April 16, 2025 • 32 mins
DV takes your calls after the Dodgers defeat the Rockies, 6-2 on Jackie Robinson Day. Michael Kopech gives an injury update. DV shares part of his conversation from 2012 with Vin Scully talking about Jackie Robinson.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vasse.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome the Dodger Talk David Fasse with you until eleven
thirty tonight, taking your phone calls at eight six six nine,
eight seven two five seventy. The Dodgers beat the Rockies
tonight six to two, so that means they have won
the series and the streak is over. They had lost
three consecutive series going back to Philadelphia and our Nation's capital, Washington, DC.
(00:31):
The Cubs came into town took two out of three
from the Dodgers. So the Dodgers getting healthy against the
team they should get healthy against. Last year, the Dodgers
beat the Rockies ten out of thirteen meetings. Tonight they
took care of business and again they didn't even play
their best game. But I felt like the third inning
(00:53):
may have been their best or their their best night
as an offense. I really do the way they passed
the baton the way they got on base, a two
out base hit by Chris Taylor. Yes, the three run
home run by Will Smith was the big one, but
look how it got set up. It was the two
guys ahead of Will Smith, part of the Big Three show.
(01:14):
Hey Otani who led off the inning with a walk,
stole second. Mookie Betts flew out that was the first
out of the inning, and then Freddie Freeman took a walk,
and then Will Smith hit a home run. So a
lot of times players will tell you, yes, the home
run is big, but look at the sequence of events
that took place ahead of the home run. Yet bat
(01:37):
right ahead of the home run, and those two guys
Otani and Freeman set the table for Will Smith, who quietly,
as always, is having a really hot start. In fact,
he has the second most hits by any catcher in
baseball seventeen to only Cabert Ruiz of the Nationals. Will
(01:58):
Smith tonight two for five with threebis. He has now
driven in five runs in the first two games of
this series. Eight six six nine seven two five seventy
is the phone number. Our guy, the voice of God,
Todd Lights is in the booth tonight. For some reason,
he wanted to check out how Dodger talk is done.
Why don't you say hi to the people, Todd Lights
(02:19):
before I get really into them? Go ahead, there it is.
There we go, melt the other one hit the other one.
There we go.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
See I'm a rookie when it comes to be in
radio here.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So hey, Dave, dramatic pause right there, Todd lights Now
now you're hitting the cough button. See this is a
high tech booth. People just think I show up and
throw on headsets on and start yap and no, this
is the real world.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well that's why I wanted to be here and see
you do what you do. This is what I listen
to on the way home every night, and I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Man, it's great to be here. Ah that voice, Oh man,
that is great. Hey, maybe when we go to the calls,
you could say the callers' names. That would give them
a Let's do that, all right, eight six, six, nine
eighty seven two five seventies the phone number. Dodgers beat
the Rockies tonight six to two, and the Padres finally
lost a game at home. They lost two to one
(03:14):
in ten innings to those pesky Cubs. Nico Horner, with
a go ahead triple in the tenth inning, handed the
Padres their first loss at home. But I am not
falling into the trap of scoreboard watching this early in
the season. All I could say is the NL West
is shaping up to be the best division in baseball.
(03:36):
I know a lot of those East Coasters that East
Coast bias. They don't stay up this late to watch
the Padres or the Giants or the Dodgers unless they're
in their time zone. But they better start recognizing because
the NL West is the only division in baseball that
has three teams with at least twelve wins. The Padres
(03:59):
are fourteen and four, the Giants are twelve and five,
and the Dodgers are thirteen and six. Not to mention,
the Diamondbacks are ten and seven. It's these Rockies that
are the anchor of the NL West at three and fourteen,
after the Dodgers beat them again tonight six to two.
And just think back, it wasn't that long ago that
(04:21):
the Dodgers and Rockies played a Game one sixty three
right here at Dodgers Stadium, where the legend of Walker
Bueller was born as a big game pitcher, he beat
the guy that's starting tomorrow night, Herman Marquez, in Game
one sixty three here at Dodgers Stadium. And how the
Rockies have fallen a mile high off the mountain after
(04:45):
the Dodgers crushed their dreams in Game one sixty three
back in twenty eighteen. The Dodgers have kept going. Teams
like the Rockies have had miracle years like twenty eighteen.
The Giants had a miss miracle year in twenty twenty one.
But the Dodgers stay consistent, and they've won two World Championships.
(05:06):
They've been to the World Series four times. And yes,
seasons like this do appear where you know you have
a surprise team like the Giants come from out of
nowhere to give the Dodgers a run for the money
in the division. But for the most part, the Dodgers
have been the pillar of strength in the NLS. But
(05:27):
don't sleep on the fact. I mean, early on, it
looks like the NLST very well could have not only
a division winner, but the rest of the wildcard playoff
picture in this division with the Padres playing as well
as they are, And look, I warned you about the Padres.
Everybody thought the Padres were going to sell off their
(05:49):
team with some of the disputes going on in their
ownership after the unfortunate passing of a great man, Peter Seidler,
who was the nephew of the great Walter O'Malley. But
they did not sell off anybody. They kept the same
core group that took the Dodgers to five games in
the NLDS. They just didn't add any big pieces. So
(06:11):
they are still that team. And I have a feeling
that the Dodgers and Padres are going to see each
other at some point in October. Again. Eight six six nine, seven,
two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out
to the phones for the first time tonight. Abby, who
was at Dodgers Stadium tonight? Abby? Do you feel like
Todd Litz brought his a game tonight? All right, all right,
(06:38):
I'm doing great. Thank you. Hey, Abby, your cell phone
connection is really bad. I'll put you on hold and
Colin's going to take care of that for you. I
just can't subject us to that. I mean, there was
a lot of wind and a lot of static, but
(06:58):
not a lot of Abby's you regroup and we'll get
back to you in a second as far as tonight's
game goes. Jack dryer Man waited his turn when he
was added to the forty manter roster during the offseason.
