April 29, 2021 • 34 mins
This week on Inside the (Rob) Parker, Rob looks at George Springer's much anticipated Blue Jays debut, Bryce Harper's hot start, and why Fernando Tatis, Jr. may be the best young MLB star since Ken Griffey, Jr. Also, Fair or Foul, Betting on the Bases,
Guests: Former Major Leaguer and A's Analyst Bib Roberts discusses the A's scratching back from a slow start to lead the AL West. Author Andrew Maranniss discusses his new book about MLB's first openly gay player, Glenn Burke .
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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By lie from the Berkshires to the south, from wherever
you live in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker.
You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give you
(00:41):
the scoop on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall
of Fame voter number eighty three, Rob Parker. Welcome into
Inside the Parker. I'm your host, Rob Parker. What a
show we have for you today. We'll talk with former
Major leaguer and current NBC Bay Area a's analysts Bip Roberts.
(01:05):
Plus we'll talk about a new book. Andrew Mariness is
the author. He talks about the life of Glen Burke,
that and much more. Let's go to lead off. It's
getting run off to keep him on. Rob's hot take
on the three biggest stories in Major League baseball number one.
(01:29):
Wednesday night, George Springer finally was activated from the injured
list and made his long awaited Blue Jay's debut yes
against the Nationals in Dunedin, Florida. And my goodness, it
took forever. Everybody's waiting to see George Springer, who of
course signed that big hundred and fifty million dollar contract
(01:52):
to leave Houston and go and play for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays are playing much better, vlad Guerrero juniors
playing well, and to add him at the top of
the lineup will be a big boost to the Blue Jays.
So it'll be interesting to see how he fits in.
He was injured in spring training, and obviously it took
(02:14):
a while. He was slated Wednesday night to start as
the blue Jays DH and be in the lead off spots.
So it's good to see George Springer healthy and back
out there playing baseball. Number two. It was nine years
to the day on Wednesday that Bryce Harper made his
(02:36):
major League debut with the Washington Nationals. That's right, at
nine years later, say it isn't so he might be
as good as he's ever been over his first ninety
three played appearances this year for the Phillies. The outfield
(02:57):
is hitting three twenty nine. He had six home runs
a two hundred ops plus, which is three points better
than his career mark from his twenty fifteen National League
MVP Award winning season. So he's playing very, very well
for the Phillies. And you know, when he signed that
(03:21):
big contract, people were ripping on him and the Phillies
didn't make the playoffs, and remember the Nationals won the
World Series, so everybody was just saying, hey, good riddance.
The Nationals are better off without Bryce Harper. But Bryce
Harper is a big star and people need to get
off of it. He moves the needle. Remember when he
(03:41):
signed with the Phillies, he sold more jerseys and more
tickets than any baseball player we could remember. In fact,
he sold more jerseys than Lebron did when he came
to La. More people bought Phillies Bryce Harper jerseys then
brought Lakers Lebron James jerseys. That's a star in baseball.
(04:02):
He's a guy who can move the needle. I love
watching Bryce Harper play. I'm glad he's healthy. He's playing great,
and the Phillies will be in the mix. It's a
tough division in the National League East, but Bryce Harper
continues to play as he's capable, the Phillies will be
in the hunt number three. It is hard not to
(04:26):
go gaga over Fernando Tattas Junior. I get it, he's
a young player. He's twenty two years old. People are
already saying, is he the best young player in baseball
since Ken Griffith Junior or a Rod or players of
that ilk And it's hard to look at Tattis Junior
(04:47):
and I think so. And I don't want to be
a prisoner of the moment. But what he did to
the Dodgers in that four game series in La over
the weekend was as impressive as anything. He had five
home runs. No shortstop had ever done that hit that
many home runs. And then this is the greatest part,
on the anniversary of when his dad hit two Grand
Slams against the Dodgers in the same inning. Yes, there
(05:10):
wasn't a mistake in the same inning. Fernando Tatis, his dad,
Fernando Tatis Junior, hit two home runs against the Dodgers,
and he's just fun. One of the broadcasters doing the
game Sunday Night said, this guy has so much swag
and it's not even an act. He can't help it.
He's just the way he carries itself, the way he's
(05:33):
stealing bases, the way he plays in the field. He's
not perfect, but man, is he worth the price of admission.
I haven't seen a player in a long time to
grab that much attention from people. And the Dodgers and
Padres is a real rivalry, don't kid yourself, And a
lot of it has to do with Fernando Tattis Junior.
(05:55):
Here comes the big interview. Listen and Larry, it's so good.
All right, now, let's welcome to the podcast. Former major
league outfielder Invite man. I'm just down here at the
church ministry trying to help people get groceries. And I
was just trying to do our things, man, making sure
everybody's okay. Man, great work, as always appreciate that. I
(06:18):
want to talk about the Oakland A's and we know
they had the big thirteen game win streak. Before we
get there, Bib Wallhop, Wahop and Lucy for the first
six outscored fifty to thirteen, started out owing six and
things were looking really bleak when the season started. What happened.
(06:40):
You know how steaky baseball is and how early in
the season guys have not found that rhythm. According to
going from scree training day games the season night game,
and you have to find a happy medium. And I
think what happened was the Rasis came out flat. They
had played well in screen training and then you have
to track for that to the season, and the season
(07:01):
is much different than the regular been pre season, so
I think they had the Fineman mitche and they got
off to a sole start. But they remember they played Houston,
They played the Dodgers, and then they played Houston again.
Two teams who are the Dodgers were defending champ and
Houston the team that they're going to have to compete with.
So they go out the box. They were throwing them
to the fire, and they didn't come out and play well.
(07:23):
They didn't play well in any facet of the game. Pitching,
they started pitching and getting beat up. Guys are striking
out with runners going position and the defense is making air.
And then, as you know us, as streaky as baseball is,
they turned it around. All of a sudden they started
playing againt some teams that weren't as good as Houston.
But the funny part is they beat Houston and Houston
in that next series, and then you know they were
(07:44):
playing Detroit. They played a couple of teams that we
thought they were superior then, and they showed. Once they
got to the confidence and once they got that rhythm
and the pitching started coming around, all thoughts of the
game took off and they won thirteen straight. Amazing street
thirteenth straight the longest in the American League since the
Indians won twenty two in a row back in twenty
(08:06):
seventeen and the A's back in UH twenty o two
one twenty in a row. So it fell short of
that obviously, but still a great run. This is a
team that won the AL West last year. People know
that the A's were good. I was surprised that they
got off to the start, but I didn't think they
were going to be a bad team. What did Bob
(08:26):
Melvin do? Not to panic? You know, when you're when
you start off as bad as they were, as he
a calming force for that team. He is a calming force,
but he has a fire inside of him. You know,
he's got quiet, quiet that little that quiet fire that
he just swimmers. And if there's a time he needs
to go off on a team or or let the
(08:47):
team know and not playing well, he will do that.
