← The Windup: A show about Baseball
The Windup: A show about Baseball
Starkville | Coach RAC of the Savannah Bananas talks about what makes Banana Ball so much fun
01:02:47
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- [00:00]
A
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A
Greetings and welcome to Starkville Baseball hall of Famer Jason Stark. And then the robot said, strike.
- [01:49]
B
That's why you're going in the hall of Fame. It's an inside the park hold.
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A
Brad Douglas.
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C
Mike Trout is coffee at Starbucks with a double latte skinny.
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A
Doug, are you ready to make some podcast magic? I am ready.
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C
Bring on the magic wand. Let's do it.
- [02:16]
A
Greetings and welcome to Starkville. I'm Jason Stark. I write about baseball for the Athletic. And I'm joined once again by my good friend, writer substacker, broadcaster, professor, distinguished former major leaguer, and the vice of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio, Doug Glanville. Doug, how are you, my friend?
- [02:42]
C
Feeling good? Feeling good. A life without red eyes is a life being alert and actually conscious. So that's good.
- [02:49]
A
You're very entertaining when you're conscious. I'm happy about that.
- [02:52]
C
Yeah.
- [02:54]
A
So, Doug, we have a show coming up unlike any other. Have you ever seen the Savannah Bananas play in Person?
- [03:00]
C
Not in person, no. But I've watched them a few times, you know, from afar.
- [03:04]
A
I mean, me neither, unfortunately. But hundreds of thousands of people have seen them. So we're really excited to have one of the most entertaining baseball players on earth, Coach rack Robert Anthony Cruz joining us. No truth to the rumor, he'll teach us how to do a backflip. Plus, we have a great strange but true and trivia. But first, just wanted to talk about something that happened over the weekend because, Doug, I was very involved in this. The Baseball Writers association of America announced that starting next year in 2026, we're going to start awarding a Relief Pitcher of the Year award in each league alongside mvp, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. And Doug, this is something that I first proposed a long time ago, a dozen years ago. It welled back up over the winter thanks to a column that my friend and colleague at the Athletic, Andy Bagley, wrote. We formed a committee. I. I chaired the committee. We came up with a proposal. We voted as an organization on that proposal this month. And miraculously, because I was involved, it passed. So the thinking behind why we're doing this is one people have been complaining about, but it's pretty simple. Just the way that back in the 1950s, we had to create the Cy Young because pitchers pretty much never won the MVP award. That's the reason for this relief pitcher award. Relief pitching has never played a more prominent role in our sport. But if you go back to 1992, that was the year that Dennis Eckersley won both the MVP and Cy Young as the closer for the A's. Exactly one reliever in over three decades has won either of those awards, and that was Eric Gagne, and he won the Cy Young over two decades ago. Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher of all time, the only unanimous hall of Famer. You know how many of our awards he won? Zero. He never won a single one of our awards. And it just feels to me if you're the greatest anything of all time and you never even came close to winning one of these awards, it just feels like we failed. So this happened. This award will be happening. Doug, I'm curious what you think.
- [05:41]
C
Oh, absolutely necessary. I mean, partly you framed it really well. About it is the era that we're in as well. The relief pitchers are just such a critical part. They're pitching as many innings as starters, basically. And you don't go anywhere without a relief pitcher core to be able to hold leaves. I mean, I just said the Yankees game. And they have three closers, like maybe four. I mean, Luke Weaver, if you had them in there, right? Williams and Bednar and Doval, and, you know, you just need the leverage guys. And they. They change everything. So that's one thing. Then I just think of growing up the roll aids relief man, right. There was always something, you know, maybe informal, formal type of idea. But I. I was excited about that to see, like, what's the possibility? I mean, Steve Bedrosian, I was a Phillies fan, right? So a guy who. Fireman. Fireman award or whatever, you know, I thought that was, you know, something that we should have always kind of kept in the spirit of it or formalized. And now it's. There's no question. Now you have believers like Billy Wagner getting the hall of Fame. And these are the greatest pitchers of all time in the job that they do. And their job is so critical now. How do you not acknowledge it and recognize it? So I'm glad that this step is being taken and kudos to you for, like, you know, pushing the envelope, too. But it's. That makes a whole lot of sense.
- [06:55]
A
It really does. I took a beating for a long time with this one, and there's still people complaining. You know, one of the things they say is, well, there's already a Mariano Rivera award and a Trevor Hoffman Award that Major League Baseball give out. Does anyone pay attention to those awards? I couldn't tell you who's won any of them. And it just goes really to the reliever who's got the most saves. But, you know, at our award, I think we have a chance to honor. I'll just pick a classic example. The Andrew Millers of the baseball world. They don't collect the most saves, but they change everything. You know what I mean? Because of the impact that they have on games. Starting pitchers only get 17 outs a game now, and relief pitchers get 45,000 more outs a season than they got when Dennis Eckersley was one. So this is a thing. And I cannot wait for the debates. They'll be really interesting. You know what else I can't wait for, though? Doug? To talk to this week's special guest. You know, Doug, we're all about fun here on this show. And you know who else is all about fun? The Savannah Bananas are all about fun. So today we're going to celebrate the fun with possibly our coolest guest of all time. It's the legendary rack Robert Anthony Cruz. Let's see here. Left fielder, back flipper, showman for those Savannah Bananas rack. Welcome To Starkville. We are really excited to have you here, dude.
- [08:39]
B
Well, thanks for the intro. I'll try to hopefully live up to it. My goodness, those are some high expectations for me today.
- [08:44]
A
I can do this. How can the Bananas not have scheduled any games in Starkville? The fact that it's actually a fictitious place shouldn't really be an obstacle, right?
- [08:55]
B
It hasn't stopped them in the past from doing things. Yeah, I don't know. I'll have to have a word with Jesse Cole about that one.
- [09:02]
C
I thought they were just in Starkville, though. Weren't they in the other Starkville at some point?
- [09:06]
B
I couldn't even tell you, man. I have no idea.
- [09:09]
A
Yeah, there's multiple banana teams, Doug. Just seeing that there are.
- [09:13]
B
Yeah, this is true.
- [09:14]
A
If you scheduled a game in Starkville, I guarantee you that Glanville would stop by, and if you throw him a high fastball, he'll get a hit.
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C
It's called French toast, by the way. High fastballs. Hal McRae coined it. French toast with syrup.
- [09:28]
B
I like that. We love French toast with syrup.
- [09:30]
A
Listen, we can't wait to have you tell your own amazing story. Let's let you do that in a minute. But first, can you describe the whole vibe? The whole experience of playing for the Bananas?
- [09:43]
B
Playing for them is like, I get to hang out with my best friends all day, and we have a bunch of ridiculous side quests that we always got to do. You know, whether that's learning some dance choreography from High School Musical or whether that's like performing with Chance the Rapper, like we do with the craziest stuff. I got to pinch myself all the time. I'm like, can't believe I'm doing this as my job. We can't take ourselves too seriously either. It's like, you know, we're doing some of the most silly, ridiculous things. We're also playing baseball and, like, competing and trying to win. Yeah. It is genuinely the most fun I've ever had on a baseball field.
- [10:17]
A
Look, it's definitely baseball, but it's also something else. You're a minor league player in the national system once, so what? Is that something else? How would you explain it?
