January 10, 2024 • 57 mins
When Bill Murray crashes your post-game interview, you know you're in for a story worth sharing. Join us as I sit down with Jeff Letourneau, pitching coach and baseball sage, to recount an iconic moment that marries the worlds of comedy and sports. Through Jeff's eyes, we travel from an uproarious interaction with a comedic legend to the ins and outs of mentoring young Guilford High School pitchers, blending tales of on-field triumphs with the camaraderie that fills off-season golf rounds.
Baseball is more than a game; it's a series of life lessons wrapped in nine innings. This episode peels back the layers of coaching, revealing how Jeff and I instill resilience and humility in players, with anecdotes that underscore the unpredictable nature of sports. Every strike, every catch, every close call is dissected—not just for the play-by-play, but for the heartbeat of growth and character it instills in the athletes we guide. Standout high school performances, personal coaching experiences, and the art of bouncing back from setbacks all take center stage, painting a vivid picture of the local diamond.
But it's not just the balls and strikes that define a player's journey; it's the connections made along the way. Jeff shares his transformative experience from a traditional pitcher to a knuckleballer, and the serendipitous meetings that shaped his path. And as we veer into tales from the St. Paul Saints and anecdotal gems involving Bill Murray, you'll find yourself immersed in the rich narrative tapestry of baseball life. So tune in, and let's explore how passion for the game, mentorship, and a few unexpected turns can make all the difference on and off the field.
Baseball is more than a game; it's a series of life lessons wrapped in nine innings. This episode peels back the layers of coaching, revealing how Jeff and I instill resilience and humility in players, with anecdotes that underscore the unpredictable nature of sports. Every strike, every catch, every close call is dissected—not just for the play-by-play, but for the heartbeat of growth and character it instills in the athletes we guide. Standout high school performances, personal coaching experiences, and the art of bouncing back from setbacks all take center stage, painting a vivid picture of the local diamond.
But it's not just the balls and strikes that define a player's journey; it's the connections made along the way. Jeff shares his transformative experience from a traditional pitcher to a knuckleballer, and the serendipitous meetings that shaped his path. And as we veer into tales from the St. Paul Saints and anecdotal gems involving Bill Murray, you'll find yourself immersed in the rich narrative tapestry of baseball life. So tune in, and let's explore how passion for the game, mentorship, and a few unexpected turns can make all the difference on and off the field.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
coaches at HF channel four, five or seven, whatever
the sports wants to do a livefeed.
Can you put your shirt and hatback on, go out in the dugout?
I'm like, yeah, but I put myshirt, hat back on.
When I go out in the dugout andthe interviewers starts asking
me about the game, it says, look, you got off to a tough start,
but you really had him chasingthat knuckleball again and blah,
blah, blah.
And I'm answering the questionsthe best I can.
(00:21):
Also, I feel two hands on myshoulders like rubbing my
shoulders during the interviewas I'm looking this way.
So all of a sudden, bill Murraytakes over the interview.
He says yeah, you know, jeff,we had to change a few things
with his grip on the knuckleball.
He was just ad-libbing andsaying you know, he used to
throw four fingers.
I got him to using two fingers,but we really got to work and
today did a nice job out there,took over the interview.
(00:43):
Now the reporters laughing, I'mlaughing, everybody's laughing,
and God, I wish I could findthat video.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hello and welcome to athlete one, a podcast for
athletes, coaches and parents.
I'm your host, ken Carpenter,and yes, today's guest was
shocked to have his interviewafter a game interrupted by the
owner and famous actor, billMurray.
I often get asked what has beenyour most downloaded podcast
episode, and it was episode 18.
(01:13):
Why not me, a knuckleball orhis path to pro baseball?
Well, I decided to bring himback for episode 92 and be the
first guest of 2024.
Jeff Latterno next on theathlete one podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Welcome to the athlete one podcast.
Veteran high school baseballcoach, ken Carpenter takes you
into life's classroom asexperienced through sports.
Go behind the scenes withathletes and coaches as they
share great stories, lifelessons and ways to impact
others.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Today's episode of the athlete one podcast is
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If you enjoy today's show,don't forget to hit the
(03:06):
subscribe button, rate the showand leave us a review.
Also, don't forget to follow uson Twitter, instagram, facebook
at AthleteOne Podcast.
Now let's get to our first guestof 2024.
Great friend of mine who we metback in the 80s while stationed
at Fort Bragg in the Army, jeffLatterno.
(03:30):
Hello and welcome to theAthleteOne Podcast.
Joining me today is a guestthat I had back on Episode 18
and he's currently the pitchingcoach for Guilford High School
Baseball in Connecticut.
Jeff Latterno, thanks fortaking the time to be on the
podcast.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Good morning Kirk.
Good to see you, buddy.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well, hey, I see in the background there you got
some golf clubs.
It's Connecticut and it'sJanuary.
Is that a possibility?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
You know, I live on the shoreline in Connecticut so
we get a few straggly days herewhere we can get out and play.
It's cold, You've got to bundleup with the winter cap and the
winter gloves.
But yeah, I'm a strugglinggolfer, Let me put it this way.
For the last 30 years I've beentrying to figure this game out,
and if I had dedicated thattime to piano or something like
(04:22):
that, think about how good I'dbe by now.
But anyway, I enjoy playingwith friends and struggling
around the course.
It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, I'd like to jump right into kind of where we
left off, because you were themost listened to podcast that
I've had, out of 91 podcasts sofar.
And this is the start of yearthree.
And you know, after being acollege all-American pitcher and
a seven-year professionalcareer, you coached your son's
(04:52):
little league teams as they weregoing up through and then you
finally got an opportunity tobecome the pitching coach at
Guilford High School.
How's that experience been?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Oh, it's been great Guilford town I live in great
bunch of kids, coaching staffs,outstanding.
I'll tell you what what acoaching staff we got.
We got a kid who is the headcoach.
He's super with kids, veryknowledgeable, catcher D1 at
James Madison.
His dad helps out.
He was a former big leager.
We got another guy who knowsbaseball and side-out, could
(05:23):
coach any team.
He played shortstop atQuinnipiac when he played.
We got a great bunch of guysand the kids are outstanding.
It's a great little town andthe fun I've had coaching is
just teaching these kids.
What took me forever to learn.
You know, don't throw a 2-0fastball down the belt and try
to hump up an extra mile an hourto get by a guy and end up
backing up third base.
I talked to him about keepingthe ball down, keeping the
(05:45):
mechanics simple, keeping theball off the fat part of the
plate, maybe throwing somethingother than a fastball and a
fastball count, which took meuntil about age 27 to learn.
But the biggest thing I loveworking with the kids on is just
for the love of the game andteach them a little bit of
humility.
And if you're going to playsports you're going to fail
(06:06):
right.
That's the number one thing.
I can tell you a quick story.
I'll jump right into a story.
I'm in Sioux City, iowa, at 94,I think, in the Northern League
, playing against Sioux Falls.
My roommate and one of my bestfriends on the road, matt
Connolly, big 6-6 strap-inIrishman from Queens, new York,
he pitched 88,.
He's a stellar ball.
Okay, we're up 3-1.
Well, ed Noddle in his wisdomsays Lieutenant, close it out.
(06:31):
So I come in.
I got to face 9-1-2 in theninth inning.
So go right at him.
Right, you're up by two runs.
It's on the road in theballpark, about 3,500 people
there screaming.
I get on the mound, first pitch, get over fastball the number
nine hitter.
He hits it out of the park.
Oh boy, wow, what a son of agun.
Nine hitter.
(06:52):
All right, get the ball backfrom Tom Carcyon, walk around
the mound a little bit.
All right, it's okay, mymanager's on the top step, let's
go.
Let's go.
Go right at him.
Jeff, I got the leadoff hitter,this little lefty kid.
He's a slap hitter at best.
He runs.
That's his thing.
I throw a little.
Get over curveball.
Good pitch, whack Down theright field line.
(07:12):
Fair gone, two pitches 3-3.
I look at the dugout, at MattConnelly, and he slams his water
down.
He's like come on, man.
I'm like so Carcyon walks outto the mound.
Here comes Ed Noddle.
What the hell's going on?
I go to the coach.
I just threw two good pitchesto the nine.
(07:33):
One hitter.
You could throw those guys BPfor the next two hours.
They would not go back to backon two pitches.
I guess that's baseball.
So Ed Noddle goes.
All right, let's go get him kid.
So the fans now are yellingkeep them in, keep them in.
So I go.
Okay, now you would say come.
It says would be throw a ball,mix it up a little bit.
(07:54):
No, I'm going to ride thisnumber two hitter.
Little second baseman Remindingme of a young Ken Carpenter.
I throw a fastball Probably 89.
Good movement, whack Down theleft field line, inside the
chalk line, fair ball Stand updouble.
Here comes Ed Noddle, takes meout of the game.
(08:15):
I threw three pitches Home run,home run.
Double on three good pitches,have you?
Yeah?
And two minutes later I'msitting with Matt Connelly in
the dugout line.
I'm sorry, man, holy crap.
And what I try to, I tell thatstory to my players.
That happens.
If you don't want to fail,don't play sports, because
you're going to fail, right,right.
(08:35):
So this is the thing I liketeaching kids Go at kids, go
with your best stuff, challengethem.
Don't throw it to.
A fastball is one of fastballs,three one fastballs when
they're sitting dead red and youthrow 80 miles an hour down the
belt.
You got to learn to throwsomething off speed a little,
get over curveball or change upsomething.
Anyway, it's a lot of fun.
(08:57):
It's a great group of kids,great talent, great coaches.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Now you guys had a pretty nice run last year.
You know as far as the as whenhe comes to Connecticut baseball
.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
We did we.
I'll tell you what the coachagain the head coach Nick did a
great job with these kids.
A lot of talent, a couple goodarms, three or four really good
arms and, as you know fromcoaching, a nice little baseball
you need that and we got to the.
In Connecticut we played a D2schedule.
We got to the SCC tournamentwhich is the D1, d2, d3, best
(09:30):
four teams in SouthernConnecticut and there's a ton.
Guilford gets in it Okay, whichdoesn't happen all the time A
D2 team gets in it.
And Notre Dame West Haven,which was a D1 team, beat them,
played Fairfield Prep D1 teambeat them.
I forget how it went.
Maybe Xavier, another D1 team.
(09:52):
We win the SCCs.
The dream season continues.
Now we go to the statetournament.
We go all the way through thequarterfinals and the semifinals
and I'm really proud of mypitchers.
Quarterfinal game we won one ornothing on a home run.
I want to say it was AndrewShow Show, who's now at oh God,
(10:14):
what's the name of the school isSwarthmore, down outside
Pennsylvania.
Big, strong kid throws the ballhard through a shutout.
Next game semifinal I might begetting this backwards Bryce
Meadier, who is our ace, who'sgoing D1.
He might have pitched that one.
And then Andrew pitched thesecond one against getting old
(10:37):
cart.
Forget these teams we played,but it was a good game.
He threw a two, nothing,shutout.
So we went shutout, shutout.
Quarterfinal semifinal to getto the state championship.
We lost in the final game toBrookfield, but the tough game
we lost.
I think we used to bat swear ona little cold.
Last three games two, nothing,one, nothing and the
(10:58):
quarterfinal 70 fouls on twohome runs.
That was it.
You start to get to the finals,you start to see the best
pitchers, right?
Oh yeah, so the last game inthe state championship we faced
a tough kid and he'd beat us.
I want to say three to one.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
That's a heck of a run, though.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Heck of a run.
Good kids and they're going tobe just as good this year.
We lost a couple really goodseniors.
This kid, sammy, I'm trying togreat little ball player, he's
hopefully playing at Quinnipiacright now and lost quite a few
seniors.
Actually I'm trying to blank.
But Jack Farrar, who went toMiami, but good kids.
(11:35):
Andrews at Swarthmore yeah, butwe'll be back.
Got a good group of kids, goodtown and good fans and good
coaches, so we're back.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
You know this kind of goes back to when you played as
a senior in high school.
You've told me you were a five,six, five, six second baseman,
slash third baseman.
You decided to join the army.
You grew a lot and after thearmy you thought what the heck,
I'm going to go to FSU after themilitary and that's where your
(12:05):
career for baseball reallyseemed to take off.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, you know we named I think you named the
first podcast.
You know, I think it was likewhy Not Me?
Or something to that effect andthat's really what it was.
I always loved sports.
I think when I was in eighthgrade I was best athlete in my
little middle school becauseeverybody's prepubescent and
five feet tall.
I was a good little hockeyplayer, a little basketball
player.
You know little white kid inBella, suburban, massachusetts
(12:33):
who thought he was Larry Byrd atfive.
One Good baseball player,hockey, anything I could play,
because it's all we did.
We played sports, just like youdid in Bel Air, yeah.
And then I got to high schooland everybody became young men
in five, eight, five, nine,facial hair.
I think my junior year I wasfive, three.
I don't even remember if I hadlike sprouted yet and but I
(12:55):
always knew I was as athletic asthese other guys.
I just wasn't big enough yetand it was going to happen.
So my senior year I get alittle bit of playing time as a
third baseman, second baseman.
The days of being a shortstopwere over because I was five,
three and just too small.
Pitching really wasn't on thedocket.
Maybe you'll mop up here andthere.
(13:17):
I had a good arm for a littleguy and I go in the army.
And that's when I met you and Iwas just playing battalion
softball having a blast.
Yeah, you don't got a littlemix up at second base with yours
.
True, you right there Secondbase and almost came to blows.
