August 2, 2025 • 39 mins
A look back at a busy week for the Guardians, President of Baseball Ops Chris Antonetti joins the show to talk trade deadline deals and much more. Plus, Tom Hamilton's Hall of Fame induction speech from last weekend in Cooperstown. That's all on this edition of Guardians Weekly with Jim Rosenhaus on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rose and Alice
along with you from Progressive Field downtown Cleveland where the
Guardians are playing the Minnesota Twins this weekend. Cleveland trying
to hang in there with postseason hopes still going after
the trade deadline that saw them move Shane Bieber, trading
him to Toronto, but that was it. Paul Seawall also
(01:10):
going to the Detroit Tigers. But in terms of players
contributing at this time on the active roster, no moves
made by Cleveland and they still feel very strongly that
they can make a run at a postseason bird Coming
up shortly, we'll hear from Chris Antonetti, to President of
Baseball Operations, visiting with Tom Hamilton in the booth during
(01:31):
Friday night's game. We'll also check in with former Cleveland
Guardian Tyler Freeman, now with the Colorado Rockies. We'll hear
Hammy's Hall of Fame speech from Cooper's Town last weekend,
and we'll have much more as well. But first a
quick look at the week gone by the Guardians taking
on the Rockies earlier this week, and after dropping Monday
Nights game eight to six, they came back impressively with
(01:54):
a ten to four victory on Tuesday night and a
five to nothing shut out win on Wednesday evening as
the Guardians scoring some runs late to win that one,
and then after the off day Thursday, they won the
series opener against the Twins on Friday night with a
three to two, ten inning victory, and during that broadcast,
(02:15):
Chris Antonetti stopped by the booth, the President of Baseball Operations,
to visit with Hammy and talk about Thursday's trade deadline
and much more.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Pleased to be joined by the President of Baseball Operations,
Chris Antonetti, who probably what twelve hours sleeping this entire
week total.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's been a busy week. It's that's certainly been a
busy week. But I will say the highlight of the
week was joining you in Cooperstown time. Thank you, Chris,
so congratulations. It was an honor and a privilege to
be there to celebrate you and your family, and we
are so privileged as an organization to have you be
our voice. So thank you for who you are and
all that you do for our organization, the Cleveland Guardians,
(02:55):
and our community.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That means a lot, and it was a meant a
lot to our family that you and so many other
people were there. Your oldest daughter, Maya believe it or not,
in college. Did she have a good time.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
She had a blast.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It's she is a true baseball fan and she really
she's grown up listening to on the radio and hearing
your voice. So it was an honor for her to
be there as well and to get to see all
the Hall of famers.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
It's a pretty special weekend.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Was she like everybody else? Was her head on a swivel?
Speaker 6 (03:25):
It is?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Yes, absolutely it is.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
For anyone who has not been to Cooperstown and had
a chance to go to an induction, I would highly
recommend it because they do such a good job at
the Hall of Fame, and you're seeing living legends of
the game everywhere you turn.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Makes us all know how blessed and fortunate we are
to be a part of this game.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Absolutely, I felt that you know that whole weekend, and
like you said, you just look around.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Your head's on a swivel and you're.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Seeing all of these legends of the game right there
in front of you, and you know the parade that
they do with the.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Trucks and all the Hall of famers out there.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
It's it is really a special weekend and good to
see so many people enjoy it.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
Well.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Of course, for those that didn't hear us, Shane Bieber
traded to Toronto. You get a youngster and Cal Steven
Paul Seawald dealt to the Detroit Tigers.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
I know it's not easy to trade Shane Bieber. It's
not take us through that.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
It was really hard.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
I actually met with Shane after his last rehabout and
you pitched so well, and I shared with him there
are two paths. There was the path where he could
continue to stay with us and potentially join our rotation,
where you know, with the way you pitch, I anticipated
there were going to be a lot of teams that
were interested.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Next pitch swung in line the left field, that'll be
a base A Quand comes up charging.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
He's throwing to the plate. Lee slides take do.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Oh what a throw by Quan?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
How did he do that?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
He's that's incredible. His play this year all around the
left field, but.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
His arm has been extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Did the Twins challenge the call rock go ball Deli?
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Yes, which is perfect?
Speaker 5 (05:04):
Which is perfect?
Speaker 6 (05:05):
They're great and.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We don't have to go we don't have to narrate
in between pitches. So rare that we get this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Chris, Why is it so important because not everybody tells
the player what's going on?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Why do you?
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I think we just try to be as communicative as
we possibly can. We try to appreciate that each of
these they're people with families and you know, just like
we would have some anxiety if we didn't know exactly
what was happening or where our future might be, we'd
have anxiety, and that actually can impact not only how
we perform, but you know how we you know, our.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Mindset day to day.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So not only with Shame, but tried to connect with
a number of players in our clubhouse who you know,
may have been wondering about things and just tell them, hey, what,
here's the situation with you.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
And sometimes the answer is like it wasn't shame. I
don't know what's going to happen over the next couple
of days.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But in the end, we felt that the opportunity to
get cal Steven into our organization was just too good
to pass up. That it was a guy that think,
can you know he's already going to be at the
upper levels of the minor leagues and could join our
rotation here, you know, in the near term, not this year,
but at some point maybe next year, as early as
next year, and hopefully be part of that rotation for
(06:13):
years to come.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Chris Sacetti, I'm a minor procedure for a shoulder.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He didn't have a procedure. He just has it shoulder
im pingchment. So he's been he's been rehabbing that. He
will now transition out to Arizona to continue that rehab.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
What's an impingement.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
It's when there's just not enough space in the joint.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
So it's basically it pinches and causes some irritation and inflammation.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, well, after.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Review of the call on the field, stands runners out Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
This is a gentleman.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
For those of you not watching our radio broadcast, a
fist put Chris Antennetti bottom of the third with Cleveland
President of Baseball Operations Chris Antennetti talking about how they
were very much in the loop with Shae Bieber and
what could possibly happen or not happen. What did you
(07:04):
like about the young man that you got cal Stephen
from Toronto.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
He was a second round pick out of Mississippi State
and coming up into the draft year, we tried to
select him, but unfortunately.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Didn't have the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
So even in this past offseason, there were deals in
which we were engaged with the Blue Jays and tried
to get him in that deal, and finally we're able
to acquire him. But he's a six foot four, right
handed starter. The big physical, durable frame with five pitches.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Is he close.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
He is very mature for his development. He's a very
good strike thrower. He pounds the strike zone. He has
a good compliment of pitches. He actually added a split
finger fastball this year that's played really well. So you know,
we're excited to get him into the organization, get him healthy,
and hopefully continue his career in Double A with us.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Look, we're not getting into names because you're not discussing,
but everyone heard Stephen Kwan's name. He got a standing
ovation tonight. People didn't want him to be traded you're
not looking to trade him, Chris, how do you weigh
all of this?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
So the first thing, I mean what I told Steven
I met with him, you know, or called him during
the trade deadline, and I you did, yeah, I called him.