And during that old seven start, they did have a
manager's meeting. What he let the guys know they weren't
playing well and up to their capabilities. And after he
left the room, they had a players only and after
that they were able to start turning around. And I think,
you know, when you have guys in there who have
our leaders and the Mark Cannas and guys like that,
(09:08):
they understand, you know, Chapman Olsen, they know I don't
understand what it's like to be on a winning team.
And so they just stepped forward and said, hey, guys,
you're better than this. We got to show better in
all factors of the game, and collectively they galvanized as
a team. Our guests here on Inside the Parker is
former Major leaguer and current NBC Bay Area pregame show
(09:33):
host for the Oakland A's Bip Roberts. Bip What about
Jed Lowry, I mean, he's a guy who turned it
around and got things going. How big of an impact
has he had for the A's. He was unbelievable. You
talked about a veteran guy who understands his role and
what his job is. He's a professional hitner who plays
a solid second base. And I think what happened is
(09:55):
when Jill came here and he started. When he left
New York, you know, he left unhealthy. But when he
got here for some reason, I think that California air
they just got into as long as and he just
felt from became Jed Lawry again and it's like he
never left the team. And what he does at the
play on both sides, because he gives you a professional
at that he scores the ball up, it's the ball
(10:15):
extremely hard and at times to drive the ball in
the gaps, sometimes to hit it out the yard. But
I just look at his leadership and when he's healthy,
he goes to the post every day and he brings
something to the table. And I think he shows by
example more than by verbal and I think the guys
have shown or see now that he's the guy that
you can follow, especially when it's help and he's gonna
(10:38):
lead you in the right direction. There it's a very
calming influence in the locker room because he's gonna round
and he understands the game, and so when guys have questions,
they can go to him and he can help answer those.
But by answering them, he could still go out there
and show them what the answer totally is. Who are
the pitcheon stars for the age? For people who are
listening who don't follow the Oakland A's you know who's
(11:01):
getting it done on the mound for them. So Mama
is doing pretty well. He's still learning. He's still trying
to understand how to use that fastball, use that cutter
and that slider to both sides to the plate. Mantas
had a tough game list day, but he gives you
a chance to win every game. He throws extremely hard.
He got a good cutter. He can move the ball
up in the zone. He can hit the corners. He
(11:21):
can expand his zone. When you look at it and
you look at Lezardo, he's still young. He still tries
to fear the ball by people and sometimes fastball straight
he's out. You got to learn how to change speed,
use both sides to the plate, and read the hitters
a little better. But he's got outstanding stuff. He can
broil the ball ninety eight ninety nine miles an hour,
and once he learns that ten paint acrisy, he's gonna
(11:42):
be tough. And I just believe that that Chris Bassett.
I've always said that this guy has stuff that it's
no Whitter type stuff. And I think that he was
the leader of this staff. He's the number one guy
right now. He's the guy that's come up with the wave.
The a's a ride the wave. He's the guy that's
come up with let's ride the wave guys. But he
also is a very outstanding pitcher. And when you watch
(12:03):
him pitch, you know, you get the chance to above
average fastball, above average commander with his second secondary and
third secondary and in his third pitch. But the bottom,
bottom of the bottom of it is that he will
attack his own and when he attacks his own, he's
almost unhitable. Last thing, Bip, I mean, the Al West
(12:24):
has gotten better. Mariners are good astrals, of course are there.
Angels have gotten better. Rangers are hovering around near close
to to five hundred US win this division. I think
they win this division again, you know, even with our
market Kimon who was their leader last year. I think
Elvis Andrews has stepped in and played really well as
(12:45):
short stop, and you will that's a key position when
it comes to having a solid defense. That Chapman is
going to be good. Olsen has been tremendous at first
still picking thing and d and Jared Lowry a second
has been outstanding. U s Murphy behind and played his
outstanding as well. Calls a great game to throw you
out and so we can minimize the running game. I
just believe that these guys know how to compete for
(13:08):
nine innings. They look forward to the walkoff win. They
enjoy that. And I think that Bob Melbourne is the
perfect leader footage team. He would good to through the bat.
He's going to guide them in the right direction. And
I think at Fenna's going to win this quest. All right, dear,
He is Bip Roberts, former Major leaguer and current NBC
(13:29):
Bay Area pregame show host for the Oakland A's Hey, Bip,
thanks for the knowledge, man. We appreciate you. Stay well, buddy,
all right, Rob, thanks for having me my brother. You
take care of yourself too. Look, Valentine's Day is almost here,
and you know what that means. It's timed luckily, you know,
what makes her blush. Fresh blooms and gifts from pro Flowers.
(13:50):
Head over to ProFlowers dot com and use code crush
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See website for details. Look for your children's eyes to
see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook
(14:13):
world for them. You look and see a tree, They
see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched
to the sky. They see treasure in pebbles, They see
a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they
see you there, fearless guide. Is this fascinating world? Find
a forest near you and start exploring at Discover the
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Forest dot org. Brought to you by the United States
Forest Service and the ad Council. What grows in the
forest trees, Sure no one else grows in the forest.
Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds
grow too, because when we disconnect from this and connect
with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is
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closer than you think. Find a forest near you and
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you by the United States Forest Service and the AD Council.
It's time for the Pocket Protector Centrum. The analytic numbers
you need to know. Well, maybe Anthony Masterson is his name.
(15:19):
BS analytics is his game. What do you got for me, Anthony?
It's so cliche for a stat guy to talk about
Mike Trout, isn't it. We know he's awesome, could probably
the best ever, But it's boring, right, I mean, how
much better could he possibly get? Well, if early returns
are anything, the twenty twenty one version of Mike Trout
could somehow be the best ever. Yes, it is true.
(15:40):
Just take a look at his numbers so far. Four
thirty one average, five thirty eight on base percentage, good
for a thirteen fifty three OPS, all the best marks
in the league. In fact, this could be the best
month Trout has ever had in his illustrious career. The average,
OBP and OPS are his best in any month ever,
and has waited. On base average or wOBA, a metric
(16:00):
that works like on base percentage, but adds value based
on how the player reached base, not just if they
reached base of five fifty six is also tops in
his career for any month. The league average, by the way,
is around three twenty, so Trout it's about seventy percent
better than league average. And just looking at a slash line,
you start whittling down players who have ever accomplished this feat.