And that's when we becamebuddies, thanks to our, our
other buddy, rick Reynolds Givehim a shout out Avon, ohio.
(13:38):
Yeah, there you go.
So he's the one who introducedus and I remember your reaction,
not this guy.
We are 38, 39 years later,buddies.
But you know, I just always feltlike I can play baseball and I
took that attitude going toFlorida State, which I should
have been star struck, but Iwasn't.
These guys had just been runnerup in the national championship
(14:00):
, I want to say in spring 86.
I go there and all these guys Iwas watching on ESPN the summer
before.
I'm on the field with them andI'm like these guys are good but
they're no better than my buddyChris Boeberg and Joe
Lesperance guys I grew up with,but just baseball player, how
good can you be at baseball?
It's baseball.
So I played with them and Istarted to believe I can play,
(14:24):
but I was still a little.
I guess.
I was a little in awe.
I guess when coaches startedsaying, why don't you go to
junior college and maybe getsigned?
I was like signed Again withthe guys on the field.
I thought, well, I mean I couldplay as good as these guys, but
I didn't.
I had no idea.
You know what it would be likebeing on a field with pros.
That's a whole different thing,I thought.
(14:45):
But as I continued to progressand I went to junior college in
Orlando and I went and played atUniversity of New Haven and
Quinn Sagan in different placesand I got in the minor leagues,
I always had that belief likeI'm as good or better than that
guy and I took that attitudeeven into the minor leagues for
seven years.
And it's funny quick, quick,tangent here.
I still tell my kids in highschool it's easier to pitch.
(15:08):
I would rather pitch againstthe Yankees tomorrow at 57 years
old than against Amity HighSchool.
And you know why?
Because the guys behind me makethe plays.
All you do is throw strikes.
It's a round-bat, round-ballhit.
You know these guys, you knowyou're going to make the plays.
I'll bet up five pitch againsta big league team right now and
I kept the ball down and I againpeople watching this are going
(15:29):
to say, yeah, right, pal.
But I think they would hit itat people more than not and I'd
probably get out of there withfive, six innings, two runs.
You try doing that against highschool kids.
There's a lot of real estate inthe outfield.
There's a lot of holes in theinfield.
That's not a knockout of myboys, but that's high school
baseball.
And that's what I try to teachthese kids.
Hey, don't get frustrated, justkeep firing, keep working.
(15:52):
Guys behind you are going tomake mistakes.
It's not the end of the world.
Just believe in yourself andit's all right.
If you love the game, it's allright.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Well, you know, you've admitted.
You know you were a small guyin high school.
What advice would you give ayoung high school player getting
ready to start up here in thespring and you know he's
dreaming of just some.
Some guys are just hoping tohey, I want to be a high school
baseball starter, and that's it.
Some guys want to maybe go onto play at the college level.
What advice would you give thatyoung player?
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I see it every day and my advice I give him is just
keep working hard and play hardand love the game.
You're going to grow and itdoesn't matter who's the best
player at 16 or 17.
Once in a blue moon you get akid who's 18 or 6'4".
You've coached them.
They throw a 93 and they get aD1 scholarship.
They get scouted.
That's not the typical kid.
I'm actually dealing with itwith my son, colin.
(16:45):
He's a freshman in high schoolat Guilford High School.
He's a goalie.
He's a late bloomer, like I was.
The other son, michael, was 5'2or 5'3 his freshman year.
He's now 6'2".
He plays an Ole Miss clubhockey.
He's the strongest kid on thisteam.
So don't worry about where youreign against your peers at 14
(17:06):
and 15 and 16.
Keep working hard.
Believe in yourself.
Please play a long toss.
Build up your arm strength.
Don't worry about the moundright now.
I told you the story last time.
I think I played at collegebaseball with this kid, tanya
Sturz, who some people listeningmay know his name.
He spent 10-plus years in thebig leagues.
He was our right-fielder atQuinn-Sigaman.
He was 6'5", 170 pounds.
(17:27):
Now I was like the NJCAA region.
Whatever I was region,worcester Maths, pitcher of the
year.
I threw 88 with a good hook.
I was nasty.
I thought Scouts would come tothe game.
They weren't watching me, theywere watching the skinny
right-fielder who was 6'5", 17",18", throw the ball to third
base during infield outfield.
(17:50):
Now I'll never forget he gotsigned by JP Richard.
He has a pitcher, not anoutfielder.
I remember Tanya was like JP,I'd rather play a position.
Jp was like listen, you're 6'5", you got a can for an arm.
You're going to turn into a manby the time you're 23 or 24.
You're going to probably throwa 95.
Sure enough, played 10 years inthe bigs and old Jeff Latterna
(18:10):
was still throwing 87 with acurve ball.
Don't worry about where you'reready to get your peers at 15.
Because everybody grows atdifferent paces.
And so and I'm dealing withColin right now you know he's
five, three.
He's in net.
He's a great little goalie andhe loves the game, but he
(18:30):
doesn't cover up much in the netyet.
He's got to really learn tocome out and get angles and
block the net.
And someday maybe he'll be six,two and his big padding and
body will block the net more.
Right, but don't compareyourself to kid who's six, one
right now.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Well, you became a D2 All-American at the University
of New Haven and you know thetalk you hear in the summer is
you know I need to get exposure.
I got to get in front of thecollege coaches and got to go to
the best tournaments andeverything.
And you know that's it's not1980s, but it wasn't necessarily
(19:10):
your case.
And you have a great storywhere a umpire saw you pitch and
then you go for a tryoutbecause he knows the coach at
the University of New Haven.
Can you share that story?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah.
So now I'm 20 years old, maybe21, out of the Army, I've gone
to Florida State, I've gone toValencia.
I'm home for the summer playingin a STEM usual league, which
is like a Dwyer league orwherever you live in the country
.
So basically, 18 plus league,you get a.
You get an assorted group ofbaseball players.
You get some college kids whoare playing summer ball.
You get some guys that are 23,24, that are done.
(19:48):
You get some guys that are 30,that just love baseball and
don't play softball.
So I'm playing for this team inWorcester Mass under the lights
and I'm starting to get prettygood.
I'm throwing 88, really goodclub.
Two different curveballs, oneto get over, one on nasty, one
in the dirt, strike you out.
And in the Worcester STEM usualleague that's pretty nasty,
(20:09):
okay.
So I think after seven inningsI struck out 14.
I'm walking in the car.
We're going to sit in theparking lot with some of the
guys, maybe have a beer or soda,whatever.
Shoot the breeze.
The umpire walks over to me bymy car and says hey, jeff, nice
job today, pal.
I said thank you.
He goes.
I'm Wade Bovar, I go.
Oh, nice to meet you, wade.
(20:30):
Jeff, where did you play highschool ball?
Are you from around here?
I said, oh yeah, I went toGrafton High Wade says I've been
on firing in this circuit for20 years.
I don't remember you.
You played for Dick Coleman, bythe way.
It was a great coach.
He made me love baseball.
What a great coach.
You talk about the impact a highschool coach could have.
Dick Coleman, grafton Maths.
He says to me he goes where doyou?
(20:54):
I don't remember you playing.
I go, cause that's because Iwas five, three and I played
second base, maybe a littleshortstop third.
He goes yeah, wow.
So how did it?
What happened?
You grew, where'd you go toschool?
I told him the story.
I went to the Army, you know,at the Florida State.
Now I'm currently at ValenciaCommunity College, being a
closer.
And he says to me did you everhear University of New Haven?
I said no, cause.
(21:14):
Again, I wasn't a kid who was ahigh school stud looking at
colleges, so I didn't know whoUniversity of New Haven was.
I think that's in Connecticut.
But division two school.
He said, jeff, they're probablythe best NCAA program in the
Northeast.
They usually go like 20-0against D1 teams in the fall and
then go to the NJCA.
I mean NJCA NCA division twoworld series every year in
(21:35):
Montgomery Alabama, 13 straightyears.
Coach Vieira is the best.
He's a buddy of mine.
I'm kind of like a bird dog forhim and I'd like to give him
your name and number, if that'sokay.
I'm like sure, thank you,that'd be great.
Next day I get a call from coachV.
Hey, can you come down SaturdayA little workout we're having,
I'm like sure.
So me and my mom drive down.
My mom loved baseball more thanI did.
(21:55):
She never missed a game,watched the Red Sox every night
in the parlor.
So anyway, she's giving me apep talk, cause I'm driving down
there.
How to work the ball.
You know throw breaking balls.
I'm like okay, mom, so we getdown on there.
We get down there and they havelike eight guys on the field.
You know taking infield,outfield, taking some BP.
All the guys got their NewHaven stuff on this.
(22:16):
Coach, big strapping guy, newHaven chargers T-shirt, new
Haven chargers shorts hat.
Big strong guy.
Hey, jeff, nice to meet you.
Coach and equilary.
I'm like hey, coach, he goes.
All right.
Listen, I should go getstretched out, warm up down the
bullpen, like okay.
So I'm throwing a little bitrunning a little bit throwing
down the bullpen.
I don't know a sole there.
These guys are all NCAAdivision two schools from New
(22:40):
Haven.
I'm down on the right fieldthrowing a pen.
All right, jeff, why don't youcome on in and throw a little
bit?
So I run over, I jog over themountain and I'm facing guys and
I'm doing what I did againstthe guys from the Sam Uzi League
I'm striking them all out.
Basketball Z-88, nasty hook.
There's this guy in the standswith no shirt on, with a beer
(23:02):
can, mind you, it's noon in Juneand he's, you know, he's
yelling at all the players.
I'm like, who the heck is thisguy in the stands, right?
So I thought he was just alocal idiot, baseball lover,
whatever.
So after I faced like 10hitters, I'm in the dugout
(23:25):
taking my spikes off.
All the guys like, hey, nicejob, jeff.
I'm like I like this place.
This place is pretty cool.
I'm picking off my boots,getting on my running shoes and
this guy in the stands with hisbeer is like, hey, fat ass,
let's turn it off.
Excuse my language.
He goes here, he goes.
Get out there and shag some flyballs.
If you want to be a chargey, ason of a bitch, I'm like this
(23:47):
guy.
I look over Coach Anquilera.
Like who's this guy?
Coach Anquilera, you better getout in that field right now.
Well, come to find out.
The guy with no shirt on andthe bleachers was Coach V.
He was the legendary coachVieira, all-time winningist, I
think, d2 coach, 13 straightNCAA programs, multiple players
in the big leagues and draftedevery year.
(24:08):
Oh my God.
So anyway, welcome to New Haven.
So that was it.
Actually, I got done.
This guy took me and my mom intothe office.
His office talked about comingto New Haven, how he had just
lost a number one.
He gives me a scholarship untilI graduate.
So I guess that said, I'mcoming to New Haven, connecticut
.
And I told you this story lasttime because this really hits me
(24:32):
right here, because if WadeBovard hadn't have come up to me
in the car right and decided tosay, hey, nice job, where you
from, Jeff, let me give this guy, coach V, a call on your behalf
.
And I didn't get down there,colin, emily, michael, none of
them would be here.
I wouldn't know my wife of 28years.
(24:53):
Yeah, this whole life would betotally different.
I ended up going to New Haven,met Mary, three kids, Did it
find out how life works?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Oh yeah, it's amazing .
That kind of leads into my nextquestion, because you talk
about players getting theiropportunities to play at the
next level and Coach V asked ifyou knew of anybody else that
could possibly play, and if youcould, this ended up being a
lifelong friend for you.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, this is one of my favorite stories.
So I'm playing, I go to NewHaven, I pitch in the fall and
now I have to go.
I get called with Coach V tothe NCAA eligibility office Like
what the hell is this about?
So I go there.
My grades are good.
Debbie Chen says to me Jeff,did you play at Florida State?
Did you go to Florida State?
(25:43):
I'm like yes.
Did you go to a junior collegein Orlando, valencia?
I'm like yes, she goes.
Did you graduate from thatjunior college?
And I said no.
She looks at Coach V and sayshe can't play.
Now I'm 21 years old.
I was in the Army with you fortwo years.
I've been traveling around fromFlorida State to Valencia.
Now I'm at New Haven.
I'm finally gonna get to playand show off my arm.
I'm 21, but I'm really like 18baseball age right, I mean my
(26:06):
right.
I haven't really pitched muchyet.
I'm excited about theopportunity.
I think I just beat SacredHeart in a fall game.
Part of the team.
They tell me I can't play.
This was devastating.
So my choices were sit out at 21, go back to Valencia in Orlando
, get my last two sciences witha lab and get my degree Because
(26:27):
I had good grades.
I just didn't.
You can't go from four-yearschool to a two-year school,
back to a four, and the NCAA putthis in place, I believe, is so
if you're playing football atMiami, you flunk out.
You can't go take a class atDade Community College for one
semester and then come back.
Yeah, so, but that wasn't mycase.
I literally was chasingbaseball Again, being a dreamer
(26:48):
and following this baseballdream, and so, anyway, I have to
sit out.
So I said, what about going toQuinn Sigmund Community College
in Worcester?
I haven't lived with mom anddad since I was 17 when I went
to the Army.
So, yeah, I can go home, livewith mom and dad, mom can go
watch baseball.
I can pitch for this juniorcollege in Worcester I think
(27:08):
they got a pretty good program,I heard.
So, anyway, I go to QuinnSigmund, I'm pitching for Barry
Glinski, great baseball guy, andmake some friends.
You know, I got 20 buddies.
We're hanging out, we'replaying, we have a good team.
So there was this one kid onthe team, our centerfielder,
eric Klein, who drew the day,and I played with you, karp,
with 540th Indian Air Battalion.