- [10:28]
B
A lot of us have played professionally and really good ballplayers. Some of the best ballplayers I've ever played with are in this organization. But the extra stuff, the. The dancing, the singing, the. All that other stuff. I feel like each one of us has our own unique skills from earlier on in life. Growing up, for me, it was gymnastics. You know, the flips and stuff like that. We got another guy, Dalton Malden, who's a pop singer. And we all are able to kind of just get creative and incorporate whatever other random skills or hobbies we have into some sort of entertainment piece. And yeah, it is, it is a very interesting dynamic. Show up to the ballpark every day and yeah, it's a lot of fun, man.
- [11:07]
C
What's the process of creating that other that you talk about? Like you have all these talents, I mean, hours of practice I imagine, I'm sure that a lot of people don't see. How do you synthesize that and come up with these amazing skits and you know, what is that?
- [11:20]
B
Like we have these meetings called OTT sessions where we throw out over the top ideas and nothing's off limits. I mean, just the craziest, most unreasonable thing you can think of. Like we'll come up with it and most of those ideas end up getting shut down and never see the light of day. And it's probably best for everybody that that's the case. But, but yeah, we, we have these idea sessions regularly as players. The staff has it. We have a whole entertainment team who's in charge of stuff that happens on game days. We've got a whole video team that's in charge of social media stuff. There's a lot of people working on this all throughout the week, all throughout the weekend, and there's a lot of moving parts. But it a lot of times just starts as some random crazy idea that someone probably thought of while they were taking a shower.
- [12:03]
A
I definitely want to introduce OTC meetings to the Starkville process. That sounds like the way to go. You should like whatever your job is, this would be my suggestion. It's time to have an OTC meeting. What could go wrong?
- [12:17]
B
Absolutely, man. Yeah. Yeah.
- [12:20]
A
Hey, one of my regrets is I still haven't seen the Bananas play in person. But I am a big fan from afar because it's so much fun. The whole thing is about, about fun. So what do you think that Major League Baseball can learn from banana ball baseball?
- [12:38]
B
Well, I'll tell you what, just about a week and a half ago we were in Chicago and I got had the privilege of hanging out with Ozzie Guillen in the clubhouse and hung out with him on the field. Like I actually, I hit a home run. This a little bit of a sidetrack. I'm just going to do my own horn here for a second. I had a home run right in one of these games and it was a no doubter, like got all of it. And I go back into the clubhouse, and Ozzie Guillen and Paul Can Echo are sitting there. And Ozzy was like, hey, you, you, you on the roids or something. Like, how'd you hit that ball so far? And I was like, oh, man, I just happened to run into one. But. But I talked to Ozzy about banana ball, and he was like, he loved it. He was like, thank you so much for bringing, like, the fun into the sport. He's like, this is the most alive that I've seen the stadium since we won the World Series. So hearing that from him was a big deal. And. And I think that the main thing that I think baseball can learn from what the bananas are doing, it does have to all be about the fans at some capacity. Like. Like, we don't get to have a Major League Baseball unless the fans are there showing up. And so there has to be an emphasis on what they like. And this, you know, maybe isn't practical for, say, the mlb, but. But what Jesse Cole would do to build the sport of banana ball is he would watch, instead of watching the game and seeing the way the game can improve, he would watch the crowd. He would look and see when they were being disengaged, what points of the game were the fans looking at their phone, at what points of the game were they looking away? And he slowly started removing all of those dead spaces from the game. So that for the fan, it was an engaging experience, start to finish. And that's what it started as. And that's how this sport of banana ball got built. It's from this idea of being fans first. Whatever the fans want, whatever's engaging for the fans, whatever they like, that's what we're going to build this sport around. And so that's why banana ball is so over the top and we're doing these ridiculous things. It's all ultimately because in some way, it's what the people want. How that can practically be implemented into traditional baseball, I have no idea. But at least from what I've seen, though, that principle of, okay, how can we put the fans first? I think that that's a valuable principle.
- [14:45]
A
Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I feel like there is another side of this question too, though. What should Major League Baseball not learn from banana ball? Because, you know, I feel like if we were to hold up what you guys do on the field as the standard, then we're kind of running amok because the mission statement is so different, and it needs to be different in Major League Baseball?
- [15:08]
B
Yeah. Baseball is such a traditional, like, clean cut sport, you know, like when I got signed by the Nationals, we couldn't have facial hair. You know, like, it was like you got to shave it everything. And like, and there's, there's an element to that that I enjoy. Like baseball being such a. Baseball, I feel like, is a sport where you can go with your family to the ballpark and hang out and talk, watch the game, eat a hot dog. It's more of like a hangout experience. I think. It's a place for like community, which I love. I grew up going to Dodger games and would always end up meeting people and talking with them for the game. And it's a whole experience. I feel like banana ball is also a whole experience, but in a completely different way. Banana ball is like you're being entertained, start to finish baseball. It's like you're almost making up some of your own entertainment along the way. Like if you want to watch the game, you want to keep score, awesome, that's for you. If you want to talk with your family, you can do that. I think there's a place for both. But it does seem to be that this next generation of ball players that are younger seem to really gravitate more towards this banana ball variation of baseball.
- [16:18]
C
You talk about evolution, like in the short period of time where banana ball kind of came on the scene, reinvented itself, I guess. How much are you part of the process of first of all knowing that history, but also taking the little steps of evolution with whether it's, you know, I guess you could say rules, you know, but you have all kind of stats, for example, that its own thing, right? You know, you sprint to first base and I guess how much are the players engaged in saying, hey, you know what, maybe that didn't work, or let's add this rule and just kind of keep that evolution moving.
- [16:49]
B
Oh, we contribute all the time. Like, they're very open to criticism and the game's constantly evolving. I do really like a lot of the banana ball rules though. Like, I feel like it makes the game more fun to play. Like, honestly, like for instance, the ball force sprint rule. People, I don't think realize the genius behind this rule. I love it when a batter walks. Instead of them just taking their free base and, you know, taking their gear off and jogging to first, it's like you're sprinting. The ball's live. Every single defender has to touch the ball before they can tag you out. And it sounds silly, but then in practicality like strategy wise, it's actually really nice for the game of baseball, especially today. We see so many pitchers that dominate, like offense, batting average categories are going down. But you add this ball for sprint rule in here, and you have the capacity for a double at any time. You know, instead of just a walk, you can maybe get two bases. But in addition to that, like something people don't factor in, that I've really noticed as a hitter is when you get a runner on, say, second and third base and you got your guy up at the plate. Normally in baseball, like, you pitch around the guy, like put him on first base, you know, load up the bases, get yourself a force out at second, turn a double, play in banana ball because of the ball. Four sprint rule. The guy on second base is for sure scoring if you walk him. Because of that, the pitcher has to pitch to the guy. So what you'll notice is as a hitter, you're getting way better pitches to hit. When you get into hitters counts, pitchers can't pitch around you as much. It really does wonders for the offensive category of the game. And so rules like that I really appreciate, even from a competitive side of things, I think the game's going to continue to evolve. There's going to continue to be changes that are made, but the players very much do have a say in those changes. And at least at the moment, like, this sport is very, very fun to play.
- [18:38]
A
I definitely want to get back to this, but I also want to talk about you, Doug. I don't know if you know this, but Rack is way more popular than us. He's got more than 2 million followers. You know, Doug, I feel like if you would backflip more on the show, we could be in that territory.
