July 31, 2024 • 39 mins
What if you could experience the excitement of a Hall of Fame induction ceremony without ever leaving your home? Join us as we recount our unforgettable journey to Cooperstown, where the stars aligned with beautiful weather and unparalleled enthusiasm. From our prime seats, we had the perfect vantage point to soak in the grandeur of past legends like Cal Ripken, Billy Williams, and Goose Gossage. Todd Helton’s speech, introduced by none other than Larry Walker, was the perfect mix of humor and heartfelt emotion, making the event an indelible memory.
Our family's personal reflections add another layer of depth to the experience. Nana's excitement over Rockies memorabilia and her nostalgic tales of Cubs legends brought the baseball hall to life. Papa fulfilled his lifelong dream of witnessing the induction ceremony, highlighting Todd Helton's kindness and his unique connection to Hall of Fame pioneer Walter Johnson. These intimate moments made the weekend not just an event, but a cherished family milestone.
Finally, step into the Baseball Hall of Fame with us as we explore its revered halls. From the Rockies' memorabilia locker to iconic exhibits of Christy Mathewson and Jackie Robinson, the museum was a treasure trove of baseball history. Special moments, like seeing Todd Helton’s bat from his final game and recognizing the contributions of women in baseball, enriched our visit. Todd Helton’s heartfelt induction speech added an emotional capstone to a weekend filled with nostalgia, admiration, and a deep appreciation for the sport's rich legacy. Trust us, you won’t want to miss this heartfelt celebration of baseball’s greatest players and moments.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
All right, everyone, welcome back to part two of my
Hall of Fame journey, and if youhaven't already, check out part
one that we released yesterday.
It kind of goes over whattraveling up to Cooperstown was
like and just walking around themuseum for the first time ever.
So today we're going to go overthe actual induction ceremony
(00:28):
and, as I've mentioned before,it was just such a beautiful
weekend Not only just spend timewith the family, but the
weather was beautiful as well,and so we were all in a great
mood just heading over to theinduction.
Cooperstown has a really cooltrolley that can take you right
over there, and it's in a hugekind of park where they have the
(00:51):
stage set up with a big screenmonitor, and the way they had it
set up was there was kind of afenced off area with a bunch of
folding chairs and then a hugegreen area in the back, and
everywhere was just filled upwith fans.
So there was kind of an energyand a buzz.
It was really fun and just kindof knowing what those guys, how
(01:15):
much hard work they put in andwhat it meant to not only them
and their families, but also allthe fans that watched them for
so many years, so it was kind ofexciting.
I don't think I've reallywatched very many of the Hall of
Fame induction ceremonies on TV.
I usually will check out aspeech online afterwards if it's
(01:36):
someone that I was reallyinterested in.
So to watch the whole ceremonywas a new experience for me.
But I thought they did a reallygood job, not only of having
some past Hall of Famers there,which we'll kind of go over, but
just celebrating each guyindividually, giving them enough
time and really just thepresident of the or the
(01:58):
chairperson of the Hall of Fame.
She spoke for a little whileand mentioned some of the former
greats that had passed away andjust kind of set the tone that
we're here to celebrate today,and today is a great day, so it
was fun.
Now I did mention that therewere seats set up there and we
(02:19):
got lucky.
Both my sister, krista and herfriendian were there on the trip
and so we were able to getseats in that folded chair
section and I was very happywith that, just because the
ceremony is a couple hours long.
I'm an old man so I like to sitdown and it was somewhat warm
out, so it was just nice to havea place to sit and we're
(02:40):
obviously a little bit closer tothe stage to sit, and we're
obviously a little bit closer tothe stage.
Now.
I will say again, I'm just sothankful we had those seats,
because the green area behindthe seats goes on for quite a
ways and so if you did not getthere early, you were very far
away and there was no chancethat you're seeing the players'
faces up on stage.
And while I said they do have abig screen TV set up, not a TV
(03:03):
but like a projection screen, itwasn't huge, so if you were
like pretty far back on thegreen area, even that would be
tough to see.
So I'm just so thankful toJillian for getting us those
seats and I think they made theday even more special.
So, like I said, the weatherwas beautiful.
They were handing out waters toeverybody just to make sure no
(03:24):
one was overheating.
They began the ceremony byintroducing probably about 60
former players that are in theHall of Fame Hoppy, cal Ripken.
There was some all-time greatsthere Also, just guys that were
(03:47):
inducted long ago, but you cantell they're probably
everybody's big brother thatgets inducted.
I'm guessing they probably cometo almost every Hall of Fame
(04:07):
ceremony or event, just to helpcelebrate the game and just make
sure their era is not forgottenand is always celebrated as
well.
So guys from like the sixties,seventies, like Billy Williams,
raleigh fingers, goose gossageLike I, just I imagine they're
at a lot of events, but it wasreally cool to to see them there
as well.
Now Todd, uh, did get to gofirst and, to be honest, I was a
bit nervous for his speech,just because, after watching him
(04:29):
for 17 years, he never onceshowed that he liked to speak in
public, let alone even speak toreporters or do interviews or
anything like that.
So I didn't know if he was justgoing to fight through it and
try and do a speech and andstruggle, or if he was just
(04:49):
going to be like, ah, I don'tcare, and just do like a super
quick, hey, thank you everyone.
And then really not give aspeech Like I didn't know what
was going to happen.
So the way they did it is theyhad a former teammate kind of
have a introduction.
The way they did it is they hada former teammate kind of have
an introductory video, kind oftalking about how great that
(05:11):
player was.
And so for Todd, it was LarryWalker who just got inducted
into Hall of Fame a couple ofyears ago, and Larry did a great
job.
Larry is naturally funny andone thing I loved is that Larry
said oh, there's no doubt ToddHelton is the greatest Rocky
ever.
And so I just love that,because in this day and age of
(05:32):
uh, sports, talk radio and themtrying to make arguments out of
anything there, there is noargument If.
If there's only two players inthe hall of fame and the other
one is saying that Todd Heltonis the greatest Rocky ever, I'm
going to go with that and sayhelton is the greatest rocky
ever, I'm gonna go with that andsay he is the greatest rocky
that has ever been and probablywill ever be.
Um, so after the video, todd wasintroduced by the commissioner
(05:58):
and he began his speech and hemade a joke about not enjoying
public speaking, but but I thinkhe kind of set that standard.
But then he did really well.
He told some really funnystories from his playing days,
but he balanced it out with somereally heartfelt moments and
thank yous for his family or forformer teammates and coaches
(06:21):
and I thought it was a reallygood speech.
It was not short.
So, like I said, I wasconcerned about him just trying
to get in and coaches, and Ithought it was a really good
speech.
It, it, it.
It was not short.
So, like I said, I wasconcerned about him just trying
to get in and out and I think hetook his time and just shared
some really cool stories that Ihope the fans of uh, the Rangers
who were there for Beltre, orthe Tigers that were there for
Leland, or the twins that werethere for Joe Maurer I hope they
(06:44):
enjoyed it and I hope they kindof got a feel for who Todd was
and enjoyed some of thosestories from his playing days.
I won't share all the stories.
I think, if you're interested atall, the speech is up on
YouTube and I think it would doit better justice for you to
hear it from Todd and kind ofhear his dry sense of humor
(07:06):
going.
But one thing I loved is hetold a story about how he still
gets recognized in Knoxville,tennessee, where he went to
college, and they're like, hey,are you Todd Helton?
Didn't you play football for UT?
And his response is always likeyeah, and I played a little bit
of baseball after that.
And his response is always like, yeah, and I played a little
bit of baseball after that.
