Hour 3: Baseball Realignment?

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 3: Baseball Realignment?

Date: August 18, 2025
Hosts: Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Theme: A spirited takedown of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s proposed realignment and expansion, plus state-of-the-teams debates on the Mets and Yankees, and a comedic digression on athlete physiques.

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Main Episode Overview

This episode pivots around baseball’s timeless identity clashing with proposed radical change: MLB’s possible geographic realignment post-expansion, as suggested by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Alan Hahn and Peter Rosenberg debate what such a shakeup means for tradition, rivalries, and the soul of the sport. Along the way, they dissect the Mets and Yankees’ woes, field passionate calls from fans, and even launch into a hilarious side-discussion on whether they’d rather look like super-athletes but fall apart physically, or be unathletic but durable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mets Talk: Young Arms and Franchise Direction

• Noah McLean’s Debut Breathes Hope:

  • Peter Rosenberg asks if fans should feel positive post-McLean debut ([00:56]).
  • Alan Hahn acknowledges:

    “You feel good about that, because this is your next generation of aces, right? ... You can make a mistake by rushing a prospect... But for the Mets, they need a lot more than what he brought.” ([01:28–02:23])

  • McLean’s performance was the first Mets debut shutout since Zack Wheeler in 2013. Critique: some control issues (walks, chasing the count), but electric energy and poise.

• Bullpen Reliability Still Lacking:

  • Hahn: “I just keep waiting for that bullpen to live up to what the hell they're supposed to be.” ([02:53])
  • Issues with closers and setup men. Relievers acquired at the deadline haven’t gelled.

• Franchise Philosophy Shift:

  • Hahn observes David Stearns moving away from the Mets’ historical pitching focus ([04:12]):

    “They're not emphasizing starting pitching... The stronger bullpen and arms that we're not going to spend a ton of money on because guys get hurt.”

  • The team’s identity crisis: Past Mets were built on dominant starters, now it’s an attempted bullpen-centric model, with mixed results.

• Leadership & Trust Issues:

  • Hahn: “The Mets are not going anywhere if that bullpen is as rickety as it’s been... I don’t trust their pitching and I don’t think there’s a fan out there that trusts their pitching.” ([08:39–10:47])
  • Doubt about managerial presence (Carlos Mendoza) and star power/leadership (Lindor and Alonso).
  • On leadership: “Do the Mets have the type of leadership you need or is it they just kind of are front runners?” ([08:39])

Callers Weigh In:

• Ralph in Brooklyn (Yankee fan):
  Blames the Scherzer-Verlander mega-spending bust for making the Mets gun-shy on starters ([11:04–12:05]).

  • Rosenberg: “That's such a weird example... they knew when they went to Scherzer and Verlander they were combined almost 80 years old.”

• Alan Hahn reminds, “That was [owner] Cohen... Stearns came in and said this is NOT the way to do it.” ([11:39])

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2. Yankees’ Decisions & Player Physiques

• Giancarlo Stanton Fielding Experiment:

  • Will in North Plainfield recounts seeing Stanton in right field, describes him as a liability despite his hot bat: “He barely got to the ball. It looked like he was going to get hurt...” ([13:53–14:25])

• Stanton as DH and the Athlete Physique Debate:

  • Alan Hahn: “We know this about Stanton... he's a professional designated hitter. That's what he is. He can never play the outfield.” ([15:42])

• Who Should be Catching?

  • Will advocates for Ben Rice over Austin Wells behind the plate due to offensive impact ([15:54–16:24]).
  • Hahn notes pitcher-catcher rapport is vital, but is sympathetic to lineup shuffle frustrations.

• Comedic Detour: Would You Rather...?

  • Entertaining discussion, “Would you rather look chiseled and athletic but be fragile, or look slovenly but be able to move and never get hurt?” ([14:56–21:21])
  • Hahn: “Would you rather be the guy that's completely like chiseled, jacked, but can't be athletic whatsoever? Or would you rather be athletic but just have, that, that Josh Naylor type physique?” ([14:56])
  • Rosenberg: “I'm taking the looks... how often am I going to be challenged to do something based on how I look?” ([20:44])
  • Memorable, light-hearted—you can sense the camaraderie.

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3. Manfred’s Realignment Proposal: A Take-Down

Segment starts at approximately [25:41]

• Bob Manfred’s Expansion & Realignment Pitch ([25:56]):

  • Manfred: “If we expand ... we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players ... our postseason format would be even more appealing ... you'd be playing up out of the east, out of the west ... that 10 o'clock slot ... becomes a real opportunity for our west coast audience.”

• Host Reactions:

  • Hahn, seething:

    “This is a guy that brought the Ghost Runner. This is a guy that has openly discussed the idea of the golden at-bat. ... He wants to take the only tradition left in the sport and just put it in a rocket and shoot it into space... This is what we're doing? If anybody thinks this is a good idea, then you really aren't a baseball fan.” ([26:37–27:18])

  • Rosenberg: “At first you're talking about, primarily, a name change... but this is swapping everything... this is smashing the traditional. This is worse.” ([28:45–29:01])

• Reading Out Proposed New Divisions (from Jim Bowden):

  • Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Phillies in “The East”
  • Odd Mid-Atlantic/pseudo-Northern mash-ups
  • Cards and Royals lumped with Texas teams
  • Cubs and White Sox together; Rockies in a “Pacific” division
  • Hahn: Outrage over senseless allocations:

    “Pirates who are Western Pennsylvania... Pittsburgh is how close to the Atlantic?” ([29:59])

  • Both hosts view it as an illogical, ham-fisted Americanization, with Hahn stressing that baseball’s long history and unique rivalries will be irreparably damaged.