- [18:53]
C
I mean, I would get tangled up in my headphones and microphones, so that would be problematic. If we have a trainer over here. If we have a trainer, I might.
- [19:01]
A
Give it a shot. That might be out of our budget, but I'll look into it for you. So rack your backflips. I know I'm supposed to call them. Rack flips are such a cool thing. How is it possible to catch a fly ball during a game while back flipping?
- [19:18]
B
Dude, I don't know, man. Our center fielder, Dr. Meadows did the first one a couple years back before I even joined the team. And when I joined, I was like, dude, there's no way you can do a backflip while catching a ball, right? Like, there's no shot. But I watched him do it and I was like, all right, well, I can do a backflip. I could catch the ball. We'll just give it a shot. And sure enough. Tried it a few times in practice. It was probably, like, my fourth or fifth try. I caught it, and I was like, oh, all right. Like, you can do it. So. And that's another thing I've noticed is, like, if I'll do it in practice, like, I'm now at a pretty good percentage where I'll catch most of them in practice. But for some reason in the game, I have, like, way more focus, and it's, like, way easier. It's way easier to catch it in the game. I don't know what that's about, but my percentage is pretty. Pretty solid, I'd say. I think I've missed. I think I've missed two, and I've caught, like, 35 or 36. So percentage wise, not. Not too bad.
- [20:14]
C
Do those go down as errors? Are they errors in the score?
- [20:17]
B
Trick play missed.
- [20:18]
C
Trick play missed. I just want to make sure I got the stats right. Unearned run. Is it an unearned run?
- [20:24]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [20:25]
A
Unearned tpm. Okay. All right. This gets us into your whole journey. You mentioned gymnastics. So when you were a kid, did you dream of being a baseball player or a gold medal winner in the Olympic gymnastics?
- [20:40]
B
Honestly, it was first gold medal gymnast. Gymnast. Like, that was initially the goal. We had these, like, VHS tapes of, like, recordings of the Olympics, and I would just, like, watch them all the time because I was just fascinated with the gymnasts. Yeah. When I was, like, 4 or 5 years old, like, that's all I'd watch is, like, gymnastics. I did that competitively for several years after that and loved it. But men's gymnastics programs are kind of hard to find. They're not as popular as women's gymnastics. Maybe it's the tights, I don't know. But wound up moving on from that. When I was about nine years old and my dad was like, hey, like, you want to try another sport? Like, you could try baseball. I knew nothing about baseball at the time. And we drove by Reed Park, Little League by my house, and watched a game, and I was like, okay. Like, yeah, I think I could do that. And so started playing baseball, like, around the age of nine and immediately fell in love with it. That's when this new dream kind of came alive. Like, okay, maybe I won't be an Olympic gymnast, but I think I want to be a professional baseball player now.
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A
I was able to finance it through them.
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B
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A
Yeah, finance.
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B
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- [23:01]
C
Within that. You know, my mind is spinning. Like, okay, so you're with the bananas. You sign like a five year deal. Like, you know what, what's like the performance metrics, Is it like, you know, you hit 330, you get like a, like how do they actually figure out. Yeah, the security of the job, you know, like from the bananas.
- [23:22]
B
Like, yeah, dude, it happens, man. There are a couple different categories that they factor in, but again, ultimately everything comes through this. This like, this umbrella of like everything falls under this umbrella of what's best for the fans. What do the fans want? And part of that has to do with your social media pages. Part of that has to do with how you entertain in person on game days. Part of that is how you interact with kids and fans and like, do you interact well with fans? Like art? So there's lots of different factors there. It's not very black and white. It's not like baseball. It's like, okay, what's your, what's your war? What's your, you know, what's your ops like? It's not as much that, but I will say though, like, the baseball and how you play factors in a lot more than people think it does. If you don't play good baseball, like, that's the easiest way to get yourself out of the organization. So, yeah, it's. It's. It's a lot more variables than typical baseball, but baseball really still doesn't matter.
- [24:18]
A
So if you're leading the league in backflips per nine innings, that wouldn't do it.
- [24:22]
B
Yeah, no. I mean, it certainly helps your case, but if you're not. If you're not holding up your end of the deal at the plate, you know, the. The. The backflip spur 9, the BP 9s, you know, only get you so far, I guess.
- [24:35]
A
You know, the video from when you told your dad you were signing with the Nationals is so cool. That was, what, 20, 21? So, obviously that path to baseball didn't work out for you, but you get released by the Nationals, and then a couple years later, you hit a home run in Nats park as a banana. Can you take us inside that moment? The emotions of it, Just the incredible plot line that led to that moment in time.
- [25:05]
B
I still can't believe that was a thing. You know, so many people were like, okay, did you guys script that? I'm like, dude, if you could script me hitting a ball 420ft, like, then let's do that more often, please. That initial video of myself getting signed by the Nationals, I didn't even mean to post that on social media or, like, I had no social media presence at the time. I was not known as Coach Rack at the time. Like, I had no followers on social media. I posted that video because I thought it was cool. I was like, mom, you should record this. I want to. I'm going to want to remember this personally. And later that day, I was like, you know what? Like, this is cool. Like, I'm going to post this on TikTok. What the heck? Why not? Like, I think this is something I should post for the couple friends that follow me, you know, later that week, it was like, oh, my gosh, I'm ABC World News person of the Week. And all these people are following me now. Like, I have a couple hundred thousand followers on social media. It was, like, craziest week of my life. And then you fast forward to the following spring training and I get released. And I remember thinking like, man one, why did that video blow up in the first place of me and my dad? Because now I'm kind of embarrassed. It's like, I've already got, like, so many, you know, people comment things, of course, but, like, when I first posted that video, a lot of people Were like, ah, he'll get released in a year, you know, it's not a big deal, like, whatever. And then it was true. I did. And I was like, man, like I felt like a failure in that sense. And I kind of just wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened. And a couple months passed and I didn't post anything, give anybody any updates that I wasn't playing anymore. And I'd still get messages, hey, like how's things going with the Nationals this year? You know, And I just didn't really have the heart to respond. And finally I was like, you know what? This stuff happens. Maybe someone out there could find some encouragement through my failure. I don't know. So I made a video and posted it and was like, hey guys, this is what happened. I got released in spring training. Here's the reality of it. I don't know what's next. My wife and I just moved back in with my parents. Who knows what's next? And I just posted that video. And I was shocked at how overwhelmingly positive the responses were and people resonated with that. And I kind of realized then I was like, okay, I can just be real with what I post. I don't have to only show the good stuff and the highlights. So then my wife and I again are living at my parents house at this point in time. It's in 2022. I was like, you know what? I feel like I have some good things I want to share about the game of baseball. Just things I've learned, talking about the mental game. And so I was like, I'm going to commit to posting every day for the next three months. I remember looking on TikTok and not seeing like any consistent coaching content creators. And I was like, okay, either no one's making the content because there's no demand for it, or just no one's doing it yet. And so I started making coaching videos. I did it every day that learned how to edit, learned how to use my camera. And so I started posting these videos in 2022 and it quickly kind of turned into my full time job by the end of the year. And by the time end of 2023 came around, it was like I was able to pay the bills, wife and I were able to move out. I was loving what I was doing. I didn't even really want to play anymore because in my head I was like, I have these negative emotions associated with baseball and I don't want to like resurface that. I feel like a failure when I think about Baseball. And I just don't want to, like, revisit that. I'm done playing. I'm having success over here. I want to where I'm at, you know? And a friend of mine was like, dude, the Bananas just announced their schedule for next year. They're playing in some major league stadiums. Like, you should, at the very least just go to a tryout, you know? And I hadn't played for a year and a half. I had no idea what to expect from myself. I showed up to the tryout with zero preparation and hit the ball better than I should have. Like, I just played really well. And I was like, all right, well, shoot. I. Maybe. Maybe I'm supposed to be here. They were only taking a couple guys for, like, the Bananas. Most of the guys were going to other teams or they said, hey, like, if you want, you could be on, like, the Bananas. And I was like, all right, like, talk to the wife, Gigi. Like, all right, you want to move across the country and go do something crazy, you know? And so. So we did it.
