September 6, 2025 • 11 mins
DV catches up with the NL career consecutive games played record holder on the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. Steve talks about his incredible streak and how his parents work ethic helped shape his baseball career.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And out an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker. Well, Tim,
we are joined by a man that is the Dodgers
iron Horse. Today in Baltimore, they are celebrating Major League
Baseball's Cal Ripkin Junior breaking Lou Garriggs all time consecutive
game played streak. But many people fail to realize that
(00:22):
our very own Steve Garvey played one thousand, two hundred
and seven straight games. That is the fourth longest behind
Ripkin and Garrick in Major League Baseball history. And ironically,
it was fifty years ago on Thursday that Steve Garvey's
consecutive game played streak started in nineteen seventy five. And
(00:47):
what do you know, Steve Garvey is on the line
right now with us an all time Dodger icon. Garv,
thank you so much for the time and what a
pleasure it is to have you on this type of day.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, thanks, David. You know how much I think of
you and your contributions to the game and the Dodgers
and the fans, and you know, the streak was something
that I've always taken a lot of personal pride in.
You know, people say, what are your greatest accomplishments, and
I say, well, if you play a team sport, it's
winning a world championship. And of course eighty one was
(01:25):
that final piece of what I call the Golden Era
of Dodger baseball from about seventy three to eighty five.
And during that period, you know, once I switched in
third base to first base and started to get traction,
and then the streak started. And I've always thought, you know,
(01:45):
the world championship team sport ultimate, but for an individual player,
as streak becomes a commitment, and when you realize we
play for the love of the game and for obviously
a greater organization like Los Angeles. And then when I
went to San Diego, where yeah, the streak ended. And
(02:06):
but for the fans, you know, and I've always said,
when you if a family from Bakersfield could only go
to one game and they came to CEV play, if
I sat out with a stomach ache or a little
headache or a little full you know, I wouldn't be
much of a professional. I wouldn't be doing that what
you should do, and that's go out there, take the
field and do the very best you can because you're
(02:29):
there for the entertainment of fans.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That's part of the reason why even to this day,
grown men wear number six Dodger jerseys to Dodger Stadium.
And I'm just curious when you're in the streak, Garv,
when it hits around number like one thousand, are you
more aware of it? I mean, you had all the
right intentions, but once it gets to one thousand consecutive games,
(02:54):
are you more aware of it?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Well, David, really, it starts before that about five hundred
games measure with baseball starts to it starts to log
you know, five hundred and then seven hundred seems to
be another magical number. I know Pete Rose had two
seven hundred game streaks, which people don't think of Pete
(03:19):
in those terms. They think more in hits. But that's
where you know, Pete and Billy Williams, who's number I
broke for the Nation League record, and lou gerrig was,
you know, one of my idols. And I started researching
once it was you know, it was four years and
then five and the times where I probably could have
(03:42):
set out, I had migrain, headaches and airline fracture of
my finger and huber extended elbow and flew and and
you know challenges, you know with your family illness, maybe
the kids and so forth, but you have this unwavering
commitment and not necessarily to the streak, which is an evolution,
(04:05):
but to going out every day to perform because you
need to earn it. You know, at every sport you
got to earn the right to start and be part
of the team, but to be a leader and show leadership.
Even on those days where you're not one hundred percent,
you're still going out there. And adrenaline's amazing. You know
(04:26):
a lot of times, you know, I was on the
edge of can I really do the job? You know,
in the field and a bat and at drenaline started
to kick in that this is how I got a sacrifice.
And I would go out and I think twice, especially
with migraine headaches, I would start the game and first
at bat, I'd hit the ball in the gap and
(04:46):
both times I ended up at third base and one
time standing up, one time sliding. And then the stadium
care started swirling around, and Bill Beuler, the trainer, would
come out and says, come on, you try, you know,
but you you're not gonna make it. You can't even
run the home plate and I'd look at him and
I'd nod my head. But but then you mentioned a thousand.
(05:09):
I remember. It is a great picture and I'm not
sure one of our fabulous photographers took it, but they
made the announcement just before the game started the first pitch,
and I was at first and you see me with
my hat off and my arm up for the fans,
and I think it was a giveaway picture. They did
the next homestand and then as time goes on, you just,
(05:33):
you know, you just keep going and if you can
go out there, you do. And then of course that
that faithful play at the plate in San Diego is
when it ended. But you just say your prayers. You
thank god you had a chance to go out every day.