I met with him on Wednesday before the team left,
and then followed up with him on Thursday afternoon evening
to tell him they still you're.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Not going to be traded.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But what I shared with Steven is that, you know,
it's a byproduct of him being a great player that
this time of year, and also were in the offseason
as we approach to winter meetings.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
When you're a really good player, teams call to try
to acquire you.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
And so I shared with him, not only do we
have a great appreciation for who he is as a
player and as a person, but so does the rest
of Major League Baseball and we're thrilled he's going to
continue to, you know, be part of the Guardians moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Maybe this isn't a fair question. Do you discuss things
with Jose?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So I met with Jose multiple times leading up to
the deadline. There were actually a few players that we
were potentially going to acquire, and we checked with jose
to get his kind of thoughts on them.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
If he knew him so, and Josey's awesome in that respect.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
He knows he's you know, we seek his opinion because
we respect him a time, but he also knows that
that's that's one voice. And as you said, there are
lots of different considerations that going in that go into
trades or transactions.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I'm guessing nobody tried to trade for Hosey.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
So thankfully Hosey has a full note trade because he's
earned ten in five rights, so that's at least an
easy one. I could say, hey, he's got pen and
five rights, but it does not stop teams from asking. Again,
like I told Steven, when you're a really good player,
teams are gonna call and ask.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
With everything that has happened, this club has still only
got two teams in front of it for the final
wildcard spot. You're only three games out. Yeah, we're not
trying to play Pollyanna here, but you're legitimately very much
in this thing. We know what has been a crazy sees.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It has been an eventful season in a lot of ways,
but we do feel like we're right in the mix
right now, and we feel we've yet to play our
best baseball and hopefully that's in front of us here
over the next couple of months. I think we've seen
real progress with our starting rotation from the start of
the year and the continued maturation and development of that
entire group. And I think we're now starting to see
some of the younger position players hopefully starting to hit
(10:17):
their stride. And add to that, we do believe and
continue to feel that there will be players from.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Our minor league system that have.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
An opportunity to contribute up here, you know, in the
second half of the season, and I think we'll start
to see them soon.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Where's Chase the latter at right now? With can this
kid catch a break?
Speaker 5 (10:33):
I feel awful for Chase.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I mean he was he worked his way back from
the abdominal injury in spring training, came back and started
to feel some hand sortus was able to play through
for a while, but when we did further evaluation show
to fracture handmate, so we had to go in and
get that removed and he's currently in Arizona rehabbing.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I can't remember if you were you with us in
ninety six No.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
Ninety November ninety eight was when.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I joined Jimmy had a broken handmate. Jim told me
going up against Baltimore in the playoffs, not telling Baltimore
he couldn't swing the bat. He was just hoping he
would draw a walk. I mean, this happens to so
many guys.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's a very common injury for hitters just because of
the force, and that's usually right where the knob of
the bad or the bottom part of the bat is
placing a lot of pressure on that portion of the hand,
so you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
See it a lot.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
The good news is there's a super high success rate
with the surgery and once it's removed, it actually.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
Can't come back.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
So once Chase gets this behind him, he won't have
to deal with it again. But I know he's been
frustrated because he just hasn't been on the field as
much as he'd liked this year.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Travis Bisana, how much has he been hurt by what's
gone on this year?
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Is he okay development wise?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
So he's a missed the big chunk of time with
his oblique injury, but he's now back and playing again,
so that's the first step for him, and he took
advantage of the time down to work on his body
and some other aspects of his game that he could
work on when he was not in game competition. And
I think it'll help Travis in the end because they'll
have to he's navigated some adversity.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
How important is that?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
So inevitably baseball's incredibly hard to succeed. Guys are going
to hit adversity at some point. We view it as
a positive for them to experience that adversity in the
minor leagues and then develop the skills to cope with
it and manage it and come out the other side strong.
And I'm confident Travis will do just that.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
So what's next Obviously two months of baseball.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And I think right now hopefully the team can continue
to you know, play well and make a push for
the push for the postseason.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Anything surprise you about this group With some of the
gut punches they've dealt, with.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The resilience we've been through a lot as a team.
It would have been really easy after that ten game
losing streak to kind of continue to falter and not
regain our footing and for a young team to do
what they've done and bounce back win a sweep a
series in Houston where we've had a tough time winning
and then win eleven out of thirteen games to put
(12:56):
ourselves back in position really speaks to their resilience and
the leadership of Stephen Bow.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Chris, thank you, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Tom, always great to be with you, and again congratulates.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Your asboard for Ack award. No one's more deserving.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonday visiting with Tom
Hamilton during the game last night. Some really interesting stuff
there on just how the Guardians go about it business
wise during the course of the trade deadline period. Stay
with us when we came back. Well visa with a
former Cleveland Guardian, one of the good guys in the game,
Tyler Freeman. That's next at Cleveland Clinic.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
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Speaker 2 (14:13):
Welcome back as Guardian's weekly Jim Rosen House along with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Earlier this week,
the Guardians played the Colorado Rockies, and one of the
top hitters for Colorado this season has been former Guardian
Tyler Freeman, who was drafted and developed by Cleveland. Was
a three hundred hitter in the minor leagues for the
(14:34):
Guardians in their farm system and then the sporadic playing
time during his time in the major leagues with Cleveland.
At the end of spring training this year, he was
traded to Colorado in exchange for Nolan Jones, and this
was his first visit back to Cleveland since the trade.
We asked him about what it was like coming back
to the city for the first time since that trade
(14:56):
this spring.
Speaker 8 (14:57):
Man, when we're flying in and see all the senior
of Cleveland and stuff.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
It just brought back so many memories, like.
Speaker 8 (15:04):
Super excited to be back, see the guys, get get
to catch up with everyone, and you know, miss everyone
over here.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
We got the perspective from Nolan Jones on the late
spring training trade that how you guys figured out you
were traded for each other. All of that legit you
can confirm from your side.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
That's all true.
Speaker 8 (15:21):
I'll recap it again, but uh yeah, we got traded
that day.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
And I just got a call from him.
Speaker 8 (15:27):
I was crying in the car and uh random called
from him, and he goes, we'll never guess what happened.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
I just got pulled. I got traded.
Speaker 8 (15:33):
I go, I did too. I just got pulled and
I don't know. I don't They didn't tell me the
team or anything. And we put two and two together.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's more than common for every player who plays this
game to play for more than one organization. But when
it's your first organization and you leave, what are the
emotions that go through your head?
Speaker 8 (15:48):
And so many emotions you know, it's I didn't know
anyone over here. U. The only first I knew was
Nolan and I got traded for him. So it's just
gotta make gotta make new friends. You know, we gotta
pack up, pack up everything I had in Cleveland or
or Goodyear and start fresh. And it's not easy for anyone,
anyone that gets traded.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
It's not easy.
Speaker 8 (16:08):
And that that was that was the biggest thing, just
adjusting to everything new. I I there's everything was new
to me, and uh, it was. It was a crazy day,
crazy crazy emotions and you know, just got to get
through it day by day and I did.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And when you're traded a team wants you. When did
you figure that out that hey, the Rockies really wanted me.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
It was pretty early on.
Speaker 8 (16:29):
And uh, you know, I had conversations with with the
GM and he really made me feel like it was
it was something that he really wanted and something that
he's been I guess cooking up for a while from
what he said, But but no, it was it was great.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I know I was wanted in Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
I know that for sure. I'm not taking anything.
Speaker 8 (16:48):
From them, but you know, it was it was good
to start fresh with the new team.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And what will you take from your time here?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Both minor leagues, major leagues that that make you the
player you are today and hopefully for a long time.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
I when I've been in the big leagues, if I
didn't start with Cleveland. I mean that. I mean that
from the bottom of my heart. From from the.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Minor League's just just.