(07:26):
So it's just funny that it justshows in the South how obsessed
people are with collegefootball, that even in Tennessee
they're going to just say, hey,didn't you play football for
Tennessee?
But I thought he did such agreat job and really the other
three guys did as well.
For how long the ceremony was,I thought the speeches were
interesting, the videos weregood and overall I thought
(07:47):
everyone did great and obviouslyI'm a little biased, but I'm
going to say Todd did the best.
So the ceremony itself was justreally fun, a great celebration
.
(08:08):
I hadn't thought about baseballor Todd Helton or really
anything like that in that depthfor quite a while and the whole
weekend just reminded me ofwhat a big part it was.
For me.
Growing up, like I wasobviously teenage, young, 20s
that's, formative years and thatdefinitely was one of my
favorite hobbies to watch Toddand the Rockies play, todd and
the Rockies play and justspending that weekend with my
(08:29):
family, who loves baseball justas much, if not more, than I do
was so special and it exceededall expectations and I just I
loved every minute of it.
So I hope you guys enjoyedlistening to it and as a special
treat I did do some shortinterviews with the family so
they can kind of give you theirperspective on some of their
favorite moments from theweekend.
(08:50):
So I hope you enjoy.
One note before I do startthose interviews is my little
nephew Brett was on the tripwith us and I do try to
interview him at the beginningand then afterwards when I'm
interviewing everybody else.
He was still full of energy andrunning around and so you may
hear some background noise, butjust know that's a future little
(09:14):
baseball fan who's just havinga good time.
So I hope you enjoy theinterviews.
All right, for this part, Iwanted to talk to the family and
see what their thoughts were onthis Hall of Fame trip and just
kind of get some of theirfavorite moments and what
they'll remember from thisweekend.
So to start out, we have mysister sara and our youngest
(09:36):
guest ever.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Brett.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Brett, how old are you?
Um good, good, three, three,very good.
And, sara, I won't ask how oldyou are.
Um brett, what was yourfavorite thing that you saw at
the museum yesterday?
Did you like the philly fanatic?
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Fanatic.
I like throwing rocks in a pond.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
That was a fun activity too, throwing rocks in
a pond and, sara, I know youlove throwing rocks in a pond
too.
But do you perhaps have adifferent answer to your
favorite, kind of eithersomething that you saw at the
museum yesterday or somethingfrom the induction ceremony
today, like kind of what jumpsto mind when you think about
(10:30):
this weekend?
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I think the first thing that comes to mind is just
that this trip as a whole haskind of been a bucket list item
for me, especially to do it withyou and Krista and mom and dad,
because I am probably the leastsporty of all of our family,
but baseball is like the onething that I've loved, and so
(10:55):
being able to come toCooperstown with you guys and
mom and dad and just because younever know if we'll get to do
that again, and so the wholeexperience has been kind of a
dream of mine that came true.
And then to bring Brett alongwas really fun too and made it a
whole new experience.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, that's true, I was thinking about that on the
way out here.
Like you said, you'redefinitely not as obsessed with
sports as Krista and I, butbaseball has always been one
that you have been interested inand that you've loved, and so,
like you said, I think it wasfun just as a family activity
(11:36):
that we all got to do together,and it was just fun sharing
stories all weekend as far aslittle memories that popped up,
either from the Rockies or fromother teams that we saw
represented in the museum, andso, um, yeah, I agree, I think
that's a good way to start outand just say it was just a
really fun family trip and Ithink this is a good preview.
(12:00):
We may hear Brett playing inthe background for all the
interviews that we do tonight,but it's been fun having him
here.
So, what about expectations?
What were you expecting fromthe museum or the ceremony, and
did it meet or not meet any ofthose expectations?
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I think Cooperstown as a whole and the museum, as
well as the induction ceremony,exceeded my expectations.
You could definitely tell thateveryone here just takes pride
in the whole weekend and enjoysit, and that everyone just loves
baseball and loves the game andloves the art of it, and so
(12:46):
just the organization and theatmosphere and the people,
everything just exceeded myexpectations and it was all just
very magical in a beautifulbaseball way.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I agree.
Well said, well said, all right.
So we're going to get the othermembers of the family in here,
so we will say bye.
Oh, that was Brett saying bye,all right.
Next person, my mom, aka Nana.
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I'm great, we've had a great weekend weekend.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It has been great.
So let's start out with themuseum.
Yesterday, was there anythingeither Rockies related or just a
display that jumps out to youthat really kind of blew you
away?
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Yeah, I loved seeing all the Rockies memorabilia
stuff that was on display likeespecially Eric Young's pants
for having six stolen bases allin one game, and then there were
Ubaldo's hat from his no-hitterand those were things that I
(14:01):
loved seeing.
But they also had a greatdisplay of Todd Helton stuff for
his induction into the Hall ofFame and it could relate to all
our favorite Rockies that we'vehad along the years.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Absolutely, and he, like the video said today, is
the best of them all.
So it was just kind of funseeing all the really cool
accomplishments that the otherplayers have had but then really
celebrating the top guy for theRockies.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Right, and I really liked in the parade some of the
a couple of the old-time ChicagoCub players from when I was a
Cubs fan back when I was in highschool, so that was really fun
too.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
I think I probably won't evenremember, but I know Ryan
Sandberg was there, which wascool for me because you taught
me to be a Cubs fan, first,since we didn't even have the
Rockies yet, and so he was myfirst favorite player, and then
for you it was Fergie Jenkins inthe parade right that you got
really excited for parade rightthat you were.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
You got really excited for, yeah, fergie
jenkins and billy williams who,um, I really can't remember for
sure whether he was a firstbaseman or a third baseman, but,
um, one of the one of the two,I I'm pretty sure that that was
his position, that he playedyeah, it was fun seeing those
guys just the names that wewould always hear about on TV
(15:39):
growing up and everything andjust see them smiling as they
drove by.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, very good.
What about the ceremony today?
Was there any moment that stuckout for you?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Oh, I loved hearing Todd's speech and I was really
excited that there was so manyRockies fans present that
supported him today.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, that was really cool.
He was the first one to go, soI think everybody had lots of
energy and the full crowd wasthere, and so it kind of worked
out nice.
But that standing ovation thathe got when he was first
introduced as a Hall of Famerwas pretty loud, pretty loud,
really exciting.
Well, very good.
Well, thank you for making yourdebut on my podcast.
I know you're probably one ofmy top listeners, so I
(16:27):
appreciate you coming on andcreating content today.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
I always enjoy listening to your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
All right next up.
Next up is my dad, aka Papa,welcome.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
Papa, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So can you tell us what stuck out for you this
weekend, whether it's from theactual Hall of Fame walking
around the museum, or theinduction ceremony today, or
anything that's happened here atthe house?
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Well, this event's been on my bucket list for many,
many years, and I was hopingsometime I would be able to be
here.
And a dream came true.
Especially with my family too,that was definitely a big plus.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, the timing kind of worked out perfect.
Todd just happened to be ourfavorite player for the last 20
years and him getting inductedis a good reason for us all to
get out here, because, I agree,I think it was a bucket list
item for all of us, so it'sdefinitely lived up to the hype.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
I mean all the years he was on the Rockies baseball
team.
He was so nice to everybody inour family, either at the game
or spring training.
He was extra nice to the kidswho were smaller at that time,
including yourself, and he wasnot shy about being nice and
(17:51):
talking to us and everything andsigning an autograph or two.
So it just makes you feel goodabout the guy like that.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it seemed like even when he became a superstar
he just kind of understood thatinteracting with the fans is a
big part of being a professionalbaseball player, and so it
seemed like it never reallybothered him, like he just knew
he was making our day, just evensaying hi or signing an
autograph or something.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
That's true.
