December 2, 2025 • 28 mins
The hot news is the Giants' budget or lack thereof - did owner Greg Johnson signal this a month ago and what might be the plan? If the Giants won't spend, what other options are there? Plus: Rob Jones, a Giants fan who works at the BBC and also plays baseball, talks about his love for the team and the game. F.P. Santangelo and Susan Slusser break things down from legendary Camden Town pub the World's End, an venerable institution. @worldsendcamden
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Special special edition of splash It today. This episode is
from London, England. We're in Camden right now at the
World's End pub, So traveled over the pond to see
my dear friend Susan Slusier. We're both at the bar
right now. Susan, thanks for having me. We've been having
fun the last couple of days together all over the place.
(00:29):
You're wearing me out. Man, You're the best host ever,
but I can't keep up with you.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thanks a pie.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
I got this place kind of nailed down. You know
how much I love my London time.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This is fun. We've got that.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
We've had a lot some technical things going on trying
to broadcast from a pub, but I cannot tell you
how great the staff here at the World's End is
letting us sneak in before they open and do this.
So we got to go a little quickly because they
got the kind of open and sell some beer here
pretty soon. And you know I'm going to do the
claimer fpee. We're we have no beers because it's not
(01:03):
opening time yet. Drink responsibly, everybody. Pubs are more than
just places to drink, their community centers, pub quizzes.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
There's pubs are so.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Near and dear to my heart. So many of my
friends and I just like meet at pubs, and we
will meet one of them later.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I've got a British.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
San Francisco Giants fan who's gonna explain to everybody why
he's a Giants fan from here and also why he's
a baseball player in Hertfordshire, England. So that's going to
be super fun.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, a little London England flare today for a Giants
fan in London. I couldn't disagree with you more. Susan
pubs are for drinking, and that's what we've done the
last three days. So that was a really nice disclaimer.
You're the responsible one in this family. I'm not, and
we have it a blast. You've taken me to Christmas fairs,
We've drank mold wine, I've seen all the tourist attractions.
Now we're going to Richmond today after this podcast and
(01:56):
we're going to go see Ted Lasso in the Bar
and Ted Lasso So that's my favorite TV show, that's
your favorite TV show.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So I'm super fired up for that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And I don't you know what everybody listen probably doesn't
care about, like our first world problems. I'm in London, England,
but it's so nice of you to host me. It's
just been so much fun so far. I don't even
want to go home at this point. This place is outstanding.
The people, like you just said, are so nice, like
and people are nice in San Francisco, but this is next.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Level nice here with This is the hospitality in.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
This place and everywhere we've gone, the Christmas Fair last night,
and everybody telling us where to go.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, yeah, this place is pretty cool.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yeah, it's I mean, obviously I am a huge, huge fan.
But the World's End it's in you know, British Parlence.
It's my local. It's just a sort of a block
and a half tone. I guess that's telling everybody where
I live. But beautiful Camdon Town, everybody, if you if
you're in London, the World's End is just opposite the
(02:56):
Camden Tube station. You cannot miss it. It's iconic. It's
been around since I think the sixteen hundred's Charles Dickens
drank here. I mean, I think most clubs in London
say that. But it's super cool that I was great
and it's also got I think a lot of people
that know that my main thing is music, live music.
(03:17):
They have a live music venue underneath Underworld that is
super cool. I just saw a great band from Nashville
there the other day, Parker Barrow. Check them out playing
with a Canadian band who's incredibly fun. The damn truth.
So I love the World Dead, I love Underworld, I
love Camden. But we have Giants News, and I think
that's probably what people are gonna tune in. It's actually news,
(03:39):
it's not news, it's non news. That's all the buzz
right now.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
FP.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
We were talking about it beforehand. What are your thoughts
on this Giants out on Tetsuya Emi.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, I don't know that they are out.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I mean, I know there's been reports, and I know
you reported it that Greg Johnson wasn't gonna go big
and long deals on free agent pitchers, and then there
were some other reports saying that they're out on this guy.
And I think we're all excited as Giants fans. I
know I am, because you know you watch the video
of this guy. His split is ridiculous, his fastball is sneaky,
(04:18):
it's got good life in the zone. He's kind of
got of a three quarter upshoot delivery, and his stats
last year were just incredible ten and five with a
one nine to two.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I mean so for Nippon in the Japanese Professional League.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And I think when I hear reports and being on
the other side of things and be on the inside
and I don't have any information obviously I'm in London
with you, I'm always skeptical about things. I know you
talked to the owner and he said that, but I
don't think they were all in on Willie Damas last
year and they ended up signing. Oh, I thought we
went out. We've been having technical difficulties, but I just
(04:56):
had PTSD right there.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
It's been hard to get on.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Wait, we're gonna have some glitches here doing this stuff
in the pub, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We are.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
But it's still fun because we're in a pub in
London and you just can't beat that. But like what, sometimes,
and this is no offense to you guys, the media
and the reporters, sometimes you hear things, you run with them,
and I react when this guy signs with somebody else.
And that's just kind of the baseball way of looking
(05:25):
at it, because I've been on the inside for so
long with you know, in DC with Mike Rizzo and
now being friends with Zach and Buster.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Like they don't come up to me with information, but
like I'm privy.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
To some things that maybe you guys aren't and just
based on experience, and I know nothing about what's going
on right now with this guy, what's reported and what's actually.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Happening, like trade rumors of the trade deadline.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I've talked to GMS and said, we've never even talked
to that player, talked about that player, and then it
never happened. So I freak out when I find out.
I think that's a line from Ted Lasso, if I'm
not mistaken. So I know Giants fans are really upset
right now based on some reports recently. But until that
signs with somebody else, and until that deal is inc
with somebody else, I'm not giving up hope that he's
(06:11):
a Giant.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Well here's my tick, as you kind of mentioned, and as.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
What we put up a little bit early.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
I talked to Greg Johnson a month ago, almost exactly
a month ago, and he was pretty specific in my
Q and A in the chronicle about things with a budget.