• Motivation = Distraction from Real Issues?:

  • Hahn theorizes that the “travel” argument is a ploy for labor concessions:

    “Could this be like an ownership way of using something to distract the players ... cut down all this travel?” ([31:06–32:27])

• Lost Traditions and Slippery Slope:

  • Universal DH as the “portal” to this kind of change.
  • Hahn: “This would be the dumbest thing the sport has ever done. Ever.” ([32:27])
  • Both hosts see the proposal as the destruction of baseball’s last true tradition, with interleague play and the DH already eroding the AL-NL distinction.

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4. Callers React: “It’s Disrespectful Garbage”

• Stomatis in Astoria: Wants the Mets to promote more prospects but agrees realignment is overkill ([40:48]).
• Lou in Monalapan:
  • Delivers a passionate, almost poetic monologue against realignment:

    “This baseball realignment thing is absolute garbage... They keep trying to change and manipulate the game for the fan that they don't even have, instead of looking inward at people like me... Grandfather saw it, your dad might have saw it... Baseball doesn't identify with those fans...” ([43:04])

  • Argues that true fans thrive on the history and oddities of the current system, and that “travel’s the checklist”—dedicated fans want to see all 30 ballparks.
• Both Hahn and Rosenberg agree with Lou, though Rosenberg calls out the travel argument as unrealistic:

  “You are talking about a tiny, tiny percentage of super fans that do that. ... But let's just tighten it up, okay, everyone?” ([46:29])

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Memorable Quotes

• “If you're a Mets fan, does the debut of Noah McLean ... actually have you feeling decently on a Monday?”
  —Peter Rosenberg, [00:56]

• “This is a guy that brought the Ghost Runner... That has openly discussed the idea of the golden at-bat... now wants to take the only tradition left in the sport and just put it in a rocket and shoot it into space.”
  —Alan Hahn, [26:37]

• “That [realignment] would be the dumbest thing the sport has ever done. Ever.”
  —Alan Hahn, [32:27]

• “Would you rather be the guy that's completely like chiseled, jacked, but can't be athletic whatsoever? Or would you rather be athletic but just have, that, that Josh Naylor type physique?”
  —Alan Hahn, [14:56]

• “They keep trying to change and manipulate the game for the fan that they don't even have.”
  —Lou in Monalapan (caller), [43:04]

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Key Moment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:56 | Mets fan morale and Noah McLean’s debut | | 02:19 | Discussion: Mets pitching approach, bullpen woes | | 04:12 | Mets’ shifting philosophy on pitching – Stearns’ vision | | 11:04 | Caller Ralph: Scherzer/Verlander experiment’s effect | | 13:53 | Caller Will: Yankees’ Stanton as fielder and uncertainty at catcher | | 14:56 | Hilarious debate: chiseled but fragile vs. unathletic but durable | | 25:41 | Manfred’s realignment argument plays | | 26:37 | Alan Hahn’s impassioned takedown of the realignment vision | | 29:23 | Bowden’s proposed new divisions cause confusion/offense | | 31:06 | Hahn theorizes about realignment as bargaining chip | | 34:57 | End of deep-dive; hosts reflect on lost baseball traditions | | 40:48 | Calls: Stomatis in Astoria, Lou in Monalapan | | 43:04 | Lou’s poetic anti-realignment call |

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Tone & Style

• The hosts bring a deeply New York, deeply sports-nerd sensibility: passionate, sardonic, unforgiving of nonsense, but quick to laugh at themselves and the world.
• Alan Hahn goes into full baseball purist mode, bordering on nostalgic and incensed. Peter Rosenberg alternates between bemusement, agreement, and comic relief.
• The episode features brisk, lively back-and-forth, punctuated by caller passions and outrageous hypotheticals.

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Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for baseball traditionalists, offering a cathartic, articulate rant against what the hosts see as MLB’s latest, most dangerous flirtation with abandoning tradition for the sake of TV ratings and manufactured rivalries. Even non-baseball fans will enjoy the humor, energy, and old-school New York sports radio flavor—especially the debate about “the curse of looking like Stanton but moving like Josh Naylor.”

If you miss the days of the NL vs. AL and can’t believe Manfred’s latest “innovation,” this episode is your rallying cry.

Transcript

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[Don Hahn]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Don Hahn]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8:80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers, 5:03, Don.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hahn and Rosenberg on 8:80 ESPN New York. We're here till 7:00 clock because there's no local action tonight.

[Alan Hahn]

Bet your ace.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Bet your ace. We'll talk to you guys about the baseball realignment, about the Yankees, whatever is on the docket for you personally. But Alan, if you're a Mets fan, and we know you're not, if you're a Mets fan, do. Does the debut of Noah McClain and the performance and winning a series over this weekend actually have you feeling decently on a Monday? Are you still like whatever?

[Alan Hahn]

No. You feel good about that. You feel good about it because this is one of the, you know, your, your next generation of aces, right? This is somebody that you've been excited. Exactly. You bet your ace. It's. No, but it is. It is somebody that has. You've been hearing enough about. A lot of fans have clamored for them to go to him and they waited and I think it was the right thing. You know, you can, sometimes you can make a mistake by rushing a prospect and you have to maximize the players. Like Frankie Montos made it clear he's just not the guy. That's a bust move. And we saw that a mile away when they signed. It was like they did not watch him when he played for the Yankees. Like a lot of these guys will give you good performances in small markets, but then you put them in the big lights, they can't handle it. So he might have good stuff, but it's not good enough. So that's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And Nolan McLean didn't. He didn't just like, play?

