March 3, 2026 • 51 mins
Hosts Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci the difference between Spring Training and the World Baseball Classic. What makes it so popular and great for baseball? Tom notes the growing popularity of the event as it starts its 6th year.
Konnor Griffin has been impressive in Spring Training. Tom gives some impressive comps that has Joe excited about Griffin as a player. Legendary ump Bruce Froemming passed away and Joe happens to have been his very last ejection.
Plus, a fun promotion coming this season for the Cardinals! Joe recalls some great event nights for teams and even some that should be avoided!
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey Thearon, Welcome back to the Book of Joe podcasts.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It's me Tom Berducci and that's Joe Matt And how
you doing today.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Joe, Good morning, brother. I'm doing well. Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm excited about the World Baseball Classic. I know not
everybody is, like I know. There's fans out there, like, say,
you're a fan of the Yankees, right, you're worried about
Aaron Judge playing for Team USA. You just want to
know what's going on in your camp. But I'm telling you,
it is an amazing event. I tell people all the time.
If you're there in the ballpark and feel the vibe
(00:46):
that's going on, it really is a gift for baseball fans.
I mean, listen, Joe, I love baseball, but I gotta
tell you a lot of times spring training games they're
not very pretty, right, You're watching a bunch of guys
who might not make the team. The game tends to
drag whatever. But the w man, it's like a gift.
You're getting playoff intensity baseball in the month of March,
(01:08):
So sign me up for it. What was your take
Joe as a manager when you had guys leaving and
what is it now about the World Baseball Classic?
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Well, back then, you're right about spring training games, they
are boring outside of the fact if you're in a dugout,
you're evaluating constantly. So that's the part that was interesting
to us and to me was the evaluation process of
the players. And then of course concepts conceptually, things you're
trying to get done put in there, you know, whether
(01:37):
it's emphasizing going first to third, to strike approach, dominating
the one one count from the pictures perspective, those are
the things that were exciting to us, and the dugout,
and then of course if just seeing if the scut
and reports were right on new people or not. Yeah,
when it first started out, I never really was concerned.
(01:57):
Quite frankly, well, I was taught by Marcel Lachman years
ago to not worry about injury. Injuries are curbed. The
injuries happened. Just doesn't have to be any game, And
of course that might be an oversimplification, but you know,
I like to do that, so I never worried about
that stuff. I think it's become obviously when some guys
get hurt, you know, ideas losing a whole season, et cetera. Guys,
(02:18):
things that are really hamper an organization in a season
for a player or beyond, that's that's difficult. However, I
never went into it like that. I never was worried
about that necessarily, I was. I excited. I can't tell
you that I was. I can't say that I am now.
I I uh, you know, probably because I'm not in
the ballpark like you are. Boots on the ground always
(02:42):
Listits a different response watching it on TV to me,
maybe outside of the lot. I mean watching Show Hey
striking out Trouty that that one day was kind of
interesting and fun to watch, and not because trout struck
out that at Show Hey won, just because I knew
the guys on the impact that it had, and I
think that had a great impact on Show Hey.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I really do moving forward.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
So for me, I I don't really put a lot
of stock into it. Regarding watching it a whole lot,
I understand, like I said, I think, you know, if
you're in a ballpark, it matters. I think from the
player's perspective, from what I read, I think it's sincere.
A lot of guys want to do it because they
feel like they're representing their country, et cetera. The time
of the year makes it difficult for me, just based
(03:22):
on like you're talking about, the spring training games aren't
ramped up because they're not supposed to be, and then
you're gonna ramp up these games so quickly. And I
even though if there's like a letdown following these games
for certain players after they go from their back to
camp and then the early part of the season. So again,
I think things in some strange ways. But I understand
(03:42):
why it's popular. It doesn't necessarily move me. I was
never worried about injury. But if in fact it's good
for baseball and baseball fans.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
In general, dig it. I'm good.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, it's great for baseball.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And you mentioned the classic show down there between Showhy
and Troudy. I believe really created a ton of momentum
coming into this WB because in the past baseball out
to twist a lot of arms to get guys to play.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That was not the case this time.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
They actually had to tell some people, well, we'd like
to have you, but we kind of got a full
vote here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Four of the top five finishers in.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
The ALE MVP vote last year are on Team USA,
Aaron Judge, Cal Rowley, Bobby Wood Junior, and Trek Skouble.
You've got the NL MVP runner up Kyle Schwarber. You've
got the cy Young Award winner in Paul Skins. The
Dominican Republic team. Check this out, Joe. They have eight
(04:39):
of their nine starters in their lineup who received MVP
votes last year. They have four players who are playing
in their contracts, four players that total up to two
billion dollars. I mean, this is the most star studded
field we've ever seen. And I'm not sure if you
saw the video, Joe of Sho hey O Tani. The
(05:01):
other day, Team Japan played an exhibition game against the
Dragons over in NPB and he was not actually permitted
to play yet because the WBC is not officially underway.
But anyway, he did take batting practice before the game.
Full house literally jaws were dropping watching show.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Hey take BP. I mean, there's nothing like it. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Maybe back in the day when Babe Ruth went on
a tour of Japan, it was just fascinating to see
not just the people in the stands, but the players
in literal awe of show, Hey Otani. So you've got Judge,
You've got Otani, You've got schemes, You've got Schoobal.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I mean, this is a star study gas that you
can't go wrong with this.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
The tournament is set up, essentially if you want to
see these teams and brackets, to have Japan play the
USA in the final again. But I think the Dominican
Republic can upset things. I think Venezuela has a stacked team.
Puerto Rico actually has made more the BBCs are as
(06:05):
many as the USA, which is two, so anything can happen.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
There's short sample size, we get that.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
But I do think that going in Joe the USA,
this is no disrespect to Japan because they've won it
three times and they are thirty and eight WBC play.
But this roster of the USA is put together, is
built to win a gold medal, and I think anything
short of that they would be disappointed.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Of course they would be. You know, you're talking about
the batting practice component. That's like when McGuire was hot
and those guys as Sosa, you know, McGuire would hit
balls out of Diamondback Stadium, through the louvers out into
the street. So that's that's always fun to watch guys
do that. I get it, the excitement and why the
USA always should feel as though they're in a position
(06:51):
to win it all, attracting the gold medal again. I
just I'm always concerned and I never concerned about the injuries,
like I said earlier, But the point is just getting
guys going too hard too soon.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
That's that's the only thing for from my perspective.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
It's not unlike the NBA doing this little thing in
the middle of the season that they're doing right now, NHL,
all those the different sports are looking to attract or
prop up their sports in different ways. And I don't
know if I'm just being a fundamentalist or a traditionalist
in this regard, but these are the things that that's
(07:26):
what worries me, just the the effort involved in that moment.
And I guess I'm being contradictory if I'm not worried
about injury.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I'm just worried.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I mean, I think there's got to be a natural
letdown after doing this, meaning that when you get just
jacked this soon, does it eventually create a lesser performance,
Like I said, after you come out of this back
to camp.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
And here comes the beginning of the season.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You've already kind of played in a situation that resembles
the playoffs, and now you're going back to a game
in April in Kansas City whatever. So again I understand
the marketing perspective of all this.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I guess I'm just talking about it from being in
a dugout than what I see from being in a dugout.
And because to me, the ultimate reason why we're doing
this is to get your team in position to bring
them along. And I always thought slowly and you would
build into the latter part of spring training and build
a crescendo for opening Day and beyond.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I mean, your goal is always to.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Get to the playoffs, get to the tournament, and then
play the last game of the year and win it.
And so I'm always focused on that more than I
would be the glitter and gold early in the season.
I'm more concerned about the glitter and goal.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
At the end of it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, you're absolutely right about the ramp up, you know,
I understand, you know, being at all these this is
what the sixth WBC. I've seen it grow from something
the players thought of was kind of a cool exhibition
to again playoff intensity baseball. I'm not overstating that. Now
there's governors on how you can use pitchers, right, you
can't throw more than sixty five pitches in the first round.
(08:56):
Guys get mandated rest if they throw a certain number
of pitches. So it's not exactly playoff baseball. But I'm
telling you the intense at which these games are played
is like playoff baseball. I think for a lot of
young players, it's good for them to experience this environment.
There is a lot of pressure going on here, and
you see, I love the way almost like if you
watch you games in Omaha with college baseball in the
(09:20):
World Series, there guys coming out of the dugout for
a big hit. I mean, you just don't see that
happen in Major League Baseball like they do with the WBC.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
So I'm all on board with the intensity.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I get your point, Joe, that if your guys out there,
maybe they're expending too much energy. Let me talk about
Team Japan first, Joe, because they have a way of
playing tournament baseball. It's what I call it. It's a
little bit different than regular season baseball. Of course, especially
with some of these rules As I mentioned, they're thirty
and eight in the WBC. They've not lost the game
(09:55):
by more than three runs. They've had eight losses, five
of them by one run. They keep games close, they
put the ball in play. They have a really deep
pitching staff, and you'll love this show. I mean, if
you watch the teams from Korea and from Japan take
infield before a game. Yeah, taking infield before a game,
it is a work of art man. I mean he
(10:17):
just the art of the infield has basically died around
Major League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Guys take their work and they take a lot of
ground balls now, but they don't take it in the
art form that it used to be. That's always one
of my highlights to watch these teams play, take their
infield before the games.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
But Japan is loaded.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
They have a record nine Major League Baseball players on
this roster.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
They're pitching staff.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Even though Shohy is not going to pitch, he's going
to be DH Only Roki Sasaki not on the roster.
I think the Dodgers sort of said, you know, based
on what we need to do with you in spring training,
we'd rather have you here, and of course you darbish
is hurt, so he won't be pitching, but.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
It's still a deep, deep roster.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I just think the way that they go after this
team pride is huge. Obviously, Baseball absolutely number one sport
in Japan. It means so much to them and they
play like it.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yeah, I have to believe their prep is different than
our prep. Right we just get together right now, guys
sachet into spring training and they leave their teams and
they join up and they start practicing together. I don't
know this, but I would imagine in Japan that these
guys as a group get together sooner than we do
as a team, and probably can get more acclimated to
(11:26):
the style of play they want to get done. And
of course the nationalism involved. I get it that we
have it here also, however, I think it's even more
ingrained there not being there. But I'm just saying the
fact that we can get together. They're a small island
us against the world in a sense, all those different things.
There's a lot of innate kind of attractiveness about what
(11:47):
they're doing and how they're doing it there and how
much it means to them. I know our guys want
to win, but I think coming from Japan. You know,
the lesser kid on the block in a sense when
it comes to the baseball where they have something to prove,
they have a chip on their shoulders in a sense,
I think their ability to unify sooner has something to
do with their success infield.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
When I was a scout, I remember.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Specifically going to the Junior College Baseball World Series in
Brand Junction, Colorado, and you watch teams from Miami, Miami Day,
North and South whatever it was.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Their infield was intimidating.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
There was a team in Oklahoma also Gosh, I can
remember the coach's name.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
I'll think of it later.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
But their infield was meant to intimidate because they would
take the infield while the other team was in a
dugout watching them, and they hit like two balls during
the infield, like two ball infield where the balls flying.