(27:29):
I played with guys who were inthe big leagues.
This is the best baseballplayer I've ever seen.
Every time he got a pitch hehit it on the screws.
He could run better thananybody, he had a better arm
than anybody but for some reasonScouts just he was all-American
two years at New Haven, bad atthird.
Anyway, let me get back to thestory of why.
That was my favorite story.
(27:49):
I'm pitching for Quinn Sigmundin the NJCA regionals against
CCRI Community College of RhodeIsland.
This was a big rival.
You probably saw it on a ESPN,I don't know.
Coach V and Coach Anke from NewHaven come watch me pitch
because we had had a deal that Iwas coming back after.
I went and got my associatesgoing to come back for my last
two years at New Haven, so theyhadn't seen me pitch all year.
(28:10):
We stayed in touch.
They drove off from New Havento Rhode Island to watch me
pitch.
I ended up losing two to one.
We get knocked out.
I pitched okay, made a couplestupid mistakes because again I
think I challenged our numberthree hitter with a 2-0 fastball
at 87 right across the belt,and he hit it out of the park
and that was the two runs theygot.
Again, I didn't know how topitch yet, even though I was 22,
21.
(28:32):
After the game, we're gettingready to get on the bus we lost.
Coach V comes on and he goes.
Hey, pretty good you threw theball well.
Oh and thanks, coach, he goes.
Hey, we're looking forward tohaving you back at school in the
fall.
I said me too, coach, I can'twait he goes.
Hey, just between you and me,any of these kids on your team
worth can you play ball?
I said, coach, that's centerfield that we got.
Eric is better than anybody yougot.
(28:52):
And New Haven had just gone tothe World Series.
Like every year, a couple guysdrafted Okay, he was like coach,
equal area.
It gives me this look.
Now they only saw a baseballgame.
I think Eric might have poppedup and flew out the center.
Didn't get any chances incenter field.
So how the hell do they know?
Right?
I said, coach, this kid isbetter than anybody you got.
He runs better.
(29:13):
He could lead off third orfourth for you.
He has the power.
He never doesn't hit the ballright in the screws, he never
strikes out.
He's a great kid.
Blah, blah, blah, coach V.
And Coach Aint give him a, Ithink, half scholarship on my
word he has, it being myroommate, not to mention Danny
Lynch, our catcher, who I alsothrew a quick plug in.
Danny, me and Eric livedtogether for two years.
(29:35):
Danny was a hell of a ballplayer.
He was our catcher.
Everybody loved Lynch.
He was a leader, ended upplaying pro ball, becoming a
scout for the Angels.
Anyway, these are lifelongbuddies and I feel like I almost
did a Wade Bovart thing there.
I said, talked about Danny andEric, the coach V and Aint on
the spot.
If I hadn't said that, if theyhadn't had come to the game to
watch me pitch and I hadn't hadthe opportunity to talk about
(29:55):
those two, they wouldn't havegot scholarships to come to New
Haven, we wouldn't have had thatexperience, they wouldn't have
been at my wedding.
They wouldn't be lifelongbuddies, right?
But Eric Klein, to the day, isthe best baseball player I've
ever played with.
I'll continue to tell the story.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Well, that's a great story.
Now let's jump a little bitahead.
Now you were within theMontreal Expos organization and
talk about what happened.
That cost you a chance to pitchat the major league level, and
(30:30):
this is really, in my opinion,it's a great lesson for players
when things don't go your way.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Touche this, my god, if I could go in a time machine.
You know, my son always saysdad, if you had a time machine,
if you go back, what would youdo?
Would you go back to you know,1939, stop Hitler.
What would you do?
So there's a lot of things Ithink about.
I would probably take that overwhat I'm gonna tell you.
But I'm with the Expos.
(30:57):
I'm lucky enough to sign withthe Expos during the replacement
thing.
So basically I'm a scab.
But I didn't care this.
No, I wanted a shot.
I'm 22, 23 now.
I didn't have the conventionalroad to the minor leagues into
the big leagues.
If someone's gonna give me achance, I'm gonna go try to get
some exposure.
So I'm down to spring trainingin West Palm with the Expos
having a pretty good spring.
I think I had six starts in theGreat Fruit League and now I was
(31:19):
on my knuckleball.
I was no longer a fastballcurveball guy, I was a mix,
mix-up guy like almost an RADickie.
I would throw a knuckleball.
I could throw it for strike, nospin.
It didn't move quite as much asWayfield, charlie Huff and the
Neacro brothers but it it was agood knuckleball and I could
still throw 88 with a hook,strike you out.
(31:39):
So I started to turn some headswith the Expos.
I had six starts.
I think Peter Gammon's did anESPN preview of the NL East.
If anybody could find thisvideo I'd love to see it.
But I remember watching ESPN inthe hotel with all my buddies
with the Expos and Peter Gammonsaid this preview about when the
Expos head north to facePittsburgh at Three Rivers.
It won't be Mark Langston andRandy Johnson and Pedro Martinez
(32:03):
, it'll be knuckleball JeffLeturneau and Link Mickelson and
some of these other guys whowere us.
We're all sitting there in thehotel room watching, laughing
and I think if the first pitchof replacement baseball season
hit started, that's Sunday nightand I don't know if it was the
Marlins against the Dodgers orwhatnot.
Every guy who was on thereplacement roster was gonna get
a hundred thousand dollarssigning bonus.
(32:25):
Now I had just gotten married orI was getting married May 95.
This was like March, april 95.
So I was getting married like amonth.
My wife was doing all theplanning while I was down in
spring training in West Palmwith the Expos.
So that day I pitch against theDodgers and Vero Beach and I'm
(32:47):
coming back to my hotel and weget a we get like a phone call,
joe Carrigan, who I think passedaway, pitching coach for the
Expos, former big league managerfor the Red Sox and pitching
coach.
He says to me we're gonna sendyou to Ottawa, you're not going
on my trail.
Ottawa's trip to a trip awayinternationally.
(33:08):
Now, instead of being who cares, I'm gonna get a chance to play
organized baseball, triple Awith the Expos.
As a knuckleballer I'm thinkingshit, hundred thousand bonus
these guys in my hotel roomagain that money I'm not figures
.
I put my beer down and Ismacked the hotel bed board
where I were on my bed.
Look like a piece of ball.
(33:29):
So was.
I didn't think I was gonna breakmy hand off so I wasn't trying
to do that.
I played sports my whole lifeand I would broke a bone.
My roommate link says well, youget that pretty hard.
Like yeah, I did when got someice, put some ice on, but again,
I thought it was probably bonebruise.
Next day we go off of practicemy hands all puffy.
I put I try to hold the balllike this and keep my peeky out.
(33:50):
So it wasn't impacted.
I picked up the ball and justdropped it out.
I had broken my fifthmetacarpal.
My, but like a boxing fracturethey call it did not a fight,
did not punch.
So so three, four weeks laterI'm in a splint in extended
spring, after having a greatspring training.
(34:10):
Kevin Malone, the GM, neilHuntington this you know, my leg
director turned some heads.
I'm an extended spring with asplit in the minute my splint
comes off, they give me myrelease for being a jackass.
If you, if you think about theentire road I took, which was
very non-traditional and all I'mfinally gonna get to pitch in
(34:32):
Ottawa.
Who knows, maybe I have four orfive good stars.
They get called up, or anotherteam notices me in trades for me
, but nope, I was pissed aboutgoing to Ottawa instead of
Montreal.
I'll pitch at three rivers toget a hundred grand and I think,
in thinking little instead ofthinking big, picture just being
immature and young and dumb.
Right, wow, that's punch.
(34:54):
The bed board got released,amazing, amazing.
So, kids, if you're listening,let that be a lesson to you well
, you know, what's funny is.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
You know all the conversations we've had over the
years.
You, you ended up getting a jobat ESPN.
Yeah, and if you could justshare that story where you were
in the cafeteria and it walksPeter Gammons yeah, this was.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
This was great.
I got some buddies like richfavorite Tom Peters, mike Bracco
few of the guys.
I'm working at ESPN where JohnFriedman, scott Atkinson great,
great place to work, not makingany money.
I mean, I had a college degreeI think I was making $20,000,
but it was at ESPN, how cool,right.
I was working in the commercialoperations department and you
(35:43):
know, getting 30 second ads andscheduling air time and anyway
I'm in the cafeteria and all theguys knew that I played
baseball but they thought I wasprobably a little full of shit
too.
And we walk in the cafeteria.
One of the guys I think TomPeters goes hey, maternal,
there's Peter Gammons, think heknows you.
I'm thinking I'm gonna say Imet him.
Once I get lying behind him andto get food through the through
(36:08):
the cafeteria, I said, hey,peter, he tried to look to me.
He was Jeff, how you doing pal?
Because the face on Bracco andPeters and Faber's face was
priceless.
They were like he does know you, he goes.
Hey, you're not throwing aknuckleball anymore.
I'm like nah, nah, time to moveon.
But it was a hell of a run.
But Peter Gammons, so that was.
(36:29):
I went home with a skip my stepthat night well, you know it's.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
It's amazing is there are some people that just have
that, that memory, that they canremember people like I'm the
complete opposite I can'tremember a name, but I can
always remember a face.
But for him to be able to, yeah,I see that's amazing yeah, well
, I mean, let's see so that hedidn't even know who I was until
spring of 95 and this was, yeah, 96, so it was only like six
(36:58):
months later, wow, I'm workingat ESPN you know, let's, let's
jump around, because you've hada great career as far as it goes
professional baseball sevenyears and you decided to take an
opportunity and in playoverseas and you know, for me
(37:19):
this podcast is if I can getguys to tell great stories and
this is one of those ones that Ireally enjoyed and, yeah, you
were on the mound and if youcould kind of just take us
through what happened in thatthat one game so I'm playing for
the Amherstford quick in theDutch league and it was, I think
, eight teams at the high leveland one American or
(37:40):
international player per roster.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Most the guys were a rule book here or so, which were
Dutch properties, good baseball, probably like a D1 baseball
little bat and probably got athousand people a game.
To come to the games.
It was a team in Rotterdam,amsterdam, harlem, then hog,
amherst, fort, so anyway, we gotto play the same teams a lot.
So there was this kid whoplayed for, I think then hog I
(38:06):
Forget the name of their teambut he was a good player.
It was a lead-off guy who wasjust Irritating to pitchers.
He could steal, put the bat onthe ball, but if he walked he
was the kind of guy thatSprinted at first base, yeah,
and immediately took a big lead,was moving his feet around you,
like this guy's a pain in theneck.
So he's on first base and I'mat my set and I'm looking over
(38:29):
and I step off a couple times.
Like this guy we go.
If I throw over a couple timeshe's got good speed.
So you got to respect them.
The name is Edwin fuck up fokke, with a couple dots over the
ear, something like that.
He was a Dutch, dutch kid.
So Now the people in the standslike, come on, let's go turn
the page pitch.
(38:49):
And I'm throwing over a fewtimes getting him to dive back.
I'm like I'm gonna get him backa little bit.
Now.
He's on second, first andsecond, like nobody out, or one
now, and he's doing the samething.
He's bluffing like he's gonnasteal 30s over by the shortstop,
banging his feet.
I'm doing the inside move, I'mstepping off.
I Just thinking to myself Icould really can't stand this
guy so fast forward.
(39:11):
I'm having a hell of an ending.
He's a third base and I'm at myset now because there's one out
or nobody out, bases loaded.
I'm looking at him.
A third because I'm aright-handed pitcher and I'm
facing him and he looks at meand he goes Come on, pussy.
Well, I step off the mountain.
I said what did you say?
I Think I might even saidsomething like you, little Dutch
(39:33):
blank which, in hindsight, kids, you're in a hipster dam.
Yeah, that's not a smart thingto say, but I was just like I
was gonna fight this guy.
So I walk over to the benchesclear, yump tires, like what the
heck's going on?
The benches are all I, one ofmy third baseman, this guy from
Kurosawa, jackie Jacoba, looksat me, goes Jeff, jeff, what do
(39:53):
you say?
He called me a pussy.
Screw him.
Let's go pal.
Trying to get to the guy.
This kind of reminds me of meand you're a little altercation
at second base game, but anyway,he looks at me like I have two
heads.
Come to find out.
The guy was saying come on,bossy, because the guy at the
plate's name was Frank boss, bos, oh my god, do you talk about?
(40:16):
Never mind, I felt like agencast.
After the game, though, havinga beer with the guy in the can't
data, we'll laugh because, likeyou're crazy man, I'm like.
I thought you called me a pussy.
That was a funny story.
We became friends.
Everybody had a nice laugh.
They thought the American guywas a little hot.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Yeah, well, you know what?
That's a great story, butanother one I think is even
better is and you're bouncingaround through the different
professional systems You're in,I believe, sioux City yeah, your
, your team makes it to theplayoffs and.
You're probably the onlybaseball player out there.
(40:58):
I know that you're beinginterviewed by the local TV and
the owner of the team and Famousactor Bill Murray decides to.
I wouldn't say photo bomb, buthe interview, bombed your
interview.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Yeah, I'm actually playing with the St Paul Saints
96 and we're playing Fargo,fargo more head again.
You probably heard of him.
Hello, but team, that's thefive playoffs.
And Bill Murray the comedianwas co-owner of the St Paul
Saints and that's a great placeto play baseball, probably my
favorite place ever as far asentertaining.
We used to out draw the twinsbecause the Minnesota twins were
(41:37):
terrible.
It's summertime in Minnesotaand they play in a dome.
