Starkville | Dan Shulman and Tom Hamilton talk about crazy seasons for the Blue Jays & Guardians

Summary

The Windup: Starkville | Dan Shulman and Tom Hamilton Talk Crazy Seasons for the Blue Jays & Guardians

Date: September 23, 2025
Hosts: Jayson Stark & Doug Glanville
Guests: Dan Shulman (Voice of the Toronto Blue Jays), Tom Hamilton (Voice of the Cleveland Guardians, recent Frick Award Hall of Fame inductee)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Starkville, The Athletic’s flagship baseball podcast, assembles a “Broadcasters Roundtable” with two of the most respected voices in baseball, Dan Shulman and Tom Hamilton. It examines the wild, record-setting late-season surges by both the Blue Jays and Guardians, analyzing the teams’ improbable comebacks, the factors behind their success, the emotions of their respective fanbases, and the broader shifts in how winning teams are built. The episode is rich in storytelling, personal insight, and a few comic asides, offering listeners both sharp analysis and behind-the-mic perspective as both clubs head into the home stretch.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Broadcasters Roundtable and Historic Comebacks

• Jayson Stark introduces the special episode: a look at the “wild final week of the regular season” with a focus on record-defying surges by Toronto and Cleveland.
• Stark highlights Cleveland’s comeback: “76 days ago...the Guardians trailed the Tigers by 15 and a half games. How many teams you think have ever come back from 15 and a half back at any point to finish first?” (05:00). The answer is zero; the closest was the 1914 “Miracle Braves” at 15 games.
• Doug Glanville jokes that the Guardians’ new clubhouse “actually goes all the way to Detroit… eventually that led to the collapse that they're starting right now." (06:33)

2. Guardians’ Surreal Run and Blue Jays’ Transformation

• Tom Hamilton on Cleveland’s run (11:47):
  • “It's almost surreal, Doug, in that, you know, you're not supposed to go 15 and 2 this time of the year.”
  • On context: “On September 4th, this ball club was still two games under .500 and was 11 and a half games out of first.”
  • Highlights “incredible starting pitching,” a six-man rotation, resilience after losing key players, and Detroit’s monumental collapse.
• Dan Shulman on Toronto’s secret sauce (13:22):
  • Praises manager John Schneider’s growth and adaptability: “He is much more comfortable and confident in his decision making.”
  • Emphasizes improved internal communication as “foster[ing] an incredible sense of togetherness...improved communication fostered an incredible sense of togetherness on this team.”
  • The “secret sauce”: bench contributors and unexpected performers like Ernie Clement, Davis Schneider, and Tyler Heineman.
  • “Every single player they have on this team is a positive contributor and to me that's the biggest reason why they are where they are.” (14:53)

3. A Record-Breaking Journey & Lessons from Unlikely Success

• Hamilton on the Guardians’ resurrection (15:25):
  • Outlines historic adversity: “They had a 10-game losing streak in July and then in August lost nine out of 10...yet you've still recovered from that.”
  • Not a powerhouse: “This is a ball club that scratches and claws every night for three or four runs.”
  • On camaraderie: “When all 28 guys feel like they're a part of it, that gives you a closeness that is really hard to overcome.”
• Shulman on the stakes in Toronto (18:00):
  • Being a “non-American team” means sometimes “out of sight, out of mind.”
  • Significance: “The Blue Jays haven't won the division since 2015, so it would mean a lot...Winning the division and getting a bye is the big, big regular season prize.”

4. Fanbase Responses and Team Identity

• Hamilton on Cleveland fans (22:02):
  • “I think a lot of the city...said, well, you know, they're a nice story...but we're not going back to the playoffs...So I think in some ways this has caught people off guard.”
  • Notes an emerging rivalry with Detroit—potential for a rematch in the wild card series.
  • “People here have gotten really spoiled...this ball club's been in the playoffs seven times in the last 12 years.”
• Shulman on Jays fandom and Canada’s team (24:16):
  • Unique dynamic: “We broadcast to a country, right? There’s only one baseball team in the whole country.”
  • “There’s a real likability amongst the players...our fan base has really fallen in love with this team because...they've got a kind of grinders mentality.”
  • Blue Jays fans travel: “When the Blue Jays go to Seattle, there are more Blue Jay fans there than Mariners fans.”