I worked for the Rockies for alittle bit and even behind the
scenes he was super nice, so agenuine nice person.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Can you tell me why the baseball player who was one
of the very first playersinducted into Hall of Fame is
special to you?
Speaker 5 (18:40):
I just happen to have the identical name as he does.
His nickname was the Big Trainand his full name was Walter
Johnson, just like me.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
That's a good reason to like someone.
So he obviously had a fewthings there in the museum.
Did any one of his items reallyjump out to you that you
thought was really interesting?
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Of course, the plaque with his face on it and
everything, and then all hisstats, and it's just amazing,
his stats, and it's just amazing, I mean, he holds records still
from the 1920s and 30s thatnobody's broken since.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, it's crazy looking back at his numbers.
Um, I forget the exact number,but I think I saw one of his
charts over his memorabilia wasthe second most wins ever behind
cy young.
I think that's correct.
Yes, and then he was a bigstrikeout guy, so he's right up
there on those charts.
But it was just really cool tosee some of his stuff that's
obviously about 100 years oldnow.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Yeah, one season I think he had 20 wins and he
batted 400 for that year.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
He was like Otani before Otani, that's right.
Well, what about for Todd orthe Rockies?
Did anything stick out for youat the museum there?
Speaker 5 (20:07):
It was just a dream come true and to see proof all
the posters and everything elsethat were there that he has made
it and that just made me sohappy.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
He's officially a legend.
What about his speech today?
He had a bunch of stories andjust kind of little funny
moments that happened throughouthis career.
Which one was your favorite?
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I like the one where if he does something that day or
whatever, and he hits two orthree or four hits that day,
he'll stick with that particularitem or whatever he did.
And he mentioned that one daydriving to the ballpark he got a
speeding ticket but he also had, I believe, three hits that day
(21:02):
.
So the next day, driving thesame route, he got another
speeding ticket but he still hitthree more hits.
So he just said I'm going tokeep this going.
So he told the policeman on thesecond day that we'll see you
tomorrow.
And sure enough, in the thirdday he did the same thing, got a
(21:22):
speeding ticket and I think isI'm not sure if it's hitting
streak continued or not.
Quite, not quite.
I think he got just one hitthat third day yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, he eventually had to stop that one, otherwise
he would have got his licensetaken away, but I did like that.
He just said hey, whatever ittakes, I'm going to get hits.
Yeah, I think he did a greatjob and, like you said, it's
just kind of fun to cement hisplace in history.
And even Larry Walker in theintro video today has mentioned
(21:56):
that he's the all-time greatestRocky, so it was definitely fun
to come out here as a family andcelebrate.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Yeah, as we all know that, our whole family has been
with the Rockies from day oneand he's definitely the number
one Rocky and it's going to behard to beat his record and
everything else 100% agree.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Well, thank you for making your debut on the podcast
, and this has just been anawesome weekend.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
It's been really, really.
It's a dream to come true.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
To be on the podcast.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
To be on the podcast and to come here to Cooperstown.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Very nice, very nice.
Next up, my sister, Krista,returning guest, huge baseball
fan.
Tell us what has this weekendbeen like for you.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
This weekend has been more than I expected.
It's just been kind of like,kind of an awe the whole time, I
feel like.
Also like just the city itself,I think, is awesome.
I didn't know what to expectfrom Cooperstown but it's just
like the cutest little smalltown ever.
Everybody's been super nice.
But then walking through thebaseball hall of Fame yesterday
(23:15):
was just so many things that Icould have spent like days
looking at, basically that wehad to try to fit into six hours
but it was just super awesome.
So many things that I couldremember from different parts of
my childhood and collectingcards with you and watching some
(23:38):
big games on tv and everything.
It was just like a whole littleculmination of my life up to
now it has been wonderful.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Can you give me one rocky piece of memorabilia and
one non-rocky piece ofmemorabilia and one non-Rocky
piece of memorabilia that youjust thought was super
interesting at the museum?
Speaker 6 (23:59):
Well, the whole Rockies little locker that they
had was pretty much just madefor me, I feel like, because it
had Trevor Story's jersey andUbaldo's hat and then Todd
Helton's whatever was in therejust talked about him.
I think it was supposed to behis bat, but they had taken it
out for the Hall of Fame.
But yeah, it was just basicallylike all of my main favorite
(24:20):
players from the last 20 yearsput into one locker in the Hall
of Fame.
So that was super awesomeNon-Rockies thing I would say
was super cool For some reason.
What stood out for me I don'tknow who this guy was, but he
seemed to have a prominent partin the Hall of Fame was Christy
(24:41):
Matheson Matthewson.
I don't even know how to sayhis name, but there was a lot of
stuff about him and there was alot of quotes about him and
little tidbits about him thatsaid that he was one of the
classiest old timers and likechanged the way people played
the game and they wanted to behim, and so I just thought it
was cool, because somebody I'venever heard of, but I saw him so
(25:01):
many times in the hall and heended up being like a pretty
prominent figure throughout theday yeah, I was kind of thinking
that too.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Even a huge baseball fan like you can go to the Hall
of Fame and discover someonethey didn't know much about and
learn to appreciate them andobviously, the game more.
So, yeah, I think that'sawesome.
What about from the ceremonytoday?
Any moment really stick out toyou.
Speaker 6 (25:31):
So basically just listening to Todd talk mostly, I
think, about his family waswhat got me the most because,
like I was telling the otherfamily members, I feel like I
grew up with him.
So then I feel like I also grewup with when he had his
daughters and like seeing himget older throughout the years
(25:54):
as well, and so it was just whenhe talks about his daughters
and his mom and then I just feellike I was like there for for
all of that and so it was justkind of cool to see the finale
of it, basically after we'vebeen there through, through it
all.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, we were talking about a dinner tonight.
You were how old when hestarted his career in 1997?
Speaker 6 (26:22):
Uh 13, 13.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
And then he plays 17 years, so you're 30 when he
retires.
A lot, a lot of life happens inthat time.
So I would say you'vedefinitely grown up with Todd
and uh.
Can you share with me yourfavorite Todd Helton moment from
(26:44):
his career?
Speaker 6 (26:46):
Probably when we got the third out to win the
national or, let's see, was thatthe when we were going to the
world series, when he was theout basically to end the game
and it was the triumphant armsin the air and it was like pure
joy.
When he for someone thatdoesn't show a lot of expression
(27:09):
on his face or emotions, he waslike so excited and that was
super fun to watch because itwas just so different and you
could tell it was like wow, he'sreally wanted this for a long
time.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I agree.
I think that moment is iconicfor any rockies fans.
Well, I will get you out ofhere.
You're a returning guest andyou will return once again.
You're my my go-to baseballexpert, so thank you for coming
thanks for having me againanother returning guest,
everyone's favorite celtic fan,james.
Speaker 7 (27:45):
Welcome back, sir thank you, thanks for having me
back all these returning guests.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
It's almost as if I'm having my own podcast hall of
fame here.
See what I did there yeah, goodone oh, I'm a dork, um.
So I think you have aninteresting perspective, because
you obviously did not grow upas a rockies fan, but are a huge
rockies fan now, as well askeeping your phillies fandom
(28:12):
alive.
So tell us maybe something fromthe hall of fame that really
stuck out to you, becauseobviously I think you
appreciated some of the philliesstuff a lot more than all of us
Rockies fans did.
Speaker 7 (28:24):
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was just an amazing.
I just love baseball so much ingeneral.
The Phillies obviously have alonger history so there was a
bit more in there about for themthan there were for the Rockies
.
But I mean there was a lot ofcool Rocky stuff too.
You know the EY pants juststand out because I just
remember how electric he was.