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, he was.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a pretty epic debut.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, he shut out. That's the first time since Zach wheeler back in 2013 that a debut shutout performance. Right. As far as his innings now, you know, was he still chasing the count? Sometimes. But he had poise, he had good stuff. The only Criticism you might have is he had a bunch of walks he was getting, you know, he was starting out a lot of times, ball one. But for the most part, everything else was exactly the way you wanted it. And the fact that he was feeding off the crowd and, and like getting it like that was cool too. The fact that Citi Field really felt it, they needed that. The fans needed that. But for the Mets, they need a lot more than, than what he brought. I, I just keep waiting for that bullpen to live up to what the hell they're supposed to be. Did they. Did they said now, now they don't play Hell's Bells anymore, Right When Helsing comes in, did they finally stop that? Because my God, like, even if I was him, I would say, can we stop doing this? Because this, right now, this is a bad look because he was better last night. But when he has come in, it has not been good. It's been an adjustment.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, no, it's. It, this whole thing. But, but at least you get to now go into the second half of August going, maybe we have another legitimate starter that can give you a chance because you pointed out the shortcomings of the performance and obviously, you know, he didn't become Randy Johnson overnight. But, but I mean, we're kind of. You're almost nitpicking given how bad this pitching has been. So it's, it's a, it's. I mean, most guys we were doing over unders last week, Allen, whether we thought a Mets pitcher would survive four and a third. So that's such a five and a third scoreless. Pretty good for the kid.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Here's the question, because I do find David Stearns to be somebody that I trust. Like, I really do. I think first of all, you know, he cares. Like, this is not like a guy that comes in, takes a job and he's trying to figure it out. Like he has. He understands the job better than probably anyone else because of the fact that he grew up a Mets fan. I think that's important. So he knows, like, there's pressure, how to handle New York, what the expectations are from the fans, all those things. He's not learning this. He knows it. He's not a stranger to any of this stuff. Him going with. And it really does go away from the tradition of the Mets, which has always been to have top flight starting pitching. Right. When you think about the great Mets pitchers come up more than anybody else, the amount of names that you could throw out there, from Seaver and Kuzman to Dwight Gooden to David Cohn, you know, Darling and all those guys. Orozco is a great closer all the way through. Right. The generation K didn't turn out, of course, but they didn't. But anytime the Mets have been good, even when it was Harvey and Wheeler and all them and you know, like you still had like they were good when you had some young, good pitchers, obviously deGrom was the best one that they've had and this is different. They're not doing that. They're not emphasizing starting pitching. They are going with the idea that the stronger bullpen and arms that we're not going to spend a ton of money on because guys get hurt. And look at the Yankees again, how it can affect you when you lose an ace and stuff like that. So it is a different approach. Approach compared to the history of the franchise, which has always been about their best teams have always had great starting pitcher. They. Last year it looked like it worked. This year not so much. Sang is supposed to be an ace. Do you feel like he's an ace? Does he feel. Does he give you ace vibes? The answer is not the answer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Simply not so far.

[Alan Hahn]

No. The answer is simply no. That answer is no. You know, Mania is good. He was better last year. He's good. Like that's I think. And I already spoke about Montos. Not. Don't need to go back there. That was a mistake.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, they haven't had an ace since they had a bunch of them and then they all had to pump the grom. Well, I mean back then. Back then you could. They had a moment where it felt like they had multiple aces.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes. Well, they. It's amazing to think that they had again, they had Harvey, they had Wheeler.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Top level.

[Alan Hahn]

They had.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The guard was pretty damn good.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. They had Thor. You went Wheeler, but Wheeler was actually. He's better as a Philly. But yeah, you're right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. Wheeler of course aged into the better.

[Alan Hahn]

I forgot about Syndergaard, but he did have that moment too. Right. He did have the great arm and he broke down physically. But still like they there. They've had a history of great starting pitching and this approach is to not emphasize starting pitching with money. Now they did. They go after. My God, I've been gone. The Dodgers got him. Yamamoto. Yeah. And they did so. So they were going to try to get a big money arm there. But really if you think about how they've pieced together their rotation, Senga is the ace and you know, he gets hurt a lot. You got to baby him, he can be good, but he's also. I don't think he's like a killer. I mean, his ERA is good, but he's not, he's not a killer. So this is the approach. But if you're going to do this, your bullpen's got to be good. They remade the bullpen at the trade deadline. I think Rogers have been good. I kind of like him. Right. Rayleigh comes back from the injury. He's, he's, he's got it. He's got to figure it out. He's got to find it, right? He has not. He's been good, but not great. I already mentioned Helsley. Maybe it's because he's not a closer. Maybe it's a little different for him. I don't know. Sometimes guys get trade in the middle of a season. You know, it takes you a minute to figure it out. But he had some really awful outings.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You want to talk to some of the people?

[Alan Hahn]

Well, of course we can. But like just, just again, on the Mets front, they are not going anywhere if that bullpen is, is going to be as rickety as it's been. No, their offense, I know people want to point to. Lindor has caught fire and he's a guy that's following. Follow what I do, not what I say. Like he's, he's never going to be that big voice guy. But I've always wondered, do the Mets have the type of leadership you need or is it they just kind of are front runners? When things go well, they really go well and they just, they ride that wave because they're all a bunch of nice guys, like Pete Alonzo, really nice guy. But when he's not hitting, you could see it in his face that he's not hitting. And that's tough because that can bring a whole room down. So is, you know, is Mendoza the right manager for this team? Does he have the right approach? Who is going to be that guy that galvanizes a clubhouse when things aren't going well? But Lindor has been good. Soto is. I'm going to say this, Peter, all right? That's not the same Juan Soto that the Yankees had. And I'm not saying it to say the Yankees like it's not about Yankees and Mets yet. Don would lose his mind with me saying this. The point is not when he wore pinstripes, he was better because they were pinstripes. What I'm saying is he was a different player last year. Was it because he was playing for a contract or is it because he had Aaron Judge? Something is different in him this year than compared to last year. So, you know, I don't know if the bloom is off the rose with the Mets, but I thought. I thought they'd be so much better after the trade deadline and it has gone the opposite. They had to have a good. They had to salvage the weekend. That was important against the Mariners. But I. I don't know how to feel about this team because I don't trust their pitching and I don't think there's a fan out there that trusts their pitching. I am not pointing the fingers at their offense. Some they're scoring five and six runs. You should win those games. And the last couple of last week, they weren't doing that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, let's talk to the people, please, for a moment because I don't disagree with the word you're saying, and I think it's probably going to end up being not the kind of fall we were originally envisioning for both of these teams. But let's go to. Let's start with Ralph in Brooklyn. What's up, Ralph?