We were playing outdoors.
Yeah, the stadium seated 6500people.
It was full capacity, peopletailgating to come watch outdoor
baseball.
Probably five bucks to get in.
Mike Vech, the owner, son ofBill Vech, bill Murray, they had
pigs bringing out the balls tothe umpire.
(41:57):
I'm sure a lot of you listenershave heard about St Paul Saints
.
It's really a cool placethere's.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
there's actually a a um On Netflix right now.
There's a documentary about theSt Paul, saints and, and yeah.
Bill Vech in the whole it's a.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
It's a circus.
There's nuns giving massages,you can get your haircut.
There's, you know, dizzy batraces between every inning.
It's a fun place to be.
But meanwhile there's abaseball game going on
background with some pretty goodplayers.
When I played we had GlennDavis, jack Morris, darryl
strawberry.
So there's some big leadersthat are trying to you know,
it's like they're farewell,they're swan song to keep
playing.
(42:36):
Maybe get picked up like Darrylstrawberry, get picked up back
to the Yankees.
Had like another six, sevenyears niggas.
But the typical players, likejust somebody who's you know
looking to play a little morebaseball, get paid to do it.
So after the game, I think Ibeat Fargo three to one or
something.
I threw seven or eight goodinnings as a knuckleball in the
game to at St Paul.
So I'm in the locker room andall of a sudden the one of the
(43:00):
Coaches at HF channel four, fiveor seven, whatever the sports
wants to do a live feed, can youput your shirt and hat back on?
Go out in the dugout?
I'm like, yeah, I put my shirt,hat back on.
When I go out in the dugout andthe interviewers starts asking
me about the game, it says look,you got off to a tough start,
but you really had him chasingthat knuckleball again and blah,
blah, blah.
And I'm answering the questions.
(43:21):
That that's like can.
Also, I feel two hands on myshoulders like rubbing my
shoulders during the interviewas I'm looking this way.
So All of a sudden, bill Murraytakes over the interview.
He says yeah, you know, jeff,we had to change a few things
with his grip on the knuckleball.
He was just ad-libbing andsaying no, used to throw four
fingers.
I got him to using two fingers,but we really got it working
today, did a nice job out there,took over the interview.
(43:43):
Now the reporters laughing.
I'm laughing, everybody'slaughing, and God, I wish I
could find that video.
So if anybody watching can findthat video, it was, it was
probably September 96, st Paul,minneapolis, local sports.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
That's a that's a great story.
I I enjoy that.
Now I drew a thing at the endhere where I like to do a rapid
fire with you, and there arequestions that may not
necessarily High into what youdo with baseball, but I like to
have fun with it in.
The first one I'm gonna startoff with is when I say the name
(44:21):
Brock party quarterback for theSan Francisco 49ers what comes
to mind?
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Well, first of all, I love this guy and you know
here's a guy Mr Irrelevant Ithink they double him last pick
again.
Probably just believed inhimself and said I can play
wherever you put me.
Right to the San Francisco49ers last pick, probably
thinking he was gonna get alittle bit of camp and get
released.
He proves he's.
(44:48):
Once he gets there, he proveshe's better than Trey Lance
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Now the guy may get the MVP Ithink he was just named the Pro
Bowl but my Connection to BrockPurdy was when I'm living in
Orlando to send me Florida withyou and Rick and I'm playing for
Valencia Community College.
One of my teammates was this guy, sean Purdy, who Ended up
(45:11):
having two boys, and I don'tknow if I haven't stayed in
touch with Sean.
I wish I could find him onLinkedIn.
He may have more kids in thetwo boys, but Brock plays
football from the San Francisco49ers.
His other son, nick name, isChubba.
Chubba plays quarterback forNebraska.
I want to say he was a Floridastandard.
He changed from Nebraska butanyway.
So Sean Purdy and he live in StCloud was at the town right next
(45:31):
to Kassemi, yes, so I used topick him up, take him to
practice every day, drop him offbecause the school was in
Orlando, but a half-hour drivefrom St Cloud to Semi.
So I became friends with Purdyand he was a hell of a pitcher.
What an honor.
I'm not surprised this kid isin the NFL.
Yeah, yeah, I think he went toUniversity of Miami afterwards,
got a little bit of cup ofcoffee, maybe with the angels or
somebody, but so, yeah, I waswatching football one day and
(45:53):
I'm like Brock Purdy that's afunny spelling, purdy and I
googled him and Parents and sureenough there's Sean.
So I haven't talked to Seansince 1988 and if he ever
watches this podcast, hey, I'mrooting for you, kid, and nice
to see you.
I'm glad things are going well.
Go 49ers.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
Or you know, you growing up in the Northeast and
your whole family being big RedSox fans.
If you go to a game at FenwayPark, where's the best place for
you to sit, and what are youhaving to eat and drink?
Speaker 1 (46:32):
I, we go.
We try to go once a year withthe family and I love going to
Fenway, I think it's.
I've been to a lot ofall-powers.
I think it's the best ballparknot if you're over six feet tall
, which forced them 511.
It was not a lot of leg room.
Okay, I mean I'm my knees areup against the guy in front of
me and I'm 511.
(46:52):
I would say sausage and peppersor maybe like a Fenway, frank,
you know, and I've sat atdifferent places.
I would love to sit on the wallin the left field monster.
I never got a chance to sit.
That was, I know, my mom usedto springing up.
My mom again.
She used to go to the.
She used to go to the.
She used to go to the wall andsit there a lot.
(47:15):
She used to go to everyPatriots day when they did the
marathon.
She used to go to opening day.
She went to couple postseasongames.
She sat all over the place.
The bleachers are great too,though Boston fans are something
else.
Yeah, and I was fortunateenough to play with John Siruti
in Albany Colony in 95.
John Siruti played the bigleagues with Detroit in Toronto
(47:37):
and he passed away For great man.
And John Siruti told me heplayed in the AL East his whole
career.
He used to tell me playing inYankee Stadium is nothing
compared to playing at Fenway.
As a visitor you play in Fenway.
Those fans are Unbelievable.
Yeah, the stuff they yell atyou in the dugout, I mean in the
bullpen, because the bullpen'sright in this, right in the
(47:58):
right field.
Bleachers, have you ever?
Speaker 2 (47:59):
been to Fenway Never, never been.
I've got a kid there sometime.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Well, I live in Connecticut.
You and Susan Jake need to comevisit me and we need to go to
Fenway.
Yeah, we'll do it, maybe thissummer it is a great place to
see a ballgame.
There's not a bad seat in thehouse, be just the environment.
The atmosphere is awesome, yeah.
So, oh, I would tell you quickstory.
Also, my mom, before she passedaway game 2013.
(48:23):
She was a quintessential RedSox fan.
She bought a brick.
So in Fenway Park, in the TomBernansky section of underneath,
when you buy your Concessionsand your t-shirts and stuff yeah
, these different sections, theTom Bernansky section there's a
brick there that says Emily,michael and Colin would turn.
(48:46):
You could buy a brick.
I want to save a 500 bucks, soit's there forever.
Wow, that's great.
So now three kids have a brick.
There you go and no, yeah, it's, it's my mom.
She did that for us and we havea copy of it.
Shoot me, you have a copy ofthe brick, but it's also at
Fenway and it's there forever.
And Real quick.
I know we're off short on timecard, but I love to tell this
story.
(49:06):
My grandfather Really taught meto love baseball.
He was he was thequintessential Red Sox man.
He was born in 1919, died in2003.
He lived the 86 years the RedSox didn't win the World Series,
oh, and he was buried in hiscasket with his Red Sox, had the
suspenders and he was wait tillnext year.
Jeffrey will get him next year.
(49:26):
He never missed the game and Ispent my entire childhood
watching baseball with him inthe dead.
My grandmother would walk inhim the echo, you know, and a
sandwich.
And me, my Pepe and my dad andeverybody watched the game.
And but one time I'm at ahockey rink and I'm telling this
guy who's got a Yankee hat, heain't, he sweats you about my
grandfather.
And he says to me he goes BabeRuth wasn't the curse, your
(49:48):
grandfather was the curse.
That was funny.
But my grandfather boy, hetaught me to love baseball.
Speaker 2 (49:56):
I love the Red Sox well, if you were a manager of
the Boston Red Sox and you had achoice between Group A or group
B, and this is your startingpitching rotation group A Roger
Clemens, kurt Schilling,jonathan Papelbaum and Babe Ruth
(50:18):
, or Group B Pedro Martinez,louis T Yon, tim Wakefield and
Cy Young who you're taking?
Speaker 1 (50:31):
That's a great question and play over my head,
I'd probably get this wronganyway.
But I think I would go withPedro and Tian and Wakefield and
Cy, because you have fourdifferent looks.
Okay, the hitters can't getcomfortable.
You got a guy like Tian, who Iwas fortunate enough to meet at
a Novo Nordisk event, a bigdiabetes, ada Hispanic event in
(50:54):
Boston.
What a great guy.
You talked about getting totell stories, that guy, but he
used to spin and face centerfield and throw you this big
lolly-cop curveball and throw 90at the knees.
He was nasty, yeah.
And then Wakefield would throwyou knuckleballs that would
drive you crazy.
And then Pedro Martinez Wasprobably the best pitcher I've
(51:15):
seen in my life.
I always say Nolan Ryan becauseNolan Ryan, through seven no
hitters and seven one hittersand when he was hitting with his
curveball, good luck.
Yeah, you had no chance.
Especially in that area hepitched where the average speed
you didn't see was a hundred.
Nowadays everybody's throw 100balls about it.
So but and I never got to seeCy Young pitch I believe he was
(51:37):
probably a lefty big.
You know off speed stuff here,I don't know.
Speaker 2 (51:40):
I Should know good name to the war after him.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, he must have been pretty good.
But I would go with group Bbecause you would give hitters a
different look.
Every, every versus Schilling,clemens Papelbaugh.
They all threw hard 95.
I think it is.
We'll get used to those guys.
Yeah, no, knock on those guys.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
Hard.
Being a bit northeast guy.
You can only pick one team toroot for in Boston.
Is it the Red Sox, the CelticsPatriots or the Bruins?
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Wow, and I have a hat .
I should have worth all fourlogos on one hat.
You know, I would probably sayBoston Bruins because I love the
sport of hockey.
I think there's nothing like itbeautiful game or exciting,
fast-paced.
Me and my two boys watching theBruins and the playoffs is the
(52:34):
best.
Now, having said that, 1975,when Bernie carbrough hits the
home run pinch, hitting home runAgainst the Reds to tie it and
force the game seven might havebeen the most excited I've ever
been.
In any event, as nine years old, love the Red Sox, tom Brady
and the Patriots.
The memories I have.
Larry bear was probably myfavorite athlete of any of them,
(52:56):
but I'm going Bruins.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
There you go.
But it's funny.
You mentioned the 75 WorldSeries.
A Big time controversial callwas made with in that game up in
Boston and Larry Barnett wasthe umpire and, if people looked
it up, was just a.
He Ended up.
(53:21):
He's from a small town here inOhio and I had to coach when I
was at Buckeye Valley and we hadto play on his field and he the
field was named after him, thepark was named after him and Me
and him got into it because hedidn't like the way I hit
infield and he thought I wasruining his infield and we.
(53:44):
So I got a chance to argue withLarry Barnett through the fence
and nice you know, and I kindof threw a little jab.
That really kind of set him offand I said well, you know
you're, you're still mad aboutthe role net, column 75.
Hey, that was that was it.
Yeah, believe it or not, wewere when we played that school.
(54:06):
We were not allowed to go backand play on that field again
after that.
So we played oh he really justlike it to you.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
Yeah, so I've seen that side of you with the big
dog softball team.
I've seen you get ejected acouple times and go hot with the
umpires.
The umpires like, not this guy.
Yeah.
Well, hey, I love a buddy tofinish up.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
I'm gonna take a chance here.
I don't know if you're preparedfor this, but Way back when we
were younger, you would alwaysdo this and could you finish and
this is definitely for thepeople of the northeast, and a
lot of people will may not getthis Finish with your famous
boston selenix announcer, johnnymost.
(54:47):
All right, larry bear with theball that kicks in back.
Speaker 1 (54:54):
DJ, dj kicks it out to age.
It's good.
Speaker 2 (54:56):
I can't believe it, bell, they embarrassed, not that
what a gutless, no good and aselenix and the best team I've
ever seen and Go selenix, johnnymost.
That's classic.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Ha, no fact.
I think on our apartment inOrlando and Kassemi that was our
answering machine.
Yes, some do.
The effect of DJ kicks them allout.
The bird, bird to Maxwell andbird and I can't believe it.
Hey, you've reached out, kenrick and carp.
No one's here right now.
Leave a message.
Those were, those were somegood times, well oh, and then we
(55:33):
fall that up with sunday'sbarbecue and get the couch.
There you go, oh well everyone.
Speaker 2 (55:38):
It's Jeff Latterno, pitching coach at gilford high
school in Connecticut and one ofmy best friends.
I've known you for 37, 38 yearsand you I don't know if I've
told you this, but you are themost listened to podcast, from
back on episode 18, if peoplewant to go back and check that
(56:01):
one out, but Wow, thanks.
Thanks again for taking thetime to be on the athlete one
podcast with me.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
Oh, thank you, Ken, and you make it.
You make it fun conversationand I have no doubts I'm not
surprised that your podcast isdoing so well.
So, uh, thanks, this has beenfun catching up, but definitely
take me up on Fenway park andthen maybe head up to york beach
and see a little lighthouse Iknow sues likes that.