It took me, gosh, probably about uh two or three
months for that to heal mister rest of the season
(05:54):
and then started another street.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
How long did that one go?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I think we got over two hundred, maybe almost three
hundred games on that one, you know. But again, it
wasn't I wasn't going out there with the idea of
putting a streak together, because anything can happen, and like
I said, so many things during that seven and a
half years, you know, both physically and with illness and
so forth, that it probably could have set out, but
(06:18):
that passion just to go out and play every day.
And I know Cal very well and we've we've talked
many times about streaks, and we both agree it started
by wanting to play every inning of every game each
year for the fans and for the love of the game.
And then you put in God's fans. Because a couple
of times I slid and I could feel my shin
(06:40):
starting to bend a little bit, Oh no, and I
would pop out of it, you know, and kind of
shake my leg and go on from there. But and
I'm not so sure how anybody can can break my
nationally record, because you know, guys nowadays are manager in
terms of you know, they talk about load management and
(07:05):
maybe a week, maybe two weeks, maybe fifteen days, and
then they get a day off. And I was kidding
yesterday Billy and Russell. I if you would have gone
into Tommy lsuwar Ats office and said, Tommy, we want
to talk about, you know, our load management, he would
have stood up and said, you get your load out
there and I'll tell you when you can sit at it.
Of course we never would, you know, we we would
(07:28):
never do that, but you know the talking in terms
of sitting out, you know, back then you never thought
of it. And by the way, the infield greatest in
history of Ron and Davy and Billy myself. We average
over one hundred and forty games between the four of us.
So that's pretty amazing right there. That shows the passion
the guy said for the Dodger fans in.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Baseball, a special team, a special group of infielders, and
a should be Hall of Famer Steve Garvey, who still
holds the National League record of playing one thousand, two
hundred and seven consecutive games, a lot of it wearing
a Dodger uniform. Before I let you go, Garv, let's
bring this all full circle. Your commitment to playing every day,
(08:14):
whether you were hurt, whether you had migraines. Does it
come back to your upbringing, because we all know the
great story and still gives me chills when I hear
you tell it. Your father, Joe being a greyhound bus driver.
I find it hard to believe that Joe Garvey ever
missed a day of work. Is that where it came from?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That's right. And Mellie Garvey. Yeah, you know, two hard
working parents. I was an only child, but Mom took
two busses to work, you know, she was a secretary,
and two busses home, and Dad drove throughout the state
of California and Greyhound and then you know, it was
March I think twenty seventh or eighth of nineteen fifty six.
He came home. He said, do you want to skip
(08:54):
school tomorrow? And I said, gosh, why. Daddy said, well,
I have a charter to pick up the Brooklyn Dodgers
at the Tampa Are and take them to Saint Petersburg
to play the Yankees in the Exhibition Game. Of course,
for Dodger historians, that was the spring after they won
their first World championship and fifty five against the Yankees.
And that next day I got a chance to bat boy.
(09:14):
And for eight seven eight years after that, two or
three times a spring I would sit next to Hodges
and Ferrillo and Snyder and Kofax and Drysdale and listen
to them talk about their commitment to the game. So
not only did I have two parents who gave me
a great work ethic, but I got a chance to
grow up with my idols, and with those idols I
(09:35):
learned about the commitment to the fans and to the
franchise in a personal the honorability, so to speak of
knowing that you set your goals for the sake of
other people drive you. And I think that's that whole recipe.
(09:56):
There has been the foundation for my life.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Steve Hervey's mark in Major League Baseball is a huge
mark in so many different ways, not only playing twelve
hundred and seven consecutive games, not only being the only
ride in All Star and winning an All Star MVP,
not only being a guy that when it mattered the
most in October hit three point thirty eight. His mark
(10:21):
needs to be recognized in Baseball's Hall of Fame. And
hopefully this is the year, but Garv if it happens,
If it doesn't happen, as long as I am here
and as long as people know about the Dodgers, they
will know how great Steve Garvey was. And number six
forever will be associated with you. And you are still
(10:43):
such a treasure to this organization. And thank you for
being so gracious with your time and still delivering for
the fans.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Well, thank you my son and all the fans. Thank
you so much. When you see me at the stadium wherever,
you know, and happens every day of every week, people
come up. And that's the blest thing I have with
fans knowing that you know, they can come up to
me and I'm the guy they expect to be, and
the memories we have.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
I want to get my red, white, and blue wristbands
right now and host Dodger Talk after the game with
those wristbands on now.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Garf, and you still have that Dodger Dodger Fan Club certificates,
I know you.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Yeah, the Blue Crew Fanclub, Yeah, no doubt, the Kualite. Yeah,
we love you, Garf.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Thank you for the time you too. Okay, season, there
you go.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Steve Garvey one of the all time greats, not only
in Dodger history but baseball history.