- [28:56]
A
And.
- [28:56]
B
And. And then we get to Nationals park, and this is the craziest thing. The week before we get there, I'm sitting on a flight with Jesse Cole, the owner of the Bananas. And he was like, okay, we're going to Nationals park next week. Like, can you show me that original video again, like, with your dad? I was like, yeah, sure, man. Like, so I pull it up on my phone and I show it to him, and he's like, dude, that's July 13th. And I was like, yeah, why? Like, what's up? And he's like, we play on July 13th. Like, it's gonna be like the exact three year anniversary to you getting signed by the Nationals. And I was like, wow. Like, no way. Like, so that. That already blew my mind, right? And he was like, you know what? He was like, are your parents making it out to the game? And I was like, well, like, I don't know. Like, they had been to a lot of games and, you know, it's expensive to travel and all that. And he was like, okay, you know what? Like, we're going to fly out your parents for the game. We want. I want them to be there. And, you know, let's have your dad walk up to home plate with you so you can kind of relive that moment. We'll show that video of you getting signed by the Nationals on the scoreboard, and you can kind of relive this moment with your dad at home plate. So that happens. I. My dad. He flies my dad out. I get to share that moment with him on the field, which was so cool. Got a standing ovation in a sold out crowd at Nats park, you know, and, and I grounded out to second base in that at bat and I was like, oh, man. Like, that would have been really cool if I like hit a home run or did something cool there, you know, and my next at bat would be my, my final at bat of the game. Like coming down to the wire at the end of the game. And you know, in banana ball, you can walk off innings because it's, it's basically match play. So we're in the seventh inning and it's a tight game and I come up to bat for my final at bat at Nats park and like, sure enough, just square one up perfectly. And it was like, that was the first time I've always dreamed of that moment, like seeing the ball leave the yard in a major league stadium. I hit the ball and it was like, I still remember it like it was yesterday. That ball is annihilated. Robert Anthony Cruz walk off home run. Grenadas win the seventh inning. The former Washington Nationals minor leaguer leaves the yard. Chills all over my body. And I was like, there's. I kept repeating myself. I was like, there's no way. There is no way. And I was just like out there. Got to just stand there in the box and like look over my teammates and they're going crazy and the whole crowd's going nuts. And gosh, it was unbelievable. It's something I always had wanted to do and got to round the bases at Nats park three years to the day of me getting signed by them. It's incredible.
- [31:26]
C
Incredible, man. I mean, I'm curious. Did you hear from the Nationals or anybody around the organization?
- [31:34]
B
Yeah, you know, a lot of guys that I had played with, a lot of various staff also, you know, reached out and was like, hey, that was really cool. Yeah, there was some, some really positive stuff there. It was special.
- [31:46]
A
All right, I want to play you another awesome moment. I think this was just a few weeks ago at Camden Yards in Baltimore. We're going to play this for you so you get to relive it.
- [31:57]
B
Face Robert Anthony Cruz, another fellow former minor leaguer. He's got a pair of doubles tonight. One Scorch to left, one Scorch to right. He drives this one high and deep to right center. Robert Anthony Cruz. Game winning walk off home run. And the Savannah Bananas sweep the two.
- [32:20]
A
Game set in Camden, York. That was amazing. And it was followed by what might have been the most entertaining home run trot ever. You literally flipped around the bases with your entire team running along with you. I can't help but think, does that just happen organically? What's rippling through your heart and your brain as this is all unfolding?
- [32:47]
B
Oh, dude. Again, like, a little context for that, man. Like, I've got a scar right here on my chin. Trying to do a backflip on CNN and falling on my face.
- [32:56]
C
Yeah, yeah, dude.
- [32:58]
B
Like, so. So I've got. I had like a really rough couple of weeks there. I was struggling at the plate, embarrassed from this moment happens on national television. I was just struggling in general and going to this game and it was like everything just went right, you know, it does. Like my third hit of the game. Third extra base hit of the game. And squared that ball up and I kind of knew it when I hit it. And again, that was one of those moments where I was like, oh, no way. Did that, did that really just happen? Like, obviously, like every kid out there always wanted to hit a walk off home run in a major league stadium. And that place was still packed, like Camden Yards. You just, you never see even the top deck filled like that. Like, and it was. Oh, it was so cool. And rounding the bases a lot of times, like, this is one thing I did notice. Like playing baseball, you have to pretend like you've been there before. You know, that's like the unspoken rule. Like, you hit the home run and, and you act cool. Like, oh, yeah, I do that all the time, you know, But I think when we do that, there's like this little kid that's inside of us that wants to go do back handsprings around the bases, but we gotta suppress that, right? And just do the cool guy jog and get in home plate and like, yeah, that's what I do, which I do love and respect, you know, but in that moment, like, we're all just like such kids on the bananas. We're like, we can't believe we get to play in these stadiums. We can't believe we get to do this. It's like that's just like pure childish joy out of all of us. Like, my teammates were excited we won the game, excited that I had that moment after struggling. And I'm doing flips around the bases and they get to like them running out and following me. Like, that just organically happens. That's kind of something we've been doing when someone hits a big homer. Like, we just, we all Run around the bases. We all enjoy that moment together.
- [34:33]
A
All right, I got a follow up to this. My daughter worked in baseball after she got out of college and she was in social media and marketing. One of the campaigns that she worked on was let the kids play. And that was a big statement for the sport to make at the time. It's really not that long ago that people questioned whether you should let the kids play. And I feel like you're a perfect person to ask this. What place should showmanship and showing emotion have in baseball? And I obviously mean in professional baseball.