(16:21):
The list of al players a slash four hundred, five hundred,
eight hundred in April is short, In fact, the last
to do it with the Yankees Paul O'Neil in nineteen
ninety four with eight player list also includes luminaries like
George Brett, Frank Robinson, al Ka Line, and yeah, some
guy named Babe Ruth Trout is impossibly still getting better
(16:43):
that ball is it was a big week in the
big leagues? Is it foul or is it fair? And
now from mlbeatbro dot com, here's j Gamballs Jr. At
this junction of the season. Is it foul or fair
(17:06):
to say that Vlad Guerrero Junior and Fernando Tattis Junior
are the two best players in the game? Fair? That's
a fair ball. Fernando Tattis and vlag Guerrero Junior are
two of the future superstar faces of baseball. They may
not statistically be the best two players in the game yet,
(17:27):
but they are the most talented and impactful. The time
is now. They aren't prospects anymore. Vlad and Tattis are
both time for second in homer's Vlad Junior is fifth
in batting average. The performances delivered by these young Latin
lords the past week should leave no doubt as to
why they are considered future Hall of famers, despite having
(17:51):
played less than four hundred games between them. When you
got it, you got it, and if they were talking
raw power numbers, Baby Vlad is booming. The rev launched
three home runs against the Nationals on Tuesday night. If
it's at all fathomable, little Vlad might be better than
(18:11):
it's Hall of Fame father, who finished his career with
two thousand, five hundred ninety hits, four hundred forty nine
home runs and a three eighteen lifetime batting average. I mean,
Pop never hit less than three hundred and fifteen full seasons. Tatis,
he's already better than his dad, and the exploseness and
(18:31):
his swing was evident in the series against the arch
rival Dodgers, where he hit two homers on the anniversary
of when his dad hit two Grand Slams in one
inning against the Dodgers Black in the Dead Tattis Junior
hit five jacks for the Dodgers series. MLB had some
great players, but only the legends do stuff like lad
(18:54):
and Tattis Junior are doing. It's like, you know when
you are watching something special Georgie and then Lebron in
the early years, Michael Vick with Atlanta and Naomi Osaka
right now with tennis. There's an electricity involved with their performance.
These two guys remain the creme de la creme. And
(19:14):
the scary part is they have just twenty two years old.
Nobody's messing with these guys over the next decade. Money
into more money. Now it's time for betting on the
basis with Dave Gascott. Thank you very much, a brand
new week of baseball. How about last weekend though, right,
(19:34):
Dodgers and Padres San Diego took three or four from
Los Angeles, coming from behind the final game when they
were down seven to one. No money on that, but
we did a fine job please bringing home some cash.
And now we look forward to another week of baseball.
I'm taking a little bit of shock. I'm taking a
dog and I'm also doing some overs as well. First off,
with the over, we're gonna be a lot of firepower,
(19:55):
especially down in Texas between the Rangers and the Red Sox.
Red Sox surpris we have done well to open up
this season, swinging the bats and getting some decent pitching.
Because of that, I like them and the Rangers to
hit the total over in that affair. Now, the shock
I'm going to take, unfortunately, is with the New York Yankees.
And I understand there's gonna be a lot of chalk
(20:17):
on this ball game, but I'm taking Garrett Cole and
the New York Yankees versus the Detroit Tigers in this matchup.
Tigers one of the worst pitching staffs in all Major
League Baseball. Take them. And then also I'm taking at
home the Chicago White Sox against Shane Bieber and the
Cleveland Indians. Take the dog and the White Sox at home.
Book it and make some coin. When Rob was a
(20:37):
newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If I'm writing
I'm ripping, let's bring in a writer, a broadcaster, older
new All right, Now, let's welcome to the podcast a
New York Times bestselling author Andrew Marinus, and he has
a new book out called The True Story of Glenn Burke,
(20:58):
singled out the first openly gay major league player and
the inventor of the High five. Andrew, Welcome the Inside
the Parker. Thanks so much of it's fun to be
on with you. I enjoy listening to you and all
your podcasts in the radio. Thank you. I appreciate that.
And Glen Burke's story is a fascinating one for people
(21:19):
who do do not know. But he played in the
major leagues for the Dodgers and A's and nine seventy
six through nineteen seventy nine, and he was the first
major league player to come out as gay to his
teammates and team owners. How traumatic was that for Glenn?
It was It was quite traumatic for him. You know,
(21:40):
as a minor league player is when he first discovered himself,
you know that that he was gay, and as as
minor league teammates and the Dodgers system, we're kind of
in on this open secret. He was traded from the
Dodgers when management of the organization learned about his sexuality
and the attempted to bribe him to get married to
(22:02):
and he said to a woman. And when they said yes,
he said, no, I'm not I'm not going for that.
And so Al Campanis and Tommy Lessord had traded Glenn
away from the Dodgers after he had started two games
in the playoffs in seventy seven and Game one of
the World Series against the Yankees. He's traded immediately during
the next season. And then when the Oakland A's Billy
(22:23):
Martin becomes the manager while Glenn is there, and Martin
says he's not going to let a player like Glenn
quote unquote contaminate his team. And so Glen Burke, who
one of the Dodger coaches, Junior gilliam had said had
the potential to be the next Willie Mays, you know,
had a very short major league career because of the
homophobia of the two franchises that he played for. Yeah,
(22:46):
and Glen Brooke died at age forty two, very young,
aide complicated, right, but right, Yeah, And he had been
living long stretches just on the streets of San Francisco.
You know, he goes from starting at Yankee Stadium in
the World Series to living living homeless in the Castro
(23:08):
District of San Francisco over not that long a period
of time. After he's run out of baseball, he struggles financially.
He sort of struggles like a lot of athletes, do
you know what's next in life? You know, I had
really put he had put a lot of his eggs
in the in the sports basket, you know, and really
struggled after that, and faced discrimination on multiple fronts and
(23:31):
died of aids, you know, destitute. Our guests is uh
New York Times bestselling author Andrew Marinus, and he has
a new book out, The True Story of Glen Burke,
singled out and talk about the other thing that's very
interesting is that he was involved with Dusty Baker and
(23:53):
a lot of people don't know this as the as
the inventors of the high five back in nineteen seventy seven.
And it came Dusty at a big home run and
was coming around third base and instead of what was
back then and drew the tradition of guys patting each
other on the but or slipper five, he put his
(24:17):
hand up high and Dusty Baker agreed with it. You
know what kind of went there and now as we know,
we see it all over the place and everybody does
it tell us a little bit more about that story. Yeah,
and you know, it's it's great that there is this
aspect of the story because you know, other aspects of
Glenn's life are tragic, but then there is this sort
(24:39):
of joy that was always a part of Glenn. He
was the most popular player in the Doctor's clubhouse, even
as a fourth outfielder, even as a rookie, you know,
such a veteran successful team. It was Glenn who they
considered the funniest guy, the kind of the glue guy
in the clubhouse. When he was traded to the A's
Steve Garvey and Don we're seen at their lockers crying.
(25:03):
Dusty Baker I interviewed him for the book. He loved
Glenn Burke, and he said it was no surprise that
it was Glenn who invented the high five. After Dusty
hit what was his thirtieth home run of the season
in the very final game of the year off of JR. Richard,
who had owned him. And this was Dusty became the
fourth Dodger in nineteen seventy seven to hit thirty homers.