Yes so, uh, all right, good,catching up, buddy.
(56:27):
I hope this goes well.
All right, pass this podcast onto your friends.
Ha ha all right.
Speaker 2 (56:32):
Well, hey, thanks again and take care, all right
come.
Today's episode of the athleteone podcast is powered by the
netting professionals.
Contact them today at844-620-2707.
That's 844-620-2707.
If you're looking to make yourfield and facilities look their
(56:55):
best.
Check out all their productsand projects on Instagram,
twitter and facebook at nettingpros.
Special thanks to our guest,jeff Latterno, for joining the
athlete one podcast, and I'dlike to thank all listeners who
have taken the time to past twoyears to be a part of the
(57:17):
athlete one family.
I'm your host, ken Carpenter,and, as always, thanks for
listening.
coaches at HF channel four, five or seven, whatever
the sports wants to do a livefeed.
Can you put your shirt and hatback on, go out in the dugout?
I'm like, yeah, but I put myshirt, hat back on.
When I go out in the dugout andthe interviewers starts asking
me about the game, it says, look, you got off to a tough start,
but you really had him chasingthat knuckleball again and blah,
blah, blah.
And I'm answering the questionsthe best I can.
(00:21):
Also, I feel two hands on myshoulders like rubbing my
shoulders during the interviewas I'm looking this way.
So all of a sudden, bill Murraytakes over the interview.
He says yeah, you know, jeff,we had to change a few things
with his grip on the knuckleball.
He was just ad-libbing andsaying you know, he used to
throw four fingers.
I got him to using two fingers,but we really got to work and
today did a nice job out there,took over the interview.
(00:43):
Now the reporters laughing, I'mlaughing, everybody's laughing,
and God, I wish I could findthat video.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hello and welcome to athlete one, a podcast for
athletes, coaches and parents.
I'm your host, ken Carpenter,and yes, today's guest was
shocked to have his interviewafter a game interrupted by the
owner and famous actor, billMurray.
I often get asked what has beenyour most downloaded podcast
episode, and it was episode 18.
(01:13):
Why not me, a knuckleball orhis path to pro baseball?
Well, I decided to bring himback for episode 92 and be the
first guest of 2024.
Jeff Latterno next on theathlete one podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Welcome to the athlete one podcast.
Veteran high school baseballcoach, ken Carpenter takes you
into life's classroom asexperienced through sports.
Go behind the scenes withathletes and coaches as they
share great stories, lifelessons and ways to impact
others.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Today's episode of the athlete one podcast is
powered by the nettingprofessionals, improving
programs one facility at a time.
Will Miner and his team at thenetting professionals specialize
in the design, fabrication,installation of custom netting
for baseball and softball.
This includes backstops,batting cages, bp turtles,
(02:18):
screens, ball carts and more.
They also design and installdigital graphic wall padding,
windscreen, turf, turfprotectors, dugout benches and
cubbies.
The netting pros are notlimited to just baseball and
softball.
They also work with football,soccer, lacrosse and golf
courses.
Visit them today at844-620-2707.
(02:43):
That's 844-620-2707.
Visit them online atwwwnettingproscom or check them
out on Twitter, instagram,facebook and LinkedIn at
nettingpros for all their latestproducts and projects.
If you enjoy today's show,don't forget to hit the
(03:06):
subscribe button, rate the showand leave us a review.
Also, don't forget to follow uson Twitter, instagram, facebook
at AthleteOne Podcast.
Now let's get to our first guestof 2024.
Great friend of mine who we metback in the 80s while stationed
at Fort Bragg in the Army, jeffLatterno.
(03:30):
Hello and welcome to theAthleteOne Podcast.
Joining me today is a guestthat I had back on Episode 18
and he's currently the pitchingcoach for Guilford High School
Baseball in Connecticut.
Jeff Latterno, thanks fortaking the time to be on the
podcast.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Good morning Kirk.
Good to see you, buddy.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well, hey, I see in the background there you got
some golf clubs.
It's Connecticut and it'sJanuary.
Is that a possibility?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
You know, I live on the shoreline in Connecticut so
we get a few straggly days herewhere we can get out and play.
It's cold, You've got to bundleup with the winter cap and the
winter gloves.
But yeah, I'm a strugglinggolfer, Let me put it this way.
For the last 30 years I've beentrying to figure this game out,
and if I had dedicated thattime to piano or something like
(04:22):
that, think about how good I'dbe by now.
But anyway, I enjoy playingwith friends and struggling
around the course.
It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, I'd like to jump right into kind of where we
left off, because you were themost listened to podcast that
I've had, out of 91 podcasts sofar.
And this is the start of yearthree.
And you know, after being acollege all-American pitcher and
a seven-year professionalcareer, you coached your son's
(04:52):
little league teams as they weregoing up through and then you
finally got an opportunity tobecome the pitching coach at
Guilford High School.
How's that experience been?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Oh, it's been great Guilford town I live in great
bunch of kids, coaching staffs,outstanding.
I'll tell you what what acoaching staff we got.
We got a kid who is the headcoach.
He's super with kids, veryknowledgeable, catcher D1 at
James Madison.
His dad helps out.
He was a former big leager.
We got another guy who knowsbaseball and side-out, could
(05:23):
coach any team.
He played shortstop atQuinnipiac when he played.
We got a great bunch of guysand the kids are outstanding.
It's a great little town andthe fun I've had coaching is
just teaching these kids.
What took me forever to learn.
You know, don't throw a 2-0fastball down the belt and try
to hump up an extra mile an hourto get by a guy and end up
backing up third base.
I talked to him about keepingthe ball down, keeping the
(05:45):
mechanics simple, keeping theball off the fat part of the
plate, maybe throwing somethingother than a fastball and a
fastball count, which took meuntil about age 27 to learn.
But the biggest thing I loveworking with the kids on is just
for the love of the game andteach them a little bit of
humility.
And if you're going to playsports you're going to fail
(06:06):
right.
That's the number one thing.
I can tell you a quick story.
I'll jump right into a story.
I'm in Sioux City, iowa, at 94,I think, in the Northern League
, playing against Sioux Falls.
My roommate and one of my bestfriends on the road, matt
Connolly, big 6-6 strap-inIrishman from Queens, new York,
he pitched 88,.
He's a stellar ball.
Okay, we're up 3-1.
Well, ed Noddle in his wisdomsays Lieutenant, close it out.
(06:31):
So I come in.
I got to face 9-1-2 in theninth inning.
So go right at him.
Right, you're up by two runs.
It's on the road in theballpark, about 3,500 people
there screaming.
I get on the mound, first pitch, get over fastball the number
nine hitter.
He hits it out of the park.
Oh boy, wow, what a son of agun.
Nine hitter.
(06:52):
All right, get the ball backfrom Tom Carcyon, walk around
the mound a little bit.
All right, it's okay, mymanager's on the top step, let's
go.
Let's go.
Go right at him.
Jeff, I got the leadoff hitter,this little lefty kid.
He's a slap hitter at best.
He runs.
That's his thing.
I throw a little.
Get over curveball.
Good pitch, whack Down theright field line.
(07:12):
Fair gone, two pitches 3-3.
I look at the dugout, at MattConnelly, and he slams his water
down.
He's like come on, man.
I'm like so Carcyon walks outto the mound.
Here comes Ed Noddle.
What the hell's going on?
I go to the coach.
I just threw two good pitchesto the nine.
(07:33):
One hitter.
You could throw those guys BPfor the next two hours.
They would not go back to backon two pitches.
I guess that's baseball.
So Ed Noddle goes.
All right, let's go get him kid.
So the fans now are yellingkeep them in, keep them in.
So I go.
Okay, now you would say come.
It says would be throw a ball,mix it up a little bit.
(07:54):
No, I'm going to ride thisnumber two hitter.
Little second baseman Remindingme of a young Ken Carpenter.
I throw a fastball Probably 89.
Good movement, whack Down theleft field line, inside the
chalk line, fair ball Stand updouble.
Here comes Ed Noddle, takes meout of the game.
(08:15):
I threw three pitches Home run,home run.
Double on three good pitches,have you?
Yeah?
And two minutes later I'msitting with Matt Connelly in
the dugout line.
I'm sorry, man, holy crap.
And what I try to, I tell thatstory to my players.
That happens.
If you don't want to fail,don't play sports, because
you're going to fail, right,right.
(08:35):
So this is the thing I liketeaching kids Go at kids, go
with your best stuff, challengethem.
Don't throw it to.
A fastball is one of fastballs,three one fastballs when
they're sitting dead red and youthrow 80 miles an hour down the
belt.
You got to learn to throwsomething off speed a little,
get over curveball or change upsomething.
Anyway, it's a lot of fun.
(08:57):
It's a great group of kids,great talent, great coaches.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Now you guys had a pretty nice run last year.
You know as far as the as whenhe comes to Connecticut baseball
.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
We did we.
I'll tell you what the coachagain the head coach Nick did a
great job with these kids.
A lot of talent, a couple goodarms, three or four really good
arms and, as you know fromcoaching, a nice little baseball
you need that and we got to the.
In Connecticut we played a D2schedule.
We got to the SCC tournamentwhich is the D1, d2, d3, best
(09:30):
four teams in SouthernConnecticut and there's a ton.
Guilford gets in it Okay, whichdoesn't happen all the time A
D2 team gets in it.
And Notre Dame West Haven,which was a D1 team, beat them,
played Fairfield Prep D1 teambeat them.
I forget how it went.
Maybe Xavier, another D1 team.
(09:52):
We win the SCCs.
The dream season continues.
Now we go to the statetournament.
We go all the way through thequarterfinals and the semifinals
and I'm really proud of mypitchers.
Quarterfinal game we won one ornothing on a home run.
I want to say it was AndrewShow Show, who's now at oh God,
(10:14):
what's the name of the school isSwarthmore, down outside
Pennsylvania.
Big, strong kid throws the ballhard through a shutout.
Next game semifinal I might begetting this backwards Bryce
Meadier, who is our ace, who'sgoing D1.
He might have pitched that one.
And then Andrew pitched thesecond one against getting old
(10:37):
cart.
Forget these teams we played,but it was a good game.
He threw a two, nothing,shutout.
So we went shutout, shutout.
Quarterfinal semifinal to getto the state championship.
We lost in the final game toBrookfield, but the tough game
we lost.
I think we used to bat swear ona little cold.
Last three games two, nothing,one, nothing and the
(10:58):
quarterfinal 70 fouls on twohome runs.
That was it.
You start to get to the finals,you start to see the best
pitchers, right?
Oh yeah, so the last game inthe state championship we faced
a tough kid and he'd beat us.
I want to say three to one.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
That's a heck of a run, though.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Heck of a run.
Good kids and they're going tobe just as good this year.
We lost a couple really goodseniors.
This kid, sammy, I'm trying togreat little ball player, he's
hopefully playing at Quinnipiacright now and lost quite a few
seniors.
Actually I'm trying to blank.
But Jack Farrar, who went toMiami, but good kids.
(11:35):
Andrews at Swarthmore yeah, butwe'll be back.
Got a good group of kids, goodtown and good fans and good
coaches, so we're back.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
You know this kind of goes back to when you played as
a senior in high school.
You've told me you were a five,six, five, six second baseman,
slash third baseman.
You decided to join the army.
You grew a lot and after thearmy you thought what the heck,
I'm going to go to FSU after themilitary and that's where your
(12:05):
career for baseball reallyseemed to take off.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, you know we named I think you named the
first podcast.
You know, I think it was likewhy Not Me?
Or something to that effect andthat's really what it was.
I always loved sports.
I think when I was in eighthgrade I was best athlete in my
little middle school becauseeverybody's prepubescent and
five feet tall.
I was a good little hockeyplayer, a little basketball
player.
You know little white kid inBella, suburban, massachusetts
(12:33):
who thought he was Larry Byrd atfive.
One Good baseball player,hockey, anything I could play,
because it's all we did.
We played sports, just like youdid in Bel Air, yeah.
And then I got to high schooland everybody became young men
in five, eight, five, nine,facial hair.
I think my junior year I wasfive, three.
I don't even remember if I hadlike sprouted yet and but I
(12:55):
always knew I was as athletic asthese other guys.
I just wasn't big enough yetand it was going to happen.
So my senior year I get alittle bit of playing time as a
third baseman, second baseman.
The days of being a shortstopwere over because I was five,
three and just too small.
Pitching really wasn't on thedocket.
Maybe you'll mop up here andthere.
(13:17):
I had a good arm for a littleguy and I go in the army.
And that's when I met you and Iwas just playing battalion
softball having a blast.
Yeah, you don't got a littlemix up at second base with yours
.
True, you right there Secondbase and almost came to blows.
And that's when we becamebuddies, thanks to our, our
other buddy, rick Reynolds Givehim a shout out Avon, ohio.
(13:38):
Yeah, there you go.
So he's the one who introducedus and I remember your reaction,
not this guy.
We are 38, 39 years later,buddies.
But you know, I just always feltlike I can play baseball and I
took that attitude going toFlorida State, which I should
have been star struck, but Iwasn't.
These guys had just been runnerup in the national championship
(14:00):
, I want to say in spring 86.
I go there and all these guys Iwas watching on ESPN the summer
before.
I'm on the field with them andI'm like these guys are good but
they're no better than my buddyChris Boeberg and Joe
Lesperance guys I grew up with,but just baseball player, how
good can you be at baseball?
It's baseball.
So I played with them and Istarted to believe I can play,
(14:24):
but I was still a little.
I guess.
I was a little in awe.