I'm putting it up here, you know, But they are
not necessarily looking for long term deals right now. This
was in the San Francisco Chronicle online on November fourth,
(06:44):
uh and he also was very specific in that Q
and A about saying pictures in particular, they're not looking
for long term deals. They have five long term deals
right now, only one is a picture logan Web. I
think if they do talk about long term deal's FP,
it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Going to be for a picture.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I think it would be for somebody like Kyle Tucker,
somebody who's.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
An everyday player.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And we know the rates that pictures break down, so
this isn't This is not an unusual tactic. I think
if they go out and get another starting picture, like
a big name guy, I think they go trade and
I think that they will have a lot of options there.
The to this spring the mind we have talked about
them before. One is very obvious. Freddy Peralta, the Giants
(07:31):
love the way the Brewers do things. They love Brewers.
Zach Nanazian has the Brewers background. Why wouldn't you? Freddy
Peralta is also Willia Domas's best friend. He's got a
year left on his deal. At the end of that
you talk to him about Hey, did you like your
time here? Let's talk about a deal that I could see.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And then the one that you and I think both
really like a lot is Joe Ryan. Joe Ryan would
be you know, I think he's he's a local guy,
he's from we're in and he's been fantastic with Minnesota.
Minnesota is obviously making a lot of changes. Go out
and get Joe Ryant. That's what I would do instead of,
you know, somebody who's kind of an onion. Now that
(08:10):
Japanese pitchers have had far more success than maybe some
of the some of the position players that have come
over that's been a little bit more hit and miss.
But I think that if you're going to give nine
figures to somebody and you're the Giants, I think it's
unlikely based on what Craig said, period, But I think
you do it for somebody like Kyle Tucker.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, you know, when you talk about trying that kind
of money, maybe you can get multiple additions instead of
this Japanese pitcher who I still can't say his name,
So I'm letting you say his name because.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Even though I'm a broadcast name, when he's in the
orange and black. How about that, okay, so you'll never
learn it.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I think the one thing, like I always tell Giants
fans will never tell you how to feel because you're fans.
And I love the passion the intelligence in the Giants
fan base, but maybe the this is just a me
thing and being in baseball my whole life, that I'll
react when it's time to react, not before it's time
to react. And the Giants fans defense is a lot
of signings that didn't happen right with Aaron.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
We can go down that road if we want. So,
there's there's a little PTSD and.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
SCAR tissue there based on what has happened in the past.
But I also think it's important to remember that with
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and what he did for the Dodgers, that
every single Japanese pitcher that comes over is not going
to be that guy. That guy's got stuff plus in
tangibles and what I wait, what I do like about
(09:37):
the guy the Giants are talking to?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I got to say his name. Hold on a second,
Tashi you uh Emi? Is that good? Not even close?
All right?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Then?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
The right from Japan am I am? I no?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
But but what I what I what I do like
about him as he said he wants to take down
the Dodgers, and I think that's why we all got excited.
I'm like, hey, this guy said the right thing. I
don't want to go be a part of that. I
want to be the guy that takes them down. I
want like that. That's everybody in the Giants mentality, starting
with Buster and Zach and Tony and all the players.
(10:17):
You got to want be the team that takes them down.
But getting back to my get some more players for
that money. If it doesn't happen. I'm not saying it's
not gonna happen. I don't have any insiety information, but
get some more players and stockpile some really good players
in your lineup, maybe because you got Logan Web, you
got Robbie Ray, you got Landing Route. They were tenth
in the league in pitching last year with a three
(10:39):
eight two e r A as a team, so the
pitching is there, and I understand adding to your strength
and Buster wants pitching and defense. I get that, But
I think what we all got caught up in, and
I'll conclude myself as a Giants fan, is the way
that guy talks to what he said about taking the
Dodgers down.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I'm like, I want that guy.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
He's got long hair, he's got the mull, and he's
got a little bit of swagger on the mound. He's
got confidence, he's got moxie, he's got intangibles. And I'm
saying this. See in like ten minutes of a YouTube
video that I watched a week aldgo on his stuff.
His split's filthy, it just disappears, and he was making
Japanese hitters look terrible, like breaking down Swing. So I
got really excited about him, excited about his quote. But
(11:19):
I'm not hanging my hat on Greg Johnson told you
in general, he's not going to spend that kind of
money in a long term deal on a picture. To
think about it came out, I'm sorry the article that
came out recently said it just kind of went in
that direction. So until I see that, I'm good. I'm
not freaking out yet.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
And I'm going to give Andy Baggerley and Buster Only
from ESPN both credit for what for their work yesterday
and kind of breaking down these things further specifically with
in my because obviously I didn't ask Greg Johnson specifically
about am I that's Buster Posey and zach Manasian's job.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I just asked about budget.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But he to me, he was pretty clear and to me,
and we're going to have to go to an ad
in a second here, so FP. But to me, they
need offense. If you're going to spend, you spend on offense.
And the position players are a better bet on long
term deal. But I don't even think to you know
a guy who I think is not altogether happy with
the Dodgers and would be maybe not a bad addition
(12:20):
on a shorter term deal, Cody Bellinger. And with that,
let's I know this is kind of your job, but
I'm just going to do it. We probably need an
ad here.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
We're in London.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
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Speaker 5 (12:47):
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Speaker 5 (13:28):
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Speaker 1 (13:31):
All right, yeah, my liver is going to need the
gift of health after this trip with you, so yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Well clamorize it.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
We're in London today and every drives on the wrong
side of road here, so why don't you run the
show a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I'll just say this, Dylan c.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Twenty million dollars deal with the Blue Jays might have
might have screwed a lot of things up for a
lot of teams.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Not that he doesn't deserve that.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I'm always rooting for the player to make as much
money as you want, but off the boards with that contract,
that that that that put a kink in the plans.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Possibly.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Well, I've got I've got two guys to you, two
more pitchers if we want to look overseas. The Korean
m VP was Cody Ponce, who George Kittle's brother in
law among other things, and had a fantastic season played
with the Pirates, so he has big league experience, went
to Korea and really honed his game. I absolutely think
(14:26):
they have to be talking to him.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
And I certainly know uh. And I know this beyond
a reasonable doubt. They have talked to Zach Allan. He's
been a thorn thorn in the Giants side.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
He is a guy that they could add.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
On, not a long term deal, very good, you know,
middle of the order type guy, but knows z NL West.