He kind of had a feeling that his time was coming,
and he pitched so well during spring training he forced
the Dodger's hand to put him on the roster, and
(07:20):
he has delivered with flying colors tonight and inning and
two thirds of scoreless relief, four strikeouts, one walk, and
extends his consecutive scoreless inning streak to eleven and a
third innings. It's hard to do being a relief pitcher
and coming in and facing the meat of the order
a lot of times. And for Jack Dryer not only
(07:43):
coming in for one or two batters, but going back
to the dugout and coming back out to pitch a
second inning. So Jack Dryer and for the most part,
Ben Casparius have been big additions from the farm system
to this Dodger bullpen. And how about Taylor. How about
Chris Taylor getting his first start in center field. Since
(08:06):
last June, Chris Taylor hasn't played a lot, and I'm
really happy for him to be able to contribute the
way he did tonight in the third inning with a
diving catch in center field to rob Ezekiel Tovar and
then coming up with a two out base hit to
tack on the fourth run of the third inning. Many
(08:28):
of you want to barry Chris Taylor. He doesn't play
certain nights the Dodgers win, and I have a full
board of calls of you trying to bury Chris Taylor,
a two time World Series champion, the guy that won
the Wildcard Game for the Dodgers in twenty one with
a walk off home run, a guy that hit one
(08:50):
of the biggest home runs in the twenty seventeen World
Series Game one off of Verlander, leading off the World
Series with a home run, A guy that made one
of the great catches in the twenty eighteen NLCSM Milwaukee
Game seven on the warning track, and you all want
to bury this guy. Look, Chris Taylor is not the
(09:13):
perfect player, but how many are There's not too many
perfect players. The Dodgers have three that are pretty close
in Otani and Mookie Bets and Freddie Freeman. But what
Chris Taylor has. He has that blue collar type of attitude,
that type of accountability to himself and to the team
(09:37):
and to the fans to try to get better and
contribute when called upon and not make a big stink
about it when he doesn't play. And he has that
championship pedigree. He knows how to play the game on
the biggest stage. And look the swing It's a work
in progress, right, It's not the same swing that can
(09:58):
work in twenty twenty five the way it worked in
twenty seventeen. But Chris Taylor isn't going anywhere. He's making
a pretty large sum of money this year in the
final year of a four year, sixty million dollar contract.
Last year, if you look at his second half, it
was better than what it was in his first half.
(10:18):
And tonight was a big night for Chris Taylor because
he proved to himself, he proved to his teammates, and
he proved to you to a certain extent that there's
still something left in the tank. And you have to
appreciate guys like that. Look, is he going to be
an everyday player? Is he going to be the twenty
(10:39):
seventeen Chris Taylor? Probably not, But I do believe it's
unfair to say this guy cannot play anymore and everybody
wants to throw dirt on his grave prematurely. He has
a role on this team. Is it to play every day? No,
But he knows how to play center field, he knows
(10:59):
how to play left field pretty well. He could play second,
in short and third base. There's a value for a
guy like that and also a guy that has veteran experience.
So I'm just saying it's early in the season and
you might want to just take some inventory on what
the resume is of certain players. If Chris Taylor was unproven,
(11:23):
I would say, of course, they just picked him up
get rid of him. But he has a track record,
and that track record is pretty impressive. Is it what
it was in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen? No, but
is there still something that can help the Dodgers win.
He proved it tonight that yes there is eight six
six nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number.
(11:45):
Let's go out to La Nick. You're on Dodger Talk
with David vasse Hi. Nick.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
What's up, Dave. How are you doing tonight?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
That's great. I'll just listening to your coumbo on Chris Taylor.
I mean, I've been a huge Cresce hitter fan since
since we got him back from Seattle. And I mean,
like you said, moment after moment, he's he's there. You
know that, he's I don't want nobody else in the outfield,
nobody else anywhere. I want, you know, ball hit to
him because you know he's gonna give you a hundred percent,
full on effort. But with that being said, why don't
(12:18):
we give him I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Know about that. I don't know if I want the
ball hit to him every time. I mean to ask her,
this weeks pretty.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Good, Yeah, I mean, why don't we give him a
shot at three v you know once he's you know,
kind of struggling to start the season off.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
To see here we go. It's either Chris Taylor or
Max Munsey, take your pick, because they seem to be
the poster child for everybody's critique. And Max Munsey for
the second straight game tonight, did you know, for the
second straight game, Nick, Max Munsey took two walks. And
that's what the Dodgers need out of the seven eight
to nine holes. They need those guys to get on
(12:55):
base to turn that lineup over. And it's been a
little better here the last two nights, kind of tonight
was much better than last night. So I don't want
to hear that on Max Mounsey either. It's seventeen games in. Uh,
it's a little premature to start saying that Max Mounthsy's
washed as well.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
No, no, another question. I know that now was gonna
begin his his throwing process again that that. How did
that or is there any info on that went good?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
It went good. He's been all smiles the last two days,
which tells me that things went well and he's happy
with the way the shoulders feeling. So it's gonna be
some time to build back up, but not a lot
of time. Like I said last night, I kind of
feel like when the Dodgers go on their East coast
road trip and end in Arizona, when they play ten
games on the road to start May, that's when you're
(13:47):
going to see Blake Snell return to the Dodger rotation.
All right, Nick, thanks for the phone call. Eight six
six seven two five seventy is the phone number. Think
about the Dodgers starting rotation. Dust May and Yamamoto have
been by far the two best starters the Dodgers have
had this year. Tyler Glass now has had two good
(14:08):
starts at home, but had a not so great start
in Philly. So I would say he's third behind those
two guys. And if you look at the guys that
are not pitching for the Dodgers right now, that at
some point this season, will pitch for them. It's pretty
scary for the rest of the league because you got
(14:28):
Blakesnell coming back in the beginning of May. Kershaw, who
is starting a rehab game in Oklahoma City tomorrow morning,
is eligible to come off the sixty day il mid May.
Let's not forget about Emmitt Shean. Emmit Shean physically looked
more imposing in spring training than I saw him before
(14:50):
he had his Tommy John surgery. Shean more than likely
will be able to pitch in the second half of
the season. And oh yeah, that guy number seven team,
that's a great dh, A fifty to fifty guy. Show
Hey Otani, He's going to be pitching at some point
in July, August, September to get ready for October. So
(15:11):
those are four big time guys that could start in
the Rockies rotation tomorrow. And the Dodgers have a pretty
full rotation right now. Eight six six, nine eighty seven
two five seventy is the phone number. We have two
lines open when we continue more of your phone calls,
and we will also let you hear from Michael Kopek,
(15:33):
who experienced his first Jackie Robinson Day with the Dodgers
he'll give us an update on where he's at. Oh yeah,
By the way, the Dodger bullpen has been really good
and Evan Phillips, Bruce dark Raderol and Michael Kopek have
yet to throw a single pitch this season. You'll hear
from Kopek and also we'll share Vin Scully's memories of
(15:53):
the great Jackie Robinson as we celebrate forty two today
and every day right here on five to seventy LA Sports,
your home for the world champion Dodgers. They beat the
Rockies sixty two. Be happy.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports
dot com, hand on the iHeartRadio app. Back to more
Dodger Talk with Dodger insider David Basse.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
There's lead, big lead.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
It first for Freemam.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
There's a swing a dry left field.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
This ball's deep and caring bean back to the wall.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
He looks up, better's got a hold. Run Will Smith
with a three run shot and the Dodgers lead it
four and nothing.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Second home run of the season for Will Smith as
he just hammered this one out for the right of
the bull bend into the first row of the home
run seats.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
A big night for the Big Three last night, with
Will Smith driving in two runs, and then tonight, Will
Smith with the hammer, a three run home run part
of a four run third inning for the Dodgers as
they go on to beat the Rockies tonight six to two.