Speaker 8 (17:07):
How how well prepared they They engrave in every player
coming up and try to get the best out of
everyone and try to try to improve your game as
much as possible. And you know, I'll never take that
for granted with my time here and then in the
big leagues, always trying to improve who.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
You are as a person.
Speaker 8 (17:23):
And uh, you know it was, like I said, it
was a sad day when I got traded. But you know,
like I said, I wouldn't have I don't think I
would have made it up to the big leagues if
I didn't start with Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
And you're going through the best stretch of your career,
certainly at the play.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
How did that all happen?
Speaker 6 (17:36):
Oh? Man?
Speaker 8 (17:37):
A lots of combo there, No, I was. It was
mainly just trying to get back to who I was
in the minor leagues with Cleveland. You know, I was
a line drive hitter, you know, back to ball I
think I got a little power happy when I got
up here. You know, maybe being a little bit excited
or whatever that may be. But you know, I just
I felt like, like I said, I started fresh, got
(17:57):
to be who I was again.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
And uh, you know, it's been showing up so far
and hopefully can keep it going.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
That's former Cleveland Guardian Tyler Freeman having a really nice
season for the Colorado Rockies. Stay with us when we
come back in case you missed it. Last weekend, we
will hear Tom Hamilton's Hall of Fame induction speech from Cooperstown.
That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
It's Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse back with you from Progressive
Field in downtown Cleveland. And last weekend we all in Cooperstown,
at least a lot of us anyway, to see the
induction ceremony of Tom Hamilton into Baseball's Hall of Fame,
the Ford Frick Award winner for twenty twenty five. It
was a great weekend and a great day on Saturday.
(19:00):
And let's listen in to Hammy's speech last weekend in
Cooper's Town.
Speaker 9 (19:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our twenty twenty five Ford
c Freak Award winner Tom Hamilton.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
We have been overwhelmed, humbled, honored and grateful. It is
really hard for us to properly express how we have
felt this entire this weekend, and really since the phone
call we got on December eleventh. And before we go
any further, our eternal gratitude to James Forbes Clark, who
(20:00):
is the chairman of the Baseball Hall of Fame and
Museum and whose grandfather, Stephen Carlton Clark, founded this incredible
place in nineteen thirty six. Jane, we cannot thank you
enough for all you do for our game and for
this incredible week. Thank you so much. You know, it's
nine hundred and twelve miles from Waterloo, Wisconsin to Cooperstown,
(20:24):
New York, and how this journey connected these two small
towns is still very humbling.
Speaker 6 (20:30):
Still very surreal for me.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
As you heard Jane mention, the dream started as a
little guy on our porch, on our dairy farm outside
of Waterloo, listening to the late great Earl Gillespie called
those Milwaukee Braves games. It seemed like such an enchanted life.
Of course, like every little guy. I wanted to be
Hank Aaron or I wanted to be Eddie Matthews or
b Joe Tory, but reality hit and when I got
(20:57):
to high school, the coaches were like, yang Son, you
do have a backup plan, don't you. Somehow that backup
plan has brought us all together for this weekend in Cooperstown.
I want to thank the Hall of Fame and the
Ford Frick Award voting Committee for this incredible honor, and
congratulations to fellow twenty twenty five classmates, Thomas Boswell, the
(21:21):
incredible writer for so many years for the Washington Post,
and of course the players that make this the greatest
game ever and their day will be tomorrow for Enshrinement,
CC Sabbathia, Ichi Ro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, the late Dick Allen,
and the late Dave Parker.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
And a special thanks when we're.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Coming over here on the bus ride to come into
a bus with Hall of famers like Alan Trammel and
Ted Simmons and Robin Yell and other Hall of famers
that are here taking this in today. Guys, you have
no idea how humbling that is. And we are so
grateful that you're taking the time to be with us today.
(22:02):
You know, since that phone call on December eleventh, I've
taken some time to reflect and wonder how in the
world did this happen? First Major League Baseball and now Cooperstown.
Totally unthinkable when I look back, and one of my
first play by play jobs in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Now I get called into the boss's office.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
He is so excited because he's got this great opportunity
for me, and I'm thinking, Yes, finally, Friday night football.
I'm going to finally graduate to the big time, get
to do the Watertown Goslings Friday night football.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
We know how big Friday nights are.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
No.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Instead, I'm going to get to do the play by
play of the Jefferson County Fair four h competition, a
three hour live broadcast. Now, some of you here may
not be familiar with this event, kind of the World
(23:01):
Series of livestock competition for youngsters involved in farming and
raising their cattle. They're all trying to win the Blue Ribbon.
That's right, three hours wall to wall coverage. Steers, pigs, sheep, poultry,
all being paraded in front of the judges trying to
(23:22):
get that ribbon. Now you soon learn creativity, or maybe
more honest appraisal, you learn how little creativity you actually
possess when you're describing farm animals for that long. Okay, folks,
here's another steer, very big, black and white. Yes, this
(23:47):
one too has four legs, and by golly, it's got
a tail that's working. And oh no, we're about to
have a deposit. You know, they pretty much all look alike,
but by golly, every one of them is going for
the ribbon. But of course, what the winning animal does
(24:08):
not realize is that next week that winner is the
special of the day at the local diner. That drive
back from the fairgrounds certainly had me questioning my career choice,
and in no way was Major League Baseball and certainly
not Cooperstown even entering my mind. And I've always said
(24:31):
I've had the best job in the world. For thirty
six years, I've had the privilege of narrating the Cleveland
Indians and now the Cleveland Guardians for over three and
a half decades. Cleveland and Northeast Ohio has made us
feel like family. You great fans have welcomed us into
your homes, your cars, and yes.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Your back porches.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
It's a passionate fan base and it has been everything
that we could have ever wanted in raising our family.
Thank you Cleveland for being our camelot. We also want
(25:15):
to thank the Jacob's family and now the Dolan family
and everyone that I have worked with and become friends
with down through the years.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
In this great organization.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You will never work for or with better people, and
at the risk of forgetting someone, I'm not going to
start mentioning names, but Wendy and I thank you again
and again and again, and to the Dolan family. Getting
a major league job is like winning the lottery, but
being a part of your organization has been the gift
(25:46):
of a lifetime. This world needs so many more people
like the Dolan family. To the late Herbscore, who welcomed
me with open arms when I arrived in nineteen ninety,
thank you. I learned not just how to call a game,
but outside of my dad, no one ever gave me
(26:08):
better advice. The greatest lesson from Herb came in nineteen ninety,
my first year in the Major leagues. Now, back then
we were the only team in Tucson, so every road
trip was two plus hours going to Phoenix. So what
that meant was we were now listening for two plus
hours to one of Herb's fifteen Frank Sinatra cassettes. Finally,
(26:35):
the first cassette ends, I think, okay, here's my opening,
and I'm quickly telling Herb Man, Herb, this is really
a really good team. This is our year, my first year.