I think they do that in Japan also, so it
serves to intimidate. The part about infield that I don't
like in regards to what we do is the hot
and cold component of it. I mean getting hot, getting cold,
getting hot getting cold. You know, you come out in
(12:50):
the field, you play catch, you take round balls, you
take batting practice, you go in, you sif for a bit,
You come back out, get your arms loose again, you
take infield, you throw the ball hard, go back in,
get changed where it quickly, come out, play a game.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
See for me, it never made sense to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
From the fans perspective, it's entertaining, but from again, from
a dugout perspective, I did not like my guys getting
hot and cold that often. So I understand the entertainment
component of this. And again the intimidation. You're playing on
the correct level, meaning like the high school, collegiate or
junior college level where you can intimidate the other side.
It's a weapon, but you're not playing every day in
(13:24):
your schedule is different. So that's what I'm hearing right now.
That's what I'm seeing. I think that's part of why
Japan is so successful. The ability to come together sooner
as a group and unify in regards to their approach
probably is a built in that they could take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Well, you're one hundred percent right about that. They do
get together a little bit earlier.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Part of that is just logistically, you know, they start
out in major league camps, at least the ones who
are the major league players, and they need time to
adjust to fly back to Japan and then fly back
again to resume assuming the advance.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Which I'm sure they will the rest of the WBC.
So good points there.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Spoilers, there's always a spoiler in these tournaments. It makes
teams nervous, you know. Mexico actually nearly took out Japan
in the last WBC. They had a three to nothing lead,
then they were up one nothing in the ninth in
Japan came back on them. My pick for spoiler this
year Joe, and I admit I'm biased here Italy Diazuri.
(14:26):
They've got Kyle Teel, Vinnie Pascantino, Jack kech Leon Dominic Canzone,
John Birdie.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
It's a pretty good lineup that they have there, I
think one of their better ones.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And I'm sure they'll bring their expresso machine that they're
having to dugout with the finest Italian coffee.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
It sounds like the Hazelton phone book that you were
just reading right there. It's so fun to hear names
and in Noval right, a lot of good players. I mean, historically,
the Itians have had some wonderful players throughout history in
the major leagues.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
We can start naming them off.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Of course, being half Polish op Italian, I'm gonna be
I absolutely do do the same thing you're suggesting. I
do look at the Italian team one of these days.
I want to see that Polish team rock in the
WBC at some point. I mean, Stan Musual, after all,
was not a bad player. So it's it's that part
of it's fun, the the the ability to tale in
(15:17):
based on whether it's president or past, your your grandparents,
where they came from, and why that's important to you,
So listen, I'm not denying it is a fun gig.
I actually saw it out and found an Italian cap
Baseball had a couple of years ago, and Rizzo gave
me an Italian hoodie, which I love, but it was
way too big and I could never really wear it.
(15:39):
But those are the kind of things I do dig
on no.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Question, Francisco Cervelli is the manager.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah, I've got an impressive staff of former major leaguers,
so okay, it's fun. I like to see some of
these teams put a scare into the big boys. I
do expect that it will be Team USA against Japan
in the Final again, but again I am not discounting
that lineup from the team Dominican Republic.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Hey, we're going to take a quick break, Joe, we
get back.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I want to talk to you about really the best
prospect in baseball and he's showing that in spring training
at the age of nineteen years old. We talk about
Connor Griffin right after this on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe Hoe.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I don't know if you've seen any highlights of Connor Griffin,
nineteen year old shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. You know,
a lot of teams, a lot of services have him
rated as the best prospect in baseball, which is probably true.
That's neither here nor there. I just been watching this
kid swing the bat. I'm going to give you some
(16:54):
comps Joe that I see here. First of all, he's
got the kind of explosive strength and power like a
Mike Trout.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Just the way that he moves.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
He's six four, so maybe not as heavy as Michael is,
but just the strength and the way that his body,
with fast twitch fibrus moves is just remarkable. Swing wise,
this kid is going to hit a lot of home runs.
He's a great hitter period, but Mike Coms watching him.
(17:22):
Hit Number one is Fernando Tetist Junior. His hands are
very quiet in the load phase and the amount of
torque and his swing I'm talking about, the speed of
his hips getting through the baseball is just off the charts.
And that's where I see Tatis in him and Tetti's
basically is a same size. Maybe it in shorter five
(17:42):
pounds later, but a big guy who moves fast. The
body moves fast. They talk about pictures and their arms
move fast. These are hitters who move fast. And the
other thing I noticed here in my other comp is
cal Raley. Cal Rally to me is the best extension
through a swing I've seen since Mark Maguire and his
dad taught him. And I love the way that his
(18:03):
dad told me about this and the phrasing that he used,
gaining distance between your nose and the barrel, keeping that
barrel moving away from you.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So it was the distance between the nose and the barrel.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
And I watched this kid, Connor Griffin get through the
baseball and he's got that.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Same kind of full extension through the baseball. So he's
nineteen years old. He's turning twenty in April.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
If you're the Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Listen, they didn't carry
Paul Skeens on the opening day roster and they lost
a chance to get an extra draft pitch pick by
a guy who finishes in the top three in Rookie
of the Year voting. I watch him play, and I'm
telling you, if they have it reminds me of when
Mark Bryer was with Cubs and one of the managers
(18:48):
told they think it was Don Baylor. If you've got
anybody or maybe carry would If you've got five guys
in your rotation better than him, you're going to the
World Series. If the Pirates have anybody better than Connor
Griffin right now, they're going to the World Series. Which
just means to say, I think talent alone, I would
push to have this kid on the opening day roster.
You went through this a little bit with Chris Bryant,
(19:09):
who was older. But let me get your take on
if you've seen this kid play and how you handle
a nineteen year old who's got all the skills to
be a superstar the major leagues.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I have not seen him yet.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I've read about him I've not seen him yet, but
you're making me very excited right here.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
You said he's a shortstop. Correct.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, they've played him a little bit in the outfield too,
but he can play in the position. It's not like
you're looking at a guy who just you know, typical
high school player, best player, plays shortstop.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
He's a good athlete.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I'm just curious about that because they've seen a trend
recently where shortstops in the big leagues. I think they're
analytical shortstops. I think a lot of them should have
been in the outfield to begin with, but they put
him at shortstop. But I got to I'll reserve that
for when I actually see him because of the body size,
et cetera.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I love the quiet bat. I love a quiet approach.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
I think that's the if you're going to teach your
kid how to swing, really avoid all kinds of pre
pitch movements, hands and arms, pumping.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Up and down.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Whatever, quiet is better, you just it's a better way
to create time management between the time the balls leaves
the pitcher's hand and the fact that you get yourself
in position to hit. I love that the extension through
the swing. My method of doing that was hit the
ball twice. I used to really emphasize two hitters off
of a tea, especially in your mind's I can hit
(20:24):
this ball twice, hit the ball as you actually do,
and then really there's an imaginary ball in front of that.
Hit that also as you really conclude your swing out front.
I really need to do that with my golf swing too.
And Ruben Lamara was a guy used to really work
with a lot with that. So is he ready or not?
Speaker 3 (20:40):
KB? I had Evan Longoria too. That was just based
on rules.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
I mean, of course the situation you know back then,
regarding an extra year of.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Control or not.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
And so I don't even know, you know how people
are playing that out these days, how important it is
regarding you know, the way the organization thinks or not.
For me as a guy ready or not, you were
always confers with what the front office, I mean, the
front office is going to control that move. Sounds as
though it'd be almost unanimous that this kid is ready.
I don't know what his makeup's like. Obviously it's probably
(21:12):
pretty good to be at that age. Robin Yeut, I
guess right, Alex Rodriguez, I mean, there's a couple other guys.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
KB was a little bit older.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
But this is where rules get in the way, because
if you really believe somebody's able to do that right now,
regardless of what the rule might say, and he can
help us if you think you're in a position to win,
and if we just lose that, you know, was it
ten fifteen to twenty games, whatever it might be that
he's not able to play with us because we're going
(21:42):
to not bring him up for those reasons. That was KB.
There's no question about that. Then that was long go
back and there had no question about that. So that's
a philosophical or a question of rules that you want
to brochen up. But the overarching is for me conversationally
with this fella, is he ready to do this or not?
Do you really feel he's substantially ready? Do we have
(22:03):
the group around him? And are we here to win
or developer? What's going on? So there's a lot of
internal philosophical questions to be answered based on your Scotter
report it which sounds like he is ready, but I'm
really now eager to watch him play.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, it is a philosophical call, there's no question about it.
First of all, if I'm the Pittsburgh Pirates. What I
would do right now is put an extension on the
table and get this kid signed.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
The risk to me is minimal.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Joe, I don't know how you feel about this, but
with position players who are elite, I'm not talking about
the average or just a very good position player. I'm
talking about elite, almost generational players. I'm talking about the
Holy O rodriguez Is of the world, the Jackson Churios.
You can see that at nineteen and twenty. You don't
have to see another five or six years. You saw
that with Bryce Harper, you saw that with Mike Trout,
(22:48):
and again, these are really high end commps.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But I think this kid is in that category.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And you went through this with Longoria, he came up
and when he agreed to the extension, So yeah, the
rules have changed a little bit that try to diminish that,
you know, keeping guys down just by that extra year.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
But that's the first thing I would do.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
That doesn't mean you can sign him, but I love
the idea of when you've got a franchise player. And again,
Milwaukee's not a high revenue team or a major market.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It's the smallest market.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
They locked up Jackson Curio, and he's proved to be
exactly the kind of player they thought.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
At this point.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
You know, this kid has got superstar potential. I don't
think the risk is that great. I would see if
I could get the extension done, make sure that he
is your franchise player, build around him. Nineteen years old.
Is he really going to say no to one hundred
million dollars?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Maybe he does.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
You know, some guys just want to wait and go
year by year hit free agency. Bryce Harper was one
of those guys. But that's the first thing I would do.
But yes, I would lean towards and again, Joe, You've
seen enough players during the day. You get carried away
with what they do in spring training, and a lot
of times you get burned because it's just a it's
a laboratory. It's a little bit different than actual major
(23:59):
league game situations. We get that, but just skill wise,
I think, you know, setting this kid down just because
you want to try to buy an extra year, I'm
not a big fan of that. I'd like to see
him make the opening day roster, and more than that,
I'd like to see the Pirates lock him up without
playing a day in the big leagues.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
It's been done.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Yeah, I mean you're right.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Spring training performances are really could be very deceitful, deceptive.
Whereas a guy that is really a good player that's
coming off a good season and you saw it, and
all of a sudden, he's guided back to spring. You're
at bad spring and you're going to devalue him. And
on the other hand, you're going to get the guy
that's never done it before, and all of a sudden
he comes in there. He's probably been working out for
two months, he's hot as hell, and all of a
(24:42):
sudden he comes out there and he starts ripping it up,
whether it's out the play or on the mount, and.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Now you're in love. And then whatever happened.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
My line used to be, after the first two weeks
of the major league season, the adrenaline players fall off
and the real players show up. So there's the adrenaline
group also, and that's it. I absolutely believe that to
be true. And I was always wary of the adrenaline group,
and I had to see it be on the first
two three works weeks of the season that it.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Would continue to be successful and good.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And I'm seeing exactly what we had seen in spring training.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
All of a sudden, maybe it is real, and listen,
I was burned.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
I could start naming names in spring trainings as a
young field coordinator back in the day with the Angels,
and all of a sudden, Man great camps and all
of a sudden it turned back into who he was
supposed to turn back into the minor leagues, I don't
know as important as they had been, the process of
getting guys through. There's so much more pre game stuff
(25:36):
being done daily on the major league level, where I'm
sure this guy is as good as you say is,
but there's probably some things I would think that need
to be polished up a little bit. And what they'll
do is they'll augur out time before the games and
get there really early and do a lot of things
on a major league level now that should have been
done on a minor league level.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
I'm sorry, but that's true.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
So it's just the minor leagues are not this finishing
school that it once had been. I mean, I can
start naming names like you know, even like Devon White
went through every step. Mark McLamore pretty much went through
every step along the way. Timmy Salmon every step along
the way, Garrett Anderson, and these are really good players.