Meryl Kelly has destroyed the Giants in previous years, knows
the n L West. You know, maybe these aren't necessarily
the sexiest names. Uh, but when you've got Logan Webb,
you've got Robbie Ray, and you got some kids coming,
(15:01):
I don't know that you need another frontline starter. Look,
I would Freddy Baralta or Joe Ryan. Absolutely, I don't
think you have to go out and get in mine.
I really don't. Uh, And I still am saying the
need is for off eds everybody. It's not for pitching.
The pitching was good last year. I think it will
be good again. I think, you know, a certainly land
(15:25):
and Roup it's going to take another step forward. He's
going to be totally healthy, and they've got a lot
of other good options. So I don't I understand why
people are upset. I understand why Giants fans look at
this and go they're not spending money. They have spent money. Look,
they've got five long term deals. They went ownership approved
the Rafael Devers deal last year. I mean, this isn't
(15:46):
a team that is like, you know, sitting on their
wallet and not bringing it out for you know, to
pay for a round. This is this is a team
that has has spent pretty strongly. They're in a division
with the Dodgers. You are not going to outspend the dog.
Should they have offered show Hey a billion, Yes, they
should have. They would have wound up ahead of the
curve if they'd done that, And he said, yes, that's
(16:09):
the only but you know, nobody at the time would
have gone like, offer them a million. They offered what
the Dodgers offered. Maybe they should have gone up from that.
I think he would have gone to the Dodgers no
matter what. And you cannot outspend them, so they got
to be smart. I'm not making look with like the
Greg Johnson Q and A stuff. I'm just recording what
(16:29):
he said straight up. I don't really want to weigh
in one way or another whether I think it's smart
or not. I love it when owners spend. You know.
You know how long I covered the A's, I hate
to bring it up every time the A's didn't spend enough,
and they should have. They had the means. So this
is a team that could spend what they want. They
have the resources. I know the Chronicle and other outlets,
(16:50):
including The Athletic and the SS Standard have talked about
the fact that they now are partners with Sixth Street,
who have a you know, some investment. I don't get
the impression that that is holding them back from spending,
and certainly they've they've got they've got the whole bearer
to themselves everybody. You know, their ticket sales were up
(17:12):
all of that kind of good stuff. They're healthy, They're
healthy enough to spend if they want to, they could
spend more. So it is a choice ultimately, But if
it were me, I would spend on offense.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Do you remember the Dodgers signing photo.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Everybody was all up in arms saying he was unproven
and that man, that's a big contract. That's a big,
big check to write for a guy that's never played
in the major leagues in the States before, and there
was a lot of question around it.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, so in that.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Regard, I feel like that might be tough check to
write for the Giants and the guy that's not proven,
And getting back to Cody Ponds that that's a really
good option for those who don't know. Twenty nine games,
one hundred and eighty and two thirds innings. He was
seventeen and one in the Korean Baseball League with a
one eight nine y AR at two hundred and fifty
two strikeouts and one hundred and eighty and two thirds.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So I don't know how that equates or translates into
the big leagues, but the big leagues moves a lot
faster than the Korean League.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
The big leagues a lot faster than the Japanese league
starting to catch up. The players are getting stronger, the
players are throwing harder. There's not the big gap between
Asia and America as far as baseball players go that
there used to be. And I've talked to people with
the Giants about this, so they've done a lot of
scouting overseas. I think Buster and Zach went overseas to
check out some players together this year. So, you know,
(18:30):
why wouldn't you lift up that rug and see what's
underneath the carpet and see, you know, if there's some
players that could help you win over there. So I
don't know, I haven't seen Cody Ponds pitch. I have
no idea, but those numbers that they stand out.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Well, I think it's time for you to talk to
people about, you know, subscriptions and when we come. While
you're doing that, I am going to get my friend
Rob Jones scooted in here next to me in a
very pretty technically advanced two shots. So tell the people
people what they should do.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Well, I can't really see it right now because I
got my phone in front of my screen, but subscribe
it's really easy. Go to this, go to YouTube right now.
Splash hit territory. Next goal is three thousand subscribers. Really easy,
you guys, We're at splash hit territory. On x We're
at splash hit Territory. We got a site on Instagram,
but go on YouTube and click because we want a
lot of followers.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
We got to follow it right here. Kind of a stalker.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
He's from London, England, and he's a Giants fan and
he actually plays baseball and he's friends with Susan.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
So Susan, take it away with your buddy.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Yeah, this is my buddy, Rob Jones. He works at
the BBC. I don't want to brag too much about Rob, but.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
He works at the BBC.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
He plays baseball in Hertfordshire and he's a Giants fan.
So Rob, how the heck are you a Giants fan?
Tell the good people.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
It was a happy accident. I've always loved on sports.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
I never really saw baseball in this country because we don't,
but I played football.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
I think cricket, I think broke me did a little
bit of everything. The first time my wife.
Speaker 7 (20:04):
And I went on holiday to the States, the first
time I ever read the stage, I thought I want
to go and see American sports. This was two thousand
and one. We were going to September. I looked around
early in the year and baseball there's a lot of games,
so there's a lot of tickets available. I thought, let's
try this, and that was two thousand and one. This
(20:26):
was Bonds hitting seventy three home runs, so it was
easy to follow them that year. It was easy to
get engaged with the whole thing, and it was a
lucky accident of the year. I chose to look at
San Francisco. We had tickets for a game against the Dodgers,
so we knew there was a big rivalry to get
into and it just watching the games on bits of
(20:51):
highlights at the BBC were able to see the little
kind of highlight of packages that ESPN, for example, been around,
and looking at those it just tickled me, got me started.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
I stayed with it.
Speaker 7 (21:04):
We didn't actually go that year, and I did have
some years desperately trying to make the trip over to
Oracle Park. But in those years they reeled me in.
We had the two thousand and two World Series. Timing
was perfect and it's still with me.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
As you can see, I thought I had to come
kit it out properly. Today.