(25:24):
They said a Major League record. That's the history that
has made. And as Dusty's running back to the dugout,
Glenn raises his arm in celebration, you know, and Dusty
slaps it and that's the first high five. And so
some people will say, and of course it takes two
people to high five, and they said, well, did Dusty
invented or to Glenn invented? And Dusty Baker told me,
and I know you're an LA guy now, but he said,
(25:45):
pretty much anything that's cool or hip in life comes
from the Bay Area, So you have to give Glenn credit.
Glenn was from Oakland, Berkeley. You have to give Glenn
credit for inventing it. Yeah, it's one of those things
because if Dusty doesn't Gold, there doesn't happen, do you
know what I mean? It really yes, it's both because
he had to he had to kind of agree to
(26:06):
do it that way. What else will we learn in
this book about Glen Brooke that maybe people don't know?
Those are two big things that I think are very
interesting and people might have heard about. But is there
anything else as we read this book that we'll find out? Yeah,
you know, one thing I think would be surprising to
people or certainly was surprising to people back in the
(26:26):
nineteen seventies when they had stereotypes about what it meant
to be gay. Was that, you know, Glenn Burke was
just a phenomenal athlete. He was a better basketball player
than he was a baseball player. In his senior year
of high school at Berkeley High, they went undefeated and
won the Northern California Championship. When the nc DOUBLEA changed
its rules in nineteen seventy four that would allow a
(26:49):
professional athlete in one sport to play collegiately in another,
Glenn immediately enrolled at Nevadarino and scored over thirty points
in his first game in college basketball when he hadn't
even played of a real basketball game in a couple
of years. Glenn was also and this is just some
fun trivia, and I know you talked about your shoes
a lot. He was the first major league player to
(27:09):
wear Nikes in a major league game. And I found
the Nike rep that that met him at Dodger Stadium
and gave him the shoes, and I interviewed him for
the book. After he was run out of baseball, Glenn
became a star on the Gay softball circuit of San Francisco. Like,
imagine the Dodgers center field are showing up on your
softball team, you know. So they won a couple of
(27:32):
national championships in softball the head It was known as
the Gay Games back then, and Glenn won medals and
softball and basketball and track. So he was just first
and foremost he considered himself an athlete. And part of
this disintegration of his life is not only is he
running of baseball, but he's hit by a car crossing
(27:53):
the street in San Francisco and his legs are broken,
and he loses his identity as an athlete period, you know,
even as a softball player, and that was a crushing
blow to him. So there's a lot of really interesting
and unexpected aspects to Glenn's life. He was a great
singer at the kid. He was on a live album
of a folk group called the Limelighters. You see Little
Glenn's picture on the cover of their album. Kind of
(28:15):
like in a lot of different interesting spots at different
times over the course of his life and inspiring and
tragic story all wrapped into one, no doubt interesting read
Andrew Marinus, Where can people pick up your book. They
can find it pretty much at any bookstore. It's online.
There's also an e version of the book and an
(28:37):
audio version of the book. If they're interested, they can
check me out on my website Andrew Marinis dot com
on Twitter as well. So I really appreciated anybody who's
interested in the book and happy to answer their questions
about it if they if they find me on Twitter.
All right, Andrew, thank you so much, thanks for joining
the podcast. We'll appreciate you, all right, Rob, I really
appreciate it great talking to you. His story of the
(28:59):
Road is a story of love from farms to our
floors and right into the arms of sweethearts savoring at
date night. In it, best friends showing their gallantines how
much they adore them, and those giving themselves a little love.
Go to FTD dot com and say fifteen percent through
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(29:44):
and for some that feeling lasts more than a moment.
We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with
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Welcome mile in my shoes. What rows in the forest? Trees?
Sure no one else grows in the forest. Our imagination,
(30:05):
our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too,
because when we disconnect from this and connect with this,
we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring.
I Discover the forest. Dot org brought to you by
the United States Forest Service and the AD Council. Now
(30:30):
it's time for some diamond dust with Wish TVs. Phil
sent Yet he played baseball in college. Now here is
MLB knowledge? All right, let's talk about my team, the
Mets and their shortstop, Francisco Lindor. So everyone knows he's
had a huge contract with the Mets over the offseason,
but he hasn't really lived up to the hype so far.
(30:50):
Numbers not great in the first month. And that's fine
in places like Cleveland or Cincinnati, but in the city
like New York, where are the fans of very little patients.
They're going to let you know when you're not playing well,
and they're not happy. And that's exactly what happened Tuesday
night in the game against the Boston Red Sox. Moments
after Lindor slowly ground it out in his final let
bat and they're lost to Boston, the crowd of a
(31:12):
little more than seven thousand people booed the team's knew
three hundred and forty one million dollars. Die listen. I
grew up in Queens. I'm a die hard Mets fan,
like a lot of them out there. I get it
the fans are frustrated. I am as well. But what
good does booing him do? I mean, do you want
him to succeed or not? He signed for ten years,
(31:32):
going to be around for a while. Booing him probably
not the best way to introduce him to New York.
And I know you're probably saying to yourself, Phil, I
don't care. He's paid enough money, so he has to
deal with it. And I get that. I get that mindset,
but this is twenty twenty one. Not everybody's the same,
Not everybody performs well under those types of circumstances, and
(31:53):
if we want him to succeed, booing him definitely not
going to help. Let's be better, Mets fans, now bringing
the closer. Here's why MLB is better than the NFL
or NBA, and it isn't even close. Here's why baseball
(32:16):
is better than the NBA in the NFL, and I'm
talking about betting. Did you hear me? Is this on?
I know when people talk about betting, they think about
the NFL, they think about betting on the games with
the points spreads football, it seems a lot easier to
bet on. But hey, don't sleep on betting on baseball.
(32:37):
And all you need to do is read the story
about Bob Ross, who's a paint instructor who on opening
Day secured two hundred thousand dollars when he picked every
single opening game correctly, did you hear me? Every single game?
(32:58):
And there was a glitch in his report his computer
where it wiped out his original picks. He changed two
of his picks, one involving the Yankees and one involving
the Tigers, and actually because he changed them, got him
right and won two hundred thousand dollars, which is incredible
and This is why baseball and betting is going to
(33:18):
be a big thing as we go forward, people will
be able to bet on everything, every pitch, every at
bad You'll be able to sit around and sit at
the game, or sit at home and bet as the
game is going on the entire way. There's so many
different bets and so many different things. It will generate
a ton of money and a ton of fan interest
(33:39):
for guys who like to bet the game. In the
words of New York TV legend the late Bill Jorgensen,
thanking you for your time this time until next time.
Rob Parker out he can't get it. This could be
an insane part. See you next week, same bad time.