Daniels Jewelers presents the home run Forecast. Go to AM
(17:15):
five to seventy lasports dot com and use the keyword
home run for your chance to win a fifty dollars
Daniels Jeweler's gift card predicting the number of home runs
in the very next game. Daniels Jewelers own the Dream.
Eight six, six, nine, seven two five seventy is the
phone number. Will Smith off to a very hot start
(17:35):
with an ops of over one thousand. He's hitting three
sixty seven. His strikeout to walk ratio is remarkable. He's
only struck out fourteen times this year, and he's already
walked ten times. He has two home runs and twelve
RBIs and certainly uh the ideal guy to be hitting
behind guys like Shoe Aotani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
(18:00):
That three run home run was set up by walks
from Otani and Freddie Freeman, as Will came to the
plate with one out and Freddy Tonight on base four times,
two walks, and he had two hits, and he came
this close to hitting a home run inside the left
field foul pole. Instead it was fouled by a few feet,
(18:22):
and Freddie was a little annoyed. You could tell he
thought that. He well, he takes pride in keeping those
type of fly balls fair, so he holds himself to
a higher standard than anybody else would. How about Tommy
Edmund who went over last night but came back big
tonight four for five. His four hits tied a career
(18:43):
hides the fourth time Tommy Edmond had four hits in
a game. The last time was back in twenty twenty three.
So it's been a while for Tommy Edman. Thank you
very much, Saint Louis for Tommy Edman, by the way,
I mean, I can't believe the Cardinals traded that guy,
but the Dodgers are very fortunate to have him in
their lineup. He is huge, plays gold Glub's second base.
(19:06):
He's really the captain of that infield, and then you
could kick him out to center field in the middle
of the game like they did tonight, like you saw
in the postseason last year, he could play shortstop for
you all the way to an NLCSMVP and to a
World Series Championship. So to me, Tommy Edmin is the glue. Hey,
(19:27):
we want to send our thoughts and prayers out to
Jose Mota and his pops, Manny Mota. Jose's not joining
the show tonight and did not join it last night
because his dad, Manny, who is a legendary Dodger, suffered
a stroke. He's in recovery where he's responsive to commands
and is resting comfortably. Jose was at the ballpark calling
(19:49):
the game for Spanish radio tonight. I'm sure he's with
his pops tonight, and our thoughts and prayers go out
to Number eleven and the Motive family. Man. He's a
great guy and means a lot to this organization and
can't wait to see him back here. I was actually
just joking around with him a couple of days ago,
because he's here virtually every day. He was wearing a
(20:11):
three quarter zip with the Chiefs logo. I was like, Manny,
you're a Chiefs fan. He's like, yeah, you didn't know that.
I said, no, I'd never seen you wear any Chiefs gear.
He said, I played with Patrick Mahomes's dad back in
the day, so all right, that justifies wearing a Chiefs
(20:32):
three quarter zip. Michael Kopek not sure what team he
roots for, but Michael Kopek was such a big part
of the Dodger bullpen last year as they really did
something unprecedented to carry the Dodgers and support a staff
that basically only had two and a half starters to
the World Series Championship and nothing more evident and encapsulated
(20:56):
what the Dodger bullpen did than Game five of the
World's Series as they were able to pick Jack Flaherty up,
capped off by Blake Trinan and Walker Buehler doing herculean
things to help the Dodgers secure that World Series championship.
But Michael Kopek was so big as well part of
(21:16):
that World Series run for the Dodgers after they acquired
him along with Tommy Edmund in that three way trade
with the Cardinals in White Sox last July. Michael Kopek,
by the way, knew his elbow wasn't feeling great during
that October run, but pitched through it and now he's
trying to come back and good news. He threw a
(21:38):
bullpen session today, his second, and he feels like things
are going in the right direction.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
I think with the game in general, excuse me, with
the game in general, there's a lot of ups and downs. Yeah,
you know. So you know I'm let's say I'm healthy
right now and I'm pitching. I and go out there
and I can feel great for one game. In the
next game maybe not so good, and you have to
find a way. There's a little litle bit of that
when you're doing a rehab stant too, but you don't
know if you're going to bounce back when you have
(22:07):
a bad day and rehab, so it can be this
roller coaster of emotions if you if you ride every
single feeling of every single day, but to have a
high day make it that a little bit easier and
you get to kind of just build off of that.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like I said, I have so much respect for you
and for all those guys in the bullpen last year
that were pushed to the limits to try to win
the World Series. You guys were able to do that.
I haven't talked to you about this, but you what
you guys did as a group is unprecedented to carry
a pitching staff that far. How proud are you of that?
(22:42):
And I mean literally left your arm out on the
mound last year?
Speaker 6 (22:47):
Uh yeah. I think the main thing is I'm I'm
incredibly grateful to be a part of a group that
that was that was that special. You know, whether one
guy did the job every single night, or you know,
somebody needed to get picked up, like, we never shied
away from that, and we had a group of guys
that were willing to fight that battle all the way through.
(23:10):
And to be a part of that group and a
part of guys that are just so determined to win
no matter you know, what the feeling is or what
the situation is. Like, the World Series was the end
goal and site and that was what we were all
working towards. So to be a part of a group
that worked that hard for it, I was incredibly proud of.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
No doubt, they'll go down in history as maybe the
greatest bullpen in a World Series. I'm not saying all
of them were better than you know, the Nasty Boys
of the Reds in nineteen ninety or k Rod and
Perceval and shields of the Angels O.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
Two.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
But I will say this, none of those bullpens had
to shoulder the workload that bullpen had to do. And
I would, pound for pound take them over any other bullpen.
And you can't measure the size of their heart, because
that was immeasurable. They had a heart of a lion
to be able to do what they did last year.
(24:05):
There's no ways around that. Eight six six nine eight
seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go
out to Bob in Malibu. Bob, can you believe this
Dodger bullpen is pitching as well as it is? And
there's no Grattarol, no Phillips, and no Copek.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
Yet, not only can I believe it, Dave, I believe
in it every single time these guys take the mound, Man,
they give us such strength out there. They come in
after our starters. Grateful to all the bullpen first and foremost, Dave,
do I want to echo your thoughts about Manny motive men,
Dodger nations behind that guy, thinking of him, thinking of
his family, So wishing Manny the best man in the
(24:43):
full recovery.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Anything you want to say to Todd lights the voice
of God, the PA announcer for Dodger Stadium. He's hanging
out in the booth tonight. Bob, you want to say hi?