5. Pitching Puzzles and Bullpen Revolutions

• Blue Jays’ Postseason rotation (26:00):
  • Gosman and recently traded Shane Bieber as top starters. Max Scherzer has uneven recent form; Chris Bassitt is on the IL but could return.
  • “I could see them, Jason, going, Gosman, Bieber and then patch it together like teams do in October after that.” (27:48)
• Guardians’ Bullpen since Clase suspension (27:50):
  • Hamilton recounts devastating clubhouse mood: “It was almost like you were in a funeral home. It was that somber.”
  • Unexpected heroes: “Now you've got Cade Smith, a young kid who is from Canada...Hunter Gattis, Tim Heron. But then you've got these unlikely heroes, a Kobe Allard, a Matt Festa and Eric Zabrowski.”
  • “It's kind of why we love our game, isn't it?...my former partner Herb Score said, you don't predict that's why they play the games. And this is living proof.” (30:10)

6. Who’s the Scariest Team in the AL?

• Shulman: “I would say right now the Seattle Mariners. They scare me.” (30:59)
• Hamilton: “I think it's down to Seattle and Toronto...Both the Mariners and the Blue Jays...It's a flip of the coin between those two teams.” (31:29)

7. Philosophy Behind Roster Moves: Bieber’s Guardians Exit

• Hamilton: The Guardians trade Shane Bieber not as a white flag, but a recognition of the team’s window and Bieber’s contract status: “They weren't giving up on the season, but they were realistic enough to know that they weren't in the place they were a year ago.” (32:21)

8. “Circle That Game”: Defining Moments of 2025

• Hamilton’s pick: July sweep of the Astros after a 10-game losing streak: “That was where you were like, how in the world did that happen?...That series didn't necessarily turn around the season, but I thought they could go to Houston and get wiped out and then you don't know how long the spiral is.” (34:27)
• Shulman’s picks:
  • Canada Day grand slam by George Springer to sweep the Yankees in July (“there's something different in this town...when the Blue Jays do well against the Yankees”).
  • Mason Flu Hardy, “a rookie left hander,” escaping a bases-loaded jam at Dodger Stadium against Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. “That’s what has made both the teams, Cleveland and Toronto, good this year—it can't all be stars.” (35:00–37:03)

9. Personal Highs: Hall of Fame and Familial Broadcasting

• Hamilton on Cooperstown induction: “At the end of the day, the Hall of Fame is about the players...but that week...they made you feel like you were one of them.” (37:17)
• Shulman on having his son Ben as Blue Jays radio voice:
  • “There are 30 television play by play announcers and 30 radio play by play announcers...the 60 of us are the luckiest people in the world.”
  • “What's fun about it is...the older I get and the more seasoned he gets, the more he's helping me rather than me helping him. He's my IT guy, like he's everything.” (38:45)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Tom Hamilton (on the Guardians’ turnaround):
  “At no point do you think that you’re even a .500 ball club, much less a playoff contender...For the last 17 games, they've had a starting pitcher not give up more than two runs. That's just hard to fathom.” (11:47)
• Dan Shulman (on this season’s Blue Jays):
  “The secret sauce of this team, a guy I didn't mention...Ernie Clement...It's the Lucases and the Clements and the Davis Schneiders...Every single player they have on this team is a positive contributor.” (14:52)
• Jason Stark (explaining the statistical oddity):
  “If the Guardians pull this off...that would break a record set in 1914 by the Miracle Braves. And when the nickname of that team is ‘Miracle,’ what the Guardians have a chance...” (15:03)
• Tom Hamilton (on Hall of Fame induction):
  “The Hall of Fame is about the players...But that week and that weekend, they made you feel like you were one of them. And that is something I'll never forget.” (37:17)
• Dan Shulman (on sharing the booth with his son):
  “It's fun watching him. I see myself from 30 years ago in some ways. So it makes me very proud as a dad. Not the broadcaster he is, but the son he is, the person he is.” (41:02)