(34:28):
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So away fu more Woman Tin tis An inside John
bountism and the Uncheon. Since I woman Yochchi Samons Tada
Shoe two heights email that you found COVID nineteen email
eating Bejamin Toma which also the heights Yo Selda, then
(00:21):
see me hids the Issian hofun one by turn Ducaji
foot in the email, You're the California Department of Public Health.
By lie from the Berkshires to the south, from wherever
you live in MLB America. This is Inside the Parker.
You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give you
(00:41):
the scoop on Major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall
of Fame voter number eighty three, Rob Parker. Welcome into
Inside the Parker. I'm your host, Rob Parker. What a
show we have for you today. We'll talk with former
Major leaguer and current NBC Bay Area a's analysts Bip Roberts.
(01:05):
Plus we'll talk about a new book. Andrew Mariness is
the author. He talks about the life of Glen Burke,
that and much more. Let's go to lead off. It's
getting run off to keep him on. Rob's hot take
on the three biggest stories in Major League baseball number one.
(01:29):
Wednesday night, George Springer finally was activated from the injured
list and made his long awaited Blue Jay's debut yes
against the Nationals in Dunedin, Florida. And my goodness, it
took forever. Everybody's waiting to see George Springer, who of
course signed that big hundred and fifty million dollar contract
(01:52):
to leave Houston and go and play for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays are playing much better, vlad Guerrero juniors
playing well, and to add him at the top of
the lineup will be a big boost to the Blue Jays.
So it'll be interesting to see how he fits in.
He was injured in spring training, and obviously it took
(02:14):
a while. He was slated Wednesday night to start as
the blue Jays DH and be in the lead off spots.
So it's good to see George Springer healthy and back
out there playing baseball. Number two. It was nine years
to the day on Wednesday that Bryce Harper made his
(02:36):
major League debut with the Washington Nationals. That's right, at
nine years later, say it isn't so he might be
as good as he's ever been over his first ninety
three played appearances this year for the Phillies. The outfield
(02:57):
is hitting three twenty nine. He had six home runs
a two hundred ops plus, which is three points better
than his career mark from his twenty fifteen National League
MVP Award winning season. So he's playing very, very well
for the Phillies. And you know, when he signed that
(03:21):
big contract, people were ripping on him and the Phillies
didn't make the playoffs, and remember the Nationals won the
World Series, so everybody was just saying, hey, good riddance.
The Nationals are better off without Bryce Harper. But Bryce
Harper is a big star and people need to get
off of it. He moves the needle. Remember when he
(03:41):
signed with the Phillies, he sold more jerseys and more
tickets than any baseball player we could remember. In fact,
he sold more jerseys than Lebron did when he came
to La. More people bought Phillies Bryce Harper jerseys then
brought Lakers Lebron James jerseys. That's a star in baseball.
(04:02):
He's a guy who can move the needle. I love
watching Bryce Harper play. I'm glad he's healthy. He's playing great,
and the Phillies will be in the mix. It's a
tough division in the National League East, but Bryce Harper
continues to play as he's capable, the Phillies will be
in the hunt number three. It is hard not to
(04:26):
go gaga over Fernando Tattas Junior. I get it, he's
a young player. He's twenty two years old. People are
already saying, is he the best young player in baseball
since Ken Griffith Junior or a Rod or players of
that ilk And it's hard to look at Tattis Junior
(04:47):
and I think so. And I don't want to be
a prisoner of the moment. But what he did to
the Dodgers in that four game series in La over
the weekend was as impressive as anything. He had five
home runs. No shortstop had ever done that hit that
many home runs. And then this is the greatest part,
on the anniversary of when his dad hit two Grand
Slams against the Dodgers in the same inning. Yes, there
(05:10):
wasn't a mistake in the same inning. Fernando Tatis, his dad,
Fernando Tatis Junior, hit two home runs against the Dodgers,
and he's just fun. One of the broadcasters doing the
game Sunday Night said, this guy has so much swag
and it's not even an act. He can't help it.
He's just the way he carries itself, the way he's
(05:33):
stealing bases, the way he plays in the field. He's
not perfect, but man, is he worth the price of admission.
I haven't seen a player in a long time to
grab that much attention from people. And the Dodgers and
Padres is a real rivalry, don't kid yourself, And a
lot of it has to do with Fernando Tattis Junior.
(05:55):
Here comes the big interview. Listen and Larry, it's so good.
All right, now, let's welcome to the podcast. Former major
league outfielder Invite man. I'm just down here at the
church ministry trying to help people get groceries. And I
was just trying to do our things, man, making sure
everybody's okay. Man, great work, as always appreciate that. I
(06:18):
want to talk about the Oakland A's and we know
they had the big thirteen game win streak. Before we
get there, Bib Wallhop, Wahop and Lucy for the first
six outscored fifty to thirteen, started out owing six and
things were looking really bleak when the season started. What happened.
(06:40):
You know how steaky baseball is and how early in
the season guys have not found that rhythm. According to
going from scree training day games the season night game,
and you have to find a happy medium. And I
think what happened was the Rasis came out flat. They
had played well in screen training and then you have
to track for that to the season, and the season
(07:01):
is much different than the regular been pre season, so
I think they had the Fineman mitche and they got
off to a sole start. But they remember they played Houston,
They played the Dodgers, and then they played Houston again.
Two teams who are the Dodgers were defending champ and
Houston the team that they're going to have to compete with.
So they go out the box. They were throwing them
to the fire, and they didn't come out and play well.
(07:23):
They didn't play well in any facet of the game. Pitching,
they started pitching and getting beat up. Guys are striking
out with runners going position and the defense is making air.
And then, as you know us, as streaky as baseball is,
they turned it around. All of a sudden they started
playing againt some teams that weren't as good as Houston.
But the funny part is they beat Houston and Houston
in that next series, and then you know they were
(07:44):
playing Detroit. They played a couple of teams that we
thought they were superior then, and they showed. Once they
got to the confidence and once they got that rhythm
and the pitching started coming around, all thoughts of the
game took off and they won thirteen straight. Amazing street
thirteenth straight the longest in the American League since the
Indians won twenty two in a row back in twenty
(08:06):
seventeen and the A's back in UH twenty o two
one twenty in a row. So it fell short of
that obviously, but still a great run. This is a
team that won the AL West last year. People know
that the A's were good. I was surprised that they
got off to the start, but I didn't think they
were going to be a bad team. What did Bob
(08:26):
Melvin do? Not to panic? You know, when you're when
you start off as bad as they were, as he
a calming force for that team. He is a calming force,
but he has a fire inside of him. You know,
he's got quiet, quiet that little that quiet fire that
he just swimmers. And if there's a time he needs
to go off on a team or or let the
(08:47):
team know and not playing well, he will do that.
And during that old seven start, they did have a
manager's meeting. What he let the guys know they weren't
playing well and up to their capabilities. And after he
left the room, they had a players only and after
that they were able to start turning around. And I think,
you know, when you have guys in there who have
our leaders and the Mark Cannas and guys like that,
(09:08):
they understand, you know, Chapman Olsen, they know I don't
understand what it's like to be on a winning team.