Speaker 8 (24:54):
All I can say is thank God. Todd.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, go ahead, Todd sale Hell to Bob and Malibu.
There you go.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Hey you Bob, Thanks man, come on out and see.
Speaker 8 (25:05):
You like hearing the voice of God right over my telephone.
Thanks for being with us. God Man appreciates you.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Dave one for some reason, he's a sick man. He's
a sick man that wants to sit here and watch
me do sports talk radio at night. Bob, thanks a lot,
Bob appreciated man. How about that a big fan right there. Todd.
You know a lot of people hear the voice, but
they really don't hear the personality of the PA announcer.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Well, I try to add a little personality if I can.
But yeah, we're on a limited wavelength up there in
the PA booth. But boy is it exciting to be
out here with fifty thousand plus fans every game. And
we sold another game out tonight and these fans just
keep turning up. It's a it's a Tuesday night in April,
and we've got a full house out here, so of
(25:57):
course it's Jackie Robinson night and everybody wants to be
part of that. But you fans are amazing and we
feel your energy and I know the team thrives on
it too.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So love it. And you were out there today. I
saw you at the statue. You were wearing your Dodger
jersey with the forty two on the back. How great
was Kareem today?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Kareem was fantastic. I loved his stories about growing up
in Manhattan as a Brooklyn Dodger fan. You mentioned that
he was born the day after Jackie broke the color barrier,
and it was just he's such as he's such a
sage man, you know, and such just such a towering figure,
both physically of course, and in our culture and here
(26:36):
in Los Angeles, and it's just great to see him
out there. And I know he's not moving around as
well as he used to, but he's got a lot
to say and he's got a lot to offer. So
we love Kareem.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Hey, we love Todd Lights. Thanks for hanging out with
us tonight. Todd. I'm glad I could share you with
the people.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Thank you, David. You're always a very hospitable. I appreciate it.
I love the show. Dodger Talk is the best seventy
LA sports clip.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
That calling. That's a promo right there, Voice of God,
just endorse me clip that clip that that'll run every
single night. Todd, thank you very much. Eight sixty six
nine eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number.
On the topic of Kareem and Jackie Robinson. I wanted
to share with you a very special conversation or part
of a very special conversation I had with Vin Scully
(27:25):
back in twenty twelve. I had so many questions for
him about the Boys of Summer and in particular Jackie Robinson.
So here is the great Vin Scully on the grate
forty two.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Well, I think, first of all, when I first started,
I was the same age as many of the rookie players.
I can remember sitting in the back of the bus
with Dick Williams, who was a rookie outfielder for the
Dodgers who eventually became a Hall of Fame manager. So
a lot of years go by, and in those days
(27:59):
with Jackie and I, we were sent to the Catskill Mountains.
There were a resort up there called Gros singers, pretty
famous in the East, and it was dead of winter
and we were going to hold a Q and A
with the guests and do whatever we could do to entertain.
So I brought my ice skates because I was a
kid from the East, and I skated and Jackie and
(28:21):
Rachel came, and Rachel was about eight months pregnant, and
Jackie said, oh, you're going to go skating and I
said yeah. He said, well, I'll go with you. I
said okay, so Rachel said I'll go too. Well. We
went to the rink right at Grossingers and there was
a lady named Maureen Mellerrick and she took Rachel off
(28:42):
to get her skates, and Jackie and I went in
the locker room and Jackie got a pair of rented
skates and I was putting on mine and Jackie said,
when we get out there, I'd like to race you.
And I was shocked, and I said, jack I didn't
know that you raced your southern California. I knew about basketball,
(29:03):
I knew about football, but I didn't know you ice skated.
And he said, oh, I've never been on skates in
my life. So I looked at him and I said, well,
jack I mean, I'm not a great skater, but I
can skate, and there's no way that you're going to
beat me in a race. And he said, I know,
but that's the way I'm going to learn. And that
really was the competitive fire inside of Jackie Robinson.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Can you talk about what you went through and how
you witnessed everything that he did go through as one
of the pioneers not only in baseball but in American society.
Speaker 7 (29:35):
Well, actually, when Jackie started with the Dodgers nineteen forty seven,
I was not there. My first taste of what it
was like to travel with Jackie was the spring of
nineteen fifty and we went from Vero Beach to Texas
on our way to Brooklyn. So it was a long,
long trip and we came back from Texas through the South,
(29:59):
and that's when I realized the impact that he had
made on the country. Jackie was very forceful, however, with
the people. If the black community came out, and they did,
they were in right field and center field and some
of the small ballparks, and Jackie would go out and
if he saw one or two, let's say, who were
(30:20):
over celebrating, who perhaps had gone to the hard stuff.
Jackie would really not ball them out, but he would
say to them, this is not the way to behave.
You can be happy, but you don't want to show
some bad habits while trying to be happy. So he
was very concerned about the reaction of the black people
(30:41):
in the South. But he was a remarkable man. And
I've often said this, most of us lose some of
our skills when we get angry. Jackie actually excelled when
he got angry, certainly on the baseball field. That's why
Leo Durocher and other managers used to say, leave him alone,
let him sleep, because if you got him angry, he
(31:04):
could do the most remarkable things. And I remember in
Pittsburgh one time they threw at him and he got angry.
So he had a base hit, then he stole check,
and then he stole third, and then he stole home.
And so that's the kind of a player he was.
The fire in his belly was amazing.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Vin Scully with the final word tonight on Dodger Talk,
sharing incredible stories that he lived with the great Jackie Robinson,
and that was part of an interview that I did
with Vin right here in the press box back in
twenty twelve. I never get tired of hearing that voice
or hearing those stories, and we miss Vin a lot,
(31:45):
but his legacy lives on, just like Jackies does through
his voice, through his storytelling, and through things like that.
So thank you Vince Scully, because you gave us a
first hand account of the greatness of the person of
Jackie Robinson. Then I'll do it for us tonight on
Dodger Talk. In case you missed any of the show,
you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. Thanks to
(32:09):
calling Ye back at our Burbank Studios, Thanks to Dwayne
McDonald out here at Dodger Stadium, and thanks to Todd
Lights for hanging out with us, and thank you for
hanging with us every single night. Once again. The final
score tonight from Dodgers Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day, the
Dodgers defeat the Rockies six to two. Ben Maller on
(32:29):
Fox Sports Radio is next. Have a great rest of
your night. See yup.