(28:46):
But you know the Roy Holidaystuff, obviously getting to see
the fanatic suit, how worn outit was, and you know obviously
all the Todd Helton thing at theend with all of his stuff and
it was just incredible.
You know the people, everybodythere was just incredible.
You know the people, everybodythere was incredible.
So many fans, everybody's justso excited to be there.
(29:07):
You know, obviously all thatbabe riz stuff was incredible.
It's just it's amazing to see.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
I know you and I were really hoping there'd be some
roy holiday stuff in there, justbecause obviously growing up he
was one of the all time bestlike just pictures that I had
ever seen and just the fact thathe gets to have his own little
section in there and beappreciated by maybe these young
kids that haven't seen himbefore.
(29:34):
But he I think is kind ofunderappreciated for how good he
was.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Yeah, I agree, a hundred percent Like he think at
the time he was.
You know, everybody knew he wasone of the best and he was yeah
, I agree, 100 like he, I thinkat the time he was.
You know, everybody knew he wasone of the best and he was
awesome.
He was a good guy and was neversuspected of anything crazy or
whatever.
So he was always, you know,upheld nicely.
But I don't know, I think youknow obviously him passing at
such a young age in a tragicaccident it kind of props him up
(29:59):
a little bit more.
But also like it's easier toforget about him because he's
not around and showing up toevents and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So you mentioned the babe ruth stuff.
You and I walked through thatsection together and I think one
thing that stood out to me notnot just for, obviously, how old
the equipment is and how it'sjust seems archaic compared to
the stuff that they use nowadays.
But, babe, he's kind of largerthan life, but when you see his
(30:28):
real life uniform he was not ahuge guy, so it almost makes him
being one of the best home runhitters ever even more
impressive I mean honestly, likeI'm five nine.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
I guarantee you he wasn't taller than I was.
He was a little bit wider thanme, but nothing crazy.
Not as big as you and I talkedabout.
I think we got a misconceptionof him because of john goodman
in the movie the babe, but youknow he definitely wasn't as big
as I always picture him and youknow he was a classy dude,
always had you had fancy shoeson and stuff, wore a suit.
(31:03):
I mean he was the biggest thingever during his day.
I mean, everything was abouthim.
It was insane.
It was awesome, though it wascrazy.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
We might need to revisit because maybe Fred
Flintstone wasn't as chubby aswe thought either.
Thought either.
I kind of picture what BabeRuth is like in the Hall of Fame
now.
Is, I really think, kind ofwhat Michael Jordan will be for,
like our grandchildren, likethe stories will just seem so
(31:34):
unbelievable and just soridiculous.
But he really was that goodduring our time.
Speaker 7 (31:41):
Yeah, I think it's already started a little bit.
Now people are looking atJordan as kind of a thing of the
past and there's so manystories about him and people
talking about how crazy he wasabout competitiveness and golf
and all kinds of crazy stuff.
So I think it's already started.
But yeah, once he's gone andgenerations down the line, it'll
(32:04):
be just you know insane storieshe was.
You know he took on 30 playersand beat all of them or
something you know.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
See, this is why James is podcast hall of fame
Cause in a baseball hall of famepodcast, we talk about Michael
Jordan.
What about during the ceremonytoday?
Speaker 7 (32:22):
any any uh, particular story or antidote
stick out to you uh, I mean, Ijust I really loved the, just
the personalization of the guys.
They, you know, they seem likeregular guys.
You can hear in their voice howgenuinely honored they are to
be there and it's just just, youknow, they were kids at one
(32:43):
point playing in the backyardpretending to be somebody else
and now there's kids pretendingto be them.
It was, it was moving, it wasawesome.
It's just it's great to see,and, like I said, just all the
people there so excited aboutthose players.
It was really cool to see,totally agree.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Well said Well.
We will definitely have to havea follow-up episode, now that
your Celtics are the championsof the world and the Nuggets are
coming for them.
So thank you for joining usagain today.
Thanks for having me back on Go.
Speaker 7 (33:13):
Seas.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Jillian, I think I've referred to you as a future
guest on the podcast beforebecause you were the reason I
got to go see Victor Wimbinyamaplay, and I'm hoping you will
come on for a full episode so wecan hear more of your story.
But you are one of the biggestsports and especially baseball
fans that I know, so how hasthis weekend been for you?
Speaker 2 (33:41):
This weekend has been amazing, Very nostalgic, Very.
I mean I feel like I've hadgoosebumps multiple times
throughout the weekend, just allkind of hitting me at once.
But yeah, amazing, iconic,wonderful.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
I like it, so same question will be for you is can
you give me a favorite rockyitem that you saw in the museum
and one that is non-coloradorocky?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
I think my favorite rocky's um rocky's item was
seeing the bat that todd heltonused for his his, uh, that home
run that he hit in his last gameof his career.
I think it was a kadair modelbat, which was also kind of cool
.
Just a little tidbit, um, butyeah, just again one of those
(34:30):
goosebumps moments seeing thatbat and thinking back to what a
what an amazing moment that wasto end his career with that
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
And what about non-rocky?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
so non-rocky.
I think there was a couple butnumber one, just walking into
that hall with all the plaques,um, and just being overwhelmed
by all of them.
But I think the first one thatI noticed right off the bat was
jackie robinson, um, and justthe fact that it had been worn,
you know, it just lookeddifferent than so many of the
(35:02):
other plaques because he was someaningful to so many people and
everybody wanted to touch itand it's kind of been rubbed
shiny, I guess.
Yeah, just seeing that andknowing how much he's meant to
the game of baseball and yeah,very powerful.
And then, I guess, sorry, onemore.
The other thing I would say is Idid enjoy seeing little tidbits
of like women in baseballpeppered throughout the museum a
(35:25):
little bit.
There was one little exhibit,but I think my favorite moments
were seeing how it.
Just they were small littleitems throughout, but I think
one of them was, um, I'velearned that there is a female
team called the Colorado SilverBullets, I think it was, that
went around playing men's teamsand they had a couple of their
(35:49):
items throughout the museum, soI thought that was awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
I thought that was so cool to see the Silver Bullets
in there.
They were playing when I was inhigh school so I was definitely
aware of them, but I don'tthink I ever went to see them
play.
But what a cool concept and I'dreally think if someone put a
team like that together today itcould be huge.
But I agree that the thewomen's influence in baseball,
(36:14):
was definitely ready andavailable for people to see
there and we'll go into it inyour future episode.
But there is a non-zero chancethat you are going to be in
there someday.
That's a teaser for those thatyou don't know the story.
But going back to what you saidabout the plaque room, I was
(36:35):
kind of blown away with how muchI really did enjoy that room.
I was thinking, oh yeah, it'llbe fun to see their plaques,
whatever.
But, like you said, the meaningthat those plaques have for not
only those players but just forthe game in general.
Like you just get to see theirfaces and just think, like these
are the greatest players thathave ever played.
And then, especially, there'sanother level up with guys like
(36:58):
Jackie Robinson, or I reallyliked going to that original
class section that had WalterJohnson in it and Babe Ruth.
It was just really cool just tothink about what those guys
have meant to the game that'sbeen around for over 100 years.
I think those were bothexcellent answers, thank you.
(37:18):
What about the ceremony today,the speeches and the induction
and everything like that?
Anything stick out to you fromtoday?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yeah, I mean I think that obviously Todd's speech was
my favorite part him and andnot only just the people that
were so influential to him andhelped him get to where he was,
but also just the little momentsyou know of him kind of
throughout his career.