And so they just stepped forward and said, hey, guys,
you're better than this. We got to show better in
all factors of the game, and collectively they galvanized as
a team. Our guests here on Inside the Parker is
former Major leaguer and current NBC Bay Area pregame show
(09:33):
host for the Oakland A's Bip Roberts. Bip What about
Jed Lowry, I mean, he's a guy who turned it
around and got things going. How big of an impact
has he had for the A's. He was unbelievable. You
talked about a veteran guy who understands his role and
what his job is. He's a professional hitner who plays
a solid second base. And I think what happened is
(09:55):
when Jill came here and he started. When he left
New York, you know, he left unhealthy. But when he
got here for some reason, I think that California air
they just got into as long as and he just
felt from became Jed Lawry again and it's like he
never left the team. And what he does at the
play on both sides, because he gives you a professional
at that he scores the ball up, it's the ball
(10:15):
extremely hard and at times to drive the ball in
the gaps, sometimes to hit it out the yard. But
I just look at his leadership and when he's healthy,
he goes to the post every day and he brings
something to the table. And I think he shows by
example more than by verbal and I think the guys
have shown or see now that he's the guy that
you can follow, especially when it's help and he's gonna
(10:38):
lead you in the right direction. There it's a very
calming influence in the locker room because he's gonna round
and he understands the game, and so when guys have questions,
they can go to him and he can help answer those.
But by answering them, he could still go out there
and show them what the answer totally is. Who are
the pitcheon stars for the age? For people who are
listening who don't follow the Oakland A's you know who's
(11:01):
getting it done on the mound for them. So Mama
is doing pretty well. He's still learning. He's still trying
to understand how to use that fastball, use that cutter
and that slider to both sides to the plate. Mantas
had a tough game list day, but he gives you
a chance to win every game. He throws extremely hard.
He got a good cutter. He can move the ball
up in the zone. He can hit the corners. He
(11:21):
can expand his zone. When you look at it and
you look at Lezardo, he's still young. He still tries
to fear the ball by people and sometimes fastball straight
he's out. You got to learn how to change speed,
use both sides to the plate, and read the hitters
a little better. But he's got outstanding stuff. He can
broil the ball ninety eight ninety nine miles an hour,
and once he learns that ten paint acrisy, he's gonna
(11:42):
be tough. And I just believe that that Chris Bassett.
I've always said that this guy has stuff that it's
no Whitter type stuff. And I think that he was
the leader of this staff. He's the number one guy
right now. He's the guy that's come up with the wave.
The a's a ride the wave. He's the guy that's
come up with let's ride the wave guys. But he
also is a very outstanding pitcher. And when you watch
(12:03):
him pitch, you know, you get the chance to above
average fastball, above average commander with his second secondary and
third secondary and in his third pitch. But the bottom,
bottom of the bottom of it is that he will
attack his own and when he attacks his own, he's
almost unhitable. Last thing, Bip, I mean, the Al West
(12:24):
has gotten better. Mariners are good astrals, of course are there.
Angels have gotten better. Rangers are hovering around near close
to to five hundred US win this division. I think
they win this division again, you know, even with our
market Kimon who was their leader last year. I think
Elvis Andrews has stepped in and played really well as
(12:45):
short stop, and you will that's a key position when
it comes to having a solid defense. That Chapman is
going to be good. Olsen has been tremendous at first
still picking thing and d and Jared Lowry a second
has been outstanding. U s Murphy behind and played his
outstanding as well. Calls a great game to throw you
out and so we can minimize the running game. I
just believe that these guys know how to compete for
(13:08):
nine innings. They look forward to the walkoff win. They
enjoy that. And I think that Bob Melbourne is the
perfect leader footage team. He would good to through the bat.
He's going to guide them in the right direction. And
I think at Fenna's going to win this quest. All right, dear,
He is Bip Roberts, former Major leaguer and current NBC
(13:29):
Bay Area pregame show host for the Oakland A's Hey, Bip,
thanks for the knowledge, man. We appreciate you. Stay well, buddy,
all right, Rob, thanks for having me my brother. You
take care of yourself too. Look, Valentine's Day is almost here,
and you know what that means. It's timed luckily, you know,
what makes her blush. Fresh blooms and gifts from pro Flowers.
(13:50):
Head over to ProFlowers dot com and use code crush
fifteen through February fourteenth and get fifteen percent off all
the best blooms and gifts that will really make your
specials on Valentine's Day. Get fresh this Valentine's Day with ProFlowers.
See website for details. Look for your children's eyes to
see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook
(14:13):
world for them. You look and see a tree, They
see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched
to the sky. They see treasure in pebbles, They see
a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they
see you there, fearless guide. Is this fascinating world? Find
a forest near you and start exploring at Discover the
(14:33):
Forest dot org. Brought to you by the United States
Forest Service and the ad Council. What grows in the
forest trees, Sure no one else grows in the forest.
Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds
grow too, because when we disconnect from this and connect
with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is
(14:57):
closer than you think. Find a forest near you and
start exploring. I discover the forest dot org, brought to
you by the United States Forest Service and the AD Council.
It's time for the Pocket Protector Centrum. The analytic numbers
you need to know. Well, maybe Anthony Masterson is his name.
(15:19):
BS analytics is his game. What do you got for me, Anthony?
It's so cliche for a stat guy to talk about
Mike Trout, isn't it. We know he's awesome, could probably
the best ever, But it's boring, right, I mean, how
much better could he possibly get? Well, if early returns
are anything, the twenty twenty one version of Mike Trout
could somehow be the best ever. Yes, it is true.
(15:40):
Just take a look at his numbers so far. Four
thirty one average, five thirty eight on base percentage, good
for a thirteen fifty three OPS, all the best marks
in the league. In fact, this could be the best
month Trout has ever had in his illustrious career. The average,
OBP and OPS are his best in any month ever,
and has waited. On base average or wOBA, a metric
(16:00):
that works like on base percentage, but adds value based
on how the player reached base, not just if they
reached base of five fifty six is also tops in
his career for any month. The league average, by the way,
is around three twenty, so Trout it's about seventy percent
better than league average. And just looking at a slash line,
you start whittling down players who have ever accomplished this feat.