Of course, we're going to be in the playoffs. Like
I know, Herb gave me that, look, eh, we are
a blankety blank team. We are not going to the
(26:59):
playoff us. But he said that will not impact us
or affect us in how we call the game. Once
that game begins, it's all about that game, and you
may see something that night that you've never seen before
in a major league game, and you may never see
it again.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
And Herb also made sure.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
To point out that that night's broadcast might be the
one thing that one person had to look forward to
the entire day, and we owe that one person the
very best that we can do.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
That was the best advice ever, and I thank her
for that. Then Herb said, eh, would you please stop
talking and put in another Frank tape. Another partner was
(27:54):
the late Mike Keegan, now if you're from Cleveland, Mike
is still probably in any argument, the greatest athlete to
ever come out of Saint Ignatius High School. He played
college football at Holy Cross back when holy Cross was
a national power. He spent twelve years in the Big leagues,
(28:16):
won a World Series with the Oakland A's, and he
carried himself with the same grace off the field as
he did on it. And even when Mike was in
his sixties, he still had that incredible athletic ability. Mike
and I are in the Metrodome. We're filling out.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Our scorecards, and I noticed something move.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I thought on Mike's lake, and I said, Mike, you
got a little buddy there on your thigh. Well, for
those of you that have never been to a metrodome,
Joe knows that little buddy meant he had a mouse
on his thigh. Mike launched out of his chair like
he's returning a kickoff. He still had the amazing first
(28:59):
step quickness, the athleticism. They made him one of the
greatest defensive first basemen in the history of the game.
And without question, Mike was one of the finest broadcasters
to ever work in Major League Baseball. And all of
my broadcasters over the years, Davey Nelson, Matt Underwood, Jim Rosenhaus,
(29:21):
thank you.
Speaker 6 (29:22):
For sharing the booth and the journey.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
We spend more time together for seven months than we
do with our families. And I've been so blessed to
work with such great guys. And Al Rosie and I
have had our longest tenureship of fourteen years, and Jim,
I am so grateful for your friendship.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Thank you, Pal, And.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
To Terry Smith, the voice of the Los Angeles Angels,
who gave me an opportunity to work with him in
Columbus doing Triple A games.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Without that, none of this happens.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
And of course, none of this happens without the love
and support of my family. Going back to Water lou
with my parents, brothers and sister, no one's ever had
three better, three better brothers then Dennis, Jim, and Robert,
(30:15):
and our sister Mary. Dennis is here with his wife Colleen,
their sons Spencer and Casey, Jim and his wife Cindy,
two of their sons, Grant and Angie, and Reed and
his wife Julia. Robert, his wife Anne, their son Drew,
and his wife Stephanie, along with son Ty, daughter Leah,
and son Davis. You know, we had such great parents
(30:38):
who taught us it's okay to chase your dreams. But
whatever it is you do, you better work hard, you
better not cut corners, and you better treat people right.
And for those of you here that didn't know our parents,
Frank and Teresa, they were very much extroverts and no
matter who we saw on the street, whether we knew
them or not, whatever city we were in, we were
(31:00):
constantly told it does not cost you a nickel to
say hello. What great advice that was then and still
is today.
Speaker 6 (31:09):
And of course.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Mom and dad, like all of us growing up in Wisconsin,
were huge Brewer fans, which meant they adored Bob Uker.
Now you would always give them a shout out on
the radio when we played the Brewers back in the nineties.
We were in the same division as Milwaukee, so there
were a lot of times they got to hear their
name on the radio thanks to Bob Uker. Once I
(31:35):
asked Bob, Bob, is it okay can I bring mom
and dad up here? They would just love to meet you. Well,
Bob being Bob, said, oh my gosh. By all means,
bring them on up now. I get Mom and Dad
up there. I introduced them Dad first to Bob. Dad,
for the first and only time in his life, cannot speak.
(31:58):
He cannot utter a.
Speaker 8 (32:01):
Not.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Mom. Bob's saying some nice things about me, and then he.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Tells my mom, I am so sorry that you can't
listen to Tom do the Brewer games, and you're stuck
listening to me. Mom doesn't hesitate, Bob, you know what.
You take what you can get. Mom, you take what
(32:28):
you can get. I am suddenly trying to usher them
out of Bob's boot. I am horrified. Bob is doubled
over laughing. Dad still hasn't said a word, and I go, Mom,
why would you say that? She goes, you know what,
That's what I believe. There's another example of our mother
(32:52):
believing in one of her children. And we all miss Bob,
but I am so grateful for his friendship, as well
as all of the other Major League broadcasters I've been
able to get to know down through the years. Meeting
and getting to know these broadcasters has been such a gift.
And to my friends, thank you for your friendship, your loyalty,
(33:14):
your sarcasm, your reminders never take yourself too seriously, because
you know what. Those are the best friends you can have.
And we are so honored to have so many of
our tremendous friends here with us this weekend, and we
thank them as well as our extended family, our cousins,
the Bradys, they're from all over the country that they
(33:34):
were able to get here and we so appreciate that.
To my wife, Wendy, thank you doesn't cover it. This
great life that we have lived is because of you,
your belief.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
In me and your belief in our family.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
You made the real sacrifices, the late nights, the solo parenting,
the chaos. You did it with love, with strength, with grace.
No husband has ever been luckier than me, and I
love you so much, dear. And finally, to our children,
(34:13):
Nick and his wife Marissa, Kelsey and her husband Ryan,
their daughter Lexi, Bradley and his wife Brittany and their
sons Liam and John Patrick, and our daughter Katie, thank you.
Thank you for being our greatest pride, our greatest joy,
our true legacy. This weekend has been incredible, but you're
(34:33):
the real miracle. You and our grandchildren are everything to
us and You've given us so many great memories, and
we're so lucky to be your parents, and now you've
become these incredible young adults and boy, in these times
of cynicism and negativity in our world, we look to
you and a number of other young people here today
(34:55):
and you go, you know what, things aren't so bad.
We're going to be okay, and we're going to be
okay because of people like you. And always know, the
two greatest words ever are daddy and Crampa. Every opening
(35:17):
day we always remind the fans it's not about the destination.
It's about the journey, the roller coaster ride that is
a baseball season, every day for six months, for thirty
six years. We have been so blessed and fortunate to
be a very small part of that journey and this
great game of baseball.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
We remain so grateful.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
For every inning, every mile, every friend, every laugh, every game,
and now this truly is the final destination. I certainly
do not feel deserving or worthy of this incredible honor,
but wow, Mom was right. We'll take what we can get.
(36:09):
Thank all of you, Thank you so much, Cooperstown, and
thank you Baseball.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
And again, what a special weekend it was in a
special place. If you are a baseball fan and haven't
had a chance to get to Cooperstown at any point
in the calendar year, highly recommended. If you can do
it on Hall of Fame weekend, will it be more crowded,
You bet, But it is truly a time of year
that is so special for everyone involved. And again, if
(36:48):
you are a baseball fan, to put that on the
bucket list, stay with us when we come back. We'll
have more after this on the Cleveland Clinic. Guardians will one.
Speaker 9 (37:07):
A Progressive Home and Auto bundle can protect you around
the clock, but we can't protect you from those painful
moments in sports.
Speaker 7 (37:13):
Why would we trade our best player?
Speaker 9 (37:15):
Well, at least you got to watch him in person
when he was here. I named my only son after him,
so you'll always remember his name. Yeah, but what do
I do with this jersey? Luckily, the company has a
great return policy.
Speaker 8 (37:27):
I warrant for six seasons.
