like I
guess it kind of goes back to like my mentality
is like like I expected that pressure, like any team
that I was on from club ball through college, Like
I was in a position where they needed me, like
it was just normal baseball to me. Like I I
was like, I think we all were the best players

(10:25):
on our high school and college teams and like they
need you there, so we were.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
It's not about you, guys, Okay, okay, it's not a
roast frosty day. We already got the gray Beard. Oh man, listen, listen,
smoking mirrors. Boys get the show and have rich friends.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
That's what we're But like just for me, like I
don't know, it was just kind of normal for me,
and just how like I played the game like I
I expected to be the best every game. So it
was like I get called up and I'm hitting fourth,
uh James shields like, and then I proceeded to go

(11:05):
forward three strikeouts because I've never faced a.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
And it took you a while to hit your first homer, right,
It's a lot, like like a month. Yeah, I remember
you remember, Yeah, I remember people starting to like mount
some pressure on you, like yeah this, yeah, we're.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
You gonna hit a homer. Yeah, you still got zero guys.
Don't tell anybody what an asshole was. They don't know yet.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
Am I going to take you? You think to settle because
you made the All Star Game that year?

Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, and you're I mean the home run derby, right,
I was like, I mean right on the scene and
production and going.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
And yeah, I mean honestly, there was just I think
I really settled in spring training because I had a
great spring and I got to know a lot of
the guys on the team. I got to know you guys,
and it was kind of like, Okay, I'm going down
for a couple of weeks, tune up and I'll see
you guys soon. So like, you guys did a great,

(11:57):
great job in the spring, and I was there. The
whole was like up until two days before camp broke,
and I don't know, I just felt like people around
me did a good job of like getting to know
me made it easier. Yeah, and it happened.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
Well, we hung and went to dinners and like we
did this, yeah all the things you were.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
Yeah, we were bringing Chris to the big because we knew.
But it happened unfortunate but fortunate. Like Mike, oh, at
the perfect day broke his arm right or his hand
something like that. I'm like the exact day Chris was
able to get called up, he broke his arm. So
it was like unfortunate for Michael, who I love, and
it was a gross So you coming up was like

(12:37):
it was almost even easier that, like he wasn't just
there and like sending him down because he was doing
pretty well too.

Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the whole that whole like grievance thing
too with the team. Like it's so funny that how
like as players, you see things in the media and
you're like, wow, that is way blown out of a portion,
like like people say, oh, like I hate the team
and this, and then it's like I got nothing real

(13:03):
respect for THEO and Jed and everybody involved. Like if
I was in their situation, I would have done the
same thing I have. My my service time was a maidulated. Yeah. Yeah,
mine was just more like blatant, right yeah, yeah, well yeah,
like I had to go through that process of of
going through the grievance and sitting through like it was
like I was in court. I'm like to wear a

(13:25):
suit and go out to New York and sit Which
is it helped the players a lot, right, Obviously you're
supporting the guys that come after you, But in the
in the moment, you're like, dude, I just like I
don't want them to hate me, like I love I
love how they treated me and everything that my whole
time there, So I was just like, dude, it's crazy
how high profile you were.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Then yeah, and then you're going to win the Rookie
of the Year, then you go on to win the
MVP Right World Series, and then you continue to just
keep having Seventeen.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
Was arguably better than sixteen.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Right, Yeah, it's like crazy, like how high profile that was,
and then it panned out because of that. You're right,
but it usually doesn't pan out that way.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
When the mix of how we brought on all the
young guys, I thought we had such a good you know,
you were you and Schwarves kind of the last p
and I guess Wilson in sixteen, but like some of
the young guys that were coming up that had either
broke in the year before, like Hobby, or that were
coming that were prepared with the veterans that brought in
like me Lester Lacky the next year, Hey we're the

(14:24):
next year is over, so next year some of those stuff.

Speaker 2 (14:27):
It was just such a good mix of.

Speaker 3 (14:29):
Young talent and personalities. They all just fit and everybody
felt comfortable and took off. What did you know we
were good in fifteen? What did you think we were
really good in FID Can you think back on that
a moment You're like, man.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
I don't, I don't. That's a good question, because like
I guess like going into that year, no one expected
us to win what you been ninety seven games? Ninety
five games went to the CS. Yeah, and it was like,
I don't really know a point where I thought we
were good. I was, and that was my first year.
I didn't know how like the playoffs were you just
watching it on TV? You know what like a playoff

(15:04):
share was. I'm like going through all these new experiences.
But it was cool because I had you guys as
the older guys to lean on, and then a bunch
of the younger guys coming up too. So it wasn't
like I had a ton of pressure on myself. I
mean I did put a lot of it on myself,
but there was other young guys that took it on.
And yeah, I mean, you.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
Know, you know what I remember pyecinctally. We talked about
this a lot in the game. It's all about perspective.
And when you got called up, you took pressure off
me because now that pressure was on you, and I was,
you know, the guy, so but I wanted you to
do well because the better you did, the better I did,
and the better I did, the better we did.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
Right, So it's like, but.

Speaker 1 (15:44):
Then when if I was scuffling and I would see
like someone else scuffling like around the league or something.
Remember we always talk about this, and it's just like
all right, well, I mean that guy scuffles too, you.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
Know, or yeah, or you or the other way too,
where you.

Speaker 1 (15:56):
See like this guy's ten first, last twelve and you're like,
oh for oh, for your last fever, I gotta start.

Speaker 4 (16:01):
I gotta catch Goldschmidt yeh yeah, yeah yeah right.

Speaker 1 (16:04):
So it's like like on our team, especially being so young,
we had this group of superstars that came up and
it was like easier for us to all go through
our like ebbs and flows, but you guys.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
Would pick out Remember y'all's conversations, which is y'all's relationship
is so unique from a guy that came from other
teams and bounced around, but like two superstars pretty.

Speaker 4 (16:27):
Young in their careers, and how y'all.

Speaker 3 (16:29):
Worked off each other's like I just need to get
through August with two more home runs, right, just you know,
I mean, you would pick your little battles of things
you were looking at to have this overall big picture
when it ends, and you impacting some of these young
guys like Hey, just grind through April and may the
wind's blowing in. When it gets the All Star break,
when it starts blowing.

Speaker 4 (16:47):
Out, we're gonna go off.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
We're gonna hit this like those little battles that you
guys mentored each.

Speaker 4 (16:51):
Other, the Brizo Corporation stuff. Right.

Speaker 3 (16:54):
Let me, let me, let me get into one little
Let me my readers. Chris can't believe I've got readers, But.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
The Brizo didn't even look at you.

Speaker 3 (17:03):
Chris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo might have taken the Brizo
thing a bit too far.

Speaker 4 (17:07):
Both wound up with a batting average.

Speaker 3 (17:08):
Of two ninety two twenty sixteen twenty sixteen, on base
percentage of three eighty five each, thirty nine home runs
for KB with one hundred and two RBIs. Rizil had
thirty two pumps with one hundred and nine rbiys, swapping
the last.

Speaker 4 (17:22):
Digits as BFF.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Like I didn't know that.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
Tell me I want to know as a young guy.
Is what I'm getting to is like, tell me how
he impacted you?

Speaker 2 (17:32):
Oh my god, like like I think the best, like
some of the best compliments you can get as a
teammate is not like not like what you say to
me or like or like oh your hands are here,
you're swinging at this pitch. It's just kind of like
like how you make someone feel when they're around you,
Like when you're struggling and you need to come to someone, right,

(17:54):
And like our lockers were next to each other, and
it was like I could I cann't tell you anything
that you told me typically that made me feel a
certain way. It was more just like how you made
me feel after we spoke about like oh I'm doing
great or I'm doing terrible. I'd always walk away from
those conversations like dang, like.

Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yeah, those were well because I feel like we were
so relatable. Yeah, like there was so much pressure and
you put so much pressure myself and I did too,
And like I wore it more on my sleeve where
you were a little quieter about it. I wore on
my sleeve. I felt like in a good way, not
like slam and Stone, No, no, not overly right, but it's

(18:31):
just so relatable where like you expect like greatness, right,
and like that's what we expect every single day, and
when you're going through it, like you got to enjoy it.
But when you're not going through it. I've learned.

Speaker 2 (18:42):
I learned early.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
Like you have to enjoy that too, because those those sunday,
those cloudy days make you appreciate the sunny days. And
like I lived my career by that.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
But when we would when.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
We would talk, it was like if he was struggling,
I was showing. We'd be right next to each other
or good or bad. It's just like therapeutic, like I'm
able to talk to someone that I could relate to, Like, yeah,
that at this level of like heightening pressure.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
Mild the order bats, big market, every winning, everyday players.
You guys are carrying a performance like I've always said,
like you're not going to be very good if your
horses aren't horses that year, right if you if you
know horses that year, Like you guys have been horses
your entire careers.

