Lebron James Is A Free Agent Again, World Cup Must Win For USMNT, John Smoltz Talking Baseball Plus Our Dingers Only Fantasy Draft

Summary

Pardon My Take — July 1, 2026

Episode: Lebron James Is A Free Agent Again, World Cup Must Win For USMNT, John Smoltz Talking Baseball Plus Our Dingers Only Fantasy Draft
Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter (Barstool Sports), with the Fab Four: PFT, Memes, Jerry, Stephen Che, Zach.
Special Guest: John Smoltz

---

Overview

This episode is a smorgasbord of sports takes and mid-summer mayhem, featuring in-depth discussions on LeBron’s free agency bombshell, wild NBA Free Agent rumors and trades, the World Cup’s high-stakes knockout round (“MUST WIN” USMNT), and a lively interview with Hall of Famer John Smoltz. The show wraps up with the annual “Dingers Only” fantasy baseball draft, plus plenty of classic PMT banter about weddings, karaoke, and internet drama.

---

1. LeBron James: NBA Free Agency Circus

Theme: LeBron’s shocking decision to leave the Lakers and the following frenzy.
Timestamps: 03:12 – 18:53

Key Points:

• LeBron Opts Out

  • PFT: “LeBron James has informed the Lakers that they can look elsewhere. He is not fired. He quits and now is going to be a free agent for what we think is the last time.” (03:12)
  • Memes: “He waited until the day after Bronny’s contract was guaranteed to opt out...Legally, he now belongs to you guys. If nothing else, we can report that LeBron James is all-star dad. First team. First team NBA dad.” (03:43)

• LeBron’s Legacy & Next Team Odds

  • Power ranking preferred destinations: Golden State (the favorite), Cleveland (sentimental favorite), Miami, Spurs, Clippers.
  • Memes: “If we got mad at Kevin Durant for going to Golden State, this would be pathetic.” (04:36)
  • PFT on Cleveland: “That’s a cool move...that’s actually a good ending for LeBron. Incredible career. Second best player of all time.” (04:44)

• Insider Info, Draymond, AD, and Franchise Politics

  • Discussion of Draymond Green’s opt-out possibly setting the table for LeBron.
  • Lakers not matching salary demands. Memes ponders Lakers’ reluctance: “I thought they gave out lifetime achievement contracts.” (07:47)
  • Rich Paul and LeBron’s circle are “shopping” him vigorously.

• Karaoke Interlude

  • The crew roast Max’s karaoke playlist (Piano Man, My Way).
    • Memes: “If you want to sing My Way, be a man, do it in the Philippines where they kill you if you screw it up.” (11:34)
    • PFT: “Piano Man is a great karaoke song…but it’s an end of the night song. You can’t lead with Piano Man.” (12:06)

• The Retirement Angle

  • Stephen Che: “I think it’s because he just wants to keep playing golf. He may just still retire…if he has a great summer.” (14:02)
  • Memes: “I was expecting a retirement tour… but the more I see him golfing, the more I see the possibility that LeBron’s just like, you know what? I think I’m just going to do golf.” (14:19)

Memorable Quote:

• Memes: “Olden State. That’s what Skip dubbed them.” (15:01)
• PFT: “Even the strongest LeBron fans, the Bron Sexuals, would have to say this is weird.” (06:27)

---

2. NBA Free Agency Rundown

Theme: Rapid-fire NBA hot stove action.
Timestamps: 19:31 – 26:55

• Kawhi Leonard back to the Raptors

  • PFT: “Kawhi era with Clippers is the most forgettable of all time.”
  • Memes: “I have my doubts that Kawhi is going to stay healthy. I know that this last year he had one of his best seasons ever, but... I just doubt that he’s going to do it back-to-back.” (20:41)

• LeBron Rumor Mill

  • Clippers, Cleveland, and wild-card options.
  • John Moran traded to the Blazers — Portland’s strip club scene discussed (“over 50!”).
  • Memes: “The Jailblazers are back.” (22:06)

---

3. World Cup: U.S. Must Win!

Theme: The drama and tension as USMNT faces Bosnia & Herzegovina in the knockout round.
Timestamps: 27:55 – 36:35

Key Points:

• PFT: “Is this the most must-win a game has ever been?” (27:55)
• Memes: “It’s a must-win. You cannot underestimate the Herzegovinians as well as the Bosnians…We are, I believe, for the first time ever in the history of US Soccer, favored in a knockout round game.” (28:06)
• Disgust for losing before truly reaching the meat of the tournament: “It’d be like celebrating a play-in win in the NCAA tournament.” (30:30)
• Soccer Takes: Penalty kicks are “awesome,” upsets happen, pressure situations rule.
  • PFT: “If you can’t figure it out in 120 minutes, you’re goddamn right we’re going to penalty kicks.” (31:32)
• Praise for France’s dominance and “broken bracket” upsets.

Memorable Quotes:

• Memes: “That’s why we watch sports, to see exceptionally talented athletes crumble under unbelievable pressure.” (33:06)
• PFT: “World Cup rocks. And if you’re not watching it, you’re missing out.” (36:35)

---

4. PMT Internet Culture Segment – The FreddieLA7 Incident

Theme: A German fan’s viral run through America during the World Cup leads to internet backlash.
Timestamps: 37:16 – 47:01

Key Points:

• Freddie LA7: German tourist goes hugely viral, then is bullied off Twitter by haters/accusations of being a “CIA plant.”
  • Memes: “It does make people appreciate the account less when it’s very corporate…But it’s not his fault.” (38:57)
• Discussion about the toxic nature of online culture: “The Internet used to be a lot more fun. That is definitely true.” (45:28)
• PMT crew reminisce about the early internet, the Oakley forums (“just dudes rocking Oakleys”).

Memorable Quotes:

• PFT: “If what Freddie was doing…was actually making you feel upset, the Internet might not be for you.” (47:01)

---

5. Hot Seat / Cool Throne

Theme: Classic PMT segment—winners and losers of the week in sports & culture.
Timestamps: 50:34 – 69:43

Notable Picks & Quotes:

• Hot Seat
  • Serena Williams (early Wimbledon exit): “Come back off, grand opening, grand closing.” (50:34)
  • Josh Naylor (MLB): “He’s the most psychotic person I’ve ever met in my life.” – Stone Garrett recounts a knife incident in the minors. (55:36)
  • Jalen Brown – Celtics drama.
• Cool Throne
  • Playing victim: “Ellis Thomas is now getting death threats after a foul on Caitlin Clark.” (52:52)
  • Ben Simmons comeback rumors.
  • Mexico fans: “playing drums, fireworks outside Ecuador’s hotel”—World Cup gamesmanship.

---

6. John Smoltz Interview: Baseball, Golf, and Old School vs Modern Analytics

Theme: Hall of Famer John Smoltz talks all things baseball, the upcoming American Century Championship in Tahoe, and the state of pitching.
Timestamps: 72:29 – 119:23

Highlights:

• Golf Tourney Banter
  • Smoltz on Tahoe: “Perfect venue, perfect time.” (72:51)
• Baseball’s New Era
  • “There’s more teams for sure than in the American League…But the narrative of baseball, and I hate it, is health.”
  • Rants against organizations’ “manufacturing” of flame-throwing pitchers with little longevity: “We have 25 Nolan Ryans now…That’s not genetically possible; it’s manufactured…” (83:30)
  • Tommy John surgery, injuries, and pitching culture.
  • Ideas for new rules—linking the DH to pitcher duration, limiting pitcher roster sizes.
• Analytics (and anti-analytics)
  • Smoltz remains skeptical of exit velocity and “expected X” stats: “If you look at it and that’s all you pay attention to, then you’re stupid.”
• Stories from Braves Days
  • Greg Maddux’s prankster reputation, the legacy of Bobby Cox.
  • Crime Dog McGriff and his famous Tom Emansky video: “He still has a horse laugh every time we bring it up.” (108:06)

Memorable Smoltz Quotes:

• “If you want to sing My Way, do it in the Philippines where they kill you if you screw it up.” (11:34, earlier segment, but callback to Smoltz's attitude)
• “The Internet used to be a lot more fun.” (45:28)

---

7. “Dingers Only” Fantasy Baseball Draft

Theme: The always-chaotic, home-run-only, mid-season fantasy baseball league unique to PMT.
Timestamps: 121:20 – END

Key Points:

• Players can only score with home runs—no other stats matter.
• Loser must face a college or better team as a pitcher.
• Snafus abound: incorrect positions, injury gambles, constant confusion over eligibility.
• Live calls to MLB players for “draft” acceptance—Matt Olson picks up, is cool on-air (154:49).
• High comedy:
  • Jerry’s confusion over bisexuality and an accidental viral tweet (126:00+)
  • Heated, looping discussion about rules, integrity, and scoring disputes.

Notable Team Picks:

• Memes gets first pick (Kyle Schwarber); wild run of left-field names.
• PFT claims the splashiest outfield: “Juan Soto, PCA, Aaron Judge—if Judge comes back, watch out.” (177:00)

---

8. Podcast Energy, Inside Jokes & Miscellaneous

• Summer wedding week for usual PMT members—Max, Hank are off celebrating, resulting in “vibe checks” from the beach (09:46).
• Numerous sponsor plugs for Twisted Tea, Chevy, Fruit of the Loom, others—skipped in summary as per instruction.
• Show ends as chaotically as it began—with draft banter, birthday shouts, and a reminder: “Love you guys!” (183:41)

---

Memorable Quotes Recap

• PFT: “People flying into a sport and being like, let me fix it. When a sport is doing just fine without casual fans… I love penalty kicks.”
• Memes: “That’s why we watch sports, to see, like, exceptionally talented athletes crumble under unbelievable pressure.”
• John Smoltz: “We have 25 Nolan Ryans now… That’s not genetically possible; it’s manufactured against the odds.”
• Memes (on Jerry): “He can't say 1% percent of bush.”

---

Key Timestamps (Select)

• 03:12 — LeBron James free agency discussion begins.
• 14:19 — LeBron possibly transitioning to golf/retirement.
• 19:31 — NBA free agency/trade rumors.
• 27:55 — USMNT World Cup “must win” breakdown.
• 37:16 — FreddieLA7 viral saga/internet culture.
• 50:34 — Hot Seat / Cool Throne lightning round.
• 72:29 — John Smoltz interview starts.
• 121:20 — Dingers Only fantasy baseball draft.
• 154:49 — Matt Olson live call during the draft.
• 183:41 — Wrap-up, shouts, and chaos.

---

Final Take

Pardon My Take July 1, 2026 delivers a mid-summer blowtorch of sports takes, inside jokes, and rowdy draft banter. The LeBron saga gets the PMT treatment—equal parts irreverent and insightful. John Smoltz brings dad/legend energy, sparring with modern analytics while still respecting their tools. The “Dingers Only” draft is unhinged in the best way, packed with mishaps, rules lawyering, and pure PMT personality. In other words: The loudest and most correct sports talk in podcasting.

Transcript

[PFT Commenter]

Hey, Pardon my take listeners. You can find every episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. What if your drive was fueled with more like More protection for more time on the road? Shelby Power Nitro plus provides more protection for longer lasting engines, so it helps you keep your engine running like new for whatever drive is ahead. Shelby Power Nitro engine performance that lasts compared to minimum detergent gasoline. With continuous use of Shelby Power Nitro plus and gasoline direct injection engines, actual effects and benefits may vary. See Shell Us More Protection for more information on today's Pardon My take presented by DraftKings it's the Fab Four. It's me, PFT memes and Zach, Hank and Max are off for the wedding week. I'm very excited for Max. He actually offered to zoom in. I was like, dude, it's your wedding. They're they were at the beach so they're having a great time. We're going to talk some NBA free agency. LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard. We got World Cup. We've got John Smoltz on the show talking some baseball. Also talking about our trip to Tahoe coming up in a couple days for Chill Week. We also have the return of the dumbest fantasy league in the world. It is Dingers only. For anyone who has not listened in the past, we start a fan or fantasy baseball league in the middle of the season. The only stat is home runs and we have Brandon Jersey, Jerry and Stephen Shea also competing with us. So we have the full draft to see who is on. We also have a couple calls with some of the guys that are getting drafted. So good show. And then reminder Friday is going to be Dungeon and Dragons. It is all brought to you by our friends at Twisted tv. It's the fourth of July week. Summer's here. It is officially official that it is summer because it's 4th of July week and Twisted Tea Summer Party Pack is ready to go. Twisted Tea is a refreshing hard iced tea made with real brewed tea and 5% alcohol. They also have a new summer Party pack that has a brand new Twisted Lemonade. It's a refreshing hard lemonade made with real lemons. It's only available in their new Party pack so grab it while you can. Whether you're hanging out at the bar, hitting the lake or beach for a weekend or day drinking with friends, Twisted Tea is there to turn your day up a notch and make a good time, a great time. Keep the good times going all day and all summer long. Keep it twisted. My Absolute favorite. Has been for the longest time, the half and half. But the Twisted Lemonade is going up the rankings for me. It is so, so good grilling out in the back with the twisted lemonade. Nothing better. So grab a refreshing twisted tea today and let's have a great fourth. Okay, let's go. Hey, football guy.

[Brandon Walker]

Patino aws.

[PFT Commenter]

Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. The crown is yours. Today is Wednesday, July 1, and PFT. LeBron James has informed the Lakers that they can look elsewhere. He is not fired. He quits and now is going to be a free agent for what we think is the last time. Lay decision 2026. I can't believe we're here, but we're here.

[Memes]

Yeah, I mean, he's also maybe the best dad of all time because he waited until the day after Bronnie's contract was guaranteed to opt out and say, hey, I'm not gonna be back next year. So looks like you're stuck babysitting my son. Sorry, there's nothing I can do. Legally, he now belongs to you guys. So if nothing else, we can report that LeBron James is all star dad. First team. First team. NBA dad. LeBron James.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

So now Rich Paul is going around, he's talking to every team that will pick up his phone call. And then Rich Paul is going to present all the offers to LeBron and then there will be LED decision 2026. And it feels like, yeah, we're back in like 2012 all over again. This feels like will.

[Jerry]

He won't.

[Memes]

He just won't stop. And I guess you want to power rank the places that we would like to see LeBron play next year.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, yeah, Last Golden State, which seems like the favorite.

[Memes]

That's such bullshit, by the way. Like, if we got mad at Kevin Durant for going to Golden State, this would be pathetic.

[PFT Commenter]

Pathetic. And listen, it feels like it might be Golden. It feels like Golden State or Cleveland. Cleveland is the one that would. I think we all can be like, you know what? That's actually a Good ending for LeBron. Incredible career. Second best player of all time. He's done it for two, two decades plus to finish it where he started it, you know, close to, you know, Akron. Everything, you know, everything that is involved in that I think would be very cool. And I, I would be like that. That's a cool move. Golden State. And, and Golden State feels like it's a strong possibility because Wind Horse is, by the way, cooking right now. Windhorse, I know you don't like him. Pfd, but wind horses.

[Memes]

I think sometimes he just gets over skis on a take that he doesn't have enough time to think about.

[PFT Commenter]

So Winhorse said he's like, who acted. Who acted here?

[John Smoltz]

Did. Who.

[PFT Commenter]

Who acted with. With information beforehand? Did the Heat? No. Did the Lakers know? Did the Cavs?

[Max]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Did the Golden State warriors when Draymond Green opted out and opened up the books a little bit? Yes. If he goes to Golden State. Come on, man. Like, I get it. He want, like, he's going for happiness. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn't matter. And Winhorse also made a good point. LeBron James has. Every single place he's gone. He is. He has delivered a ring. Every. Every place has gone as a free agent. He got drafted by the Cavs, didn't win a ring, went to Miami, one two, went back to the Cavs, one one, went to Lakers, one one that we don't count. But still. But it's Steph's team. It's Steph's franchise. It's the exact same thing that everyone said about when KD went there. And it's like, it would just be weird. I don't know. You just can't. You can't even, Even the, the strongest LeBron fans, the, the.

[Zach]

The.

[PFT Commenter]

The Bronze Sexuals would have to say that this is weird.

[Memes]

Yeah, I don't think that Bron Sexuals would like it because they've also spent the last, what, like, seven years saying that LeBron and, and the Lakers, that's their team, that's who they're going to be rooting for, and then to go to Golden State, I don't think they'd be able to make that switch. And yeah, they did have information, I guess, because Draymond op.

[Brandon Walker]

He.

[Memes]

What did he do? He opted out. And now he's going to. He's going to come back for less money.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he said.

[Brandon Walker]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He said that he's, you know, he. He's been there for a long time. He's one franchise.

[John Smoltz]

He doesn't.

[PFT Commenter]

He doesn't want to go anywhere, and he wants to help them try to make one last run in it.

[Memes]

Well, so LeBron wants AD there. The problem with that is that I don't think that the Golden State warriors have enough stuff to give up for AD like, as much as LeBron wants stuff to happen at his beck and call, it doesn't always work out on paper. It just doesn't. So I, I don't think most of

[PFT Commenter]

the time he's gotten pretty much everything he wants.

[Memes]

His son is on the Los Angeles Lakers. Yeah, that's true.

[PFT Commenter]

I will say that The Lakers disrespected LeBron because, yes, they got him, AD yes, they got him, Luca. Yes, they drafted his son, but, no, they would not potentially pay him $48.5 million.

[Memes]

And that's at the very end.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, a man has a line. You know what I mean?

[Memes]

I thought they gave out, like, you know, lifetime achievement contracts with Lakers. I thought that part of doing business, where it's like, you treat your stars great even in their older years, then they stick around, and then they become part of the fabric and the DNA of the franchise, then more stars will want to play for the Lakers. That's typically how it. How it's been done. I just don't. I don't know that the Golden State warriors will be like, okay, obviously, as a Wizards guy, I don't think that the warriors have anything that I would want.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that's why you brought up A.D. my bad.

[Memes]

Well, no, LeBron.

[PFT Commenter]

I know, I know, I know, I know.

[Memes]

I'm responding to LeBron regarding those demands. Do I want, like, Jimmy Butler coming off of an ACL injury? Not particularly. He's not known for being the best guy to have around, like, a very young group of. Of promising players that might not be the best teammate to have there. I also don't want to see LeBron go back to Miami. I think that would suck, too.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that would suck.

[Memes]

I don't want to see you in Miami. And then I saw somebody throw out the spurs as LE that would also suck. I don't want any of these things. I think. I think Cleveland makes the most sense. I think Cleveland. I. I think everybody would be like, okay, that's kind of cool. And then that adds an entire new layer of intrigue of, what do they do with the James Harden situation? How do they build out that roster? I think it'd be cool, though. I would like to. Back in Cleveland, it's.

[PFT Commenter]

Cleveland is the perfect ending. The only other thing that I'd be like, all right, whatever. Is if he just picked, like, if he maybe did a wheel on a live stream and was like, hey, LeBron, you're. You're a New Orleans Pelican. Like, great. That would be cool. That would actually be really funny if his decision was just a giant wheel and he spun it and he just is like, this is where I'm going.

[Hank]

Zach.

[PFT Commenter]

Zach, before.

[Zach]

So.

[PFT Commenter]

So I said at the beginning, if you. If you fast forward, max And Hank are on island. I actually got a. Did you guys pick. You guys didn't pick up the FaceTime from Hank, did you?

[Memes]

I did not. I was driving, so safety first.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, So I think what happened was. And. And I want this. If Ma Haker listening to this tomorrow, I want them to know that, like, there's literally zero problem with them missing this episode.

[Stephen Shea]

It's.

[PFT Commenter]

It's Max's wedding week. Like, I didn't expect him to come on a Zoom and talk LeBron with us for 20 minutes, but they. Max, I guess, were. Max and the boys were drunk in the ocean, looked incredible, having the time of their lives. And Max told hank to. To FaceTime the group for a vibe check. This was like two hours before we were going to record to kind of just see. Test the waters to see if, like, hey, do we have to be there or not? This was. I was. I was in. In just like father hell of just getting my kids to try to eat anything that's remotely like food and not just potato chips. And I had just gotten off my youngest, getting a little.

[Max]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He says he got bit by Stella. Stella licked him and. And snatched a little bagel out of his hand. I open up the FaceTime and it's just Jackie tables drunk as in the ocean with a drink in his hand. And I was just like, get my. Get out of here. I don't. I don't. Just get out of here. Just don't even come. So I feel bad because I think Max was like, oh, man, he was pissed. I was just pissed because I saw Jackie tables having the time of his life. But that's why they're not here.

[Memes]

They are having a good time. Excellent time. Max is singing karaoke. Hank is handling lobsters.

[Max]

It's a.

[Memes]

It's scenes down in St. Martin.

[PFT Commenter]

Can I. Can I just. I hate to do this to Max, but he. He said that he was the best karaoke singer, and then they asked for his playlist. What was his playlist? Does anyone have it off top?

[Memes]

Yeah. Piano Man.

[PFT Commenter]

Piano Man's not. That's not what you start with.

[Memes]

He did My Way. And let me just say that doing My way in the, like, on island time, in the Caribbean.

[John Smoltz]

That.

[Memes]

That is bubble. That is some soft Mickey Mouse karaoke. Because if you. If you want to sing My Way, you be a man. You do it over in the Philippines, where they kill you if you screw it up.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Against the law. It's against the law to sing My Way. And I believe a handful of countries over in Asia because they take it so seriously that if you mess it up, they will literally murder you.

[PFT Commenter]

I got to know. I listen. I agree with that. I got to know what time of the night Piano man was because Piano man is a great kara karaoke song. There's no denying that. But it's an end of the night song, and it's like, you know, everyone's just up and we can do it and everyone sing along. If he's like, if that was the start of karaoke night. You can't. You can't lead with Piano Man. That's a second set song if I've ever heard one. Zach, what are you gonna say?

[Stephen Shea]

I'll say. I'm not sure if Rockstar by Nickelback is exactly island karaoke themed either.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know if that's the right. I like that as a choice, though.

[Stephen Shea]

It's. It's bold, for sure.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

What's your go to when it comes to karaoke?

[Stephen Shea]

Karaoke. If we're like St. Martin on an island and we're talking like wedding season, maybe Bubbly Colby Calais could play anything. Pitbull really plays with, like, a tropical drink, a frozen drink. I guess if we're going to round that out and really get into the mood of the wedding, maybe go this old house Miranda Lambert, probably.

[John Smoltz]

Okay.

[Jerry]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay means you have a go to karaoke.

[Max]

I'm a big call me maybe guy.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that's a good one.

[Max]

Just gets a crowd going.

[PFT Commenter]

I just like doing tequila and just standing there.

[Memes]

I remember memes tried to do that at the. At the Las Vegas stand up. That I did. Remember that meme?

[Max]

It's a one man show.

[Memes]

I think that's what made Dave leave. I think. I think it was you doing karaoke. And. And our boss, Steve Portnoy stood up and he's like, I can't take this anymore. And he left.

[PFT Commenter]

Buy his book now. I don't know if anyone saw there was no promotion from Barstool, but buy his book now. Dave took out the old hammer and emailed the whole company. It was great.

[Memes]

I love.