Jimmy Edmonds, A lot of guys just kept taking each
step until eventually they became who the they eventually became
(26:18):
very good major league players. It's hard to absolutely, you know,
if I see these guys that could be more delivered
or in my mind exactly about my comps. But when
these guys show up on the major league scene today,
to send them back to Triple A for what, I
don't even know, you know, what is being taught there anymore?
And instruction wise, what's being given to them other than
(26:40):
analytical information? So they could do a lot on the
major league level. Now what used to be the finishing
school of the minor leagues. I mean, you get a
guy as a gifted as Connor Griffin appears to be.
They feel as though they can do that in early
work before major league games, which again to me, becomes
problematic because the overarching concept that the concept is to win,
(27:01):
to get to the playoffs, to the tournament, the final
game of the year, And to me, a lot of
times it's this early work situation that's developed in a
major league level, it just serves to tire a lot
of people, and at the end of the year you're
missing out on a lot of ammunitions spent earlier in
the year in extra work.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, it's a good point.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
There's a lot of teams actually now they don't even
put their best prospects in Triple A because you have
a lot of people going back and forth Triple A
in the big leagues, kind of fringy type players. The
better prospects, the elite players are in, most of them
are going to be in Double A. So a lot
of teams keep their better prospects in Double A and
get the big leagues from there. We move from nineteen
(27:41):
year old Connor Griffin to losing an umpiring legend.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I'm not sure if you saw this. Bruce Framing passed
away eighty six years old, number three on the all
time list of games umpired five thousand, one hundred and
sixty three across thirty seven Major league seasons. Now in
the course of his career, Bruce Froman ejected one hundred
(28:06):
and twenty five people from ball games. Starting way back
in nineteen seventy one. Bray's manager Lem Harris was ejection
number one for Bruce froming and continued up until September seventeenth,
two thousand and seven, and his last ejection was our
very own Joe Madden of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Joey happened to remember that was it in Boston?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
No, this was against the Angels, oh ten to seven game.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Was that a first base involved the Czech swing?
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Okay, of course it did.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Top of the seventh inning, Mark Wagner is the first
base umpire. Johnny Gomes is the batter, check swing strike three,
rings him up and you go off on Mark Wagner.
Frahming was the crew chief, and he took a couple
of steps towards you, towards the dugout, who waved his
hand like that's enough, knock it off.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
And that was it.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
He told you to knock it off, and I guess
you didn't. I don't know if you remember this, but
that was the last ejection for Bruce Romings's career.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
First of all, I used to get ejected at Anaheim
Stadium so regularly after a shot I left him in
two thousand and six and seven was almost made up.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
It was so funny.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Bruce Freming, one of the most entertaining umpires. Ever, I
don't one hundred percent remember that I thought it because
I remember play at first base that I really went
nuts on at Anaheim. But Wagner's a great guy, good umpire.
And Bruce Freming was hysterical man.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
He was.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
He was the you know that part of that breed.
He was definitely in charge. There was no bs about him.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
He was.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
He would crack a joke. I remember running down to
first base in Boston. I thought at Fenway, you know,
from our dug out on the third base side, which
is always annoying because it's a long run, and getting
out there on a close bang bang play at first base,
and you know, I was so young and naive, I
didn't really realize legendary status of I'm just arguing in
favor of my team, and I thought.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
He thought it was kind of funny that it went
all the way down. I know I didn't get kicked out,
I guess obviously. I don't think I did.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
But it ended up in him saying something funny to me,
and I'm going back to the dugout and I'm just
laughing to myself and thought, Okay, I really like this guy.
I know that a lot of the umpires loved him.
I read it, and I was, I was. I stopped
for a minute. I did bother me because he was
the version of the umpire of the past, that it
(30:33):
was a part of the game in a good way.
Joe West probably the most recent and last of that breed.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
I believe.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
These guys were good. They were part of the show.
I think the fans enjoyed it. Are line to them
always would be, Oh, I guess everybody came out here
to see you, umpire Wright when they when they try
to sometimes take.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Over the game.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
But I do believe, man, everything's gotten so sterile. We're
in search of perfection to the point right now that
you're not going to see this kind of umpire umpiring
ever again. Some people may argue that's a good thing
again in in the in the annals of baseball history,
whether it's Doug Harvey himself, or was it Joe Papperella,
(31:17):
was it Paparella the Empire. He was from my neck
of the woods in Scranton look Spara. I had really
I know his relatives. As it turned out, I played
ball in scrant for a bit. These guys are legendary
and so he's going to be missed, and I know
it's an unfortunate accident. He apparently fell as what I read,
Bruce was just a fun guy, and I was in
(31:39):
touch with him a couple of years ago through golf
and possibly doing something for a golf tournament to attend
and just be part of it. But I know a
lot of umpires are really upset and sad, and my
best and sincereous simp of these and condoless to his
family because I really liked him and he was great
to me.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, I just as you mentioned a classic baseball character.
You could tell that he loved what he was doing.
Don't forget too these guys you talk about working your
way up to the show. He worked thirteen years in
the minor leagues before getting his crack in the major leagues.
That's a long devotion to the game of baseball, and
(32:17):
certainly our sympathies go out to his families for their loss.
By the way, Joe, in that game, I think it
was the seventh inning when you were thrown out. The
Angels did win that game ten to seven. Your last
place Devil Rays at the time, Edwin Jackson was your
starting pitcher. He gave up fourteen hits and seven runs
(32:39):
only four earn in less than five innings ten to
seventh final.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
That's how you become a good manager when you I
mean enduring moments like that.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
We're going to take a quick break when we get back, Joe.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Do the Saint Louis Cardinals have a new promotion this
year that a lot of people, especially with the family
or people who are extremely hungry, might want to check out.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Talk about that right.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
After this.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe. Some news with
the Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
First of all, they extended the contract of Ali Marmol,
which I think is a good idea, Joe, because this
team is in transition, right. I mean, they basically traded
any veterans that they had there, and they're going to
give some of their younger players, which they started doing
last year, an opportunity to really play and give them runway.
So they're in a rebuilding mode, which is very unusual
(33:39):
in a place like Saint Louis.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Right, Joe.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
I mean, I don't know if you remember the last time.
It's hard for me to remember the last time the Cardinals.
You know, you go to spring training and think they're
not a contending team.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
That's like never.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
You know, I grew up a Cardinal fan, of course,
And back then, transitional and was not really a word
that was utilized, and everybody always tried to be a
hunt annually. And then their transitions were like from was
it Whitey to Tory to Tony? I mean, that was
their transition, different managers, different voices in the dugout. That
was their transition. Not necessarily philosophically, We're going to trade
(34:13):
people and rebuild and like a four year plan and
all that kind of stuff. These back in the day,
those those smoke field rooms were designed to hopefully figure
it out on an annual basis, and if we weren't
good this year, we're going to be good the next year.
So the methods, the tanking and all the different twenty
first century phraseology that is utilized was never a part
(34:35):
of the landscape back then.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
You know.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
I remember in the eighties when the Mariners weren't very good,
But my god, if he came to an instructional league,
I'm telling you what, they had probably the best talent
in the instruction leagues in the eighties, and then we
were I think right up there with them with the Angels,
and then the Cubs are the same thing. These teams
are always building to get something done now, and so
this is a different, totally different I don't even know
(35:00):
the buy and from the people of Saint Louis. I
know him's in charge, and iimer and I go way back,
and I have a lot of faith in him. He
did a great job in Boston, even though he wasn't
recognized for doing so. They're reaping the benefits of what
he had established several years ago. So it's just the
way of the world today. I would imagine, in spite
of it, the Cardinal faith we are still going to
(35:21):
show up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
They just love baseball that much.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
But it is it's unusual to see this, going back
to the branch Rickey days all these it's such a
proud baseball bastion.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
There in Saint Louis.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
It's hard to imagine them doing that anyway, it's going
to happen, but they got the right guy in charge.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Well, you know, last year their attendance was down, they
had some record low attendance figures. They're already pulling away
you know, the so called best fans in baseball, and
you're right, they are great, but people want to see
a winning team, There's no question about that, and the
Cardinals have done a great job basically doing that.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
As you just mentioned, a year after year.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
After year, they're going to backslide in terms of attendants
here and we're so used to that place being filled,
it's not going to be filled now.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
They are great fans, they will come back.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
And I look around at some places that really nosedived
and the fans came back, whether it was when Houston
was so far down, Baltimore, Detroit, a lot of these organizations,
even the Cubs down for four or five years or more.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
The fans come back when you put together a winning team.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
So I think they can be almost assured that that
will happen in Saint Louis. It's a matter of how
long they're down, though, And I don't think it's an
automatic draw if the team is not exciting and it's
not winning, and we're going to see that this year
in Saint Louis very odd. So for a place that
now needs to sell tickets, Joe, they've got a new
deal out there. You can buy a ticket and eat
(36:48):
and drink, not liquor, but eat and drink all you
want for twenty nine bucks, unlimited food and drink and
a seat up in Big Mac country there in left
field home run territory for twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
I mean, it's hard to beat that deal.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I mean, I'm not so sure you want to load
up on concession food, but if you want to, you
can for twenty nine bucks.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
That's going to be a major hit. And that that
part of the ballpark is gonna be like top heavy
or side heavy.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
You say this up in the left that left field
corner up there, up and the upper tain.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
That's where it is.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
Is it throughout the entire ballpark or just just one
one section of the ballpark.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah, it's five hundred tickets as they're going to limit.
That's the number, but that's it. It'll be a one section.
Apparently it's easy access to concession stands, and they feel
like it's also a good seating for people seeking a
souvenir or a home run ball.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Well, they're gonna get.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
They're going to sell at least five hundred tickets to night,
there's no question about that. And you know it's interesting
that they would do that. Plus they got that big whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
You call that ballpark village.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Yeah, right outside there.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
I mean, yeah, that's still I mean, see, there's other
ways to skin the cat there, there's other ways to
bring in some dough. I'm sure they've analyze that and
figured that out to the point how much you're actually
going to lose this year by the percentage number of
fans actually not in the stands. So they'll they'll attempt
to recreate that somehow, But that village is pretty elaborate,
(38:12):
and even maybe people fannies aren't in the stands watch
them because they don't want to pay for all of
that experience. They'll be sitting across the street there where
they could kind of get the same kind of experience
with actually being in the ballpark. So that's one advantage
they do have. But you're right, they'll come back. They'll
come back at some point. Who knows how long it's
going to take. I don't know, Alli, but apparently obviously
(38:33):
he must do something well, and I'm all for it
because just when you brought that up, I remember my
after my second year as being the manager of the
Devil Rays, I had a two year option that they
had to pick up, and we lost one hundred games
in almost one hundred games my first two years there,
and then they pick up the option and the next
year we go to the World Series.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
So good for him. I'm happy for that.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
So there's there's always so many different items that are
involved in whether a team or organization is successful or not.