Speaker 4 (19:24):
Like when you'll post, like and I'm able.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
To sit back, but we're talking about my house dynamics
and interacting with each other, like that's all funny games
getting know your teammates and being a good teammate and.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
All that stuff.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
But also like you guys carry a different like no,
I have to perform a day. I played once every
five days and call it Western Chicago. So like it's
a lot easier for a guy like me to be
that fun energy guy on a day I'm not playing.
You guys got to bring it every single day, day,
game after night, game, all that stuff. And like you
guys's relationship I thought was, like you said, very relatable,
and you guys talked each other a lot of gud conversation.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
It was everything.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, yeah, Like that's but for me, I think looking
back now, like years later, is I signed my deal early.
I had the confidence, like I had the guarantee, I
had the security. So like I remember, like at in
at Bat's big situations. For me, I'm like like I

(20:21):
would literally say to myself, and this probably sounds super
cocky and arrogant, I'm Anthony fucking Rizzo, and if I
don't get this done, I'll get it done next time.
And that helped me like relax and totally come down
in the box. So when KB gets called up, like
all I need to do is I want just him
to be the best, because I already have my fortune
for the next six seven years, right I signed my

(20:41):
deal and like there's no more pressure on me to
make money. It's just about winning, and like playing with you.
I was able to do that playing with Judge and
like learn so much from playing with you and your status.
He had to go play with Judge and like I
know his status. Or if you hit behind two MVPs, right,
I never thought it's not about me.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
Every show.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
Did you ever hit behind Goldmate in New York?

Speaker 1 (21:07):
No, they got fired fired. But it's like these superstars
are like there is such a level that no one
could relate to. And for me, I felt like I
was close enough to be at that level, which I
wasn't to relate to come and help, just like with

(21:28):
all the extracurricular bullshit that you have.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
To go through. Oh yeah, yeah that was one thing
Like for me, the extracurricular stuff. Did I say that extracurricular?
Uh yeah, just like like the billboard outside the like
I had no clue that was going on.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
You just to play baseball.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
That's not my personality to like be that way. It's
like I had so much like extra pressure, like and
then I was like doing like I did a Red
Bull video like walking a goat onto a bus. Oh yeah,
remember that before even got called up. And I'm like
and at the time, maybe I didn't know the history

(22:11):
of like the Chicago Cubs, and like now you're a
foreshadow of what you're about to do. Yeah, but like,
could you imagine if like I slipped and the ball
went over and like you never won and then like
I did some and I had all that other pressure,
Like like dude, I was just unneat, Like I look
back on it, I'm like, no way I would ever
agree to do.

Speaker 3 (22:30):
You know what though, Like Okay, I love that because
you're like, Okay, we got all these things before I've
even done anything. But the fact that you won the
Rookie of the Year and you run the fucking MVP
when we won the.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
World Series, like, yeah, you followed through it. There you go,
there you go, And that's harder to do, right, harder
to do and you did it.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
So that's like you could you can be proud of
that now and speak highly of that.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
But but like the one thing for me that I
wish I might have done differently during those times is
talk to you guys about that stuff more rather than
just like the day to day of like oh, I
didn't get hit here, I didn't come through, I didn't
get the runner in third lesson two. In this situation,
it was like more like everything that all this here
in compettion.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
Yeah, well that's the difference.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
Like looking back, you're talking about how the pressure you
put yourself. You were a head down one perform, had
high expectations. I want to play baseball. I love playing baseball,
and then all this other stuff is coming with it,
which is great, but not if like I'm.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
Just trying I have to make a career for myself.
Yeah right, yeah, yeah, I have.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
To try to get there and stay there exactly, and
then I don't.

Speaker 4 (23:31):
Care who you are.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
It was. It was a lot, but like now I
look back, it's cool stories to tell my kids and stuff.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
And we fast forward to fifteen, well fifteen the home
run derby Derby and your dad there too. Yeah, and
your dad was always your coach, right, So that for me,
even looking back now, it's like I wish I can
go back and have my dad there.

Speaker 4 (23:51):
Yeah. Yeah, that's that's really cool.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
That was right in this That was something that like
because me and him, like I grew up, we were
talking about that, like he was always like, hey, when
you make it, you're gonna do the Hormer Derby, I'm
gonna pitch to you one day. That's and like we
talked about it in the backyard at my home, right
around the corner in the one hundred and ten degree heat,

(24:14):
like he's thrown to me, and we always talked about
doing that. And it's like I never really had a
desire to do the home, Like I don't know, I
just didn't really want to do it, but I was.

Speaker 4 (24:24):
I was.

Speaker 2 (24:25):
I told my dad, I was like, I'll do this
and I want you to pitch to me, and I'm
never gonna do it again. And it was just a
cool It was a cool experience because like we were
in the clubhouse together. He's has his own locker.

Speaker 1 (24:36):
He's yeah time, Like Chris's dad was like the play
if I ever went to When I was really bad
in ruts, I would go to my dad my mom
and whenever they would tell me it would usually throw
me in a rage, but it would always work. So
like I did when I went to him, it was
like strategic because I knew it would work because they

(24:58):
always had like the good advice. By I didn't like it,
but I remember talking to your dad and he'd be like, oh,
someone's got to hit forty this year? Why is it?
Why I want to be you guys, Like he was
always so positive for someone who was also a little kookie, like, yeah,
you told me like you get thrown out of games
in little league.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
And like he he was he was never once did
he yell at me when I played baseball. Not one
time ever. That's amazing, ever, and that like that's how
I'm going to he plays football now sports, right, but
like he never like said, we need to go out
and practice, we need to do this. It was always

(25:35):
like I wanted to do that, and like it's it's
like that's how I want to teach my kids too.
I don't want to yell at them about the game
of baseball, like because then they're never going to come back.
And that's right, right, it's gotta be fun. So it's
like he was always that guy for me. And it's
like you're talking about like when you're struggling, he would
talk to you, talk to your dad. I have so
many My dad knew when it was really bad to

(25:59):
just write me an email. Yeah I remember that, and
I read I would read something your.

Speaker 4 (26:03):
Dad wrote you email.

Speaker 1 (26:04):
Probably at least perspective too, Like he would like, go
around guy one of those, this guy Mookie Betts went
four for his last fifty and now look where his
numbers are at, or like kind of just putting you
back in like a realm perspector. Everyone is doing like
goes through this.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
They're good. It's a hard game, and like I saved those,
I like I made sure and never delete those. I
start them all like they're all in, like like a
holder that says, like, Dad, that's awesome. You know. It's
like like I'll have that to basically copy and paste
through my key, and I know what I would know
what to say now, but like he just knew, like
because if I'm talking on the phone, like I'm not

(26:45):
going to like I said, I'm never going to remember
everything you say to me, but I'm gonna remember how
you made me feel and when it was bad, I
needed it in writing so that I can go back
to it and read it again when I'm bad. That's amazing,
you know, So I have so many He would be like,
pooh hoss two for the last twenty seven. That's a
future Hall of Famer. And he's like, you you got
nine homers over this span he's got three, Like you're

(27:05):
you're better than a Hall of famer like that, that's
Albert Pool, Like he's great, that's great. And I remember
before the five for five game, the three homer two
double game, like I was like, since since yeah, I
was like hitting like two.

Speaker 1 (27:20):
I'll set three game with a homer.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
But how about you again? Like two fifty seven, I
had like like thirteen homers and I'm like, Dad, it's
not good enough. You know, this isn't good enough. He's
like I remember talking him for the game, like I
need a big game. He's like, you're due. I was
like all right, and then I was, dude, I had
the best game of my life. And then he's just

(27:42):
like text me. He's like I told you yeah, to go,
Like he's just it's just like I don't know. He
didn't make it all the way like we have, but
like the wisdom that he gained from his time playing,
like he's he's helped a lot of people, especially me
in baseball, because that's amazing.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
Just coaching too, and in general, like it's really we've
had probably over easily over one hundred and two hundred
coaches in our career and there's like a handful that
you can really take out.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
Of all those coaches that helped you in that are.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
Like wow, this one is like all of them have
helped some part along the way, but there's only a
handful where you're just like he made a huge well
and who knows.

Speaker 4 (28:24):
You more better than your parents? They watched every pitch.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
They watched that, you know what I mean, Like your
dad's been in the cage and watch you evolve and
go on your journey and like to go back to
those perspectives and him keeping it real is that's just
a power. That's a a great resource to have a
lot of people have. That's a blessing our parents too.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
Mike Brian John Viza were two peas in a pod
like the Wrigley Field. I don't know if Wriggley Field
ushers or security hate to see them coming or love
to see him come, because they would just bounce all
over the walls. They they they had no credentials. They
just walked in like they own the place.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
Every time. They might have more fun our time together
than we did.

Speaker 4 (29:00):
Yeah, as they should, like.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Harmonica on the corner, like they were talking about like
getting like uh, renting out a bar like someone highing
them to perform again at the bar, Like Dad, you're
not doing You're not performing on the corner at ritty fields.
You know, I'm Dad. They're putting their like their guitar
thing out for begging for money and all that.

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Like Dad, you can't do that, Like.