And out an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker. Well, Tim,
we are joined by a man that is the Dodgers
iron Horse. Today in Baltimore, they are celebrating Major League
Baseball's Cal Ripkin Junior breaking Lou Garriggs all time consecutive
game played streak. But many people fail to realize that
(00:22):
our very own Steve Garvey played one thousand, two hundred
and seven straight games. That is the fourth longest behind
Ripkin and Garrick in Major League Baseball history. And ironically,
it was fifty years ago on Thursday that Steve Garvey's
consecutive game played streak started in nineteen seventy five. And
(00:47):
what do you know, Steve Garvey is on the line
right now with us an all time Dodger icon. Garv,
thank you so much for the time and what a
pleasure it is to have you on this type of day.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, thanks, David. You know how much I think of
you and your contributions to the game and the Dodgers
and the fans, and you know, the streak was something
that I've always taken a lot of personal pride in.
You know, people say, what are your greatest accomplishments, and
I say, well, if you play a team sport, it's
winning a world championship. And of course eighty one was
(01:25):
that final piece of what I call the Golden Era
of Dodger baseball from about seventy three to eighty five.
And during that period, you know, once I switched in
third base to first base and started to get traction,
and then the streak started. And I've always thought, you know,
(01:45):
the world championship team sport ultimate, but for an individual player,
as streak becomes a commitment, and when you realize we
play for the love of the game and for obviously
a greater organization like Los Angeles. And then when I
went to San Diego, where yeah, the streak ended. And
(02:06):
but for the fans, you know, and I've always said,
when you if a family from Bakersfield could only go
to one game and they came to CEV play, if
I sat out with a stomach ache or a little
headache or a little full you know, I wouldn't be
much of a professional. I wouldn't be doing that what
you should do, and that's go out there, take the
field and do the very best you can because you're
(02:29):
there for the entertainment of fans.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That's part of the reason why even to this day,
grown men wear number six Dodger jerseys to Dodger Stadium.
And I'm just curious when you're in the streak, Garv,
when it hits around number like one thousand, are you
more aware of it? I mean, you had all the
right intentions, but once it gets to one thousand consecutive games,
(02:54):
are you more aware of it?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Well, David, really, it starts before that about five hundred
games measure with baseball starts to it starts to log
you know, five hundred and then seven hundred seems to
be another magical number. I know Pete Rose had two
seven hundred game streaks, which people don't think of Pete
(03:19):
in those terms. They think more in hits. But that's
where you know, Pete and Billy Williams, who's number I
broke for the Nation League record, and lou gerrig was,
you know, one of my idols. And I started researching
once it was you know, it was four years and
then five and the times where I probably could have
(03:42):
set out, I had migrain, headaches and airline fracture of
my finger and huber extended elbow and flew and and
you know challenges, you know with your family illness, maybe
the kids and so forth, but you have this unwavering
commitment and not necessarily to the streak, which is an evolution,
(04:05):
but to going out every day to perform because you
need to earn it. You know, at every sport you
got to earn the right to start and be part
of the team, but to be a leader and show leadership.
Even on those days where you're not one hundred percent,
you're still going out there. And adrenaline's amazing. You know
(04:26):
a lot of times, you know, I was on the
edge of can I really do the job? You know,
in the field and a bat and at drenaline started
to kick in that this is how I got a sacrifice.
And I would go out and I think twice, especially
with migraine headaches, I would start the game and first
at bat, I'd hit the ball in the gap and
(04:46):
both times I ended up at third base and one
time standing up, one time sliding. And then the stadium
care started swirling around, and Bill Beuler, the trainer, would
come out and says, come on, you try, you know,
but you you're not gonna make it. You can't even
run the home plate and I'd look at him and
I'd nod my head. But but then you mentioned a thousand.
(05:09):
I remember. It is a great picture and I'm not
sure one of our fabulous photographers took it, but they
made the announcement just before the game started the first pitch,
and I was at first and you see me with
my hat off and my arm up for the fans,
and I think it was a giveaway picture. They did
the next homestand and then as time goes on, you just,
(05:33):
you know, you just keep going and if you can
go out there, you do. And then of course that
that faithful play at the plate in San Diego is
when it ended. But you just say your prayers. You
thank god you had a chance to go out every day.
It took me, gosh, probably about uh two or three
months for that to heal mister rest of the season
(05:54):
and then started another street.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
How long did that one go?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I think we got over two hundred, maybe almost three
hundred games on that one, you know. But again, it
wasn't I wasn't going out there with the idea of
putting a streak together, because anything can happen, and like
I said, so many things during that seven and a
half years, you know, both physically and with illness and
so forth, that it probably could have set out, but
(06:18):
that passion just to go out and play every day.