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Summary of Important Segments and Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------| | 02:38 | Opening banter, set-up of the episode, leading to the broadcasters’ roundtable | | 04:56 | Context—Guardians’ historic chase, improbable comebacks, comparison to 1914 Braves | | 08:08 | Introduction of guests—Dan Shulman and Tom Hamilton | | 11:47 | Hamilton on the surreal Guardians run and pitching streak | | 13:22 | Shulman on Blue Jays’ “secret sauce”: flexibility, communication, bench contributors | | 15:02 | The miracle scenario: Guardians chasing a 1914 record | | 18:00 | Shulman on what winning the AL East means to Toronto and its fans/country | | 22:02 | Hamilton on how Cleveland fans are processing their team’s wild run | | 24:16 | Shulman on the Blue Jays’ broad and passionate Canadian fan base | | 26:00 | Jays’ rotation and pitching decisions for October | | 27:50 | Hamilton on bullpen’s resilience since Clase suspension | | 30:59 | Who scares you most in AL? Both: Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays | | 32:21 | On trading Shane Bieber—balancing today and tomorrow | | 33:58 | “Circle That Game” defining moments: Houston sweep for Guardians, Canada Day/Yankees and Dodgers/Ohtani moments for Jays | | 37:10 | Hamilton’s Hall of Fame reflections | | 38:45 | Shulman sharing Jays season with his son Ben, who’s on radio | | 43:53–49:19 | Humorous “Strange But True” segment about Tyler Heineman’s pitching disaster for Blue Jays—giving up 13 hits and 10 runs on 33 pitches | | 50:07–56:55 | Listener trivia (“Who hit homers in 40 parks but not 400 lifetime?” — Answer: Ellis Burks) |

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Notable “Strange But True” Segment

The Epic Tyler Heineman Outing (43:53–49:19)

• The crew recaps backup catcher Tyler Heineman’s position-player pitching outing, giving up 13 hits and 10 runs in just 33 pitches.
• Shulman: “He may have given up 13 hits. He may have given up 10 runs, but Tyler Heineman did get twice as many outs in that game as the starting pitcher [Scherzer] did.”
• Glanville jokes: “It, it rolled downhill and then it just went off a cliff. And then it left the Earth's orbit gravitational field.” (45:40)

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Listener Trivia (50:07–56:55)

• “Who is the only player to have homered in 40 or more parks but not hit 400 home runs?”
• After several incorrect guesses, the correct answer: Ellis Burks.

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Final Notes & Tone

• The episode is upbeat and full of mutual respect, both personal and professional, between the hosts and their guests.
• There’s a focus on the unpredictability of baseball, the importance of team chemistry and flexibility, and the privilege of telling these stories to fans.
• The roundtable ends with both Hamilton and Shulman reflecting on their good fortune—the impact of Hall of Fame recognition and sharing baseball with family.

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In Short

If you’re following the AL playoff race, or just want to understand how two teams defied expectations in completely different ways, this episode gives you the story from inside the clubhouse, inside the broadcast booth, and inside the hearts of two cities. It’s a rich tapestry of analysis, humor, history, and genuine baseball love—told by the voices who know it best.

Transcript

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[Jason Stark]

Greetings and welcome to Starkville Baseball hall of Famer Jason Stark. And then the robot said, strike.

[Dan Shulman]

That's why you're going in the hall of Fame.

[Jason Stark]

It's an inside the park hold broad.

[Tom Hamilton]

Doug Glennfeld.

[Doug Glanville]

Mike Trout his coffee at Starbucks with a double latte.

[Jason Stark]

Skinny Doug, are you ready? Some podcast magic. I am ready.

[Doug Glanville]

Bring on the magic wand. Let's do it.

[Jason Stark]

Greetings and welcome to Starkfield. 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 eyes of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio, Doug Glanville. And Doug, where are you right now? I know you're trying to get from Houston to Connecticut. Does not look like either of those places.

[Doug Glanville]

No, very unsuccessful at the moment. Three hours on the tarmac. Uh, that was interesting. And we, and they were, they kept teasing us, oh, no, we're taking off in like five. We're taking off in five. And it was like 10. And then, then we kept thinking we're going to take off. And we were, we were kind of moving a lot. So I thought we were going to drive to Connecticut, but we just never took off. So finally took off. I'm sitting in Detroit and I researched the spot and I'm in the corner of gate A20. You know, I had to be strategic, the flight. There's no flights leaving here till 4:30, so it's kind of quiet other than the vacuum cleaner. You just heard and yeah, I'm ready to go.

[Jason Stark]

Okay. Meanwhile, on my end, I've got no Internet service.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah, who needs Internet?

[Jason Stark]

Wi Fi? I don't know what, I don't know what is happening. I have no idea how we're doing this show, but this is an example of the fortitude, the courage, the professionalism we're so noted for, or possibly not.

[Doug Glanville]

Starkville cannot be denied. It is destiny. Doesn't matter where we are, doesn't matter our wifi connection. It will happen. Sometimes will happen.