[PFT Commenter]

I love watching the tweets fly after that. All right, back to LeBron. Zach, you think he might just still retire?

[Stephen Shea]

I think there's no way he goes to Cleveland because the weather's not nice enough for the winter. With that being said, I think it's because he just wants to keep playing golf. He may just still retire, like, if he has a great summer. And he's like, wow, I've been really enjoying Hanging out with the boys. What do I have to go back to basketball? I don't know if he does.

[Memes]

That's what I've been saying. Like I would. I was expecting a retirement tour from, from LeBron. LeBron where he like demanded, you know, like a 30 minute pregame ceremony for every town he visited to give him a gift. But the more I see him playing golf, the more I see the possibility that LeBron's just like, you know what? I think I'm just going to do golf. I think I'm just going to play golf all day, every day. Maybe start my own YouTube channel, compete with Bryson. I could see, I could see him going that way. But the fact that he's putting like he's trying to assemble a team, even if it is like the geriatric warriors. I, I feel like he is, he is going to come back and play next year. I just hope that's with the Cavs and not somewhere else that, that everyone's gonna hate.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Olden State. That's what Skip dubbed them.

[Memes]

That's really good.

[PFT Commenter]

Really good. 99 on the gun Holden State.

[Memes]

Between that and victim win Binyama. He is, he's having a summer.

[PFT Commenter]

He's, he's, he's. We actually should probably test him for steroids. Like this is a. He's having a. He's having a Brady Anderson. Holy. Skip is 70 years old and he's hitting 55 home runs. What the is going on right now?

[Memes]

Yeah, this is weird. This is weird. But you know what? Appreciate greatness while you, while you still can.

[PFT Commenter]

It'd be great if we, if there was like a big story that Skip has actually been just ripping like 80 milligram Vinces to. To. To get back to the olden state days.

[Memes]

I'm trying to think what the, what the peds for those kind of takes are. Because those are like old school newspaper guy takes. Like, that's like cigarettes.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Cigarettes and cigars and whiskey.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

And getting divorced.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Like he might, him and Ernestine might be on the rocks and he's just, you know, dipping back into the bottle, maybe smoking some, some cigs. And now he's just cranking out takes left and right.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, like the, the true PED for that would be like a men's only country club that also doesn't allow any minorities or anyone of like, that's not Protestant. He just goes and sits in the clubhouse and he's like, yeah, you know what? I got it again.

[Memes]

Still got it. Now how funny would it be And I wish Hank was on the show because I was just gonna. I was just going to put the thought in his head of. Of LeBron somehow playing for the Celtics, just to see his reaction to that. I don't think he ever would do that. I think it's probably down to, like, I would say the Cavs. He might also be thinking about just going across town and playing for the Clippers.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, that's the other big news, so. All right, wait, one last thing, LeBron, because as you guys know, my assistant Dom, who's a. A die hard Cavs fan. LeBron can do no long wrong. He gave me all the spark notes of things.

[John Smoltz]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He actually texted us today and was like, hey, I just drove by LeBron's house in Akron and he's got mulch showing up or wherever his house is. I don't know where his house is, but he's.

[John Smoltz]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He was doing some landscaping, so that's pretty much a done deal. But LeBron. Here's some more nuggets. LeBron posted a new episode on Mind the Game today with Steph Curry. So that's a little. Also, apparently LeBron, the. The Cavs assistant GM. Hold on, let me make sure I have this right. I believe the Cavs assistant GM. Yeah. Brandon Weems is a childhood friend of LeBron James. Cleveland needs a new GM. With Mike Gansey taking the 76ers job, Weems could maybe get the job by also landing LeBron. Just some things to think about. These are no ways. And then also there's the. He joined a country club in Ohio recently, which LeBron doesn't even have to like. I'm not. I. I don't know. I wish we had Hank here for this. Pft. Like, we. We don't. Hanks. Hank Sanders country club. Like, LeBron doesn't have to. What'd you say?

[Memes]

I know they don't have a clubhouse, but.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah, but LeBron doesn't have to actually do anything to join a country club.

[John Smoltz]

Right?

[PFT Commenter]

He just shows up and he says, hey, I'm LeBron. Where do I sign?

[Memes]

Kind of the same thing. Like in Chicago. I was talking about this with Hank, where every country club in Chicago has Michael Jordan and Barack Obama as members. They've got lockers for him in case they ever show up. And they can just tell everybody, yeah, they have a membership here 99% of the time. They've never been to that club.

[John Smoltz]

Correct.

[Memes]

I would assume it's like that in Ohio. Like, every country club has a membership for LeBron. James.

[PFT Commenter]

Which actually, in a backwards way, and I know we're meandering a little bit here, just shows just how much of a pervert Phil Mickelson is to lose those country club memberships.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah. They love having anybody like, yeah, anybody who's anybody. So you can say, yeah, they're a member here. That. Hell, that's why they, like the Oakmont Country Club, really leaned into Wyndham smashing the lockers. Because like any stories like that, the locals love sharing that with their friends. It's like, yeah, you know, my club, that's where. That's where Wyndham took out those lockers.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Pretty cool.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so we have Kawhi now to the Raptors. Never should have left, like, the Clippers. Kawhi era is maybe the most unforgettable or forgettable. I'm sorry. Era of all time. Like, they did nothing. Just an absolute tease. They opened up stadium.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Playing a lot of trees. Maybe get. Maybe gonna get in a lot of trouble. But Kawhi back to the Raptors. I mean, as. Does this make you nervous at all memes? As I was gonna. I was gonna say pfd. And I have to. To maybe pump the Bulls and Wizards being in that, you know, competitive nature in the East. But you actually and Zach have. Have a team that is defending a title. And now quiet. Quiet when he's playing is still, like a top 10 player in the league. Does it make you a little nervous that he's on the Raptors?

[Hank]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. I thought you were going to answer that.

[Max]

No. They might be able to win a playoff series now.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Max]

Until they get a big man, then they're not really that much of a threat.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Okay.

[Memes]

I also. I have my doubts that Kawhi is going to stay healthy. I know that this last year he had, like, one of his best seasons ever.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Memes]

He's still really, really, like, incredibly good. I just doubt that he's going to be able to do it back to back years. Yeah.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

What other. I mean, I like it just in the. I like it because I can just see, like, oh, Kawhi on the Raptors. Like, yeah, they were really good. When he's on the Raptors, they won a ring. Like, that makes sense.

[Memes]

It just.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a. Makes sense situation to me.

[Memes]

Yeah, he knows it. He knows the town.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Zach]

What?

[Memes]

Yeah, I could see LeBron going to the Clippers now. That is a realistic spot. I hope he goes to the Cavs, but I could see him going across town.

[PFT Commenter]

But they're like, they don't have. They're not. They're trying to basically just retool everything with like the trades they've made. They've tried to get a bunch of picks which they've done well on. You know, it's going to be Darius Garland and Keaton W Wgler going like, that's going to be their future. I don't think he wants to restart.

[Zach]

Right.

[Memes]

You're probably. You're probably right. I'm just saying that. That, that is a. That would be on the short list of places that I could see him going to.

[PFT Commenter]

What other of note moves have happened?

[Memes]

I know.

[PFT Commenter]

John. Oh, yeah. John Moran to the. To the Blazers. So John Moran traded the Blazers. I feel like they just wanted him out no matter what. And they finally got someone to be like, okay, fine, we'll take him. So now he goes to Portland.

[Memes]

I was hearing that from our colleague T. Bob that he might be going to. To New Orleans, which I would have been excited for, just because with like Jaw and Zion, then 40% of the starting lineup would be Bob Marley lyrics. And that would be pretty incredible. But the Blazers, I don't know. I don't know what the Blazers are up to. And Dundon, their. Their owner, it sounds like he's like laying the groundwork for moving the team, which is pretty early in this relationship for him to be like attacking the city and dropping hints that he's going to leave. I don't like that one bit. But yeah, I listen the memes. You said it. The Jailblazers are back. Also, Portland. Did you know I think Portland has the highest per capita number of strip clubs of any city in America?

[PFT Commenter]

Is it so per capita always me up.

[Memes]

It's like per person, like, yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

How many?

[PFT Commenter]

I. I know that, but how many strip clubs do they have? Is it going to be a wow number or is it like they just have a decent amount for the size of the city?

[Memes]

Let's see. I think they've got a decent amount. They've got over 50 strip clubs. That's pretty good.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that is pretty good.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I mean, Ja. Like, I. It's crazy how fast it's all kind of falling apart for him where it's like he was. He was future face this league for a minute there and Grizzlies were like, you know, ride or die with him. And then it's boom, he's gone. Now you have two non power conference guys in Damon Jaw, like maybe the best 2 pairing of non power conference guys.

[Stephen Shea]

Going.

[PFT Commenter]

Going, you know, trying to lead the Blazers.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Except I don't know if they necessarily complement each other.

[John Smoltz]

No, no, no.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm just saying, just simply the fact that they didn't play it like a blue blood and they're both really good at basketball. That was the only. That's the only nugget I have.

[Memes]

Yeah, that's a fair nugget.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

What else? Any other. Any other moves?

[John Smoltz]

No, it's actually been.

[Max]

It's actually been kind of slow.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Landrew. Shame it back.

[Max]

Landry Sham. It's back. Jose Alvarado's back.

[PFT Commenter]

There's Mitchell Robinson not back.

[Max]

He's most likely gone, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

Turns out that Jalen Duran actually did probably play himself out of money because it looks like he's looking elsewhere than the Pistons. Pistons basically like the, The. The rough and tough Pistons got bought like they, they basically got bullied by. Who did they lose to? Wait, they lost the Cavs, right?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, James Harden ended the rough and tough Pistons. That's tough.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So, yeah, I guess we'll. We'll have to. We'll have to be included. Sunday, we'll be back in studio. So we'll recap everything.

[Memes]

When is this going to pick up? I feel like it's off to a very, very slow start.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know. Yeah, it has been weird. Also, I know that maybe we haven't talked about it, but Jay Caspian King, who's a great follow on. On Twitter and actually, actually probably the one guy who. He wrote a piece about barstool. Like, what.

[John Smoltz]

What was that?

[PFT Commenter]

PFT. Like, nine years ago, he.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, I'd say probably 2017.

[PFT Commenter]

He's. He was probably the fairest that anyone from traditional media has ever been. Like, just fair. Like, hey, I understand why people like these guys, they have, you know, they have the detractors and like, here's the whole picture. But he's a very funny writer, really, really talented writer. And he's been pointing out over and over how ridiculous it is when guys like Shams make sure that they include the agents in these tweets, because it really is the dumbest thing ever. So seams for Kevin Herder. Free agent sharpshooter Kevin Herder intends to sign a three year, $27 million deal to return to the Detroit Pistons. Sources tell ESPN the Pistons work through the deal with Mark Bartelstein and Andy Schiffman of Priority Sports on Monday.

[Steven Che]

What?

[PFT Commenter]

Who the cares, dude?

[Memes]

Yeah, I mean, Shefter's been doing this too recently. Like, they, they, they, they plugged the, the agents because that's very obviously who's feeding them the information about the contracts. And, and in exchange for that, they get to get the news out there like 45 seconds before somebody else tells you that exact same news. That's how, that's how it works. And then if somebody comes after Shams, he can just pull up NBA head coach on FaceTime, be like, here, talk to this guy. He'll get me out of this ticket.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, well, not FaceTime. Just a text. Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's do, let's talk some World cup before we do that. DraftKings win or go home. That's it. The cup knockout round is now. And DraftKings has you covered for every single match. The DraftKings app is now available in all 50 states and includes all markets. Bringing the game straight to your fingertips wherever you are, from Florida to Texas to California. You're in on the excitement at the speed of sports. Follow every knockout, round, thriller, every penalty shootout, every stoppage time moment that ends a nation's run. Sweat the matches that matter in real time with the seamless experience built for the world stage, biggest stage. No matter where you're watching, you're always connected and in the game. With one app, new DraftKings customers sign up with code TAKE, spend five bucks to get 200 in rewards within 21 days. That's code taken partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours. PFT. You are headed to San Francisco at the as people are listening to this, you're on a. You're going to be on a flight.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Is this the most must win a game has ever been?

[Memes]

Yeah, it's a. Definitely a must win. It's a must win. You cannot underestimate the Herzegovinians as well as the Bosnians.

[PFT Commenter]

Thank you.

[Memes]

And I was doing some research on the, on the country and I looked up famous people from Bosnia and or Herzegovina. There's really all I got is Yusuf Nurkic. Besides that, like that's, that's about, that's who we're going up against. But yeah, it's a must win. It's a must win because we are, I believe for the first time ever in the history of US Soccer were favored in a knockout round game. I don't think that's ever happened before.

[PFT Commenter]

Not only favored, had, had significant. We're minus 700 to advance.

[Memes]

So. But if you've been watching any of these games, you know that anything can happen. You know that. You know you, you can run up Against a team that defends well, they draw it into extra time, they draw it into penalty kicks, and then it's kind of a crapshoot from that point on. So, like, these upsets do happen, and Bosnia is not a bad team. We should beat them. And if we don't, it's a massive disappointment for the US Team. Massive. And then all that talk about, like, extending Pochettino, that looks kind of weird, right? Like, I thought that that's a conversation you have after you win one to two knockout stage games. Like, if we, if we end up winning, if we end up playing against Belgium in the second round. Senegal or Senegal, but like, I would say Belgium specifically because we've. We've played against them. And oh, by the way, I think the US is something like 1 in 17 all time against European countries in the World Cup. The one win was 2002 against. Against Portugal in the group stage. We don't beat European teams in the World Cup. We just never have. So it's realistic. We could. We could lose that game and then we have a history against Belgium. And so if we compete, lose a close one against Belgium, I still think you probably would end up extending Poach if we could through the next World cup because we've. He's implemented a new style and it's looked really good and we've gotten some good results. But yeah, if we lose against Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is. It's. It's a disaster.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, it's.

[Memes]

And. And it's going to be. I'm going to be very, very disappointed that. That will be like the most heartbroken I've ever left the stadium, probably. If we end up.

[John Smoltz]

You.

[PFT Commenter]

You can't. You can't lose them because you. This. This is an expanded tournament, so the tournament doesn't even start until next round. Like, it doesn't.

[Hank]

That.

[Jerry]

That.

[Zach]

Right.

[Memes]

Like, compared to other World Cups.

[PFT Commenter]

So if you're judging on, like, you can't. You just. You have to. It'd be like saying that we, you know, it'd be celebrating a play in winter in the NCAA tournament.

[John Smoltz]

You.

[PFT Commenter]

You have to. You have to get to this next round. And then we can start talking of, like, hey, this team is different, right?

[Memes]

We gotta win, and we should win convincingly. They're probably gonna try kill him. I. I think we will too, because they play very similar style to Paraguay and, And Australia, who. We had no problem with either one of those two teams. And then, oh, yeah, Germany gets knocked out by Paraguay and they just parked the bus for 90 minutes. And then, and then took them to penalties. And that's how like an inferior team can win. And it happens all the time in the World cup in this stage. But I think that given like we're totally healthy, Pulisic looks really good. Then we got, you know, the nine other starters that we didn't have against Turkey that are, that are going to be suiting up for us and starting I, I think we win, I think it might be like three to one, three to nothing.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, I like that. I feel good about that. The, by the way, I know that. Listen, we are probably the number one perpetrators of what I'm about to say. People flying into a sport and being like, let me fix it. When a sport is doing just fine without casual fans being like, hey, you know what would fix soccer? I love penalty kicks. I know people like some people don't like, I love penalty kicks. If you can't figure it out in 120 minutes, you, you're goddamn right we're going to go do penalty kicks. And the penalty kicks between Paraguay and Germany were incredible. Like Paraguay just not having to up those last two and up both of them. And then having Germany come over the top and be like, hey you, you saw how bad they messed that up. Let me kick this 40ft above the bar. That was incredible. The Netherlands, Morocco penalty kicks were incredible. Like I love them. I think it's an awesome way to, to end a game that is never going to end. When you're 120 minutes in.

[Memes]

I do too. There's no, there's nothing else you can do. If you've played that much soccer, it's like, okay, well we can't have these guys running like for even longer. The game's over. Penalties are great because it's all the pressure in the world. Like you have. Everybody in your country is focused on one guy kicking a shot that should, you should make it 90% of the time. And it's just, it's so nerve wracking. You know what I hate though? I can't stand it when you're taking a penalty and you've got the guy doing the little stutter step and he like stops and like he tries to make the goalie jump out of the way. That's bullshit. That's unethical bullshit. Don't do that. Just step up there, kick the fucking ball. Even though that one guy in Germany, he, I think that ball might have hit the lighthouse. He hit it so high. Like that was, that was an insane kick. But also credit to that guy, because he was a sixth guy up from Germany, and they asked four other guys if they wanted to take a kick and they said no. And he said, yeah, I'll, I'll step, I'll step up there and I'll do it. So, yeah, it takes some balls. But like, that was also great goalkeeping by the Paraguayan goalkeeper who was like going side to side on the line, like you can't take a step off. They watch that like a hawk now. But like that he, he came up big in, in the penalties. I love penalties to solve a game. I think it's, I think it's awesome. I think it's nerve wracking. I think it's so simple that everybody can understand exactly what's going on. And the, the task at hand for the person who's trying to score is so easy, but then you've got the nerves that just turn them into like puddles of stress and sweat. And I, I love that. That's, that's why we watch sports, is to see, like, exceptionally talented athletes crumble under unbelievable pressure.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And it's been, I mean, it's been an incredible World Cup. We have Brazil, Japan, which was, you know, last second. Like, it feels like half these games haven't. Don't start till extra time. The, the only unfortunate, like, takeaway I have through the, halfway through the knockout stages, everyone's just playing for second because France is just playing on easy mode. Like, they're not even trying and they're just dummying people. Like, that was. That did not look like Sweden could play forever and they would never have had a shot. Like they could have played. France could have played with nine guys and they probably would have won that game.

[Memes]

They, they were so lucky. Sweden was so lucky in the first half and they were just like missing shots off the post. The goalie was making incredible fingertip saves, but it was just. You knew that the floodgates were going to open at some point and Mbappe is just. I think he's the best player in the world right now. And France, like I said on Monday, he, he, France could play their backups, and their backups are probably better than almost every team in the entire world. Like, they are chalk and they're favored, but they're favored for a reason. They're so good. Dembele and Mbappe are like two of the best players in the entire tournament and they're just, they're unstoppable once they get going with, with the Netherlands. I love that game, by the way.

[PFT Commenter]

That was.

[Memes]

That was. That was one of the most entertaining soccer games I've ever seen. Netherlands against Morocco was, I think, 1:1 right before they went to penalties, but it was, like, a very exciting one one. The Dutch have just become, like, the dirtiest team in. In the world. And it's so fun to watch, too, because they're giants. Netherlands. They're the tallest country in the world, like, just by population. So when you ask, when you hear people say, like, what would it look like if we had NBA players playing soccer? That's the Dutch. That is literally the Netherlands soccer team. Because nobody in the Netherlands grows up playing basketball. They have zero basketball culture. So all their tallest guys play soccer. So they've got a giant, like, just mutant group of thugs that go out there and just shove you and kick you. And it's been like that since, like, the 2010 final against Spain. They're just like the most physically brutal team to play against. And then to see them crumble in penalties was awesome. That was so fun.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's been a great. It's been a great World Cup. Like, it's just World cup rocks. And if you're not watching it, you're missing out because it's been. And it's just. It's free sports in the middle of. Of of the summer. It's like having three games in a row on a. On a Tuesday. It's just like you just kind of set. You, like, it's going to be as similar to March Madness where when this ends in. In two weeks and be like, what do I do now? Like, what do you mean? Like, I don't get to just. I don't just get to flip on a game in the middle of the day. This sucks. But, yeah, it's been so much fun to watch. And then the other story we should probably touch about on is they. They bully. They bullied our boy Freddie, Freddie LA7, off. Off the Twitter.

[Memes]

So, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So for people who don't know, Freddie LA7 is a German fan who came to America, tweeted about American culture, got wildly viral and popular through these tweets. Was having, like, he was meeting, like, he met J.J. watt. I think he met. He met. Did he meet, like, a bunch of famous singers and stuff, too, Zach?

[Memes]

Yeah, I think he. I think he went to space.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he went to space, Zach.

[Stephen Shea]

He's doing like a, like, backstage concert. I think there's a couple country festivals. He's backstage with artists. He's doing, like, penthouse suites, unfathomable hotel

[PFT Commenter]

rooms, and and just like anything in 2026, seeing anyone have a genuine good time will just piss off the majority of the Internet for no real reason other than they're mad, they're jealous, they're pissed off, and they have decided that he is a CIA plant or fake or something and just bullied him to go off of Twitter. I don't know. I. I guess I. I do know why we can't just enjoy things at face value, but it just. Everyone should just take a step back and be like, hey, you know what? Maybe, like, all the cynicism I walk around with in my head, maybe I'll just, you know, dial it down a little bit and see if I like my life a little bit more.

[Memes]

So I did say Langley on three when Germany got. When they got eliminated. Yeah, I don't think he's a CIA plant. I do think that there's something heartwarming about seeing him enjoy, you know, the small things about the United States. And then once it becomes, like, very, very corporate, where now it's like, massive brands that are now paying him to, like, talk about.

[PFT Commenter]

That's not his fault.

[Memes]

It's not his fault. But it also does. It makes people, like, appreciate the account less than when it's just a guy from Germany discovering the magic of, like, fried chicken and Tennessee gas stations.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, people were hating on it before that even, too. But it's like, eventually. Eventually, it just boils down to, people are mad that they're getting free.

[Memes]

Yeah, people are mad that they're getting free. And then also the fact that he didn't show his face. A lot of people were. Were like, well, why is he hiding his face? It's pretty clear. Because the Internet is filled with psychopaths, and. And that would have led to some bad situations if, like, now he became an international superstar. I do also understand why it says, like, hey, the influencer life. It's not really. For me, that's remarkable self awareness on his part. Like, that's. That's a good thing that he's recognizing that too. And then also people are, like, digging through his old tweets and finding out that he was, like, talking about attending a rap concert and being like, well, how come we can't sing along to all the words at a rap concert? And so now you've. You've reached that stage of people, like, combing through his history with a fine tooth comb. There was one weird thing about him, though. One weird thing, actually. It's like two weird things, but it's kind of the Same. So he's a massive Ronaldo fan, Zach.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

His favorite favorite soccer player. Understandable. And he's also become, like, a big Saudi Arabia defender since Ronaldo started playing soccer there. So now he's like, you know, the country. Not really. Not that bad. Kind of like how Hank is for live golf, but he was just for, like, the country. And then. So he's a big Ronaldo fan. So he bought tickets to all of Portugal's games, but then he skipped their last game against Columbia, and he went and watched, like, a Little league baseball game in Vermont and then went to some town in the middle of Maine.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, where was Portugal and Colombia playing?

[Memes]

Miami.

[PFT Commenter]

So I think. Because then he was going to Germany's knockout game in Boston.