- [35:11]
B
If you're going to celebrate big, you have to be humble enough to lose and see the other team celebrate big. And I think sometimes kids at younger ages might not be able to handle losing in that way. And I think that it's probably well intentioned when a lot of coaches say, hey, don't show up the other team, don't do a bat bat flip. Like, I think a lot of times that stuff is out of respect and like well intentioned. I do think that as a grown man, when the other guy gets me out and is getting to live out his dream in front of 45,000 people and he just struck me out to win the game, if he gets fired up, so be it. Like, I don't, I should have no problem with that, you know, and in the same sense, if I win and I hit a walk off home run and do back handsprings into home plate, he should be okay with that. And that's one thing I really do love about banana ball. I personally. And again, this is a hot take, maybe not a hot take, but I think a lot of the older generation of baseball, they see the stuff the bananas are doing and they're like, that is just disrespectful. I throw a fastball at their ear hole, you know, all that stuff. And in my opinion, I think that that can be soft. In my opinion, that's soft. I'm like, if you lost and you can't handle losing and you can't handle the other team celebrating so that you feel like you have to take matters into your own hands and get violent. Like, I don't think that that is a real picture of strength. Like, I think that's a picture of weakness. So again, I I how that plays out at the youth level, there's so many more factors there. So in youth baseball, I think that every player should play with respect and, and what that looks like, I think might even vary player to player. I think when it comes to A professional level of baseball, it's like, I mean, if you do something cool, like get excited, man. That's my opinion. But I do understand other people have other experiences that are just as valuable.
- [37:20]
C
How has your life changed? You know, I mean, it's seems like it's just so meteoric and, and like you said, you're, you're celebrating, you're celebrating the moments, but you've also had so many moments personally that it's going alongside this ride. What's so different now about your life versus what it was just five years ago?
- [37:38]
B
Not to get all like, you know, hyper spiritual on you or anything, but to be honest, my day to day life is exactly as fulfilling as it was five years ago. The time that I spend with my family and my, the time I spend with my wife, like the, the time that I spend in prayer and with God, like all that stuff, like life is exactly the same fulfillment wise now as it was when I was living at my parents house after getting released. It feels the same. And that's something I tell people a lot. It's like they're like, oh my gosh, you got to hit a walk off home run in a major league. Like how did that feel? Was that amazing? I was like, yeah, it was, it was incredible. It was everything you could ever dream it would be. And then two days later you're doing the dishes and you're like, wow, I, I feel completely normal again, like nothing has actually changed. I'm the same person, everything is the same. And I think that that's a good thing. And that's something that I tell people is like your contentment is going to remain the same regardless of how successful you are. If you don't feel fulfilled in the journey getting there, once you get there, you still won't be fulfilled. And so it's been my experience that, yeah, okay, there's been crazy changes in the past five years and yet I feel just as happy, joyful and content now as I did then. Less. It's been less of a change than people might think it would have been.
- [38:57]
A
That's great. And yet I think about some of the experiences that you must have had. What's this? This is your third season with the bananas. Is that our second season? So of all the moments that you've had, is there a story behind one of them that's the coolest? It could be something that you didn't expect, could be some legend you met, could be some place you got to play. Just love your stories that you tell online. I'd love to hear your favorite.
- [39:25]
B
Thanks, man. Dude, my favorite is always going to be the Nationals park story. Like that. I don't think anything's going to top that ever. I do think that this is less of a story and more of just like a quick little, like, lived experience. But. But I'll never forget the moment when we stepped onto a major league field for the first time and they said that we had sold the game out. But, like, we're like, okay, like, we'll see if they actually fill the stadium up, you know, because the thought of us playing in a major league stadium that was sold out was so, like, unbelievable to us. This would have been in March of 2024. And I'll never forget, like, I walked on to the field for the first time at Minute Maid park, and it was like the roof was closed. And like, I mean, just the look on every single one of our faces was like we were just starstruck, like on another planet. That was so, so cool and so special. That's something I'll never forget. And then a similar feeling. This year we played in our first ever football stadium and we're at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. And like, again, this is now like 60 something thousand people more than baseball normally ever plays in front of. And. And just every seat is packed. And again, I got to. I hit a home run in that game and it was like, I mean, just a different kind of feeling. I'm getting to experience a lot of, like, firsts, and it's very fun to be able to share those moments with my teammates that I love. And. And also it's really fun getting to document it. Like, the fact I get to live in a day and age that we have social media the way we have it like that, that's kind of what motivates me to make a lot of my videos, is I'm like, dude, I can't believe I get to do this stuff. I gotta, like, document this the very least so my kids can see it, you know, and someday. So, yeah, again, no. No specific story. The one story that stands out is definitely the Nats park one you heard.
- [41:18]
A
So if you thought about where this is all leading, you look, you're an entertaining guy, charismatic guy. The possibilities for what you could do on the road ahead are pretty much beyond my comprehension. What do you see when you look ahead?
- [41:35]
B
It's my goal to be the most impactful voice in youth sports. And what I want to do is I want to educate and inspire, which, you know, sounds cliche. But, but more than anything, I want parents to be able to have good relationships with their kids through youth sports. I want that to be a positive thing. It's such a cool opportunity that parents have to be able to bond with their kids. It's how I bonded with my dad. We, he would get off work at Firestone and go throw me batting practice every day that I wanted. Like, literally, like multiple days, like probably five days a week, he would go throw me batting practice for hours and I would just try to hit home runs because that's all I ever wanted to do. And so like I have such a great relationship with my dad now. And I think so much of that was built around this sport of baseball. And I've seen so many, I think sometimes maybe well intentioned parents that just have really damaged relationships with their kids because they put too much pressure on them, too many expectations. Like it's. There's so many things I think wrong with youth sports today. So I want to be the most impactful voice in youth sports first and foremost. Beyond that, I want to continue just to learn how to make entertaining content, tell stories better. I want to basically I want to keep doing exactly what I'm doing now. I want to keep making the same videos I'm making now. I want to get better at it. I want to continue to innovate and I want to be a voice of education in the world of youth sports moving forward.
- [43:07]
A
Fantastic Rack. This has been awesome, man. Thank you. I want you to tell people all the places that they can follow you and where they can see you and the Bananas play in the next few weeks.
- [43:18]
B
Yeah, well, thanks man. We. So we got the crazy couple weeks coming up. We got Pittsburgh this weekend. We're gonna play at PNC Park. We go from there to Petco park in San Diego, we go from there to New York. We're gonna play a Yankee Stadium. We're gonna go from there to T Mobile Park. I wanted to say Safeco where the Mariners play. And then we're gonna go from there to Dyken Park. Minute made as I call it going to Houston. So. So that's what we got coming up for this year. Then we're announcing our tour for next year. I believe that's going to be on espn announcing our schedule for next year, which will be cool. So that's for the banana stuff for me personally. You can follow me at Coach Rack at Coach Rack, on Instagram or TikTok or YouTube. So those would be all the places.
- [44:00]
A
To find me if people don't do that. Here's my advice. Do that. It is worth your time to follow this guy. It's awesome stuff. Doug, we need a statue of Rack doing a backflip. Can you work on that?
- [44:15]
C
Yes. Yes. You know, the supply chain has been clogged for a little while in the statue, so we're about to do a virtual statue.
- [44:24]
A
Hey, thank you so much. Can't say how much we enjoyed it and love to have you back sometime.
- [44:28]
B
Thanks, guys. Bucknell's graduates aren't just working, they're thriving. That's why LinkedIn ranked Bucknell University its number one liberal arts college for career outcomes. Discover the personalized career coaching, real world research, and powerful professional network that prepare Bucknellians for a lifetime of success at Bucknell.
- [44:50]
A
Edu.
- [44:51]
B
Welcome.
- [44:52]
A
Did I talk too much?
- [44:53]
B
Can't I just let it go?
- [44:55]
A
Thank you so much. Take a breath.
- [45:02]
B
You're not alone.