[Jason Stark]

Let's look ahead to what it looks like. It's going to be a wild final week of the regular season. We're Going to have a little fun. Broadcasters Roundtable today with Dan Schulman, voice of the Blue Jays, and Tom Hamilton, voice of the amazing Guardians. They'll have some tremendous perspective from two of the great broadcasters in this sport. First, I just want to sum up the historic importance of what we're watching with the Tigers and guardians. Doug, 76 days ago, as we record this, the Guardians trailed the Tigers by 15 and a half games. How many teams you think have ever come back from 15 and a half back at any point to finish first?

[Doug Glanville]

It sounds very zero. Like. So I'm going to throw zero out there. What do you think?

[Jason Stark]

Zero is an excellent guess. The most ever is 15 by the 1914 Miracle Braves. But that's not all. So 28 days ago, the Guardians were still 12 and a half out. They were 10 and a half out. Entering September, they were nine and a half out 12 days ago. 139 games into the season, they have a losing record. And Doug, they're in position where they can make the playoffs. I'll let you go again. How many teams do you think have ever been more than 10 games out in September and played a postseason game?

[Doug Glanville]

I'm going to say zero. But I'm wondering, what does it look like from the Tigers perspective?

[Jason Stark]

They don't want to know. If they don't get into the postseason, they're breaking every record imaginable for collapsing. Any thoughts on the Guardians and the Tigers?

[Doug Glanville]

You see them, I'm going to credit their new locker room, their new clubhouse in Cleveland, which is the size of Ohio. They've actually fit Ohio into Cleveland, which is pretty amazing. I think that's part of the reason they've absorbed Detroit. I think the locker room actually goes all the way to Detroit. And they just kind of took territory and eventually that led to the collapse that they're starting right now.

[Jason Stark]

So they've secretly tunneled into the Tigers war room and they know all the secrets.

[Doug Glanville]

They know all of it? Absolutely.

[Dan Shulman]

All right.

[Jason Stark]

All right. So one more thing we probably should address here. After David Stern's. The Mets dropped by Starkville two weeks ago.

[Doug Glanville]

Yes.

[Jason Stark]

The Mets lost eight in a row last week. Bruce Bochy visited Starkville. His team then lost seven in a row to get themselves eliminated. But, Doug, I want you to reassure America, and I think it probably also be helpful to reassure those two guys and all future guests that there's no such thing as a Starkville jinx or. Or curse or hex of any kind.

[Doug Glanville]

Well, there is not. However, I think we should build a Statue that neutralizes all jinxes and curses, just in case, to be safe. But this is a small sample. Eight in a row, seven in a row. They might be about to go off on a winning streak for the rest of the season. So I think they're still connected. So there's possible goodwill here. We just didn't see it last week.

[Jason Stark]

Doug. We get the best guests and that streak is alive and well this week got a week to go in the season, so we thought we would assemble the world's most prestigious broadcasters roundtable. Two of the all time greats and two of our favorite people. Stan Shulman, voice of the Blue Jays on sportsnet. And Tom Hamilton, not just the radio voice of the Guardians, but the newest winner of the Frick Award, meaning he's now in the broadcast wing in Cooperstown. So, Dan, Tom, we are thrilled and honored to have you here.

[Dan Shulman]

Thrilled and honored to be here. Great to see you guys.

[Tom Hamilton]

Same here, guys. Great to be with all of you and fun to have some relevant baseball with a week to go.

[Jason Stark]

Yes, absolutely. We're going to get into that. So Dan, before we do that, I was thinking you're still wearing your champagne so close from the celebration in Kansas City Sunday, but you, you've told us that's not true.

[Dan Shulman]

No, that's not true. So Buck Martinez, who all of you know very well, he and I were doing the game and then after the game we went down, we had cameras in the, in the clubhouse. And our reporter on the game yesterday, Arden Zwelling, did a magnificent job. He interviewed 12 players in about 18 minutes. So he would do an interview and then toss it back up to us and we would fill for 20 seconds and then right back down to the clubhouse. So Buck and I were still on air, still anchoring. So we don't have any dry cleaning bills today. But you know, maybe if there's another, another party or two, maybe we'll get in on that.

[Jason Stark]

Let me ask you guys, have. Have either of you ever had to get on a plane wearing champagne? So clothes. That's honestly my worst nightmare. Even just packing them is bad.

[Tom Hamilton]

Yes. And it was from Seattle, so it can't get much worse.

[Jason Stark]

You're kidding.