And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vasse.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome the Dodger Talk David Fasse with you until eleven
thirty tonight, taking your phone calls at eight six six nine,
eight seven two five seventy. The Dodgers beat the Rockies
tonight six to two, so that means they have won
the series and the streak is over. They had lost
three consecutive series going back to Philadelphia and our Nation's capital, Washington, DC.
(00:31):
The Cubs came into town took two out of three
from the Dodgers. So the Dodgers getting healthy against the
team they should get healthy against. Last year, the Dodgers
beat the Rockies ten out of thirteen meetings. Tonight they
took care of business and again they didn't even play
their best game. But I felt like the third inning
(00:53):
may have been their best or their their best night
as an offense. I really do the way they passed
the baton the way they got on base, a two
out base hit by Chris Taylor. Yes, the three run
home run by Will Smith was the big one, but
look how it got set up. It was the two
guys ahead of Will Smith, part of the Big Three show.
(01:14):
Hey Otani who led off the inning with a walk,
stole second. Mookie Betts flew out that was the first
out of the inning, and then Freddie Freeman took a walk,
and then Will Smith hit a home run. So a
lot of times players will tell you, yes, the home
run is big, but look at the sequence of events
that took place ahead of the home run. Yet bat
(01:37):
right ahead of the home run, and those two guys
Otani and Freeman set the table for Will Smith, who quietly,
as always, is having a really hot start. In fact,
he has the second most hits by any catcher in
baseball seventeen to only Cabert Ruiz of the Nationals. Will
(01:58):
Smith tonight two for five with threebis. He has now
driven in five runs in the first two games of
this series. Eight six six nine seven two five seventy
is the phone number. Our guy, the voice of God,
Todd Lights is in the booth tonight. For some reason,
he wanted to check out how Dodger talk is done.
Why don't you say hi to the people, Todd Lights
(02:19):
before I get really into them? Go ahead, there it is.
There we go, melt the other one hit the other one.
There we go.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
See I'm a rookie when it comes to be in
radio here.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So hey, Dave, dramatic pause right there, Todd lights Now
now you're hitting the cough button. See this is a
high tech booth. People just think I show up and
throw on headsets on and start yap and no, this
is the real world.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well that's why I wanted to be here and see
you do what you do. This is what I listen
to on the way home every night, and I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Man, it's great to be here. Ah that voice, Oh man,
that is great. Hey, maybe when we go to the calls,
you could say the callers' names. That would give them
a Let's do that, all right, eight six, six, nine
eighty seven two five seventies the phone number. Dodgers beat
the Rockies tonight six to two, and the Padres finally
lost a game at home. They lost two to one
(03:14):
in ten innings to those pesky Cubs. Nico Horner, with
a go ahead triple in the tenth inning, handed the
Padres their first loss at home. But I am not
falling into the trap of scoreboard watching this early in
the season. All I could say is the NL West
is shaping up to be the best division in baseball.
(03:36):
I know a lot of those East Coasters that East
Coast bias. They don't stay up this late to watch
the Padres or the Giants or the Dodgers unless they're
in their time zone. But they better start recognizing because
the NL West is the only division in baseball that
has three teams with at least twelve wins. The Padres
(03:59):
are fourteen and four, the Giants are twelve and five,
and the Dodgers are thirteen and six. Not to mention,
the Diamondbacks are ten and seven. It's these Rockies that
are the anchor of the NL West at three and fourteen,
after the Dodgers beat them again tonight six to two.
And just think back, it wasn't that long ago that
(04:21):
the Dodgers and Rockies played a Game one sixty three
right here at Dodgers Stadium, where the legend of Walker
Bueller was born as a big game pitcher, he beat
the guy that's starting tomorrow night, Herman Marquez, in Game
one sixty three here at Dodgers Stadium. And how the
Rockies have fallen a mile high off the mountain after
(04:45):
the Dodgers crushed their dreams in Game one sixty three
back in twenty eighteen. The Dodgers have kept going. Teams
like the Rockies have had miracle years like twenty eighteen.
The Giants had a miss miracle year in twenty twenty one.
But the Dodgers stay consistent, and they've won two World Championships.
(05:06):
They've been to the World Series four times. And yes,
seasons like this do appear where you know you have
a surprise team like the Giants come from out of
nowhere to give the Dodgers a run for the money
in the division. But for the most part, the Dodgers
have been the pillar of strength in the NLS. But
(05:27):
don't sleep on the fact. I mean, early on, it
looks like the NLST very well could have not only
a division winner, but the rest of the wildcard playoff
picture in this division with the Padres playing as well
as they are, And look, I warned you about the Padres.
Everybody thought the Padres were going to sell off their
(05:49):
team with some of the disputes going on in their
ownership after the unfortunate passing of a great man, Peter Seidler,
who was the nephew of the great Walter O'Malley. But
they did not sell off anybody. They kept the same
core group that took the Dodgers to five games in
the NLDS. They just didn't add any big pieces. So
(06:11):
they are still that team. And I have a feeling
that the Dodgers and Padres are going to see each
other at some point in October. Again. Eight six six nine, seven,
two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out
to the phones for the first time tonight. Abby, who
was at Dodgers Stadium tonight? Abby? Do you feel like
Todd Litz brought his a game tonight? All right, all right,
(06:38):
I'm doing great. Thank you. Hey, Abby, your cell phone
connection is really bad. I'll put you on hold and
Colin's going to take care of that for you. I
just can't subject us to that. I mean, there was
a lot of wind and a lot of static, but
(06:58):
not a lot of Abby's you regroup and we'll get
back to you in a second as far as tonight's
game goes. Jack dryer Man waited his turn when he
was added to the forty manter roster during the offseason.