- [45:03]
A
Let's talk about what's going on. Counseling helps you sort through the noise with qualified professionals. And online therapy makes it convenient. See if it's for you, visit betterhelp.com randompodcast for 10% off your first month.
- [45:17]
B
Of online therapy and let life feel better. If you're in business, you'd expect money.
- [45:25]
A
Movement to be easy.
- [45:27]
B
And it is. With Visa Direct, collect, hold, convert and send payments between more than 195 countries, 160 currencies, and over 11 billion cards, accounts and wallets effortlessly and securely move money your way. Learn more@visa.com Visa Direct. Strange but true.
- [46:01]
A
Doug, you're familiar with the term deja vu, right?
- [46:04]
C
Yeah. It's like a type of soup, I think, isn't it? It's not a soup.
- [46:09]
A
It's not a type. It's not any type of soup.
- [46:11]
B
But.
- [46:13]
A
Like you're supposed to say, it sounds familiar. Anyway, this week, in this segment, it's time for deja strange but true.
- [46:25]
C
Yes. Get it?
- [46:27]
A
You shouldn't. But we're going to keep plowing ahead anyway. Here's what I mean. On July 2, a guy named Mike Yastremski. You've heard of him, right?
- [46:37]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [46:38]
A
Carl's grandson came to bat against Merrill Kelly. Let's hear what happened.
- [46:44]
B
So here's Mike Yastremski. He's going to lead things off.
- [46:46]
A
Yes.
- [46:47]
B
Has got some extra base ownage on Merrill Kelly. And he hits one high. He hits it deep, and he hits it.
- [46:59]
A
So you may be asking yourself.
- [47:01]
C
Yeah.
- [47:01]
A
Why do we play a clip of that home run?
- [47:04]
C
Yeah.
- [47:04]
A
Here's why. Because last Tuesday they met again. And guess what happened?
- [47:11]
B
And the lineup turns over for Mike Yastremski. He's the guy who's seen Merrill Kelly more than anyone else. Kelly in Arizona and Ustremski playing for the Giants. Lot of matchups. Yaz entered tonight 10 for 46 against Kelly. But four of those 10 hits are home runs. You get swings like that deep right field. He is homered again. And he ties it for the Royals in the bottom of the sixth.
- [47:39]
A
Yes, sir. Mike Yastremski has homered against Merrill Kelly two months in a row now.
- [47:45]
C
Yes.
- [47:46]
A
Maybe you're asking yourself, Doug, what's so strange but true about that.
- [47:50]
C
Exactly. Good question.
- [47:51]
A
That's just what you're asking, right?
- [47:52]
C
Yes, I did.
- [47:53]
A
Only one little thing is strange but true about that. They were wearing four different uniforms for those two homers. Because the first time Yaz was a Giant, Meryl Kelly was a D back. But the second time, Yaz was a Royal and Merrill Kelly was a Ranger. Because guess what? They both got traded at the trade deadline. Pretty crazy, huh? Doug, your thoughts?
- [48:25]
C
Well, my first thought is, did we look up how many times this has happened?
- [48:29]
A
You want me to tell you that now or you want to lead up to it?
- [48:31]
C
Yeah, maybe. You know. All right, I'll marinate on. Does bring back memories. It does bring back memories. Now, I don't want to try to.
- [48:38]
A
For you.
- [48:39]
C
For me personally, like, how could this.
- [48:41]
A
Ever have happened to you? You only got traded in mid season one time.
- [48:44]
C
That's true. That's true. How did that happen? Let's see. Cubs. I mean, I did hit a home run lighter again as a Cub. That was something. But that is. It's not even major league. That's the beauty of it. It's not even major league, really. I'm gonna take you back in time to Little League. And my very first home run over the fence. That's right. You know, because, you know, Very first. Very first.
- [49:05]
A
How old were you?
- [49:06]
C
I was like nine.
- [49:08]
A
I was nine.
- [49:09]
C
Yeah, nine. Maybe ten. I think I was nine. And I was. And back in Teaneck Western Little League, you had a minor league and a major league. So I just got kind of called up to the major leagues, and here I'm facing the giant kid that looks like he's 6, 11, blonde hair, and he's probably throwing 136 miles an hour from. What is it, 27ft.
- [49:33]
A
And you're 9.
- [49:34]
C
And I'm like, okay, so he's the guy, and everybody's like. And his name is Mike Wilkins. Everybody knows Mike. Big Mike Wilkins. Big Mike Wilkins. So, Mike. So, you know, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm up there. I knew I played with my brother. And sure enough, Mike Wilkins throws a pitch. Somehow I hit it. I'm running the bases and never hit a ball over a fence before. So I'm running and then it goes over the fence. And I'm trying to figure out what's going on. What am I supposed to do? So I guess I'm supposed to trot. But I didn't. Never taken a trot before. So I go around and now come around and kind of like a copy what I Learned from the 19, you know, 79 Phillies. And I hit my first home. I remember sitting on the bench being like, completely blown away. So I'm playing for the Jets. My team was called the Jets, I think.
- [50:17]
A
And baseball name. Yeah.
- [50:19]
C
He was either Garment Center, Joey's Children Wear, or Character Construction. I'm not sure one of those teams. But he had that uniform on. I had the other. And then of course, I think it was Garmin Center. Now fast forward. This is not a month later. This is not two months later. This is being nine years old and then me being 16.
- [50:38]
A
Wow.
- [50:39]
C
Okay, so fast forward to sophomore year.
- [50:41]
A
That's not that fast. Seven years.
- [50:43]
C
Okay, slow forward to sophomore year in high school. And Mike Wilkins is now pitching for Promise Catholic. And I'm a Teaneck high school. Completely different uniforms, right. If I couldn't even fit in my little league uniform if I wanted to at 16. So I put on a new uniform. The Teaneck High School Highwayman. He's promised Catholic. I don't even know their nickname. And he's a knuckleball pitcher, throws a pitch. I had another home run off him over the fence. This is like 10 years later. Maybe not quite 10, but close enough. And Mike Wilkins is completely. His mind is blown. So I see him after the game. He's like, you seem to own me. I was like, well, I don't know if it counts, but there's got to be a statute of limitations of ownership. Like, there's kind of a big gap there. I mean, I was literally like 100 pounds heavier than I was when I hit the first home run. Mike, if you're out there, I. For some reason, I had your number. I dialed it seven years later and I still had it. I appreciate you laying that knuckleball in there. That's what happens. Change uniforms. And sometimes when you own a pitcher or a pitcher owns you, there's no statute of limitations. It doesn't matter what uniform, doesn't matter what country you're playing in. It doesn't even matter your age. It's just part of your destiny.
- [51:59]
A
Okay, so that even applies to Mike Yastremsky and Meryl Kelly?
- [52:03]
C
Absolutely. Absolutely. There's nothing that Kelly can do except, all right, retire. That's all he can do. And Mike Stromsky might hit a home run off him in retirement. That's how. That's how strong that aura is.
- [52:18]
A
Wow. Okay, so you asked me, has this ever happened? And you asked me this because you know I will find out. So I didn't know off the top of my head, obviously. So I asked my friends from stats, how many times in history has something like this happened? Doug? They could only find two other times that a batter homered off the same pitcher in back to back months, even though both of them had changed teams in between. And you're gonna remember none of these because I remembered none of these. Nobody's gonna remember any of these. Okay, so first was 1926, May and June. The pitcher was Howard Emke. The hitter, one of your favorites, Doug. Baby Doll Jacobson. I have no idea what that nickname's about, but I bet Howard Empty knows all about it.