Speaker 2 (29:25):
You're just but it's just it was a fun time
for them.

Speaker 3 (29:31):
You look back on fifteen Rookie of the Year and
you're like, all right, it's a good start.

Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yeah, for sure, we get swept in the Lcyes Rookie
of the Year. Where are you at well, So I
guess the two of those, for sure are separate. Like
being in the playoffs, like my first time, I'm just
like I had no clue what to expect. The crowds
are a little bit different. There's just a different feel,
you know what I mean. Like it feels like the
grass is cut a little better, the dirt's a little

(30:01):
more and you know, it's right and brighter. The energy
is better, no doubt, the paint is fresh, the lines
are straighter.

Speaker 4 (30:07):
Yeah, got new hoodies. Yeah, yeah, Like it was like swag.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
It was like, yeah, like this is fun baseball like
that was. I just was going along for the ride there,
like I and none of us expected just to go
that far. So that was a good experience for me.
But and then during the season winning Rookie of the Year,
it was like, I remember when I got called up.
I was like, there's only one award you can win
in this game, and you can only do it in

(30:33):
one year, and that's the Rookie of the Year. And
I was like, that's a good goal, you know.

Speaker 4 (30:39):
And so that was a goal you.

Speaker 2 (30:41):
Set, absolutely, bro.

Speaker 1 (30:44):
I always told every every single rookie that ever gets
called up, like, you only have one first pitch to
hit a home run in the big leagues. On I'm like,
it's up to you.

Speaker 2 (30:51):
If you can try to, we'll see, Yeah, we'll see.
I probably that you probably didn't. Yeah. And back to
James Shields, like, oh for four three strikeouts and I
think I struck.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
On remember too, And everyone was like what this is
who we called up?

Speaker 2 (31:07):
James Shields had an ass. It's like a screwball run.
Later in your No was the All Star Game? No,
that was Chris Sale in the All Star Game.

Speaker 3 (31:20):
That's I know what I wanted to ask, And this
is this is like for young kids watching and about approach.
I remember your first spring training and hitting on the
fields with you, and you're hitting homers over the batter's
eye like nobody's business.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
I'm like, oh my god, this kid's ball just doesn't
come down.

Speaker 3 (31:36):
And I asked you about what you're trying to do,
and VP said, I just want to hit high fly
balls to center field, high fight ball.

Speaker 4 (31:43):
And in my mind I'm like, yeah.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
No doubt because you hit them further and they never
come down, like great approach. But I had never heard that,
Like how did you get to that that kind of routine?

Speaker 2 (31:52):
And BP, well, it goes back to just working with
my dad and just angles and and the game has
changed a lot since then. Right, Sure, a lot of
people are throwing the heaters at the top and I
had to adjust to that, which we could talk till later.
But like it was like everybody, the pitcher's releasing it
from here and it's coming down at an angle, so

(32:12):
you want your bat to come up with it and
hit it on the other plane, get on plane. So
it wasn't necessarily like hitting fly balls, just getting on
plane with it and it produced the ft.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
Okay, you he put in my mind, he hit it
Bob's backside. You're that first spring trainer in fifteen far
than I could.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
Pull the ball, and that's where my power was. Like
all through college and the miners was the right field.
But then you get to Wrigley and the winds. There's
no homers for righties to write now I feel there
in yeah, and I had to adjust, and everybody's throwing
me at sinkers insides or trying to get in on
my hands because I'm a long lever. So I was like,
I need to figure out how to pull the ball

(32:49):
without the top spin.

Speaker 3 (32:50):
You know, I need to get it a lot of
topspin when you pull the ball early.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
I remember that right, And I'd be so frustrated when
I was hitting top spin line drives and this and that,
and then my dad. I would always go to my
dad and I'm like, d why why am I top
spinning every ball? He's like, did you get a hit
on it? I'm like yeah, He's like, why are you complaining?
You know, Like that's how I That's how I think.
I'm just I'm trying to be per breaking down everything,

(33:16):
like I just like a pitch inside that I think
I should have done more within the tops in line,
hard Sigle, Like, I just beat myself up over it, you.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
Know, but I had that perfection can be positive and
negative you're talking about.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, Well, when I remember, and I don't want to
forget this, the quote, but your dad was like comparing
everyone and stuff and like perspective. I remember you told
me this quote and I still use this day. Comparison
is the thief of all joy. Yep, yep, because when
you compare, try to compare yourself to be like someone
else or do something else, you're literally losing the joy

(33:47):
of why you're here, of being a kid, and like
that's everything in life, right, Like, no, it's speaking of joy.

Speaker 3 (33:55):
Twenty sixteen spring training, we started the Grandpa Rossi account.

Speaker 4 (33:59):
At dinner, We're like stake forty four, Yeah, stake forty four, and.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
I'm giving you guys well because you guys were young
and hip and I'm like three news.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Your last year, right yeah, and you were so monumental
to me where I was at my career and instantly
for him, so coming in it was like we wanted
to celebrate you, right ye. And we're coming in to
sixteen like the Brizo Souvenir Co. We're doing commercials like
I felt like we were like player one and two

(34:31):
in the big leagues at the time, right like it
was we were like rock stars. Honestly, Yeah, so we're
doing these commercials. We're celebrating you. It's just like the
overall vibes. But the Grandpa Rossi account, I guess they're
elevated your career.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
It's made me some money. So that's why I've definitely
done that well.

Speaker 3 (34:49):
And then I got we had that conversation at dinner
where we're kind of making fun of You're like, we
got to remember KB going you know what, I almost
start you an Instagram account, and then sure enough, the
next morning he shows it to me. He's like, hey,
you've got thirty thousand followers. It's like in however many
it's not even be twenty four hours. And then we
started making big gym started making all those things, and
now I got half a million.

Speaker 2 (35:10):
Crazy though, those are the things that helped you knelt through.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
The people call they know me when I walked through
around really say hey Grandpa, hey Grandpa.

Speaker 4 (35:17):
Ye like it's like hilarious, people.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
I've got you, I've got like and in the moment,
I'm like, I'm calling this guy grandpa and he's like
thirty six, like to you, yeah, yeah, no.

Speaker 3 (35:30):
That's just but it's like it's an endearing thing because
it reminds me of going back to that and I
was the I was like the dad of the team.

Speaker 4 (35:36):
You know, I played once a week. I was like
doing the lesser thing and just trying to be along
for the ride with the boys.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
You know, like you were the ultimate mentor Yeah, for sure,
that's not you were, I know, were the ultimate perspective.

Speaker 3 (35:47):
Like well, winning in Boston helped me have like this
perspective of like, man, it's just about bringing your lunch
paal to work every single day with the boys and
going to work right, like there's no there's no glamour
in like the glamor comes after the perform moments of
winning and all that stuff.

Speaker 4 (36:01):
Like you just got to get in there and like
believe in yourself.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
And because when I remember when I would be frustrated
with the team and stuff, I would talk to you
and you'd be like, no, we're fine. We just like
look like they just missed a couple of spots and
the pictures aren't like or the hitters, like we got
to get back to grinding that bats and see it.
And every time you said that, I was like, all right,
you made me feel so much better about like the
whole team grinding.

Speaker 3 (36:23):
Yeah, because we learned the small victories I think, and
like success, it's like just stay to the pitch to
pitch and those little like you know, yeah we started slumping.

Speaker 4 (36:31):
Everybody's up there swinging the first.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
Pitch, like, yeah, when I gonna get out of it
because you're you know, like you got.

Speaker 4 (36:35):
To have your bats and let this thing evolve.

Speaker 3 (36:37):
And you know, we all have these philosophies on winning
and stuff, but like the stuff I've learned was like
it's really the small fundamental details every single day and
trying to get everybody to buy into just back that concentration,
having some fun, not beating yourself up. You know what
the other guy gave us, Like only give up two
hits today and we got beat by a great pitch

(36:59):
before it's like move on, you know what I mean,
Like we didn't beat ourselves. I was a big one,
like if we don't beat ourselves, like the other team
beats us, they just come back the next day, like
we start beating yourselves.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
Those are bad teams, you know, losing games that you
should win.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
And to what I loved about us is like I
wanted to be better than you and you want to
be better than me. But it wasn't like rooting for
anyone's downfall. No, it was like this healthy like competition.
And I remember distinctively going to the All Star game, right,
and we're in a rut going into the All Star

(37:33):
sixteen sixteen, and I went, like, I'm not kidding, I
went like ten for my last twelve going to the break.
I went from like two eighty to two ninety nine
at the break, right, and we're all in the outfield
and we're all talking, like all the Cubs guys, and
Harold Reynolds comes up to me says, hey, Riz, how
you doing, man, Like good to see it, and he
goes right to KBN. Like at our time, our numbers

(37:55):
were like nearly identical, Like I don't know who's was better, honestly, man,
you're doing this year. It's so good to see you.
And I'll never forget. I'm just sitting there, okay, okay, okay, yeah, give.