Speaker 9 (37:31):
At least your home and auDA or protected with a
bundle from Progressive Progressive Casualty Interns Company ifill has another
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Speaker 2 (37:46):
Welcome Back Ats Guardian's Weekly chim rosen House back with
you for our final segment, and we wanted to bring
you as much of Tom Hamilton as possible, so a
really short segment. We'll say goodbye as we want to
thank Brian Matse for all of his help putting together
to show each and every week until next week when
we join you from the Windy City the Guardians in
Chicago next weekend. Missus Jimm rosen House reminding you that
(38:08):
you've been listening to Guardians Weekly, the Cleveland Clinic Guardians
Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rose and Alice
along with you from Progressive Field downtown Cleveland where the
Guardians are playing the Minnesota Twins this weekend. Cleveland trying
to hang in there with postseason hopes still going after
the trade deadline that saw them move Shane Bieber, trading
him to Toronto, but that was it. Paul Seawall also
(01:10):
going to the Detroit Tigers. But in terms of players
contributing at this time on the active roster, no moves
made by Cleveland and they still feel very strongly that
they can make a run at a postseason bird Coming
up shortly, we'll hear from Chris Antonetti, to President of
Baseball Operations, visiting with Tom Hamilton in the booth during
(01:31):
Friday night's game. We'll also check in with former Cleveland
Guardian Tyler Freeman, now with the Colorado Rockies. We'll hear
Hammy's Hall of Fame speech from Cooper's Town last weekend,
and we'll have much more as well. But first a
quick look at the week gone by the Guardians taking
on the Rockies earlier this week, and after dropping Monday
Nights game eight to six, they came back impressively with
(01:54):
a ten to four victory on Tuesday night and a
five to nothing shut out win on Wednesday evening as
the Guardians scoring some runs late to win that one,
and then after the off day Thursday, they won the
series opener against the Twins on Friday night with a
three to two, ten inning victory, and during that broadcast,
(02:15):
Chris Antonetti stopped by the booth, the President of Baseball Operations,
to visit with Hammy and talk about Thursday's trade deadline
and much more.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Pleased to be joined by the President of Baseball Operations,
Chris Antonetti, who probably what twelve hours sleeping this entire
week total.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's been a busy week. It's that's certainly been a
busy week. But I will say the highlight of the
week was joining you in Cooperstown time. Thank you, Chris,
so congratulations. It was an honor and a privilege to
be there to celebrate you and your family, and we
are so privileged as an organization to have you be
our voice. So thank you for who you are and
all that you do for our organization, the Cleveland Guardians,
(02:55):
and our community.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That means a lot, and it was a meant a
lot to our family that you and so many other
people were there. Your oldest daughter, Maya believe it or not,
in college. Did she have a good time.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
She had a blast.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It's she is a true baseball fan and she really
she's grown up listening to on the radio and hearing
your voice. So it was an honor for her to
be there as well and to get to see all
the Hall of famers.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
It's a pretty special weekend.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Was she like everybody else? Was her head on a swivel?
Speaker 6 (03:25):
It is?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Yes, absolutely it is.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
For anyone who has not been to Cooperstown and had
a chance to go to an induction, I would highly
recommend it because they do such a good job at
the Hall of Fame, and you're seeing living legends of
the game everywhere you turn.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Makes us all know how blessed and fortunate we are
to be a part of this game.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Absolutely, I felt that you know that whole weekend, and
like you said, you just look around.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Your head's on a swivel and you're.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Seeing all of these legends of the game right there
in front of you, and you know the parade that
they do with the.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Trucks and all the Hall of famers out there.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
It's it is really a special weekend and good to
see so many people enjoy it.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
Well.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Of course, for those that didn't hear us, Shane Bieber
traded to Toronto. You get a youngster and Cal Steven
Paul Seawald dealt to the Detroit Tigers.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
I know it's not easy to trade Shane Bieber. It's
not take us through that.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
It was really hard.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
I actually met with Shane after his last rehabout and
you pitched so well, and I shared with him there
are two paths. There was the path where he could
continue to stay with us and potentially join our rotation,
where you know, with the way you pitch, I anticipated
there were going to be a lot of teams that
were interested.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Next pitch swung in line the left field, that'll be
a base A Quand comes up charging.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
He's throwing to the plate. Lee slides take do.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Oh what a throw by Quan?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
How did he do that?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
He's that's incredible. His play this year all around the
left field, but.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
His arm has been extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Did the Twins challenge the call rock go ball Deli?
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Yes, which is perfect?
Speaker 5 (05:04):
Which is perfect?
Speaker 6 (05:05):
They're great and.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We don't have to go we don't have to narrate
in between pitches. So rare that we get this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Chris, Why is it so important because not everybody tells
the player what's going on?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Why do you?
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I think we just try to be as communicative as
we possibly can. We try to appreciate that each of
these they're people with families and you know, just like
we would have some anxiety if we didn't know exactly
what was happening or where our future might be, we'd
have anxiety, and that actually can impact not only how
we perform, but you know how we you know, our.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Mindset day to day.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So not only with Shame, but tried to connect with
a number of players in our clubhouse who you know,
may have been wondering about things and just tell them, hey, what,
here's the situation with you.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
And sometimes the answer is like it wasn't shame. I
don't know what's going to happen over the next couple
of days.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But in the end, we felt that the opportunity to
get cal Steven into our organization was just too good
to pass up. That it was a guy that think,
can you know he's already going to be at the
upper levels of the minor leagues and could join our
rotation here, you know, in the near term, not this year,
but at some point maybe next year, as early as
next year, and hopefully be part of that rotation for
(06:13):
years to come.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Chris Sacetti, I'm a minor procedure for a shoulder.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He didn't have a procedure. He just has it shoulder
im pingchment. So he's been he's been rehabbing that. He
will now transition out to Arizona to continue that rehab.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
What's an impingement.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
It's when there's just not enough space in the joint.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
So it's basically it pinches and causes some irritation and inflammation.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, well, after.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Review of the call on the field, stands runners out Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
This is a gentleman.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
For those of you not watching our radio broadcast, a
fist put Chris Antennetti bottom of the third with Cleveland
President of Baseball Operations Chris Antennetti talking about how they
were very much in the loop with Shae Bieber and
what could possibly happen or not happen. What did you
(07:04):
like about the young man that you got cal Stephen
from Toronto.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
He was a second round pick out of Mississippi State
and coming up into the draft year, we tried to
select him, but unfortunately.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Didn't have the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
So even in this past offseason, there were deals in
which we were engaged with the Blue Jays and tried
to get him in that deal, and finally we're able
to acquire him. But he's a six foot four, right
handed starter. The big physical, durable frame with five pitches.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Is he close.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
He is very mature for his development. He's a very
good strike thrower. He pounds the strike zone. He has
a good compliment of pitches. He actually added a split
finger fastball this year that's played really well. So you know,
we're excited to get him into the organization, get him healthy,
and hopefully continue his career in Double A with us.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Look, we're not getting into names because you're not discussing,
but everyone heard Stephen Kwan's name. He got a standing
ovation tonight. People didn't want him to be traded you're
not looking to trade him, Chris, how do you weigh
all of this?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
So the first thing, I mean what I told Steven
I met with him, you know, or called him during
the trade deadline, and I you did, yeah, I called him.