[Tom Hamilton]

No. Because, I mean, you can't have a much further flight unless of course, you're going Seattle to Miami. But yeah, that was the price to pay in 95. But I don't think anybody cared.

[Jason Stark]

So you had the celebration, you got crushed, and then you had to go right to the airport and get on the plane. Like nobody handed you like a no Cleveland championship T shirt or anything?

[Tom Hamilton]

No, because, you know, it was a night game and, you know, I think we got back at, I don't know, 6, 6:30 in the morning to top that. Guys, Bob Feller, that was in The Kingdom, the 95American League championship Series, and Cleveland beat Randy Johnson in game six. And, you know, to Bob's credit, you know, sometimes the older players from yesteryear, they're not as into today's game. He was as excited as if he was 12 years old. He hurdled the retaining wall and went onto the field behind home plate, and a cop had him with his arm behind his back up against the netting, thinking he was a fan that was trying to join the celebration. And Bob's trying to show him his hall of Fame ring with his face smushed up against the netting. So those are memories you don't forget.

[Doug Glanville]

Oh, my goodness, the legendary Bob Feller. How do we do that? I guess the journey of this season, it's been, you know, Jason and I have just been talking a lot about, like, how wild it's been to see how close the American League is right now. I mean, what does it look like from your perspective, just how tight things have gotten? The Mariners sweep the Astros, all kinds of chaos, and all of a sudden the guardians are in this position after such a. A distant journey that they had to take. So I'll start with you, Tom. Like, what, what has it been like to watch that?

[Tom Hamilton]

It's almost surreal, Doug, in that, you know, you're not supposed to go 15 and two this time of the year. I mean, literally, guys, on September 4th, this ball club was still two games under.500 and was 11 and a half games out of first. And so at no point do you think that you're even a.500 ball club, much less a playoff contender. And, you know, for the last 17 games now, they have had a starting pitcher not give up more than two runs in any of those 17 starts. That's just hard to fathom, that kind of starting pitching with a young rotation, going with a six man rotation, and, you know, you're doing it obviously without one of your starters and the game's most dominant closer, based on the gambling probe that knocked them off the ball club, you know, back in the summer when it looked like that would be the end of your season. So I think it's an incredible credit, not only to the manager, the coaching staff, but these players are the ones that are getting it done. And it also took a monumental collapse by Detroit to make this a reality here in the final week of the campaign.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah. And Dan, I mean, I, you know, the Blue Jays, you know, talking to John Snyder and just his feeling of how he's kind of settled into who he is as a manager and knowing his players and knowing how to get the best of platoon advantages. What does it look like from your end, just day to day and just what's different about this team from say, last year or the last couple of years?

[Dan Shulman]

That's a great question. And a lot of it starts with John Schneider. Doug. I think he is much more comfortable and confident in his decision making, you know, to veer off the platform, plan to read the game as it's going and we can watch two consecutive games and on different days, maybe, you know, he goes left one game and then we think he's going to go left the next day and then in the same situation he goes right the next day because there is some feel to it and, and of course a lot of information we don't have. But I think he's much more confident in his decision making. And I think a huge thing that happened around this team is improved communication. And some of the veteran players, without giving away state secrets, have alluded to the fact that in the off season, front office manager, coaches and kind of the leadership group of the players sat down and said, we all need to get on the same page here. We all need to understand what is going on and why it's going on. And I think the improved communication fostered an incredible sense of togetherness on this team. Like you said, Doug, there's been a ton of platooning. You know, Nathan Lucas could come out for Davis Schneider and Addison Barger could come out for Isaiah Keiner fa and then Joey Loaferfido could come out for Miles Straw. And it just works like, Springer's had a great year, he's been huge. And Guerrero and Bichette, hopefully Bichette will be back. But the secret sauce of this team, a guy I didn't mention, who Tom knows very well, Ernie Clement too has had a great year. It's the Lucases and the Clements and the Davis Schneiders and the Tyler Hynemans. Every single player they have on this team is a positive contributor and to me that's the biggest reason why they are where they are.

[Jason Stark]

Tom, Doug and I were just recapping, as he mentioned, the history that could be on the line for your team.

[Dan Shulman]

Right.

[Jason Stark]

If the Guardians pull this off and finish first after being 15 and a half back, that would Break a record set in 1914 by the Miracle Braves. And when the nickname of that team is Miracle, what the Guardians have a chance.