[Caller]

Hey, guys. So I'm actually a Yankee fan and I can't believe I'm calling in about the Mets, but I'm a baseball fan. And you guys went through the pedigree of pictures, but you stopped short at where I think the problem started, where now they're facing the issue. The whole Scherza Verland experiment, they put $200 million into these starting pitches and they got snake bit.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Caller]

I think it set them back dramatically.

[Alan Hahn]

Remember, Ralph, you're right. But remember, that was. See, Cohen wanted that. And Stearns came in and Stearns told him this is not the way to do it. Which is why then Cohen backed off.

[Caller]

That's what I'm getting at. So I think that experiment hurt the franchise. I think they're afraid to lay the money down now on starting pitching, and that's why they're going after.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But that was. That's such a weird example. It's a good point that you're making, but it's a weird example because they knew when they went to Scherzer and Verlander that they were combined almost 80 years old. Like, we all knew that was possible.

[Alan Hahn]

That was his first time and he wanted to swing it. And it was a huge mistake. That's that. And that's for sure.

[Caller]

Things hold them back mentally. Mentally.

[Alan Hahn]

That's all it should.

[Caller]

Snake bit.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, they got to. But they got to the nlc. But they. Ralph they got to the NLCS last year doing it this way. And so they just like you could see like, no, this is our approach. This is how we're going to do it. That's why, you know, bringing Maniah back made sense because he was, he became their ace. Oh, if we only had Senga healthy, which they, they finally got there. But you know, then Clay Holmes, that experiment. Clay Holmes. Clay Holmes will give you exactly what you said, Peter. Clay Holmes will give you three or four innings, but he's not giving you more than that. It's just that you're not getting that. So I, I'm curious about the approach. Here's another thing to point out. I know everybody loves Steve Cohen and you want to make sure that like, oh, you know, there's a huge difference between the Mets with him at the helm versus the Willpoints. It's night and day. The Mets are a legitimate functioning franchise. This is your, this is year five, Peter. Yeah. And you remember when he came in, he wanted to win a World Series in five years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And you know what it looked in the off season after. So yeah, it looked like this was that. What a perfect, perfectly timed situation.

[Alan Hahn]

I agree.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's go to Will in North Plainfield. Hey, Will.

[Caller]

Hey guys. How you doing? They Will, long time fan. All right, so I'm calling because I was at the game on Wednesday and Stanton is definitely not it on in the outfield. So as long as judges is in the age, Stan shouldn't be in right field. And it hurts because you know, like his bat has been, he's been the hottest bat for the Yankees. There was a foul ball and he barely got to the ball. First and foremost. It looked like he was going to get hurt trying to catch the foul ball, which is crazy, you know.

[Alan Hahn]

Did he get it?

[Caller]

No, not at all. Any, any, anybody, anybody would have caught it. But you know, he, he's not even running.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, but we know, we already know this. Like we already, we already know he's. This is a guy. By the way, if you had a choice, both of you all ass, you could look like that. But be just completely like any wrong step and you're going to get hurt.

[Caller]

Or, or look like. For sure, he's definitely look like that, right?

[Alan Hahn]

Or look like Josh Naylor and yet you could, you know, run. And I think you're so like, like David Wells was so flexible kind of like, you know what I mean? Like, what would you rather do? It's so funny because would you rather be the guy that's completely like chiseled, jacked, but can't be athletic whatsoever? Or would you rather be athletic but just have like, that, that, that Josh Naylor type physique? I don't know which would be more, what would be better. But we know this about Stan. We understand Stan's a professional designated hitter. That's what he is. He can never play the outfield. The only reason why he agreed to do the, he played the outfit. He offered it up because he's trying to be a leader. All right, I'm, I'm healthy and you need an outfielder. I'll do it. And everybody knew he'll do it for three days and he'll be out for a month. We all knew it. But you do it. You let him do it.

[Caller]

Any wrong step, he'll be done for the.

[Alan Hahn]

We know this already. So this is, this is not breaking news. He's, this is who he is.

[Caller]

Now, I got a second point, if you guys allow me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right?

[Caller]

Aaron Boone should definitely not, I don't know why he keeps running Wells out there. We know that he, he's not the bat right now. And you look at Ben Rice, Ben Rice should be the starting catcher for the rest of the season until, you know, either Aaron Judge comes back and starts playing right field or, you know, at least towards the end of the season, because right now, okay, he's a little hindrance behind the plate, but he's the, another hot back that, you know, they basically playing shuffle.

[Alan Hahn]

But will you still need the catcher that runs your pitching staff? Like, you can say, I know you're going to lose a little bit now. Bryce is a catcher from the start. They made him a first baseman, so we know that already. He's, he's, he is a catcher. But Wells is like, like that's their, that's the main. I, I, I, I don't, I, I, I don't understand that call. And I also, I thought I asked, that was strange. I also thought I asked a pretty good question that he didn't want to answer. What would you rather have, Would you rather be have Stanton's physique? But, you know, like, if someone asked you to, like, run down the block, you know, at any moment something could pop and you'd be injured. Like, that's how bad it is or look like, you know, whether it's like, I don't know if, you know, Josh Naylor is, but like, he's one of the head, he has one of the worst physiques in Major League Baseball. And that's saying A lot.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There's some bad physiques in baseball.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, some bad ones. His is pretty awful, yet the guy can hit the hell out of the ball. He just can't do anything else. And when he runs, it's hilarious, but, you know, it gets hurt. So what would you rather have? I think you got to compare, like, stay into, like, a. Almost a German car. Like a. Like a foreign car. Like, don't say a German car. Let's say German car. Now I'm gonna say a foreign car, because think about it like this. You're driving a foreign car in the streets of New York City. It looks nice. Yeah. It drops one pothole, but one pothole. It'll wreck everything.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm saying, like, for the purpose of a car, that at least makes some level of sense, because what it looks like matters. That's part of why people.