Obviously they read him well and they think that there's
a lot that he contributes to the to the day,
So bully for him.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I'm happy for that. And like I said, that was
my first team.
Speaker 4 (39:11):
The Cardinals were my first love growing up, so I
always do wish them well. Still got some of the
best uniforms ever. I used to be able to. I'd
sit in class at our Lady Grayson on a piece
of paper, I would do the cardinal that the way
the Cardinals was written underneath the birds on the uniform front,
and I would able to recreate that mentally and just
try to perfect that as much as I could. That's
(39:31):
how much I was into the to the Birds back then.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Yeah, which disappoints me when they wear their alternate uniforms
with Lou on them or wherever it says the Lou
It is a classic. Don't do anything to that, not
saying but that seems like comical. I agree, and I
do love the idea by the way of this promotion here,
anything to get more people in the ballpark who especially
might not otherwise go. You know, these places that aren't
(39:58):
selling out find a.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Way to get people in there.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Like Dollar hot Dog Night is one of the mo
those popular things in baseball.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
That and bobbleheads.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
People go nuts for dollar dogs and bobbleheads, and people
are gonna show up, and you know, maybe they make
a spur of the movement decision, maybe it's the only
game they go to. But baseball is this game where
if you can get and the research shows this for MLB,
if you can get people to kind of touch the game,
be on site and see the game and experience it,
(40:27):
their fandom will run deeper. So yeah, if you want
to bring the family out and feed them for twenty
nine bucks each and leave with more than a full stomach, yeah,
maybe make that decision to go see a Cardinal game
and maybe become a fan of the Cardinals or Mason
win or Somebody's all about finding, you know, especially economical
(40:47):
ways to get more people in the ballpark when a
lot of these places are not going to be full.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Well, that's how I became a Cardinal fan. My dad
took me to indirectly.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
I went to Yankee Stadium Yankees versus the White Sox
to sixty three I think it was, and we're walking
out of the ballpark on the field. At that time,
you were able to exit on Yankee Stadium field. The
ushers would keep you off the infield and direct you
to center field. You can walk by the monuments you
go outside. Pop says, which you like a hat? Of
course I wanted a hat, and I looked up and
they were like on a different little shelves and the
(41:17):
high shelf had the Cardinal hat blue and with the
red stl on it. Fell in love and that's the
moment I became a Cardinal fan weirdly, And that's it's true.
And when you talk about promotions on a nightly basis,
the one thing I would avoid is the twenty five
cent beer night. If they could possibly do that. Whenever
I go right back to El Paso, Texas. That would
have been eighty.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Five, eighty five, eighty six.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
I think it was eighty five twenty five cent beer
night and could have been eighty six.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
Whatever it gets.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
And this is the Deadly Dome as they called it,
an ol Passo, which was about I think not even
a mile from the Mexican border in El Paso and
their twenty five cent beer night.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
It gets crazy, man.
Speaker 4 (41:58):
And after the game we lost, I'm walking down the
left field line and going around to get into our
clubhouse and Richard z Aleski, my trainer.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
Comes running down the sidelines. Done it, he left.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
Fielne eels out, you better get back. Jeff Schaeffer's in
the stands, so I go back, and my shortstop, Jeff Shaffer,
who absolutely loved jump the wall, and he's throwing haymakers
at some fans, and I think Kevin King got involved
in others. So that was twenty five cent beer Knight
and Al Paso, Texas.
Speaker 3 (42:28):
I'm here to tell you man. I know it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
Sound proper or whatever, but god, it was one of
the coolest things ever playing those games in those dusty
old ballparks with a real rabbit fan base in the
minor leagues. This is what people don't understand or get.
That was That was the essence. I'm not talking about
drunk people and my guy's going in the stands, but
if you play in the Dudley Dome and I'll passo
(42:51):
on any given night back in the day, and the
place was absolutely sold out every night. It was nothing
like it. And among all the things I've ever done
in baseball, managing a game there was one of the, respectively,
one of the most fun things I've ever done.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
I'm so glad you brought up El Paso, Joe.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
I'm not sure if you saw the comments from our
buddy Murph Pat Murphy Brewers manager.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Referring to H and H car Wash and Coffee Shop.
Do you remember that place?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
No, apparently it's a legendary joint where you literally get
breakfast and you get the car washed, the same place
US presidents. And it's just it's an old school diner,
is basically what it is that has a car wash
attached to it. And Murph has been extolling the work
done by his two pitching gurus with Milwaukee Brewers, Chris
(43:45):
Hook and Jim Henderson, and he has renamed what they
do as H car Wash, So it's the motto for
H and H car Wash with Brewers is now washing
dirt and ad invert as invertic as only Murph can do.
(44:06):
He's got a promotional poster made up with this, but
apparently this is a famous car wash and breakfast coffee
shop in El Paso.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And now he's got H and H car wash in Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
No way, I didn't even know that. That what Chris
Ball Murphy.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
And by the way, they do have an incredible track
record of taking pictures and I don't know what they
do with them, but you know, year after year.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
You know, Quinn.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Priester was a great choice. Last year it really busted out.
And the bullpen, Trevor McGill, Jared Kanig. They've got this kid,
Kyle Harrison is. He's got this special fastball, left handed
pitcher they picked up in a trade with the Red Sox.
Wouldn't be surprised if they turned him around. So H
and H car Wash not in Malpasso, but Milwaukee is
(44:54):
cranking out really good major league pictures.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
The Church of the Latter Day Rays, I mean, that's
what it is. It is. I mean, that's what.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
We were accused of doing that forever h in Tampa Bay.
I'm watching it and Murph is the perfect guy for that.
There's no question Murphy has got such a great background
in the game and how to play it properly.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
And he's a really good teacher. He's very sharp.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
He likes to let on that he's not, but this
man is very sharp, and so he's the perfect fit.
And when I watched them, and I watch how they play,
and just look at what they did last year, it
is absolutely and Maddie Arnold's up there. Matt was down
here with the Rays fears, and he's really Matt and
I are good buds, and it's an absolute replica and
a good like their version of the race. I'll never
(45:40):
accuse them of anything other than being an original, because
they are. But that's how it was here, the change up,
the elevated fastball, the things we did back then were
so weirdly ahead of their time.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
They seem very basic right now. But all that stuff was.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
Instrumental in the Rays becoming who they were and being
such a pin in the butt to the Yankees. The
Red Sox was so many years and now you've got
the Brewers doing it on their level in the National League.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Now. I love it. I absolutely love it.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
So I was not aware of that, but El Paso
is an absolutely interesting place to be and I love
the fact that we got H and H working up there,
and I've got to check.
Speaker 3 (46:23):
I'd never heard of that place before. You just told
me that.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Yeah, apparently it's closed now, but it wasn't a possion
and obviously Murtha frequent it quite often.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
By the way, you guys had such a think tank
there in Tampa Bay with you and Andrew and him.
I mean, the list goes on and on the influence
around the game. And speaking of think tanks, we're at
the point of the podcast right here, Joe, where you
finish us.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
Off with our thought of the day. What do you
have for us this week to wrap up the Book
of Joe.
Speaker 4 (46:56):
Oh, just always looking at everything in general, whatever's going
on in the world, was having on in the baseball world,
et cetera. But I just I researched something today and
it went back to Saint Augustine. How about him? God,
he was like I think I read for the year
four fifty three something like that. I remember, can't remember
that was year he was born or passed away, lived
to be seventy five, but really a big thinker in
(47:19):
the church even back then. An appeal to a wide audience,
and this is another version of doing simple better. Uh,
He's had said at that point, right is right even
if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong, even
if everyone is doing it. And I cannot agree with
that more. And then this morning I send that to
my family, my kids. We have a little chain here,
(47:42):
a text chain, and my Sarah wrote back to man,
I forgot all about this. If you think it is wrong,
even for a second, it probably is. And then she
attributed that to me, which was correct. That was my
line to my kids before they went out to make
the right decision. If you think it is wrong, even
for a second, it probably is. So that that's it.
(48:05):
You know, everybody gets caught up creating an opinion, and
sometimes everybody, when it's wrong, is wrong even if everyone
is doing it. I think that happens more than right
is right if no one is doing it. I think
the obviously that one is the less percentage wise side,
where the wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing
it is the higher percentage side. And so anyway, I
(48:28):
just just in general terms, man, I just to jump
on bad wagons and not think for yourself. That to
me has always been bothersome back in the day, I
may that shirt with the rays regarding all of this
sentiment right here, tell me you think not what you've heard.
Speaker 3 (48:45):
It's all interconnected. So anyway, that was my thing for today.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Think for yourself, people, Think for yourself, and just because
everybody else is doing it does not make it absolutely
right and obviously not obviously, but for me, if I'm
jumping on that side, boy, that really concerns me.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
If I'm on the side of the majority.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Wise words, Joe, really, I mean as you were saying that,
you know, I thought about what Baseball went through in
the steroid era and the idea that because everybody is
doing it, which obviously wasn't true, but that was sort
of the cover story, then that made it okay. And I,
in anything, I hate that thinking that you're looking for
(49:22):
comfort where it probably deep down you know what you're
doing is wrong, but because others do it, you then
make it permissible. And that's just a bad way to
be led by in this case, not the wisdom of
the crowd, but the mistakes of the crowd to sort
of normalize what should be abnormal.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
And I saw that happen with the steroid era at baseball,
So you.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
Know, really, I think simple words as usual Joe, but
very powerful.
Speaker 4 (49:46):
Yeah, it's who did I just read about, Oh, the
baseball coach from Oklahoma, Holland?
Speaker 2 (49:54):
Is it Holland Holiday holiday?
Speaker 3 (49:55):
Excuse me, god, what I say? Holiday? Yes? Yeah, it's
he's the head coach there, right.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Yes, he was talking about, you know, the way the
game is played right now and prett much much pretty
much talking about that. I just read it this morning,
but it's not specific. I'm not going to give this specifically,
but he was pretty much in general talking about that,
the fact that when it comes to playing the game
and the analytical world, et cetera, play the game. Just
let's just play the game. He's talking about the two
strike approach, putting the ball in play, just like you
(50:21):
just mentioned with the Ray, the Brewers and the race.
Speaker 3 (50:23):
Just just don't buy in blindly.
Speaker 4 (50:25):
I mean, if you really believe in something, that's fine,
rock and roll, go for it. But just don't believe
in believe in something blindly. Research it on your own,
come to your own conclusions. Just don't rely on what
you see here read all the time, take that into account,
accumulate your your intel, your information, and then make up
your own mind. I think in today's world, with the
(50:45):
influencers throughout the social media world. People's minds are made
up for them, and that's a very dangerous.
Speaker 3 (50:53):
Way to live.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Why is words of wisdom? Joe really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
The next time we talked, the WBC will be fully underway.
I am heading to Miami myself for pool play. I
always enjoy it when people bring musical instruments to the ballpark.
In Miami's ballpark will be loaded with all kinds of
brass and percussion instruments.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
It is a scene.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
So hopefully you'll tune in, Joe, and next time we talk,
we'll see how this loaded team USA is off in
pool play.