Speaker 3 (38:10):
A little handy to the young guy, I'm like, god, damn, bro,
I'm on like, goddag bro.

Speaker 5 (38:17):
That.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
But like that's another beauty of like the whole Brizzo thing.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
It was like it was never hostile. It was just
like you made me.

Speaker 1 (38:23):
Better like every day.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
So you probably hated when I first got called up
and we were at Gibson's remember this, Oh my god,
we were we were with Lundie, right. It was either
just me and you or when you went to dinner
on like the first off day or lunch. It was
lunch and someone comes up to me. It's like hey, Chris,
like congrats, like you know, welcome to Chicago, Like can

(38:45):
I get a picture with you? And I'm like sure, yeah,
and he hands the phone the Brizz.

Speaker 3 (38:49):
Like, well, that's my gus walking around Las Vegas yesterday.
It's like fifteen selfies for this guy. And some guy
gets to the elevators like, oh my god, Anthony Rizzo,
Oh my god, and they're like in there for fifteen minutes.

Speaker 4 (39:02):
We get up to our floor and I walk out.
He's like, oh hey, Rossie.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Like but that's like what also.

Speaker 1 (39:10):
Made our team so good was like that, like we
all wanted to like perform, Yeah, because like any any
given day, someone's going off and you were going with
the best of them, and sure.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
Like, yeah, it was obviously the best year of my career,
but it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
You know, it wasn't just me and I don't know,
seven teams.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
I think you can say by War it wasn't or whatever.

Speaker 4 (39:30):
Well let's talk about that.

Speaker 3 (39:32):
Like that reminds me like you played great third base,
but we moved Hobby in there and you moved like
with Shwar were going down, like we had all that
stuff happen.

Speaker 1 (39:40):
You were like team the ultimate. You're the greatest utility
player of all time.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
Ah, that's Ben.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
So yeah, I got me. Ben set the standard.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
You were the best, yeah version.

Speaker 4 (39:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
Like the fact that you can go play left. You
played center that year, didn't you. Yeah, you played right.

Speaker 2 (39:55):
Game fourth or fifth game in the row, and we
were elite at every.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
Sneaking, sneaky inside job.

Speaker 3 (40:01):
When I got the manager your job, I wanted to
move you to center and just play center all the time,
and THEO wouldn't let me.

Speaker 4 (40:05):
Really sneaky, yeah, yeah, Like I was, dude, I just
like you take like five steps and cover the hole.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
It's like, yeah, it's like a it's not just like
a slow twitch version of like decks, you know what
I mean. Like he got that long gliding like you're saying, thing,
you cover ships on the ground, you're so big yeah
for me.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
Like I don't, I don't know. Joe came up to
me in my like my fifth game, I think we're
in Pittsburgh. He's like, hey, can you play center field?
I'm like, I wasn't gonna say no, you know, of.

Speaker 4 (40:32):
Course you do something like sure.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
So it was like I went out there and played
center field. I might have got a couple of fly
balls and then uh, and then it just kind of
took off and Joe was like, all I'm going to
put to your here here And I was like, all right,
all right.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
You love that though I did, Yeah, it kept me.
It kept me like you know, you guys don't like it, no,
but you I remember, you get me.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
More engaged, you know, like I never like if you're
just batting second and playing third every day, you're kind
of it's one hundred sixty games season. You're kind of
getting a low. You're like, and I'm just going through
the motions. But like Joe would have me start in
the game and the left and then I had to
come in and play third, and then you know it's
moving me all. I mean I played first a couple
of times and you had the day off, which wasn't

(41:12):
many times, but yeah, I just I don't know, I
embraced it and it was fun while that last.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
One sixty one in sixteen sixty one sixty one Yeah, okay,
yeah about you just make sure we.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
Can in the day you had off wasn't or you
had a day off when Lester was pitching. I had
a few days off. I think I got in a
couple of games pitch. Yeah, yeah, I remember that Lesson
He's good.

Speaker 3 (41:34):
Picked Lesser's Lester and Lackey is like funny, like as
much as I love those guys and got two rings
because of them and you guys, but like the.

Speaker 1 (41:42):
Day ran behind Mary Dave, they they're intimidating, like they.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
Like you better bring it there day. I think that's
where I got my anger from on my day where
I played. It's like I'm gonna we're not losing them
my day.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
John John, I don't know if it was John or Joe,
but it was basically demanding Hobby play third because John
always got ground balls that cut her in right. Yeah,
So yeah, if when KB played third with Lester, you
it was like you knew John was already on edge because.

Speaker 2 (42:09):
I know we didn't no, but no, there's something I was.
I wasn't scared, but I was like, I didn't want
to let them down, right, Yeah, that's the thing.

Speaker 4 (42:16):
You don't let it get.

Speaker 2 (42:17):
You know, John's throwing cutters in a lot of the time,
and a lot of you don't know if he leaves
one out over, they're gonna smoke one at you or
they jam you like you never it's gonna be a
slow roller, it's gonna be a hot shot. It's like.

Speaker 4 (42:31):
Probably the product of it.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
It's like I wanted Hobby at second base field and
every ball I threw down because he was a freaking
wizard down there, and like he'd get in there. You
know those one guys give the alligator arm. I've played
with on other teams. You're like, you know, come on, guy,
ressed your life for everybody one put out.

Speaker 2 (42:45):
It's just how you used your competitive nature coming out,
you know what.

Speaker 1 (42:48):
You know what I love too when we did bump defenses,
like with the picture bunting. It got to a point
literally where Chris and I would just look at each
other and just be like, no, we knew exactly, like
if the ball was super hard at him, or like
he knew what I was doing and it wasn't like
I had to tell him.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
He just knew. Yeah, And it was like it was
a cheek. It was a cheat code.

Speaker 4 (43:08):
Yeah, that play it was a cheat code.

Speaker 3 (43:10):
We we they like it was like how good he
was at first base coming in Like, yeah, it kind
of negated a lot of that I want to I
want to go.

Speaker 4 (43:19):
We brought this up, but like Rizzo's three to oher statue.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
When you're in the infield, remember that.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
He's the only one who would give us a little
bit of a fit about it.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yeah, because the one time they hit the ball or swing,
we never got burned on it. I don't care now.
One time over we were.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
Talking about that with Addie, who was like he was
just like, yeah, man, we was just like our little
game at Risks, like looking at everybody just just.

Speaker 1 (43:47):
So on hands on the knees on three ozero counts
when we're playing defense, I would whistle over to everyone
right and I would just widen my stance and anchor down,
and no matter what happened on that pitch, I was
not moving. I wasn't getting ready for the pitch because
you knew the battle was taking and the whole infield
started doing it. It was a unity thing, and you

(44:09):
did it.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
I would say the time, yeah, but I wasn't good
enough of it in field.

Speaker 1 (44:16):
The time he didn't do it, we'd all be looking
over the glovers, Yeah you're doing And when he did
do we getting like the little golf clap.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
We'd all give a little golf cluber.

Speaker 3 (44:25):
I hate it, but yeah, those are things within the
game that No, that's his personality coming out.

Speaker 2 (44:31):
I'm a perfectionist I wanted to be, which sucks, but
that's what That's.

Speaker 1 (44:35):
Another thing too, though, like you gotta try to have
that enjoy the moment you take.

Speaker 2 (44:41):
We got burned, and even if I didn't do it,
in my head, I'm like, this is fun, like.

Speaker 1 (44:46):
The playoffs, Like I still did that in the playoffs,
you know, when a guy's swinging it right, Like probably
I never got burned on it, so I guess I
could talk about it. If I did get burned on
it would be a different story probably wouldn't telling it,
but it's different.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
When you're playing first. You just have to feel the
ball and touch the bag. I have to feel it
and throw it you.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
It's a good point.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
We got to get to, uh get to clenching, clinching
in sixteen, go into the postseason. You've had a great year.
Both you guys had great years. What was that when
we can't when when we finally clenched? Did you ever
picture us winning the World Series?

Speaker 2 (45:24):
Well? I think the thing that year that was so
unique about that was that I think we kind of
expected to in a way like we would always training.
We would always talk about like remember the conversations we
have we be like, do when we win it this year?
Like they're gonna have to helicopter us off the field.
Remember that they didn't have to, but damn they almost.

(45:46):
When we went to the World Series, the party at
Regally and I'll see us, it's like we won the
World Series. When we advanced, did we talk about that
all the time or like remember like I just for
me personally, like Travis would always beyond me, like dude,
you gotta drink if we win the World Tours.

Speaker 1 (46:03):
Yeah, I remember it and we liked years.

Speaker 2 (46:07):
We're talking a team throughout the whole year, like we're
going on winning streaks, and he's just like to take
care what he said he would drink. You did say it.

Speaker 1 (46:16):
I did say that. And we would take shots after sweeps.
We sometimes take some shots before the games or whatnot.
KB would always have you there, like with this little
water shot.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
Yep, I love I was.

Speaker 4 (46:26):
You get a favorite game from sixteen? Well, favorite moment?