Speaker 7 (21:22):
I do have San Francisco Giant socks on, but I
will not show them to you.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
That's okay, would that would take some contortion. Contortion by
the way they gave it. I'm going to do a
little more typical stuff. I have no idea what I'm doing.
They put a nice little fire behind us. If you
can see, this is such a nice pub. You've been
to this pub before. I'm guessing the world's end.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
But of course everyone in London comes through the world's end.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
About baseball here. It's so humbly when you come over here.
Susan took me to my first Premier League game the
other day between West Ham and Liverpool. I know nothing
about English football, but like you walk around, you tell
people like we're doing a podcast for the Giants and
nobody goes anything about baseball. Did it take you a
long time to learn the eight million rules and the
(22:05):
intricacies of the game And how hard did it to
learn for somebody that doesn't know anything about it?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (22:12):
Absolutely absolutely, and I still am. I've been playing for
more than twenty years and I'm a catcher now, so
I've been through outfield, shortstop and was sort of onto
catching generally I'm looking for something that requires less and
less running every time I do it. But yes, completely,
and we still have I mean our club in Hertfordshire,
(22:33):
you know, the Hearts baseball we are. It goes through cycles,
but we're growing. We have a great spurt at the moment.
MLB coming over to London has obviously done a lot
to help that. So the stadium you went to to
see west Ham, of course British baseball fans will have
attended real MLB games there twenty nineteen and then again
(22:54):
in twenty three and twenty four, so you know, we've
had a lot of teams come over now and that
really gets people to notice something that they didn't even
know existed.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
But yeah, you know, mastering the rules is hard.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
But when we have people come along, they may have
played cricket, they may have played another sort of ball sport,
so if they've got a little innate talent in them,
they're absolutely fine. And then the first time that you
get you know, you're out on a fly ball because
you ran and you're not supposed to the only way
you learn that is by doing it and getting it wrong.
My son plays, he did a lot of that this
(23:26):
last year. But that's how you learn. And you also
the fundamentals of it are quite straightforward, same as any sport.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
You know, there's a long standing ta about that soccer and.
Speaker 7 (23:36):
Football and find that it'slained the off side rule and
they also changed the off side rule every year, so
there's very few rules, but they still find a way
to mess with it. The fundamentals of the game. Simple
in football, simple in baseball.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
I'm under the impression Rob and you know, I wrote
a big story about the sort of the state of
British baseball as being as it's being played here.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
A few years ago.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
Juce Spent who's now working in the Yankees organization, was
the team of the British national the coach of the
British national team, and they went from ranks somewhere in
the fifties sixties in the world to making the WBC
beating Germany, and now they're ranks of seventeenth or eighteenth
and the world Jazz Chisholms played for them. I mean,
(24:22):
our friend Antoine Richardson's the coach with the team. Still
it's really I wouldn't say it's taken off, but there
are some British players playing in the big leagues and
not just guys from the Bahamas like Jazz. I'm a
big fan of the British baseball team, of course i am.
But it is your impression that people maybe know a
little bit more about it or are people still sort
(24:43):
of perplexed when you say you're a baseball fan and
you play baseball.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Oh both are true, but it is something every little
step that makes it. It gives people a chance to
discover it. That's what we're always trying to do is
get people to know that THESS know that they can
try it. And with anything, a successful British team, you know,
gb national team is always going to help that. And
when they won they played at the World Baseball Classic
(25:09):
in twenty three and that was a big moment when
they you know, won real games against real international serious
players GV one. Two European tournaments this year the women
won the European Tournament.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
In I think July.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
You know, all of that is a sort of great
boost for the game and that's the stuff that gets
you know, the BBC and other websites and newspapers they
see it. People see so much online now which also
cuts out that middle man. So it's not about media
coverage anymore. You can discover things that you never knew existed,
and that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (25:43):
And you know, GB absolutely is a huge help in
doing that.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
I've always thought that, like, really good cricket players would
make good baseball players and make ahead of a lot
more money.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Also, they hit a lot of file ball for that.
A couple of things.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
I really like relegation in the Premier League, like the
Rockies right now should be relegated.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I mean, if you don't.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Play well, you go down a step and you're not
in the Premier League anymore. And the one thing I
don't like is that when a player gets tripped, they
look like they got shot by an elephant gun and
they're dead for about five minutes on the field. Rob
We don't do that in the States in baseball. We like,
we tape an asper into it, We run down the
first base. We don't sit there and lay on the
ground in the starfish for five minutes like the goalie
(26:28):
the other day. So those are just my instant takes
from watching my first Premier League game.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I'm no expert.
Speaker 7 (26:37):
I think that that's part of the great appeal of
baseball because I watched the NFL as well, which I
watched long before baseball, and they strangely seem to be
adopting now quite late on those English Premier League tactics
of falling in an impressive way, kind of being thrown
five meters when they've barely been touched.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Not mentioning Patrick Mahomes, it's yeah. These they sort of
spread across spools.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Baseball stays pretty pure and you don't have all that,
and that's a wonderful thing to watch a game where
you don't have all the nonsense.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Well, I hate to bring this to a clothes but
they are trying to get this pub open. I mean,
they've been wonderful to us, but they do need to
do their business here. Any final thoughts at.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
All, No, I just want to that Rob, we're coming in.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's cool. I love the accent, man. I could listen
to somebody with this accent talk all day long. You
could have, I don't know, read the menu here at
the World's end and I would have listened to you talk.
But that's good stuff. It's good to know that there's
Giants fans everywhere. And the one thing that I've really
realized since I've come back to San Francisco from the
East Coast. Is Giants fans travel man.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
When we're on the road.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
It doesn't matter where the Giants are playing, They're always there,
and it's nice to know that there's some Giants fans
in London, England.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's really really cool. Rob, Thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Yeah, lovely to talk to you.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
And Rob's family has come over to San Francisco numerous times,
so maybe the next time they come over, I'll let
people know and they can go say hi to them.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
At Oracle Park.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Family is a gorgeous and also has beautiful accents, So
it's a You guys are all Giants fans.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Right, Uh, we're working on some of them.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, if there's a doctor, you need to just own
that kid.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Okay, I'm just saying right now, not telling you how
my parents, but that would be good parenting.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
FB and I don't always agree, but I agree on
that well.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Advice is welcome.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
All right, guys, thanks so much another episode of the books.