[Alan Hahn]

But physically, though, you know, you could put a suit on and it just look so good. Everything you wear looks great. Everything. Everywhere you go, you just. You know, you look great, but you can't do anything Athletically, nothing Is that worse for a man to know? Like, I'll walk somewhere, and they'll be like, oh, this guy. What? You must be an athlete. And you can't, because you got to know that you show up somewhere looking like that, and then somebody throws you a basketball, and you're like, no, no, no, I can't do it.

[Caller]

I'm confused as to when Aaron Boone trotted out Austin Wells to catch this.

[Alan Hahn]

Weekend, other than the one game that.

[Caller]

Paul Goldschmid didn't play for the righty lefty where Ben Rice was at first, because Ben Rice caught the other two games. And to say you don't like standing in the outfield is fine. Everyone can agree on that. But the fact that he missed a foul ball. He didn't miss any balls. He was fine in the outfield, but he's hurt now because he played the outfield too much.

[Alan Hahn]

We knew this. That's. That none of that made sense to me. And then the idea that. I know we're going to sacrifice at catcher, but you need his bat. I don't. I don't. Again, I start running out of things to say.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Listen, the thing is.

[Alan Hahn]

Which is why I started talking about physiques.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. And I get the physique conversation as well, though I don't see in sports the benefit of looking good. I mean, can you.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't say in sports. I mean, just. No, no, no. I didn't mean. It's life. I Mean in life because Peter, there is something to show up somewhere. And guys like, see you built like that and then it's like, you know, oh, we're going to, we're going to, we're going to play some football. We're going to play, let's play some, you know, three on three and you just, you can't move. You get hurt easy. Eventually guys just start tearing you up.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or you hop up three steps or, or yeah, exactly.

[Alan Hahn]

Hold on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or what's the other option? Or you're saying.

[Alan Hahn]

Or you have like beautiful, right? Or you look like. Yeah. Or you're just God awful physique. But man, like you just, you're, you're like all of your limbs and, and joints are like rubber. You bounce back from everything. You're great. You could run anywhere. Like Jack Black. Ever see Jack Black, like run around on stage and just do splits and flips?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's like kind of athletic.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, it's ridiculous. Athletic. He's just, his physique is awful.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So what would be better? Listen, you know, it's funny. Unfortunately, I am now in the category of both bad physique and broken down.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

So I can't speak to this anymore. There was a time when I thought the first. Up until about a month ago, I really thought, you know, take the bad physique, but you run around, no problem.

[Alan Hahn]

But at least you could, at least you could entertain people. Jake, how about you, Jake? What would you take if I gave you two choices that you could have one or the other? Because you know what? It's like, like guys were very critical of each other. Appearance is one thing, but they're more critical of the fact that if you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Are awful, I'm taking the look. I'm taking the looks.

[Alan Hahn]

Every time I think I'm taking the looks because you're taking the body. How often am I going to be challenged to do something based on how I look?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like it's irrelevant. It's like at a certain point, what do I care about?

[Alan Hahn]

Okay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like it makes you're on the street.

[Alan Hahn]

A guy runs by, grabs a woman's purse and they all look at you because you're 652-45-chisel. And they go, go get him. And you take three steps and your knee snaps.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it stinks.

[Caller]

It's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Damn it. Let's suppose you're single and they all.

[Alan Hahn]

Look at you going, come on, man. Like really?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you're single and the next time you go to the bar, you could pick any woman you want. None of Them know that you weren't the hero when the purse was grabbed.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, I see what you're saying.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know, let's talk about really matters. You know, we could debate this the rest of the show and I think we might. This is an ad by BetterHelp. These days it feels like there's a vice for everything. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes. But how do you know what actually works for you? With the Internet and information overload about mental health and wellness, it can be a struggle to know what's true and what actions to take. These days, using trusted resources and talking to live therapists can get you personalized recommendations and help to help you break through through the noise. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout. That's better. Hp.com timeout.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Dog pounds in the house. I don't even think it's close. I, I, I've been, you gotta go with the looks. Sorry if you're not an athlete. I, I thought at first you were asking about a player would you rather have? I'm like, why would I, I could have my, all my players look like John Bagley and John Hot Plate Williams.

[Alan Hahn]

But you're, it doesn't matter to me. But you're a man in the world and if you're, if you're physically useless, that, that, that also becomes a detriment. It, it totally like you're physically useless. Think about it like you'll just, just running, you get hurt. Oh, pop the hamstring. Like, damn, man. Like, seriously, you look like that, you can't even, like, we like somebody that looks like that. At least you should be on like, you know, a men's league basketball team. Dominic. Hey, Jacob something.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jacob Anthony. I need you both here.

[Caller]

I'm over here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know I'm here. You know, you know, you know, Alan really has no business weighing in on this at all.

[Alan Hahn]

Why? What did I Do. He's a. He's a beautiful man. Stop it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait. Oh, he's beautiful man. And he's, like, athletic and doesn't get. So he could.

[Caller]

By the way, Allen has openly admitted after the. The. The basketball game with him and Bart. The two on two.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Caller]

That he was feeling it. So Allen's not what he used to be, and I think he admits that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, but you're not breaking down every time you do something.

[Alan Hahn]

No, but I tell you. I'll tell you what. When I. When I destroyed my knee the last time. The. The very last one. So I had three surgeries. The last one was the epic one. Everything. But all the whole thing. Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Lcl.

[Alan Hahn]

I have. I swear to God, never been the same. And I hate it. Hate it. I'm telling you. I hate it. Hate the fact you're still not worth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's not an athlete anymore.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I can't do. I can't do anything.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What are you, like all this?