Speaker 3 (46:31):
What's it like you look back or the games you
tell your buddies about, I mean the person the five
or five games out, but like in the playoffs, like.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
There's it. It kind of it's kind of weird, right
because like you forget a lot over ten years, right,
Like it's that's why we're doing this. It's just that
you guys, and a lot of stuff is coming back
to me. But like, I don't know, I think my
favorite one in the playoffs for me probably been the
game five, like the Homer time the game just because

(47:05):
I told you guys last night too, what I was going.

Speaker 3 (47:07):
Through before that might like sure, well, that's why I
was going to bring that up. Like your mom, You're
able to your mom in the hospital all night yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:12):
She I don't know what it was. Yeah, she had
some type of like upper respiratory thing. And I'm sure
a lot of people's families were because they were with
us the grind of yeah. So it's like, dude, they're
screaming in the stands like it's cold. Like yeah. So
my mom was sick and she's just like I need
to I need to I need to go get something.
So we went to like the er Urgent Carrot Northwestern

(47:33):
at like five in the morning, and I was there
till like seven in the morning with my mom and
we had that was before Game five four.

Speaker 1 (47:40):
Game five, we're down three to one, yeah, but we're
about to lose the world.

Speaker 2 (47:43):
And like in my mind, I'm like, like you want
to say you believe that you were a comptent. We're
down three one, like it's going to be really hard,
you know what I mean. Yeah, And I was like
I'm going to be there for my mom, like she's
not feeling good. So I stayed there till seven, I
think six in the morning. Maybe it was like right
around Halloween. I think it was a Saturday. Everybody's in
the er urgent care with their like costumes on there

(48:06):
so many parties, and I'm like, I could have fit
right in if I just came in my uniform too,
but I just had my hood on my hat down
and I'm just sitting there and I'm like and I
was huge, Like it goes back to my personality being
like perfect, and I was like my nine hours. Yeah,
KB was not hooting with the owls Now, I'm like,
I want to go to Like I probably got seven
hours six hours leep that night, but I slept till

(48:28):
like two thirty three, went to the field and I
had the biggest home run in my life. Probably.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
I feel like there's a couple of mom that's one
of the biggest home runs of like one of the
most underrated home runs of the whole World Series. Because
we were losing in the fourth inning, Trevor Bowers shoving,
shoving right and we're down three.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
One went falling in, howling in.

Speaker 1 (48:49):
Everyone is starting to get tight, like we owned, there's
only a certain amount of house left and we're down
right on elimination. Yeah, you hit that homer, And it
was like everyone was like the whole stadium we lost
the first two games there, the whole stadium erupted right
and like that inning, right the very next pitch, I

(49:10):
hit a ball off the wall in right center freaking
win dated, but I thought I clipped them too, like
back to back. But we ended up scoring three runs
and you started that and it's like we won that
game and I got the last RB. I get the
RB they walked, Hobby, and I guess three runs in
the fourth inning that we won that game three to
two and you're out till.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
Yeah, game, I think you have this, Like.

Speaker 3 (49:39):
Your World Series home runs were some of the biggest
home runs that don't get talked about, like some of
the like like there's some big ones and obviously like
when you recap and you're watching, Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (49:51):
I feel like you don't play the game for that
type of recognition.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
No, no, no, I just mean as a team, like yeah,
but like it's like mag he's hit to give us
the extra run.

Speaker 4 (50:02):
Nobody talks about that.

Speaker 3 (50:03):
It's like, you know, they talk about all these other
things just because the narrative and how it goes.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
But yeah, yeah, I guess the homers, Like for me
personally in the World Series, like I was more proud
of the base running, Like, bro, you're the best by far.

Speaker 1 (50:16):
Hands down the best basement I've ever played with and
arguably the best part of your His base running was elite.

Speaker 3 (50:24):
But we talked when I manage, you were talking about
I want to score that, Like I never heard one
hundred runs.

Speaker 4 (50:28):
I want to score a hundred runs.

Speaker 1 (50:29):
Yeah, because he taught you that, right hensk or who
said that, Like I want to score a hundred runs.

Speaker 2 (50:36):
I don't really know. I think for me it was
just always a goal of mine. But I felt like
I had more control of that than the RBIs. RBIs
is obviously the more sexy stat like, of course one
hundred it's amazing, But like I just like when I
got on base for you, like on first base, I
was like, I just want to give the best effort
for you to get that.

Speaker 1 (50:57):
Man, you probably scored twenty thirty percent of my RB
eyes when we play it.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
And the thing about your games I love that comes
out in the World Series is like you're funding your
passion on the when you're running like that and you're
running hard and then you slide and you're safe. There's
a couple where it's like play at the play you're saying,
you come over and you're pumping it and.

Speaker 2 (51:15):
You're like, fuck, gabies pumped, you know, like that that's yeah.
I mean I was off with the pitch on that obviously.
I think it was three to two count. I was
running on the pitch, but scoring me first on a
single and seven.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
Yeah, yeah, I was as bullshit though it should have
been a double because I was going no matter what,
ye a single, I gotta hit.

Speaker 4 (51:32):
Off Andrew Miller too.

Speaker 2 (51:33):
But then the sack fly that Addy hit right to
Roger Davis and centerfield, Like no way, I should have
been running. No, Like that was a deep fly to shortstop.
And Jones's at third He's like he's like he wasn't
saying anything, and I'm like, okay, what am I doing?
Like all right, am I going? I'm going, and he's
like last thing, He's like, oh, I was like all right,

(51:54):
I'm off, Like and like that was just me when
I was on the base path, like I just wanted
to run as fast as I can. Yeah, at all moments,
I like, even to this day, like I can safely
say that anytime I've hit a ground ball in my
BA lead career, like I've never taken it off. I
just tried to run a stars because one, I'm pissed
that I just hit a ground ball, and two like.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
That would be something too, like him and j are
my two favorite base runners. I saw Jay had a
young age too in Atlanta.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
I said so much like this is just me being jealous,
but being a righty and like rolling over a ball
in the hole, he could beat it out.

Speaker 2 (52:29):
I roll over a ball in the hole.

Speaker 1 (52:31):
I'm out. And I would say for years like this
is a right handed hitters, game.

Speaker 2 (52:34):
Bro, like you would until they band this, until they.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
Ban the shift because a lefty rolls a ball. I
had a missile one hopper, the the right field, the
nickel back and right field right because they're playing prevent
defense and the writings do that and they get hits.
And he was so fast. We get those hits. I
was like, damn man, like I was just a little faster.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
Yeah, would never pass. I'm not a fast guy.

Speaker 1 (52:58):
I just you had I took a big strip.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
You had speed, You're like game speed you were, Yeah,
I would. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (53:03):
Just let's talk batting practice. We got some good a
good story batting practice for the World Series.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
Yeah, we well we didn't take VP in the World Series.
Me and KB I did one day is one day,
one day, and the one day he goes out there.
The reason why he didn't take VP is because it
was a soap opera out there. Cameras are everywhere, people
are trying to talk to you. It's just like we're
at game one basically like almost ninety like we don't

(53:30):
need VP, We're ready. Yeah, like you just don't want
to talk and we just don't want Yeah, we just
don't want the noise, right, I remember us talking.

Speaker 2 (53:36):
So he goes out, what were game six? It might
have been six? Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely was. Oh no,
I think it was game seven. It might have been
game seven because like you're like, oh, I gotta go
take BP's Game seven in the World Series.

Speaker 4 (53:51):
I did not.

Speaker 2 (53:51):
We had that whole bussy round.

Speaker 4 (53:53):
Yeah that was like fun. So yeah, I think a
lot of people were out there for game seven.

Speaker 2 (53:56):
Let's talk about Buzzy being the MVP of the team.
Storry you the best. Yeah, but yeah, he goes out
t BP taking b font our VP picture like one
of the best, Right, you have a lot of six
seven years he got the thing. He I mean he

(54:19):
was he was grooving. I mean he'd groove a couple
and then he'd throw like two like down away like
cutters and cutters. I'm like attle alligator arm and we
were not he's a little nervous. I'm like, yeah, I'm
a little nervous too, It's normal. And then zings want
right up and in it's my shoulder, and then that's it,
and then I've died. And then I'm like, all right,
I'm gonna I'm gonna walk out.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
That's when you're in the big leagues. You're livid.

Speaker 3 (54:41):
Like we were telling a story about Bussy trying to
do rehab stuff in the middle of my batting practice.

Speaker 4 (54:47):
I'm like, get out of here. I'm trying to lock
you up.

Speaker 1 (54:50):
When we were taking VP, we're such DeVos, like if
that ball is in center center, I'm literally eyeing him saying,
what the fuck are you doing?

Speaker 3 (54:56):
Like yeah, like you're gonna be a devon certain stuff
when you're gett ready.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
So he hits me and then short story story, he
can he can throw me VP ever again, Yeah, he goes.