[Memes]

Okay. That's why he went.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Memes]

To Maine and said, you will know.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. He was. He was like, I think they were doing the whole trip up there. I think they went to a game in Canada and then went down to get ready for the game, the knockout game in Boston.

[Memes]

Okay, got it. Okay. That. That makes a little bit more sense, but if you're, like, Ronaldo's number one fan, you probably want to see him play against Columbia, maybe.

[PFT Commenter]

I think he's going to some of the other games, but. Yeah, I just. I don't know. I. Listen, people can just judge however they want. I just. It bums me out that we're at a point where just nothing can just be like, hey, you know what? That thing exists. If you don't like it, close your eyes and just don't even interact with it. But instead, just. And the fact that he was like, I. I don't want to be part of this. More power to him because, I don't know.

[Memes]

Many people play all around. He still got, like, a. A whirlwind trip across the United States and did like that nobody has ever done before. Like, he had a great time, and he got a lot of stuff for free. So now we. We shake our hands, we go our separate ways, and he goes back to Germany.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And people are pissed that he had been to America before. But he did say that he was. He had gone to, like, New York in Vegas.

[Steven Che]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

But not at that point.

[Memes]

It was people.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Or Maine.

[Memes]

People getting mad at, like, a preconceived notion that they made up in their own. That Freddie said that he had never been here. Freddie never said that. It was his. His first time in the United States.

[PFT Commenter]

He just was wowed by, you know, the Deep South.

[Memes]

Yeah. As we all are. Our first time There.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

People okay with guys having fun, but as soon as he starts having too much fun, it's like, oh, well, I can't experience that, so we got to start dog piling on this guy.

[PFT Commenter]

Right. But that's also the Internet. I'm not really, like, I'm not losing sleep over the fact the Internet bullied this kid. I just. I just wish that I. I feel like, personally, everyone should just try to maybe take a little bit of, like, step back and be like, hey, can I just. They don't immediately jump from. It's. It basically is a jump from thing happens to. How does this thing. The worst thing ever, and we need to cancel it.

[Zach]

We.

[PFT Commenter]

We actively try to ruin things as, like, a collective society.

[Memes]

I think it's. I. I think it's for this. It's like, GG's, everyone. Freddie had a great time, had unforgettable experiences in the United States. It did become a thing where it was just like. I think everybody got upset once every PR company in America started using Freddy as an avenue to, like, promote whatever their thing was. I think that's what made people be like, hey, I don't like this anymore. Because he kind of took the magic. No, no. I'm not saying anything bad about Freddy at all, but he didn't do that.

[PFT Commenter]

He didn't, like, take up a lot of those offers.

[Zach]

I know.

[PFT Commenter]

I remember, like, the Delta guy was trying to, like, get him a private plane. He didn't. I know that he, like. But talking to J.J. watt, that's totally normal. Like, that's fine. I. I don't think he. He took advantage of a lot of the. That people were trying to, like, shove down his throat, because I agree. I understand. Like, it becomes just. Everyone's trying. Everyone on the Internet's like, oh, how can I get myself. I did see him. I did see him reading Cancel Me if youf can, though. I did see him promoting that, so that would have been funny if Freddie did a face reveal. It was like, go buy a book.

[Memes]

Good for him. Good for Freddie. Oh, did you hate this kid?

[John Smoltz]

Memes?

[PFT Commenter]

You're the. You're the darkest heart we've got.

[Memes]

No, he's cool.

[Max]

Just experience in America.

[PFT Commenter]

There we go.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got. I got no problem with Freddy at all. I'm just saying that I think the reason why people started to turn on him was because they saw it as being like, oh, Freddy sold out in. In record time. And it's like, Freddy's just having a good time. It kind of Sucks that now it's become like a cynical thing that we have to. We have to look at with, like, you know, under a microscope. But I think people just. They started to see that Freddy was going from a cute little story into potentially just being, like a face of public relations.

[PFT Commenter]

See, I think that's too deep. I think it's simply guy goes viral multiple times and people get pissed off. That's how. That's how, like, nasty online is, like, guy gets a little bit of shine, and everyone's like them. You know, it's as simple as that. Oh, Zach, you like Freddy.

[Stephen Shea]

We just gotta get back to fun Internet. Everybody take a breath. I know you have a good time. And then when he has. When it kind of blows up. All right, so he's having a little bit more fun, like, yeah, it's all good. Everybody take a sec. Let him do his thing. Shout out to Freddie. That looked like a sick week. Sick couple weeks, Freddie.

[PFT Commenter]

The Internet used to be a lot more fun. That is. That is definitely true. Definitely.

[Stephen Shea]

Did you get back to that or.

[Memes]

No?

[Zach]

No.

[Stephen Shea]

Was it too far gone, really?

[Zach]

That was.

[PFT Commenter]

That was like the. Titus finding the. The Oakley message forum. That. That's the Internet. I wish I. That still existed. It's just a message board with dudes who rock their Oakleys every day and they compliment each other and they take pictures, selfies of themselves being like, check out my Oakleys today. And they're like, dude, those are sick.

[Memes]

Check out mine.

[PFT Commenter]

And it's just. There's no irony, there's no cynicism. Just dudes rocking Oakley's and hanging out, sharing memes with each other.

[Memes]

Yeah. When Titus, I. I was on mostly sports when he. He brought that out and it was like. It. It feel. It felt like it was the year 2002.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I say that in, like, the best way possible, where it's like, we don't know. We haven't been through the battles of the Internet so many times that we expect something bad to happen. It was just. Just guys being pure.

[Zach]

And.

[Memes]

And I. I thought about getting involved in the Oakley forums. I don't think Shady Rays would appreciate that. No, but listen, I understand why somebody would fall into that.

[Hank]

And.

[PFT Commenter]

And listen, I'm not also saying that I'm. I'm like the moral arbiter of. Of cynicism online because we definitely fall into the trap of being cynical at times and on things for. For no reason. We all do. I'm just saying I've personally tried to. To take a step back and Be like, hey, maybe not everything is the worst all the time. Maybe some things just can exist as they are and be okay.

[Memes]

Also, I will say this, that if what Freddie was doing during his trip to America was actually making you feel upset, like the emotion of anger, the Internet might not be for you.

[PFT Commenter]

Dude, I was a good time to.

[Memes]

To log off. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I was pumped that he. He was making me feel good as an American. Like, oh, yeah, Chili's Rocks. Oh, yeah, we do.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what? Eastern Ohio is kind of cool if you get the night right. Sunset.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what?

[Memes]

Like a German that just got over here. Yeah, let's send him to NASA. That always ends well. Let's do it.

[Zach]

Oh, man.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, let's do Hot Seat. Cool throw. Then we'll get to John Smoltz. Then we got our dingers only draft. Hot sea. Cool Throne is brought to you by our good friends at Tick Pick. Listen, we just brought on Tick Pick, and they're the absolute best in the business. They were the ones that sent Memes and Zach and Shea two game five in San Antonio. They make memories at Tick Pick, and Tick Pick is the best because you can make sure that you find the absolute best deals they have. When you go on Tick Pick, they have the seat views so you can see exactly what you're buying. So you're no obstructive view or like, oh, this is going to be bad. They have exactly what you're going to be buying. They have a price freeze, a lock in price while you decide, and then they give you a credit boost. Receive Tick Pick credit when you buy. They are the official fan experience partner for NFL franchises. Tick Pick, they do it the absolute best. You will not overpay with Tick Pick, they're going to make sure that you get a great deal. You get into that game, you make those memories like Zach, Memes and Chef. So the best memories start with the best prices. And they start with Tick Pick. Go download Tick Pick app today or go check out tickpick.com. i've been using Tick Pick since they've come on, and it's awesome. It's seamless. It's great. And you can just find those tickets. Boom, you're ready to go. I actually found the Tick Pick tickets for Eddie when he went out for the NBA draft. Here's what Eddie did. He went and tried to buy tickets from a scalper. That's a.

[John Smoltz]

No, no.

[PFT Commenter]

He bought a fake ticket. An actual fake ticket. Not even, like, been scanned before. Like, the guy was just like, hey, dude, this is fake. I saw it and I was like, this is bad juju for the Bulls. Went to Tick Pick, found it, Boom, Ready to go. Eddie was in the Barclays like five minutes later. Basically saved Cale Wilson's career. Tick Pick and Eddie getting in there. So go to Tick Pick right now, tickpick.com or download the Levi Stadium, or,

[Memes]

excuse me, San Francisco Stadium for us again. Herzegovina and Bosnia.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So there you go. Memories. All right. We're also brought to you by Chevy. Chill week is right around the corner. You know what that means. No schedules, no plans, just more the good stuff. Chevy Silverado makes that possible. There's a reason Chevy's called the heartbeat of America. And the Silverado keeps that heartbeat strong. These trucks work hard so you can chill harder. Whether that's getting out of town, heading to the lake, or just not turning around when you probably should. It's got the capability, the space and the muscle, everything you need for a proper summer. Coolers, gear, whatever your version of chill looks like. Because the end of the day, Silverado helps you tackle more of what you love. And let's be honest, you've earned this summer. Now it's time to go get it. So roll the windows down, turn the music up, and just listen. That's the heartbeat of America. That's today's Chevrolet. Head over to chevy.com to learn more today. Okay, Hank and Max are out. Pft. You're up. Hot seat, cool throne.

[Memes]

My hot seat is Serena Williams because she lost in three sets at Wimbledon. So come back off grand opening, grand closing.

[PFT Commenter]

Damn. She was the Homer Simpson.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, she's probably still playing the doubles with. With Venus was a two hour game. It was 6 3, 676 3. So she won one set. Good for her. She's 44. That's pretty cool that she was able to do it. But yeah, come back over. Also hot seat, maybe. Maybe Jalen Brown. So there was a report that the offers that the Celtics have been getting for Brown are like, nowhere near what they were putting out there. So Hank, actually, in a roundabout way, might end up being right. Just because the Celtics might not get anything remotely close to what they had planned to, to have him come back. And there was a comment on Instagram. This was from Orlando Vibe. Dealer commented under a Jalen Brown video says, man, as a person who can't stand the Celtics, I hope they do right by him by trading him to a city who respects him. Jalen Brown liked that comment.

[Max]

Ooh.

[Memes]

So, yeah, I. I don't know what's going to happen with him, but it seems like the. The interest level is not what they thought it would be.

[PFT Commenter]

Yikes. Okay, so. So Hank's fan fiction of Jalen Brown asking for a trade, then not getting traded, then going back to Brad Stevens being like, dude, it's okay. I'm good. Probably not. Probably not looking good.

[Memes]

No, I'm saying, like, there. There's a chance that he sticks around just because they don't get a good enough offer to end up trading him.

[PFT Commenter]

But it sounds like Jaylen Brown wants out.

[Memes]

He does want out.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that part, like, if he's.

[Memes]

That part's over. That part's over.

[PFT Commenter]

If he's like that, if he's that upset, it feels like they might have to trade him even for. Not a great offer for nothing.

[Memes]

You know, that Danny Ainge is trying to get involved in something, you know?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[Memes]

The longer this goes on without the Jazz making moves, you know, Danny Ainge is just sitting by the phone, just feeding, just scratching, just shaking. Got the cold sweats. He just. Let me get a quick hit of something. Just a small trade. Take the edge off.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Your cool throne.

[Memes]

And then my cool throne is playing victim because a little follow up on the WNBA Caitlin Clark throat punch. Ellis Thomas is saying that now she's getting death threats and that people are threatening to. To leak her information online. So in a stunning turn of events, she was actually the one that had the most harm done to her after that foul. Again, I'd like to opt out of the Caitlin Clark discourse until she wins something, but it is ridiculous that this league cannot figure it out in terms of how to. A combination of. Of marketing, protecting, but also encouraging, like, good rivalries with her.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Memes]

It's crazy. It's crazy that they haven't figured out how to. How to make this work from a financial standpoint.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I'd agree. Okay, my hot seat is Josh Naylor, because I don't know if you guys saw, but Josh Naylor, he got into a little brouhaha with. With a former teammate, Austin Hedges. Josh Naylor stuck his arm out to get hit by a pitch, and Hedges. John Boyd did a lip reading, and Hedges yelled at him, you fucking loser. No one likes you. Literally nobody likes you. Which that would be fine, whatever. Seems like people might not like Josh Naylor, but then we got a story that is quite something from Stone Garrett. Who said that? Did you guys see this?

[Memes]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, I'm gonna read it for you. Memes. You saw this, right? I did not okay, so he. He wrote us a story about Josh Naylor. Wait. I want to make sure that I have all the facts right, and maybe. Well, let me make sure, because I don't want to. You know, Stone Garrett played with Josh Naylor, and so in the minor leagues. And Stone Garrett wrote a story on a Instagram comment saying Josh Naylor liked to play stupid games. Dude would come into our apartment. We were neighbors with aerosol and lighters multiple times. That wasn't his first time in our apartment with a butcher's knife. The guy hid in my closet, waiting for me to get home. When I went to hang my shirt up, he jumped out with a knife pointed at me. It caught my thumb, sliced it wide open. I went to the er. He waits for me when I get back. First question is, are you gonna press charges? Next day, coach holds team meetings saying front office wants to keep it hush, hush. I get surgery. He cut my nerves, still can't feel my right thumb. He got suspended for one game. Two weeks later, he goes to the Futures Game and gets traded. He's the most psychotic person I've ever met in my life.

[John Smoltz]

Holy.

[PFT Commenter]

Kind of sounds like a fun prank.

[Memes]

Yeah, that. I mean, just team building.

[PFT Commenter]

Good luck. I don't know. I should have done. I should have. No, I mean, listen, like, Yahoo Sports wrote about it. Oh, wait, here we go. Yeah. Ex Diamondbacks player says that. Yeah. A 2016 knifing. This is from AZ Central. A 2016 knifing incident involving an ex Diamondbacks player in Seattle Mariners.

[Max]

Hold on.

[PFT Commenter]

I gotta pay for AZ Central. I'm not paying. Get out of here. Former All Star Josh Naylor resurfaced on Instagram June 29. Stone Garrett, who played for Arizona in 2022, called Naylor the most psychotic person he's ever known when he commented on a video posted by MLB social media influencer Mario. The post from Mario brought up the knife incident. Asked for corroboration. Okay, so that was. That's crazy. That's crazy.

[Stephen Shea]

If you're hiding in the closet already for the jump scare, why do you need the knife if you're already gonna

[Memes]

add some realism to it?

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, I was cool with the aerosol lighter thing. Everyone's done that. That's funny. Knife in a closet is a crazy move.

[Memes]

That's fine. That's not even really a prank anymore. That's just. That's just trying to stab somebody.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Holy shit. So, yeah, I mean, that is Stone Garrett's official account, and so he corroborated this. So I Guess it was an Instagram MLB influencer. Being like, I've heard this rumor. Can anyone corroborate? And then some. Garrett was like, yeah, it was me. He jumped out of a closet.

[John Smoltz]

That's.

[Memes]

Yeah, that's worse than the. The Michael Irvin haircut story.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I guess this is all still alleged. We should just say alleged. But I'm reading it right. On Yahoo Sports, on AZ Central, Arizona Republic. It feels like there's some. Some like, actual news places are. Are reporting on this.

[Memes]

So how did that not get out? That's the other thing said.

[PFT Commenter]

Hush hush. Is it hush hush. It's crazy.

[Memes]

You think Dan Heron knows about that?

[PFT Commenter]

Let's see. Would that match up timeline? Would they say 20?

[Jerry]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

2016? No, I. I don't think that matches up. Oh, man. I'll ask him, though. Holy. But yeah, Josh Naylor. That would be my hot seat. I'm trying to think. I. What did I have for my cool. Oh, cool throne? Oh, we should. We should have also mentioned Malik Beasley. That seems bad.

[Jerry]

Yep.

[Memes]

Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

Wait, means. Did you have Azerazi Cool throne?

[Memes]

Yeah, I. I get it on there.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, all right. So you go into it memes. My cool throne, though, is Ben Simmons because he's thinking about doing a comeback, and there's no one who does off season hype better than Ben Simmons. He had a men's health.

[Steven Che]

Basketball.

[PFT Commenter]

Yes, basketball. He's on his fishing boat in Miami and he had a feature in men's health being like, he might come back.

[Memes]

Yeah, Ben, I feel like fishing is your calling.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep, agreed. All right, memes, you're. You're hot seat.

[Steven Che]

Cool.

[PFT Commenter]

Throw him hot seat.

[Max]

Malik Beasley. He is guilty and going to prison for.

[Memes]

Yeah, Sports betting.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, there's a lot of clips out

[John Smoltz]

there that are tough.

[Memes]

Oh, did we just lose pft?

[PFT Commenter]

I think we lost pfd. He was frozen for a little bit there. Just keep going.

[Zach]

Let's go.

[Max]

Keep ripping.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he'll hop back in.

[Max]

Other hot seat was Caitlin Clark. Emmanuel Acho said the w. The WNBA would be better without Caitlin Clark because she is a bigger distraction than she is an additive.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, we need PFT here for this.

[Max]

Yeah, I know. He said he was sick of Caitlin Clark.

[PFT Commenter]

Wait, say that. Say it again.

[Brandon Walker]

The quote.

[Max]

The NBA would be better without Caitlin Clark because she's a bigger distraction than she is an additive.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, man. I mean, Acho is just like. I know. We just did this whole thing on, like. He's just trying to. To.

[Hank]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He basically is that meme like, how can I go in there and make this about myself?

[John Smoltz]

Right?

[PFT Commenter]

Every single discussion that happens online, he's like, well, let me come over the top with the fucking outrageous. Take that. You know what? All right, I'm coming on. I'm sounding this out. He is actually nice. Emanuel Acho is nice in the fact that he does take heat off basically everyone else around him because he says something so ridiculous that's like, okay, now it's about Acho. Pft. I was like, hey, memes, you can keep going, going, and PFT will hop back on. And then he was. It was. His other hot seat was Emmanuel Ocho and Caitlin Clark. And I was like, oh, I wish PFT was here. So manual, I guess, came over the top and said that the WNBA would be better without Caitlin Clark.

[Memes]

Yeah, I saw that. And then I saw a bunch of people saying that, like, Caitlin Clark should leave and start her own league. I don't think that that's going to work either. I think that that's like, we got to be. There has to be something in between that we can all agree on for the success of the WNBA and Caitlin Clark to work out together. And then Acho said that he. He gave, like, he gave that take. And then somebody else replied, like, you should hear what Acho said to us in 2020 when he spoke to our entire team. And it was a guy that was on the Yankees, and for some reason, they asked Acho to, like, give a pump up speech to the New York Yankees in 2020, and it apparently ended up being the most ridiculous speech ever. I have to find out what was said in that. Like, what did Acho say to that team that was so outlandish that they're still talking about.

[PFT Commenter]

It was, I think. Was it Clint Frazier who said that? Because Clint Frazier.

[Hank]

Yeah, he.

[Brandon Walker]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

He lets it fly. We should have him on the show. He lets it fly.

[Memes]

Clint, we. We got to have you on part of my take.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I want to hear exactly the message that. That Emmanuel Acho delivered to your team.

[PFT Commenter]

We need it. We're Sunday night. Please, please.

[John Smoltz]

We will.

[PFT Commenter]

We would love to talk about what Emanuel Acho speech entailed.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Your cool throne.

[Max]

Cool throne is just Mexico. Mexico fans were just outside Ecuador's hotel shooting off fireworks, playing the drums, keeping.

[PFT Commenter]

I love that. I love that. That's how you do it. Like that. The home. The home field advantage here is a real thing for them. Take advantage of every. Every little piece.

[John Smoltz]

Zach.

[Stephen Shea]

Oh, my. My cool thing this week or my hot seat this week was going to be Serena Williams. I would say she may be being a little selfish, but I can pivot there. My hot seat this week is probably going to be pft.

[Zach]

Oh, no.

[Stephen Shea]

I think. Pft. I'm seeing a lot of stuff about Anthony Davis leaving the Wizards. I don't know if it's because I'm part of the. The Wizards pipeline now. Pft. But it's so much so that if there's not a super team assembly clause in your bet, I think your car's gone. I think it may be gone forever.

[Memes]

Zach. Zach, talk to me about this, because I. I feel like you and I might be consuming different. Different news sources. You might be consuming news sources that are more anti whiz, that have anti whiz, you know, whiz derangement syndrome. I'm consuming the real news that's saying that Anthony Davis, unless we're getting multiple first round picks and win now players, he's. He's going to be a Wizard.

[Stephen Shea]

So you don't think it's going to be just the young core and Jimmy Butler?

[Memes]

I don't know. I don't see a world in which that makes sense, like, from a basketball standpoint. Like, you've got. You've got too many people that would play that same position, including young guys that need minutes and Jimmy Butler being old and coming off an ACL I. And he's never been the best guy to have on a team around, like, young, emerging players. So I don't know. I don't know. What are you seeing, Zach? Are you seeing Anthony Davis to the Warriors?

[Stephen Shea]

Yeah, I was seeing, like, Anthony Davis, the Warrior? Yes, sir.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I think just knowing that LeBron James tends to get his way, that would be, you know, a reason why he might go out there. But I don't. I. I think it's more likely that LeBron goes to the Wizards than it is that AD goes to the Warriors. You want to play with AD so much, come to D.C. leBron. We'll have you.

[PFT Commenter]

There you go. That's an open invite.

[Stephen Shea]

See? So safe space. You mean that?

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, I do.

[Steven Che]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

I do. And not.

[Memes]

I'm not just saying that because if LeBron James came to the Wizards, that my season tickets would like quadruple in value. That's not why I'm saying that.

[Max]

Oh, my God.

[PFT Commenter]

It'd be the greatest investment you've ever made in your entire life.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

It would be insane. A farewell tour. Yeah, it would be great.

[Memes]

It'd be great. You should do it. Listen, LeBron, MJ came to the Wizards. Everybody makes fun of those years. If you came to the Wizards, you got. I'll even say if you just get to, like, the Eastern Conference finals with the Washington Wizards, that is worth more than winning a championship or two in South Beach. That's worth more than winning a bubble title in Los Angeles. I would put it almost on par for winning an NBA champ championship in Cleveland. Just getting the Wizards to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since the invention of the three pointer would be. There'd be no argument anymore. That would be like. Like Messi in this World cup, putting his stamp on the fact that he's the goat. Ronaldo's clearly number three or four. If that happened. There's no. There's no argument anymore. LeBron, you are Lego, so do it.

[PFT Commenter]

Zach, by the way, the hot seat that I had for you that I forgot about, I don't remember.

[Zach]

We.

[PFT Commenter]

We. We did the Dingers only, like. Like, 10 days ago. We did the draft, which is also hilarious that we drafted it.

[Jerry]

Then we waited.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you. When you drafted Vinnie, you knew that he was hurt, right?

[Stephen Shea]

Some things are better. Are bigger than performance.

[PFT Commenter]

That's right. Is that what you said at the time?

[Stephen Shea]

I don't know if I said that at the time, but I'll stand on that right now.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Because I was texting with Vinnie last night, and I was like, hey, good news. You're on Zach's team. And he's like, does he know that? I'm, like, hurt.