We'll see you guys later this week. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Like I say on the way out, every single time,
swing heart in case you hit it.
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Special special edition of splash It today. This episode is
from London, England. We're in Camden right now at the
World's End pub, So traveled over the pond to see
my dear friend Susan Slusier. We're both at the bar
right now. Susan, thanks for having me. We've been having
fun the last couple of days together all over the place.
(00:29):
You're wearing me out. Man, You're the best host ever,
but I can't keep up with you.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thanks a pie.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
I got this place kind of nailed down. You know
how much I love my London time.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This is fun. We've got that.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
We've had a lot some technical things going on trying
to broadcast from a pub, but I cannot tell you
how great the staff here at the World's End is
letting us sneak in before they open and do this.
So we got to go a little quickly because they
got the kind of open and sell some beer here
pretty soon. And you know I'm going to do the
claimer fpee. We're we have no beers because it's not
(01:03):
opening time yet. Drink responsibly, everybody. Pubs are more than
just places to drink, their community centers, pub quizzes.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
There's pubs are so.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Near and dear to my heart. So many of my
friends and I just like meet at pubs, and we
will meet one of them later.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I've got a British.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
San Francisco Giants fan who's gonna explain to everybody why
he's a Giants fan from here and also why he's
a baseball player in Hertfordshire, England. So that's going to
be super fun.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, a little London England flare today for a Giants
fan in London. I couldn't disagree with you more. Susan
pubs are for drinking, and that's what we've done the
last three days. So that was a really nice disclaimer.
You're the responsible one in this family. I'm not, and
we have it a blast. You've taken me to Christmas fairs,
We've drank mold wine, I've seen all the tourist attractions.
Now we're going to Richmond today after this podcast and
(01:56):
we're going to go see Ted Lasso in the Bar
and Ted Lasso So that's my favorite TV show, that's
your favorite TV show.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So I'm super fired up for that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And I don't you know what everybody listen probably doesn't
care about, like our first world problems. I'm in London, England,
but it's so nice of you to host me. It's
just been so much fun so far. I don't even
want to go home at this point. This place is outstanding.
The people, like you just said, are so nice, like
and people are nice in San Francisco, but this is next.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Level nice here with This is the hospitality in.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
This place and everywhere we've gone, the Christmas Fair last night,
and everybody telling us where to go.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, yeah, this place is pretty cool.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yeah, it's I mean, obviously I am a huge, huge fan.
But the World's End it's in you know, British Parlence.
It's my local. It's just a sort of a block
and a half tone. I guess that's telling everybody where
I live. But beautiful Camdon Town, everybody, if you if
you're in London, the World's End is just opposite the
(02:56):
Camden Tube station. You cannot miss it. It's iconic. It's
been around since I think the sixteen hundred's Charles Dickens
drank here. I mean, I think most clubs in London
say that. But it's super cool that I was great
and it's also got I think a lot of people
that know that my main thing is music, live music.
(03:17):
They have a live music venue underneath Underworld that is
super cool. I just saw a great band from Nashville
there the other day, Parker Barrow. Check them out playing
with a Canadian band who's incredibly fun. The damn truth.
So I love the World Dead, I love Underworld, I
love Camden. But we have Giants News, and I think
that's probably what people are gonna tune in. It's actually news,
(03:39):
it's not news, it's non news. That's all the buzz
right now.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
FP.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
We were talking about it beforehand. What are your thoughts
on this Giants out on Tetsuya Emi.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, I don't know that they are out.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I mean, I know there's been reports, and I know
you reported it that Greg Johnson wasn't gonna go big
and long deals on free agent pitchers, and then there
were some other reports saying that they're out on this guy.
And I think we're all excited as Giants fans. I
know I am, because you know you watch the video
of this guy. His split is ridiculous, his fastball is sneaky,
(04:18):
it's got good life in the zone. He's kind of
got of a three quarter upshoot delivery, and his stats
last year were just incredible ten and five with a
one nine to two.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I mean so for Nippon in the Japanese Professional League.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And I think when I hear reports and being on
the other side of things and be on the inside
and I don't have any information obviously I'm in London
with you, I'm always skeptical about things. I know you
talked to the owner and he said that, but I
don't think they were all in on Willie Damas last
year and they ended up signing. Oh, I thought we
went out. We've been having technical difficulties, but I just
(04:56):
had PTSD right there.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
It's been hard to get on.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Wait, we're gonna have some glitches here doing this stuff
in the pub, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We are.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
But it's still fun because we're in a pub in
London and you just can't beat that. But like what, sometimes,
and this is no offense to you guys, the media
and the reporters, sometimes you hear things, you run with them,
and I react when this guy signs with somebody else.
And that's just kind of the baseball way of looking
(05:25):
at it, because I've been on the inside for so
long with you know, in DC with Mike Rizzo and
now being friends with Zach and Buster.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Like they don't come up to me with information, but
like I'm privy.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
To some things that maybe you guys aren't and just
based on experience, and I know nothing about what's going
on right now with this guy, what's reported and what's actually.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Happening, like trade rumors of the trade deadline.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I've talked to GMS and said, we've never even talked
to that player, talked about that player, and then it
never happened. So I freak out when I find out.
I think that's a line from Ted Lasso, if I'm
not mistaken. So I know Giants fans are really upset
right now based on some reports recently. But until that
signs with somebody else, and until that deal is inc
with somebody else, I'm not giving up hope that he's
(06:11):
a Giant.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Well here's my tick, as you kind of mentioned, and as.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
What we put up a little bit early.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
I talked to Greg Johnson a month ago, almost exactly
a month ago, and he was pretty specific in my
Q and A in the chronicle about things with a budget.
I'm putting it up here, you know, But they are
not necessarily looking for long term deals right now. This
was in the San Francisco Chronicle online on November fourth,
(06:44):
uh and he also was very specific in that Q
and A about saying pictures in particular, they're not looking
for long term deals. They have five long term deals
right now, only one is a picture logan Web. I
think if they do talk about long term deal's FP,
it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Going to be for a picture.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
I think it would be for somebody like Kyle Tucker,
somebody who's.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
An everyday player.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And we know the rates that pictures break down, so
this isn't This is not an unusual tactic. I think
if they go out and get another starting picture, like
a big name guy, I think they go trade and
I think that they will have a lot of options there.