- [53:17]
C
Baby Doll.
- [53:18]
A
All right, that was the first time. Here's the second time. This is a great one. July and August of 1952.
- [53:29]
C
Okay?
- [53:29]
A
Wurtz was the hitter.
- [53:31]
C
Oh, legend.
- [53:32]
A
Yeah. Because Willie Mays robbed him in the World Series two years later. But that day, he was a legend because he got to face Ned Garver. Here is the backstory. They had just been traded for each other.
- [53:46]
B
What?
- [53:47]
A
Yes. Three days earlier.
- [53:50]
C
Oh, that's even better.
- [53:51]
A
It gets better than that. Nick Wirtz goes deep off of Ned Garver. The guy was traded for twice in one game. How good is that?
- [54:04]
C
You know who got the best part of that deal? I guess.
- [54:06]
A
So it took you seven years, nine years, whatever it was took Vic Wirtz three days.
- [54:12]
C
Three days. That's right off the guy you were traded for. Oh, my God. That is a work of art. That is art. That is artistic baseball.
- [54:19]
A
It's awesome. And it never lets us. Never lets us run out of strange but two scripts, does it, Doug?
- [54:25]
C
No. No, it does not.
- [54:34]
A
Okay, it's that time again. It's time for listener trivia, our way of involving you, our favorite listeners in this show. Doug, it's getting to be a long time since we got one of these right. I feel like Alejandro Kirk has more stolen bases since Then, then we have trivia questions we've nailed. I know. Wait a second. He actually has stolen more bases.
- [55:00]
C
He has one?
- [55:01]
A
Yeah, he's got one. How many we got? None.
- [55:04]
C
Less than 1.
- [55:05]
A
Less than 1? Yeah, it might be less than 1. We should lose points for all the ones we miss. And I'm not real confident we're going to break the streak this week either because you know who's back to torment us, right? Yes, it is our good friend John Fisher. Oh, yeah. A guy we both work with at espn now the lead researcher at CBS Sports. Fish, welcome back to Starkville. How are you, buddy?
- [55:31]
B
I'm great.
- [55:32]
C
Good to see you guys. Good to hear your voices. Thanks for having me.
- [55:35]
A
Yeah. Always good to see you. And as you know, Doug Fish loves the Phillies. So I guess I should ask you.
- [55:43]
C
That's a hint. Is that a hint? That's a hint.
- [55:45]
A
Not necessarily. I don't know.
- [55:46]
C
Not necessarily. Okay.
- [55:47]
A
No, but I'm going to ask them. How you feeling about the Phillies right now? Know Zach Wheeler to front the rotation in October? What do you think, Fish?
- [55:56]
C
Obviously they've played some games against the Nationals, but what they were starting pitchers did in that three game series against Seattle made me think that, you know, that's their strength. And of course, losing that guy is tough. You don't want to, you don't want to lose from a strength. But they've got really good guys behind them and Ranger Suarez has had two really good starts. So, yeah, I feel okay. And the way they're hitting the ball.
- [56:15]
B
We were there a couple weeks ago.
- [56:16]
C
When they hit a bunch of home.
- [56:17]
B
Runs and it's been fun to watch. So I don't know if it's cautious optimism, but I feel like they're, they're.
- [56:22]
C
A good team and they got other good starting pitchers and when the game, you know, the rotation gets a little.
- [56:27]
B
Shortened, I feel like they'll be all right.
- [56:28]
A
Are you sure you're a Philadelphian? All right. I don't know how the Phillies are going to make out, but I can't wait to see how Glanville and I make out on your question. So let's do this. Fish, time for you to hit us with your trivia question.
- [56:45]
C
Sounds good. So I was looking at thinking about awards and with the, the favorites out there for some of the awards and.
- [56:52]
B
Tarik Skubal sure looks like the favorite.
- [56:54]
C
To win the American League Cy Young. It would be his second, would be.
- [56:57]
B
His second in a row.
- [56:58]
C
And it got me thinking that Detroit.
- [57:00]
B
Has another guy who's won multiple Cy Youngs for them.
- [57:04]
C
So if Scuba were to win, Detroit would become the fifth franchise to have multiple, multiple times Cy Young winners. Two guys who have won it at least twice for their team. So can you name the other four franchises? And to have some fun and bonus points, can you name those pictures? Because I'm sure if you're thinking which teams it would be, you're thinking of which guys would have done it. So four teams. It's two for each four teams. Yep. So four teams have had two guys win twice. I can't believe it's that many. That few. That's what shocked me. Like only five team, five franchises have ever done it.
- [57:41]
A
No team has three. That's amazing. It really is. Well, you know, the big news here though, is we are in Glanville, rural territory. Any question with four answers. I think I know what you're going to say, but how do you want to do this? What do we need to do to get this question, quote unquote correct?
- [58:01]
C
Well, I've streamlined the process. It's. We usually throw it to the trivia question asker and I say, do we. We can go maybe an extra guess and get all four or do we get four guesses and only have to get three? Most people, it's been kind of standardized now that we just get an extra guess and then have to get all of them. But sometimes I throw it out there to see what the guest wants to do.
- [58:25]
A
Did you understand that at all? He wants to know if you want to give us five guesses to get four.
- [58:31]
C
That sounds good to me. I like these kinds of questions because.
- [58:33]
B
You throw stuff out and you take a shot on one.
- [58:35]
C
You know, you got to be. Sometimes you got to be a little risky. So, yeah, like I like throwing in a. The opportunity to take a risk and throw one out. So, yeah, five guesses to get four.
- [58:45]
A
All right. Five, four.
- [58:46]
C
Let's do it. I went five for four. One game. I mean, it's amazing.
- [58:52]
A
I demand a recount. All right, let's do this. Let's start our third three minute shot clock and see if we can get this.
- [59:00]
C
I don't know.
- [59:01]
A
Okay, so one's pretty easy. Dodgers, Koufax and Kershaw, right?
- [59:07]
C
Yeah, I like that one. I like that one.
- [59:09]
B
Yeah.
- [59:09]
A
Red Sox, Clemens and Pedro. Doesn't that have to be right?
- [59:14]
C
Do they have to win in the organization?
- [59:16]
A
Yeah, they have to be with that team. Clement and Pedro. Right. That's a lot of scions, right, Right there. What about mets, Seaver? And deGrom. I like that one. So that's. That would give us three, and then. Okay, so the Braves. Maddox.
- [59:38]
C
Maddox.
- [59:39]
A
Maddox won what, three, four, Whatever it is. Eight.
- [59:46]
C
I'm not sure.
- [59:48]
A
Glavin might have won two. Warren Spahn.
- [59:50]
C
I don't know. Spahn.
- [59:53]
A
I like the idea of guessing the Braves since we don't have. We only get extra points. Right. We don't have to get the pitchers. So I like that.
- [60:01]
C
Stay brave.
- [60:02]
A
Yeah. Okay, so there's always a stumper. I was thinking maybe Diamondbacks. Doug. Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb. Did Brandon Webb win two?
- [60:14]
C
I don't know about two. He should have won 12. I never hit that guy.