[Stephen Shea]

I feel like he's got great, great doctors. Home runs coming soon.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[John Smoltz]

All right, good.

[PFT Commenter]

I was like, I don't think he knows, and I don't think he cares.

[Max]

No, no.

[Stephen Shea]

Jersey was already in the Raptors from season one, so I just. Out of. Out of respect, you know?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. All right. Go ahead with your cool throne, Zach.

[Stephen Shea]

My cool throne this week is gonna be Nick Saban. So we did see everything going on with Taron Arnold. A lot going on there. He maybe didn't have the best people around him, a couple guys not looking out for his best interest. But Nick Saban stepped in and said, I gotta let you know, as a character testimony, this young man's a good guy. Could be. Not. Maybe not. This young man isn't what the news is trying to make him out to be. Maybe Nick Saban stepped up for his guy.

[Memes]

Yeah. I think he. It would have been a much more effective letter if he had started out by saying, I want to say that I am anti kidnapping. However, and then the rest of his letter just maybe lead off with that next time. So, you know, people don't want people to get the wrong impression for coach. But yeah, I mean, if you look at it like 99.99 of Taron Arnold's life he has spent not kidnapping people. And they don't talk about that. They just talk about the 0.01%.

[Stephen Shea]

And I think also, like, wasn't he overseeing. Wasn't a fit. Like, he wasn't boots on the ground is what I was seeing online.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, yeah, he was.

[Stephen Shea]

Maybe you just got the wrong people around you, you know?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah. He's got. Got to get a better fall guy.

[Memes]

I think he was kind of in charge. Allegedly. Yeah. And then he showed up and he was. He was def. They're alleging that he was a very, very, very big part of. Of everything. But I do. I don't know. It's kind of crazy that this is the first time that I've heard Nick Saban, like, go out on a limb like this for one of his former players. So I don't know what that means. But depending on where they try the. The case and who the judge is like that, that might end up working. Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

I think it's a Hillsborough County.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Stephen Shea]

Million dollar bond. But now you gotta stay at the house because the. Unfortunately lines. Drop them.

[Memes]

That would be very. I mean, can you imagine a player, like, playing in a game with one of the ankle monitors?

[Stephen Shea]

They requested the monitor, but he said he couldn't perform his job if he had the monitor. They did ask for it.

[Memes]

That would kind of rock. That would kind of be awesome if you had a guy like, can you imagine, like a pick six wearing the monitor?

[PFT Commenter]

Be cool.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Take him to the house. Yeah, back to the house. Okay, let's. Oh, last thing. Obviously, really sad story, but the Chris Johnson news was. Was really, really sad. For anyone who missed it, he did an interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America. He has als. I've talked about it before. I've lost someone in my family to als. It's a horrific, horrific disease. And it's like, there's no cure. So any funding helps, and there's a ton of places that you can donate. You know, we. We obviously have a history with Pete Frates and the ice bucket Challeng something with Boog Shyambi for Lou Gehrig Day a couple weeks ago. So anything that can help. We all loved watching him play football. It's a horrific disease.

[John Smoltz]

It just.

[PFT Commenter]

And it's not only just like it, it. It's the disease for the person who passes, but the, it just consumes your whole family and everyone around you because it just, it's really fast and, and just awful to watch.

[Stephen Shea]

So.

[PFT Commenter]

Terrible news. But yeah, anyone if you, if you have extra money to, you know, throw to a great cause. There's a ton of great causes that are doing ALS research because it'd be great if we could find a cure for it.

[Memes]

So Steve Gleason does a lot of stuff. Yeah. And what's kind of crazy is that he had a. Chris Johnson, had a teammate, Tim Shaw, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2014, like two guys from that same Titans team are dealing with right now. But yeah, yeah, it's. It's a great cause if you want to donate because like Big Cat said, it's a, it's a really shitty thing to deal with.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's horrific. Okay, let's get to our interview with John Smoltz and then we will be dingers only. And then on Friday we will have Dungeon and Dragons and we'll be back in studio on Sunday night. And then it'll be chill week.

[Memes]

Before we get to John Smoltz, he's brought to you by our great friends over at Mountain Dew. Summer's coming. I cannot wait to go back to Camp Barstool. Nothing goes better with doing some yard work. I was out mowing the lawn today. Nothing goes better with mowing the lawn like coming inside cracking open an ice cold Mountain Dew. The refreshing citrus kick of Mountain Dew. It's great. Perfect. Perfect drink for the summertime. Mountain Dew is proudly born in the foothills of Tennessee. Enjoy the refreshing citrus kick of Mountain Dew. An American original. Grab a Dew. Tasting great since 48. And John Smoltz is also brought to you by our great friends over at Fruit of the Loom. Fruit of the Loom. They know that for some reason, guys hold on to their underwear way, way, way too long. We don't know why, but every guy does. But when a fresh, comfortable, well designed pair of Fruit of the Loom costs less than your morning coffee, there's really no excuse. Refresh your underwear drawer today with well made, well priced Fruit of the Loom. It's a household name for generations. Trusted for comfort, durability and consistency. They have high quality essentials, but they're affordable. They sent us a bunch of underwear. So comfortable. Love doing the the full switch out. I got all Fruit of the Loom in my underwear drawer right now. They also sent some white tees Right here, actually, as a matter of fact, crisp new white tees for the summertime from Fruit of the Loom. Nothing better than that. The iconic fruit people bring charm, make us stand out in a crowd. They're making trusted basics since 1851. That's nearly 175 years of delivering comfort. Fruit of the Loom delivers legendary comfort and iconic style that you can trust with nearly 175 years of expertise. We craft essentials that feel like designer but at a fraction of the price. Great design, unbeatable value, everyday reliability. That's Fruit of the Loom. It's time to refresh your underwear drawer with well made, well priced Fruit of the Loom. And now here is John Smoltz.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. We now welcome on a very, very special guest. It is baseball hall of Famer John Smoltz. And he's getting ready for the American Century Championship in Tahoe, which we've. John, we've done it for the last two years, is our third year, maybe our favorite week of the entire year. I'd have to imagine it's the same for you, right?

[John Smoltz]

It is. Perfect venue, perfect time. Collection of so many different celebrities. You couldn't, you couldn't cherry pick them, right? Like there's, they come from all different walks of life and all different backgrounds and certainly all different golf games. So not all 91 of them obviously have a chance to win, but it's one of those, where do you rank within your peer group and the ones that are there, like myself, that have a chance to win. We want to win. Yeah, it's a great competition. Fan base is crazy. But listen, American Century, they do an unbelievable job, not only behind the scenes, but putting on this event for over 30 years. The charity component, everything that they do for that, only cancer research, but really we're just, we're blessed as athletes to get to be in a unique spot at the, at that venue where people are screaming and it's not your normal golf tournament.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Does it, does it feel like the juice is flowing again? Like every, you know, once a year you get to feel what you felt. Maybe, maybe it's not the same as, you know, starting pitching or closing a game, but, but getting a little bit of that back has to feel kind of special, especially for some of the retired athletes.

[John Smoltz]

It does. It takes a moment to get used to that kind of tournament golf where you're waiting on the last three holes quite a bit to get those, those shots in because of the jam packed par five, par three, par five. So when you get to that point, you. That's when it starts playing on your nerves a little bit. You can maybe get close to the sport of pitching with the bases loaded or pitching in the World Series and just having the ability to close out a golf tournament so difficult until you've done it a few times. And 17 is unique, man. It's that par three shot that there's tons of people playing music and all the different anxiety that comes over you when you're just have an iron in your hand. You would think when you have an iron in your hand, it's no big deal, especially a nine iron, a pitching wedge. But that's where it starts getting a little nerve wracking, especially if you got a chance to win or you're in the hunt.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's a very fun tournament to be had to. Fun tournament to watch. Do they. Do you get any protection from. From having to be paired up with. No disrespect, you know, the Charles Barkley's of the world, some of the guys that, that might not have a shot to, to win the whole tournament. Do you get to kind of like make sure that you're going to be playing with guys that, that are in your same. In your same bracket?

[John Smoltz]

I think they do a good job with that in the pairings. They really put the guys together and the gals together that have kind of a similar style of golf. But there's unique setups as well too. So. You know, in the past I've been with some baseball people and then I've been with a bunch of different people. And that's the fun part of seeing what pairing is. But then knowing, you know, you're looking to the leaderboard, especially after about the first nine holes, to see if anyone's having that tremendous start to a tournament. It's a unique tournament where three points for birdie and one for par. And I say that because in stroke play I would probably have a much better chance of winning because for some reason all I do is make pars when I get out there. Pars is no good. Usually par is good. You've got to make some birdies. You're better off making birdies and bogeys. I tried to adopt that philosophy. Birdies and bogeys, birdies and bogeys. Be aggressive and then you get in the thick of things and you still don't, you know, you don't want to ever make a bogey, don't want to ever three putt. But what you definitely don't want to do is make a double bogey, because that's minus two points. So I got to find a way to get out of that par mode. I had 29 consecutive pars, one tournament.

[PFT Commenter]

Jesus.

[John Smoltz]

And that is not. You would think that would be great, but it's not. It's like, like. It's like a snail's pace where other people are making six birdies and 10 bogeys and they pass me. You know that. That's the difference.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I mean, a lot of people are saying out there. I don't know if you've heard the. The rumors and the buzz going through the media. John Smoltz can't win the big one. They're saying that. That you can't win this term. No clutch Gene.

[John Smoltz]

That's such. That's true to this point. So I do something about it. Yeah, I. I joke about. My career path in baseball is the same as my career path in the. In Tahoe. In baseball, we finished second four times, five times. I didn't want to even, you know, one in five in the World Series or one in four, whatever it is, trying to get that. But that's what's happening in Tahoe. I'm finishing four second four times. That's. That's got to change. So I got to find a way to be the oldest winner, which I will at some point. I'm going to be the oldest winner to ever win Tahoe. It's just a matter of when.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Yeah, you. Can we talk some baseball? So we're taping this before the All Star break. Is there a tears of, like, teams that you've seen kind of shaking out where it's like these teams, maybe it's the Braves and the Dodgers, who are just that much ahead of everyone else, and it feels like it's their season to. To. To win a World Series and everyone else is chasing them.

[John Smoltz]

I think with the National League being more balanced, there's more teams for sure than the American League. Now the Braves are on a little bit of thin ice, but with some of their injuries, they've got a nice lead, but it's dwindling because you've got the Phillies making a charge now. You've got some teams like Milwaukee, proven they're not just that small market team. Again, they keep doing it. They keep finding ways to have young pitchers be dynamic. And then you've got some teams that you scratch your head about. The Chicago Cubs, like, they've won 10 in a row two different times or more. And then they've lost 10 in a row or more. So it's a. It's a straight. I don't understand the San Diego Padres. They've been a disappointment. The Diamondbacks are trying to get healthy with a couple of their guys. But I think, yes, the Dodgers are the prohibited favors, as they should be, but they don't have Blake Snell, they don't have Glass now. They don't have some of their bullpen guys. The narrative of baseball, and I hate it, is health. We should be dealing with more health than we are. And so it comes down to who's the healthiest team at the right time, either make the trades to improve their club or obviously in the postseason. So even though there's more balance in the National League, some teams are dealing with some injuries that drastically change their season.

[Memes]

Yeah. Who would you say would be like, are there any teams out there that people might be thinking might be sellers, who you could see end up being buyers?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah, I've always said, and they've never proved me wrong, unfortunately. I've always said that the Pittsburgh Pirates sooner or later got to be buyers, but they end up being sellers. They end up not, you know, being in position. They've. They've accumulated a lot of talent. They've got Paul Skeens. They got to find a way when you got generational players to get in the playoffs to maximize that. That, that player. Because you're never going to sign them. They haven't shown that they're going to resign any of these guys to a longer contract. So I think what the eyes are going to be on is the New York Mets. Do they do enough by the, by the All Star break to not be sellers and still have that roster which has been banged up and it's got a ton of salary on it. So I look for the Mets to be interesting to watch. The Nationals are getting closer and closer to being really relevant, which, you know, is ahead of the curve. And so they're going to be an interesting team. The Marlins. I don't think the Marlins ever look at being as buyers, but they're playing really good baseball. And so you got the same old kind of markets that you look to that the big teams cherry pick from that is going to be interesting. The Central has a lot of competitive teams. They were all close to 500 or above. I think Cincinnati now just below. But I think what everyone's going to be looking at is the American League teams. What teams do they feast off of?

[Memes]

Yeah, and.

[John Smoltz]

And that's going to be the, the buyer Seller market is going to be majority is going to be I think in American League.

[Memes]

Well, yeah, I'm thinking about school in particular and it's very rare that you would get a pitcher that is that talented that could be available. So who do you, who do you think makes the most sense in terms of like what teams do you think will be most aggressive for school?

[John Smoltz]

Well, I think first and foremost, if not in this order, but you got to be able to think that Detroit may have waited too long. So I don't know what kind of package they get for a generational left handed pitcher, but they're going to expect a lot. Otherwise I think they're going to hang on to him to the end and then of course not be able to resign them and lose them. But I think the teams that are able to not only have the prospects to trade for but the ability to sign him long term before this labor dispute gets settled or whatever comes on the other end of it. So I think a big market team actually could be in the play for and it's crazy to think that the Dodgers would be one of those teams, but they're going to be one of those teams whether they do it or not. They have all of the prospects, they have all of the money and they have obviously spent a lot of money to see what happens and to shake out on the other side. Now I don't think that a small market team, even if they're in the position of making the playoffs would make that kind of move. But I heard from the beginning of the year wouldn't it be unbelievable And I think this ship may have passed but what would be the prospects of Pittsburgh getting scubal with schemes and being relevant in the postseason? Try to get through those two monsters in the postseason. All of a sudden you've got a team that's marginal to all of a sudden they are very dangerous. Again, I don't think that's going to happen. But if I was a Pittsburgh Pirate fan I would be like man, let's put all our chips to do that and try to make something happen. But I think for the most part it's going to be somebody who has the ability. I think unless they're just willing to give up a bunch of prospects for a two month player, which is tough to do, I think the big market teams actually have the best play.

[PFT Commenter]

Are you, are you shocked at all about how, how hard guys are throwing now like the Jacob Misarowski?

[Brandon Walker]

His.

[PFT Commenter]

You know, if you look at his stats and the fact that he's touching 104 regular. Like that's. It's just a different game than when you were pitching. Not that you weren't throwing hard and there were guys not throwing hard in the 90s, but it's. It seems like if you don't have a couple guys on your staff throwing over 100, you're. You're at a disadvantage. And it's just like. It's nuts how it's all evolved.

[John Smoltz]

Yes, but it's warped and it's insane. The reason I say that is it's the reward system that players are chasing. It's because what clubs want is not sustainable. It's just not. Nobody has survived it. We might have one freak, one Nolan Ryan in a generation. I always use this example. Nolan Ryan was a freak. Right. You can't even come close to saying there were five other Nolan Ryan's while Nolan Ryan pitched. We have 25 Nolan Ryan's now.

[PFT Commenter]

Right.

[John Smoltz]

That's not genetically possible. That's a manufactured against the odds where your body can't sustain it. Yes. The radar gun's a little juiced first of all. And guys are definitely training to throw the ball as hard as they can. No doubt. The training of baseball pitchers is way ahead of the training of hitting. And you see this shift going on of what clubs are trying to do and how they use 38 pitchers a year. Think about that. 38 pitchers to get through a season. That's insane. Yeah, but because they have a lot of factory arms, because they have guys that don't know how to pitch but can throw, they can fill the gap with the rules that exist in baseball. Things have to change in a rule change down the road, which is going to come. But they got to get this labor thing behind. A rule change is going to come just like it affected the pitch clock and the banning of the shift and all the things that have now made baseball relevant again. We're going to have to do that on the pitching front because right now clubs don't care whether a guy lasts five or six years. They just care about that moment in time where he can max effort. And we're having discussions that we should never be having on the narratives like this. Oh man. Terry Scubal. Unbelievable. When's he going to get his. Well, he had a precursor already. One of those little I call it. You get a sneak preview of what's coming. When's Paul schemes going to get his. When's Mizarovsky going to get. I don't want to have those conversations. I said 10 years ago what was coming and it's here and nobody cares because the guys that are running the game have never played. And so they only care about the bottom dollar and the opportunity to maximize run prevention. So from their side, if I had to jump on their side, here's what I would say. It works temporarily, but then you got to find the next guy. And until. Until that runs out, which there is no sign that that's going to run out. Guys careers are cut in thirds, eighths, 10, like it's, it's insane.

[Max]

So.

[John Smoltz]

But if I had to jump on that side, I would absolutely use guys and abuse guys, which is what they're doing, and get them to buy in, you know, to the, to the narrative that this is how you get drafted, this is how you get paid. Oh, by the way, you're never going to have a 10 and 15 year career.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

So that's the byproduct, or I should say the downside of what's going on.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, off that. So you, you were. You, I think you were the first pitcher to be elected in the hall of Fame who had Tommy John sur surgery. And Tommy John surgery now is just like commonplace. It's. It's basically like, like you're saying, like, oh, you're going to pitch for a couple years, then you're going to get Tommy John, then you're going to be back. What is the rehab like on Tommy John did when you came back from Tommy John, do you feel like brand new or. Cause it does feel almost like an injury that's like, all right, check that box. He got Tommy John now he's going to be back. He'll be fine.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah. Here's the myths, Brian, behind Tommy John that nobody is paying attention to. The theory is this is you're going to be better, stronger, and you're just going to. It's like a band aid. You just got to wait 16 months. 16 to 18 months, which is way too long. But everyone's okay with waiting 18 months to think that they're going to get the guy that can actually throw harder. That's a myth. You don't throw harder. You don't get to a place where you just imagine everybody. Like, for me, I had about 2400 innings as I was wearing down and all those postseason innings things, and pitching through pain and discomfort. I knew what was coming. I was pitching with a torn ligament for a year and a half and I was going to retire, but Tommy John himself called me. The doctors talked me into it, and I pitched seven more Years, and I was back to where I was pre Tommy John. But the myth is you're gonna make it. Like, if you have it at 16 years old, there's no guarantee you even get to the next level.

[PFT Commenter]

Right.

[John Smoltz]

You can get back to 16. Here's what Tommy John stats are. Wherever you have your surgery, wherever you were at, you got a high likelihood of going back to that, but not necessarily advancing from that. We forget about the hundreds and thousands of pitchers who never advance past their Tommy John. But, yeah, their arm's good and their elbows good. But what I felt like I came back at 10 months, which is really early, and I had a setback with some tendinitis. But then once I was able to get over it, I went to the bullpen. I pitched another seven years. Never really had an injury with my elbow. My shoulder was the one that ended up going. But this is this. This mindset that parents have, it's insane. I'm going to have little Johnny get Tommy John at 12 and he's going to be fine because look at this guy. Look at that guy. The earlier they have it, the more susceptible they are to a second one. We've got guys with two Tommy John's and three Tommy John's. This is not normal. The arm just. And the body's telling you this is not sustainable. When. When I see a young man at 14 throwing 92 miles an hour, I cringe when a parent says, what should I do with my. You know, I said, put him in the outfield. Stop pitching. He's got the gift. What are we doing? Why are you dominating at 12 and 13 and just pushing the body to the point where it's okay to have a Tommy John surgery. I spent five minutes of my hall of Fame speech on this topic, and it fell on definitely years.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

And I think that's the reality of the why we need rule changes coming towards pitching to change the philosophy and change what we're asking guys to do. If we don't get that, we have a. A sport where the iconic and must see TV starting pitchers are gone. There's no matchups. There's no let me look and go to this game because I got this guy starting. When you look around the league today, I can't find 10 guys that I would buy a ticket to if I'm a fan to go. I have to go see him pitch. The reality is there's not that many that go six or seven innings anyways, and there's not that many that have the head up matchup. Where you go, that's a must ticket. So baseball's compartmentalized. The entity that was the strongest unit that got you to the postseason, that was the marquee matchup. They've taken that away and used three pitchers for that one. And now it's taking 12 pitchers to 14 pitchers between two teams to get through a game. So if you're scrolling around going, yeah, Paul Skeens, I want to go see him pitch, but who's he going to pitch against? Those matchups have been diluted because we devalued the great role of a starting pitcher by analytics.

[Memes]

So, I mean, I think you make a whole lot of sense and I wish people would start paying attention to you. What, what rule change could you possibly put in, though, to discourage the way that clubs are just chewing guys up and spitting them out?

[John Smoltz]

Right. And there's a couple of ways you can do it. And when you, when you would have thought about the rule changes that we have today, when those came up, everyone said, you're crazy. Not really. Because now we realize the game's moving along the shift which was killing left handed ground balls and killing right handed ground balls is no longer so. When you have a society of the game that is trying to lift the ball out of the ballpark because it's counteracting high velocity, you have to find a way to incentivize clubs to teach their pitchers to do different. So one of the ways, and I floated this out five years ago, and of course they thought I was crazy, was you tie your starting pitcher to the dh. Well, what is that going to do? Well, that's going to give you a competitive advantage. If your pitcher goes seven or eight innings versus the four or five, that's also going to eliminate the stupidest idea in the history of the game as an opener. Because if you want to start a guy for one inning, then you got five or four pinch hits coming down the pipe because you lose your dh. So that's one way to think proactively towards, all right, I'm a club that sees this rule and goes, I'm going to continue business the same way. Great, you can do it. See, it doesn't say you can't. It's just, I don't think you'll be advantageous down the road. Now, your club says, okay, I got these guys that throw 103. I got to teach them. I really don't want them to max effort every single pitch. I want them to have 103. But let's just try to Train them to give me seven, eight innings, which you can do, by the way. Like, I don't understand why all of a sudden that's such a bad thing. So that's one way to do it. The other way to do it is limit roster manipulation in the farm system and roster big league rosters by only having 11 pitchers.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

If you only have 11 pitchers and you've got six bullpen guys, good luck trying to get four and five innings out of your starters every single time. And couple that with. You don't have an elevator system where you can just. You can just have guys come up and down. It will.

[Memes]

It's interesting that you mentioned the. The opener. I was going to ask you about the opener. If you thought that you would have been a good opener back, you know, later in your career, you got. You had switched to the bullpen. You were a fantastic closer. Do you think the opener role would have been one that suited you?

[John Smoltz]

I would have quit. Out, quit. And I know that. Well, here's what's. What's going on again into stratomatic baseball. When you do this, you're basically telling whatever that starting pitcher is that's coming in behind that can't face the lineup three times or the top of the order, you're saying to him, you're not that good. And so you've already impacted that next guy because he's coming in in the second inning. He realizes he can't face Aaron Judge in the first inning, but he's eventually got to face him. He's just only going to face him one, maybe two times. So that, again, on paper, has ruined baseball.

[Hank]

And.