I guess when coaches startedsaying, why don't you go to
junior college and maybe getsigned?
I was like signed Again withthe guys on the field.
I thought, well, I mean I couldplay as good as these guys, but
I didn't.
I had no idea.
You know what it would be likebeing on a field with pros.
That's a whole different thing,I thought.
(14:45):
But as I continued to progressand I went to junior college in
Orlando and I went and played atUniversity of New Haven and
Quinn Sagan in different placesand I got in the minor leagues,
I always had that belief likeI'm as good or better than that
guy and I took that attitudeeven into the minor leagues for
seven years.
And it's funny quick, quick,tangent here.
I still tell my kids in highschool it's easier to pitch.
(15:08):
I would rather pitch againstthe Yankees tomorrow at 57 years
old than against Amity HighSchool.
And you know why?
Because the guys behind me makethe plays.
All you do is throw strikes.
It's a round-bat, round-ballhit.
You know these guys, you knowyou're going to make the plays.
I'll bet up five pitch againsta big league team right now and
I kept the ball down and I againpeople watching this are going
(15:29):
to say, yeah, right, pal.
But I think they would hit itat people more than not and I'd
probably get out of there withfive, six innings, two runs.
You try doing that against highschool kids.
There's a lot of real estate inthe outfield.
There's a lot of holes in theinfield.
That's not a knockout of myboys, but that's high school
baseball.
And that's what I try to teachthese kids.
Hey, don't get frustrated, justkeep firing, keep working.
(15:52):
Guys behind you are going tomake mistakes.
It's not the end of the world.
Just believe in yourself andit's all right.
If you love the game, it's allright.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Well, you know, you've admitted.
You know you were a small guyin high school.
What advice would you give ayoung high school player getting
ready to start up here in thespring and you know he's
dreaming of just some.
Some guys are just hoping tohey, I want to be a high school
baseball starter, and that's it.
Some guys want to maybe go onto play at the college level.
What advice would you give thatyoung player?
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I see it every day and my advice I give him is just
keep working hard and play hardand love the game.
You're going to grow and itdoesn't matter who's the best
player at 16 or 17.
Once in a blue moon you get akid who's 18 or 6'4".
You've coached them.
They throw a 93 and they get aD1 scholarship.
They get scouted.
That's not the typical kid.
I'm actually dealing with itwith my son, colin.
(16:45):
He's a freshman in high schoolat Guilford High School.
He's a goalie.
He's a late bloomer, like I was.
The other son, michael, was 5'2or 5'3 his freshman year.
He's now 6'2".
He plays an Ole Miss clubhockey.
He's the strongest kid on thisteam.
So don't worry about where youreign against your peers at 14
(17:06):
and 15 and 16.
Keep working hard.
Believe in yourself.
Please play a long toss.
Build up your arm strength.
Don't worry about the moundright now.
I told you the story last time.
I think I played at collegebaseball with this kid, tanya
Sturz, who some people listeningmay know his name.
He spent 10-plus years in thebig leagues.
He was our right-fielder atQuinn-Sigaman.
He was 6'5", 170 pounds.
(17:27):
Now I was like the NJCAA region.
Whatever I was region,worcester Maths, pitcher of the
year.
I threw 88 with a good hook.
I was nasty.
I thought Scouts would come tothe game.
They weren't watching me, theywere watching the skinny
right-fielder who was 6'5", 17",18", throw the ball to third
base during infield outfield.
(17:50):
Now I'll never forget he gotsigned by JP Richard.
He has a pitcher, not anoutfielder.
I remember Tanya was like JP,I'd rather play a position.
Jp was like listen, you're 6'5", you got a can for an arm.
You're going to turn into a manby the time you're 23 or 24.
You're going to probably throwa 95.
Sure enough, played 10 years inthe bigs and old Jeff Latterna
(18:10):
was still throwing 87 with acurve ball.
Don't worry about where you'reready to get your peers at 15.
Because everybody grows atdifferent paces.
And so and I'm dealing withColin right now you know he's
five, three.
He's in net.
He's a great little goalie andhe loves the game, but he
(18:30):
doesn't cover up much in the netyet.
He's got to really learn tocome out and get angles and
block the net.
And someday maybe he'll be six,two and his big padding and
body will block the net more.
Right, but don't compareyourself to kid who's six, one
right now.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Well, you became a D2 All-American at the University
of New Haven and you know thetalk you hear in the summer is
you know I need to get exposure.
I got to get in front of thecollege coaches and got to go to
the best tournaments andeverything.
And you know that's it's not1980s, but it wasn't necessarily
(19:10):
your case.
And you have a great storywhere a umpire saw you pitch and
then you go for a tryoutbecause he knows the coach at
the University of New Haven.
Can you share that story?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah.
So now I'm 20 years old, maybe21, out of the Army, I've gone
to Florida State, I've gone toValencia.
I'm home for the summer playingin a STEM usual league, which
is like a Dwyer league orwherever you live in the country
.
So basically, 18 plus league,you get a.
You get an assorted group ofbaseball players.
You get some college kids whoare playing summer ball.
You get some guys that are 23,24, that are done.
(19:48):
You get some guys that are 30,that just love baseball and
don't play softball.
So I'm playing for this team inWorcester Mass under the lights
and I'm starting to get prettygood.
I'm throwing 88, really goodclub.
Two different curveballs, oneto get over, one on nasty, one
in the dirt, strike you out.
And in the Worcester STEM usualleague that's pretty nasty,
(20:09):
okay.
So I think after seven inningsI struck out 14.
I'm walking in the car.
We're going to sit in theparking lot with some of the
guys, maybe have a beer or soda,whatever.
Shoot the breeze.
The umpire walks over to me bymy car and says hey, jeff, nice
job today, pal.
I said thank you.
He goes.
I'm Wade Bovar, I go.
Oh, nice to meet you, wade.
(20:30):
Jeff, where did you play highschool ball?
Are you from around here?
I said, oh yeah, I went toGrafton High Wade says I've been
on firing in this circuit for20 years.
I don't remember you.
You played for Dick Coleman, bythe way.
It was a great coach.
He made me love baseball.
What a great coach.
You talk about the impact a highschool coach could have.
Dick Coleman, grafton Maths.
He says to me he goes where doyou?
(20:54):
I don't remember you playing.
I go, cause that's because Iwas five, three and I played
second base, maybe a littleshortstop third.
He goes yeah, wow.
So how did it?
What happened?
You grew, where'd you go toschool?
I told him the story.
I went to the Army, you know,at the Florida State.
Now I'm currently at ValenciaCommunity College, being a
closer.
And he says to me did you everhear University of New Haven?
I said no, cause.
(21:14):
Again, I wasn't a kid who was ahigh school stud looking at
colleges, so I didn't know whoUniversity of New Haven was.
I think that's in Connecticut.
But division two school.
He said, jeff, they're probablythe best NCAA program in the
Northeast.
They usually go like 20-0against D1 teams in the fall and
then go to the NJCA.
I mean NJCA NCA division twoworld series every year in
(21:35):
Montgomery Alabama, 13 straightyears.
Coach Vieira is the best.
He's a buddy of mine.
I'm kind of like a bird dog forhim and I'd like to give him
your name and number, if that'sokay.
I'm like sure, thank you,that'd be great.
Next day I get a call from coachV.
Hey, can you come down SaturdayA little workout we're having,
I'm like sure.
So me and my mom drive down.
My mom loved baseball more thanI did.
(21:55):
She never missed a game,watched the Red Sox every night
in the parlor.
So anyway, she's giving me apep talk, cause I'm driving down
there.
How to work the ball.
You know throw breaking balls.
I'm like okay, mom, so we getdown on there.
We get down there and they havelike eight guys on the field.
You know taking infield,outfield, taking some BP.
All the guys got their NewHaven stuff on this.
(22:16):
Coach, big strapping guy, newHaven chargers T-shirt, new
Haven chargers shorts hat.
Big strong guy.
Hey, jeff, nice to meet you.
Coach and equilary.
I'm like hey, coach, he goes.
All right.
Listen, I should go getstretched out, warm up down the
bullpen, like okay.
So I'm throwing a little bitrunning a little bit throwing
down the bullpen.
I don't know a sole there.
These guys are all NCAAdivision two schools from New
(22:40):
Haven.
I'm down on the right fieldthrowing a pen.
All right, jeff, why don't youcome on in and throw a little
bit?
So I run over, I jog over themountain and I'm facing guys and
I'm doing what I did againstthe guys from the Sam Uzi League
I'm striking them all out.
Basketball Z-88, nasty hook.
There's this guy in the standswith no shirt on, with a beer
(23:02):
can, mind you, it's noon in Juneand he's, you know, he's
yelling at all the players.
I'm like, who the heck is thisguy in the stands, right?
So I thought he was just alocal idiot, baseball lover,
whatever.
So after I faced like 10hitters, I'm in the dugout
(23:25):
taking my spikes off.
All the guys like, hey, nicejob, jeff.
I'm like I like this place.
This place is pretty cool.
I'm picking off my boots,getting on my running shoes and
this guy in the stands with hisbeer is like, hey, fat ass,
let's turn it off.
Excuse my language.
He goes here, he goes.
Get out there and shag some flyballs.
If you want to be a chargey, ason of a bitch, I'm like this
(23:47):
guy.
I look over Coach Anquilera.
Like who's this guy?
Coach Anquilera, you better getout in that field right now.
Well, come to find out.
The guy with no shirt on andthe bleachers was Coach V.
He was the legendary coachVieira, all-time winningist, I
think, d2 coach, 13 straightNCAA programs, multiple players
in the big leagues and draftedevery year.
(24:08):
Oh my God.
So anyway, welcome to New Haven.
So that was it.
Actually, I got done.
This guy took me and my mom intothe office.
His office talked about comingto New Haven, how he had just
lost a number one.
He gives me a scholarship untilI graduate.
So I guess that said, I'mcoming to New Haven, connecticut
.
And I told you this story lasttime because this really hits me
(24:32):
right here, because if WadeBovard hadn't have come up to me
in the car right and decided tosay, hey, nice job, where you
from, Jeff, let me give this guy, coach V, a call on your behalf
.
And I didn't get down there,colin, emily, michael, none of
them would be here.
I wouldn't know my wife of 28years.
(24:53):
Yeah, this whole life would betotally different.
I ended up going to New Haven,met Mary, three kids, Did it
find out how life works?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Oh yeah, it's amazing .
That kind of leads into my nextquestion, because you talk
about players getting theiropportunities to play at the
next level and Coach V asked ifyou knew of anybody else that
could possibly play, and if youcould, this ended up being a
lifelong friend for you.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, this is one of my favorite stories.
So I'm playing, I go to NewHaven, I pitch in the fall and
now I have to go.
I get called with Coach V tothe NCAA eligibility office Like
what the hell is this about?
So I go there.
My grades are good.
Debbie Chen says to me Jeff,did you play at Florida State?
Did you go to Florida State?
(25:43):
I'm like yes.
Did you go to a junior collegein Orlando, valencia?
I'm like yes, she goes.
Did you graduate from thatjunior college?
And I said no.
She looks at Coach V and sayshe can't play.
Now I'm 21 years old.
I was in the Army with you fortwo years.
I've been traveling around fromFlorida State to Valencia.
Now I'm at New Haven.
I'm finally gonna get to playand show off my arm.
I'm 21, but I'm really like 18baseball age right, I mean my
(26:06):
right.
I haven't really pitched muchyet.
I'm excited about theopportunity.
I think I just beat SacredHeart in a fall game.
Part of the team.
They tell me I can't play.
This was devastating.
So my choices were sit out at 21, go back to Valencia in Orlando
, get my last two sciences witha lab and get my degree Because
(26:27):
I had good grades.
I just didn't.
You can't go from four-yearschool to a two-year school,
back to a four, and the NCAA putthis in place, I believe, is so
if you're playing football atMiami, you flunk out.
You can't go take a class atDade Community College for one
semester and then come back.
Yeah, so, but that wasn't mycase.
I literally was chasingbaseball Again, being a dreamer
(26:48):
and following this baseballdream, and so, anyway, I have to
sit out.
So I said, what about going toQuinn Sigmund Community College
in Worcester?
I haven't lived with mom anddad since I was 17 when I went
to the Army.
So, yeah, I can go home, livewith mom and dad, mom can go
watch baseball.
I can pitch for this juniorcollege in Worcester I think
(27:08):
they got a pretty good program,I heard.
So, anyway, I go to QuinnSigmund, I'm pitching for Barry
Glinski, great baseball guy, andmake some friends.
You know, I got 20 buddies.
We're hanging out, we'replaying, we have a good team.
So there was this one kid onthe team, our centerfielder,
eric Klein, who drew the day,and I played with you, karp,
with 540th Indian Air Battalion.
(27:29):
I played with guys who were inthe big leagues.
This is the best baseballplayer I've ever seen.
Every time he got a pitch hehit it on the screws.
He could run better thananybody, he had a better arm
than anybody but for some reasonScouts just he was all-American
two years at New Haven, bad atthird.
Anyway, let me get back to thestory of why.
That was my favorite story.
(27:49):
I'm pitching for Quinn Sigmundin the NJCA regionals against
CCRI Community College of RhodeIsland.
This was a big rival.
You probably saw it on a ESPN,I don't know.
Coach V and Coach Anke from NewHaven come watch me pitch
because we had had a deal that Iwas coming back after.
I went and got my associatesgoing to come back for my last
two years at New Haven, so theyhadn't seen me pitch all year.
(28:10):
We stayed in touch.