(16:21):
The list of al players a slash four hundred, five hundred,
eight hundred in April is short, In fact, the last
to do it with the Yankees Paul O'Neil in nineteen
ninety four with eight player list also includes luminaries like
George Brett, Frank Robinson, al Ka Line, and yeah, some
guy named Babe Ruth Trout is impossibly still getting better
(16:43):
that ball is it was a big week in the
big leagues? Is it foul or is it fair? And
now from mlbeatbro dot com, here's j Gamballs Jr. At
this junction of the season. Is it foul or fair
(17:06):
to say that Vlad Guerrero Junior and Fernando Tattis Junior
are the two best players in the game? Fair? That's
a fair ball. Fernando Tattis and vlag Guerrero Junior are
two of the future superstar faces of baseball. They may
not statistically be the best two players in the game yet,
(17:27):
but they are the most talented and impactful. The time
is now. They aren't prospects anymore. Vlad and Tattis are
both time for second in homer's Vlad Junior is fifth
in batting average. The performances delivered by these young Latin
lords the past week should leave no doubt as to
why they are considered future Hall of famers, despite having
(17:51):
played less than four hundred games between them. When you
got it, you got it, and if they were talking
raw power numbers, Baby Vlad is booming. The rev launched
three home runs against the Nationals on Tuesday night. If
it's at all fathomable, little Vlad might be better than
(18:11):
it's Hall of Fame father, who finished his career with
two thousand, five hundred ninety hits, four hundred forty nine
home runs and a three eighteen lifetime batting average. I mean,
Pop never hit less than three hundred and fifteen full seasons. Tatis,
he's already better than his dad, and the exploseness and
(18:31):
his swing was evident in the series against the arch
rival Dodgers, where he hit two homers on the anniversary
of when his dad hit two Grand Slams in one
inning against the Dodgers Black in the Dead Tattis Junior
hit five jacks for the Dodgers series. MLB had some
great players, but only the legends do stuff like lad
(18:54):
and Tattis Junior are doing. It's like, you know when
you are watching something special Georgie and then Lebron in
the early years, Michael Vick with Atlanta and Naomi Osaka
right now with tennis. There's an electricity involved with their performance.
These two guys remain the creme de la creme. And
(19:14):
the scary part is they have just twenty two years old.
Nobody's messing with these guys over the next decade. Money
into more money. Now it's time for betting on the
basis with Dave Gascott. Thank you very much, a brand
new week of baseball. How about last weekend though, right,
(19:34):
Dodgers and Padres San Diego took three or four from
Los Angeles, coming from behind the final game when they
were down seven to one. No money on that, but
we did a fine job please bringing home some cash.
And now we look forward to another week of baseball.
I'm taking a little bit of shock. I'm taking a
dog and I'm also doing some overs as well. First off,
with the over, we're gonna be a lot of firepower,
(19:55):
especially down in Texas between the Rangers and the Red Sox.
Red Sox surpris we have done well to open up
this season, swinging the bats and getting some decent pitching.
Because of that, I like them and the Rangers to
hit the total over in that affair. Now, the shock
I'm going to take, unfortunately, is with the New York Yankees.
And I understand there's gonna be a lot of chalk
(20:17):
on this ball game, but I'm taking Garrett Cole and
the New York Yankees versus the Detroit Tigers in this matchup.
Tigers one of the worst pitching staffs in all Major
League Baseball. Take them. And then also I'm taking at
home the Chicago White Sox against Shane Bieber and the
Cleveland Indians. Take the dog and the White Sox at home.
Book it and make some coin. When Rob was a
(20:37):
newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If I'm writing
I'm ripping, let's bring in a writer, a broadcaster, older
new All right, Now, let's welcome to the podcast a
New York Times bestselling author Andrew Marinus, and he has
a new book out called The True Story of Glenn Burke,
(20:58):
singled out the first openly gay major league player and
the inventor of the High five. Andrew, Welcome the Inside
the Parker. Thanks so much of it's fun to be
on with you. I enjoy listening to you and all
your podcasts in the radio. Thank you. I appreciate that.
And Glen Burke's story is a fascinating one for people
(21:19):
who do do not know. But he played in the
major leagues for the Dodgers and A's and nine seventy
six through nineteen seventy nine, and he was the first
major league player to come out as gay to his
teammates and team owners. How traumatic was that for Glenn?
It was It was quite traumatic for him. You know,
(21:40):
as a minor league player is when he first discovered himself,
you know that that he was gay, and as as
minor league teammates and the Dodgers system, we're kind of
in on this open secret. He was traded from the
Dodgers when management of the organization learned about his sexuality
and the attempted to bribe him to get married to
(22:02):
and he said to a woman. And when they said yes,
he said, no, I'm not I'm not going for that.
And so Al Campanis and Tommy Lessord had traded Glenn
away from the Dodgers after he had started two games
in the playoffs in seventy seven and Game one of
the World Series against the Yankees. He's traded immediately during
the next season. And then when the Oakland A's Billy
(22:23):
Martin becomes the manager while Glenn is there, and Martin
says he's not going to let a player like Glenn
quote unquote contaminate his team. And so Glen Burke, who
one of the Dodger coaches, Junior gilliam had said had
the potential to be the next Willie Mays, you know,
had a very short major league career because of the
homophobia of the two franchises that he played for. Yeah,
(22:46):
and Glen Brooke died at age forty two, very young,
aide complicated, right, but right, Yeah, And he had been
living long stretches just on the streets of San Francisco.
You know, he goes from starting at Yankee Stadium in
the World Series to living living homeless in the Castro
(23:08):
District of San Francisco over not that long a period
of time. After he's run out of baseball, he struggles financially.
He sort of struggles like a lot of athletes, do
you know what's next in life? You know, I had
really put he had put a lot of his eggs
in the in the sports basket, you know, and really
struggled after that, and faced discrimination on multiple fronts and
(23:31):
died of aids, you know, destitute. Our guests is uh
New York Times bestselling author Andrew Marinus, and he has
a new book out, The True Story of Glen Burke,
singled out and talk about the other thing that's very
interesting is that he was involved with Dusty Baker and
(23:53):
a lot of people don't know this as the as
the inventors of the high five back in nineteen seventy seven.
And it came Dusty at a big home run and
was coming around third base and instead of what was
back then and drew the tradition of guys patting each
other on the but or slipper five, he put his
(24:17):
hand up high and Dusty Baker agreed with it. You
know what kind of went there and now as we know,
we see it all over the place and everybody does
it tell us a little bit more about that story. Yeah,
and you know, it's it's great that there is this
aspect of the story because you know, other aspects of
Glenn's life are tragic, but then there is this sort
(24:39):
of joy that was always a part of Glenn. He
was the most popular player in the Doctor's clubhouse, even
as a fourth outfielder, even as a rookie, you know,
such a veteran successful team. It was Glenn who they
considered the funniest guy, the kind of the glue guy
in the clubhouse. When he was traded to the A's
Steve Garvey and Don we're seen at their lockers crying.
(25:03):
Dusty Baker I interviewed him for the book. He loved
Glenn Burke, and he said it was no surprise that
it was Glenn who invented the high five. After Dusty
hit what was his thirtieth home run of the season
in the very final game of the year off of JR. Richard,
who had owned him. And this was Dusty became the
fourth Dodger in nineteen seventy seven to hit thirty homers.