- [60:19]
A
All right, so that's. That's a. That's an idea. Orioles, Jim Palmer and who else? Cardinals, Gibson and who else?
- [60:33]
C
Carpenter.
- [60:34]
A
No. Chris Carpenter?
- [60:37]
C
Wainwright?
- [60:37]
A
Giants?
- [60:40]
C
Lincecum Kane.
- [60:42]
A
No, none of the other guys. Lincent played with one. Right. But New York Giants never won. Oh, yeah. Sal Magley, somebody like that. I don't know. Phillies, Clemens and Henkin, or Twins, Viola and Johan? I don't know. That's a lot of guesses. I like my first guess.
- [61:02]
C
What are the Phillies? Steve Carlton and who? Any Phillies.
- [61:06]
A
How are they? Only one.
- [61:07]
C
John Denny.
- [61:08]
A
John Denny only won once. Jim Constani only won once. Steve Bedrosian. A lot of Steve Bedrosian mentions here. He only won once. I don't think so. Who am I missing? I don't think so. All right.
- [61:25]
C
Atlanta, Boston, Louisiana.
- [61:31]
A
I think they feel right to me. But we need. Because of the Glanville rule, we need another guess.
- [61:38]
C
We need another guest with 15 seconds to go. We should. We should do the Phillies, right?
- [61:44]
B
Shouldn't we?
- [61:44]
C
Detroit. Did you say Detroit?
- [61:46]
A
Would be the fifth? So we.
- [61:47]
C
Oh, it's fine.
- [61:48]
A
You picked the fifth. Go ahead. You picked. You picked the 15.
- [61:52]
C
You got to pick the Phillies. Don't we? Just because they did it.
- [61:55]
A
But what?
- [61:57]
C
Baltimore. You can pick it. It doesn't matter.
- [62:01]
A
I'm sure we forgot somebody, like we always do, but I actually like the first four guesses, so I think we've got a shot at this. Fish, is there any chance? It's Braves, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets. And who you want to guess for the fifth?
- [62:19]
C
Phillies. Just because.
- [62:21]
A
Phillies. Five.
- [62:23]
C
You guys got it, right? Those are the four.
- [62:25]
A
The first four.
- [62:27]
C
Braves, Red Sox, Dodgers and Mets. And you named all eight pitchers that accounted for it. Oh, my goodness. That's a clean sweep. That's like five trivia answers. I think we just got. We just. Yeah, we just got five in a Row. That's amazing.
- [62:40]
A
We got it done.
- [62:42]
C
Maddox and Glavin for the Braves, Pedro and Clemens for the Red Sox, Kershaw and Koufax and seaver and Jacob deGrom for the mess. That. That's the one that would have stumped me. I would have went to the other three first. Yeah, you guys were read. Wow. Yeah, like you were dancing around that.
- [62:58]
B
Like Halliday won two, but only one for the Phillies.
- [63:01]
C
And that's. That was the distinction there.
- [63:03]
A
Is it cheating? If I've written so much about the Cy Young award and what makes aces and I've asked so many questions about Cy Young's that I kind of know this stuff deeply embedded in my brain. I thought we were going to get it wrong when I first heard it.
- [63:17]
C
Think about all the questions we've gotten wrong, though, with all the knowledge. So that's okay.
- [63:21]
A
I think it's okay. Right? You didn't talk me out of the right answer this time. So that helped.
- [63:25]
C
That's. I was like, let me get out of the way here.
- [63:27]
A
So look, that was fun. And guess what? Luckily, just the beginning of the fun because it's time to bring in the mayor of Starkville, Brian Smith, to play another epic play by play clip involving this week's question. So, Mr. Mayor, what do you got for us?
- [63:45]
B
Congrats on the win. Finally getting back in the win column. Since you guys technically got 12 answers right, is that going to like, affect our, like, average for the season? I don't know.
- [63:54]
A
I kind of.
- [63:55]
B
I feel like you guys 12 for.
- [63:56]
C
12 for 12 today. Yeah, our war just went through the roof for sure.
- [64:01]
B
We might need a statue or an award for that.
- [64:03]
A
I don't know.
- [64:03]
B
Not sure.
- [64:04]
C
Yeah, I might throw a statue on top of that. Yeah, I like that.
- [64:07]
B
All right, for the highlight today, we head back to June 18, 2014.
- [64:11]
C
Clayton Kershaw throws a no hitter vers.
- [64:14]
B
The rockies during his 2014 Cy Young season. And here is the sound 1 miserable, measly out Owen 2.
- [64:31]
A
Got him.
- [64:32]
B
He's done it. Clayton Kershaw pitches a mole hitter, a career high 15 strikeouts.
- [64:47]
A
You know, Doug, I feel like that the mayor of Starkville, when he looks for these clips, he starts with all Vin Scully clips. And that's good with me.
- [64:55]
C
It's a good idea for the record.
- [64:58]
A
So that worked out well. The question worked out better. Fish, have we ever gotten one of your questions right before to make them easy?
- [65:06]
C
I'm always doing a dance of. You guys are good at this and I want to challenge you But I also don't want to have, you know, dead space on the podcast.
- [65:13]
A
So it's right.
- [65:14]
C
I mean, I see trivia questions out there that are like, guess this very specific thing that ever happened. And that doesn't feel like trivia to me. Trivia to me is like banter and.
- [65:21]
B
Back and forth and.
- [65:22]
C
Yeah, you guys, you've gotten a few. Yeah. I mean, well, we have a guest named Jim Hawkins that we're like 0 for 13. He just keeps coming on. He's always in his car, too. He's always in his car.
- [65:32]
B
Yeah.
- [65:32]
C
But it'll drive off after. He just like drives his mom on.
- [65:35]
A
Us and you know, that drive off into the sunset thing? That's him.
- [65:40]
B
Yeah.
- [65:41]
C
I figure out I want to be asked back.
- [65:43]
A
Definitely becoming. Hey, we. We love it when you visit Starkville, man. So let's definitely do this again. Okay.
- [65:49]
C
Yeah.
- [65:49]
B
Appreciate you guys.
- [65:58]
A
Okay, that's gonna do it for this week's show. Doug, thanks for playing. Thanks to Rack. Coach Rack Robert Anthony Cruz from the Bananas for visiting us. Thanks to John Fisher for the excellent trivia question. And I use the word excellent because we got it right. Thanks to the mayor of Starkville, Brian Smith, for producing us and putting up with us. And don't forget, call us. I mean it. Dial up our new Starkville hotline, 267-227-9867. Shall I repeat that? I think I should repeat that. 267, 227-9867. And when you call, you should ask us stuff about baseball and then we will actually answer your question if we like it. We're going to answer our favorite questions on the show every few weeks. If you don't want to call, you can still email us. People do that@starkville.com we'll be checking that voicemail, but until then, Doug and I will see you soon. Start thrill. Hey, it's Marc Maron from WTF here to let you know that this podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. And I'm sure the reason you're listening to this podcast right now is because you chose it well. Choose Progressives name your price tool and you could find insurance options that fit your budget. So you can pick the best one for your situation. Who doesn't like choice? Try it@progressive.com and now some legal info. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. Tired of feeling stressed, distracted or overwhelmed while browsing the web?
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- [68:41]
A
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