That might not have meant muchin the moment but added up to
something so special, um, andyeah, I just think that also,
(37:59):
knowing that he's not one to tospeeches at all he hates talking
about himself he's mentionedthat at the beginning of his
speech but just knowing that andthen knowing how well he did in
that speech and how much of apresence he had and obviously
I'm a little biased, but I justthought he did an amazing job
and moved everybody to some sortof emotion at least and I
(38:19):
definitely teared up multipletimes.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
I was right there with you and I.
I was a little bit nervousgoing in, just because we saw 17
years of proof that he does notlike talking in public or to
the media or anything like that.
So I was.
I was kind of worried that itwas going to be awkward and bad,
but I, I agree.
I think he did a great job, andeven us that knew most details
(38:43):
about his career.
I feel like we still heardstories that we had never heard
before.
So great weekend, great groupof people to be with and thanks
everybody for joining thepodcast.
Bye, Bye.
All right, everyone, welcome back to part two of my
Hall of Fame journey, and if youhaven't already, check out part
one that we released yesterday.
It kind of goes over whattraveling up to Cooperstown was
like and just walking around themuseum for the first time ever.
So today we're going to go overthe actual induction ceremony
(00:28):
and, as I've mentioned before,it was just such a beautiful
weekend Not only just spend timewith the family, but the
weather was beautiful as well,and so we were all in a great
mood just heading over to theinduction.
Cooperstown has a really cooltrolley that can take you right
over there, and it's in a hugekind of park where they have the
(00:51):
stage set up with a big screenmonitor, and the way they had it
set up was there was kind of afenced off area with a bunch of
folding chairs and then a hugegreen area in the back, and
everywhere was just filled upwith fans.
So there was kind of an energyand a buzz.
It was really fun and just kindof knowing what those guys, how
(01:15):
much hard work they put in andwhat it meant to not only them
and their families, but also allthe fans that watched them for
so many years, so it was kind ofexciting.
I don't think I've reallywatched very many of the Hall of
Fame induction ceremonies on TV.
I usually will check out aspeech online afterwards if it's
(01:36):
someone that I was reallyinterested in.
So to watch the whole ceremonywas a new experience for me.
But I thought they did a reallygood job, not only of having
some past Hall of Famers there,which we'll kind of go over, but
just celebrating each guyindividually, giving them enough
time and really just thepresident of the or the
(01:58):
chairperson of the Hall of Fame.
She spoke for a little whileand mentioned some of the former
greats that had passed away andjust kind of set the tone that
we're here to celebrate today,and today is a great day, so it
was fun.
Now I did mention that therewere seats set up there and we
(02:19):
got lucky.
Both my sister, krista and herfriendian were there on the trip
and so we were able to getseats in that folded chair
section and I was very happywith that, just because the
ceremony is a couple hours long.
I'm an old man so I like to sitdown and it was somewhat warm
out, so it was just nice to havea place to sit and we're
(02:40):
obviously a little bit closer tothe stage to sit, and we're
obviously a little bit closer tothe stage.
Now.
I will say again, I'm just sothankful we had those seats,
because the green area behindthe seats goes on for quite a
ways and so if you did not getthere early, you were very far
away and there was no chancethat you're seeing the players'
faces up on stage.
And while I said they do have abig screen TV set up, not a TV
(03:03):
but like a projection screen, itwasn't huge, so if you were
like pretty far back on thegreen area, even that would be
tough to see.
So I'm just so thankful toJillian for getting us those
seats and I think they made theday even more special.
So, like I said, the weatherwas beautiful.
They were handing out waters toeverybody just to make sure no
(03:24):
one was overheating.
They began the ceremony byintroducing probably about 60
former players that are in theHall of Fame Hoppy, cal Ripken.
There was some all-time greatsthere Also, just guys that were
(03:47):
inducted long ago, but you cantell they're probably
everybody's big brother thatgets inducted.
I'm guessing they probably cometo almost every Hall of Fame
(04:07):
ceremony or event, just to helpcelebrate the game and just make
sure their era is not forgottenand is always celebrated as
well.
So guys from like the sixties,seventies, like Billy Williams,
raleigh fingers, goose gossageLike I, just I imagine they're
at a lot of events, but it wasreally cool to to see them there
as well.
Now Todd, uh, did get to gofirst and, to be honest, I was a
bit nervous for his speech,just because, after watching him
(04:29):
for 17 years, he never onceshowed that he liked to speak in
public, let alone even speak toreporters or do interviews or
anything like that.
So I didn't know if he was justgoing to fight through it and
try and do a speech and andstruggle, or if he was just
(04:49):
going to be like, ah, I don'tcare, and just do like a super
quick, hey, thank you everyone.
And then really not give aspeech Like I didn't know what
was going to happen.
So the way they did it is theyhad a former teammate kind of
have a introduction.
The way they did it is they hada former teammate kind of have
an introductory video, kind oftalking about how great that
(05:11):
player was.
And so for Todd, it was LarryWalker who just got inducted
into Hall of Fame a couple ofyears ago, and Larry did a great
job.
Larry is naturally funny andone thing I loved is that Larry
said oh, there's no doubt ToddHelton is the greatest Rocky
ever.
And so I just love that,because in this day and age of
(05:32):
uh, sports, talk radio and themtrying to make arguments out of
anything there, there is noargument If.
If there's only two players inthe hall of fame and the other
one is saying that Todd Heltonis the greatest Rocky ever, I'm
going to go with that and sayhelton is the greatest rocky
ever, I'm gonna go with that andsay he is the greatest rocky
that has ever been and probablywill ever be.
Um, so after the video, todd wasintroduced by the commissioner
(05:58):
and he began his speech and hemade a joke about not enjoying
public speaking, but but I thinkhe kind of set that standard.
But then he did really well.
He told some really funnystories from his playing days,
but he balanced it out with somereally heartfelt moments and
thank yous for his family or forformer teammates and coaches
(06:21):
and I thought it was a reallygood speech.
It was not short.
So, like I said, I wasconcerned about him just trying
to get in and coaches, and Ithought it was a really good
speech.
It, it, it.
It was not short.
So, like I said, I wasconcerned about him just trying
to get in and out and I think hetook his time and just shared
some really cool stories that Ihope the fans of uh, the Rangers
who were there for Beltre, orthe Tigers that were there for
Leland, or the twins that werethere for Joe Maurer I hope they
(06:44):
enjoyed it and I hope they kindof got a feel for who Todd was
and enjoyed some of thosestories from his playing days.
I won't share all the stories.
I think, if you're interested atall, the speech is up on
YouTube and I think it would doit better justice for you to
hear it from Todd and kind ofhear his dry sense of humor
(07:06):
going.
But one thing I loved is hetold a story about how he still
gets recognized in Knoxville,tennessee, where he went to
college, and they're like, hey,are you Todd Helton?
Didn't you play football for UT?
And his response is always likeyeah, and I played a little bit
of baseball after that.
And his response is always like, yeah, and I played a little
bit of baseball after that.
(07:26):
So it's just funny that it justshows in the South how obsessed
people are with collegefootball, that even in Tennessee
they're going to just say, hey,didn't you play football for
Tennessee?
But I thought he did such agreat job and really the other
three guys did as well.
For how long the ceremony was,I thought the speeches were
interesting, the videos weregood and overall I thought
(07:47):
everyone did great and obviouslyI'm a little biased, but I'm
going to say Todd did the best.
So the ceremony itself was justreally fun, a great celebration
.
(08:08):
I hadn't thought about baseballor Todd Helton or really
anything like that in that depthfor quite a while and the whole
weekend just reminded me ofwhat a big part it was.
For me.
Growing up, like I wasobviously teenage, young, 20s
that's, formative years and thatdefinitely was one of my
favorite hobbies to watch Toddand the Rockies play, todd and
the Rockies play and justspending that weekend with my
(08:29):
family, who loves baseball justas much, if not more, than I do
was so special and it exceededall expectations and I just I
loved every minute of it.