I met with him on Wednesday before the team left,
and then followed up with him on Thursday afternoon evening
to tell him they still you're.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
Not going to be traded.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But what I shared with Steven is that, you know,
it's a byproduct of him being a great player that
this time of year, and also were in the offseason
as we approach to winter meetings.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
When you're a really good player, teams call to try
to acquire you.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
And so I shared with him, not only do we
have a great appreciation for who he is as a
player and as a person, but so does the rest
of Major League Baseball and we're thrilled he's going to
continue to, you know, be part of the Guardians moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Maybe this isn't a fair question. Do you discuss things
with Jose?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So I met with Jose multiple times leading up to
the deadline. There were actually a few players that we
were potentially going to acquire, and we checked with jose
to get his kind of thoughts on them.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
If he knew him so, and Josey's awesome in that respect.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
He knows he's you know, we seek his opinion because
we respect him a time, but he also knows that
that's that's one voice. And as you said, there are
lots of different considerations that going in that go into
trades or transactions.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I'm guessing nobody tried to trade for Hosey.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
So thankfully Hosey has a full note trade because he's
earned ten in five rights, so that's at least an
easy one. I could say, hey, he's got pen and
five rights, but it does not stop teams from asking. Again,
like I told Steven, when you're a really good player,
teams are gonna call and ask.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
With everything that has happened, this club has still only
got two teams in front of it for the final
wildcard spot. You're only three games out. Yeah, we're not
trying to play Pollyanna here, but you're legitimately very much
in this thing. We know what has been a crazy sees.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It has been an eventful season in a lot of ways,
but we do feel like we're right in the mix
right now, and we feel we've yet to play our
best baseball and hopefully that's in front of us here
over the next couple of months. I think we've seen
real progress with our starting rotation from the start of
the year and the continued maturation and development of that
entire group. And I think we're now starting to see
some of the younger position players hopefully starting to hit
(10:17):
their stride. And add to that, we do believe and
continue to feel that there will be players from.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Our minor league system that have.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
An opportunity to contribute up here, you know, in the
second half of the season, and I think we'll start
to see them soon.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Where's Chase the latter at right now? With can this
kid catch a break?
Speaker 5 (10:33):
I feel awful for Chase.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I mean he was he worked his way back from
the abdominal injury in spring training, came back and started
to feel some hand sortus was able to play through
for a while, but when we did further evaluation show
to fracture handmate, so we had to go in and
get that removed and he's currently in Arizona rehabbing.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I can't remember if you were you with us in
ninety six No.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
Ninety November ninety eight was when.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I joined Jimmy had a broken handmate. Jim told me
going up against Baltimore in the playoffs, not telling Baltimore
he couldn't swing the bat. He was just hoping he
would draw a walk. I mean, this happens to so
many guys.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's a very common injury for hitters just because of
the force, and that's usually right where the knob of
the bad or the bottom part of the bat is
placing a lot of pressure on that portion of the hand,
so you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
See it a lot.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
The good news is there's a super high success rate
with the surgery and once it's removed, it actually.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
Can't come back.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
So once Chase gets this behind him, he won't have
to deal with it again. But I know he's been
frustrated because he just hasn't been on the field as
much as he'd liked this year.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Travis Bisana, how much has he been hurt by what's
gone on this year?
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Is he okay development wise?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
So he's a missed the big chunk of time with
his oblique injury, but he's now back and playing again,
so that's the first step for him, and he took
advantage of the time down to work on his body
and some other aspects of his game that he could
work on when he was not in game competition. And
I think it'll help Travis in the end because they'll
have to he's navigated some adversity.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
How important is that?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
So inevitably baseball's incredibly hard to succeed. Guys are going
to hit adversity at some point. We view it as
a positive for them to experience that adversity in the
minor leagues and then develop the skills to cope with
it and manage it and come out the other side strong.
And I'm confident Travis will do just that.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
So what's next Obviously two months of baseball.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And I think right now hopefully the team can continue
to you know, play well and make a push for
the push for the postseason.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Anything surprise you about this group With some of the
gut punches they've dealt, with.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The resilience we've been through a lot as a team.
It would have been really easy after that ten game
losing streak to kind of continue to falter and not
regain our footing and for a young team to do
what they've done and bounce back win a sweep a
series in Houston where we've had a tough time winning
and then win eleven out of thirteen games to put
(12:56):
ourselves back in position really speaks to their resilience and
the leadership of Stephen Bow.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Chris, thank you, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Tom, always great to be with you, and again congratulates.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Your asboard for Ack award. No one's more deserving.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonday visiting with Tom
Hamilton during the game last night. Some really interesting stuff
there on just how the Guardians go about it business
wise during the course of the trade deadline period. Stay
with us when we came back. Well visa with a
former Cleveland Guardian, one of the good guys in the game,
Tyler Freeman. That's next at Cleveland Clinic.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
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Speaker 2 (14:13):
Welcome back as Guardian's weekly Jim Rosen House along with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Earlier this week,
the Guardians played the Colorado Rockies, and one of the
top hitters for Colorado this season has been former Guardian
Tyler Freeman, who was drafted and developed by Cleveland. Was
a three hundred hitter in the minor leagues for the
(14:34):
Guardians in their farm system and then the sporadic playing
time during his time in the major leagues with Cleveland.
At the end of spring training this year, he was
traded to Colorado in exchange for Nolan Jones, and this
was his first visit back to Cleveland since the trade.
We asked him about what it was like coming back
to the city for the first time since that trade
(14:56):
this spring.
Speaker 8 (14:57):
Man, when we're flying in and see all the senior
of Cleveland and stuff.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
It just brought back so many memories, like.
Speaker 8 (15:04):
Super excited to be back, see the guys, get get
to catch up with everyone, and you know, miss everyone
over here.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
We got the perspective from Nolan Jones on the late
spring training trade that how you guys figured out you
were traded for each other. All of that legit you
can confirm from your side.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
That's all true.
Speaker 8 (15:21):
I'll recap it again, but uh yeah, we got traded
that day.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
And I just got a call from him.
Speaker 8 (15:27):
I was crying in the car and uh random called
from him, and he goes, we'll never guess what happened.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
I just got pulled. I got traded.
Speaker 8 (15:33):
I go, I did too. I just got pulled and
I don't know. I don't They didn't tell me the
team or anything. And we put two and two together.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's more than common for every player who plays this
game to play for more than one organization. But when
it's your first organization and you leave, what are the
emotions that go through your head?
Speaker 8 (15:48):
And so many emotions you know, it's I didn't know
anyone over here. U. The only first I knew was
Nolan and I got traded for him. So it's just
gotta make gotta make new friends. You know, we gotta
pack up, pack up everything I had in Cleveland or
or Goodyear and start fresh. And it's not easy for anyone,
anyone that gets traded.
Speaker 6 (16:08):
It's not easy.
Speaker 8 (16:08):
And that that was that was the biggest thing, just
adjusting to everything new. I I there's everything was new
to me, and uh, it was. It was a crazy day,
crazy crazy emotions and you know, just got to get
through it day by day and I did.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And when you're traded a team wants you. When did
you figure that out that hey, the Rockies really wanted me.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
It was pretty early on.
Speaker 8 (16:29):
And uh, you know, I had conversations with with the
GM and he really made me feel like it was
it was something that he really wanted and something that
he's been I guess cooking up for a while from
what he said, But but no, it was it was great.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I know I was wanted in Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
I know that for sure. I'm not taking anything.
Speaker 8 (16:48):
From them, but you know, it was it was good
to start fresh with the new team.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And what will you take from your time here?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Both minor leagues, major leagues that that make you the
player you are today and hopefully for a long time.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
I when I've been in the big leagues, if I
didn't start with Cleveland. I mean that. I mean that
from the bottom of my heart. From from the.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Minor League's just just.
Speaker 8 (17:07):
How how well prepared they They engrave in every player
coming up and try to get the best out of
everyone and try to try to improve your game as
much as possible. And you know, I'll never take that
for granted with my time here and then in the
big leagues, always trying to improve who.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
You are as a person.