Speaker 4 (51:24):
As long as my favorite broadcaster and media member is there,
I shall.
Speaker 2 (51:27):
Watch deal see you next time.
Speaker 3 (51:30):
All all right, manre well.
Speaker 1 (51:40):
The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey Thearon, Welcome back to the Book of Joe podcasts.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It's me Tom Berducci and that's Joe Matt And how
you doing today.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Joe, Good morning, brother. I'm doing well. Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm excited about the World Baseball Classic. I know not
everybody is, like I know. There's fans out there, like, say,
you're a fan of the Yankees, right, you're worried about
Aaron Judge playing for Team USA. You just want to
know what's going on in your camp. But I'm telling you,
it is an amazing event. I tell people all the time.
If you're there in the ballpark and feel the vibe
(00:46):
that's going on, it really is a gift for baseball fans.
I mean, listen, Joe, I love baseball, but I gotta
tell you a lot of times spring training games they're
not very pretty, right, You're watching a bunch of guys
who might not make the team. The game tends to
drag whatever. But the w man, it's like a gift.
You're getting playoff intensity baseball in the month of March,
(01:08):
So sign me up for it. What was your take
Joe as a manager when you had guys leaving and
what is it now about the World Baseball Classic?
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Well, back then, you're right about spring training games, they
are boring outside of the fact if you're in a dugout,
you're evaluating constantly. So that's the part that was interesting
to us and to me was the evaluation process of
the players. And then of course concepts conceptually, things you're
trying to get done put in there, you know, whether
(01:37):
it's emphasizing going first to third, to strike approach, dominating
the one one count from the pictures perspective, those are
the things that were exciting to us, and the dugout,
and then of course if just seeing if the scut
and reports were right on new people or not. Yeah,
when it first started out, I never really was concerned.
(01:57):
Quite frankly, well, I was taught by Marcel Lachman years
ago to not worry about injury. Injuries are curbed. The
injuries happened. Just doesn't have to be any game, And
of course that might be an oversimplification, but you know,
I like to do that, so I never worried about
that stuff. I think it's become obviously when some guys
get hurt, you know, ideas losing a whole season, et cetera. Guys,
(02:18):
things that are really hamper an organization in a season
for a player or beyond, that's that's difficult. However, I
never went into it like that. I never was worried
about that necessarily, I was. I excited. I can't tell
you that I was. I can't say that I am now.
I I uh, you know, probably because I'm not in
the ballpark like you are. Boots on the ground always
(02:42):
Listits a different response watching it on TV to me,
maybe outside of the lot. I mean watching Show Hey
striking out Trouty that that one day was kind of
interesting and fun to watch, and not because trout struck
out that at Show Hey won, just because I knew
the guys on the impact that it had, and I
think that had a great impact on Show Hey.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
I really do moving forward.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
So for me, I I don't really put a lot
of stock into it. Regarding watching it a whole lot,
I understand, like I said, I think, you know, if
you're in a ballpark, it matters. I think from the
player's perspective, from what I read, I think it's sincere.
A lot of guys want to do it because they
feel like they're representing their country, et cetera. The time
of the year makes it difficult for me, just based
(03:22):
on like you're talking about, the spring training games aren't
ramped up because they're not supposed to be, and then
you're gonna ramp up these games so quickly. And I
even though if there's like a letdown following these games
for certain players after they go from their back to
camp and then the early part of the season. So again,
I think things in some strange ways. But I understand
(03:42):
why it's popular. It doesn't necessarily move me. I was
never worried about injury. But if in fact it's good
for baseball and baseball fans.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
In general, dig it. I'm good.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, it's great for baseball.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And you mentioned the classic show down there between Showhy
and Troudy. I believe really created a ton of momentum
coming into this WB because in the past baseball out
to twist a lot of arms to get guys to play.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That was not the case this time.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
They actually had to tell some people, well, we'd like
to have you, but we kind of got a full
vote here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Four of the top five finishers in.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
The ALE MVP vote last year are on Team USA,
Aaron Judge, Cal Rowley, Bobby Wood Junior, and Trek Skouble.
You've got the NL MVP runner up Kyle Schwarber. You've
got the cy Young Award winner in Paul Skins. The
Dominican Republic team. Check this out, Joe. They have eight
(04:39):
of their nine starters in their lineup who received MVP
votes last year. They have four players who are playing
in their contracts, four players that total up to two
billion dollars. I mean, this is the most star studded
field we've ever seen. And I'm not sure if you
saw the video, Joe of Sho hey O Tani. The
(05:01):
other day, Team Japan played an exhibition game against the
Dragons over in NPB and he was not actually permitted
to play yet because the WBC is not officially underway.
But anyway, he did take batting practice before the game.
Full house literally jaws were dropping watching show.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Hey take BP. I mean, there's nothing like it. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Maybe back in the day when Babe Ruth went on
a tour of Japan, it was just fascinating to see
not just the people in the stands, but the players
in literal awe of show, Hey Otani. So you've got Judge,
You've got Otani, You've got schemes, You've got Schoobal.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I mean, this is a star study gas that you
can't go wrong with this.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
The tournament is set up, essentially if you want to
see these teams and brackets, to have Japan play the
USA in the final again. But I think the Dominican
Republic can upset things. I think Venezuela has a stacked team.
Puerto Rico actually has made more the BBCs are as
(06:05):
many as the USA, which is two, so anything can happen.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
There's short sample size, we get that.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
But I do think that going in Joe the USA,
this is no disrespect to Japan because they've won it
three times and they are thirty and eight WBC play.
But this roster of the USA is put together, is
built to win a gold medal, and I think anything
short of that they would be disappointed.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Of course they would be. You know, you're talking about
the batting practice component. That's like when McGuire was hot
and those guys as Sosa, you know, McGuire would hit
balls out of Diamondback Stadium, through the louvers out into
the street. So that's that's always fun to watch guys
do that. I get it, the excitement and why the
USA always should feel as though they're in a position
(06:51):
to win it all, attracting the gold medal again. I
just I'm always concerned and I never concerned about the injuries,
like I said earlier, But the point is just getting
guys going too hard too soon.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
That's that's the only thing for from my perspective.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
It's not unlike the NBA doing this little thing in
the middle of the season that they're doing right now, NHL,
all those the different sports are looking to attract or
prop up their sports in different ways. And I don't
know if I'm just being a fundamentalist or a traditionalist
in this regard, but these are the things that that's
(07:26):
what worries me, just the the effort involved in that moment.
And I guess I'm being contradictory if I'm not worried
about injury.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I'm just worried.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I mean, I think there's got to be a natural
letdown after doing this, meaning that when you get just
jacked this soon, does it eventually create a lesser performance,
Like I said, after you come out of this back
to camp.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
And here comes the beginning of the season.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You've already kind of played in a situation that resembles
the playoffs, and now you're going back to a game
in April in Kansas City whatever. So again I understand
the marketing perspective of all this.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I guess I'm just talking about it from being in
a dugout than what I see from being in a dugout.
And because to me, the ultimate reason why we're doing
this is to get your team in position to bring
them along. And I always thought slowly and you would
build into the latter part of spring training and build
a crescendo for opening Day and beyond.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I mean, your goal is always to.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Get to the playoffs, get to the tournament, and then
play the last game of the year and win it.
And so I'm always focused on that more than I
would be the glitter and gold early in the season.
I'm more concerned about the glitter and goal.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
At the end of it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, you're absolutely right about the ramp up, you know,
I understand, you know, being at all these this is
what the sixth WBC. I've seen it grow from something
the players thought of was kind of a cool exhibition
to again playoff intensity baseball. I'm not overstating that. Now
there's governors on how you can use pitchers, right, you
can't throw more than sixty five pitches in the first round.
(08:56):
Guys get mandated rest if they throw a certain number
of pitches. So it's not exactly playoff baseball. But I'm
telling you the intense at which these games are played
is like playoff baseball. I think for a lot of
young players, it's good for them to experience this environment.
There is a lot of pressure going on here, and
you see, I love the way almost like if you
watch you games in Omaha with college baseball in the
(09:20):
World Series, there guys coming out of the dugout for
a big hit. I mean, you just don't see that
happen in Major League Baseball like they do with the WBC.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
So I'm all on board with the intensity.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I get your point, Joe, that if your guys out there,
maybe they're expending too much energy. Let me talk about
Team Japan first, Joe, because they have a way of
playing tournament baseball. It's what I call it. It's a
little bit different than regular season baseball. Of course, especially
with some of these rules As I mentioned, they're thirty
and eight in the WBC. They've not lost the game
(09:55):
by more than three runs. They've had eight losses, five
of them by one run. They keep games close, they
put the ball in play. They have a really deep
pitching staff, and you'll love this show. I mean, if
you watch the teams from Korea and from Japan take
infield before a game. Yeah, taking infield before a game,
it is a work of art man. I mean he
(10:17):
just the art of the infield has basically died around
Major League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Guys take their work and they take a lot of
ground balls now, but they don't take it in the
art form that it used to be. That's always one
of my highlights to watch these teams play, take their
infield before the games.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
But Japan is loaded.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
They have a record nine Major League Baseball players on
this roster.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
They're pitching staff.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Even though Shohy is not going to pitch, he's going
to be DH Only Roki Sasaki not on the roster.
I think the Dodgers sort of said, you know, based
on what we need to do with you in spring training,
we'd rather have you here, and of course you darbish
is hurt, so he won't be pitching, but.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
It's still a deep, deep roster.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I just think the way that they go after this
team pride is huge. Obviously, Baseball absolutely number one sport
in Japan. It means so much to them and they
play like it.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yeah, I have to believe their prep is different than
our prep. Right we just get together right now, guys
sachet into spring training and they leave their teams and
they join up and they start practicing together. I don't
know this, but I would imagine in Japan that these
guys as a group get together sooner than we do
as a team, and probably can get more acclimated to
(11:26):
the style of play they want to get done. And
of course the nationalism involved. I get it that we
have it here also, however, I think it's even more
ingrained there not being there. But I'm just saying the
fact that we can get together. They're a small island
us against the world in a sense, all those different things.
There's a lot of innate kind of attractiveness about what
(11:47):
they're doing and how they're doing it there and how
much it means to them. I know our guys want
to win, but I think coming from Japan. You know,
the lesser kid on the block in a sense when
it comes to the baseball where they have something to prove,
they have a chip on their shoulders in a sense,
I think their ability to unify sooner has something to
do with their success infield.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
When I was a scout, I remember.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Specifically going to the Junior College Baseball World Series in
Brand Junction, Colorado, and you watch teams from Miami, Miami Day,
North and South whatever it was.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Their infield was intimidating.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
There was a team in Oklahoma also Gosh, I can
remember the coach's name.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
I'll think of it later.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
But their infield was meant to intimidate because they would
take the infield while the other team was in a
dugout watching them, and they hit like two balls during
the infield, like two ball infield where the balls flying.
I think they do that in Japan also, so it
serves to intimidate. The part about infield that I don't
like in regards to what we do is the hot
and cold component of it. I mean getting hot, getting cold,
getting hot getting cold. You know, you come out in
(12:50):
the field, you play catch, you take round balls, you
take batting practice, you go in, you sif for a bit,
You come back out, get your arms loose again, you
take infield, you throw the ball hard, go back in,
get changed where it quickly, come out, play a game.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
See for me, it never made sense to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
From the fans perspective, it's entertaining, but from again, from
a dugout perspective, I did not like my guys getting
hot and cold that often. So I understand the entertainment
component of this. And again the intimidation. You're playing on
the correct level, meaning like the high school, collegiate or
junior college level where you can intimidate the other side.