They drove off from New Havento Rhode Island to watch me
pitch.
I ended up losing two to one.
We get knocked out.
I pitched okay, made a couplestupid mistakes because again I
think I challenged our numberthree hitter with a 2-0 fastball
at 87 right across the belt,and he hit it out of the park
and that was the two runs theygot.
Again, I didn't know how topitch yet, even though I was 22,
21.
(28:32):
After the game, we're gettingready to get on the bus we lost.
Coach V comes on and he goes.
Hey, pretty good you threw theball well.
Oh and thanks, coach, he goes.
Hey, we're looking forward tohaving you back at school in the
fall.
I said me too, coach, I can'twait he goes.
Hey, just between you and me,any of these kids on your team
worth can you play ball?
I said, coach, that's centerfield that we got.
Eric is better than anybody yougot.
(28:52):
And New Haven had just gone tothe World Series.
Like every year, a couple guysdrafted Okay, he was like coach,
equal area.
It gives me this look.
Now they only saw a baseballgame.
I think Eric might have poppedup and flew out the center.
Didn't get any chances incenter field.
So how the hell do they know?
Right?
I said, coach, this kid isbetter than anybody you got.
He runs better.
(29:13):
He could lead off third orfourth for you.
He has the power.
He never doesn't hit the ballright in the screws, he never
strikes out.
He's a great kid.
Blah, blah, blah, coach V.
And Coach Aint give him a, Ithink, half scholarship on my
word he has, it being myroommate, not to mention Danny
Lynch, our catcher, who I alsothrew a quick plug in.
Danny, me and Eric livedtogether for two years.
(29:35):
Danny was a hell of a ballplayer.
He was our catcher.
Everybody loved Lynch.
He was a leader, ended upplaying pro ball, becoming a
scout for the Angels.
Anyway, these are lifelongbuddies and I feel like I almost
did a Wade Bovart thing there.
I said, talked about Danny andEric, the coach V and Aint on
the spot.
If I hadn't said that, if theyhadn't had come to the game to
watch me pitch and I hadn't hadthe opportunity to talk about
(29:55):
those two, they wouldn't havegot scholarships to come to New
Haven, we wouldn't have had thatexperience, they wouldn't have
been at my wedding.
They wouldn't be lifelongbuddies, right?
But Eric Klein, to the day, isthe best baseball player I've
ever played with.
I'll continue to tell the story.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Well, that's a great story.
Now let's jump a little bitahead.
Now you were within theMontreal Expos organization and
talk about what happened.
That cost you a chance to pitchat the major league level, and
(30:30):
this is really, in my opinion,it's a great lesson for players
when things don't go your way.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Touche this, my god, if I could go in a time machine.
You know, my son always saysdad, if you had a time machine,
if you go back, what would youdo?
Would you go back to you know,1939, stop Hitler.
What would you do?
So there's a lot of things Ithink about.
I would probably take that overwhat I'm gonna tell you.
But I'm with the Expos.
(30:57):
I'm lucky enough to sign withthe Expos during the replacement
thing.
So basically I'm a scab.
But I didn't care this.
No, I wanted a shot.
I'm 22, 23 now.
I didn't have the conventionalroad to the minor leagues into
the big leagues.
If someone's gonna give me achance, I'm gonna go try to get
some exposure.
So I'm down to spring trainingin West Palm with the Expos
having a pretty good spring.
I think I had six starts in theGreat Fruit League and now I was
(31:19):
on my knuckleball.
I was no longer a fastballcurveball guy, I was a mix,
mix-up guy like almost an RADickie.
I would throw a knuckleball.
I could throw it for strike, nospin.
It didn't move quite as much asWayfield, charlie Huff and the
Neacro brothers but it it was agood knuckleball and I could
still throw 88 with a hook,strike you out.
(31:39):
So I started to turn some headswith the Expos.
I had six starts.
I think Peter Gammon's did anESPN preview of the NL East.
If anybody could find thisvideo I'd love to see it.
But I remember watching ESPN inthe hotel with all my buddies
with the Expos and Peter Gammonsaid this preview about when the
Expos head north to facePittsburgh at Three Rivers.
It won't be Mark Langston andRandy Johnson and Pedro Martinez
(32:03):
, it'll be knuckleball JeffLeturneau and Link Mickelson and
some of these other guys whowere us.
We're all sitting there in thehotel room watching, laughing
and I think if the first pitchof replacement baseball season
hit started, that's Sunday nightand I don't know if it was the
Marlins against the Dodgers orwhatnot.
Every guy who was on thereplacement roster was gonna get
a hundred thousand dollarssigning bonus.
(32:25):
Now I had just gotten married orI was getting married May 95.
This was like March, april 95.
So I was getting married like amonth.
My wife was doing all theplanning while I was down in
spring training in West Palmwith the Expos.
So that day I pitch against theDodgers and Vero Beach and I'm
(32:47):
coming back to my hotel and weget a we get like a phone call,
joe Carrigan, who I think passedaway, pitching coach for the
Expos, former big league managerfor the Red Sox and pitching
coach.
He says to me we're gonna sendyou to Ottawa, you're not going
on my trail.
Ottawa's trip to a trip awayinternationally.
(33:08):
Now, instead of being who cares, I'm gonna get a chance to play
organized baseball, triple Awith the Expos.
As a knuckleballer I'm thinkingshit, hundred thousand bonus
these guys in my hotel roomagain that money I'm not figures
.
I put my beer down and Ismacked the hotel bed board
where I were on my bed.
Look like a piece of ball.
(33:29):
So was.
I didn't think I was gonna breakmy hand off so I wasn't trying
to do that.
I played sports my whole lifeand I would broke a bone.
My roommate link says well, youget that pretty hard.
Like yeah, I did when got someice, put some ice on, but again,
I thought it was probably bonebruise.
Next day we go off of practicemy hands all puffy.
I put I try to hold the balllike this and keep my peeky out.
(33:50):
So it wasn't impacted.
I picked up the ball and justdropped it out.
I had broken my fifthmetacarpal.
My, but like a boxing fracturethey call it did not a fight,
did not punch.
So so three, four weeks laterI'm in a splint in extended
spring, after having a greatspring training.
(34:10):
Kevin Malone, the GM, neilHuntington this you know, my leg
director turned some heads.
I'm an extended spring with asplit in the minute my splint
comes off, they give me myrelease for being a jackass.
If you, if you think about theentire road I took, which was
very non-traditional and all I'mfinally gonna get to pitch in
(34:32):
Ottawa.
Who knows, maybe I have four orfive good stars.
They get called up, or anotherteam notices me in trades for me
, but nope, I was pissed aboutgoing to Ottawa instead of
Montreal.
I'll pitch at three rivers toget a hundred grand and I think,
in thinking little instead ofthinking big, picture just being
immature and young and dumb.
Right, wow, that's punch.
(34:54):
The bed board got released,amazing, amazing.
So, kids, if you're listening,let that be a lesson to you well
, you know, what's funny is.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
You know all the conversations we've had over the
years.
You, you ended up getting a jobat ESPN.
Yeah, and if you could justshare that story where you were
in the cafeteria and it walksPeter Gammons yeah, this was.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
This was great.
I got some buddies like richfavorite Tom Peters, mike Bracco
few of the guys.
I'm working at ESPN where JohnFriedman, scott Atkinson great,
great place to work, not makingany money.
I mean, I had a college degreeI think I was making $20,000,
but it was at ESPN, how cool,right.
I was working in the commercialoperations department and you
(35:43):
know, getting 30 second ads andscheduling air time and anyway
I'm in the cafeteria and all theguys knew that I played
baseball but they thought I wasprobably a little full of shit
too.
And we walk in the cafeteria.
One of the guys I think TomPeters goes hey, maternal,
there's Peter Gammons, think heknows you.
I'm thinking I'm gonna say Imet him.
Once I get lying behind him andto get food through the through
(36:08):
the cafeteria, I said, hey,peter, he tried to look to me.
He was Jeff, how you doing pal?
Because the face on Bracco andPeters and Faber's face was
priceless.
They were like he does know you, he goes.
Hey, you're not throwing aknuckleball anymore.
I'm like nah, nah, time to moveon.
But it was a hell of a run.
But Peter Gammons, so that was.
(36:29):
I went home with a skip my stepthat night well, you know it's.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
It's amazing is there are some people that just have
that, that memory, that they canremember people like I'm the
complete opposite I can'tremember a name, but I can
always remember a face.
But for him to be able to, yeah,I see that's amazing yeah, well
, I mean, let's see so that hedidn't even know who I was until
spring of 95 and this was, yeah, 96, so it was only like six
(36:58):
months later, wow, I'm workingat ESPN you know, let's, let's
jump around, because you've hada great career as far as it goes
professional baseball sevenyears and you decided to take an
opportunity and in playoverseas and you know, for me
(37:19):
this podcast is if I can getguys to tell great stories and
this is one of those ones that Ireally enjoyed and, yeah, you
were on the mound and if youcould kind of just take us
through what happened in thatthat one game so I'm playing for
the Amherstford quick in theDutch league and it was, I think
, eight teams at the high leveland one American or
(37:40):
international player per roster.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Most the guys were a rule book here or so, which were
Dutch properties, good baseball, probably like a D1 baseball
little bat and probably got athousand people a game.
To come to the games.
It was a team in Rotterdam,amsterdam, harlem, then hog,
amherst, fort, so anyway, we gotto play the same teams a lot.
So there was this kid whoplayed for, I think then hog I
(38:06):
Forget the name of their teambut he was a good player.
It was a lead-off guy who wasjust Irritating to pitchers.
He could steal, put the bat onthe ball, but if he walked he
was the kind of guy thatSprinted at first base, yeah,
and immediately took a big lead,was moving his feet around you,
like this guy's a pain in theneck.
So he's on first base and I'mat my set and I'm looking over
(38:29):
and I step off a couple times.
Like this guy we go.
If I throw over a couple timeshe's got good speed.
So you got to respect them.
The name is Edwin fuck up fokke, with a couple dots over the
ear, something like that.
He was a Dutch, dutch kid.
So Now the people in the standslike, come on, let's go turn
the page pitch.
(38:49):
And I'm throwing over a fewtimes getting him to dive back.
I'm like I'm gonna get him backa little bit.
Now.
He's on second, first andsecond, like nobody out, or one
now, and he's doing the samething.
He's bluffing like he's gonnasteal 30s over by the shortstop,
banging his feet.
I'm doing the inside move, I'mstepping off.
I Just thinking to myself Icould really can't stand this
guy so fast forward.
(39:11):
I'm having a hell of an ending.
He's a third base and I'm at myset now because there's one out
or nobody out, bases loaded.
I'm looking at him.
A third because I'm aright-handed pitcher and I'm
facing him and he looks at meand he goes Come on, pussy.
Well, I step off the mountain.
I said what did you say?
I Think I might even saidsomething like you, little Dutch
(39:33):
blank which, in hindsight, kids, you're in a hipster dam.
Yeah, that's not a smart thingto say, but I was just like I
was gonna fight this guy.
So I walk over to the benchesclear, yump tires, like what the
heck's going on?
The benches are all I, one ofmy third baseman, this guy from
Kurosawa, jackie Jacoba, looksat me, goes Jeff, jeff, what do
(39:53):
you say?
He called me a pussy.
Screw him.
Let's go pal.
Trying to get to the guy.
This kind of reminds me of meand you're a little altercation
at second base game, but anyway,he looks at me like I have two
heads.
Come to find out.
The guy was saying come on,bossy, because the guy at the
plate's name was Frank boss, bos, oh my god, do you talk about?
(40:16):
Never mind, I felt like agencast.
After the game, though, havinga beer with the guy in the can't
data, we'll laugh because, likeyou're crazy man, I'm like.
I thought you called me a pussy.
That was a funny story.
We became friends.
Everybody had a nice laugh.
They thought the American guywas a little hot.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Yeah, well, you know what?
That's a great story, butanother one I think is even
better is and you're bouncingaround through the different
professional systems You're in,I believe, sioux City yeah, your
, your team makes it to theplayoffs and.
You're probably the onlybaseball player out there.
(40:58):
I know that you're beinginterviewed by the local TV and
the owner of the team and Famousactor Bill Murray decides to.
I wouldn't say photo bomb, buthe interview, bombed your
interview.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Yeah, I'm actually playing with the St Paul Saints
96 and we're playing Fargo,fargo more head again.
You probably heard of him.
Hello, but team, that's thefive playoffs.
And Bill Murray the comedianwas co-owner of the St Paul
Saints and that's a great placeto play baseball, probably my
favorite place ever as far asentertaining.
We used to out draw the twinsbecause the Minnesota twins were
(41:37):
terrible.
It's summertime in Minnesotaand they play in a dome.
We were playing outdoors.
Yeah, the stadium seated 6500people.
It was full capacity, peopletailgating to come watch outdoor
baseball.
Probably five bucks to get in.
Mike Vech, the owner, son ofBill Vech, bill Murray, they had
pigs bringing out the balls tothe umpire.
(41:57):
I'm sure a lot of you listenershave heard about St Paul Saints
.
It's really a cool placethere's.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
there's actually a a um On Netflix right now.
There's a documentary about theSt Paul, saints and, and yeah.
Bill Vech in the whole it's a.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
It's a circus.
There's nuns giving massages,you can get your haircut.
There's, you know, dizzy batraces between every inning.
It's a fun place to be.
But meanwhile there's abaseball game going on
background with some pretty goodplayers.
When I played we had GlennDavis, jack Morris, darryl
strawberry.