The to this spring the mind we have talked about
them before. One is very obvious. Freddy Peralta, the Giants
(07:31):
love the way the Brewers do things. They love Brewers.
Zach Nanazian has the Brewers background. Why wouldn't you? Freddy
Peralta is also Willia Domas's best friend. He's got a
year left on his deal. At the end of that
you talk to him about Hey, did you like your
time here? Let's talk about a deal that I could see.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And then the one that you and I think both
really like a lot is Joe Ryan. Joe Ryan would
be you know, I think he's he's a local guy,
he's from we're in and he's been fantastic with Minnesota.
Minnesota is obviously making a lot of changes. Go out
and get Joe Ryant. That's what I would do instead of,
you know, somebody who's kind of an onion. Now that
(08:10):
Japanese pitchers have had far more success than maybe some
of the some of the position players that have come
over that's been a little bit more hit and miss.
But I think that if you're going to give nine
figures to somebody and you're the Giants, I think it's
unlikely based on what Craig said, period, But I think
you do it for somebody like Kyle Tucker.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, you know, when you talk about trying that kind
of money, maybe you can get multiple additions instead of
this Japanese pitcher who I still can't say his name,
So I'm letting you say his name because.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Even though I'm a broadcast name, when he's in the
orange and black. How about that, okay, so you'll never
learn it.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I think the one thing, like I always tell Giants
fans will never tell you how to feel because you're fans.
And I love the passion the intelligence in the Giants
fan base, but maybe the this is just a me
thing and being in baseball my whole life, that I'll
react when it's time to react, not before it's time
to react. And the Giants fans defense is a lot
of signings that didn't happen right with Aaron.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
We can go down that road if we want. So,
there's there's a little PTSD and.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
SCAR tissue there based on what has happened in the past.
But I also think it's important to remember that with
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and what he did for the Dodgers, that
every single Japanese pitcher that comes over is not going
to be that guy. That guy's got stuff plus in
tangibles and what I wait, what I do like about
(09:37):
the guy the Giants are talking to?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I got to say his name. Hold on a second,
Tashi you uh Emi? Is that good? Not even close?
All right?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Then?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
The right from Japan am I am? I no?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
But but what I what I what I do like
about him as he said he wants to take down
the Dodgers, and I think that's why we all got excited.
I'm like, hey, this guy said the right thing. I
don't want to go be a part of that. I
want to be the guy that takes them down. I
want like that. That's everybody in the Giants mentality, starting
with Buster and Zach and Tony and all the players.
(10:17):
You got to want be the team that takes them down.
But getting back to my get some more players for
that money. If it doesn't happen. I'm not saying it's
not gonna happen. I don't have any insiety information, but
get some more players and stockpile some really good players
in your lineup, maybe because you got Logan Web, you
got Robbie Ray, you got Landing Route. They were tenth
in the league in pitching last year with a three
(10:39):
eight two e r A as a team, so the
pitching is there, and I understand adding to your strength
and Buster wants pitching and defense. I get that, But
I think what we all got caught up in, and
I'll conclude myself as a Giants fan, is the way
that guy talks to what he said about taking the
Dodgers down.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I'm like, I want that guy.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
He's got long hair, he's got the mull, and he's
got a little bit of swagger on the mound. He's
got confidence, he's got moxie, he's got intangibles. And I'm
saying this. See in like ten minutes of a YouTube
video that I watched a week aldgo on his stuff.
His split's filthy, it just disappears, and he was making
Japanese hitters look terrible, like breaking down Swing. So I
got really excited about him, excited about his quote. But
(11:19):
I'm not hanging my hat on Greg Johnson told you
in general, he's not going to spend that kind of
money in a long term deal on a picture. To
think about it came out, I'm sorry the article that
came out recently said it just kind of went in
that direction. So until I see that, I'm good. I'm
not freaking out yet.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
And I'm going to give Andy Baggerley and Buster Only
from ESPN both credit for what for their work yesterday
and kind of breaking down these things further specifically with
in my because obviously I didn't ask Greg Johnson specifically
about am I that's Buster Posey and zach Manasian's job.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I just asked about budget.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But he to me, he was pretty clear and to me,
and we're going to have to go to an ad
in a second here, so FP. But to me, they
need offense. If you're going to spend, you spend on offense.
And the position players are a better bet on long
term deal. But I don't even think to you know
a guy who I think is not altogether happy with
the Dodgers and would be maybe not a bad addition
(12:20):
on a shorter term deal, Cody Bellinger. And with that,
let's I know this is kind of your job, but
I'm just going to do it. We probably need an
ad here.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
We're in London.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
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Speaker 5 (12:47):
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(13:19):
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Speaker 5 (13:28):
Get after it, ft fam.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
All right, yeah, my liver is going to need the
gift of health after this trip with you, so yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Well clamorize it.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
We're in London today and every drives on the wrong
side of road here, so why don't you run the
show a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I'll just say this, Dylan c.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Twenty million dollars deal with the Blue Jays might have
might have screwed a lot of things up for a
lot of teams.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Not that he doesn't deserve that.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I'm always rooting for the player to make as much
money as you want, but off the boards with that contract,
that that that that put a kink in the plans.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Possibly.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Well, I've got I've got two guys to you, two
more pitchers if we want to look overseas. The Korean
m VP was Cody Ponce, who George Kittle's brother in
law among other things, and had a fantastic season played
with the Pirates, so he has big league experience, went
to Korea and really honed his game. I absolutely think
(14:26):
they have to be talking to him.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
And I certainly know uh. And I know this beyond
a reasonable doubt. They have talked to Zach Allan. He's
been a thorn thorn in the Giants side.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
He is a guy that they could add.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
On, not a long term deal, very good, you know,
middle of the order type guy, but knows z NL West.