He kind of had a feeling that his time was coming,
and he pitched so well during spring training he forced
the Dodger's hand to put him on the roster, and
(07:20):
he has delivered with flying colors tonight and inning and
two thirds of scoreless relief, four strikeouts, one walk, and
extends his consecutive scoreless inning streak to eleven and a
third innings. It's hard to do being a relief pitcher
and coming in and facing the meat of the order
a lot of times. And for Jack Dryer not only
(07:43):
coming in for one or two batters, but going back
to the dugout and coming back out to pitch a
second inning. So Jack Dryer and for the most part,
Ben Casparius have been big additions from the farm system
to this Dodger bullpen. And how about Taylor. How about
Chris Taylor getting his first start in center field. Since
(08:06):
last June, Chris Taylor hasn't played a lot, and I'm
really happy for him to be able to contribute the
way he did tonight in the third inning with a
diving catch in center field to rob Ezekiel Tovar and
then coming up with a two out base hit to
tack on the fourth run of the third inning. Many
(08:28):
of you want to barry Chris Taylor. He doesn't play
certain nights the Dodgers win, and I have a full
board of calls of you trying to bury Chris Taylor,
a two time World Series champion, the guy that won
the Wildcard Game for the Dodgers in twenty one with
a walk off home run, a guy that hit one
(08:50):
of the biggest home runs in the twenty seventeen World
Series Game one off of Verlander, leading off the World
Series with a home run, A guy that made one
of the great catches in the twenty eighteen NLCSM Milwaukee
Game seven on the warning track, and you all want
to bury this guy. Look, Chris Taylor is not the
(09:13):
perfect player, but how many are There's not too many
perfect players. The Dodgers have three that are pretty close
in Otani and Mookie Bets and Freddie Freeman. But what
Chris Taylor has. He has that blue collar type of attitude,
that type of accountability to himself and to the team
(09:37):
and to the fans to try to get better and
contribute when called upon and not make a big stink
about it when he doesn't play. And he has that
championship pedigree. He knows how to play the game on
the biggest stage. And look the swing It's a work
in progress, right, It's not the same swing that can
(09:58):
work in twenty twenty five the way it worked in
twenty seventeen. But Chris Taylor isn't going anywhere. He's making
a pretty large sum of money this year in the
final year of a four year, sixty million dollar contract.
Last year, if you look at his second half, it
was better than what it was in his first half.
(10:18):
And tonight was a big night for Chris Taylor because
he proved to himself, he proved to his teammates, and
he proved to you to a certain extent that there's
still something left in the tank. And you have to
appreciate guys like that. Look, is he going to be
an everyday player? Is he going to be the twenty
(10:39):
seventeen Chris Taylor? Probably not, But I do believe it's
unfair to say this guy cannot play anymore and everybody
wants to throw dirt on his grave prematurely. He has
a role on this team. Is it to play every day? No,
But he knows how to play center field, he knows
(10:59):
how to play left field pretty well. He could play second,
in short and third base. There's a value for a
guy like that and also a guy that has veteran experience.
So I'm just saying it's early in the season and
you might want to just take some inventory on what
the resume is of certain players. If Chris Taylor was unproven,
(11:23):
I would say, of course, they just picked him up
get rid of him. But he has a track record,
and that track record is pretty impressive. Is it what
it was in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen? No, but
is there still something that can help the Dodgers win.
He proved it tonight that yes there is eight six
six nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number.
(11:45):
Let's go out to La Nick. You're on Dodger Talk
with David vasse Hi. Nick.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
What's up, Dave. How are you doing tonight?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
That's great. I'll just listening to your coumbo on Chris Taylor.
I mean, I've been a huge Cresce hitter fan since
since we got him back from Seattle. And I mean,
like you said, moment after moment, he's he's there. You
know that, he's I don't want nobody else in the outfield,
nobody else anywhere. I want, you know, ball hit to
him because you know he's gonna give you a hundred percent,
full on effort. But with that being said, why don't
(12:18):
we give him I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Know about that. I don't know if I want the
ball hit to him every time. I mean to ask her,
this weeks pretty.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Good, Yeah, I mean, why don't we give him a
shot at three v you know once he's you know,
kind of struggling to start the season off.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
To see here we go. It's either Chris Taylor or
Max Munsey, take your pick, because they seem to be
the poster child for everybody's critique. And Max Munsey for
the second straight game tonight, did you know, for the
second straight game, Nick, Max Munsey took two walks. And
that's what the Dodgers need out of the seven eight
to nine holes. They need those guys to get on
(12:55):
base to turn that lineup over. And it's been a
little better here the last two nights, kind of tonight
was much better than last night. So I don't want
to hear that on Max Mounsey either. It's seventeen games in. Uh,
it's a little premature to start saying that Max Mounthsy's
washed as well.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
No, no, another question. I know that now was gonna
begin his his throwing process again that that. How did
that or is there any info on that went good?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
It went good. He's been all smiles the last two days,
which tells me that things went well and he's happy
with the way the shoulders feeling. So it's gonna be
some time to build back up, but not a lot
of time. Like I said last night, I kind of
feel like when the Dodgers go on their East coast
road trip and end in Arizona, when they play ten
games on the road to start May, that's when you're
(13:47):
going to see Blake Snell return to the Dodger rotation.
All right, Nick, thanks for the phone call. Eight six
six seven two five seventy is the phone number. Think
about the Dodgers starting rotation. Dust May and Yamamoto have
been by far the two best starters the Dodgers have
had this year. Tyler Glass now has had two good
(14:08):
starts at home, but had a not so great start
in Philly. So I would say he's third behind those
two guys. And if you look at the guys that
are not pitching for the Dodgers right now, that at
some point this season, will pitch for them. It's pretty
scary for the rest of the league because you got
(14:28):
Blakesnell coming back in the beginning of May. Kershaw, who
is starting a rehab game in Oklahoma City tomorrow morning,
is eligible to come off the sixty day il mid May.
Let's not forget about Emmitt Shean. Emmit Shean physically looked
more imposing in spring training than I saw him before
(14:50):
he had his Tommy John surgery. Shean more than likely
will be able to pitch in the second half of
the season. And oh yeah, that guy number seven team,
that's a great dh, A fifty to fifty guy. Show
Hey Otani, He's going to be pitching at some point
in July, August, September to get ready for October. So
(15:11):
those are four big time guys that could start in
the Rockies rotation tomorrow. And the Dodgers have a pretty
full rotation right now. Eight six six, nine eighty seven
two five seventy is the phone number. We have two
lines open when we continue more of your phone calls,
and we will also let you hear from Michael Kopek,
(15:33):
who experienced his first Jackie Robinson Day with the Dodgers
he'll give us an update on where he's at. Oh yeah,
By the way, the Dodger bullpen has been really good
and Evan Phillips, Bruce dark Raderol and Michael Kopek have
yet to throw a single pitch this season. You'll hear
from Kopek and also we'll share Vin Scully's memories of
(15:53):
the great Jackie Robinson as we celebrate forty two today
and every day right here on five to seventy LA Sports,
your home for the world champion Dodgers. They beat the
Rockies sixty two. Be happy.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports
dot com, hand on the iHeartRadio app. Back to more
Dodger Talk with Dodger insider David Basse.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
There's lead, big lead.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
It first for Freemam.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
There's a swing a dry left field.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
This ball's deep and caring bean back to the wall.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
He looks up, better's got a hold. Run Will Smith
with a three run shot and the Dodgers lead it
four and nothing.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Second home run of the season for Will Smith as
he just hammered this one out for the right of
the bull bend into the first row of the home
run seats.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
A big night for the Big Three last night, with
Will Smith driving in two runs, and then tonight, Will
Smith with the hammer, a three run home run part
of a four run third inning for the Dodgers as
they go on to beat the Rockies tonight six to two.