So there's some big leadersthat are trying to you know,
it's like they're farewell,they're swan song to keep
playing.
(42:36):
Maybe get picked up like Darrylstrawberry, get picked up back
to the Yankees.
Had like another six, sevenyears niggas.
But the typical players, likejust somebody who's you know
looking to play a little morebaseball, get paid to do it.
So after the game, I think Ibeat Fargo three to one or
something.
I threw seven or eight goodinnings as a knuckleball in the
game to at St Paul.
So I'm in the locker room andall of a sudden the one of the
(43:00):
Coaches at HF channel four, fiveor seven, whatever the sports
wants to do a live feed, can youput your shirt and hat back on?
Go out in the dugout?
I'm like, yeah, I put my shirt,hat back on.
When I go out in the dugout andthe interviewers starts asking
me about the game, it says look,you got off to a tough start,
but you really had him chasingthat knuckleball again and blah,
blah, blah.
And I'm answering the questions.
(43:21):
That that's like can.
Also, I feel two hands on myshoulders like rubbing my
shoulders during the interviewas I'm looking this way.
So All of a sudden, bill Murraytakes over the interview.
He says yeah, you know, jeff,we had to change a few things
with his grip on the knuckleball.
He was just ad-libbing andsaying no, used to throw four
fingers.
I got him to using two fingers,but we really got it working
today, did a nice job out there,took over the interview.
(43:43):
Now the reporters laughing.
I'm laughing, everybody'slaughing, and God, I wish I
could find that video.
So if anybody watching can findthat video, it was, it was
probably September 96, st Paul,minneapolis, local sports.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (43:59):
That's a that's a great story.
I I enjoy that.
Now I drew a thing at the endhere where I like to do a rapid
fire with you, and there arequestions that may not
necessarily High into what youdo with baseball, but I like to
have fun with it in.
The first one I'm gonna startoff with is when I say the name
(44:21):
Brock party quarterback for theSan Francisco 49ers what comes
to mind?
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Well, first of all, I love this guy and you know
here's a guy Mr Irrelevant Ithink they double him last pick
again.
Probably just believed inhimself and said I can play
wherever you put me.
Right to the San Francisco49ers last pick, probably
thinking he was gonna get alittle bit of camp and get
released.
He proves he's.
(44:48):
Once he gets there, he proveshe's better than Trey Lance
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Now the guy may get the MVP Ithink he was just named the Pro
Bowl but my Connection to BrockPurdy was when I'm living in
Orlando to send me Florida withyou and Rick and I'm playing for
Valencia Community College.
One of my teammates was this guy, sean Purdy, who Ended up
(45:11):
having two boys, and I don'tknow if I haven't stayed in
touch with Sean.
I wish I could find him onLinkedIn.
He may have more kids in thetwo boys, but Brock plays
football from the San Francisco49ers.
His other son, nick name, isChubba.
Chubba plays quarterback forNebraska.
I want to say he was a Floridastandard.
He changed from Nebraska butanyway.
So Sean Purdy and he live in StCloud was at the town right next
(45:31):
to Kassemi, yes, so I used topick him up, take him to
practice every day, drop him offbecause the school was in
Orlando, but a half-hour drivefrom St Cloud to Semi.
So I became friends with Purdyand he was a hell of a pitcher.
What an honor.
I'm not surprised this kid isin the NFL.
Yeah, yeah, I think he went toUniversity of Miami afterwards,
got a little bit of cup ofcoffee, maybe with the angels or
somebody, but so, yeah, I waswatching football one day and
(45:53):
I'm like Brock Purdy that's afunny spelling, purdy and I
googled him and Parents and sureenough there's Sean.
So I haven't talked to Seansince 1988 and if he ever
watches this podcast, hey, I'mrooting for you, kid, and nice
to see you.
I'm glad things are going well.
Go 49ers.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
Or you know, you growing up in the Northeast and
your whole family being big RedSox fans.
If you go to a game at FenwayPark, where's the best place for
you to sit, and what are youhaving to eat and drink?
Speaker 1 (46:32):
I, we go.
We try to go once a year withthe family and I love going to
Fenway, I think it's.
I've been to a lot ofall-powers.
I think it's the best ballparknot if you're over six feet tall
, which forced them 511.
It was not a lot of leg room.
Okay, I mean I'm my knees areup against the guy in front of
me and I'm 511.
(46:52):
I would say sausage and peppersor maybe like a Fenway, frank,
you know, and I've sat atdifferent places.
I would love to sit on the wallin the left field monster.
I never got a chance to sit.
That was, I know, my mom usedto springing up.
My mom again.
She used to go to the.
She used to go to the.
She used to go to the wall andsit there a lot.
(47:15):
She used to go to everyPatriots day when they did the
marathon.
She used to go to opening day.
She went to couple postseasongames.
She sat all over the place.
The bleachers are great too,though Boston fans are something
else.
Yeah, and I was fortunateenough to play with John Siruti
in Albany Colony in 95.
John Siruti played the bigleagues with Detroit in Toronto
(47:37):
and he passed away For great man.
And John Siruti told me heplayed in the AL East his whole
career.
He used to tell me playing inYankee Stadium is nothing
compared to playing at Fenway.
As a visitor you play in Fenway.
Those fans are Unbelievable.
Yeah, the stuff they yell atyou in the dugout, I mean in the
bullpen, because the bullpen'sright in this, right in the
(47:58):
right field.
Bleachers, have you ever?
Speaker 2 (47:59):
been to Fenway Never, never been.
I've got a kid there sometime.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Well, I live in Connecticut.
You and Susan Jake need to comevisit me and we need to go to
Fenway.
Yeah, we'll do it, maybe thissummer it is a great place to
see a ballgame.
There's not a bad seat in thehouse, be just the environment.
The atmosphere is awesome, yeah.
So, oh, I would tell you quickstory.
Also, my mom, before she passedaway game 2013.
(48:23):
She was a quintessential RedSox fan.
She bought a brick.
So in Fenway Park, in the TomBernansky section of underneath,
when you buy your Concessionsand your t-shirts and stuff yeah
, these different sections, theTom Bernansky section there's a
brick there that says Emily,michael and Colin would turn.
(48:46):
You could buy a brick.
I want to save a 500 bucks, soit's there forever.
Wow, that's great.
So now three kids have a brick.
There you go and no, yeah, it's, it's my mom.
She did that for us and we havea copy of it.
Shoot me, you have a copy ofthe brick, but it's also at
Fenway and it's there forever.
And Real quick.
I know we're off short on timecard, but I love to tell this
story.
(49:06):
My grandfather Really taught meto love baseball.
He was he was thequintessential Red Sox man.
He was born in 1919, died in2003.
He lived the 86 years the RedSox didn't win the World Series,
oh, and he was buried in hiscasket with his Red Sox, had the
suspenders and he was wait tillnext year.
Jeffrey will get him next year.
(49:26):
He never missed the game and Ispent my entire childhood
watching baseball with him inthe dead.
My grandmother would walk inhim the echo, you know, and a
sandwich.
And me, my Pepe and my dad andeverybody watched the game.
And but one time I'm at ahockey rink and I'm telling this
guy who's got a Yankee hat, heain't, he sweats you about my
grandfather.
And he says to me he goes BabeRuth wasn't the curse, your
(49:48):
grandfather was the curse.
That was funny.
But my grandfather boy, hetaught me to love baseball.
Speaker 2 (49:56):
I love the Red Sox well, if you were a manager of
the Boston Red Sox and you had achoice between Group A or group
B, and this is your startingpitching rotation group A Roger
Clemens, kurt Schilling,jonathan Papelbaum and Babe Ruth
(50:18):
, or Group B Pedro Martinez,louis T Yon, tim Wakefield and
Cy Young who you're taking?
Speaker 1 (50:31):
That's a great question and play over my head,
I'd probably get this wronganyway.
But I think I would go withPedro and Tian and Wakefield and
Cy, because you have fourdifferent looks.
Okay, the hitters can't getcomfortable.
You got a guy like Tian, who Iwas fortunate enough to meet at
a Novo Nordisk event, a bigdiabetes, ada Hispanic event in
(50:54):
Boston.
What a great guy.
You talked about getting totell stories, that guy, but he
used to spin and face centerfield and throw you this big
lolly-cop curveball and throw 90at the knees.
He was nasty, yeah.
And then Wakefield would throwyou knuckleballs that would
drive you crazy.
And then Pedro Martinez Wasprobably the best pitcher I've
(51:15):
seen in my life.
I always say Nolan Ryan becauseNolan Ryan, through seven no
hitters and seven one hittersand when he was hitting with his
curveball, good luck.
Yeah, you had no chance.
Especially in that area hepitched where the average speed
you didn't see was a hundred.
Nowadays everybody's throw 100balls about it.
So but and I never got to seeCy Young pitch I believe he was
(51:37):
probably a lefty big.
You know off speed stuff here,I don't know.
Speaker 2 (51:40):
I Should know good name to the war after him.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, he must have been pretty good.
But I would go with group Bbecause you would give hitters a
different look.
Every, every versus Schilling,clemens Papelbaugh.
They all threw hard 95.
I think it is.
We'll get used to those guys.
Yeah, no, knock on those guys.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
Hard.
Being a bit northeast guy.
You can only pick one team toroot for in Boston.
Is it the Red Sox, the CelticsPatriots or the Bruins?
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Wow, and I have a hat .
I should have worth all fourlogos on one hat.
You know, I would probably sayBoston Bruins because I love the
sport of hockey.
I think there's nothing like itbeautiful game or exciting,
fast-paced.
Me and my two boys watching theBruins and the playoffs is the
(52:34):
best.
Now, having said that, 1975,when Bernie carbrough hits the
home run pinch, hitting home runAgainst the Reds to tie it and
force the game seven might havebeen the most excited I've ever
been.
In any event, as nine years old, love the Red Sox, tom Brady
and the Patriots.
The memories I have.
Larry bear was probably myfavorite athlete of any of them,
(52:56):
but I'm going Bruins.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
There you go.
But it's funny.
You mentioned the 75 WorldSeries.
A Big time controversial callwas made with in that game up in
Boston and Larry Barnett wasthe umpire and, if people looked
it up, was just a.
He Ended up.
(53:21):
He's from a small town here inOhio and I had to coach when I
was at Buckeye Valley and we hadto play on his field and he the
field was named after him, thepark was named after him and Me
and him got into it because hedidn't like the way I hit
infield and he thought I wasruining his infield and we.
(53:44):
So I got a chance to argue withLarry Barnett through the fence
and nice you know, and I kindof threw a little jab.
That really kind of set him offand I said well, you know
you're, you're still mad aboutthe role net, column 75.
Hey, that was that was it.
Yeah, believe it or not, wewere when we played that school.
(54:06):
We were not allowed to go backand play on that field again
after that.
So we played oh he really justlike it to you.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
Yeah, so I've seen that side of you with the big
dog softball team.
I've seen you get ejected acouple times and go hot with the
umpires.
The umpires like, not this guy.
Yeah.
Well, hey, I love a buddy tofinish up.
Speaker 2 (54:25):
I'm gonna take a chance here.
I don't know if you're preparedfor this, but Way back when we
were younger, you would alwaysdo this and could you finish and
this is definitely for thepeople of the northeast, and a
lot of people will may not getthis Finish with your famous
boston selenix announcer, johnnymost.
(54:47):
All right, larry bear with theball that kicks in back.
Speaker 1 (54:54):
DJ, dj kicks it out to age.
It's good.
Speaker 2 (54:56):
I can't believe it, bell, they embarrassed, not that
what a gutless, no good and aselenix and the best team I've
ever seen and Go selenix, johnnymost.
That's classic.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Ha, no fact.
I think on our apartment inOrlando and Kassemi that was our
answering machine.
Yes, some do.
The effect of DJ kicks them allout.
The bird, bird to Maxwell andbird and I can't believe it.
Hey, you've reached out, kenrick and carp.
No one's here right now.
Leave a message.
Those were, those were somegood times, well oh, and then we
(55:33):
fall that up with sunday'sbarbecue and get the couch.
There you go, oh well everyone.
Speaker 2 (55:38):
It's Jeff Latterno, pitching coach at gilford high
school in Connecticut and one ofmy best friends.
I've known you for 37, 38 yearsand you I don't know if I've
told you this, but you are themost listened to podcast, from
back on episode 18, if peoplewant to go back and check that
(56:01):
one out, but Wow, thanks.
Thanks again for taking thetime to be on the athlete one
podcast with me.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
Oh, thank you, Ken, and you make it.
You make it fun conversationand I have no doubts I'm not
surprised that your podcast isdoing so well.
So, uh, thanks, this has beenfun catching up, but definitely
take me up on Fenway park andthen maybe head up to york beach
and see a little lighthouse Iknow sues likes that.
Yes so, uh, all right, good,catching up, buddy.
(56:27):
I hope this goes well.
All right, pass this podcast onto your friends.
Ha ha all right.
Speaker 2 (56:32):
Well, hey, thanks again and take care, all right
come.
Today's episode of the athleteone podcast is powered by the
netting professionals.
Contact them today at844-620-2707.
That's 844-620-2707.
If you're looking to make yourfield and facilities look their
(56:55):
best.
Check out all their productsand projects on Instagram,
twitter and facebook at nettingpros.
Special thanks to our guest,jeff Latterno, for joining the
athlete one podcast, and I'dlike to thank all listeners who
have taken the time to past twoyears to be a part of the
(57:17):
athlete one family.
I'm your host, ken Carpenter,and, as always, thanks for
listening.
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