Speaker 8 (17:23):
And uh, you know it was, like I said, it
was a sad day when I got traded. But you know,
like I said, I wouldn't have I don't think I
would have made it up to the big leagues if
I didn't start with Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
And you're going through the best stretch of your career,
certainly at the play.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
How did that all happen?
Speaker 6 (17:36):
Oh? Man?
Speaker 8 (17:37):
A lots of combo there, No, I was. It was
mainly just trying to get back to who I was
in the minor leagues with Cleveland. You know, I was
a line drive hitter, you know, back to ball I
think I got a little power happy when I got
up here. You know, maybe being a little bit excited
or whatever that may be. But you know, I just
I felt like, like I said, I started fresh, got
(17:57):
to be who I was again.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
And uh, you know, it's been showing up so far
and hopefully can keep it going.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
That's former Cleveland Guardian Tyler Freeman having a really nice
season for the Colorado Rockies. Stay with us when we
come back in case you missed it. Last weekend, we
will hear Tom Hamilton's Hall of Fame induction speech from Cooperstown.
That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
It's Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse back with you from Progressive
Field in downtown Cleveland. And last weekend we all in Cooperstown,
at least a lot of us anyway, to see the
induction ceremony of Tom Hamilton into Baseball's Hall of Fame,
the Ford Frick Award winner for twenty twenty five. It
was a great weekend and a great day on Saturday.
(19:00):
And let's listen in to Hammy's speech last weekend in
Cooper's Town.
Speaker 9 (19:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our twenty twenty five Ford
c Freak Award winner Tom Hamilton.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
We have been overwhelmed, humbled, honored and grateful. It is
really hard for us to properly express how we have
felt this entire this weekend, and really since the phone
call we got on December eleventh. And before we go
any further, our eternal gratitude to James Forbes Clark, who
(20:00):
is the chairman of the Baseball Hall of Fame and
Museum and whose grandfather, Stephen Carlton Clark, founded this incredible
place in nineteen thirty six. Jane, we cannot thank you
enough for all you do for our game and for
this incredible week. Thank you so much. You know, it's
nine hundred and twelve miles from Waterloo, Wisconsin to Cooperstown,
(20:24):
New York, and how this journey connected these two small
towns is still very humbling.
Speaker 6 (20:30):
Still very surreal for me.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
As you heard Jane mention, the dream started as a
little guy on our porch, on our dairy farm outside
of Waterloo, listening to the late great Earl Gillespie called
those Milwaukee Braves games. It seemed like such an enchanted life.
Of course, like every little guy. I wanted to be
Hank Aaron or I wanted to be Eddie Matthews or
b Joe Tory, but reality hit and when I got
(20:57):
to high school, the coaches were like, yang Son, you
do have a backup plan, don't you. Somehow that backup
plan has brought us all together for this weekend in Cooperstown.
I want to thank the Hall of Fame and the
Ford Frick Award voting Committee for this incredible honor, and
congratulations to fellow twenty twenty five classmates, Thomas Boswell, the
(21:21):
incredible writer for so many years for the Washington Post,
and of course the players that make this the greatest
game ever and their day will be tomorrow for Enshrinement,
CC Sabbathia, Ichi Ro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, the late Dick Allen,
and the late Dave Parker.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
And a special thanks when we're.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Coming over here on the bus ride to come into
a bus with Hall of famers like Alan Trammel and
Ted Simmons and Robin Yell and other Hall of famers
that are here taking this in today. Guys, you have
no idea how humbling that is. And we are so
grateful that you're taking the time to be with us today.
(22:02):
You know, since that phone call on December eleventh, I've
taken some time to reflect and wonder how in the
world did this happen? First Major League Baseball and now Cooperstown.
Totally unthinkable when I look back, and one of my
first play by play jobs in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Now I get called into the boss's office.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
He is so excited because he's got this great opportunity
for me, and I'm thinking, Yes, finally, Friday night football.
I'm going to finally graduate to the big time, get
to do the Watertown Goslings Friday night football.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
We know how big Friday nights are.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
No.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Instead, I'm going to get to do the play by
play of the Jefferson County Fair four h competition, a
three hour live broadcast. Now, some of you here may
not be familiar with this event, kind of the World
(23:01):
Series of livestock competition for youngsters involved in farming and
raising their cattle. They're all trying to win the Blue Ribbon.
That's right, three hours wall to wall coverage. Steers, pigs, sheep, poultry,
all being paraded in front of the judges trying to
(23:22):
get that ribbon. Now you soon learn creativity, or maybe
more honest appraisal, you learn how little creativity you actually
possess when you're describing farm animals for that long. Okay, folks,
here's another steer, very big, black and white. Yes, this
(23:47):
one too has four legs, and by golly, it's got
a tail that's working. And oh no, we're about to
have a deposit. You know, they pretty much all look alike,
but by golly, every one of them is going for
the ribbon. But of course, what the winning animal does
(24:08):
not realize is that next week that winner is the
special of the day at the local diner. That drive
back from the fairgrounds certainly had me questioning my career choice,
and in no way was Major League Baseball and certainly
not Cooperstown even entering my mind. And I've always said
(24:31):
I've had the best job in the world. For thirty
six years, I've had the privilege of narrating the Cleveland
Indians and now the Cleveland Guardians for over three and
a half decades. Cleveland and Northeast Ohio has made us
feel like family. You great fans have welcomed us into
your homes, your cars, and yes.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Your back porches.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
It's a passionate fan base and it has been everything
that we could have ever wanted in raising our family.
Thank you Cleveland for being our camelot. We also want
(25:15):
to thank the Jacob's family and now the Dolan family
and everyone that I have worked with and become friends
with down through the years.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
In this great organization.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You will never work for or with better people, and
at the risk of forgetting someone, I'm not going to
start mentioning names, but Wendy and I thank you again
and again and again, and to the Dolan family. Getting
a major league job is like winning the lottery, but
being a part of your organization has been the gift
(25:46):
of a lifetime. This world needs so many more people
like the Dolan family. To the late Herbscore, who welcomed
me with open arms when I arrived in nineteen ninety,
thank you. I learned not just how to call a game,
but outside of my dad, no one ever gave me
(26:08):
better advice. The greatest lesson from Herb came in nineteen ninety,
my first year in the Major leagues. Now, back then
we were the only team in Tucson, so every road
trip was two plus hours going to Phoenix. So what
that meant was we were now listening for two plus
hours to one of Herb's fifteen Frank Sinatra cassettes. Finally,
(26:35):
the first cassette ends, I think, okay, here's my opening,
and I'm quickly telling Herb Man, Herb, this is really
a really good team. This is our year, my first year.