Daniels Jewelers presents the home run Forecast. Go to AM
(17:15):
five to seventy lasports dot com and use the keyword
home run for your chance to win a fifty dollars
Daniels Jeweler's gift card predicting the number of home runs
in the very next game. Daniels Jewelers own the Dream.
Eight six, six, nine, seven two five seventy is the
phone number. Will Smith off to a very hot start
(17:35):
with an ops of over one thousand. He's hitting three
sixty seven. His strikeout to walk ratio is remarkable. He's
only struck out fourteen times this year, and he's already
walked ten times. He has two home runs and twelve
RBIs and certainly uh the ideal guy to be hitting
behind guys like Shoe Aotani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
(18:00):
That three run home run was set up by walks
from Otani and Freddie Freeman, as Will came to the
plate with one out and Freddy Tonight on base four times,
two walks, and he had two hits, and he came
this close to hitting a home run inside the left
field foul pole. Instead it was fouled by a few feet,
(18:22):
and Freddie was a little annoyed. You could tell he
thought that. He well, he takes pride in keeping those
type of fly balls fair, so he holds himself to
a higher standard than anybody else would. How about Tommy
Edmund who went over last night but came back big
tonight four for five. His four hits tied a career
(18:43):
hides the fourth time Tommy Edmond had four hits in
a game. The last time was back in twenty twenty three.
So it's been a while for Tommy Edman. Thank you
very much, Saint Louis for Tommy Edman, by the way,
I mean, I can't believe the Cardinals traded that guy,
but the Dodgers are very fortunate to have him in
their lineup. He is huge, plays gold Glub's second base.
(19:06):
He's really the captain of that infield, and then you
could kick him out to center field in the middle
of the game like they did tonight, like you saw
in the postseason last year, he could play shortstop for
you all the way to an NLCSMVP and to a
World Series Championship. So to me, Tommy Edmin is the glue. Hey,
(19:27):
we want to send our thoughts and prayers out to
Jose Mota and his pops, Manny Mota. Jose's not joining
the show tonight and did not join it last night
because his dad, Manny, who is a legendary Dodger, suffered
a stroke. He's in recovery where he's responsive to commands
and is resting comfortably. Jose was at the ballpark calling
(19:49):
the game for Spanish radio tonight. I'm sure he's with
his pops tonight, and our thoughts and prayers go out
to Number eleven and the Motive family. Man. He's a
great guy and means a lot to this organization and
can't wait to see him back here. I was actually
just joking around with him a couple of days ago,
because he's here virtually every day. He was wearing a
(20:11):
three quarter zip with the Chiefs logo. I was like, Manny,
you're a Chiefs fan. He's like, yeah, you didn't know that.
I said, no, I'd never seen you wear any Chiefs gear.
He said, I played with Patrick Mahomes's dad back in
the day, so all right, that justifies wearing a Chiefs
(20:32):
three quarter zip. Michael Kopek not sure what team he
roots for, but Michael Kopek was such a big part
of the Dodger bullpen last year as they really did
something unprecedented to carry the Dodgers and support a staff
that basically only had two and a half starters to
the World Series Championship and nothing more evident and encapsulated
(20:56):
what the Dodger bullpen did than Game five of the
World's Series as they were able to pick Jack Flaherty up,
capped off by Blake Trinan and Walker Buehler doing herculean
things to help the Dodgers secure that World Series championship.
But Michael Kopek was so big as well part of
(21:16):
that World Series run for the Dodgers after they acquired
him along with Tommy Edmund in that three way trade
with the Cardinals in White Sox last July. Michael Kopek,
by the way, knew his elbow wasn't feeling great during
that October run, but pitched through it and now he's
trying to come back and good news. He threw a
(21:38):
bullpen session today, his second, and he feels like things
are going in the right direction.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
I think with the game in general, excuse me, with
the game in general, there's a lot of ups and downs. Yeah,
you know. So you know I'm let's say I'm healthy
right now and I'm pitching. I and go out there
and I can feel great for one game. In the
next game maybe not so good, and you have to
find a way. There's a little litle bit of that
when you're doing a rehab stant too, but you don't
know if you're going to bounce back when you have
(22:07):
a bad day and rehab, so it can be this
roller coaster of emotions if you if you ride every
single feeling of every single day, but to have a
high day make it that a little bit easier and
you get to kind of just build off of that.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Like I said, I have so much respect for you
and for all those guys in the bullpen last year
that were pushed to the limits to try to win
the World Series. You guys were able to do that.
I haven't talked to you about this, but you what
you guys did as a group is unprecedented to carry
a pitching staff that far. How proud are you of that?
(22:42):
And I mean literally left your arm out on the
mound last year?
Speaker 6 (22:47):
Uh yeah. I think the main thing is I'm I'm
incredibly grateful to be a part of a group that
that was that was that special. You know, whether one
guy did the job every single night, or you know,
somebody needed to get picked up, like, we never shied
away from that, and we had a group of guys
that were willing to fight that battle all the way through.
(23:10):
And to be a part of that group and a
part of guys that are just so determined to win
no matter you know, what the feeling is or what
the situation is. Like, the World Series was the end
goal and site and that was what we were all
working towards. So to be a part of a group
that worked that hard for it, I was incredibly proud of.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
No doubt, they'll go down in history as maybe the
greatest bullpen in a World Series. I'm not saying all
of them were better than you know, the Nasty Boys
of the Reds in nineteen ninety or k Rod and
Perceval and shields of the Angels O.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
Two.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
But I will say this, none of those bullpens had
to shoulder the workload that bullpen had to do. And
I would, pound for pound take them over any other bullpen.
And you can't measure the size of their heart, because
that was immeasurable. They had a heart of a lion
to be able to do what they did last year.
(24:05):
There's no ways around that. Eight six six nine eight
seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go
out to Bob in Malibu. Bob, can you believe this
Dodger bullpen is pitching as well as it is? And
there's no Grattarol, no Phillips, and no Copek.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
Yet, not only can I believe it, Dave, I believe
in it every single time these guys take the mound, Man,
they give us such strength out there. They come in
after our starters. Grateful to all the bullpen first and foremost, Dave,
do I want to echo your thoughts about Manny motive men,
Dodger nations behind that guy, thinking of him, thinking of
his family, So wishing Manny the best man in the
(24:43):
full recovery.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Anything you want to say to Todd lights the voice
of God, the PA announcer for Dodger Stadium. He's hanging
out in the booth tonight. Bob, you want to say hi?