Meryl Kelly has destroyed the Giants in previous years, knows
the n L West. You know, maybe these aren't necessarily
the sexiest names. Uh, but when you've got Logan Webb,
you've got Robbie Ray, and you got some kids coming,
(15:01):
I don't know that you need another frontline starter. Look,
I would Freddy Baralta or Joe Ryan. Absolutely, I don't
think you have to go out and get in mine.
I really don't. Uh, And I still am saying the
need is for off eds everybody. It's not for pitching.
The pitching was good last year. I think it will
be good again. I think, you know, a certainly land
(15:25):
and Roup it's going to take another step forward. He's
going to be totally healthy, and they've got a lot
of other good options. So I don't I understand why
people are upset. I understand why Giants fans look at
this and go they're not spending money. They have spent money. Look,
they've got five long term deals. They went ownership approved
the Rafael Devers deal last year. I mean, this isn't
(15:46):
a team that is like, you know, sitting on their
wallet and not bringing it out for you know, to
pay for a round. This is this is a team
that has has spent pretty strongly. They're in a division
with the Dodgers. You are not going to outspend the dog.
Should they have offered show Hey a billion, Yes, they
should have. They would have wound up ahead of the
curve if they'd done that, And he said, yes, that's
(16:09):
the only but you know, nobody at the time would
have gone like, offer them a million. They offered what
the Dodgers offered. Maybe they should have gone up from that.
I think he would have gone to the Dodgers no
matter what. And you cannot outspend them, so they got
to be smart. I'm not making look with like the
Greg Johnson Q and A stuff. I'm just recording what
(16:29):
he said straight up. I don't really want to weigh
in one way or another whether I think it's smart
or not. I love it when owners spend. You know.
You know how long I covered the A's, I hate
to bring it up every time the A's didn't spend enough,
and they should have. They had the means. So this
is a team that could spend what they want. They
have the resources. I know the Chronicle and other outlets,
(16:50):
including The Athletic and the SS Standard have talked about
the fact that they now are partners with Sixth Street,
who have a you know, some investment. I don't get
the impression that that is holding them back from spending,
and certainly they've they've got they've got the whole bearer
to themselves everybody. You know, their ticket sales were up
(17:12):
all of that kind of good stuff. They're healthy, They're
healthy enough to spend if they want to, they could
spend more. So it is a choice ultimately, But if
it were me, I would spend on offense.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Do you remember the Dodgers signing photo.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Everybody was all up in arms saying he was unproven
and that man, that's a big contract. That's a big,
big check to write for a guy that's never played
in the major leagues in the States before, and there
was a lot of question around it.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, so in that.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Regard, I feel like that might be tough check to
write for the Giants and the guy that's not proven,
And getting back to Cody Ponds that that's a really
good option for those who don't know. Twenty nine games,
one hundred and eighty and two thirds innings. He was
seventeen and one in the Korean Baseball League with a
one eight nine y AR at two hundred and fifty
two strikeouts and one hundred and eighty and two thirds.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So I don't know how that equates or translates into
the big leagues, but the big leagues moves a lot
faster than the Korean League.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
The big leagues a lot faster than the Japanese league
starting to catch up. The players are getting stronger, the
players are throwing harder. There's not the big gap between
Asia and America as far as baseball players go that
there used to be. And I've talked to people with
the Giants about this, so they've done a lot of
scouting overseas. I think Buster and Zach went overseas to
check out some players together this year. So, you know,
(18:30):
why wouldn't you lift up that rug and see what's
underneath the carpet and see, you know, if there's some
players that could help you win over there. So I
don't know, I haven't seen Cody Ponds pitch. I have
no idea, but those numbers that they stand out.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Well, I think it's time for you to talk to
people about, you know, subscriptions and when we come. While
you're doing that, I am going to get my friend
Rob Jones scooted in here next to me in a
very pretty technically advanced two shots. So tell the people
people what they should do.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Well, I can't really see it right now because I
got my phone in front of my screen, but subscribe
it's really easy. Go to this, go to YouTube right now.
Splash hit territory. Next goal is three thousand subscribers. Really easy,
you guys, We're at splash hit territory. On x We're
at splash hit Territory. We got a site on Instagram,
but go on YouTube and click because we want a
lot of followers.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
We got to follow it right here. Kind of a stalker.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
He's from London, England, and he's a Giants fan and
he actually plays baseball and he's friends with Susan.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
So Susan, take it away with your buddy.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Yeah, this is my buddy, Rob Jones. He works at
the BBC. I don't want to brag too much about Rob, but.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
He works at the BBC.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
He plays baseball in Hertfordshire and he's a Giants fan.
So Rob, how the heck are you a Giants fan?
Tell the good people.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
It was a happy accident. I've always loved on sports.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
I never really saw baseball in this country because we don't,
but I played football.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
I think cricket, I think broke me did a little
bit of everything. The first time my wife.
Speaker 7 (20:04):
And I went on holiday to the States, the first
time I ever read the stage, I thought I want
to go and see American sports. This was two thousand
and one. We were going to September. I looked around
early in the year and baseball there's a lot of games,
so there's a lot of tickets available. I thought, let's
try this, and that was two thousand and one. This
(20:26):
was Bonds hitting seventy three home runs, so it was
easy to follow them that year. It was easy to
get engaged with the whole thing, and it was a
lucky accident of the year. I chose to look at
San Francisco. We had tickets for a game against the Dodgers,
so we knew there was a big rivalry to get
into and it just watching the games on bits of
(20:51):
highlights at the BBC were able to see the little
kind of highlight of packages that ESPN, for example, been around,
and looking at those it just tickled me, got me started.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
I stayed with it.
Speaker 7 (21:04):
We didn't actually go that year, and I did have
some years desperately trying to make the trip over to
Oracle Park. But in those years they reeled me in.
We had the two thousand and two World Series. Timing
was perfect and it's still with me.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
As you can see, I thought I had to come
kit it out properly. Today.
Speaker 7 (21:22):
I do have San Francisco Giant socks on, but I
will not show them to you.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
That's okay, would that would take some contortion. Contortion by
the way they gave it. I'm going to do a
little more typical stuff. I have no idea what I'm doing.