[Tom Hamilton]

Yeah, I mean, it is hard to comprehend when you think back to 1914 and even a time period that most of US Remember, the 1978 incredible comeback by the New York Yankees capped off by, you know, the one game playoff where Bucky Gantt, Bucky Dent got a new middle name at Fenway park that has lasted the rest of his life. And they were 14 games back. But yeah, to be 15 and a half out in July. The other thing too, guys, you know, they had a 10 game losing streak in July and then in August lost nine out of 10. So that's a 20 game period in which you went one and 19 and yet you've still recovered from that and they still don't score many runs. I mean, these aren't the juggernaut teams of the 90s that Cleveland had. And, and even the ball club that went to the World Series, that was a really good offensive club in 2016 that played the Chicago Cubs. This is a ball club that scratches and claws every night for three or four runs. So again, it's, it's. To me, again, maybe it's a lesson why you play 162 games, why it's never truly over until it's over. And you know, to Dan's point of view, I think what we're seeing more and more ball clubs go with, unless they've got the payroll of the Yankees, the Mets and the Dodgers, you've got to have the ability to mix and match. And what that does to team camaraderie is really hard for the average fan to really comprehend. We had a game the other night where Kobe Allard hadn't pitched in two weeks and was used as the eighth inning man to get to the closer. You have a kid come up, make his major league debut and Petey helpin and get an RBI single when all 28 guys feel like they're a part of it, that gives you a closeness that is really hard to overcome in a lot of other clubhouses. Just don't have it, you know, Dan.

[Jason Stark]

The I don't think we can call the Blue Jays season anything that would qualify as a miracle. But they did finish last place last year. And it feels to me like any time a team not named the Yankees or Red Sox wins the AL east, that's a huge story in our sport. Does it feel like it's being perceived as a huge story as you go.

[Dan Shulman]

Around the country it's funny. So you know, as you know, we're the one non American team and so sometimes there's a little bit of out of side, out of mind. I, I think about this franchise. So it's funny whenever I go to whatever city often, you know, like Tom and I, we know all the other broadcasters for all the other teams and we sit down together. Well, Tom and I mostly tell jokes and laugh. We tell stories to each other before the game. But with, but with other guys it's like, so tell me about your team and that and that sort of thing. And the two things I always hear, almost always hear are, you know, for years I thought this team was going to be really good and they underachieved and now they're overachieving and then the follow up question is how are they doing it? And so we launch into the conversation that way. But it's interesting, you know, back at the beginning of the season, I think there was a stretch with the National League West. The Dodgers, the Padres, the Giants and the Diamondbacks all got off to great starts and it looked like, whoa, that division is a juggernaut. But at the end of the day, like I haven't added up the win loss totals recently in the divisions, but at the end of the day the American League east is the American League League east. And when you've got the Yankees and Red Sox in there, it's always going to be a beast. The Blue Jays haven't won the division since 2015, so it would mean a lot. I mean more practically and relevantly, if they win the division, they're going to get a buy and they're not going to have to play in the wild card round. And I think for a team with a lot of older players and some PTSD about the wild card round having gone 020202 the three times they've been in it, it would be great for them to move on. But it is a big story. I will tell you, Jason, and you know, I haven't been with the blue jays all 30 years of my career, as you guys know. But the Yankees came in here June 30th for a four game set and the Blue Jays were three games back playing well at that time. They were hot three games back. And I don't know if any of you, I'm sure Tom has been here for Canada Day for July 1st and it's, it's like the 4th of July. It's wonderful. And the Blue Jays with four dramatic games swept a four game series from the Yankees took a one game lead, 42,000 sellout. All the time they're wearing the Reds on Canada Day. There's something different in this town, and you could say this, I'm sure, in every division, but there's something different in this town. When the Blue Jays do well against the Yankees and Red Sox, especially the Yankees, and they won the tiebreaker the season series from both and it's right there in front of them, they're two up with six to go with the tiebreaker. The math is in their favor, but it's not a lock. But if they were to win like the clinch yesterday in Kansas City was great, but they had banked so many wins in the middle part of the season, it had almost become a formality that they were going to be a playoff team. But winning the division and getting a buy is the big, big regular season prize for this team right now.

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[Doug Glanville]

And Tom, I was wondering about, and maybe to both of you about the difference in that fan base in this time of year. You know, once that extra wild card was added and the possibilities started to add up, the sense that we have a shot, we have a shot. So how's that kind of played out in the fan bases? I'll start with you, Tom.