(25:24):
They said a Major League record. That's the history that
has made. And as Dusty's running back to the dugout,
Glenn raises his arm in celebration, you know, and Dusty
slaps it and that's the first high five. And so
some people will say, and of course it takes two
people to high five, and they said, well, did Dusty
invented or to Glenn invented? And Dusty Baker told me,
and I know you're an LA guy now, but he said,
(25:45):
pretty much anything that's cool or hip in life comes
from the Bay Area, So you have to give Glenn credit.
Glenn was from Oakland, Berkeley. You have to give Glenn
credit for inventing it. Yeah, it's one of those things
because if Dusty doesn't Gold, there doesn't happen, do you
know what I mean? It really yes, it's both because
he had to he had to kind of agree to
(26:06):
do it that way. What else will we learn in
this book about Glen Brooke that maybe people don't know?
Those are two big things that I think are very
interesting and people might have heard about. But is there
anything else as we read this book that we'll find out? Yeah,
you know, one thing I think would be surprising to
people or certainly was surprising to people back in the
(26:26):
nineteen seventies when they had stereotypes about what it meant
to be gay. Was that, you know, Glenn Burke was
just a phenomenal athlete. He was a better basketball player
than he was a baseball player. In his senior year
of high school at Berkeley High, they went undefeated and
won the Northern California Championship. When the nc DOUBLEA changed
its rules in nineteen seventy four that would allow a
(26:49):
professional athlete in one sport to play collegiately in another,
Glenn immediately enrolled at Nevadarino and scored over thirty points
in his first game in college basketball when he hadn't
even played of a real basketball game in a couple
of years. Glenn was also and this is just some
fun trivia, and I know you talked about your shoes
a lot. He was the first major league player to
(27:09):
wear Nikes in a major league game. And I found
the Nike rep that that met him at Dodger Stadium
and gave him the shoes, and I interviewed him for
the book. After he was run out of baseball, Glenn
became a star on the Gay softball circuit of San Francisco. Like,
imagine the Dodgers center field are showing up on your
softball team, you know. So they won a couple of
(27:32):
national championships in softball the head It was known as
the Gay Games back then, and Glenn won medals and
softball and basketball and track. So he was just first
and foremost he considered himself an athlete. And part of
this disintegration of his life is not only is he
running of baseball, but he's hit by a car crossing
(27:53):
the street in San Francisco and his legs are broken,
and he loses his identity as an athlete period, you know,
even as a softball player, and that was a crushing
blow to him. So there's a lot of really interesting
and unexpected aspects to Glenn's life. He was a great
singer at the kid. He was on a live album
of a folk group called the Limelighters. You see Little
Glenn's picture on the cover of their album. Kind of
(28:15):
like in a lot of different interesting spots at different
times over the course of his life and inspiring and
tragic story all wrapped into one, no doubt interesting read
Andrew Marinus, Where can people pick up your book. They
can find it pretty much at any bookstore. It's online.
There's also an e version of the book and an
(28:37):
audio version of the book. If they're interested, they can
check me out on my website Andrew Marinis dot com
on Twitter as well. So I really appreciated anybody who's
interested in the book and happy to answer their questions
about it if they if they find me on Twitter.
All right, Andrew, thank you so much, thanks for joining
the podcast. We'll appreciate you, all right, Rob, I really
appreciate it great talking to you. His story of the
(28:59):
Road is a story of love from farms to our
floors and right into the arms of sweethearts savoring at
date night. In it, best friends showing their gallantines how
much they adore them, and those giving themselves a little love.
Go to FTD dot com and say fifteen percent through
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I could be you and you could be me for
just one hour, if you could find a way to
get inside each other's mind, Walcome Mile in my shoes,
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and for some that feeling lasts more than a moment.
We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with
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Welcome mile in my shoes. What rows in the forest? Trees?
Sure no one else grows in the forest. Our imagination,
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our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too,
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I Discover the forest. Dot org brought to you by
the United States Forest Service and the AD Council. Now
(30:30):
it's time for some diamond dust with Wish TVs. Phil
sent Yet he played baseball in college. Now here is
MLB knowledge? All right, let's talk about my team, the
Mets and their shortstop, Francisco Lindor. So everyone knows he's
had a huge contract with the Mets over the offseason,
but he hasn't really lived up to the hype so far.
(30:50):
Numbers not great in the first month. And that's fine
in places like Cleveland or Cincinnati, but in the city
like New York, where are the fans of very little patients.
They're going to let you know when you're not playing well,
and they're not happy. And that's exactly what happened Tuesday
night in the game against the Boston Red Sox. Moments
after Lindor slowly ground it out in his final let
bat and they're lost to Boston, the crowd of a
(31:12):
little more than seven thousand people booed the team's knew
three hundred and forty one million dollars. Die listen. I
grew up in Queens. I'm a die hard Mets fan,
like a lot of them out there. I get it
the fans are frustrated. I am as well. But what
good does booing him do? I mean, do you want
him to succeed or not? He signed for ten years,
(31:32):
going to be around for a while. Booing him probably
not the best way to introduce him to New York.
And I know you're probably saying to yourself, Phil, I
don't care. He's paid enough money, so he has to
deal with it. And I get that. I get that mindset,
but this is twenty twenty one. Not everybody's the same,
Not everybody performs well under those types of circumstances, and
(31:53):
if we want him to succeed, booing him definitely not
going to help. Let's be better, Mets fans, now bringing
the closer. Here's why MLB is better than the NFL
or NBA, and it isn't even close. Here's why baseball
(32:16):
is better than the NBA in the NFL, and I'm
talking about betting. Did you hear me? Is this on?
I know when people talk about betting, they think about
the NFL, they think about betting on the games with
the points spreads football, it seems a lot easier to
bet on. But hey, don't sleep on betting on baseball.
(32:37):
And all you need to do is read the story
about Bob Ross, who's a paint instructor who on opening
Day secured two hundred thousand dollars when he picked every
single opening game correctly, did you hear me? Every single game?
(32:58):
And there was a glitch in his report his computer
where it wiped out his original picks. He changed two
of his picks, one involving the Yankees and one involving
the Tigers, and actually because he changed them, got him
right and won two hundred thousand dollars, which is incredible
and This is why baseball and betting is going to
(33:18):
be a big thing as we go forward, people will
be able to bet on everything, every pitch, every at
bad You'll be able to sit around and sit at
the game, or sit at home and bet as the
game is going on the entire way. There's so many
different bets and so many different things. It will generate
a ton of money and a ton of fan interest
(33:39):
for guys who like to bet the game. In the
words of New York TV legend the late Bill Jorgensen,
thanking you for your time this time until next time.
Rob Parker out he can't get it. This could be
an insane part. See you next week, same bad time.
(34:28):
You're Valentine's Day shouldn't start with a Hail Mary, We've
got you covered on the big day. When you ordered
flowers and gifts from ProFlowers early this year, head on
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Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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