They put a nice little fire behind us. If you
can see, this is such a nice pub. You've been
to this pub before. I'm guessing the world's end.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
But of course everyone in London comes through the world's end.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
About baseball here. It's so humbly when you come over here.
Susan took me to my first Premier League game the
other day between West Ham and Liverpool. I know nothing
about English football, but like you walk around, you tell
people like we're doing a podcast for the Giants and
nobody goes anything about baseball. Did it take you a
long time to learn the eight million rules and the
(22:05):
intricacies of the game And how hard did it to
learn for somebody that doesn't know anything about it?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (22:12):
Absolutely absolutely, and I still am. I've been playing for
more than twenty years and I'm a catcher now, so
I've been through outfield, shortstop and was sort of onto
catching generally I'm looking for something that requires less and
less running every time I do it. But yes, completely,
and we still have I mean our club in Hertfordshire,
(22:33):
you know, the Hearts baseball we are. It goes through cycles,
but we're growing. We have a great spurt at the moment.
MLB coming over to London has obviously done a lot
to help that. So the stadium you went to to
see west Ham, of course British baseball fans will have
attended real MLB games there twenty nineteen and then again
(22:54):
in twenty three and twenty four, so you know, we've
had a lot of teams come over now and that
really gets people to notice something that they didn't even
know existed.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
But yeah, you know, mastering the rules is hard.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
But when we have people come along, they may have
played cricket, they may have played another sort of ball sport,
so if they've got a little innate talent in them,
they're absolutely fine. And then the first time that you
get you know, you're out on a fly ball because
you ran and you're not supposed to the only way
you learn that is by doing it and getting it wrong.
My son plays, he did a lot of that this
(23:26):
last year. But that's how you learn. And you also
the fundamentals of it are quite straightforward, same as any sport.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
You know, there's a long standing ta about that soccer and.
Speaker 7 (23:36):
Football and find that it'slained the off side rule and
they also changed the off side rule every year, so
there's very few rules, but they still find a way
to mess with it. The fundamentals of the game. Simple
in football, simple in baseball.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
I'm under the impression Rob and you know, I wrote
a big story about the sort of the state of
British baseball as being as it's being played here.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
A few years ago.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
Juce Spent who's now working in the Yankees organization, was
the team of the British national the coach of the
British national team, and they went from ranks somewhere in
the fifties sixties in the world to making the WBC
beating Germany, and now they're ranks of seventeenth or eighteenth
and the world Jazz Chisholms played for them. I mean,
(24:22):
our friend Antoine Richardson's the coach with the team. Still
it's really I wouldn't say it's taken off, but there
are some British players playing in the big leagues and
not just guys from the Bahamas like Jazz. I'm a
big fan of the British baseball team, of course i am.
But it is your impression that people maybe know a
little bit more about it or are people still sort
(24:43):
of perplexed when you say you're a baseball fan and
you play baseball.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
Oh both are true, but it is something every little
step that makes it. It gives people a chance to
discover it. That's what we're always trying to do is
get people to know that THESS know that they can
try it. And with anything, a successful British team, you know,
gb national team is always going to help that. And
when they won they played at the World Baseball Classic
(25:09):
in twenty three and that was a big moment when
they you know, won real games against real international serious
players GV one. Two European tournaments this year the women
won the European Tournament.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
In I think July.
Speaker 7 (25:25):
You know, all of that is a sort of great
boost for the game and that's the stuff that gets
you know, the BBC and other websites and newspapers they
see it. People see so much online now which also
cuts out that middle man. So it's not about media
coverage anymore. You can discover things that you never knew existed,
and that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (25:43):
And you know, GB absolutely is a huge help in
doing that.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
I've always thought that, like, really good cricket players would
make good baseball players and make ahead of a lot
more money.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Also, they hit a lot of file ball for that.
A couple of things.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
I really like relegation in the Premier League, like the
Rockies right now should be relegated.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I mean, if you don't.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Play well, you go down a step and you're not
in the Premier League anymore. And the one thing I
don't like is that when a player gets tripped, they
look like they got shot by an elephant gun and
they're dead for about five minutes on the field. Rob
We don't do that in the States in baseball. We like,
we tape an asper into it, We run down the
first base. We don't sit there and lay on the
ground in the starfish for five minutes like the goalie
(26:28):
the other day. So those are just my instant takes
from watching my first Premier League game.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I'm no expert.
Speaker 7 (26:37):
I think that that's part of the great appeal of
baseball because I watched the NFL as well, which I
watched long before baseball, and they strangely seem to be
adopting now quite late on those English Premier League tactics
of falling in an impressive way, kind of being thrown
five meters when they've barely been touched.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Not mentioning Patrick Mahomes, it's yeah. These they sort of
spread across spools.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Baseball stays pretty pure and you don't have all that,
and that's a wonderful thing to watch a game where
you don't have all the nonsense.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Well, I hate to bring this to a clothes but
they are trying to get this pub open. I mean,
they've been wonderful to us, but they do need to
do their business here. Any final thoughts at.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
All, No, I just want to that Rob, we're coming in.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's cool. I love the accent, man. I could listen
to somebody with this accent talk all day long. You
could have, I don't know, read the menu here at
the World's end and I would have listened to you talk.
But that's good stuff. It's good to know that there's
Giants fans everywhere. And the one thing that I've really
realized since I've come back to San Francisco from the
East Coast. Is Giants fans travel man.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
When we're on the road.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
It doesn't matter where the Giants are playing, They're always there,
and it's nice to know that there's some Giants fans
in London, England.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's really really cool. Rob, Thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Yeah, lovely to talk to you.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
And Rob's family has come over to San Francisco numerous times,
so maybe the next time they come over, I'll let
people know and they can go say hi to them.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
At Oracle Park.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Family is a gorgeous and also has beautiful accents, So
it's a You guys are all Giants fans.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Right, Uh, we're working on some of them.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
Yeah, if there's a doctor, you need to just own
that kid.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Okay, I'm just saying right now, not telling you how
my parents, but that would be good parenting.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
FB and I don't always agree, but I agree on
that well.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
Advice is welcome.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
All right, guys, thanks so much another episode of the books.
We'll see you guys later this week. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Like I say on the way out, every single time,
swing heart in case you hit it.
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