[John Smoltz]

But it's not against the rules. So that's, that's the rub, right? And I think when you start getting cute with the game and you start thinking on paper is the maximum success rate, it just doesn't work like it works in a game by itself. But if you keep doing that, look at all the teams that did that. And then the one problem I don't have a problem with analytics. I think analytics is great. But the problem is if that's all your resources and that's the only decisions you make is on analytics, I think you're missing the boat. I think you just absolutely have no chance of winning a World Series and, or anything else because you don't understand the game and how it's played. Over 162, you got to use your eyes and you got to be able to blend. So these kind of things I've been saying for years and it's definitely showing up every year in a World Series. You see the teams that win, the teams that don't deviate from their, from the way that they go about the game. Now, I will say this. If every game was played in the dome, then you could get more universal kind of statistical categories that are neutral. But you got wind, you got elevation, you got all these other elements that we want to call quantify by a stat. We want to show how smart we are to come up with an algorithm or a stat that, that just quantifies 100%. There's no such thing. But if you show me 100% analytics as a manager, I will not deviate from that. Yeah, but there is no such thing. So you have to balance it and you have to play the game in a certain way so that you can understand the flows and ebbs and the human nature and the elements. But if everything was in a dome, then you would have a better case to make for those kind of numbers.

[PFT Commenter]

Who's your favorite pitcher to watch right now and why?

[John Smoltz]

That's a great question.

[Max]

Thank you.

[John Smoltz]

I just think I'm a generational guy. I like a guy who can sustain time. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love watching schemes. I love watching Scubal. I love watching Garrett Cole. I've always been partial to a Zach Wheeler. My favorite for the longest time was Justin Verlander because I called him a 10 speed bike. You know, he could start at 92 and end at 99 or throw it 100 in the first inning and still end at 100. He, he manipulated the game and he understood he could pitch in any generation. And my fear for these guys is when they lose their miles per hour, they have no tools in their tool set. They have no way to know how to pitch with less velocity because they've been taught max velocity. So you know Jacob deGrom, when he came on the scene, drool came out of my mouth, you know, but then he's had two Tommy John's surgery since. I look at a Mizarowski and I go, why? My gosh, this guy would be unbelievable. I hope he sustains it. I hope he can learn that he doesn't have to be addicted to 103, you know, that we don't have to keep talking about miles per hour and we talk about his success every time. I mean, I want, I kind of want to throw up when I see his stats. All they talk about is how many pitches he threw over 102 miles an hour. He could have he could have given up seven runs or thrown a no hitter. And they're talking about 102 miles an hour. Yeah, we got to get back to pitching and rewarding these guys for great efforts. So there's so many dynamic arms and there's so many guys that you just, you go, wow. My number one thing is please stay healthy, please stay healthy, please stay healthy. I want to watch your pitches as long as you possibly can.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And, and a question about your career, because you are the best ever, I would say that that started and then closed. When you went into the bullpen, what did you have to change about your mentality? And because a lot of guys don't like that, I would assume like they're either starters or, you know, it's almost like the old saying, like a bullpen guy's just a failed starter. Like that's a guy if he could start, he'd be making more money, but he can't, so he's in the bullpen. You did both at such a high level. What was that, what was that change like for you mentally and just emotionally and how you, how you watch the game?

[John Smoltz]

It was the hardest thing I've ever done. And I know people are going to be like, what you still throwing a baseball? But the structure, the personality, everything you just mentioned. First of all, when I started it was longevity. My reward system was different. You know, we were taught to train for eight, nine innings. I never max effort a pitch I could throw 94 to 97, but I varied my speeds, I varied my angles. All the things we were trying to do, guys had a two strike approach. All the things that hitters had were totally different than they are today. There was no badge of honor that you struck out three times but hit a home or you were like looked at with a funny face. But when I went in the closers role for an inning, I could actually let you the ball eat as you would say, 98, 99. But I still wasn't max efforting, I wasn't grunting. It was just the ability to do that, sustain it and have 81 appearances or 78 appearances that I did my first time. I was exhausted. I've thrown 256innings in a regular season and I threw 81innings or whatever. It was my first time as a closer. I was gassed as a closer. All the warmups, all the times getting ready, all the times you didn't get in and just that continual three in a row, five out of six, six out of eight, those dynamics have changed. Dramatically. Guys don't pitch three games in a row anymore. Guys are max effort trying to strike out three in an inning. I'd say mostly they're trying to strike out four in an inning if they get a pass ball. And I think it's the difference is what they're being rewarded for. But man, oh, man, was it difficult for me to make that transition because of the structure and discipline for a pitching starting pitcher is the greatest life in there is. It is. It's the greatest job. And most people are envious of it when you do it well, because it is the greatest job. But then when you go to the bullpen, you're like, forget that. You got to be ready every day. Workout your eating habits. Everything changes. And I learned the hard way. I learned on the job because there wasn't time for me to gain experience. The one thing I did have an advantage of is my 14 previous years of starting pitching gave me the leverage that when I came into the game, guys didn't want to get to two strikes. So I got a lot of quick outs. I got a lot of, you know, outs without throwing a ton of pitches, and they didn't want to get two strikes, so I knew how to put guys away. And then it became a leverage for me when I got to the closing.

[Memes]

How did that affect your golf game, though? I imagine as a starting pitcher, you get to play a lot more golf than as a closer.

[John Smoltz]

In theory, yes, but reality, no. I played every day as a closer because I only had to get three outs or six outs at night, about 10, 30 at night. So I couldn't play the day I pitched as a starter, obvious reasons. So I played four days in between as a closer. I know a lot of heads turn. I know upper management was freaking out, and I told him, it's not that big a deal. There won't be any. You know, I won't sacrifice my ability to pitch. After 55 saves my first year, they never questioned me about playing golf. Golf again. But I played a lot of golf as a closer because of the ability. Just you could and you didn't. You know, you could rest and take a nap, whatever it is. Golf's not, by the way, a strenuous sport, especially if you're not walking 36 or you're not shooting 106.

[Hank]

Right?

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

How many. How many of your friends? I would imagine the. The invite to the American Century Championship is something that you covet because we talk to the guys and they're like, like, I just want to get Invited back every year because it's that much fun. Have you. Do you get hit up a lot? Having people be like, hey, can you get me in? Can you. Can you help me out?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah, that's. That's been a popular text. I try my best, but the turnover is about 18 to 21 per year, I guess, something like that. New players every. Every year at Tahoe. And. And I don't take it for granted, you know, I'm honored to have been now 16, 17. I don't even know how many years of. It's been awesome. I missed it once for top for Ms. Tahoe once because I got inducted in the hall of Fame. And I really, really, really, really wanted to go to Tahoe, but I felt it would be a bad look if I missed the hall of Fame. So it's definitely a. Again, it's a calendar thing. I've told all my kids, six of them, don't plan anything. No weddings during July right around the All Star break, because I won't be there.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, smart, smart.

[Memes]

You're.

[Zach]

You.

[PFT Commenter]

So we've had Greg Maddox on a couple times this show. He's obviously a Hall of Famer as well, but also a Hall of Fame prankster. Did he ever get you with something? Okay.

[John Smoltz]

No, no. There was kind of. I don't know. You know, we kind of had an unwritten code picture on picture crime. But he did. He did a little bit of things that, you know, let's just say I don't know how he didn't get beat up when he was a kid. You know, if he did these as a kid. But he had a way about him in his sneaky, kind of weird thinking way of getting. Getting through it without any. Anybody really. I guess if he was a.500 pitcher, he couldn't get away with it. But because he's such a great pitcher and one of the best of all times, you. You knew where your place was when it came to trying to get him. So he set the standards that indirectly said, you can't touch me. Which, yeah, kind of brilliant. But also, yeah, no picture on picture crime was kind of looked really, really poorly if that. If that if happened.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Was that weird at the time that, like, in the media, the way that Greg Maddox was talked about was like a Boy Scout professor combination. And then behind the scenes, you're like, this guy's the most disgusting human being in terms of the pranks that he tries to pull. Like, how. How. Who's his PR team?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah. You had no idea at the sediment Most of the time with how, listen, I will say he was brilliant in everything that he did because he gave horrible interviews on purpose.

[Max]

Horrible.

[John Smoltz]

And it took the onus off of him and it put it on us. Me and Glavin probably did more interviews about him than he did about himself in the latter part of his career. And I look back and I go, it's actually brilliant. He could walk down the street, no one knew who he was. He always was by the numbers and did things that made him, you know, have an advantage and leverage. And yeah, he created a Persona that was totally different. I'll never forget when Ernie Johnson, one of our. And Pete Van Weir and our announcers, tbs, I think they coined him the Professor. I think that's where it started. And we were like, professor, give me a break. But you know, in the, in the, in the scheme of things and what he was doing and how far advanced he was with his thinking then that that fit. But when it came to everything else, heck no, it didn't fit. You know, but he wasn't, he was a good fielder, he was a good athlete, he was a pretty good golfer. All the things that he could have had in his era, he could have had every commercial, he could have been one of the highest marketable guys. But he was low keyed on purpose and all those things. I think when I look back I'm like, you know, he did it his way and he did it where the attention was kind of off of him because he made it off of him. Like when you give answers like, you know, I just kind of got lucky or just, you know, people are like, what? You know, so he, he, I think, I think he knew what he was doing.

[PFT Commenter]

You guys obviously were part of an all time pitching staff with you, Maddox and Glavin. And would you guys like share with each other, Would you tell each other things like what, what was that relationship like? Or was it like, hey, I'm just doing my thing, you worry about yourself, let's just go get wins.

[John Smoltz]

You know what? I think the beauty of our three sum was that we talked about hitting a lot, hitters a lot. What would you do? You know, ask each other question. We pitch three total different ways. Glavidomatics were more similar in their velocity and the way that they got hitters out with off speed. I was the guy that was deemed had all the stuff and should have won all the while, you know, all the hardware and the Youngs and I had all that pressure that basically I was in most people's eyes not delivering to, but, but they were great teammates. Greg was great in the way that he taught me some things and I was able to teach him how to have fun and play games and still have a career because he was living such a high level and an expectation was so great. There was nowhere to go from there. When you win four Cy Youngs in a row, there's nowhere to go from there like. And I again was underperforming in other people's eyes till I won mine in 96. And then glavin was ho hum and taught me individually how to just be, how to fake it, you know, how to have. No. I was an emotional pitcher. I wore my emotions on my sleeve. It had its advantages and it had his disadvantages. He taught me how to fake it because when Glad was on the mound, you know, if he's winning or losing, you know, if he had a no hitter or giving up 10 runs. And I think that part of. I learned how to have a successful campaign, a successful year from Greg. I learned how to fight through my issues and not give the hitter an advantage through Tommy. And so collectively we showed up every day without saying it, trying to one up each other and by one upping each other, that meant indirectly, great through complete game, 2 runs, 5 hits. Then for me it was all right, I better give up two runs and four hits or one run and you know, so it made us better. And we checked our ego every time we came into the locker room because if you didn't, each one of them had a chance. You know, if you wanted to be the ace, then you were going to be humiliated at times. If that's what you, if that's what was your mindset. And we, we all lived in our lanes. And I like this example. During the regular season, over the course of our 10 years, Greg and Tom took, took turns driving the car and I was in the backseat. Come post season, I jumped in the front seat and I started driving the car. That's the way I felt. That's the way I felt about what I could do. And it all worked out, you know, for three special years, three special careers to end up where we did.

[Memes]

It was a great team and another great player that was on some of Those teams, Fred McGriff, the crime dog. I'm wondering, did you ever watch the Tom Amansky defensive drills video deal?

[John Smoltz]

Can you imagine how much grief he took from that? Yeah, I mean, to this day he still has a horse laugh every time we bring it up. And, and I think he got stiffed to be honest with you, I don't even think he got paid.

[Memes]

That commercial was on probably like 40 times a day for 20 years.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah, I know you. If you knew the Crime Dog and how gentle giant he is and how what an awesome teammate he was, it just, just, it's just, it's perfect to see him in that video. Just, we would laugh every single time. But, but the Crime Dog was awesome.

[PFT Commenter]

That's awesome.

[Memes]

Yeah, it was a great. I'm Fred. It was like he was reading cue cards for his own name.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[Memes]

In that one clip that they had, it was a awesome commercial. And, and your manager at the time, Bobby Cox, recently passed away. RIP just seems like an all time baseball guy. I've read a lot of the stories, heard a lot of his players talk about him. But was there, was there anything special about him that, that you identified with, that you really appreciated?

[John Smoltz]

Well, first of all, you know, a lot of people criticize his loyalty towards players as being blind and just. It wasn't that way. But he did have tremendous loyalty to his players who, who discipline themselves, put in the time and the work and were always prepared. He understood the game was hard and it was so easy in this game to jump ship on guys, especially managers who are on the hot seat because of their star player or a few players. He never did. He had such, he had such credibility in our locker room for what he had done in the past, but his ability to lead men, and I'd run through a wall for him, like I say this all the time. He traded for me as the GM and then he was my manager for 20 years. And he was the biggest reason, the single most reason why my career identified with what it did. I could have taken so many different turns for the worst under, under, under different leadership in 1991. I'm 2 and 11. I mean, there's no precedent for a 2 and 11 first half guy to stick around in the rotation. In my day, you were going back to the bullpen or back to the minors and he stuck with me. I went 12 and 2. The rest is history. So he just had this ability to treat men like men and then if you weren't a man, teach you how to be a man and at the same time give you confidence when you didn't have it. That's a lost art in a game that's identified by failure. And can you, I can even imagine today if he was managing and guys were hitting.220, which they do, and league average is the worst. It's always been he would find a way to make that 220 guy feel like he was hitting.320. And that's a special talent because you can see your average every time you go to the plate and you can see you're not doing. And it would be much easier to get that guy out of the lineup than to sustain him on, give him confidence. And he had a gift with that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. John, this has been awesome. We can't wait for the American Century Championship. We're going to be rooting for you this year. We'll be out in Tahoe that entire week. It is one of our favorite events. Like I said. We got one last question. It's a Roback question. RHOB A C K.com promo code T. 20% off your first purchase. Q Zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com Great golf wear. I wear a polo every time. Roback polo. Zach in the booth, you got a question for John Smoltz.

[Stephen Shea]

How are we doing today, sir?

[John Smoltz]

Doing good, thank you.

[Stephen Shea]

Great to hear that. He did have a quick question. With the American Century Championship coming up soon, if you could hand select your pairing, is there like a group of guys you'd want to play with most out there? Oh, good question.

[John Smoltz]

Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I've never, I've never actually played in this. I don't think I played in the same group with Steph Curry, but I'd love to play in the same group with Steph Curry. He's, he's got, you know, typically when he comes into Tahoe, he's coming off of a long playoffs and he doesn't have that this year. So his game's going to be ready. I always love playing with Marty Fish. Marty Fish is one of my all time favorites. And now we play together on the pro tour that we've started and a lot of the athletes that are playing on the pro tour are going to be at Tahoe. But, but really Joe Pavelski is another one. That's one. I just love playing with guys that first of all are really, really good. And I learn a lot by watching really good players, even though I'm probably way older than all of them. I love good swings. I love emulating good swings. I don't have any technique down pat. Perfect. But, but I just like playing with people who are, who are pretty good.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, and you're very, very good. So maybe this is the year. Do you feel like your game's in a spot where this is the year?

[John Smoltz]

My game is in a great spot. Look, I'm two years removed from both my hips being replaced. I have learned a lot about my body since my hips. You know, I was playing golf banged up way too much because I'm addicted to golf. There's no doubt about it. It's. I'll play through a broken leg, broken arm. I don't care. I want to get on the golf course. But I've learned a lot about my game and the bottom line, for me, it's not a hard answer to answer. If I don't putt well, I will not win, but I'll finish in the top 10. I just make too many pars in Tahoe, and I'm going to change that. I don't care if I have to sleep on the green one night to get one with the green, but it's a different surface. Poana treats me differently. I'm going to put my golf ball that week with the idea that I'm the greatest putter in the world, because that's the only way I'm going to change the narrative. When you make that many pars, you just don't have a chance to win. So it's got about birdies, bust and maybe sprinkle in an eagle. I haven't had many of those either.

[Memes]

Yeah, we better not see you leave any putts short.

[Zach]

Short.

[Memes]

We'll get on you if you leave them short.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah, you got to leave a putt short if it's for par, but you should never leave it short if it's for birdie. Yeah, because the transition of that three points versus one versus zero. So if you. If too aggressive on the par putts, you go from one to minus two real quick if you three putt. So, yes, you're right. Leaving them short is not a great recipe, but it's the reality of golf. You don't.

[Zach]

When.

[John Smoltz]

When you first get there, you don't want a three putt, but it's okay to three putt for a birdie. It is. It's okay. Like, you can get. Everyone goes, oh, you missed a two footer coming back. Yeah, okay, but I was trying to make that. That three. That three pointer, which is more important than that one pointer so that you're 100. Right. And. And I'm. I'm working on that.

[Memes]

That's analytics.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you're.

[Memes]

You're embracing. You're the number one analytics guy that we've ever had on the show.

[John Smoltz]

That might be one of the cruelest things you've ever done. Yeah, I am. Like I said, I'm. I'm kind of branded as the anti analytics guy, you know, as a Fox analyst. I'm not. I'm just not. I'm just not going to spit out all this information just because I can to sound smart. I'm going to balance the both. And so when I start looking at a golf game, you know what I do? I have notes, books of notes of every round that I played that I learned. What do I. What do I have to do different? So, yeah, I'm doing my own analytics. I'm looking at those things because if you don't look at it, you're stupid.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

But if you. If you look at it and that's all you pay attention to, then you're stupid.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

Because you have to be able to balance what you feel like you're breathing, you know, how. How different things work. And so that's. That's kind of where I'm at.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Just a tip going forward. Just don't say I don't hate analytics, because that's always a telltale sign of someone who hates analytics. It's always a big but coming. Yeah, that's exactly right.

[John Smoltz]

But when I. When I talk about it, I'm baseball, and I tell you how the game's being played and what should or shouldn't happen, that's based on experience. But then I have to follow it up with. But this club wants to do this because it's based on their information.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

So it's definitely a blend that I've learned over the last 10 years. And the reality is, if. If people own up to their mistakes in the game of baseball and make necessary adjustments, I think that's great. But when you're smart and you want to stay smart, you never admit that you need to make changes based on your algorithm. I think that's a mistake.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

So I'm all in. Like, I've seen the Rays make adjustments. I've seen the brewers make adjustments on the fly, by the way, which is brilliant, because then that's telling you what we once thought was wrong, and now we're going to do this. And when you do those things, that means you're paying attention to the information and the way that you tried to play, and then you're adjusting on the fly. And I think that's great.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Is there one analytic, like a number that you'll reach out and say, okay, the analytic nerds were right about this one?

[John Smoltz]

That's a great question. Because the one thing that I promoted Them to try to come up with is, is one that I think would serve us better value in the sport. When you're addicted to exit velocity, it doesn't tell you the story. It just tells you that big strong dude hit it 117 off the bat. No kidding. It's going to go over 400ft when you're addicted to miles per hour. That's all. So what I've asked him to do is I said come up with the stat. It's not sexy to see all these stats that they come up with. They want to, they want to. They have a quantifiable factor behind them. The one I don't like is expected X. Like how can you tell me what a player is going to do based on this current 10 game span or is 10 starts like that's the one area where I say, nope, you lost me. Because when you throw 240innings, there's an ability for you not to be as good at the end that when you're throwing 160. Win a Cy Young and everyone goes crazy because they try to Translate well at 240, this is where you'd be now. Doesn't work that way. So the stat that I like is that exit velocity. You give me the average exit velocity of every time a ball is put in play or an out is made. So in other words, if you hit a ball at 110, great, you get that. But if you swing and miss and strike out, you get a zero. And at the end of the year all the different things that you're going to have an average exit velocity of a lot lower number. But I guarantee you the number that that is going to be in 70s-80s is going to be your best hitter. And that's been proven because they're taking the value of every time he hits a ball and the value of every time he doesn't hit a ball. Because when I, when we get to exit velocity, they don't tell you that that guy struck out 210 times a year.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, right.

[John Smoltz]

They're just cherry picking a bad pitch, cherry picking a good swing. And to me that there's no value in that. We just get to see like we're, we're enamored with oh wow, 117 off the bat. So that to me is when you start drawing a line to that's a stat that doesn't mean anything. Give me a stat that's more relevant and I, and I'm all in. Like that's the way I think. And they Come up with those. I'm like, great job. But when they do the ones that just again, by osmosis. We're addicted to how hard someone swings, how hard they throw. It's not telling the story. It's not helping your teammate. And that's the one thing that, you know, I kind of balance out.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Well, John, thank you so much for joining us. And we can't wait to see you in Tahoe. Appreciate it so much.

[John Smoltz]

My pleasure, guys. I look forward to seeing you there.

[Memes]

Before we get to dingers only, it's brought to you by Jose Cuervo. When Cuervo enters, every moment just gets better. You find yourself in the center of the dance floor. You can't help but stand up and high five those around you at the game. You know what a dinger we're doing dingers only draft, but if you get a massive dinger, that is a Jose Cuervo moment. That's when the room reacts like it just got the same text at the same time. You stop checking the time. Suddenly small talk escalates to laughing so hard you can barely catch your breath. That's the Cuervo effect, a signal everybody understands. I would say Fernando Tatis home run. You get a dinger from that guy, that's a Cuervo moment. All you have to do is keep it Cuervo. With Jose Cuervo and dingers Only is also brought to you by our great friends over at Morgan Morgan, America's number one injury law firm. You don't hire the wrong people. If you hire the wrong people, it can be disastrous. That's where Morgan and Morgan comes in. They're America's largest injury law firm. They have over 100 offices nationwide, more than a thousand lawyers with over $30 billion recovered for over 500, 000 clients. Morgan. Morgan has a proven track record of fighting to get you full and fair compensation. In Florida, a client recently received 6.1 million bucks after the insurance company's best offer was just a hundred thousand dollars. While in Georgia, another client recently received 29.5 mil. And in Nashville, another client was awarded 10.6 million. If you're ever injured by the negligence of another, you deserve to be paid. If you're ever injured, you can check out Morgan and Morgan. The fee is free unless they win. For more information, go to forthepeople.com pmt or dial pound law pound 529 from your cell phone. That's f o r the people.com pmt or pound law pound pound 529. This is a paid advertisement.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, we are back. It is Dingers only time.

[Zach]

What year?

[John Smoltz]

What.

[PFT Commenter]

What is this, the third.

[Zach]

Fourth year.

[PFT Commenter]

Fourth year of jingers only.

[Memes]

No, third year.

[PFT Commenter]

I think fourth year.

[Zach]

Fourth because I didn't participate. You pitch.

[Memes]

Max pitch.

[PFT Commenter]

Stephen Chase still has to pitch.

[Memes]

That's right. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

As a quick refresher for everyone, it is our fantasy baseball league that we. We start halfway through the baseball season and the only stat is dingers. So we have Hank, Stephen, Shea, Max, pft, Myself, Brandon, Walker, Jerry, Zach, and Memes. Nine teams this year, and we are all going to draft nine players. So no pitcher, obviously, it's going to be DH instead. You have to get the actual position. And the only stat is dingers. And the loser is going to have to pitch against. Against a college or better baseball team. Stephen. Che, you still have to do that, which it might take for. I actually think Stephen's so bad at pitching.