It's a weapon, but you're not playing every day in
(13:24):
your schedule is different. So that's what I'm hearing right now.
That's what I'm seeing. I think that's part of why
Japan is so successful. The ability to come together sooner
as a group and unify in regards to their approach
probably is a built in that they could take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Well, you're one hundred percent right about that. They do
get together a little bit earlier.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Part of that is just logistically, you know, they start
out in major league camps, at least the ones who
are the major league players, and they need time to
adjust to fly back to Japan and then fly back
again to resume assuming the advance.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Which I'm sure they will the rest of the WBC.
So good points there.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Spoilers, there's always a spoiler in these tournaments. It makes
teams nervous, you know. Mexico actually nearly took out Japan
in the last WBC. They had a three to nothing lead,
then they were up one nothing in the ninth in
Japan came back on them. My pick for spoiler this
year Joe, and I admit I'm biased here Italy Diazuri.
(14:26):
They've got Kyle Teel, Vinnie Pascantino, Jack kech Leon Dominic Canzone,
John Birdie.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
It's a pretty good lineup that they have there, I
think one of their better ones.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And I'm sure they'll bring their expresso machine that they're
having to dugout with the finest Italian coffee.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
It sounds like the Hazelton phone book that you were
just reading right there. It's so fun to hear names
and in Noval right, a lot of good players. I mean, historically,
the Itians have had some wonderful players throughout history in
the major leagues.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
We can start naming them off.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Of course, being half Polish op Italian, I'm gonna be
I absolutely do do the same thing you're suggesting. I
do look at the Italian team one of these days.
I want to see that Polish team rock in the
WBC at some point. I mean, Stan Musual, after all,
was not a bad player. So it's it's that part
of it's fun, the the the ability to tale in
(15:17):
based on whether it's president or past, your your grandparents,
where they came from, and why that's important to you,
So listen, I'm not denying it is a fun gig.
I actually saw it out and found an Italian cap
Baseball had a couple of years ago, and Rizzo gave
me an Italian hoodie, which I love, but it was
way too big and I could never really wear it.
(15:39):
But those are the kind of things I do dig
on no.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Question, Francisco Cervelli is the manager.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah, I've got an impressive staff of former major leaguers,
so okay, it's fun. I like to see some of
these teams put a scare into the big boys. I
do expect that it will be Team USA against Japan
in the Final again, but again I am not discounting
that lineup from the team Dominican Republic.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Hey, we're going to take a quick break, Joe, we
get back.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I want to talk to you about really the best
prospect in baseball and he's showing that in spring training
at the age of nineteen years old. We talk about
Connor Griffin right after this on the Book of Joe.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe Hoe.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I don't know if you've seen any highlights of Connor Griffin,
nineteen year old shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. You know,
a lot of teams, a lot of services have him
rated as the best prospect in baseball, which is probably true.
That's neither here nor there. I just been watching this
kid swing the bat. I'm going to give you some
(16:54):
comps Joe that I see here. First of all, he's
got the kind of explosive strength and power like a
Mike Trout.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Just the way that he moves.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
He's six four, so maybe not as heavy as Michael is,
but just the strength and the way that his body,
with fast twitch fibrus moves is just remarkable. Swing wise,
this kid is going to hit a lot of home runs.
He's a great hitter period, but Mike Coms watching him.
(17:22):
Hit Number one is Fernando Tetist Junior. His hands are
very quiet in the load phase and the amount of
torque and his swing I'm talking about, the speed of
his hips getting through the baseball is just off the charts.
And that's where I see Tatis in him and Tetti's
basically is a same size. Maybe it in shorter five
(17:42):
pounds later, but a big guy who moves fast. The
body moves fast. They talk about pictures and their arms
move fast. These are hitters who move fast. And the
other thing I noticed here in my other comp is
cal Raley. Cal Rally to me is the best extension
through a swing I've seen since Mark Maguire and his
dad taught him. And I love the way that his
(18:03):
dad told me about this and the phrasing that he used,
gaining distance between your nose and the barrel, keeping that
barrel moving away from you.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So it was the distance between the nose and the barrel.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
And I watched this kid, Connor Griffin get through the
baseball and he's got that.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Same kind of full extension through the baseball. So he's
nineteen years old. He's turning twenty in April.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
If you're the Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Listen, they didn't carry
Paul Skeens on the opening day roster and they lost
a chance to get an extra draft pitch pick by
a guy who finishes in the top three in Rookie
of the Year voting. I watch him play, and I'm
telling you, if they have it reminds me of when
Mark Bryer was with Cubs and one of the managers
(18:48):
told they think it was Don Baylor. If you've got
anybody or maybe carry would If you've got five guys
in your rotation better than him, you're going to the
World Series. If the Pirates have anybody better than Connor
Griffin right now, they're going to the World Series. Which
just means to say, I think talent alone, I would
push to have this kid on the opening day roster.
You went through this a little bit with Chris Bryant,
(19:09):
who was older. But let me get your take on
if you've seen this kid play and how you handle
a nineteen year old who's got all the skills to
be a superstar the major leagues.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I have not seen him yet.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I've read about him I've not seen him yet, but
you're making me very excited right here.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
You said he's a shortstop. Correct.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, they've played him a little bit in the outfield too,
but he can play in the position. It's not like
you're looking at a guy who just you know, typical
high school player, best player, plays shortstop.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
He's a good athlete.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I'm just curious about that because they've seen a trend
recently where shortstops in the big leagues. I think they're
analytical shortstops. I think a lot of them should have
been in the outfield to begin with, but they put
him at shortstop. But I got to I'll reserve that
for when I actually see him because of the body size,
et cetera.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I love the quiet bat. I love a quiet approach.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
I think that's the if you're going to teach your
kid how to swing, really avoid all kinds of pre
pitch movements, hands and arms, pumping.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Up and down.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Whatever, quiet is better, you just it's a better way
to create time management between the time the balls leaves
the pitcher's hand and the fact that you get yourself
in position to hit. I love that the extension through
the swing. My method of doing that was hit the
ball twice. I used to really emphasize two hitters off
of a tea, especially in your mind's I can hit
(20:24):
this ball twice, hit the ball as you actually do,
and then really there's an imaginary ball in front of that.
Hit that also as you really conclude your swing out front.
I really need to do that with my golf swing too.
And Ruben Lamara was a guy used to really work
with a lot with that. So is he ready or not?
Speaker 3 (20:40):
KB? I had Evan Longoria too. That was just based
on rules.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
I mean, of course the situation you know back then,
regarding an extra year of.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Control or not.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
And so I don't even know, you know how people
are playing that out these days, how important it is
regarding you know, the way the organization thinks or not.
For me as a guy ready or not, you were
always confers with what the front office, I mean, the
front office is going to control that move. Sounds as
though it'd be almost unanimous that this kid is ready.
I don't know what his makeup's like. Obviously it's probably
(21:12):
pretty good to be at that age. Robin Yeut, I
guess right, Alex Rodriguez, I mean, there's a couple other guys.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
KB was a little bit older.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
But this is where rules get in the way, because
if you really believe somebody's able to do that right now,
regardless of what the rule might say, and he can
help us if you think you're in a position to win,
and if we just lose that, you know, was it
ten fifteen to twenty games, whatever it might be that
he's not able to play with us because we're going
(21:42):
to not bring him up for those reasons. That was KB.
There's no question about that. Then that was long go
back and there had no question about that. So that's
a philosophical or a question of rules that you want
to brochen up. But the overarching is for me conversationally
with this fella, is he ready to do this or not?
Do you really feel he's substantially ready? Do we have
(22:03):
the group around him? And are we here to win
or developer? What's going on? So there's a lot of
internal philosophical questions to be answered based on your Scotter
report it which sounds like he is ready, but I'm
really now eager to watch him play.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, it is a philosophical call, there's no question about it.
First of all, if I'm the Pittsburgh Pirates. What I
would do right now is put an extension on the
table and get this kid signed.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
The risk to me is minimal.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Joe, I don't know how you feel about this, but
with position players who are elite, I'm not talking about
the average or just a very good position player. I'm
talking about elite, almost generational players. I'm talking about the
Holy O rodriguez Is of the world, the Jackson Churios.
You can see that at nineteen and twenty. You don't
have to see another five or six years. You saw
that with Bryce Harper, you saw that with Mike Trout,
(22:48):
and again, these are really high end commps.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But I think this kid is in that category.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And you went through this with Longoria, he came up
and when he agreed to the extension, So yeah, the
rules have changed a little bit that try to diminish that,
you know, keeping guys down just by that extra year.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
But that's the first thing I would do.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
That doesn't mean you can sign him, but I love
the idea of when you've got a franchise player. And again,
Milwaukee's not a high revenue team or a major market.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It's the smallest market.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
They locked up Jackson Curio, and he's proved to be
exactly the kind of player they thought.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
At this point.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
You know, this kid has got superstar potential. I don't
think the risk is that great. I would see if
I could get the extension done, make sure that he
is your franchise player, build around him. Nineteen years old.
Is he really going to say no to one hundred
million dollars?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Maybe he does.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
You know, some guys just want to wait and go
year by year hit free agency. Bryce Harper was one
of those guys. But that's the first thing I would do.
But yes, I would lean towards and again, Joe, You've
seen enough players during the day. You get carried away
with what they do in spring training, and a lot
of times you get burned because it's just a it's
a laboratory. It's a little bit different than actual major
(23:59):
league game situations. We get that, but just skill wise,
I think, you know, setting this kid down just because
you want to try to buy an extra year, I'm
not a big fan of that. I'd like to see
him make the opening day roster, and more than that,
I'd like to see the Pirates lock him up without
playing a day in the big leagues.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
It's been done.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Yeah, I mean you're right.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Spring training performances are really could be very deceitful, deceptive.
Whereas a guy that is really a good player that's
coming off a good season and you saw it, and
all of a sudden, he's guided back to spring. You're
at bad spring and you're going to devalue him. And
on the other hand, you're going to get the guy
that's never done it before, and all of a sudden
he comes in there. He's probably been working out for
two months, he's hot as hell, and all of a
(24:42):
sudden he comes out there and he starts ripping it up,
whether it's out the play or on the mount, and.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Now you're in love. And then whatever happened.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
My line used to be, after the first two weeks
of the major league season, the adrenaline players fall off
and the real players show up. So there's the adrenaline
group also, and that's it. I absolutely believe that to
be true. And I was always wary of the adrenaline group,
and I had to see it be on the first
two three works weeks of the season that it.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Would continue to be successful and good.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And I'm seeing exactly what we had seen in spring training.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
All of a sudden, maybe it is real, and listen,
I was burned.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
I could start naming names in spring trainings as a
young field coordinator back in the day with the Angels,
and all of a sudden, Man great camps and all
of a sudden it turned back into who he was
supposed to turn back into the minor leagues, I don't
know as important as they had been, the process of
getting guys through. There's so much more pre game stuff
(25:36):
being done daily on the major league level, where I'm
sure this guy is as good as you say is,
but there's probably some things I would think that need
to be polished up a little bit. And what they'll
do is they'll augur out time before the games and
get there really early and do a lot of things
on a major league level now that should have been
done on a minor league level.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
I'm sorry, but that's true.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
So it's just the minor leagues are not this finishing
school that it once had been. I mean, I can
start naming names like you know, even like Devon White
went through every step. Mark McLamore pretty much went through
every step along the way. Timmy Salmon every step along
the way, Garrett Anderson, and these are really good players.