[Alan Hahn]

Well, no, no, I got hurt. I'm in my 50s. I'm not doing anything. I'm in my 50. I'm not doing anything like that anymore. But for the majority of my life. Because I was in my 20s. Not actually. Yeah, I was in my 20s, the last surgery I got. But the. The worst thing that happened was that ended my career. Playing career in college. I was, you know, I'm 20. I was 20 years old. So think about it for the next 15 years. You're still young. You go to parties. There's a volleyball net. There's, you know, there's a basketball hoop. Whatever it is, you want to be involved in it. And you just know, I can't do anything. I cannot move. I can't do anything, otherwise this thing's gonna blow. And sometimes it would. It would just give out and I'd be in terrible pain. That's the worst feeling of things. Like you remember when you were a teenager that you could do easily. That now you can't do anymore, makes you crazy. So that's why I brought it up, because I kind of. I kind of would rather be like Jack Black, where I'm, like, physically just an absolute disaster, but I could still. I can still shock you with moves you aren't expecting out of some brilliant physical comedy. You know what I mean?

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, let's, let's, let's. I want to hear from Bob Manfred, who was on Sunday Night Baseball.

[Alan Hahn]

This is unbelievable.

[Peter Rosenberg]

According to some people, including my dear friend Alan Hahn, he may have dropped one of his worst ideas yet. Here's the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

[Bob Manfred]

I can. I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing up out of the east, out of the west. And that 10 o' clock time slot where we, you know, sometimes get Boston, Anaheim would be too. West coast teams, and that 10 o' clock slot, that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our west coast audience. I think the owners realize that there's demand for Major League Baseball in a lot of great cities and that we have an opportunity to do something good around that expansion process.

[Alan Hahn]

This is a guy that thought, like, just think about it. This is a guy that brought the Ghost Runner to the sport. This is a guy that thought. That actually has openly discussed the idea of the golden at Batman. Think about this. This is a guy that granted immunity to the Astros players. This is a guy that now wants to take the only tradition left in the sport and then just put it in a rocket and shoot it into space. Think about this. This is. This is what we're doing. This. This is like. If anybody thinks this is a good idea, then you really aren't a baseball fan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So let me give everyone.

[Alan Hahn]

This is like when the NHL got away from their traditional divisions and their traditional conferences. And Gary Bettman, early. Early on in his commissionership of the NHL, which he has actually become one of the great commissioners of all time. But early on, when he decided that nobody knows what the Smythe Division means, there's nothing geographical about it. You know, the Wales and Campbell Conference, this is all antiquated, outdated, and it needs to be Americanized. And so they went with the NBA format of an east and Western Conference in the Atlantic Division and all that other stuff, and they did that. And while it's all kind of worked out, if you've noticed, they are constantly changing divisions. They're constantly trying to realign and figure it out. They think they have the right format now, but whatever. The point is, is that what you did, though, is you took away a glorious tradition that just. It's one of those if you know, you know, type things for fans. It's special, but this is worse. American League and National Leagues have been around for over 100 years. Like, for you to decide that we're just going to make this now the east and the west, and we're going to turn it into, like, even the NFL has an. Has an AFC and an nfc, not an east and West. And sometimes you're going to get these weird, you know, matchups where it's the Mets play the Padres in a wild card matchup. It's going to happen. So what? That's what makes it special.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is worse, though.

[Alan Hahn]

Terrible idea.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is worse than what you outlined. This, the hockey one. At first you're talking about primarily a name change, like.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, but it was also an alignment. They also did a bit of an alignment change to east and west and all that stuff.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But this is swapping everything.

[Alan Hahn]

This is. This is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

God, this is like. This is basically like closer to. In terms of smashing the traditional. Also worse, though. This is still worse. But it makes me think more about, you know, the big. In the acc, like, just making things meaningless where you go, I don't even understand.

[Alan Hahn]

Did you HEAR the Big Ten wants to get up to about 25, 32.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Perfect. So it's his own league altogether.

[Alan Hahn]

You can't even call.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Here's Jim Bowden's proposed realignment. This is the Eastern Conference. This would be the Eastern Conference of baseball. You have the east, which is the Red Sox, the Mets, the Yankees and the Phillies.

[Alan Hahn]

No. God, no.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You have the north, which would be Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto.

[Alan Hahn]

How would that be north?

[Peter Rosenberg]

You have. That's pretty north. Well, I mean, you have the Mid Atlantic, the Orioles, the Charlotte expansion team.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The Pirates and the Nationals.

[Alan Hahn]

Wait, the Phillies are in the east, but the Pirates, who are Western Pennsylvania and really should be more Cincinnati and like, they should be on that. We're gonna bring them over and put them in the Mid Atlantic, which. Pittsburgh is how close to Atlantic? Again, not close. Philadelphia is literally on the Atlantic. Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Pittsburgh is a four and a half hour trip from Washington and Baltimore.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So it's a ways away. The Southeast, the Braves, the Marlins, the Rays, of course, and a Nashville expansion team.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, wow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Then you have the Western Conference, which has the Midwest, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Brewers and the Twins. So far, let me say this, that's probably the most logical sounding.

[Alan Hahn]

Division, except.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But then you go to the Southwest and it's Astros, Royals, Cardinals, Rangers. And you're like, wait, the Cardinals don't end up there with Chicago.

[Alan Hahn]

Right there now with the Rangers. This is. This is why. This is trying too hard. And when he's saying that it's this way to, you know, cut down travel. This almost stinks of. We want a salary cap, so we're going to offer the players something, some things about travel and maybe even time off. You know, like Bart Scott always used to talk about, by the way, happy birthday, Bart. He always talked about how when he was involved in a lot of the, the CBA talks, when he was part of the players association as a player rep, he said they would do things like that, where you'd be talking about money and then they would offer you things like, hey, how about only one practice per day? How about you don't have, you can't practice at this time. How about you get this day off? We're going to give you all these perks. And he said the players fall for it every time. And then the finances you forget about. And then that happens. And could just because this sounds so ridiculous, could this be like an ownership way of using something to distract the players with, hey, look, you know, like, look, look at the East. You guys just even take a bus to all these games. You don't even get on a plane. How about that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Doesn't want to get.