So I hope you guys enjoyedlistening to it and as a special
treat I did do some shortinterviews with the family so
they can kind of give you theirperspective on some of their
favorite moments from theweekend.
(08:50):
So I hope you enjoy.
One note before I do startthose interviews is my little
nephew Brett was on the tripwith us and I do try to
interview him at the beginningand then afterwards when I'm
interviewing everybody else.
He was still full of energy andrunning around and so you may
hear some background noise, butjust know that's a future little
(09:14):
baseball fan who's just havinga good time.
So I hope you enjoy theinterviews.
All right, for this part, Iwanted to talk to the family and
see what their thoughts were onthis Hall of Fame trip and just
kind of get some of theirfavorite moments and what
they'll remember from thisweekend.
So to start out, we have mysister sara and our youngest
(09:36):
guest ever.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Brett.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Brett, how old are you?
Um good, good, three, three,very good.
And, sara, I won't ask how oldyou are.
Um brett, what was yourfavorite thing that you saw at
the museum yesterday?
Did you like the philly fanatic?
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Fanatic.
I like throwing rocks in a pond.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
That was a fun activity too, throwing rocks in
a pond and, sara, I know youlove throwing rocks in a pond
too.
But do you perhaps have adifferent answer to your
favorite, kind of eithersomething that you saw at the
museum yesterday or somethingfrom the induction ceremony
today, like kind of what jumpsto mind when you think about
(10:30):
this weekend?
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I think the first thing that comes to mind is just
that this trip as a whole haskind of been a bucket list item
for me, especially to do it withyou and Krista and mom and dad,
because I am probably the leastsporty of all of our family,
but baseball is like the onething that I've loved, and so
(10:55):
being able to come toCooperstown with you guys and
mom and dad and just because younever know if we'll get to do
that again, and so the wholeexperience has been kind of a
dream of mine that came true.
And then to bring Brett alongwas really fun too and made it a
whole new experience.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, that's true, I was thinking about that on the
way out here.
Like you said, you'redefinitely not as obsessed with
sports as Krista and I, butbaseball has always been one
that you have been interested inand that you've loved, and so,
like you said, I think it wasfun just as a family activity
(11:36):
that we all got to do together,and it was just fun sharing
stories all weekend as far aslittle memories that popped up,
either from the Rockies or fromother teams that we saw
represented in the museum, andso, um, yeah, I agree, I think
that's a good way to start outand just say it was just a
really fun family trip and Ithink this is a good preview.
(12:00):
We may hear Brett playing inthe background for all the
interviews that we do tonight,but it's been fun having him
here.
So, what about expectations?
What were you expecting fromthe museum or the ceremony, and
did it meet or not meet any ofthose expectations?
Speaker 4 (12:23):
I think Cooperstown as a whole and the museum, as
well as the induction ceremony,exceeded my expectations.
You could definitely tell thateveryone here just takes pride
in the whole weekend and enjoysit, and that everyone just loves
baseball and loves the game andloves the art of it, and so
(12:46):
just the organization and theatmosphere and the people,
everything just exceeded myexpectations and it was all just
very magical in a beautifulbaseball way.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
I agree.
Well said, well said, all right.
So we're going to get the othermembers of the family in here,
so we will say bye.
Oh, that was Brett saying bye,all right.
Next person, my mom, aka Nana.
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I'm great, we've had a great weekend weekend.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It has been great.
So let's start out with themuseum.
Yesterday, was there anythingeither Rockies related or just a
display that jumps out to youthat really kind of blew you
away?
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Yeah, I loved seeing all the Rockies memorabilia
stuff that was on display likeespecially Eric Young's pants
for having six stolen bases allin one game, and then there were
Ubaldo's hat from his no-hitterand those were things that I
(14:01):
loved seeing.
But they also had a greatdisplay of Todd Helton stuff for
his induction into the Hall ofFame and it could relate to all
our favorite Rockies that we'vehad along the years.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Absolutely, and he, like the video said today, is
the best of them all.
So it was just kind of funseeing all the really cool
accomplishments that the otherplayers have had but then really
celebrating the top guy for theRockies.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Right, and I really liked in the parade some of the
a couple of the old-time ChicagoCub players from when I was a
Cubs fan back when I was in highschool, so that was really fun
too.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
I think I probably won't evenremember, but I know Ryan
Sandberg was there, which wascool for me because you taught
me to be a Cubs fan, first,since we didn't even have the
Rockies yet, and so he was myfirst favorite player, and then
for you it was Fergie Jenkins inthe parade right that you got
really excited for parade rightthat you were.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
You got really excited for, yeah, fergie
jenkins and billy williams who,um, I really can't remember for
sure whether he was a firstbaseman or a third baseman, but,
um, one of the one of the two,I I'm pretty sure that that was
his position, that he playedyeah, it was fun seeing those
guys just the names that wewould always hear about on TV
(15:39):
growing up and everything andjust see them smiling as they
drove by.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, very good.
What about the ceremony today?
Was there any moment that stuckout for you?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Oh, I loved hearing Todd's speech and I was really
excited that there was so manyRockies fans present that
supported him today.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, that was really cool.
He was the first one to go, soI think everybody had lots of
energy and the full crowd wasthere, and so it kind of worked
out nice.
But that standing ovation thathe got when he was first
introduced as a Hall of Famerwas pretty loud, pretty loud,
really exciting.
Well, very good.
Well, thank you for making yourdebut on my podcast.
I know you're probably one ofmy top listeners, so I
(16:27):
appreciate you coming on andcreating content today.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
I always enjoy listening to your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
All right next up.
Next up is my dad, aka Papa,welcome.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
Papa, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So can you tell us what stuck out for you this
weekend, whether it's from theactual Hall of Fame walking
around the museum, or theinduction ceremony today, or
anything that's happened here atthe house?
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Well, this event's been on my bucket list for many,
many years, and I was hopingsometime I would be able to be
here.
And a dream came true.
Especially with my family too,that was definitely a big plus.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, the timing kind of worked out perfect.
Todd just happened to be ourfavorite player for the last 20
years and him getting inductedis a good reason for us all to
get out here, because, I agree,I think it was a bucket list
item for all of us, so it'sdefinitely lived up to the hype.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
I mean all the years he was on the Rockies baseball
team.
He was so nice to everybody inour family, either at the game
or spring training.
He was extra nice to the kidswho were smaller at that time,
including yourself, and he wasnot shy about being nice and
(17:51):
talking to us and everything andsigning an autograph or two.
So it just makes you feel goodabout the guy like that.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it seemed like even when he became a superstar
he just kind of understood thatinteracting with the fans is a
big part of being a professionalbaseball player, and so it
seemed like it never reallybothered him, like he just knew
he was making our day, just evensaying hi or signing an
autograph or something.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
That's true.
I worked for the Rockies for alittle bit and even behind the
scenes he was super nice, so agenuine nice person.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Can you tell me why the baseball player who was one
of the very first playersinducted into Hall of Fame is
special to you?
Speaker 5 (18:40):
I just happen to have the identical name as he does.
His nickname was the Big Trainand his full name was Walter
Johnson, just like me.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
That's a good reason to like someone.
So he obviously had a fewthings there in the museum.
Did any one of his items reallyjump out to you that you
thought was really interesting?
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Of course, the plaque with his face on it and
everything, and then all hisstats, and it's just amazing,
his stats, and it's just amazing, I mean, he holds records still
from the 1920s and 30s thatnobody's broken since.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, it's crazy looking back at his numbers.