Jimmy Edmonds, A lot of guys just kept taking each
step until eventually they became who the they eventually became
(26:18):
very good major league players. It's hard to absolutely, you know,
if I see these guys that could be more delivered
or in my mind exactly about my comps. But when
these guys show up on the major league scene today,
to send them back to Triple A for what, I
don't even know, you know, what is being taught there anymore?
And instruction wise, what's being given to them other than
(26:40):
analytical information? So they could do a lot on the
major league level. Now what used to be the finishing
school of the minor leagues. I mean, you get a
guy as a gifted as Connor Griffin appears to be.
They feel as though they can do that in early
work before major league games, which again to me, becomes
problematic because the overarching concept that the concept is to win,
(27:01):
to get to the playoffs, to the tournament, the final
game of the year, And to me, a lot of
times it's this early work situation that's developed in a
major league level, it just serves to tire a lot
of people, and at the end of the year you're
missing out on a lot of ammunitions spent earlier in
the year in extra work.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, it's a good point.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
There's a lot of teams actually now they don't even
put their best prospects in Triple A because you have
a lot of people going back and forth Triple A
in the big leagues, kind of fringy type players. The
better prospects, the elite players are in, most of them
are going to be in Double A. So a lot
of teams keep their better prospects in Double A and
get the big leagues from there. We move from nineteen
(27:41):
year old Connor Griffin to losing an umpiring legend.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I'm not sure if you saw this. Bruce Framing passed
away eighty six years old, number three on the all
time list of games umpired five thousand, one hundred and
sixty three across thirty seven Major league seasons. Now in
the course of his career, Bruce Froman ejected one hundred
(28:06):
and twenty five people from ball games. Starting way back
in nineteen seventy one. Bray's manager Lem Harris was ejection
number one for Bruce froming and continued up until September seventeenth,
two thousand and seven, and his last ejection was our
very own Joe Madden of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Joey happened to remember that was it in Boston?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
No, this was against the Angels, oh ten to seven game.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Was that a first base involved the Czech swing?
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Okay, of course it did.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Top of the seventh inning, Mark Wagner is the first
base umpire. Johnny Gomes is the batter, check swing strike three,
rings him up and you go off on Mark Wagner.
Frahming was the crew chief, and he took a couple
of steps towards you, towards the dugout, who waved his
hand like that's enough, knock it off.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
And that was it.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
He told you to knock it off, and I guess
you didn't. I don't know if you remember this, but
that was the last ejection for Bruce Romings's career.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
First of all, I used to get ejected at Anaheim
Stadium so regularly after a shot I left him in
two thousand and six and seven was almost made up.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
It was so funny.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Bruce Freming, one of the most entertaining umpires. Ever, I
don't one hundred percent remember that I thought it because
I remember play at first base that I really went
nuts on at Anaheim. But Wagner's a great guy, good umpire.
And Bruce Freming was hysterical man.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
He was.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
He was the you know that part of that breed.
He was definitely in charge. There was no bs about him.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
He was.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
He would crack a joke. I remember running down to
first base in Boston. I thought at Fenway, you know,
from our dug out on the third base side, which
is always annoying because it's a long run, and getting
out there on a close bang bang play at first base,
and you know, I was so young and naive, I
didn't really realize legendary status of I'm just arguing in
favor of my team, and I thought.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
He thought it was kind of funny that it went
all the way down. I know I didn't get kicked out,
I guess obviously. I don't think I did.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
But it ended up in him saying something funny to me,
and I'm going back to the dugout and I'm just
laughing to myself and thought, Okay, I really like this guy.
I know that a lot of the umpires loved him.
I read it, and I was, I was. I stopped
for a minute. I did bother me because he was
the version of the umpire of the past, that it
(30:33):
was a part of the game in a good way.
Joe West probably the most recent and last of that breed.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
I believe.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
These guys were good. They were part of the show.
I think the fans enjoyed it. Are line to them
always would be, Oh, I guess everybody came out here
to see you, umpire Wright when they when they try
to sometimes take.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Over the game.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
But I do believe, man, everything's gotten so sterile. We're
in search of perfection to the point right now that
you're not going to see this kind of umpire umpiring
ever again. Some people may argue that's a good thing
again in in the in the annals of baseball history,
whether it's Doug Harvey himself, or was it Joe Papperella,
(31:17):
was it Paparella the Empire. He was from my neck
of the woods in Scranton look Spara. I had really
I know his relatives. As it turned out, I played
ball in scrant for a bit. These guys are legendary
and so he's going to be missed, and I know
it's an unfortunate accident. He apparently fell as what I read,
Bruce was just a fun guy, and I was in
(31:39):
touch with him a couple of years ago through golf
and possibly doing something for a golf tournament to attend
and just be part of it. But I know a
lot of umpires are really upset and sad, and my
best and sincereous simp of these and condoless to his
family because I really liked him and he was great
to me.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, I just as you mentioned a classic baseball character.
You could tell that he loved what he was doing.
Don't forget too these guys you talk about working your
way up to the show. He worked thirteen years in
the minor leagues before getting his crack in the major leagues.
That's a long devotion to the game of baseball, and
(32:17):
certainly our sympathies go out to his families for their loss.
By the way, Joe, in that game, I think it
was the seventh inning when you were thrown out. The
Angels did win that game ten to seven. Your last
place Devil Rays at the time, Edwin Jackson was your
starting pitcher. He gave up fourteen hits and seven runs
(32:39):
only four earn in less than five innings ten to
seventh final.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
That's how you become a good manager when you I
mean enduring moments like that.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
We're going to take a quick break when we get back, Joe.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Do the Saint Louis Cardinals have a new promotion this
year that a lot of people, especially with the family
or people who are extremely hungry, might want to check out.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Talk about that right.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
After this.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Welcome back to the Book of Joe. Some news with
the Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
First of all, they extended the contract of Ali Marmol,
which I think is a good idea, Joe, because this
team is in transition, right. I mean, they basically traded
any veterans that they had there, and they're going to
give some of their younger players, which they started doing
last year, an opportunity to really play and give them runway.
So they're in a rebuilding mode, which is very unusual
(33:39):
in a place like Saint Louis.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Right, Joe.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
I mean, I don't know if you remember the last time.
It's hard for me to remember the last time the Cardinals.
You know, you go to spring training and think they're
not a contending team.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
That's like never.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
You know, I grew up a Cardinal fan, of course,
And back then, transitional and was not really a word
that was utilized, and everybody always tried to be a
hunt annually. And then their transitions were like from was
it Whitey to Tory to Tony? I mean, that was
their transition, different managers, different voices in the dugout. That
was their transition. Not necessarily philosophically, We're going to trade
(34:13):
people and rebuild and like a four year plan and
all that kind of stuff. These back in the day,
those those smoke field rooms were designed to hopefully figure
it out on an annual basis, and if we weren't
good this year, we're going to be good the next year.
So the methods, the tanking and all the different twenty
first century phraseology that is utilized was never a part
(34:35):
of the landscape back then.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
You know.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
I remember in the eighties when the Mariners weren't very good,
But my god, if he came to an instructional league,
I'm telling you what, they had probably the best talent
in the instruction leagues in the eighties, and then we
were I think right up there with them with the Angels,
and then the Cubs are the same thing. These teams
are always building to get something done now, and so
this is a different, totally different I don't even know
(35:00):
the buy and from the people of Saint Louis. I
know him's in charge, and iimer and I go way back,
and I have a lot of faith in him. He
did a great job in Boston, even though he wasn't
recognized for doing so. They're reaping the benefits of what
he had established several years ago. So it's just the
way of the world today. I would imagine, in spite
of it, the Cardinal faith we are still going to
(35:21):
show up.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
They just love baseball that much.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
But it is it's unusual to see this, going back
to the branch Rickey days all these it's such a
proud baseball bastion.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
There in Saint Louis.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
It's hard to imagine them doing that anyway, it's going
to happen, but they got the right guy in charge.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Well, you know, last year their attendance was down, they
had some record low attendance figures. They're already pulling away
you know, the so called best fans in baseball, and
you're right, they are great, but people want to see
a winning team, There's no question about that, and the
Cardinals have done a great job basically doing that.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
As you just mentioned, a year after year.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
After year, they're going to backslide in terms of attendants
here and we're so used to that place being filled,
it's not going to be filled now.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
They are great fans, they will come back.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
And I look around at some places that really nosedived
and the fans came back, whether it was when Houston
was so far down, Baltimore, Detroit, a lot of these organizations,
even the Cubs down for four or five years or more.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
The fans come back when you put together a winning team.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
So I think they can be almost assured that that
will happen in Saint Louis. It's a matter of how
long they're down, though, And I don't think it's an
automatic draw if the team is not exciting and it's
not winning, and we're going to see that this year
in Saint Louis very odd. So for a place that
now needs to sell tickets, Joe, they've got a new
deal out there. You can buy a ticket and eat
(36:48):
and drink, not liquor, but eat and drink all you
want for twenty nine bucks, unlimited food and drink and
a seat up in Big Mac country there in left
field home run territory for twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
I mean, it's hard to beat that deal.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I mean, I'm not so sure you want to load
up on concession food, but if you want to, you
can for twenty nine bucks.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
That's going to be a major hit. And that that
part of the ballpark is gonna be like top heavy
or side heavy.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
You say this up in the left that left field
corner up there, up and the upper tain.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
That's where it is.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
Is it throughout the entire ballpark or just just one
one section of the ballpark.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Yeah, it's five hundred tickets as they're going to limit.
That's the number, but that's it. It'll be a one section.
Apparently it's easy access to concession stands, and they feel
like it's also a good seating for people seeking a
souvenir or a home run ball.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Well, they're gonna get.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
They're going to sell at least five hundred tickets to night,
there's no question about that. And you know it's interesting
that they would do that. Plus they got that big whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
You call that ballpark village.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Yeah, right outside there.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
I mean, yeah, that's still I mean, see, there's other
ways to skin the cat there, there's other ways to
bring in some dough. I'm sure they've analyze that and
figured that out to the point how much you're actually
going to lose this year by the percentage number of
fans actually not in the stands. So they'll they'll attempt
to recreate that somehow, But that village is pretty elaborate,
(38:12):
and even maybe people fannies aren't in the stands watch
them because they don't want to pay for all of
that experience. They'll be sitting across the street there where
they could kind of get the same kind of experience
with actually being in the ballpark. So that's one advantage
they do have. But you're right, they'll come back. They'll
come back at some point. Who knows how long it's
going to take. I don't know, Alli, but apparently obviously
(38:33):
he must do something well, and I'm all for it
because just when you brought that up, I remember my
after my second year as being the manager of the
Devil Rays, I had a two year option that they
had to pick up, and we lost one hundred games
in almost one hundred games my first two years there,
and then they pick up the option and the next
year we go to the World Series.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
So good for him. I'm happy for that.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
So there's there's always so many different items that are
involved in whether a team or organization is successful or not.