[Alan Hahn]

Bus. Great. Like, like they're thinking of ways that we're going to make your quality of life better by cutting down all this travel. And I'm telling you, this would be the dumbest thing. And as I mentioned, the ghost runner and some of the other stuff that he has introduced. The pitch clock I kind of like. But pitch talks fine. Yeah, that's fine. But the ghost runner thing, it's, It's. It's really not baseball anymore. This would be the dumbest thing the sport has ever done ever.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To close it out. To close it out, you'd have the Pacific Coast, Rockies, Athletics, Mariners, Giants, and then Rockies.

[Alan Hahn]

Pacific coast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, not quite a coast, but I mean.

[Alan Hahn]

And then the west, wouldn't Seattle be on the Pacific coast?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Seattle's there.

[Alan Hahn]

I mean, they're right on the coast. Am I wrong? I did see. I've been there. I've seen water. I think it's the. I think it's Seattle's in there, though. You said Seattle.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The Rockies.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, he said the Rockies.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Rockies, Athletics, Mariners.

[Alan Hahn]

Giants. Okay, okay, Mariners.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And then lastly the west, as it's known, would be the Diamondbacks. This is just a mock up, but Diamondbacks, the Angels, the Dodgers, the Padres. Maybe the most logical one. That may be the most logical, but.

[Alan Hahn]

Again, it doesn't make sense.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Although not really, because you could also have. It doesn't mean, I guess they're just going north. So they're putting.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, See what you did, Stupid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

See, why is it Pacific Coast, Athletics, Mariners, Call it Northwest. Yes, but that doesn't work for the Rockies.

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So now you got to call a Pacific Coast.

[Alan Hahn]

I. Look, it was an attempt. We can't. This is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It didn't work.

[Alan Hahn]

This is an attempt. This isn't man for doing it now. This is. Who was this? Bowden? Yeah. He just. He's just trying to give you what it could look like. I'm just saying this is an idea sucks. The notion of the, like. What he wants to like. Oh, we'll create these great rivalries, you know, Cubs and White Sox, Mets and Yankees and. No, no, The. The beauty of it is they don't play each other all the time. The beauty of is they could meet in the championship. The beauty of is that there's two different leagues that are supposed to be two different styles of play. Now, universal Dharma is what really brought us to this point. That was the. That was the portal. Once you got to universal dh, the portal was open to doing this full alignment and not having to have a National League in American League.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, and add in when interplay became regular, I guess.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I think that was a nice.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To ruin the special.

[Alan Hahn]

It did. There was a nice novelty, but, you know, because they. You never saw them play each other, so there was something that. Oh, hey, these games matter now. They mean something.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The number we get two Yankee Met Series every year. It's. It's.

[Alan Hahn]

No, we're only getting one. Well, we are two, because you get your home park and our home park. That's okay. I don't care about that. I. I don't want it to become where now. It's just. This is the new way to do it. And so you're taking a sport that is rooted in tradition. You're going to take the last tradition left in the sport, because think about it. How many other things are gone? Pitchers hitting is gone. Like, there's a pitch clock now that you have to keep a. You can't, you know, mix and match your. Your relievers. Now you have to keep them in for three batters. Like, there's a lot of things. You know, extra innings means a guy on second. So there's a lot of things that. They've already taken a lot of tradition out of the game, some for the better. But I feel like this would be. This is the last thing. It's the last piece of tradition in the sport. And some things are special. Now, why I brought up the NHL comp was not because it's the same thing. What I'm saying is it was unique to the sport. There was something special. You see banners up in the old buildings, the Wales Conference champions, and it's like, what the hell's the Wales Conference? Well, if you know, you know, it was the east and actually for a time the Campbell was the east. But that's a long story. The point is, is that it's just unique to the sport. It makes it special. It's different. If everybody's just east and west and Atlantic and south and all, what are we doing? The NFL knows, afc, nfc, there's tradition to that. There are tradition. There are franchises that were original AFL franchises. That's what makes it special. It's the, it's the history of the sport. And for those who go, I don't get it, why is. Well, because once you become a fan, you'll learn and you'll figure it out. You'll understand. And there was a time where the American League was really more offensive driven and the National League was about pitching and defense. That was something special. Style of play. That's gone now with the, with the dh, of course. But I just feel like this would be a massive mistake and I can't imagine there are fans that would want to see this. You can't possibly tell me this is what you want because if you do, you're really not a fan of the sport.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what you do. I know for a fact you want to see Eric Church at the Barclays center.

[Alan Hahn]

Who does?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Saturday, September 20, and ESPN New York has your chance to get tickets on the ESPN New York app and ESPN New York.com just find the contest tile and submit your entry tickets on sale now. Head to ericchurch.com for more information. Let's take a break, Alan. Phone lines are full on this subject and much more. We'll get to you guys. 1-800-919-3776 Anthony will step back in the room for ENN. But first your calls next right here on DHR. You want to get the most for your money. That's why more Mazda buyers choose Ramsey Mazda for selection, customer service and savings during the Mazda More to move you sales event. Lease a new 25 Mazda CX30 for 239 for 33 months. Start shopping now at RamseyMazda.com, choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda. Call 833-853-2970 for details then SM 842601 MSRP26880 0 Security Deposit Ends 9225.

[Alan Hahn]

This.

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[Don Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alan Hahn]

All right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It is Don Hahn and Rosenberg, ESPN New York. Peter Rosenberg, Alan Hahn. On a Monday. Getting ready for enn.

[Alan Hahn]

What is this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

What is this?

[Alan Hahn]

Nwa always into something. I checked the credits. Was the beginning of that. Did he take. Is that a sample from the police? Check the credits. We can find out. You hear that part right there, didn't it? Is that sampled from the police?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm gonna find out for you because I care. I'm mad. I didn't realize. What. Which nwa.