[Zach]

We should just.

[PFT Commenter]

We should play against Steven.

[John Smoltz]

Us.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it would be fun.

[Steven Che]

I'm bad at pitching. I didn't realize the mound was. I mean, I did realize, but, like, when I stood out on a real mound, I went to a field recently far and elevated. Yeah.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Hank]

He might be so bad if we have a good field. Like, we. Like if we have the bananas again. Pitching so slow. Like, PFT pitched so slow that the hitters. The hitters weren't able to like.

[Memes]

That's not true.

[Hank]

I pitched time up the pitches. And if you have a good field,

[Memes]

I pitched an average. I believe an average of like 60 miles per hour. 65 miles an hour.

[Hank]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, that's what I'm saying.

[Zach]

It might.

[PFT Commenter]

It might be fun to just stand in the box with Stephen and take walks and then hit dingers off him.

[Steven Che]

I threw my hardest at Yankee Stadium like 10 years ago in front of a speedometer or odometer, whatever those are called. 59.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

That was 10 years ago.

[Brandon Walker]

Is that something you're proud of?

[Zach]

I'm just saying. I can't.

[Brandon Walker]

I can never. I can't really tell with your cadence of whether not proud.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, so we're gonna. And Brandon to catch second place.

[Brandon Walker]

I think Zach. Right.

[PFT Commenter]

So Zach has to catch Stephen. J for Che. We'll get that done.

[John Smoltz]

Duo.

[PFT Commenter]

We'll get that done at some point this summer. Brandon is the defending champ two time. He would. He requested that we. This year, maybe everyone puts in 100 bucks, so there's a cash prize because he's mad that he keeps winning things without cash involved.

[Zach]

I've won the dozen twice, and I've won this twice. I've won zero dollars at Barstool Sports.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Memes]

So congratulations. I win the dozen.

[Brandon Walker]

Brand.

[Zach]

Thank you. Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

Is everyone.

[Jerry]

Is everyone.

[PFT Commenter]

I actually forgo that.

[Hank]

But how much would you.

[PFT Commenter]

It would have been 10k day, but I. I gave it to. To my team.

[Zach]

I've never won a goddamn thing to have money attached to it. Only things I win are, well, the

[Memes]

MVP for the dozen. There was a cash prize of that. Did you win that for the tournament?

[PFT Commenter]

You didn't win that.

[Zach]

You won.

[Memes]

I did. I got the cash prize.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

Congratulations.

[Memes]

But I also forgo it.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Zach]

So it goes to the second place.

[Memes]

No, to the kids.

[PFT Commenter]

You want to try to win lib of the year? Jerry's won that a Couple years in 5000.

[Jerry]

Cash prize.

[PFT Commenter]

Live of the year.

[Zach]

Get a.

[PFT Commenter]

Get a Kamala poster.

[Zach]

Are you still going for it or.

[Jerry]

Yeah, I think this year might be 50K.

[Memes]

Yeah, but we're taxing at 100%.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, 100% tax. Jerry just found that people can switch back and forth between being gay.

[Jerry]

So he's.

[PFT Commenter]

He's opening his eyes.

[Jerry]

I'm all for it.

[PFT Commenter]

What happened there, Jerry?

[Jerry]

Dude, I went viral on gay Twitter

[Zach]

Blue Sky.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Brandon Walker]

I don't know.

[Jerry]

Pat, like, I don't know. Pat made a video, like, what?

[PFT Commenter]

Tell the story.

[Jerry]

So, pretty much, I. I have a gay cousin who's. Pat has met at a gay club. And like, my gay cousin introduced himself to Pat. I don't know if they were trying to get with each other or anything, but they were. They were separated. They were together. Him. Him and the other gay.

[Brandon Walker]

Like his.

[Jerry]

His partner, whatever.

[PFT Commenter]

His boyfriend.

[Jerry]

His boyfriend. Friend. Correct. Okay, so they were together for multiple years. They broke up about two years ago. I found out that out through the Facebook Then. I'm scrolling Facebook. This is two years later now. This is like a couple days, like a week ago. I'm scrolling. And I'm like, what the.

[PFT Commenter]

No, that's.

[Jerry]

And I zoom. I'm like, oh, this is him.

[Brandon Walker]

And I was like, oh, this gotta

[Jerry]

be AI or something or a joke. His ex boyfriend who was gay.

[Hank]

Gay.

[Jerry]

He's not gay anymore. He actually has a baby on the way with a female. So he just totally was like, that. I'm straight now.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay?

[Jerry]

And then, like, I'm saying to myself, like, that's just not possible.

[Hank]

Like.

[Jerry]

Like, you don't just wake up and like, oh, I'm not gay no more. Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, I mean, you could.

[Zach]

I.

[Memes]

It sounds like maybe he Was bisexual.

[Jerry]

Yeah. I don't know, man. Like, I feel like there's just. You're either all in or you're all out. Like, isn't that kind of how it.

[Memes]

But I mean. Okay, Jared.

[Zach]

Nope.

[Memes]

No, because. So, Jerry, you like women, Correct. Like physically, you like looking at a woman, right?

[Zach]

Correct. Yeah.

[Memes]

Columbia, you like having sex with women?

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Like seeing naked women.

[Jerry]

Correct?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[Memes]

You also kind of like looking at

[PFT Commenter]

TJ Watt and you like feet.

[Zach]

I've seen you look at a man's feet.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You were attracted to my feet.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Memes]

You know, like, you're not in love with TJ Watt, but when he comes on the screen, you're like, that's a good looking man.

[Jerry]

I'll say this, I've never even had a conversation or even, like, known somebody who.

[Max]

To.

[Jerry]

To go both. To do both.

[John Smoltz]

Have you ever watched porn?

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Kind of gay read.

[Jerry]

Really?

[Max]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

You watch another guy.

[Zach]

There's dick in it.

[Jerry]

Yeah, I mean, I guess.

[PFT Commenter]

But the tweet that. That Jerry threw out there without context said there's no way I can just turn gay. So how did that happen?

[Jerry]

So that makes it look like I'm gay. Like I'm saying, oh, I woke up. I'm just gay now. Yeah, yeah, but that. Yeah, so I didn't. I forgot to add the context to it. Like, hey, look at my other tweet.

[Memes]

Yeah, I'm straight.

[Jerry]

This is.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, we're going to decide the order with a sport sporkle. So how it works is there's going to be a sporkle up. We'll start with Hank, you just answer any of them and then it's till. Till. So, you know, if you get something wrong, you're out. And then the last person standing gets to decide if they want the first pick or whatever pick are.

[Jerry]

We snake snakes around.

[Brandon Walker]

But just the per. The person who wins picks their spot.

[PFT Commenter]

We gotta go in the. Yes, correct. And please say the.

[Zach]

The.

[PFT Commenter]

The question that you're answering for the podcast listeners so they can. They can. They can hear it.

[Zach]

All right, here we go. Ready?

[Jerry]

Hank?

[PFT Commenter]

It's up. It's a grab do.

[Zach]

Free mode.

[John Smoltz]

Free mode.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep. All right, so just. We going to go around until. Until there's one man standing.

[Hank]

Somebody should read all seven milk options at Starbucks. Oat.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Okay.

[Zach]

Read the cate.

[Steven Che]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Read all the categories.

[Zach]

Go ahead. One drink served in water found in Movie Idiocracy. Three Subatomic Particles, three Main Characters and Trailer Park Boys. Four teams. Allen Iverson played for six countries to make these brands loot. Lego, Lululemon, Prada, Samsung, Lexus, and Ikea. Seven milk options of Starbucks. Six actresses to appear nude in following movies. There's movies there. Seven original members of the seven. And the boys. Nine running backs over 10k career rush yards and eight or more 1k rushing seasons. And 10 Kevin Costner sports movies.

[PFT Commenter]

They're gonna struggle with this.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, go ahead.

[Steven Che]

Four teams Allen Iverson played for. Philadelphia 76ers.

[Memes]

Okay, Max, that was.

[Brandon Walker]

That was going to be mine. I'll go with still the Detroit Pistons

[PFT Commenter]

for teams Alan Iverson played for.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Memes]

I'll go with the Denver Nuggets for teams Allen Iverson played for.

[PFT Commenter]

I will go with Sweden for Ikea countries to make these brands.

[Zach]

I will go with Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner sports movies. Okay.

[Jerry]

I will go with the Starbucks. Seven different milks. I will go with skim. Nice.

[Stephen Shea]

I would also like to go seven different milks. And go almond.

[PFT Commenter]

We're cooking now. Memes.

[Max]

I'm gonna go Trailer park boy characters, Bubbles.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, back to you, Hank.

[Hank]

I will go Trailer park boys characters, Ricky.

[Steven Che]

Seven milk options at Starbucks. 2%.

[Brandon Walker]

I will go Allen Iverson. Grizzlies.

[Zach]

Well done.

[Memes]

Nice. So the Jerome Bettis played for the Rams.

[Brandon Walker]

Nope. Didn't know that.

[Memes]

I'm gonna go with Kevin Costner sports movies. Tin cup.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice. I will go milk options.

[John Smoltz]

Hole.

[Zach]

I will go Kevin Costner sports movies. Bull Durham. See you, Jerry.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, Jerry. Jerry might be in trouble here. Do subatomic particles.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Jerry]

Sorry, I just had to read. I'm gonna do the. Sorry. I'm gonna do the running backs with Dan. Can you read me the yards again?

[PFT Commenter]

10k career rush yards. And eight or more 1k rushing seasons.

[Jerry]

Ooh. Okay. Eight or eight or more.

[John Smoltz]

It's a lot.

[Memes]

Yeah, it's a lot.

[Stephen Shea]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Gonna go Barry Sanders.

[PFT Commenter]

Got it. Nice job, Zach.

[Stephen Shea]

I would like take sub. Subatomic particles. And I would like to go with Adam.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, man.

[Max]

That's.

[Jerry]

Zach is.

[Brandon Walker]

I can't believe that's right.

[PFT Commenter]

Me a lot on the board. That's a crazy move.

[Max]

Trailer park boys. Julian.

[Hank]

Okay, six actresses to appear in the following movies. I will go Margot Robbie.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, nice one.

[Memes]

Nice.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Memes]

Very nice. Sink.

[Steven Che]

Seven milk options at Starbucks. 1%.

[Zach]

Running out of milk over there, Steven.

[PFT Commenter]

And it's wrong.

[Zach]

Good. Good night.

[Brandon Walker]

I thought that was gonna be wrong.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's wrong.

[Memes]

They don't have the ones wrong.

[Brandon Walker]

I will go actresses in the following movies. Halle Berry.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice. No big deal. I remember she loved me.

[Brandon Walker]

Watch that Scene as a child.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I'm gonna go with actresses to appear nude in the following movies. Titanic, Kate Winslet.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Zach]

And that's what I thought you were.

[PFT Commenter]

Give me Emmett Smith for running backs.

[Jerry]

That was my answer.

[Zach]

Brandon, give me 10 Kevin Costner sports movies. Give me McFarland USA.

[Brandon Walker]

Wow.

[John Smoltz]

Whoa.

[Brandon Walker]

Good one.

[PFT Commenter]

He's flexing.

[John Smoltz]

You're just going to dominate. Made that.

[Jerry]

Okay, Dan? I'm sorry. I can't see anything. Can you read me the. The milk that we read off?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, we've read off. Whole skim, 2% almond oat.

[Memes]

Two left. We got two left there, two left there.

[PFT Commenter]

Y.

[Jerry]

And then we got. Then we got running backs, right?

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, we still got running backs.

[PFT Commenter]

Milk or running backs?

[Memes]

Milk. Boobs. Running back.

[Jerry]

Where's boobs? Wait, what's boobs?

[Zach]

Hold on.

[Jerry]

What's boobs?

[Zach]

Boobs.

[PFT Commenter]

Six ashes appear nude and fallen following movies. Oh, I don't think you're a big movie.

[Zach]

No hard feelings. Fast times and wild things.

[Jerry]

Okay, let me go running backs here, then.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, you go milk.

[Jerry]

I could go milk, but I'm out. I'm all right. I'm gonna take a flyer. Yeah, this could not. This can. This can. This can backfire quick. Okay, we got 1%. We got 2%. Let's go 3%.

[Zach]

All right.

[Memes]

Is that out?

[Zach]

Out.

[PFT Commenter]

Jerry, Steven and. And Zach are out. Memes, you're up.

[Memes]

We didn't get 1%.

[PFT Commenter]

1%. We didn't get drafted.

[Jerry]

Oh, really?

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, drafted.

[Zach]

Good one.

[Memes]

Good pick. Memes.

[Hank]

Good one. Seven original members of the Seven and the boys. I'm take a. The deep cheap.

[Max]

I don't even know.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Brandon Walker]

All right, Max, I will go Kevin Coster sports movie for the love of the game.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Memes]

Good pick.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

PFT.

[Memes]

Seven milk options at Starbucks. I'm gonna go with 4% soy.

[Stephen Shea]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

Good one.

[Jerry]

I didn't know that's a milk.

[PFT Commenter]

Show me Walter Payton.

[Zach]

Oh,

[PFT Commenter]

Brandon, you're out of Costner movies.

[Zach]

Well, I had for love of the game there. There's

[PFT Commenter]

five.

[John Smoltz]

No, not five.

[Zach]

Jerry. Jerry. Took forever.

[Jerry]

I can't see.

[Brandon Walker]

Couldn't read.

[Zach]

I can't see either. What do they say? Hold on, let me do a running back. Let me do a running back. Let me do a running back. Let me do a running back. Let me do a running back.

[Memes]

Do a running back.

[Zach]

I'm gonna do a running back. And here's what. What I'm going to do. I'm going to do a. I'm going to do a.

[John Smoltz]

Hold on, hold on.

[Zach]

I'm going to do a running back.

[Memes]

Five.

[John Smoltz]

There's not five.

[Zach]

Four, three, two. Stop that. Y' all are.

[Brandon Walker]

Y' all are.

[Zach]

Y' all are bothering me. Breaking away. 10 Kevin Costner sports movies.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a good movie, but it's not Kevin cost.

[Zach]

You're right. God damn it.

[Hank]

Oh, no.

[PFT Commenter]

It's bicycling movie memes. So just memes, Max, Pft and I and do Homelander.

[Brandon Walker]

Ah, that was going to be mine.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Hank]

And, Hank, let's go with France for eight countries for the falling brands.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Brandon Walker]

No, I will go with Japan.

[PFT Commenter]

Ah, that was the one I had.

[Memes]

Good pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick. Dude.

[Memes]

I'm gonna go half and half for milk options at Starbucks. Show me half and half.

[Brandon Walker]

Memes knows every single one of the

[Memes]

boys, by the way.

[Brandon Walker]

So. So he's just gonna win half and half.

[Stephen Shea]

Not there.

[Memes]

No half and half.

[PFT Commenter]

No half and half with Danny and Tomlinson. There we go. All right, Memes, you're up.

[Max]

And do black noir.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, he does know all these.

[Brandon Walker]

He knows everyone.

[PFT Commenter]

So, Hank, you're.

[Hank]

I'm out.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, you're out. It's just Matt, Max, me, Max, and Memes. Come on, Max, fight him off. This is just more.

[Brandon Walker]

No, he knows every single one.

[PFT Commenter]

More in line. So we gotta. We gotta. We gotta beat him on that. We gotta beat him on that.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm gonna go with.

[PFT Commenter]

Come on. Come on.

[Brandon Walker]

You know, if I'm gonna go out swinging, I'm gonna go out swing in six countries and make these brands. Give me Italy.

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Prada. I feel like one of these two has to be America. Lego Lululemon has. Yeah, no Lego.

[Brandon Walker]

I do not think. Okay, Lululemon feels like America.

[PFT Commenter]

Give me America. Show me America. United States. There we.

[Zach]

Where'd it go? Where'd it go?

[PFT Commenter]

That counts.

[Zach]

That's the movie I was thinking.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, Memes, you're up.

[Brandon Walker]

That counts.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

How does that count?

[Zach]

It doesn't has America in it type

[Memes]

in usa, See if that's what they're looking for.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, Max and Memes.

[Jerry]

I'm out.

[Max]

I'm gonna do a neutron.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, Jesus.

[Zach]

No, I think usually we treat an accident like it counts.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, fine. I'm still around. You're right.

[Brandon Walker]

Well, all right, then you go.

[PFT Commenter]

No, no, it's you. I just did.

[Zach]

He got American flyers.

[Brandon Walker]

I'll do proton.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, what about. What about.

[Brandon Walker]

What about neutron sparked? Something.

[PFT Commenter]

What about spark.

[Memes]

Anything else?

[PFT Commenter]

What about Jamal, Lewis?

[Jerry]

Raven?

[PFT Commenter]

No, I'm out. Paul, don't lie. I didn't deserve to be in.

[Max]

Gonna do Jennifer Lawrence. No hard feelings.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, I can.

[John Smoltz]

Oh, wow.

[PFT Commenter]

Come on, Max. This guy's a. Max, come on.

[Brandon Walker]

I could have got that.

[Memes]

You got this, Max.

[PFT Commenter]

Come on, Max. Come on, Max. Max. Max.

[Zach]

Max.

[PFT Commenter]

Max. Five.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm gonna go with three. Two, Electron.

[Memes]

Yeah, Max.

[PFT Commenter]

Yes, Max. Way to go, Max.

[Max]

Gonna do a train.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Brandon Walker]

Damn it. He still has the ball. Is it wrong?

[Steven Che]

Is it a dash train?

[Jerry]

Try eight.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah.

[Max]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Come on, Max.

[Brandon Walker]

See, she wasn't an original member. I know Starlight is. I don't think she counts as an original member. Could I go China? I feel like one of those has got to be China.

[Zach]

Good guess.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm gonna go China.

[PFT Commenter]

China.

[Zach]

Oh.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, Memes, you gotta get one right. Gotta get one right now.

[Max]

And do Translucent.

[Zach]

Okay. Yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

I mean.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so memes.

[Brandon Walker]

Wait, was. See if. See if what's her name counted.

[Steven Che]

All right.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, never mind.

[PFT Commenter]

Show answers.

[Memes]

Italy is Korea.

[Jerry]

All right.

[Max]

She didn't.

[Brandon Walker]

That makes me feel better. Adrian Peterson, I was gonna say, but I was like, no one else is Frank. Frank Gore.

[PFT Commenter]

Jerome Bettis.

[Zach]

You.

[PFT Commenter]

Man, that's pretty good.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Coconut milk. I guess half and half doesn't count as milk.

[PFT Commenter]

You talking about good nut?

[Memes]

A good nut.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Good nut. All right, Memes, you. Would you like first pick?

[Max]

I would like first pick.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so we'll go memes, then Hank, all the way back to Zach and all the way back around.

[Zach]

Oh, that's good.

[Max]

All right, I'll be taking Kyle Schwarber.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good pick.

[Zach]

I had him on my board.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick.

[Brandon Walker]

I was so close to getting shore.

[Stephen Shea]

Boyd.

[PFT Commenter]

You got Boyd.

[Brandon Walker]

He got it. He got all the. He can't compete with the boys.

[Hank]

Okay?

[Brandon Walker]

It's Memes favorite show. It's the only thing he talks about.

[PFT Commenter]

And wait, who decided which.

[Brandon Walker]

It's literally the only television that Memes talks about.

[PFT Commenter]

And who decided which sporkle? We were gonna do Memes. Oh, interesting.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, really?

[Memes]

And Meme still hasn't commented on Geno.

[Brandon Walker]

That's very interesting.

[PFT Commenter]

Interesting. That's really interesting. All right, go ahead, Hank.

[Hank]

I will be taking Ben Rice, pride of Cohasset.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[John Smoltz]

You for real over Judge?

[Jerry]

It's crazy.

[Memes]

He's fourth in home runs this year.

[Hank]

Check those.

[PFT Commenter]

Is that on your sheet? You don't get home runs that have already happened. Yeah, he plays the Yankee Stadium.

[Memes]

He's a lefty taking a Yankee. That's interesting.

[Hank]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, Steven.

[Steven Che]

I'll go with potential future Triple Crown guy, Jordan Alvarez.

[Brandon Walker]

I'll take Otani.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that's not as good about Otani. That's a good pick.

[Memes]

My one one's on the board right now.

[Brandon Walker]

James Wood.

[Memes]

I'm gonna take James Wood.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Memes]

DC's own. Good wood.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Number one in barrel rank as a right fielder. I will take Juan Soto.

[Steven Che]

Okay, let's check that really quick because I have him as a left.

[Zach]

Okay. Okay. Well, he's. He's right field on my board as well.

[Memes]

James Wood is right field.

[Hank]

He's got his left field on ESPN

[Steven Che]

as long as he's played at least 10 games. Was the rule last year.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I'm just. She says right field, but I'm fine with taking him left field.

[Memes]

And remember, if you draft a player that gets accused of child pornography or pedophilia, you are allowed to have one penalty free cut option for that player.

[PFT Commenter]

But you have to cut them before the MLB decides. Yes, I cut Wander Franco before the MLB decided on his punishment.

[Zach]

I'm up. I will be taking and I will say this name slowly.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, here's the left fielder. I don't know why it's right field in this sheet.

[Zach]

All right. God damn it.

[Steven Che]

Yeah, That's Ebo Pft. You're taking Wood as right field, correct?

[Memes]

I am, yes.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Zach]

I will be taking first baseman Nick Kurtz.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Memes]

You can say it again.

[Brandon Walker]

We can cut out. We can cut that middle part. You could say Nicholas Kurtz.

[Jerry]

I'm also going to take first base. I'm going to go with. With C. Walker. First base.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, Christian.

[Brandon Walker]

Christian Walker.

[Memes]

Christian Walker, Live of the year. Jerry won't even say the word Christian.

[Hank]

Okay.

[Stephen Shea]

I would like to take Boba Shet.

[PFT Commenter]

Boba. You have two. You have two.

[Memes]

All right.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

What position is Mr. Bichette?

[Memes]

Shortstop.

[Brandon Walker]

Third. I think he's playing third, but he probably. He's probably eligible for short.

[PFT Commenter]

You have two picks here this year.

[Stephen Shea]

All right, I would like to take him. And then I would like to. I go. I'd like to go to future hall of Famer on my team. I like to take Vinnie Pascantino again.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, love that. Good pick, good pick.

[Steven Che]

He is first base, correct?

[Stephen Shea]

That is correct.

[Jerry]

Okay, I'm gonna go with center fielder Byron Buxton.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick. Twins. Good pick, Good pick.

[Zach]

I'll be taking catcher, Cal Raleigh.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, wow.

[Memes]

All right.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm gonna take friend of the program, first base, Matt Olson.

[Memes]

I was gonna take him.

[Stephen Shea]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Future hall of Famer. Should I try to call him and see if he wants to be on my team?

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[John Smoltz]

I'll Try to call.

[Steven Che]

Let's see.