Obviously they read him well and they think that there's
a lot that he contributes to the to the day,
So bully for him.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I'm happy for that. And like I said, that was
my first team.
Speaker 4 (39:11):
The Cardinals were my first love growing up, so I
always do wish them well. Still got some of the
best uniforms ever. I used to be able to. I'd
sit in class at our Lady Grayson on a piece
of paper, I would do the cardinal that the way
the Cardinals was written underneath the birds on the uniform front,
and I would able to recreate that mentally and just
try to perfect that as much as I could. That's
(39:31):
how much I was into the to the Birds back then.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Yeah, which disappoints me when they wear their alternate uniforms
with Lou on them or wherever it says the Lou
It is a classic. Don't do anything to that, not
saying but that seems like comical. I agree, and I
do love the idea by the way of this promotion here,
anything to get more people in the ballpark who especially
might not otherwise go. You know, these places that aren't
(39:58):
selling out find a.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Way to get people in there.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Like Dollar hot Dog Night is one of the mo
those popular things in baseball.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
That and bobbleheads.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
People go nuts for dollar dogs and bobbleheads, and people
are gonna show up, and you know, maybe they make
a spur of the movement decision, maybe it's the only
game they go to. But baseball is this game where
if you can get and the research shows this for MLB,
if you can get people to kind of touch the game,
be on site and see the game and experience it,
(40:27):
their fandom will run deeper. So yeah, if you want
to bring the family out and feed them for twenty
nine bucks each and leave with more than a full stomach, yeah,
maybe make that decision to go see a Cardinal game
and maybe become a fan of the Cardinals or Mason
win or Somebody's all about finding, you know, especially economical
(40:47):
ways to get more people in the ballpark when a
lot of these places are not going to be full.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Well, that's how I became a Cardinal fan. My dad
took me to indirectly.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
I went to Yankee Stadium Yankees versus the White Sox
to sixty three I think it was, and we're walking
out of the ballpark on the field. At that time,
you were able to exit on Yankee Stadium field. The
ushers would keep you off the infield and direct you
to center field. You can walk by the monuments you
go outside. Pop says, which you like a hat? Of
course I wanted a hat, and I looked up and
they were like on a different little shelves and the
(41:17):
high shelf had the Cardinal hat blue and with the
red stl on it. Fell in love and that's the
moment I became a Cardinal fan weirdly, And that's it's true.
And when you talk about promotions on a nightly basis,
the one thing I would avoid is the twenty five
cent beer night. If they could possibly do that. Whenever
I go right back to El Paso, Texas. That would
have been eighty.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Five, eighty five, eighty six.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
I think it was eighty five twenty five cent beer
night and could have been eighty six.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
Whatever it gets.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
And this is the Deadly Dome as they called it,
an ol Passo, which was about I think not even
a mile from the Mexican border in El Paso and
their twenty five cent beer night.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
It gets crazy, man.
Speaker 4 (41:58):
And after the game we lost, I'm walking down the
left field line and going around to get into our
clubhouse and Richard z Aleski, my trainer.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
Comes running down the sidelines. Done it, he left.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
Fielne eels out, you better get back. Jeff Schaeffer's in
the stands, so I go back, and my shortstop, Jeff Shaffer,
who absolutely loved jump the wall, and he's throwing haymakers
at some fans, and I think Kevin King got involved
in others. So that was twenty five cent beer Knight
and Al Paso, Texas.
Speaker 3 (42:28):
I'm here to tell you man. I know it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
Sound proper or whatever, but god, it was one of
the coolest things ever playing those games in those dusty
old ballparks with a real rabbit fan base in the
minor leagues. This is what people don't understand or get.
That was That was the essence. I'm not talking about
drunk people and my guy's going in the stands, but
if you play in the Dudley Dome and I'll passo
(42:51):
on any given night back in the day, and the
place was absolutely sold out every night. It was nothing
like it. And among all the things I've ever done
in baseball, managing a game there was one of the, respectively,
one of the most fun things I've ever done.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
I'm so glad you brought up El Paso, Joe.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
I'm not sure if you saw the comments from our
buddy Murph Pat Murphy Brewers manager.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Referring to H and H car Wash and Coffee Shop.
Do you remember that place?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
No, apparently it's a legendary joint where you literally get
breakfast and you get the car washed, the same place
US presidents. And it's just it's an old school diner,
is basically what it is that has a car wash
attached to it. And Murph has been extolling the work
done by his two pitching gurus with Milwaukee Brewers, Chris
(43:45):
Hook and Jim Henderson, and he has renamed what they
do as H car Wash, So it's the motto for
H and H car Wash with Brewers is now washing
dirt and ad invert as invertic as only Murph can do.
(44:06):
He's got a promotional poster made up with this, but
apparently this is a famous car wash and breakfast coffee
shop in El Paso.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
And now he's got H and H car wash in Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
No way, I didn't even know that. That what Chris
Ball Murphy.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
And by the way, they do have an incredible track
record of taking pictures and I don't know what they
do with them, but you know, year after year.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
You know, Quinn.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Priester was a great choice. Last year it really busted out.
And the bullpen, Trevor McGill, Jared Kanig. They've got this kid,
Kyle Harrison is. He's got this special fastball, left handed
pitcher they picked up in a trade with the Red Sox.
Wouldn't be surprised if they turned him around. So H
and H car Wash not in Malpasso, but Milwaukee is
(44:54):
cranking out really good major league pictures.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
The Church of the Latter Day Rays, I mean, that's
what it is. It is. I mean, that's what.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
We were accused of doing that forever h in Tampa Bay.
I'm watching it and Murph is the perfect guy for that.
There's no question Murphy has got such a great background
in the game and how to play it properly.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
And he's a really good teacher. He's very sharp.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
He likes to let on that he's not, but this
man is very sharp, and so he's the perfect fit.
And when I watched them, and I watch how they play,
and just look at what they did last year, it
is absolutely and Maddie Arnold's up there. Matt was down
here with the Rays fears, and he's really Matt and
I are good buds, and it's an absolute replica and
a good like their version of the race. I'll never
(45:40):
accuse them of anything other than being an original, because
they are. But that's how it was here, the change up,
the elevated fastball, the things we did back then were
so weirdly ahead of their time.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
They seem very basic right now. But all that stuff was.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
Instrumental in the Rays becoming who they were and being
such a pin in the butt to the Yankees. The
Red Sox was so many years and now you've got
the Brewers doing it on their level in the National League.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Now. I love it. I absolutely love it.
Speaker 4 (46:12):
So I was not aware of that, but El Paso
is an absolutely interesting place to be and I love
the fact that we got H and H working up there,
and I've got to check.
Speaker 3 (46:23):
I'd never heard of that place before. You just told
me that.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Yeah, apparently it's closed now, but it wasn't a possion
and obviously Murtha frequent it quite often.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
By the way, you guys had such a think tank
there in Tampa Bay with you and Andrew and him.
I mean, the list goes on and on the influence
around the game. And speaking of think tanks, we're at
the point of the podcast right here, Joe, where you
finish us.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
Off with our thought of the day. What do you
have for us this week to wrap up the Book
of Joe.
Speaker 4 (46:56):
Oh, just always looking at everything in general, whatever's going
on in the world, was having on in the baseball world,
et cetera. But I just I researched something today and
it went back to Saint Augustine. How about him? God,
he was like I think I read for the year
four fifty three something like that. I remember, can't remember
that was year he was born or passed away, lived
to be seventy five, but really a big thinker in
(47:19):
the church even back then. An appeal to a wide audience,
and this is another version of doing simple better. Uh,
He's had said at that point, right is right even
if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong, even
if everyone is doing it. And I cannot agree with
that more. And then this morning I send that to
my family, my kids. We have a little chain here,
(47:42):
a text chain, and my Sarah wrote back to man,
I forgot all about this. If you think it is wrong,
even for a second, it probably is. And then she
attributed that to me, which was correct. That was my
line to my kids before they went out to make
the right decision. If you think it is wrong, even
for a second, it probably is. So that that's it.
(48:05):
You know, everybody gets caught up creating an opinion, and
sometimes everybody, when it's wrong, is wrong even if everyone
is doing it. I think that happens more than right
is right if no one is doing it. I think
the obviously that one is the less percentage wise side,
where the wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing
it is the higher percentage side. And so anyway, I
(48:28):
just just in general terms, man, I just to jump
on bad wagons and not think for yourself. That to
me has always been bothersome back in the day, I
may that shirt with the rays regarding all of this
sentiment right here, tell me you think not what you've heard.
Speaker 3 (48:45):
It's all interconnected. So anyway, that was my thing for today.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Think for yourself, people, Think for yourself, and just because
everybody else is doing it does not make it absolutely
right and obviously not obviously, but for me, if I'm
jumping on that side, boy, that really concerns me.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
If I'm on the side of the majority.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Wise words, Joe, really, I mean as you were saying that,
you know, I thought about what Baseball went through in
the steroid era and the idea that because everybody is
doing it, which obviously wasn't true, but that was sort
of the cover story, then that made it okay. And I,
in anything, I hate that thinking that you're looking for
(49:22):
comfort where it probably deep down you know what you're
doing is wrong, but because others do it, you then
make it permissible. And that's just a bad way to
be led by in this case, not the wisdom of
the crowd, but the mistakes of the crowd to sort
of normalize what should be abnormal.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
And I saw that happen with the steroid era at baseball,
So you.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
Know, really, I think simple words as usual Joe, but
very powerful.
Speaker 4 (49:46):
Yeah, it's who did I just read about, Oh, the
baseball coach from Oklahoma, Holland?
Speaker 2 (49:54):
Is it Holland Holiday holiday?
Speaker 3 (49:55):
Excuse me, god, what I say? Holiday? Yes? Yeah, it's
he's the head coach there, right.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Yes, he was talking about, you know, the way the
game is played right now and prett much much pretty
much talking about that. I just read it this morning,
but it's not specific. I'm not going to give this specifically,
but he was pretty much in general talking about that,
the fact that when it comes to playing the game
and the analytical world, et cetera, play the game. Just
let's just play the game. He's talking about the two
strike approach, putting the ball in play, just like you
(50:21):
just mentioned with the Ray, the Brewers and the race.
Speaker 3 (50:23):
Just just don't buy in blindly.
Speaker 4 (50:25):
I mean, if you really believe in something, that's fine,
rock and roll, go for it. But just don't believe
in believe in something blindly. Research it on your own,
come to your own conclusions. Just don't rely on what
you see here read all the time, take that into account,
accumulate your your intel, your information, and then make up
your own mind. I think in today's world, with the
(50:45):
influencers throughout the social media world. People's minds are made
up for them, and that's a very dangerous.
Speaker 3 (50:53):
Way to live.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Why is words of wisdom? Joe really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
The next time we talked, the WBC will be fully underway.
I am heading to Miami myself for pool play. I
always enjoy it when people bring musical instruments to the ballpark.
In Miami's ballpark will be loaded with all kinds of
brass and percussion instruments.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
It is a scene.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
So hopefully you'll tune in, Joe, and next time we talk,
we'll see how this loaded team USA is off in
pool play.
Speaker 4 (51:24):
As long as my favorite broadcaster and media member is there,
I shall.
Speaker 2 (51:27):
Watch deal see you next time.
Speaker 3 (51:30):
All all right, manre well.
Speaker 1 (51:40):
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