Of course, we're going to be in the playoffs. Like
I know, Herb gave me that, look, eh, we are
a blankety blank team. We are not going to the
(26:59):
playoff us. But he said that will not impact us
or affect us in how we call the game. Once
that game begins, it's all about that game, and you
may see something that night that you've never seen before
in a major league game, and you may never see
it again.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
And Herb also made sure.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
To point out that that night's broadcast might be the
one thing that one person had to look forward to
the entire day, and we owe that one person the
very best that we can do.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
That was the best advice ever, and I thank her
for that. Then Herb said, eh, would you please stop
talking and put in another Frank tape. Another partner was
(27:54):
the late Mike Keegan, now if you're from Cleveland, Mike
is still probably in any argument, the greatest athlete to
ever come out of Saint Ignatius High School. He played
college football at Holy Cross back when holy Cross was
a national power. He spent twelve years in the Big leagues,
(28:16):
won a World Series with the Oakland A's, and he
carried himself with the same grace off the field as
he did on it. And even when Mike was in
his sixties, he still had that incredible athletic ability. Mike
and I are in the Metrodome. We're filling out.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Our scorecards, and I noticed something move.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I thought on Mike's lake, and I said, Mike, you
got a little buddy there on your thigh. Well, for
those of you that have never been to a metrodome,
Joe knows that little buddy meant he had a mouse
on his thigh. Mike launched out of his chair like
he's returning a kickoff. He still had the amazing first
(28:59):
step quickness, the athleticism. They made him one of the
greatest defensive first basemen in the history of the game.
And without question, Mike was one of the finest broadcasters
to ever work in Major League Baseball. And all of
my broadcasters over the years, Davey Nelson, Matt Underwood, Jim Rosenhaus,
(29:21):
thank you.
Speaker 6 (29:22):
For sharing the booth and the journey.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
We spend more time together for seven months than we
do with our families. And I've been so blessed to
work with such great guys. And Al Rosie and I
have had our longest tenureship of fourteen years, and Jim,
I am so grateful for your friendship.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Thank you, Pal, And.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
To Terry Smith, the voice of the Los Angeles Angels,
who gave me an opportunity to work with him in
Columbus doing Triple A games.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Without that, none of this happens.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
And of course, none of this happens without the love
and support of my family. Going back to Water lou
with my parents, brothers and sister, no one's ever had
three better, three better brothers then Dennis, Jim, and Robert,
(30:15):
and our sister Mary. Dennis is here with his wife Colleen,
their sons Spencer and Casey, Jim and his wife Cindy,
two of their sons, Grant and Angie, and Reed and
his wife Julia. Robert, his wife Anne, their son Drew,
and his wife Stephanie, along with son Ty, daughter Leah,
and son Davis. You know, we had such great parents
(30:38):
who taught us it's okay to chase your dreams. But
whatever it is you do, you better work hard, you
better not cut corners, and you better treat people right.
And for those of you here that didn't know our parents,
Frank and Teresa, they were very much extroverts and no
matter who we saw on the street, whether we knew
them or not, whatever city we were in, we were
(31:00):
constantly told it does not cost you a nickel to
say hello. What great advice that was then and still
is today.
Speaker 6 (31:09):
And of course.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Mom and dad, like all of us growing up in Wisconsin,
were huge Brewer fans, which meant they adored Bob Uker.
Now you would always give them a shout out on
the radio when we played the Brewers back in the nineties.
We were in the same division as Milwaukee, so there
were a lot of times they got to hear their
name on the radio thanks to Bob Uker. Once I
(31:35):
asked Bob, Bob, is it okay can I bring mom
and dad up here? They would just love to meet you. Well,
Bob being Bob, said, oh my gosh. By all means,
bring them on up now. I get Mom and Dad
up there. I introduced them Dad first to Bob. Dad,
for the first and only time in his life, cannot speak.
(31:58):
He cannot utter a.
Speaker 8 (32:01):
Not.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
Mom. Bob's saying some nice things about me, and then he.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Tells my mom, I am so sorry that you can't
listen to Tom do the Brewer games, and you're stuck
listening to me. Mom doesn't hesitate, Bob, you know what.
You take what you can get. Mom, you take what
(32:28):
you can get. I am suddenly trying to usher them
out of Bob's boot. I am horrified. Bob is doubled
over laughing. Dad still hasn't said a word, and I go, Mom,
why would you say that? She goes, you know what,
That's what I believe. There's another example of our mother
(32:52):
believing in one of her children. And we all miss Bob,
but I am so grateful for his friendship, as well
as all of the other Major League broadcasters I've been
able to get to know down through the years. Meeting
and getting to know these broadcasters has been such a gift.
And to my friends, thank you for your friendship, your loyalty,
(33:14):
your sarcasm, your reminders never take yourself too seriously, because
you know what. Those are the best friends you can have.
And we are so honored to have so many of
our tremendous friends here with us this weekend, and we
thank them as well as our extended family, our cousins,
the Bradys, they're from all over the country that they
(33:34):
were able to get here and we so appreciate that.
To my wife, Wendy, thank you doesn't cover it. This
great life that we have lived is because of you,
your belief.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
In me and your belief in our family.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
You made the real sacrifices, the late nights, the solo parenting,
the chaos. You did it with love, with strength, with grace.
No husband has ever been luckier than me, and I
love you so much, dear. And finally, to our children,
(34:13):
Nick and his wife Marissa, Kelsey and her husband Ryan,
their daughter Lexi, Bradley and his wife Brittany and their
sons Liam and John Patrick, and our daughter Katie, thank you.
Thank you for being our greatest pride, our greatest joy,
our true legacy. This weekend has been incredible, but you're
(34:33):
the real miracle. You and our grandchildren are everything to
us and You've given us so many great memories, and
we're so lucky to be your parents, and now you've
become these incredible young adults and boy, in these times
of cynicism and negativity in our world, we look to
you and a number of other young people here today
(34:55):
and you go, you know what, things aren't so bad.
We're going to be okay, and we're going to be
okay because of people like you. And always know, the
two greatest words ever are daddy and Crampa. Every opening
(35:17):
day we always remind the fans it's not about the destination.
It's about the journey, the roller coaster ride that is
a baseball season, every day for six months, for thirty
six years. We have been so blessed and fortunate to
be a very small part of that journey and this
great game of baseball.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
We remain so grateful.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
For every inning, every mile, every friend, every laugh, every game,
and now this truly is the final destination. I certainly
do not feel deserving or worthy of this incredible honor,
but wow, Mom was right. We'll take what we can get.
(36:09):
Thank all of you, Thank you so much, Cooperstown, and
thank you Baseball.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
And again, what a special weekend it was in a
special place. If you are a baseball fan and haven't
had a chance to get to Cooperstown at any point
in the calendar year, highly recommended. If you can do
it on Hall of Fame weekend, will it be more crowded,
You bet, But it is truly a time of year
that is so special for everyone involved. And again, if
(36:48):
you are a baseball fan, to put that on the
bucket list, stay with us when we come back. We'll
have more after this on the Cleveland Clinic. Guardians will one.
Speaker 9 (37:07):
A Progressive Home and Auto bundle can protect you around
the clock, but we can't protect you from those painful
moments in sports.
Speaker 7 (37:13):
Why would we trade our best player?
Speaker 9 (37:15):
Well, at least you got to watch him in person
when he was here. I named my only son after him,
so you'll always remember his name. Yeah, but what do
I do with this jersey? Luckily, the company has a
great return policy.
Speaker 8 (37:27):
I warrant for six seasons.
Speaker 9 (37:31):
At least your home and auDA or protected with a
bundle from Progressive Progressive Casualty Interns Company ifill has another
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Speaker 2 (37:46):
Welcome Back Ats Guardian's Weekly chim rosen House back with
you for our final segment, and we wanted to bring
you as much of Tom Hamilton as possible, so a
really short segment. We'll say goodbye as we want to
thank Brian Matse for all of his help putting together
to show each and every week until next week when
we join you from the Windy City the Guardians in
Chicago next weekend. Missus Jimm rosen House reminding you that
(38:08):
you've been listening to Guardians Weekly, the Cleveland Clinic Guardians
Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
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