Speaker 8 (24:54):
All I can say is thank God. Todd.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, go ahead, Todd sale Hell to Bob and Malibu.
There you go.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Hey you Bob, Thanks man, come on out and see.
Speaker 8 (25:05):
You like hearing the voice of God right over my telephone.
Thanks for being with us. God Man appreciates you.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Dave one for some reason, he's a sick man. He's
a sick man that wants to sit here and watch
me do sports talk radio at night. Bob, thanks a lot,
Bob appreciated man. How about that a big fan right there. Todd.
You know a lot of people hear the voice, but
they really don't hear the personality of the PA announcer.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Well, I try to add a little personality if I can.
But yeah, we're on a limited wavelength up there in
the PA booth. But boy is it exciting to be
out here with fifty thousand plus fans every game. And
we sold another game out tonight and these fans just
keep turning up. It's a it's a Tuesday night in April,
and we've got a full house out here, so of
(25:57):
course it's Jackie Robinson night and everybody wants to be
part of that. But you fans are amazing and we
feel your energy and I know the team thrives on
it too.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So love it. And you were out there today. I
saw you at the statue. You were wearing your Dodger
jersey with the forty two on the back. How great
was Kareem today?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Kareem was fantastic. I loved his stories about growing up
in Manhattan as a Brooklyn Dodger fan. You mentioned that
he was born the day after Jackie broke the color barrier,
and it was just he's such as he's such a
sage man, you know, and such just such a towering figure,
both physically of course, and in our culture and here
(26:36):
in Los Angeles, and it's just great to see him
out there. And I know he's not moving around as
well as he used to, but he's got a lot
to say and he's got a lot to offer. So
we love Kareem.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Hey, we love Todd Lights. Thanks for hanging out with
us tonight. Todd. I'm glad I could share you with
the people.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Thank you, David. You're always a very hospitable. I appreciate it.
I love the show. Dodger Talk is the best seventy
LA sports clip.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
That calling. That's a promo right there, Voice of God,
just endorse me clip that clip that that'll run every
single night. Todd, thank you very much. Eight sixty six
nine eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number.
On the topic of Kareem and Jackie Robinson. I wanted
to share with you a very special conversation or part
of a very special conversation I had with Vin Scully
(27:25):
back in twenty twelve. I had so many questions for
him about the Boys of Summer and in particular Jackie Robinson.
So here is the great Vin Scully on the grate
forty two.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Well, I think, first of all, when I first started,
I was the same age as many of the rookie players.
I can remember sitting in the back of the bus
with Dick Williams, who was a rookie outfielder for the
Dodgers who eventually became a Hall of Fame manager. So
a lot of years go by, and in those days
(27:59):
with Jackie and I, we were sent to the Catskill Mountains.
There were a resort up there called Gros singers, pretty
famous in the East, and it was dead of winter
and we were going to hold a Q and A
with the guests and do whatever we could do to entertain.
So I brought my ice skates because I was a
kid from the East, and I skated and Jackie and
(28:21):
Rachel came, and Rachel was about eight months pregnant, and
Jackie said, oh, you're going to go skating and I
said yeah. He said, well, I'll go with you. I
said okay, so Rachel said I'll go too. Well. We
went to the rink right at Grossingers and there was
a lady named Maureen Mellerrick and she took Rachel off
(28:42):
to get her skates, and Jackie and I went in
the locker room and Jackie got a pair of rented
skates and I was putting on mine and Jackie said,
when we get out there, I'd like to race you.
And I was shocked, and I said, jack I didn't
know that you raced your southern California. I knew about basketball,
(29:03):
I knew about football, but I didn't know you ice skated.
And he said, oh, I've never been on skates in
my life. So I looked at him and I said, well,
jack I mean, I'm not a great skater, but I
can skate, and there's no way that you're going to
beat me in a race. And he said, I know,
but that's the way I'm going to learn. And that
really was the competitive fire inside of Jackie Robinson.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Can you talk about what you went through and how
you witnessed everything that he did go through as one
of the pioneers not only in baseball but in American society.
Speaker 7 (29:35):
Well, actually, when Jackie started with the Dodgers nineteen forty seven,
I was not there. My first taste of what it
was like to travel with Jackie was the spring of
nineteen fifty and we went from Vero Beach to Texas
on our way to Brooklyn. So it was a long,
long trip and we came back from Texas through the South,
(29:59):
and that's when I realized the impact that he had
made on the country. Jackie was very forceful, however, with
the people. If the black community came out, and they did,
they were in right field and center field and some
of the small ballparks, and Jackie would go out and
if he saw one or two, let's say, who were
(30:20):
over celebrating, who perhaps had gone to the hard stuff.
Jackie would really not ball them out, but he would
say to them, this is not the way to behave.
You can be happy, but you don't want to show
some bad habits while trying to be happy. So he
was very concerned about the reaction of the black people
(30:41):
in the South. But he was a remarkable man. And
I've often said this, most of us lose some of
our skills when we get angry. Jackie actually excelled when
he got angry, certainly on the baseball field. That's why
Leo Durocher and other managers used to say, leave him alone,
let him sleep, because if you got him angry, he
(31:04):
could do the most remarkable things. And I remember in
Pittsburgh one time they threw at him and he got angry.
So he had a base hit, then he stole check,
and then he stole third, and then he stole home.
And so that's the kind of a player he was.
The fire in his belly was amazing.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Vin Scully with the final word tonight on Dodger Talk,
sharing incredible stories that he lived with the great Jackie Robinson,
and that was part of an interview that I did
with Vin right here in the press box back in
twenty twelve. I never get tired of hearing that voice
or hearing those stories, and we miss Vin a lot,
(31:45):
but his legacy lives on, just like Jackies does through
his voice, through his storytelling, and through things like that.
So thank you Vince Scully, because you gave us a
first hand account of the greatness of the person of
Jackie Robinson. Then I'll do it for us tonight on
Dodger Talk. In case you missed any of the show,
you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. Thanks to
(32:09):
calling Ye back at our Burbank Studios, Thanks to Dwayne
McDonald out here at Dodger Stadium, and thanks to Todd
Lights for hanging out with us, and thank you for
hanging with us every single night. Once again. The final
score tonight from Dodgers Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day, the
Dodgers defeat the Rockies six to two. Ben Maller on
(32:29):
Fox Sports Radio is next. Have a great rest of
your night. See yup.
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