Speaker 1 (55:07):
You know what I look back at and like love
to think about is one hundred and eight year curse.
All this pressure right, Like you have so much history
of Chicago. We're game seven of the World ties really
every game in Cleveland, and like the main guys are
just sitting there playing Mario Kart before the game, like

(55:29):
that was our pre game.

Speaker 4 (55:30):
Like you were two decks and then like rotate in.

Speaker 1 (55:35):
Yeah, and like I just look back, like you and
me are just literally just allright, Oh, it's forty five
minutes before the game. I'm gonna go get rested a
couple of stretches.

Speaker 3 (55:44):
I was the old guy that was like stressed out,
Like these kids aren't focused.

Speaker 4 (55:48):
This is my last better be ready for locking in.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
This is seven, this is my life.

Speaker 4 (55:54):
He's doing the rocky naked naked dances.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
I've seen way too many of your crevices. Yeah, we'll
never do that again, but sometimes that's what that's what
made it seem good, is that we could be in
the most important game of our lives and you bring
us together. Let's play Mario Kart.

Speaker 4 (56:14):
Let's that's your leader. His leadership gift is so much uh.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
And it's like if you go to dinner with him,
if you go to a charity function, if you go
out with him, we're playing like your gift you make
everybody have a good time. I've always said, like everybody
has fun, you're having a good time too, But Dexter's
got some of that, right, Like you're gonna make sure
everybody else is good even though you may internally be stressed.

Speaker 4 (56:40):
You're you relax with yeah, and others relax.

Speaker 1 (56:45):
Yeah, like you guys letting me be that, Like I
would hit naked from time to time, so you're saying
with the crevices, and like for me it would be
like I feel I would always say I'm so free,
I'm so free, right, but then literally.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
Get bad practice in practice would be flipping in the case.

Speaker 1 (57:03):
See the difference, Yeah, see the difference, the difference, and
like it would be a funny thing where like the
guys would come and just start dying laughing, And for
me it would relax me.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
So I'd get into the game.

Speaker 1 (57:13):
I'd be like, oh, I'm so free, right, and then
before game seven, I'm I'm dancing there to the rocket
song and so.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
But it's it's like, look, we've were prepared, we're ready
to go.

Speaker 1 (57:23):
We have our routines, like this is what we believed worked,
and us playing Mario if we didn't play Mario Car
before game seven, we're not winning Game seven, like it
kind of locked us in like competitively because those were
intense games.

Speaker 4 (57:37):
Yeah, we gotta get smashed by Nintendo.

Speaker 2 (57:42):
Those those games.

Speaker 4 (57:43):
Those games.

Speaker 2 (57:44):
I think I was playing third base in the World
Series like so many Like I remember Napoli hit me
a line drive that I didn't even see off the bat,
no clue, Like it was almost a short hop I
caught in the air. I remember catching that ball, and
I'm like, I did not see that ball. I had
no who I caught that ball, Like the game Game

(58:07):
bro like game one or two, it was just like
your body like over, like took over, like imber Game one.
How cold. It was crazy. Like there's so many things
now that we're talking that are coming back to me.

Speaker 1 (58:19):
Now that game six you hit it the another again.
Game five you start the rally, Game six, you start
the rally. We end up boat racing in game six.
But like these are we don't win those games. Obviously
we can't get to games and what you broke we're
about to talk about. But like again, that's why I
go back.

Speaker 4 (58:36):
You would give us breathing room and like breaking the seal.

Speaker 1 (58:38):
When you did that, it was like, oh here, we
go yeah, because like that's our best that's our best player,
and like when our best player does the best thing,
then everyone else.

Speaker 4 (58:45):
Can like, yeah, all right, we got the lead.

Speaker 2 (58:48):
Here we go yeah, and that was so nice doing it.
Game six homer in the first, then decks Game seven
in the first like that one.

Speaker 3 (58:54):
Oher early lead is like huge, and our record too.
When we got the lead. I remember, like I don't
know what the stat is right off the but like,
like you, we get the lead. Is rare that people
came back on us, but they did. What did you
think about in that raj moment?

Speaker 4 (59:08):
The home run? How loud was that place?

Speaker 2 (59:11):
I mean, obviously I can look back on it more
fondly now that we won the game, but like in
the moment, the biggest letdown of like obviously my entire career,
and it like he hit the he hit it so
hard out Chappy was throwing Hunter and two like he
just had to hit it. Over heard that it was

(59:33):
right over my head and I'm like, I didn't think
it was going over the fence, but I knew and
he he choked up, Like remember that, I like I
felt like I should have jumped for the ball, like
that's and it was smoked. And I just remember looking
at you too across the diamond. We didn't make eye contact,
but I was just like, I just was like super defeated.

Speaker 4 (59:55):
Everybody remembers Lebron on the thing, like what was going
to your head?

Speaker 2 (01:00:01):
I was just like, do you remember any of those?
I was just like, dude, we came like we were
on the verge of coming back three to one, and
like that's how this is going to play out? Isn't
that crazy? Like isn't it so crazy?

Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
We could talk ten years later and you we asked
anyone about Raj and it's like we lost the game,
like that's the game, like we literally it was, and
we ended up winning the World Series and we still
talk about Raj. I still see him to this day,
and I'm like, I don't want to talk to right,
actually loved you made it like the best series ever.

Speaker 3 (01:00:34):
Yeah, Well, it's like it's like he carries bad energy
when I see him, you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:00:38):
Like I like you, Raj.

Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
You always gotta smell on your face, But I've got
bad memories in my in my gut from you.

Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
When we went into the rain delay, Right, what where
were you, like, what do you remember about that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
I remember going in, Well, so Cleveland is you got
to walk up the stair. Its kind of a little
not a little bit of a trek togainst the clubhouse, right,
So you're walking up. There's two stairs that go up
and I'm walking in and everything's tarped off. The beer
buckets are out, like.

Speaker 4 (01:01:08):
Thank god, and see that would have snapped.

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
That Leuster made him take it all down.

Speaker 2 (01:01:13):
Yeah, I saw it, and I'm like I couldn't. I
saw it for five seconds and I turned right around
and then we all gathered in the weight room. But
I was I was like, dude, like I kind of understand, like, yeah,
you kind of have to set up for the party
or whatever and have enough time for it, but I'm.

Speaker 4 (01:01:29):
Like, that could have waited a bad look.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
Yeah, we're going to be on the field. Whoever won
was gonna be on the field for forty five minutes
and then they're going to make their weight in. But
I just remember that moment like being like they just
felt like everything was just taken from us. And uh,
then we went to the the weight room and then
I saw Chappie in the corner crying and I was like, dude,
I feel so bad. Everybody like that guy like put

(01:01:54):
it all on the line, the whole playoffs being traded over,
and like pitching two and a thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Eight out saved in game five. Yeah, like then pitched
in game six.

Speaker 4 (01:02:05):
That's what we were talking about.

Speaker 3 (01:02:06):
Almost brought that up earlier, like he came in so
early in game five, so early, and yeah, I just
felt so bad for him in that moment, and we.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
All did, right, Like this is a rawless chat and
this dude is a like he's from Cuba. Nothing fases him.
He's yoked.

Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
He's like, yeah, the scariest human being.

Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
Dinner half a year.

Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Half the year's been traded over new people. We've both
been traded. Like it's like it's kind of you never
really get to know the group you need to be
there in spring the dinner, the fact.

Speaker 1 (01:02:34):
That he was so like vulnerable there and then we
talk and like what do you remember from all that?

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
So that I don't remember too much. I just like
a lot of people like saying their piece obviously j hey,
but like for me in the moment, I was just
more like focused on Chappie, Like I just like balling
his eyes off. I feel so bad for the guy.
Like I said, I don't remember anything anybody said.

Speaker 4 (01:02:58):
I have a hard time too. I remember him saying
like I remember saying.

Speaker 3 (01:03:01):
Like we how we got here, This is how we
got here, about us, yeah and all that, but I
don't the same thing. I'm the one that went and
got Chappy off the bench. He was in his hands,
crying off the bench because he was the only one missing.
So went and got him and and then we walked in.

Speaker 4 (01:03:14):
I was like, bro, we wouldn't be here without you
and all that.

Speaker 2 (01:03:17):
Oh yeah, yeah, a lot of that. But then like
like I picture him in that state, and then I
picture him like when Zoeberst in Montero get the big
knocks and he's on the top rail like showing that
type of emotion, and it was like a complete one
eighty Like I didn't see him in the moment showing
that emotion, but in the the replays and you see him,

(01:03:38):
and then you see you. I don't even know what
you were saying, but you're like.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
Like I told you that, I told you.

Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
I wonder how much though, like for Chappie right, like
he's he's Cuban. There's a definite language barrier, Right, it's
not easy being a foreign player, like playing and not
knowing the language. Sure you're new, and like I wonder
a free agent at the end of the yeah, and
I wonder how much for him that man, like that
his whole team had his back there, right, Like how

(01:04:03):
much we actually cared.

Speaker 4 (01:04:05):
We're going to ask him. We're going, yeah, going back
to your point.