[Alan Hahn]

You don't. You don't hear it? Okay. It's not important. I thought if. If I know Jay could look it up easily. So I have this crazy, crazy ear. What are the sample credits? It's James Brown, Stone to the Bone, Melvin Bliss. We also got Jimi Hendrix. Remember? That's probably Jimi Hendrix. Tom Scott in the LA Express, and Bob James. Okay. No, it's not. But it was a sped up sample off of a police song.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now it sounds like the prominent part of it was Bob James.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah. Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Drums were Tony Scott.

[Alan Hahn]

Wasn't that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's talk to the people, shall we? Let's go to Stomatis in Astoria. What's up, buddy?

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, Pete? So, Balan, welcome back, man.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you.

[Caller]

All right, so I called talk about the Mets, but then I want to just touch on the. The realignment.

Right?

But as far as the Mets go, I just think they should really consider bringing up sproat and or tong. Like right now you're gonna tell me if they didn't bring those guys up, the juice around the team wouldn't change the vibe. The energy would feel like 2015, you know? And these kids, it's not like they're not ready, man. These kids are toying with the minor league.

Right now.

He's at 06 Sports, got an 067 ERA in the month of July. You know these guys. I personally feel it's more about the service time and probably something of that nature.

[Alan Hahn]

It's always like that.

[Caller]

Yeah, I get it. But you know what? If you had a rich owner, you know what I mean? And you talk about free agency and all this stuff, he should look the other way with this right now, because, you know, we're desperate for pitching. So if it's the service thing, the issue about saving a year's salary, like, just get over it and bring them up.

[Alan Hahn]

But what hurts you, though? Yeah, but I totally get that. What hurts you, though, is if you just believe, like, all right, I'm just going to blow out all my starters and bring up these guys and have them take over. You know, you're expecting. You're expecting. They're just all going to dominate and they. You can't expect that.

[Caller]

You can't. Look, Nolan McLean set a nice tone.

[Alan Hahn]

He did set a nice tone. He wasn't perfect.

[Caller]

It's possible.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, he wasn't. He wasn't perfect. No, it was good.

[Caller]

We walked with you guys.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Caller]

But it was nice. But I think this Tom kid is like, you know. You know, it's almost like, you know, Jonah mania when it comes up. It's going to be crazy, man. I'm telling you. It's special to watch this kid pitch. It's like a prime Tim Lince or something.

[Alan Hahn]

I have. Yeah, I have a feeling you. You might. You probably are going to see one of the two again. Like, I don't think it's completely done. I. I do think that they have to know, and what they saw there, they're going to want to see more, and they're probably going to give somebody else a chance, but I don't know. I don't think you could do all three. And then now you're just blowing out starters. I mean, you still are paying these guys.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's go to good old Lou in Monalapan. Hey, Lou.

[Caller]

How you doing, guys? Huge fans of both of you, obviously, but I want to get into. I was going to get into the Mets a little bit before making this point, but this baseball realignment thing is. It's absolute garbage, as Dom would say. It's just. It's disrespectful. And baseball keeps getting this wrong. I think baseball is too obsessed with ratings, and they look at ratings and they worry about the youth getting involved in the sport. They celebrate youth baseball. Last night at the Little League World Series, it was a beautiful event, and. And kids are excited about baseball. It's the kids that are introduced to Baseball, the purists of baseball, they don't cater to the purists of baseball. They think they have a product like the NFL where you could turn it on on a Sunday and sit there and watch it from 8 to whenever. I mean, a 1 to 1, 8 o', clock, you know, they sit here and they keep trying to change and manipulate the game for the fan that they don't even have, instead of looking inward at people like me, at people like you guys and the many fans that grew up watching baseball loving a National League and American League World Series matchup, that your grandfather might have saw it or your dad might have saw it, and there's stories about the guys that had the moment, that had the. You know, it's larger than life when baseball works like that, if you have that love. But baseball doesn't identify with those fans. They're throwing it out the window. And even if you regionalize this, the divisions, you realign the NFL, you brought up a good point with the NHL, but the NFL, that's what the NFC east division is. It's four teams that literally were a rivalry that make no sense geographically outside of New York and Philadelphia and I guess Washington, but, you know, the Cowboys don't belong there. They keep them there because of the fact that, you know, if you don't have the Eagles Cowboys or the Giants Cowboys or the Commanders Cowboys, you, you lose the sport. They're not thinking of the rivalries. And, and, and my last point, they're worried about the travel for the game and where people are going to go and they want to travel less. It's the United States of America, man. People are going to see 30 ballparks if they're a baseball fan. That's all the travel that happens in baseball. It's a checklist. Many people do it. Those are the people that will travel, whether it's regionalized or if it's, you know.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I get, I'm, I'm with you, Lou. I.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But he's going a bit far.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, but I think he's just trying to make his point. And I'm, I'm in agreement with that. And that's the point I'm trying to make you just as a sport, you've got to understand, yes, we all get it, that old guys like me are no longer your target audience because you already have us. You're not selling to us. You're trying to get your next generation because we're dying off. And so you're now looking for how do we attract the next generation. Tradition used to do it. It used to be something passed on. What they're realizing is they lost a whole generation. They've got to get that. Get. Get one back. And how do they do it? They've got to appeal to them the way any way they can. But this, this isn't how you do it. There's still something special about tradition. There is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I agree with you. We're on the same page. But I can't give Lou credit for bad arguments. The first argument he goes to is the NFC east, where he made it sound like none of the four teams go together.

[Alan Hahn]

And then you realize only one three.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Of the four are absolutely geographical and one is the outside. And then secondly, he goes, it doesn't matter where they go. Fans travel to all 30 baseball stadiums. You are talking about a tiny, tiny percentage of super fans that do that.

[Alan Hahn]

I know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I still agree with you. It should not happen. But let's just tighten it up, okay, everyone?

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Don Hahn]

Well, thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't want to know how the.

[Alan Hahn]

Sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good.

[Don Hahn]

Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.