And I know Cal very well and we've we've talked
many times about streaks, and we both agree it started
by wanting to play every inning of every game each
year for the fans and for the love of the game.
And then you put in God's fans. Because a couple
of times I slid and I could feel my shin
(06:40):
starting to bend a little bit, Oh no, and I
would pop out of it, you know, and kind of
shake my leg and go on from there. But and
I'm not so sure how anybody can can break my
nationally record, because you know, guys nowadays are manager in
terms of you know, they talk about load management and
(07:05):
maybe a week, maybe two weeks, maybe fifteen days, and
then they get a day off. And I was kidding
yesterday Billy and Russell. I if you would have gone
into Tommy lsuwar Ats office and said, Tommy, we want
to talk about, you know, our load management, he would
have stood up and said, you get your load out
there and I'll tell you when you can sit at it.
Of course we never would, you know, we we would
(07:28):
never do that, but you know the talking in terms
of sitting out, you know, back then you never thought
of it. And by the way, the infield greatest in
history of Ron and Davy and Billy myself. We average
over one hundred and forty games between the four of us.
So that's pretty amazing right there. That shows the passion
the guy said for the Dodger fans in.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Baseball, a special team, a special group of infielders, and
a should be Hall of Famer Steve Garvey, who still
holds the National League record of playing one thousand, two
hundred and seven consecutive games, a lot of it wearing
a Dodger uniform. Before I let you go, Garv, let's
bring this all full circle. Your commitment to playing every day,
(08:14):
whether you were hurt, whether you had migraines. Does it
come back to your upbringing, because we all know the
great story and still gives me chills when I hear
you tell it. Your father, Joe being a greyhound bus driver.
I find it hard to believe that Joe Garvey ever
missed a day of work. Is that where it came from?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That's right. And Mellie Garvey. Yeah, you know, two hard
working parents. I was an only child, but Mom took
two busses to work, you know, she was a secretary,
and two busses home, and Dad drove throughout the state
of California and Greyhound and then you know, it was
March I think twenty seventh or eighth of nineteen fifty six.
He came home. He said, do you want to skip
(08:54):
school tomorrow? And I said, gosh, why. Daddy said, well,
I have a charter to pick up the Brooklyn Dodgers
at the Tampa Are and take them to Saint Petersburg
to play the Yankees in the Exhibition Game. Of course,
for Dodger historians, that was the spring after they won
their first World championship and fifty five against the Yankees.
And that next day I got a chance to bat boy.
(09:14):
And for eight seven eight years after that, two or
three times a spring I would sit next to Hodges
and Ferrillo and Snyder and Kofax and Drysdale and listen
to them talk about their commitment to the game. So
not only did I have two parents who gave me
a great work ethic, but I got a chance to
grow up with my idols, and with those idols I
(09:35):
learned about the commitment to the fans and to the
franchise in a personal the honorability, so to speak of
knowing that you set your goals for the sake of
other people drive you. And I think that's that whole recipe.
(09:56):
There has been the foundation for my life.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Steve Hervey's mark in Major League Baseball is a huge
mark in so many different ways, not only playing twelve
hundred and seven consecutive games, not only being the only
ride in All Star and winning an All Star MVP,
not only being a guy that when it mattered the
most in October hit three point thirty eight. His mark
(10:21):
needs to be recognized in Baseball's Hall of Fame. And
hopefully this is the year, but Garv if it happens,
If it doesn't happen, as long as I am here
and as long as people know about the Dodgers, they
will know how great Steve Garvey was. And number six
forever will be associated with you. And you are still
(10:43):
such a treasure to this organization. And thank you for
being so gracious with your time and still delivering for
the fans.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Well, thank you my son and all the fans. Thank
you so much. When you see me at the stadium wherever,
you know, and happens every day of every week, people
come up. And that's the blest thing I have with
fans knowing that you know, they can come up to
me and I'm the guy they expect to be, and
the memories we have.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
I want to get my red, white, and blue wristbands
right now and host Dodger Talk after the game with
those wristbands on now.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Garf, and you still have that Dodger Dodger Fan Club certificates,
I know you.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Yeah, the Blue Crew Fanclub, Yeah, no doubt, the Kualite. Yeah,
we love you, Garf.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Thank you for the time you too. Okay, season, there
you go.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Steve Garvey one of the all time greats, not only
in Dodger history but baseball history.
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