Um, I forget the exact number,but I think I saw one of his
charts over his memorabilia wasthe second most wins ever behind
cy young.
I think that's correct.
Yes, and then he was a bigstrikeout guy, so he's right up
there on those charts.
But it was just really cool tosee some of his stuff that's
obviously about 100 years oldnow.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Yeah, one season I think he had 20 wins and he
batted 400 for that year.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
He was like Otani before Otani, that's right.
Well, what about for Todd orthe Rockies?
Did anything stick out for youat the museum there?
Speaker 5 (20:07):
It was just a dream come true and to see proof all
the posters and everything elsethat were there that he has made
it and that just made me sohappy.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
He's officially a legend.
What about his speech today?
He had a bunch of stories andjust kind of little funny
moments that happened throughouthis career.
Which one was your favorite?
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I like the one where if he does something that day or
whatever, and he hits two orthree or four hits that day,
he'll stick with that particularitem or whatever he did.
And he mentioned that one daydriving to the ballpark he got a
speeding ticket but he also had, I believe, three hits that day
(21:02):
.
So the next day, driving thesame route, he got another
speeding ticket but he still hitthree more hits.
So he just said I'm going tokeep this going.
So he told the policeman on thesecond day that we'll see you
tomorrow.
And sure enough, in the thirdday he did the same thing, got a
(21:22):
speeding ticket and I think isI'm not sure if it's hitting
streak continued or not.
Quite, not quite.
I think he got just one hitthat third day yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Yeah, he eventually had to stop that one, otherwise
he would have got his licensetaken away, but I did like that.
He just said hey, whatever ittakes, I'm going to get hits.
Yeah, I think he did a greatjob and, like you said, it's
just kind of fun to cement hisplace in history.
And even Larry Walker in theintro video today has mentioned
(21:56):
that he's the all-time greatestRocky, so it was definitely fun
to come out here as a family andcelebrate.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Yeah, as we all know that, our whole family has been
with the Rockies from day oneand he's definitely the number
one Rocky and it's going to behard to beat his record and
everything else 100% agree.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Well, thank you for making your debut on the podcast
, and this has just been anawesome weekend.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
It's been really, really.
It's a dream to come true.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
To be on the podcast.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
To be on the podcast and to come here to Cooperstown.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Very nice, very nice.
Next up, my sister, Krista,returning guest, huge baseball
fan.
Tell us what has this weekendbeen like for you.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
This weekend has been more than I expected.
It's just been kind of like,kind of an awe the whole time, I
feel like.
Also like just the city itself,I think, is awesome.
I didn't know what to expectfrom Cooperstown but it's just
like the cutest little smalltown ever.
Everybody's been super nice.
But then walking through thebaseball hall of Fame yesterday
(23:15):
was just so many things that Icould have spent like days
looking at, basically that wehad to try to fit into six hours
but it was just super awesome.
So many things that I couldremember from different parts of
my childhood and collectingcards with you and watching some
(23:38):
big games on tv and everything.
It was just like a whole littleculmination of my life up to
now it has been wonderful.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Can you give me one rocky piece of memorabilia and
one non-rocky piece ofmemorabilia and one non-Rocky
piece of memorabilia that youjust thought was super
interesting at the museum?
Speaker 6 (23:59):
Well, the whole Rockies little locker that they
had was pretty much just madefor me, I feel like, because it
had Trevor Story's jersey andUbaldo's hat and then Todd
Helton's whatever was in therejust talked about him.
I think it was supposed to behis bat, but they had taken it
out for the Hall of Fame.
But yeah, it was just basicallylike all of my main favorite
(24:20):
players from the last 20 yearsput into one locker in the Hall
of Fame.
So that was super awesomeNon-Rockies thing I would say
was super cool For some reason.
What stood out for me I don'tknow who this guy was, but he
seemed to have a prominent partin the Hall of Fame was Christy
(24:41):
Matheson Matthewson.
I don't even know how to sayhis name, but there was a lot of
stuff about him and there was alot of quotes about him and
little tidbits about him thatsaid that he was one of the
classiest old timers and likechanged the way people played
the game and they wanted to behim, and so I just thought it
was cool, because somebody I'venever heard of, but I saw him so
(25:01):
many times in the hall and heended up being like a pretty
prominent figure throughout theday yeah, I was kind of thinking
that too.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Even a huge baseball fan like you can go to the Hall
of Fame and discover someonethey didn't know much about and
learn to appreciate them andobviously, the game more.
So, yeah, I think that'sawesome.
What about from the ceremonytoday?
Any moment really stick out toyou.
Speaker 6 (25:31):
So basically just listening to Todd talk mostly, I
think, about his family waswhat got me the most because,
like I was telling the otherfamily members, I feel like I
grew up with him.
So then I feel like I also grewup with when he had his
daughters and like seeing himget older throughout the years
(25:54):
as well, and so it was just whenhe talks about his daughters
and his mom and then I just feellike I was like there for for
all of that and so it was justkind of cool to see the finale
of it, basically after we'vebeen there through, through it
all.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, we were talking about a dinner tonight.
You were how old when hestarted his career in 1997?
Speaker 6 (26:22):
Uh 13, 13.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
And then he plays 17 years, so you're 30 when he
retires.
A lot, a lot of life happens inthat time.
So I would say you'vedefinitely grown up with Todd
and uh.
Can you share with me yourfavorite Todd Helton moment from
(26:44):
his career?
Speaker 6 (26:46):
Probably when we got the third out to win the
national or, let's see, was thatthe when we were going to the
world series, when he was theout basically to end the game
and it was the triumphant armsin the air and it was like pure
joy.
When he for someone thatdoesn't show a lot of expression
(27:09):
on his face or emotions, he waslike so excited and that was
super fun to watch because itwas just so different and you
could tell it was like wow, he'sreally wanted this for a long
time.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I agree.
I think that moment is iconicfor any rockies fans.
Well, I will get you out ofhere.
You're a returning guest andyou will return once again.
You're my my go-to baseballexpert, so thank you for coming
thanks for having me againanother returning guest,
everyone's favorite celtic fan,james.
Speaker 7 (27:45):
Welcome back, sir thank you, thanks for having me
back all these returning guests.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
It's almost as if I'm having my own podcast hall of
fame here.
See what I did there yeah, goodone oh, I'm a dork, um.
So I think you have aninteresting perspective, because
you obviously did not grow upas a rockies fan, but are a huge
rockies fan now, as well askeeping your phillies fandom
(28:12):
alive.
So tell us maybe something fromthe hall of fame that really
stuck out to you, becauseobviously I think you
appreciated some of the philliesstuff a lot more than all of us
Rockies fans did.
Speaker 7 (28:24):
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was just an amazing.
I just love baseball so much ingeneral.
The Phillies obviously have alonger history so there was a
bit more in there about for themthan there were for the Rockies
.
But I mean there was a lot ofcool Rocky stuff too.
You know the EY pants juststand out because I just
remember how electric he was.
(28:46):
But you know the Roy Holidaystuff, obviously getting to see
the fanatic suit, how worn outit was, and you know obviously
all the Todd Helton thing at theend with all of his stuff and
it was just incredible.
You know the people, everybodythere was just incredible.
You know the people, everybodythere was incredible.
So many fans, everybody's justso excited to be there.
(29:07):
You know, obviously all thatbabe riz stuff was incredible.
It's just it's amazing to see.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
I know you and I were really hoping there'd be some
roy holiday stuff in there, justbecause obviously growing up he
was one of the all time bestlike just pictures that I had
ever seen and just the fact thathe gets to have his own little
section in there and beappreciated by maybe these young
kids that haven't seen himbefore.
(29:34):
But he I think is kind ofunderappreciated for how good he
was.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Yeah, I agree, a hundred percent Like he think at
the time he was.