[Jerry]

I didn't.

[PFT Commenter]

I didn't prep him at all.

[Brandon Walker]

Did you prep any?

[PFT Commenter]

No, I didn't. Anyone?

[Zach]

No.

[John Smoltz]

No, I didn't prep anyone.

[PFT Commenter]

It's kind of a hard being like, hey, we're doing a draft, a fantasy draft in the middle of the season, and I want to call you.

[Zach]

What's. Is it more awkward to just cold call and say that?

[PFT Commenter]

Well, I don't know.

[Zach]

We'll see.

[PFT Commenter]

We'll find out. I. I'm guessing he's not gonna pick up. I'm pretty sure he's not gonna pick up.

[Zach]

Doesn't appear he's gonna pick up.

[PFT Commenter]

Seems like a non pickup. Yeah, we will. Also, we'll make one other phone call. Whenever Gunner Henderson gets picked, Steven's gonna

[Steven Che]

have to call him. All right.

[Stephen Shea]

Okay.

[Steven Che]

PFT is up.

[Memes]

I'm going to take future hall of Famer, maybe future best player in the history of baseball, healthy for the first time in a long time. Mike Trout.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Zach]

He's actually hurt right now.

[Memes]

What?

[Zach]

He's legit. He's literally hurt right now.

[Memes]

When did that happen?

[Zach]

Stop, Babe, he just got like, three days ago.

[Memes]

Are you serious?

[Zach]

You've already taken him. But he, like you said, healthy for the first time.

[PFT Commenter]

Your hand is off the chest.

[Zach]

He's on the injured list, right?

[Memes]

Like, he got injured like, yesterday.

[PFT Commenter]

Mike Trout, three days ago. I'm looking it up. Angels with shout on IL4. Okay. Hamstring injury, shelves.

[Zach]

Trout.

[Brandon Walker]

Let him pick someone at the end.

[PFT Commenter]

This is all part of the things only. We've all drafted guys that have been hurt before.

[Memes]

Hamstrings are easy to come back from.

[Zach]

He's not out long.

[Brandon Walker]

All right, I will take catcher.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Memes]

Nice job, Max.

[Zach]

It's a damn good pick, man.

[Brandon Walker]

Thank you.

[Steven Che]

Randall's guy A's. Oops.

[Zach]

Hold on.

[Steven Che]

Sorry.

[Memes]

Steven.

[Zach]

Steven.

[John Smoltz]

Yep.

[Steven Che]

Sorry. I was entering. All right.

[PFT Commenter]

At what point is Stephen gonna take pca?

[Steven Che]

Nope. I. I'm technically gonna take a guy who's injured right now. It's for the culture. Okay. Munitaki Morikawa.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good pick.

[Zach]

Oh, yeah.

[Steven Che]

He's gonna be back very soon.

[Max]

That's not the right name.

[Zach]

That's just not his name.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, and what was the culture?

[Steven Che]

Muni Takamikami.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, and what was the culture? We all knew what he was doing.

[Steven Che]

He was.

[PFT Commenter]

For anyone who. Who's maybe not a baseball fan. He was trying to take the Asian guy on the White Sox.

[Zach]

Yeah, right.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you say that?

[Steven Che]

Moon ball?

[Zach]

Because you. You passed On Ohtani earlier.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he did.

[Zach]

Just to take.

[PFT Commenter]

You should have done an all Asian right.

[Brandon Walker]

I got Otani.

[Hank]

Yeah, that's true. I will take catcher for the Colorado Rockies. Altitude, dude. Hunter Goodman.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good value pick.

[Hank]

Thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

Really good value.

[John Smoltz]

Pick

[Hank]

two.

[Max]

I would like to do Colson Montgomery.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Max]

And Pete Alonzo.

[PFT Commenter]

I am not, by the way, following who's been.

[Brandon Walker]

No, no, I'm not doing that at all.

[Zach]

I got it.

[Steven Che]

That's why I'm taking on the longer.

[Brandon Walker]

There you go.

[Max]

Okay.

[Brandon Walker]

That's actually very val. I'm happy. Thank you for doing that, Steven.

[Zach]

Terrible fit.

[Hank]

I will take Chicago. Cub left fielder Ian Hap.

[Jerry]

Great pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Does hit a lot of home runs.

[Max]

Not forever.

[PFT Commenter]

It's not the average league.

[Hank]

Nope.

[Steven Che]

Sorry. Who did memes.

[PFT Commenter]

Who did it ain't the batting average league.

[Zach]

He took Pete Alonzo and Hunter.

[Max]

No Montgomery.

[Steven Che]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jerry]

One.

[Steven Che]

I will go with. This guy is a second baseman. I'm going with Brandon LA on the Pittsburgh Pirates. 18 home runs. Very cool.

[Hank]

Brother of Jeff.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm going to go with first baseman Bryce Harper.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, good pick.

[Brandon Walker]

Good pick.

[Memes]

Nice pick.

[Stephen Shea]

Thanks.

[Zach]

Good pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Great pick.

[Brandon Walker]

Thanks.

[Memes]

Everyone has. Shay Langley's been picked.

[PFT Commenter]

He has.

[Memes]

I knew that.

[Brandon Walker]

But we're not gonna shame that.

[PFT Commenter]

No, no.

[Memes]

We're not shooting that at all.

[PFT Commenter]

Simple.

[Zach]

He has.

[Brandon Walker]

No, but I just wanna going forward because that's gonna happen to me.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I'm going to take Detroit Lions catcher Dylan Dingler.

[Jerry]

Nice.

[Zach]

For the Lions.

[Memes]

Detroit Tigers.

[Max]

Sorry.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I say Lions.

[Zach]

You did.

[Memes]

Detroit Tigers catcher Dylan Dingler. Great Dinger name.

[PFT Commenter]

I will take PCA just for that.

[Zach]

I will be taking.

[Jerry]

Felt good.

[Zach]

Right fielder for the Atlanta braves, Ronald Acuna Jr. Nice.

[Jerry]

Nice.

[Zach]

He needs to come back from injury as well.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick.

[Jerry]

I will take third base. Ms. Junior.

[Brandon Walker]

I like that.

[PFT Commenter]

Shout out to anyone who's listening right now.

[Brandon Walker]

They're the best. No, we're having fun.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

Is left fielder Riley Green available?

[Brandon Walker]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Sounds very available.

[Stephen Shea]

I take Riley Green, left field.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. You got another pick.

[Stephen Shea]

All right. And then I would like to run. I would like to take another pick here. I want to go. It's Brandon Lowe available?

[Zach]

No.

[Steven Che]

All right.

[Max]

What about.

[Stephen Shea]

What about Shea?

[Zach]

No.

[Max]

Not available.

[Jerry]

Yep.

[Zach]

All right.

[Steven Che]

Well, here we go.

[Stephen Shea]

Sorry. I'm gonna go George Springer.

[Steven Che]

What position is Mr. Springer?

[Brandon Walker]

I thought you were a position guy.

[Steven Che]

I'm writing him down.

[Zach]

He's our documenter.

[Brandon Walker]

My bad. I thought you were.

[Stephen Shea]

George Springer's a dh.

[Zach]

Probably need a documentarian too.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm documenting my own team.

[Memes]

There's a spreadsheet.

[Hank]

We could all just pull up.

[Jerry]

I'm gonna go with shortstop, C.J. abrams.

[Memes]

Good pick.

[John Smoltz]

It's your guy.

[Memes]

Good pick.

[Zach]

I'll be going with third. Third baseman, Au Henio Suarez.

[Brandon Walker]

Good pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Did someone take Judge?

[Brandon Walker]

No, no.

[John Smoltz]

He's.

[Jerry]

How.

[PFT Commenter]

What's the timetable?

[Hank]

July.

[Brandon Walker]

July to August, earliest possible late July by.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm gonna take Judge just because it's gonna look awesome on my roster.

[Steven Che]

He's right field, correct?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's gonna. I have an outfield of Juan Stto pca.

[Zach]

That's sick.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Memes]

I'm going to take left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. Jackson Chio.

[Zach]

And that's a damn good pick.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a really good pick.

[Memes]

People forget he was. He was injured the first. First month. Yeah, he's been good since then.

[Brandon Walker]

I will be taking second baseman Catel Marte.

[Zach]

Oh, that's a hell of a.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a great freaking.

[Jerry]

My pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it was you.

[Zach]

You're.

[John Smoltz]

But you're just head so far away.

[PFT Commenter]

You're so far away from your pick.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Steven Che]

Ch. Sorry. Who'd you just pick?

[Brandon Walker]

I took Tel Marte, second base.

[Steven Che]

All right, all right. This guy's not injured. All right. I will take Dodgers third baseman Max Muncie.

[Zach]

That's not a great pick.

[Steven Che]

Why?

[Zach]

I don't know.

[Hank]

I will take. Just got off the the DL on June 5th. Jose Altuve at second base.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Hank]

Okay.

[Max]

Has Jordan Walker been picked?

[Zach]

No, he's not.

[Max]

I'm gonna pick him.

[Zach]

Smart.

[Max]

And Ozzy Albies.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Steven Che]

Sorry, can you guys say positions before you call the players?

[Max]

Right fielder.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Max]

Jordan Walker and second baseman Ozzy Albies.

[Steven Che]

Thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice picks.

[Steven Che]

Good picks.

[Zach]

Good picks.

[PFT Commenter]

Good picks all around, boys.

[Hank]

I will take Yandy Diaz of the Double Rays. Dh.

[Steven Che]

And who'd you pick right before that?

[Hank]

Jose Altuve, second base.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[John Smoltz]

All right.

[Steven Che]

I'm in trouble.

[PFT Commenter]

Steven. Steven.

[Steven Che]

Just make sure.

[Jerry]

Come on.

[Zach]

Steven.

[Jerry]

Steven.

[PFT Commenter]

I'll go with Steven.

[Zach]

Steven. Ch.

[PFT Commenter]

Stephen Che.

[Zach]

You're up.

[Steven Che]

You know what?

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Zach]

There we go.

[Hank]

Do it.

[Zach]

Do it.

[Steven Che]

I was going to pick a guy.

[PFT Commenter]

I have Dan Swanson. Give it to him.

[Zach]

Just. You can just say who you're going to pick.

[Steven Che]

Gunner Henderson.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Call guy.

[Steven Che]

Right now?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, call him. Give him a call.

[Steven Che]

FaceTime or phone call.

[Max]

Phone.

[PFT Commenter]

Call him and ask him if he's willing to be on your Dingers only team.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Memes]

Can you force a trade if he's not?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's true. If he doesn't agree, this is going to be really awkward.

[Memes]

Pull Eli Steven's gonna call him.

[Steven Che]

Calling. Hope he's not playing right now.

[PFT Commenter]

He's not. It's Monday.

[Zach]

Is it just Monday?

[PFT Commenter]

It's just Monday. It's just another. It's Monday. I wish it was Sunday. That's my fun day.

[Steven Che]

Sh. Feels good.

[Zach]

Yes. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

It's be like.

[Zach]

Call me back.

[PFT Commenter]

I want to see if I can drive to on Dingers only.

[Zach]

Hey, hit me up.

[John Smoltz]

Hey, this is the Henderson.

[PFT Commenter]

Sorry I missed. Okay, please leave a message and I'll

[John Smoltz]

return call as soon as possible. Thanks.

[Steven Che]

Gunner. What's up, buddy? Steve, I am drafting you on my Dingers only team. Just wanted to officially welcome you into the squad. Have a good season.

[PFT Commenter]

Call me back.

[Steven Che]

Call me back. Bye.

[Zach]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Excuse me, Max.

[Brandon Walker]

I will be going with center fielder Julio Rodriguez.

[PFT Commenter]

Good one. That one lasted way too long.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good pick, dude.

[Memes]

Good pick.

[Brandon Walker]

Thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a really.

[Brandon Walker]

Thanks, guys.

[Memes]

I like that pick for you. I'm going to take. Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Kazuma Okamoto.

[Zach]

And that's a hell of a pick.

[PFT Commenter]

Has anyone taken Bobby Witt?

[Brandon Walker]

No.

[Jerry]

No.

[Brandon Walker]

I was going between.

[PFT Commenter]

I want Bobby Witt Jr.

[Steven Che]

This is embarrassing. Can you.

[PFT Commenter]

How do you spell W? I, T, T?

[Max]

No.

[Zach]

You don't know the Asian's name?

[Memes]

E, O, B, B, Y. Oh, did I say left? I meant third base.

[Hank]

Base.

[Steven Che]

Third base.

[Memes]

He's a third baseman. Kazuma Okamoto.

[Steven Che]

Oh, okay. Got him.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

My fault.

[Steven Che]

Oh, yeah.

[Memes]

What was that? Oh, yeah.

[Steven Che]

Got him right below my guy. Max Muncie. I should have done.

[Zach]

I will be taking.

[Steven Che]

Oh, wait. Pft. You have two or. No, you have him at third base.

[Memes]

Okay.

[Stephen Shea]

Third base.

[PFT Commenter]

He's got him at third base.

[Zach]

I'll be taking designated hitter, Brent Rooker, Mississippi State.

[Stephen Shea]

Nice.

[Max]

Nice.

[John Smoltz]

Really good pick.

[Steven Che]

Thanks.

[Stephen Shea]

Nice.

[Jerry]

I'm gonna.

[PFT Commenter]

It's gonna be so funny when you don't win this year and there's a cash prize.

[Steven Che]

Big Head, did you just take.

[PFT Commenter]

I took Bobby Witt Jr. Witt.

[Jerry]

W, I, T, T. I'm gonna take a right fielder. Sea Suzuki.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Out.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, Matt Olson's calling me back.

[Zach]

Oh.

[Steven Che]

Let's go.

[PFT Commenter]

Hey, Matt, I just drafted you on my Dingers only team. Do you. You ready to hit some dingers?

[Zach]

Yeah.

[John Smoltz]

When does it start?

[PFT Commenter]

July 1st.

[Zach]

So don't hit any. So.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, just maybe don't hit any between now and July 1st.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[John Smoltz]

I'll save them up.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, cool.

[Steven Che]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Welcome to the squad, dude. Let's crush it.

[Zach]

Thank. Yeah.

[Steven Che]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Let's go. All Right.

[Memes]

Love it.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, talk to you later, man.

[Jerry]

All right, bye.

[Zach]

He was super fun.

[Jerry]

Yeah, he's pumped.

[PFT Commenter]

Very. Yeah. Now we can put him in the title.

[Memes]

That's what ball the ball players need this time of year to get him to the All Star break. Yeah, like just any sort of boost.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, quick break from dingers only to talk to you about Lucy. Lucy is the obvious choice for the true nicotine pouch connoisseurs. That's why they're the official nicotine pouch partner. Barstool sports. Every other pouch is the same. Lucy breakers are the only ones doing it differently. To give you the longest lasting flavor in pouches. Lucy pouches go up to 12 milligram strength and have unique shape. That feels great. Lucy's in stores nationwide now. Or get Lucy delivered to you ASAP on apps like DoorDash and GoPuff. Lucy's the only pouch that delivers long lasting, on demand flavor. Find a store near [e-mail] stores or get shipped with 20 off your first order at Lucy Co PMT using code PMT. Lucy products are only for adults of legal age and every customer's age verified.

[Max]

Warning.

[PFT Commenter]

This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Okay, back to dingers only.

[Stephen Shea]

I'd like to take Manny Machado. Okay, that's gonna be third base.

[Memes]

No hustle.

[Zach]

Worst hitter in the league.

[Steven Che]

Don't say that.

[Stephen Shea]

That was hate. Brandon. And then I'd also like to take. Is Matt McLean available?

[John Smoltz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

I take. Or I can I disavow Matt McLean. Pick and pick a different pick.

[Zach]

No, you don't have to disavow him.

[Stephen Shea]

All right, I'll take like. Fine, I'll take them.

[Steven Che]

What position is missing?

[Memes]

Why do you want to disavow?

[Zach]

Yeah, it seems like strong language.

[Stephen Shea]

I like, I jumped to him too quick on the board and then.

[Zach]

But. But you.

[Memes]

You passed.

[Stephen Shea]

I just stuck with it. But that was a mistake last time. I just stuck with it. So I was gonna maybe pivot, but we'll go with Matt.

[Steven Che]

What position is.

[Stephen Shea]

Matt's gonna be a. I believe Matt's a second baseman.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Stephen Shea]

Are you guys okay with me swapping Matt to Sal Stewart though, though?

[PFT Commenter]

Sure.

[Brandon Walker]

Who you pick?

[Stephen Shea]

I'll take S. Stewart. Stam it.

[Memes]

Wow.

[Steven Che]

S. Stewart is a great.

[Memes]

He's a first baseman for the. For the Reds.

[Steven Che]

First bas.

[PFT Commenter]

Really good pick. Really good pick.

[Memes]

That was a good step off.

[Jerry]

All right, Jerry, I'm going to go. DH Casey Schmidt. Okay, the Giants.

[Memes]

Brandon.

[Zach]

Second baseman. J.J. weatherholt, rookie.

[PFT Commenter]

I will also go DH from the Giants, Rafael Devers. Did you see him not take a. Yeah, that was bad.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

So bad.

[Zach]

He was.

[PFT Commenter]

He got walked late in the game and they tried to pinch around and he literally just said, no, no, I do not want to come off show like this.

[Memes]

Manager, what do we think about my guy, Freddie Freeman? Has he been drafted?

[Zach]

He has not.

[Brandon Walker]

He's not.

[Memes]

I would like to take first baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers, Frederick Freeman.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm gonna say one that I think has already been picked, and I apologize for that. Colson Montgomery has been picked.

[Steven Che]

Yeah.

[Max]

Okay.

[Brandon Walker]

See, I'm happy that I apologize ahead of time.

[Memes]

In that case,

[Brandon Walker]

I will be taking. Kyle Tucker.

[Steven Che]

Boo.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Boo.

[Steven Che]

He's sewing, right? Yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Jerry]

Somebody should take Jose Ramirez.

[Steven Che]

I'll be taking catcher for the Atlanta Braves, Drake Baldwin.

[Zach]

Okay. Hopefully he comes back healthy.

[Steven Che]

He played yesterday.

[Zach]

Hopefully he comes back healthy. I don't know what to tell you.

[Hank]

I will be taking. Expected to return shortly from the hamstring injury. Ellie De La Cree Cruise, shortstop, Cincinnati Red.

[Zach]

It's a damn good pick.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a good pick.

[Memes]

It's a good pick.

[Max]

I'll be doing o' Neal Cruise.

[PFT Commenter]

I was going to cruise it up, man.

[Zach]

That's.

[PFT Commenter]

You're going to go cruise missiles?

[Zach]

Yeah. I almost have to let him do the cruise. Dude, it's up.

[Hank]

Were you going to take Ellie?

[Max]

No.

[Hank]

See, that's selfish.

[Zach]

You. You went the wrong cruise.

[Hank]

No, I guess. Yeah, you're right.

[Jerry]

Damn.

[Memes]

Get hantavirus that way.

[Max]

And then left field. I'm gonna do Cody Bellinger.

[Hank]

I'm going to make sure this person isn't injured. Oh, Jerry, you just said it, right? Is he injured? Is that why you said it?

[Jerry]

Ramirez? I don't know. I picked him. Last year was great.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Hank]

I'm gonna take him. No, I'm gonna take Julio Rodriguez.

[Jerry]

He's only took him.

[Zach]

He's taken.

[Brandon Walker]

They already taken him.

[Hank]

Him then.

[Brandon Walker]

It's tough. It's tough out here.

[Hank]

I will take. Willer Abreu. Red Sock right fielder.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm going to definitely pick some guys that have already. Yeah. That at this point.

[Zach]

That's okay.

[Brandon Walker]

Everyone one.

[PFT Commenter]

It's okay, everyone.

[Steven Che]

I will be taking.

[PFT Commenter]

It's okay.

[Memes]

Everyone.

[Steven Che]

Left fielder.

[Zach]

Damn it.

[Steven Che]

Mickey Monac. Oh, it's okay.

[Memes]

O. I like that. I'm all over the place right now.

[Zach]

Believe in yourself.

[Brandon Walker]

I don't believe in myself.

[John Smoltz]

No, he doesn't.

[Memes]

He's a puddle right now.

[Brandon Walker]

I will be taking.

[Memes]

I will be taking. Oh, you got this.

[Zach]

There you go.

[Brandon Walker]

Third Baseman. I. I apologize if he's already been picked. Miguel Vargas sounds like he hasn't been.

[Zach]

I don't think so. I don't know why anybody would take.

[Memes]

I'm going to take.

[Brandon Walker]

I think he's a third baseman, too.

[Steven Che]

Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

Is that.

[Zach]

Is that.

[Steven Che]

He is the third. That's when I have him as third baseman.

[Memes]

I'm going to take. You know what?

[Zach]

Yep.

[Memes]

You know what we're gonna do?

[Brandon Walker]

What are we gonna do?

[Memes]

Take designated hitter from the Seattle Mariners, Dominic Canzoni.

[Steven Che]

Good pick.

[John Smoltz]

Nice.

[PFT Commenter]

Has anyone taken Manny Machado?

[Brandon Walker]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

That was a long time ago, wasn't it? It's okay.

[Brandon Walker]

We're all struggling out here.

[Memes]

I think Zach took him.

[Hank]

Right.

[Zach]

You want to give him up to pick it?

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, no.

[Max]

We got.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, all right, all right. I need to get. All right, I'll do Adley Rushman.

[Steven Che]

Infield right.

[PFT Commenter]

No catcher.

[Zach]

Take left fielder, I think. I don't know if he's picked or not. Wyatt Lankford, you're good.

[Brandon Walker]

Sounds like you.

[Steven Che]

All designated hitters are all off the board.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, good to know.

[Brandon Walker]

Good to know.

[Memes]

Good to know.

[PFT Commenter]

That's great to know.

[Zach]

Wait, that's just not true.

[Steven Che]

Well, everyone. Everyone has one.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, I say everyone has one.

[Zach]

All right, all right. Sorry.

[Jerry]

I'm going to take. I'm going to go with Jazz Chisum, second base.

[Brandon Walker]

Love it. Yankees love it.

[Zach]

It's a hell of a pick.

[Stephen Shea]

I'm going to go center field. Andy Pages.

[Brandon Walker]

Yep.

[Stephen Shea]

We'll take close. I would also do a left field. Is Ian Hap available or someone's scoopy in hat?

[Steven Che]

You also have a left fielder in Riley Green.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, no, I'd like to take.

[Stephen Shea]

I'd like to keep Riley Green.

[Steven Che]

Okay. You need a right fielder.

[Brandon Walker]

Yep.

[Steven Che]

And a catcher.

[Stephen Shea]

Catcher. You need to catch and get a catcher quick.

[PFT Commenter]

Just pick up a catcher.

[Stephen Shea]

Yeah, I'll just go right field instead. I'll go Adoles Garcia.

[Brandon Walker]

He's hurt for the year.

[Stephen Shea]

Great comms, Max.

[Hank]

Two.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, okay.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah. We did tell PFC that he had to do that.