Speaker 3 (01:04:08):
Some of my favorite pictures, like there's photos of my
home run and hider, but I see the bench and
it's you and you and uh call like all these
guys like my favorite things, like when you see your
teammates joy for you, Like there is not a better
feeling in the world when you're like, look at my
my dudes having my back, right, Like yep, so pumped
for every little bit, almost let in, almost gave up

(01:04:30):
the game, almost get him killed on throwing the ball
in and getting his scoring on the wild pitch and
shit's going crazy, and I'm like get that home run
back and everybody's like top step this pumping, and you're
just your face is like so aggressively like happy.

Speaker 2 (01:04:44):
It's like I never was. But like there's something like
in the playoffs where it's you turn to a kid,
you turn it like it's like what you do individually
does not matter at all. You know, there's a certain
point of the other season where you're like you're trying
to put up your numbers and like you're trying to
win games, but in the playoffs, none of it matters,

(01:05:06):
and it's just and then move to the next Yeah,
that's my favorite part. But how'd you feel? It was?

Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
What the tenth right when you came up, you hit
that ball to the right center. It's a home run earlier, right, Yeah,
and you hit it off the bat. We're so like
messed up for because of wind and coming up playing
a regularly. We know, all win the elements everywhere. Could
you know right away, like, yeah, I was, I hit

(01:05:35):
it good?

Speaker 4 (01:05:37):
It was I knew right away.

Speaker 2 (01:05:38):
It wasn't going out. It was more like like how
you spin the ball when you hit when you get
one of those that you kind of like hit like yeah,
like when you kind of hit high center, but they
kind of like fade to left center, like you don't
truly backspin to center. And that was like one of those.
I just knew the spin. It had that more of
the side spin, so it was going to just die
at the track. But I mean and Albert tagging up

(01:06:01):
on that ball, Like, I feel like that's not That's
not how you teach that play exactly. You go halfway
and for him to have the instincts to be a
rookie bro.

Speaker 1 (01:06:10):
He just came in the game. He was to be
in the game because he said, if Shorebert hits a double,
you're going in. And then Shorebert let off with a
single and Joe audible real quick, So Albert had audible
real quick, man.

Speaker 4 (01:06:23):
Yeah, and at doing their jobs.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
Like we were talking about how many pieces connect.

Speaker 1 (01:06:27):
We don't win with that without everything, without taking a
risk like that, Yeah, like that having the honestly having
the Kahonas to tag up there in Game seven of
the World Series. And that's like I talk about Joe
and how much Joe meant to our group, especially our
young group of like he let us go play, he

(01:06:49):
let us speak kids, and by being kids, that's how
I feel like we shine most.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
Yeah, Joe, I feel like I think we did talk
about the team. I feel like Joe gets credit, but
he doesn't get enough credit for what he meant. No, agree,
just like how easy it was playing for him talking
to him, and just I have like I talk about
my dad a lot, how I have emails from him.
I have a lot of screenshots from Joe, just text messaging,

(01:07:16):
like back and forth with him that I keep too,
like just like and I never told him that, but
like just like it's just like how I want to
live my life too after baseball, Like just with anything
in life, like teaching my kids, like how to get
through school or whatever, Like what type of attitude you
want to have and how you want to approach it,
and like are you going to be like down on

(01:07:38):
yourself all the time? Are you going to like just
you know, push through it, you know, knock the wall down,
And like for me, Joe was that guy. But he
said it in such a great way that like it
wasn't like he was never demeaning, Like he never yelled
at us like he I don't. I have nothing but
amazing memories of how Joe coached us.

Speaker 3 (01:07:59):
If we don't win without Joe, he kept us in
this bubble and everybody criticizes a lot of things, and
he actually was very very accountable and walks us through
all his stuff was was great.

Speaker 4 (01:08:08):
But the fact of like how he kept us with all.

Speaker 3 (01:08:12):
Those distractions in one hundred and eight years, and like
I never felt to you of that in our world.
We were on our own little world. Prissoners run the asile,
the whole thing. And he was so chill and fun.
I learned a lot about having a life outside of baseball,
right and making that fun and being able to not
just enjoy.

Speaker 4 (01:08:28):
On the backside of my career. And he man, he was.

Speaker 3 (01:08:31):
He's one of the best managers. Of him and Bobby Cox,
I put probably probably at the top.

Speaker 2 (01:08:35):
It was just so unconventional on how he went about
it that, like I feel like coaches nowadays just can't
do it. He was one of the kind, one of
one of them.

Speaker 1 (01:08:46):
He's literally one of them.

Speaker 4 (01:08:48):
Swinging Bond.

Speaker 3 (01:08:51):
Yeah, we're up one at this point, they scored a run.

Speaker 4 (01:08:56):
Rajas on base.

Speaker 2 (01:08:58):
Where was he first? He was at first first. Yeah,
if that ball goes over Mike Montgomery cars, you're running
down the line, you're sliding.

Speaker 1 (01:09:05):
That's a big territory.

Speaker 4 (01:09:06):
Nobody's nobody's picking.

Speaker 3 (01:09:08):
Mike Montgomery's on the ringo car to close out Game seven.

Speaker 1 (01:09:11):
No, when he's coming in, they take CJ out where
Like I remember saying on the mount.

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
Like we looked I feel like we looked over like
what like, I mean, who else would have came in? Right?

Speaker 4 (01:09:22):
So yeah, we had ridden like.

Speaker 3 (01:09:25):
You know all those guys, like we had ritten those
guys too, but like we were talking Joe's like it
kind of flipped a little bit. These young guys was
pitching well, yeah, Montgomery and that curb money, Like.

Speaker 2 (01:09:34):
Was Martinez supposed to hit there?

Speaker 1 (01:09:37):
Or was he hitting something hitting?

Speaker 3 (01:09:39):
They brought him in for defense against for he pitch
hit for Chris Chris the they had taken him out
the inning at that before.

Speaker 1 (01:09:48):
Right for a guy or yeah, and then he came
up when his spot came.

Speaker 4 (01:09:52):
And he went in for defense.

Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
Okay, yeah, dude, just through because we've never really talked
about this us either, like because we just celebrated and
then yeah, and then nobody cares. Fucking pine tar globed
in my glove like before that night or tenth inning.
I literally took the rag and just I'm like, I'm

(01:10:14):
not dropping a ball because but it gets cold, like
the glove gets a little crispy, and like if I
don't catch it right and it pops out.

Speaker 4 (01:10:20):
Nothing came up terrified.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
You know, I came out of your glove though I
was very comfortable throwing the balls. But it just goes
back to like like hitting in the World Series, you're like,
you're you're heightened, your your heart rates elevated a little bit,
You're you're feeling it. But like playing defense in big

(01:10:42):
games is way tougher in my opinion, Like you obviously
don't want to be the guy. Sure that scruis it
up for the team.

Speaker 1 (01:10:49):
And like there's a couple of guys' names and we're
not going to say any that, like you know, forever
in baseball history for the wrong reason, right, you know
what I mean? And like there's a massive Cubs person
that for ever, like unrightfully so has been like tormented. Yeah,
and like other guys. So it's like, yeah, you're on defense,
You're like.

Speaker 3 (01:11:09):
Yeah, when you guys have more time to think, like
the catching, the defense was my comfort zone. So like
after the first pitch, I was just like normal, except
for hitting. Hitting was like switch for you switch, God.

Speaker 1 (01:11:19):
Damn ross, You've got two balls in on a pass ball.

Speaker 4 (01:11:22):
Okay, well that's Leicester's folded lester.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
I think that was the one moment in my whole
career playing with you, or you tried to block a
Leicster curveball and like you were seeing tweety birds. This
dude is old fell.

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
I woke up the next day it was wondering why
my ankle hurt, and I went back and watching I play.

Speaker 4 (01:11:42):
I rolled my ankle when I went to get up
and were slow man, like, good time to go. He's
going killing tonight. He's actually gonna die. But you get
that ground ball.

Speaker 2 (01:11:55):
Yeah, I I think leading up to that two outside,
it's every person's dream to be the one to make
the last out, feel the last out, catch it, get
the last strikeout, But you don't want it to come
to you, right, I mean, I don't know what. I

(01:12:16):
was terrified.

Speaker 1 (01:12:18):
I was like that's a hit, and I put my
head down to go to first and I look up
and I see him like, oh fuck, he's yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:12:25):
I took like two like big stripes like off the bat.
I'm like, okay, this is either Monty's gonna get it,
didn't like. I was like, I'm gonna have to throw
this on the run, which wet grass Like yeah, I
got to it so quick. I was so maybe what
took two bounces and it was like a.

Speaker 4 (01:12:43):
Yeah, two bounces.

Speaker 2 (01:12:44):
It was a nice easy like and then I'm throwing
the ball on my foot slipping and you're smiling. It
wasn't a smile. It was like a just like it was.
It was. It was just a concentration face.

Speaker 1 (01:12:59):
I guess yes, out of the hand, I thought that
was saled, you did.