[Tom Hamilton]

Well, I think we'll find out this week, Doug, because we've been on the road for the last week. This has been a good year here. Attendance wise people been into it and whatnot but I think a lot of the city again, once Class and Ortiz were banged for the gambling probe, that is still going on. I think a lot of people just kind of, I don't want to say checked out, but said, well, you know, they're a nice story. They're playing hard. You know, we're still going to the games and having fun, but we're not going back to the playoffs and not going back to the ALCS like they did a year ago. So I think in some ways this has caught people off guard because again, on September 4th, you're two games under.500, you're double digits out of first. There's nobody on September 4th in Cleveland thinking that this team will make a playoff run. They're getting her ready for the Browns season opener. And you know, we all know with the Browns that by Halloween they'll be talking about who they're going to draft as their next quarterback with a top five pick, but that's another story. Not that I'm bitter.

[Doug Glanville]

Well, they have the right colors for Halloween, so.

[Tom Hamilton]

Yeah, that's true. And I'm a Packer fan, so it doesn't bother me what they're doing. So. But I think, Doug, now, I think it's caught people off guard and I think people here have gotten really spoiled, you know, in the time with Tito and now Stephen Vogt. You know, this ball club's been in the playoffs seven times in the last 12 years, you know, and that doesn't happen in the market this size very often. And so I'm curious to see the response here the next three nights, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday against Detroit, because the AL Central hasn't had the rivalries that Dan talked about. You know, it just feels like either it's been Minnesota or it's been Cleveland or it's been Detroit that have dominated the divisions for like almost a decade at a time. And now with Cleveland and Detroit having played each other last year in the division series and potentially could have a rematch in the wild card series if they both make it, this is becoming a true rivalry, separated by, you know, two hours and 15 minutes of highway.

[Dan Shulman]

By the way, geographically, I can make a pretty good case that if there's massive realignment that maybe Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit should all be in the same division. But that's, that's another story. I don't know if they're ever going to do that. Of course, they used to be right in the old 14 team division. American League east and Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit were all in there. But we're lucky. I mean, Toronto, as you guys know, is a big, big city and the Blue Jays draw well. But I think some of the things I was talking about before, there's a real likability amongst the players. You know, again, the. And again, Tom knows some of these guys. Ernie Clement and Miles Straw are both former Guardians. He knows them. And Davis, Schneider is incredibly popular. And Tyler Heinemann and all of the complimentary players, they play their tails off. And in any town, the fans love that. And on our broadcast, we love telling the stories of the 26th man as much as we love telling the stories of Guerrero, Springer and Bichette. And I think our fan base has really fallen in love with this team because even though they're not a small market club, they've got a big payroll, like who's kidding who, but they've got kind of a grinders mentality about how they try to win ball games that 1 through 26 or 1 through 28 now. So I think the fans really love it. And the other thing that really is interesting for us and unique, I think is, you know, we broadcast to a country, right? And there's only one baseball team in the whole country. When the Blue Jays go to Seattle, there are more Blue Jay fans there than Mariners fans. Tom has seen it in Cleveland. The Blue Jay fans don't outnumber the Guardians fans in Cleveland, but there are a lot of Blue Jay fans that cross the border. And so Buck and I and everybody associated, we feel very lucky that this team matters to a lot of people from coast to coast. And that's reflected in the, in the, the attendance and how passionate people are.

[Jason Stark]

I've got some pitching questions, Dan. I know that there are questions about what your team's postseason rotation is going to look like. So which game do you think that Tyler Hyneman will start?

[Dan Shulman]

So I heard something funny today. Like if you look at the Blue Jays bullpen numbers recently, they're not great, but Tyler Hyneman is a position player, gave up 10 earned runs in 20 or third or whatever it was. So the poor guy. I mean, you talk about taking one for the team. We've all been there. I broadcast 20 to 1 games for the team I'm calling for and against and it is what it is. But the pitching is really interesting. Kevin Gosman is back to being the Gosman of 22 and 23. He looks great. Shane Bieber, of course, a former guardian, was picked up in the deal. As Tom said, like the Guardians weren't in the race at the deadline didn't look like a contest contender. So they get a good young pitching prospect, Cal Stephen from the Blue Jays for Shane Bieber, who's been really good. His numbers are good and he's been better than his numbers. Those two in my mind are the top two one way or another after that. Max Scherzer is definitely in the mix, there's no question about that. He is coming off as rough an outing as he's ever had. Seven runs and didn't get out of the first inning. He'll start again Wednesday against Boston and we'll see. He's had some very good moments for the Blue Jays. Chris Bassett is on the IL right now with lower back inflammation, but would it be eligible to come off in time for the Division Series? Can you throw him right back into the rotation? Maybe. Jose Barrios is in the bullpen right now and this is a guy who has started more games than anybody in baseball over the last eight years and he's in the bullpen at the moment. And then you've got Trey, you Savage, their first round pick from last year who's made two starts. The first one was great. Yesterday was okay, maybe a little bit better than okay. And he's certainly in the mix. But I could see them Jason going, Gosman, Bieber and then patch it together like teams do in October after that.