[Zach]

Great.

[PFT Commenter]

When Trout is coming back. Are you saying this guy's out for the entire year?

[Brandon Walker]

Hoping to return by 2027?

[Memes]

Oh, that's really what happened.

[Brandon Walker]

I tore something in his shoulder.

[Stephen Shea]

What about Wyler Abreu?

[Zach]

Gone.

[Stephen Shea]

Gone. Okay.

[Jerry]

Wow.

[Stephen Shea]

Anthony Santander.

[Zach]

You're good.

[Steven Che]

He's available right field. Is that correct?

[Stephen Shea]

That's correct.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Has anybody picked the left fielder? Jackson? Cheerio.

[Zach]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Yes.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Brandon Walker]

This is the part of the draft where we keep doing this.

[PFT Commenter]

No this is going to be a time.

[Brandon Walker]

The tough part. Yeah.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Stephen Shea]

But it's okay.

[PFT Commenter]

You gotta stick with us, Stephen.

[Jerry]

I need a left fielder. I'm guessing.

[Steven Che]

Hurry. You need a catcher.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Steven Che]

And a left fielder.

[Jerry]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Yep.

[Jerry]

Okay. I will go with left fielder. Spencer Steer. Sounds like a horrible pick.

[Hank]

Like.

[Zach]

No,

[Brandon Walker]

I like that you can hear memes laugh through the.

[Steven Che]

Brandon, you need a short stop.

[Zach]

And a center fielder.

[Steven Che]

And a center fielder. Yes.

[Zach]

Center fielder. Joe Adell.

[Steven Che]

Oh, the Joe Show.

[Memes]

God, what a steal.

[PFT Commenter]

He just got her. But I'm trying to go for, like, splashy name. I'm trying to go for the all splashy.

[Zach]

You just want to look good on the graphic.

[PFT Commenter]

No, you know what? I'm not going to. I did want to look good on the graph. I was thinking about taking Jackson Holiday, but he's. Yeah, he's hurt again. He started hurt. He's hurt again. I'm gonna just say some names, and you guys just tell me if they've been drafted. Has J.J. weatherholt been drafted?

[Zach]

Y.

[Max]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

And Bryce Strang obviously was drafted.

[Zach]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, okay. I'll take Bryce Trang.

[Max]

That's.

[Stephen Shea]

That's not.

[Steven Che]

That's.

[PFT Commenter]

Second baseman. It's a great pick. It's a really good one. Yeah, that is a really good pick I'm gonna take.

[Steven Che]

He needs a second baseman and a.

[PFT Commenter]

Were you gonna take Bryce shortstop?

[Memes]

I was not. I was locked in on Zach Netto,

[Zach]

and that's a hell of a thing.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a great pick.

[Brandon Walker]

I was thinking about him.

[Hank]

Thank you.

[Memes]

Yeah, his barrel rate is really good.

[Zach]

You go on analytics.

[Memes]

I'm strictly looking at barrel raid. I'm a one one stat man.

[Steven Che]

So let's.

[Memes]

Let me see here.

[Brandon Walker]

I still need left field.

[Max]

Correct.

[Brandon Walker]

Stephen.

[Zach]

Oh, thank God. Stephen did write everything down.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

Yes. Left field and shortstop.

[Memes]

I need left field and shortstop.

[Brandon Walker]

I am gonna go.

[PFT Commenter]

Damn it.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go with. I don't know. I'm gonna go with.

[Memes]

This is a panic. This is panic. Yeah, it's not gonna.

[Zach]

Relax.

[Memes]

This is gonna be really bad.

[PFT Commenter]

It's gonna be a bad pick.

[Memes]

It's about to be terrible.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, man.

[Brandon Walker]

Wait.

[Memes]

Everyone's about to laugh at you.

[Brandon Walker]

Is anyone taking Christian Yelich?

[PFT Commenter]

No, I'll take.

[Brandon Walker]

I'll take Christian Yellich.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, he's left. Max left.

[Brandon Walker]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Okay. I will go with Michael Harris, Atlanta Braves, center field.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick.

[Steven Che]

Thank you.

[Hank]

I will go with a guy who's been struggling, but I think he's gonna have a big second half of the year. Give me third baseman Alex Bregman.

[Steven Che]

Love it.

[PFT Commenter]

I was gonna take him just out of solidarity.

[John Smoltz]

I was thinking about doing that, too.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, listen, he's gonna. He's gonna turn it around.

[Steven Che]

All right. Memes needs a third baseman.

[Max]

I'm gonna go with Zach Giloff, third baseman.

[PFT Commenter]

Joe sounds like a Athletics.

[Brandon Walker]

He's gonna. And you're gonna take Lindor.

[Max]

No, I already have a short.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, you told me you're gonna take Lindor.

[Max]

Catcher Liam Hicks. Marlins.

[Steven Che]

Yep. Former Yak legend. Hank, do you know what you need?

[Hank]

I need a center fielder.

[Steven Che]

Yes.

[Hank]

And I will take Dodger Andy Pages.

[Steven Che]

He's been taken.

[Hank]

I will take brave Michael Harris.

[Zach]

I just been taken.

[PFT Commenter]

I will take. Listen, it's gonna happen, boys. It's gonna happen.

[Hank]

These stuff. This.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, this is. This is how. This is how Dingers only goes.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, this is how it goes, boys.

[Zach]

All right.

[Hank]

Jackson Merrill's been taken.

[Brandon Walker]

I don't think so.

[Zach]

I don't believe so.

[Hank]

All right, pothead. Jackson Merrill.

[Memes]

Okay, okay.

[Zach]

I think Hank has a good team.

[Hank]

I came second last year.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I'm going to try to take m. Manny Machado.

[Zach]

Oh, he came in second.

[Stephen Shea]

Yeah, I think I came in second last year.

[Hank]

Came in third.

[Steven Che]

I need a right fielder.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you guys need?

[Brandon Walker]

Max and I need a short stop.

[John Smoltz]

So true.

[Memes]

He did second baseman.

[PFT Commenter]

Has Jake Berger been taken?

[Brandon Walker]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, great. I'm Summer burgers.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah. That's big for you.

[PFT Commenter]

That's such huge.

[Hank]

Needed.

[Steven Che]

I will take Stephen Sh.

[PFT Commenter]

Stephen. Ch's up.

[Steven Che]

Jacques Cag Leonone.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, good pick.

[Zach]

What was his name again?

[PFT Commenter]

Has everyone written down their.

[Zach]

I got.

[Brandon Walker]

Yes.

[Steven Che]

Go over them after or no. Kansas City. Max needs.

[Brandon Walker]

I am going to take short stop. Short stop. I am going to take shortstop.

[PFT Commenter]

Mookie bets.

[Hank]

Good pick.

[Steven Che]

P15 is a second baseman.

[Memes]

I need a second baseman. And this is where I'm about to either win the whole damn thing for myself or possibly, possibly lose the whole damn thing for myself because we're trying to time the market on Fernando Tatis

[Brandon Walker]

Jr. Yeah, I. I think it's. I think it's a.

[Memes]

And I'm gonna. I'm like. I'm taking ftj.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, that's what Brandon was trying to do.

[Memes]

Is that what you're gonna do, Brandon? I'm happy you didn't try to time the market.

[Max]

Don't you need a second baseman?

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, he's play second bases Play second base.

[Hank]

Oh, does he?

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, he does.

[PFT Commenter]

Damn memes.

[Max]

That's on me.

[PFT Commenter]

I got to.

[Memes]

He's got two home runs.

[Zach]

You know he's gonna hit 22.

[Steven Che]

I need a third base.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know how many. Jake Burger plays first and third, so I gotta barrel, right? He's listed as first and third, but I don't know how many he's played. Does anyone know who.

[John Smoltz]

Jake Berger.

[PFT Commenter]

How do I get to all.

[Brandon Walker]

I always go to. I was doing baseball. Right. Now I'll do it for you.

[PFT Commenter]

Thank you. But I can't get. I have last five games, but I don't have.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, no, I got. I got. I got it.

[PFT Commenter]

You got it?

[Max]

Got it.

[Stephen Shea]

So how many.

[Brandon Walker]

How many do they need for the 10 games? 10 games.

[Zach]

What position are you trying to draft him at?

[Brandon Walker]

First.

[Zach]

First.

[Hank]

First.

[Brandon Walker]

First. I'm seeing.

[Zach]

He's on my list as a third

[Brandon Walker]

base, I'm seeing zero games at third base.

[PFT Commenter]

Zero games at third base. This year, I'm seeing zero. Okay, well, good thing that was integrity. Can we just all take a moment and just say great integrity. Great integrity.

[Zach]

All right, that.

[Memes]

That sucks because that would have been

[PFT Commenter]

pretty cool to have Jake Burger on my team. All right, you know what?

[Memes]

How's Alec Baum been?

[Jerry]

Pretty good.

[Brandon Walker]

He's getting hot.

[Zach]

All right.

[Brandon Walker]

He's getting hot.

[PFT Commenter]

That was who you're gonna take?

[Zach]

No, but you should have taken that guy.

[PFT Commenter]

Who, Austin Riley.

[Zach]

Well, that's okay.

[PFT Commenter]

You take Alec Baldwin, I'm gonna take Alec Bohm. He's getting hot. That's what I heard reports on the ground is he's getting hot.

[Zach]

Shortstop. Lindor. Okay,

[Steven Che]

wait a second. What position does J.J. weatherhole play?

[Zach]

Second base.

[Steven Che]

Okay, good.

[Jerry]

Has Goodman been drafted?

[Zach]

Yes.

[Jerry]

Yes, the catcher.

[Memes]

All right, then I'll go ahead. Wait, did you.

[Brandon Walker]

You still needed a shortstop, Brandon?

[Stephen Shea]

Yes.

[Brandon Walker]

Tatis hasn't played any games at short stuff.

[Zach]

He's on my list of shortstops, so it doesn't matter.

[Brandon Walker]

It does matter because it does matter. I just needed to play 10.

[Zach]

It doesn't matter because I didn't get him.

[Brandon Walker]

I know, but, but so you. You just. You wouldn't even be able to use him anyway.

[Memes]

He himself.

[Zach]

But it doesn't matter.

[Brandon Walker]

So we're good?

[Zach]

Yeah, because I didn't get him.

[PFT Commenter]

This is how you win the league every year?

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

Who'd you expect?

[Zach]

Brandon Lindor?

[Brandon Walker]

Okay, because I was thinking the same. I was looking at him at shortstop and then I went to go check his game log. I was like, oh, he hasn't played any shortstop this year.

[Hank]

Right.

[Zach]

But I didn't get him.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[Zach]

So good. So it doesn't matter.

[Brandon Walker]

We're on the same page.

[Memes]

He's got 121 balls hit over 95 miles per hour.

[Zach]

Wow.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Two home runs. He's.

[Memes]

Two home runs. He's. Yeah. That.

[Zach]

It's about to happen.

[Memes]

That's turning.

[Brandon Walker]

Kyle Schwerber has as many had admit this past weekend. Kyle Schwerber had as many home runs in one inning as Fernando Tatis had all year.

[Max]

Wow.

[Memes]

It's a great stat.

[Brandon Walker]

Good.

[Memes]

Really good set.

[Zach]

But all we care about is home runs to come right now.

[John Smoltz]

I know.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm just saying.

[Memes]

Actually, not even. I don't want Fernando to do.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[Memes]

For the next like week half.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, I forgot about that.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Memes]

These are all wasted home runs.

[Max]

Every.

[Memes]

Every home run.

[Brandon Walker]

What a great pick at Lindor is.

[Steven Che]

Jerry and Zach both need catchers.

[Jerry]

I'm going to go with catchers. Salvador Perez.

[Stephen Shea]

I was thinking about going catcher. Ben Rice, but he may not be a catcher.

[Brandon Walker]

And he was also picked in like

[PFT Commenter]

the first round second overall. That's.

[Stephen Shea]

That's good. Game log from you guys. My bad. I. I'll go Augustine Ramirez, is that available?

[Hank]

Yep.

[Stephen Shea]

All right, I'll go. Augustine Ramirez, catcher.

[Steven Che]

So in the past we've all picked a pitcher in case of a tie for strikeouts.

[Zach]

I'll take Jacob Mezrowski. I'll just write mine down.

[PFT Commenter]

No, we're not going to do. We haven't done that. We're not doing that.

[Steven Che]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Zach]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

So good job. Good draft, everyone. Do you want to go through your teams memes? You want to start? Tell us your team

[Max]

Hold.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Hank, you want to start?

[Hank]

I got Ben Rice at first base. I got Hunter Goodman at catcher.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Hank]

I got Ian Hap in left field. I got Jose Altuve at second base. I got Yandy Diaz at dh. I got Ellie De La Cruz at shortstop. Willier Abreu in right field. Alex Bregman at third base and Jackson Merrill at center field.

[Steven Che]

Got Triple Crown, Jordan at dh. We got Munitaka Murakami.

[Zach]

Is that his name? Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Triple Crown.

[Steven Che]

That's right. Right.

[Zach]

I don't know.

[Steven Che]

Moon ball. We got him at first. Brandon Lau, second base. Max Muncie, third. Oh, an infield gunner Henderson, shortstop. We got catcher Drake Baldwin. We don't even touch the outfield to the last three rounds. Mickey Moniac, that's left field. Michael Harris, second strategy. And Jock Cag.

[Brandon Walker]

That could be. What do we know?

[PFT Commenter]

No, it's. That's definitively the most home runs are coming from the outfield.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah, but most but that also means that.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Zach]

They're avoiding the shortage in the infield.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah, but the. The shortage of the infield is like the gap between home runs and the infield is like four. Like all the second basemen have, like,

[John Smoltz]

or depending on different between four.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, listen, just a little chip on your shoulder.

[Memes]

That's the beauty of dingers only is we're all going to find out.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

You're playing small ball.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Memes]

That's not what you should do for dingers. Max, we're manufacturing home.

[Brandon Walker]

I don't have a. I don't have an order here, but I have catcher Shay Langaliers, first base, Bryce Harper.

[John Smoltz]

What do you mean you don't have an order?

[Brandon Walker]

I didn't. Oh, I didn't write it down like the draft order that I did. I. I did it by position. Yeah. Second base, Cattel Marte, shortstop, Mookie Bets, third base, Miguel Vargas, left field, Christian Yelich, center field, Julio Rodriguez, right field, Kyle Tucker, DH SH Otani.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice. That's a good team.

[Memes]

Yeah, not bad. Okay, I've got left field, Jackson Chio, center field, the super healthy, Mike Trout, right field, James Wood.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good outfield.

[Memes]

Really good outfield. Third base, Kazuma Okamoto, shortstop Zach Netto, second base, Fernando Tatis Jr. First base, Freddie Freeman, catcher Dylan Dingler and DH Dominic Canzone.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, I have DH Raphael Devers, catcher Adley Rushman, Matt Olson at first, Bryce Turang at second, Bobby Witt Jr. At third, or shortstop Alec Baum at third. And then my outfield.

[Steven Che]

I'm.

[PFT Commenter]

I want to jerk off to my outfield. Juan Soto, PCA Aaron Judge. Farron Judge comes back. Watch out.

[Zach]

I have first baseman, Nicholas Kurtz, catcher Cal Raleigh, right fielder, Ronald Acuna Jr. Third baseman, A Eugenio Suarez, DH Brett Rooker, second baseman, JJ Weatherholt, left fielder, Wyatt Langford, center fielder, Joe Adele, shortstop Francisco Lindor.

[Jerry]

There I got catchers, Salvador Perez, left fielder, Spencer Steer, second base, Jazz Chisholm, DH Casey Schmidt, right field, Sea Suzuki, shortstop C.J. abrams, third base, Junior Caminero, center fielder, Byron Buxton, first baseman. I do not know who.

[PFT Commenter]

I have Christian Walker. That was your first pick Pick.

[Brandon Walker]

Love that.

[Stephen Shea]

I've got a designated hitter, George Springer, center field. We got Andy Page, left field, Riley Green, right field, Anthony Santander, shortstop Bobaette, catcher Augustine Ramirez, third base, man Machado, second base, Sal Stewart and first base, Vinnie Pascantino.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[John Smoltz]

Great rosters.

[PFT Commenter]

Memes finishes off.

[Max]

I got Kyle Schwaber, DH Colson Montgomery. At shortstop Pete Alonso, first base. Jordan Walker, right field. Ozzy Albies, second base. O' Neill Cruz, center field. Cody Bellinger, left field. Zach Eloff, third and Liam Hicks at catcher.

[PFT Commenter]

Shane, who'd we miss?

[Memes]

Vlad Guerrero.

[Zach]

I don't know. Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Glad he doesn't have any home runs this year, but he's gonna hit him.

[Memes]

Yeah, yeah, that's a mistake.

[PFT Commenter]

That was a mistake. Soda strong and reminder. You get one AD and drop throughout the year, but that's it. That's it.

[Brandon Walker]

It has nothing to do with.

[PFT Commenter]

There's no pedophile injuries. No, it's injuries.

[Zach]

Pedophile spot, right?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, there's pedophile stuff, but you can

[Brandon Walker]

only add and drop an injured player.

[Memes]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

Otherwise you're set.

[Brandon Walker]

Is it. Is it like rest of the year injury or any injury?

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, it's any injury. But then you obviously don't get that guy ever again.

[Brandon Walker]

Got it.

[PFT Commenter]

But he has to be injured. You can't just be like, this guy sucks. I'm dropping him.

[Steven Che]

We need to. We need to check on someone in the pedophile. Sal Stewart.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Steven Che]

Okay. Positions first, Basement, third band. So, okay, so he plays them all, I guess.

[Memes]

Prior to the setback, Mike Trout was enjoying a highly productive and remarkably durable season, appearing in 74 the Angels first 75 games, 17 home runs, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Sorry, PFC. Sorry, PFT.

[Zach]

It's okay. I think you're fine. I think it'll be back by like early July.

[Memes]

It'll probably be very healthy.

[PFT Commenter]

Brandon, are you more of a dingers only expert than college football?

[Zach]

I'm. I'm equal in both. I'm a.

[PFT Commenter]

One, you've won twice. The other, you've won once and got dog walked last.

[Zach]

We've only done it twice and I did not get dog walked. I think I was still in it going into the Champions League team in the playoffs, and that was the team playing for the national championship.

[Brandon Walker]

Now you got smoked.

[Zach]

No, I didn't. I think I statistically would have won if Miami had won the national title.

[Jerry]

You didn't even.

[Memes]

I.

[Stephen Shea]

They.

[PFT Commenter]

No, they didn't.

[Jerry]

They didn't.

[PFT Commenter]

They didn't and he wouldn't have.

[Zach]

I didn't get smoked.

[PFT Commenter]

And you didn't pick Indiana.

[Memes]

It was just more.

[Zach]

No, but neither of us picked Indiana.

[Memes]

He didn't have like barely any teams that were in the playoff.

[PFT Commenter]

That's right. He had no good teams.

[Memes]

And you could have picked J.

[PFT Commenter]

But he's really good at Dingers only.

[Zach]

Yeah, that I get no money for.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, this year you can win It.

[Zach]

And get money. Nobody agreed to it.

[PFT Commenter]

No, we has everyone agree to 100 bucks.

[Zach]

Nobody agreed to it.

[Brandon Walker]

Nobody agreed to that.

[PFT Commenter]

Will everyone agree to 100 bucks?

[Zach]

As much money as you got. You can't agree to 100% bucks.

[Memes]

I'll do 500 with you. And it can just be whoever wants to.

[Zach]

But it's just us.

[Max]

Then I will also do 100.

[Brandon Walker]

I'm. I will do 100, but.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so the pot will be 500 for me, 500 for PFT, 500 from Brandon, 100 from everyone else.

[Zach]

Now, wait a minute.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, Deal.

[Brandon Walker]

All right, I'll accept that.

[Jerry]

Deal.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Zach]

As much money as you make. Who you.

[Jerry]

I make money, I lose money.

[Stephen Shea]

That's true.

[Memes]

What about.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, no. You know what, Jerry? Instead of 100 bucks, you got to put up 1% of Bush.

[Brandon Walker]

He's got 1 00. You gotta give up 1% of your zero.

[Memes]

What about 1% of your future stakes in Bush? Any stake in Bush that you might.

[Jerry]

I don't think I'll ever get any stake in.

[Zach]

I want.

[PFT Commenter]

I want 1% in the pot.

[Jerry]

I mean, 1%'s worth nothing right now,

[PFT Commenter]

but just to say it. Say it. One percent is in the.

[Jerry]

Again, I can't. I got nothing.

[Hank]

What do you mean?

[PFT Commenter]

I can't say 1% percent of bush.

[John Smoltz]

Fine.

[Jerry]

Done.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, deal. 1% of bushes for the winners.

[Steven Che]

We need to make a. An exception here. Oh, Sal Stewart has played at time of taping seven games at second.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, no, that's fine.

[PFT Commenter]

Zach's pick.

[Brandon Walker]

We said that last year, and Zach almost won.

[PFT Commenter]

That's true.

[Zach]

He did. True.

[John Smoltz]

So tough list.

[Stephen Shea]

I. I feel great about my guys this year.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I mean, Vinnie.

[Hank]

Yeah. He.

[Stephen Shea]

I don't. Yeah, I feel good about the guys.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

I was looking at the wrong staff for a couple picks, but I. But we pivoted.

[Max]

We're good now.

[Brandon Walker]

What was the stat you were looking at?

[Stephen Shea]

I was looking at hits on home runs.

[PFT Commenter]

Hits only would be a good lead.

[Brandon Walker]

I don't. I don't hate. Maybe think of hits only next year.

[PFT Commenter]

Or walks only. That would be great.

[Zach]

Just.

[Stephen Shea]

Good eye.

[PFT Commenter]

I think. I think if. If Brandon wins this year, we should next year change it to the Brandon Walker walks only league.

[Brandon Walker]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Down with that.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If he wins, we are. We're officially doing walks.

[Zach]

Only three in a row. We got to do something. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

We got to have some kind of party.

[Jerry]

So the pot's 2K.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And 1% of books.

[Zach]

Could be hundreds of thousand dollars. Yeah.

[Stephen Shea]

Any thought to, like, most correct ABS calls. Incentive at the end.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, oh.

[Memes]

Who get. Who has, like, the highest percentage?

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, an ABS only league would be good. That would be a lot.

[Brandon Walker]

That would suck.

[PFT Commenter]

That would suck.

[Memes]

Who overturns the most calls?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, no, and we draft umps.

[Memes]

That's what I'm saying.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Who gets the most? Who gets the most? Overturned on them.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. All right, Good job, boys. Stingers only. Complete.

[Max]

Let's.

[PFT Commenter]

Let's get out there and hit some home runs. Okay, numbers

[Memes]

77, 50, 26, 95, 7, 31, 69, 98.

[PFT Commenter]

Saying that's 31, 67.

[Brandon Walker]

Oh, so close to 69.

[Zach]

67.

[Memes]

All right, love you guys.

[Max]

Happy birthday, Tate McCray,

[Memes]

shut the up. Happy birthday to America.