Speaker 2 (01:13:04):
I was. That's how nervous I was. I was. I
might have like I didn't embellish it, but like I
kind of like leaned into like because if I just
like planted hard and then let it slip, that thing
was for sure going over your head. But like I
kind of like fell nice.

Speaker 4 (01:13:22):
Nice but yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:13:24):
I mean the rein to lay was it like fifteen
minutes long, seventeen minutes long. Good number, good number. And
then we just kind of just went out.

Speaker 4 (01:13:34):
And play right away.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
But there wasn't like a like you know what the
rain delay, they're fixing the field, they're striping it again,
Like we didn't do any of them.

Speaker 4 (01:13:43):
No, it was quick.

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
But when you threw it to me, we're talking about
your dad and like we bringing full circle. Like when
I was a kid with my dad, I would always
like practice like winning and like being the champion of
the world, and like we would always like raise both
hands like the world so like you perfectly threw it
like high, and I was like that's why, Like you

(01:14:04):
raise your hands and that's why I was.

Speaker 2 (01:14:09):
High.

Speaker 1 (01:14:10):
Yeah, like I'm champion in the world and like put
the ball in the pocket. I ran right to you
and we just like jump on each other.

Speaker 2 (01:14:16):
And yeah, dude, that was yeah, Like I don't know
for me personally, Like you know, I feel like we
won a lot over a short period of time that
you try to think how you're going to celebrate, right, Yeah,
like we're going right to each other, like Addie and
Hovey are going together. You're like if you're on the field,

(01:14:38):
you're going to do your picture. And it's like I
feel like we we had conversations about that stuffing.

Speaker 3 (01:14:44):
We talked about that both the two best teams I've
been a World Series teams I've won with the teams
I've been on, they talk about winning the World Series,
and I think that's so important for a mindset of players,
Like the ultimate goal was like don't don't sell yourself
short of like we want to make the playoffs or
we want to you know, like all that bullshit, Like
there's definitely steps to it, but like when you talk
about winning the World Series, that's when it's when you

(01:15:07):
get there and you're expected to be there.

Speaker 4 (01:15:09):
And like we've already talked about how we're going to
celebrate this win, you know, like here we go.

Speaker 1 (01:15:14):
Yeah, as much as we talked about it too, it's
like what the Cubs fans like, how they celebrated it
was like the most like crazy sentimental thing, right, like
seeing all the flags on the graves and people at
the graveyards and like flying the w everywhere, and it

(01:15:34):
was like we we knew it was going to be
that like that, but like it was ten times more, yeah,
than what we even talked about. And we talked about
this all the time, like our imaginations are crazy, and
not too many things in the game outlives your imagination
and winning yeah, And it.

Speaker 2 (01:15:48):
Was like it was so cool to see, like because
obviously the Cubs had not won in so long, but
like so much tradition just kind of came out like
at once, like seeing so many flags and people just
talking about how like oh my my mom would love
to see this day and like, oh my Grandpa saw
it and he passed away shortly after. It's like people

(01:16:09):
waiting around to see this.

Speaker 3 (01:16:10):
That's my favorite thing that I still carry is like
the rings. Great, that's obviously like winning is, but hearing
people's like stories of generational like how they became fans
and where they were at game seven and all that stuff,
it's amazing, yep, amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:16:23):
Well, like our families are on the field afterwards, they're
all in it. They're on the end now of like
what I say, a two year vender of just like
celebrating and the parties, the parties at Leicester's, the parties
at country Club and Wrigleyville all this stuff, and like
there's everyone's so astatic. You get to like do all
this love. But like at the end, it's just like,
well we we fucking did this.

Speaker 4 (01:16:44):
We did. Like we're like we're.

Speaker 1 (01:16:46):
Only there's only twenty five of us, yeah, right, And
it's like, well, coaches and everyone evolved.

Speaker 3 (01:16:52):
But well then we're on that pedestal like like we
went to SNL, me and you Dex we'll talk about that,
but me and you went to and we were on
L and who was like giant at the time, Rightley
flew Disney flew us out to like all the way
to the Sick Jet.

Speaker 2 (01:17:06):
Yeah, I've playing on the all the Way to the SNL.
I did Jimmy Kimmel too, You did Kimmel. What what
was like the biggest thing from winning that? Like that
from winning the World Series? What's the biggest thing that's
changed your life now ten years later from winning? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:17:22):
Like, what have you learned most about that? I as
a player, as a person, as a dad?

Speaker 2 (01:17:28):
What if I learned most from Oh my gosh. Well,
it's just like like if you speak it and you
put it out there and you have a group of
people that all buy in and speak the same language
as you, it's like it almost made it easier to
accomplish it, you know. And it's like not saying the

(01:17:51):
teams after like the twenty seventeen all the way through
twenty one when we were there, like we didn't have that,
you know that like in the moment, like we weren't
able to like see it. But now looking back on it,
you can totally see like it was just a special time,
Like we had a whole group that bought in and
just all we did was talk about winning the World

(01:18:12):
series and what it would mean for a city and
the fan base, and we're like and it was like
nothing was gonna stop us. So it's like, yeah, you
like a lot of it For me now is like
I try to instill in my kids. Is like, like
my son just did ski lessons together and I'm sitting
there on the side of the mountain watching him and

(01:18:33):
he's struggling just to get back on this little magic
carpet thing because he's just sliding back on the snow
and I'm just sitting there. I'm like, I'm not going
to say anything to him, like I sure I can
go out there and push them. And I'm like, no,
you're gonna figure it out, like you're gonna have the
drive to get up the mountain and do it again.
And for us, I was like, that's kind of what
we did. Like we went through all of our peaks

(01:18:54):
and valleys, and I was like, we talked to each other,
We leaned on each other, and some led by example,
some were more vocal, and like we all were able
to pull ourselves out from our crappy times and we
were at the mountaintop at the end of this thing.
It's like, yeah, it's of the game, the.

Speaker 1 (01:19:13):
Peak of the sport, for the twenty sixteen Chicago Cubs,
being the MVP of the greatest Cubs team in the
history of the organization, and what you meant to the organization,
what we all meant. But the fact that we get
to sit down and talk about ten years later. Wow,
it has been the one of the biggest joys of

(01:19:33):
my career so far.

Speaker 2 (01:19:34):
Yeah. Highlight.

Speaker 1 (01:19:35):
And I'm justus that you guys get to you dude
without well without you two like you and me and
the whole Brizo stuff and playing together and like our
relationship Jess and Emily are so close, and you coming
in and mentoring me. It's like I'm like, I'm full
of joy because of it looking back, of like I

(01:19:56):
got to do this with great people, being like lifelong friends.

Speaker 2 (01:20:00):
That's what it's all about, trying look back.

Speaker 1 (01:20:02):
We're sitting here at the summit here in Las Vegas,
and like I'm telling Chris, I'm a really good guest
for a member of guest you're.

Speaker 2 (01:20:08):
Playing with decks. Yeah, well, but I think I think
the cool like just for our relationship personally, and I
might not have the best relationship with some of the
other guys on the team nowadays, which is it's hard
to grow apart. Yeah, but like I know that, and
like we might talk, might not talk for months, but
like I know that. Like when you call me or something,
it's like and you get a new number all the time,

(01:20:30):
like this is Anthony's new number. It's like, oh, Anthony's
calling h Like what does he want now? But no,
it's like when you call me, it's like it's not
like it's like we've been talking like yesterday.

Speaker 1 (01:20:41):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:20:42):
It's like you know certain players you play with and
then you see him like two years down the road
and you're like, I don't know what to say to you,
Like I don't know how to talk to you right now.
But it's like, I think we all built such a
good bond.

Speaker 3 (01:20:52):
When you do what we did, we're your brothers for life, right, Like,
and how close our team was and the amount of
guys that we had that were good people, right and
also good baseball players, Like it was a very unique
group obviously to go through what we went through and
come out champions, but to that, to that respects, like
I I love everybody on that team, you know what

(01:21:13):
I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:21:14):
It's like you see him and it just.

Speaker 2 (01:21:15):
Joy bringing all the memories carried.

Speaker 4 (01:21:17):
You off the field.

Speaker 1 (01:21:18):
It's not about me, Risk, but I'm saying though, like,
that's how much you meant to us, like you were
forty years old.

Speaker 4 (01:21:24):
Change my mind.

Speaker 1 (01:21:24):
So you're a backup catching you are? You are our
guy and close close out.

Speaker 4 (01:21:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:21:32):
Well, thank you to twenty sixteen MVP World Series Champion and.

Speaker 4 (01:21:39):
Still active Chris Bryant.

Speaker 3 (01:21:42):
That was a lot of fun, man. We're really thankful
for you, obviously. I'm thankful for my ring, your friendship
and the round of golf.

Speaker 4 (01:21:49):
Were about to play.

Speaker 1 (01:21:51):
Love you, Dad, I love you Dad, you guys as much.

Speaker 3 (01:22:03):
And to