You know, everybody knew he wasone of the best and he was yeah
, I agree, 100 like he, I thinkat the time he was.
You know, everybody knew he wasone of the best and he was
awesome.
He was a good guy and was neversuspected of anything crazy or
whatever.
So he was always, you know,upheld nicely.
But I don't know, I think youknow obviously him passing at
such a young age in a tragicaccident it kind of props him up
(29:59):
a little bit more.
But also like it's easier toforget about him because he's
not around and showing up toevents and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So you mentioned the babe ruth stuff.
You and I walked through thatsection together and I think one
thing that stood out to me notnot just for, obviously, how old
the equipment is and how it'sjust seems archaic compared to
the stuff that they use nowadays.
But, babe, he's kind of largerthan life, but when you see his
(30:28):
real life uniform he was not ahuge guy, so it almost makes him
being one of the best home runhitters ever even more
impressive I mean honestly, likeI'm five nine.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
I guarantee you he wasn't taller than I was.
He was a little bit wider thanme, but nothing crazy.
Not as big as you and I talkedabout.
I think we got a misconceptionof him because of john goodman
in the movie the babe, but youknow he definitely wasn't as big
as I always picture him and youknow he was a classy dude,
always had you had fancy shoeson and stuff, wore a suit.
(31:03):
I mean he was the biggest thingever during his day.
I mean, everything was abouthim.
It was insane.
It was awesome, though it wascrazy.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
We might need to revisit because maybe Fred
Flintstone wasn't as chubby aswe thought either.
Thought either.
I kind of picture what BabeRuth is like in the Hall of Fame
now.
Is, I really think, kind ofwhat Michael Jordan will be for,
like our grandchildren, likethe stories will just seem so
(31:34):
unbelievable and just soridiculous.
But he really was that goodduring our time.
Speaker 7 (31:41):
Yeah, I think it's already started a little bit.
Now people are looking atJordan as kind of a thing of the
past and there's so manystories about him and people
talking about how crazy he wasabout competitiveness and golf
and all kinds of crazy stuff.
So I think it's already started.
But yeah, once he's gone andgenerations down the line, it'll
(32:04):
be just you know insane storieshe was.
You know he took on 30 playersand beat all of them or
something you know.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
See, this is why James is podcast hall of fame
Cause in a baseball hall of famepodcast, we talk about Michael
Jordan.
What about during the ceremonytoday?
Speaker 7 (32:22):
any any uh, particular story or antidote
stick out to you uh, I mean, Ijust I really loved the, just
the personalization of the guys.
They, you know, they seem likeregular guys.
You can hear in their voice howgenuinely honored they are to
be there and it's just just, youknow, they were kids at one
(32:43):
point playing in the backyardpretending to be somebody else
and now there's kids pretendingto be them.
It was, it was moving, it wasawesome.
It's just it's great to see,and, like I said, just all the
people there so excited aboutthose players.
It was really cool to see,totally agree.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Well said Well.
We will definitely have to havea follow-up episode, now that
your Celtics are the championsof the world and the Nuggets are
coming for them.
So thank you for joining usagain today.
Thanks for having me back on Go.
Speaker 7 (33:13):
Seas.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Jillian, I think I've referred to you as a future
guest on the podcast beforebecause you were the reason I
got to go see Victor Wimbinyamaplay, and I'm hoping you will
come on for a full episode so wecan hear more of your story.
But you are one of the biggestsports and especially baseball
fans that I know, so how hasthis weekend been for you?
Speaker 2 (33:41):
This weekend has been amazing, Very nostalgic, Very.
I mean I feel like I've hadgoosebumps multiple times
throughout the weekend, just allkind of hitting me at once.
But yeah, amazing, iconic,wonderful.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
I like it, so same question will be for you is can
you give me a favorite rockyitem that you saw in the museum
and one that is non-coloradorocky?
Speaker 2 (34:09):
I think my favorite rocky's um rocky's item was
seeing the bat that todd heltonused for his his, uh, that home
run that he hit in his last gameof his career.
I think it was a kadair modelbat, which was also kind of cool
.
Just a little tidbit, um, butyeah, just again one of those
(34:30):
goosebumps moments seeing thatbat and thinking back to what a
what an amazing moment that wasto end his career with that
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
And what about non-rocky?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
so non-rocky.
I think there was a couple butnumber one, just walking into
that hall with all the plaques,um, and just being overwhelmed
by all of them.
But I think the first one thatI noticed right off the bat was
jackie robinson, um, and justthe fact that it had been worn,
you know, it just lookeddifferent than so many of the
(35:02):
other plaques because he was someaningful to so many people and
everybody wanted to touch itand it's kind of been rubbed
shiny, I guess.
Yeah, just seeing that andknowing how much he's meant to
the game of baseball and yeah,very powerful.
And then, I guess, sorry, onemore.
The other thing I would say is Idid enjoy seeing little tidbits
of like women in baseballpeppered throughout the museum a
(35:25):
little bit.
There was one little exhibit,but I think my favorite moments
were seeing how it.
Just they were small littleitems throughout, but I think
one of them was, um, I'velearned that there is a female
team called the Colorado SilverBullets, I think it was, that
went around playing men's teamsand they had a couple of their
(35:49):
items throughout the museum, soI thought that was awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
I thought that was so cool to see the Silver Bullets
in there.
They were playing when I was inhigh school so I was definitely
aware of them, but I don'tthink I ever went to see them
play.
But what a cool concept and I'dreally think if someone put a
team like that together today itcould be huge.
But I agree that the thewomen's influence in baseball,
(36:14):
was definitely ready andavailable for people to see
there and we'll go into it inyour future episode.
But there is a non-zero chancethat you are going to be in
there someday.
That's a teaser for those thatyou don't know the story.
But going back to what you saidabout the plaque room, I was
(36:35):
kind of blown away with how muchI really did enjoy that room.
I was thinking, oh yeah, it'llbe fun to see their plaques,
whatever.
But, like you said, the meaningthat those plaques have for not
only those players but just forthe game in general.
Like you just get to see theirfaces and just think, like these
are the greatest players thathave ever played.
And then, especially, there'sanother level up with guys like
(36:58):
Jackie Robinson, or I reallyliked going to that original
class section that had WalterJohnson in it and Babe Ruth.
It was just really cool just tothink about what those guys
have meant to the game that'sbeen around for over 100 years.
I think those were bothexcellent answers, thank you.
(37:18):
What about the ceremony today,the speeches and the induction
and everything like that?
Anything stick out to you fromtoday?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yeah, I mean I think that obviously Todd's speech was
my favorite part him and andnot only just the people that
were so influential to him andhelped him get to where he was,
but also just the little momentsyou know of him kind of
throughout his career.
That might not have meant muchin the moment but added up to
something so special, um, andyeah, I just think that also,
(37:59):
knowing that he's not one to tospeeches at all he hates talking
about himself he's mentionedthat at the beginning of his
speech but just knowing that andthen knowing how well he did in
that speech and how much of apresence he had and obviously
I'm a little biased, but I justthought he did an amazing job
and moved everybody to some sortof emotion at least and I
(38:19):
definitely teared up multipletimes.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
I was right there with you and I.
I was a little bit nervousgoing in, just because we saw 17
years of proof that he does notlike talking in public or to
the media or anything like that.
So I was.
I was kind of worried that itwas going to be awkward and bad,
but I, I agree.
I think he did a great job, andeven us that knew most details
(38:43):
about his career.
I feel like we still heardstories that we had never heard
before.
So great weekend, great groupof people to be with and thanks
everybody for joining thepodcast.
Bye, Bye.
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