[Jason Stark]

Tom, I want to ask you about your team's bullpen. You alluded to this. It was July 27th. That was the day that Emmanuel Clase got suspended. The Guardians had a 3.72 bullpen ERA. Very middle of the package since that day when as you said, what felt like bullpen crushing news. Their bullpen era is 3.10, which is the second best in the sport. Can you think back to your own reaction to the class news and then explain how your bullpen has somehow been so much better since losing that guy?

[Tom Hamilton]

I sure don't want to sound self serving here and make it about me, but we got the phone call from the ball club driving back from Cooperstown on Monday following the hall of Fame weekend and Sunday was such an incredible day with those five players being introduced and I might as well make a plug right here. Baseball needs Sunday of Hall of Fame weekend to be a by day that major league players need to see their former peers going into the hall of Fame and hearing their speeches and I, I just think the spotlight should be on in this case those five guys that went in this year and then, you know, we're driving home Monday and Just reliving the incredible week. And then you get a call from the ball club saying, hey, we want to give you a heads up. Klase has gotten banged as well. So, you know, it was devastating from a personal standpoint because you kind of felt like these players are really getting betrayed once again. And then how is this club going to recover? The mood in that clubhouse that following day on Tuesday, when I got back, it was. It was almost like you were in a funeral home. It was that somber and the guys really felt betrayed. And so it took a while for them to get over it. And now you've got Cade Smith, a young kid who is from Canada. He is a Vancouver kid who's going to have an incredible career. Hunter Gattis, Tim Heron. But then you've got these unlikely heroes, a Kobe Allard, a Matt Festa and Eric Zabrowski. You know, Dan's. Canadians are carrying this bullpen. Eric Zabrowski's from, you know, Edmonton. So it's a lot like what Dan was saying with the Ernie Clements and people like that, where these guys feel like, hey, we're not Emmanuel Claus. A. We don't have that name, but we can get it done. And. And who am I to say they can't? Again, it's kind of why we love our game, isn't it? And that, you know, my former partner Herb Score said, you don't predict that's why they play the games. And this is living proof.

[Jason Stark]

I was going to ask you guys, who's the best team in the American League? I don't know that there's an answer to that question. So let me ask it a different way. In October, what team would you least want to play? Dan, I'll start with you.

[Dan Shulman]

I would say right now the Seattle Mariners. They scare me. You know, we all know that on any given day, they can throw a starting pitcher out there who can be really, really good. And with the trades they made at the deadline, now you look at the lineup and you go, wow, that's. That's a potent lineup. So if I, you know, the Yankees are interesting because they can have really high highs, but some pretty low lows, too, right? And. But I think the. The one team, if that I would like to avoid, if I were able to avoid a team probably right now would be Seattle.

[Jason Stark]

Tom, what do you think?

[Tom Hamilton]

You know, I'm going to. I think it's down to Seattle and Toronto. I think it's as wide open is. I can remember when we saw Toronto, we saw Toronto two different times. The first time you're like, oh, this doesn't look good. The next time we saw him was like, oh, they're the best team in the American League. And I think now that Seattle added Josh Naylor in particular, that guy's just a winner, and I think he's going to come up big in the playoffs. I love their pitching staff. I think they have two of the most distinct home field advantages in the game, both the Mariners and the Blue Jays. I think it's a flip of the coin between those two teams.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah, I mean, I just saw the Seattle and in Houston, and they wiped them out. It was a. I mean, it's an impressive team. So what's the sentiment, Tom, with Cleveland since Bieber left, was that. Was that like a white flag?

[Tom Hamilton]

One thing about this ball club, they're always looking at today, but they're always looking at tomorrow. And that's what you deal with in a market this size, with the revenue challenges that you have. You know, the last guy in the world, they wanted to trade a Shane Bieber. I mean, they love that guy. Anybody that knows him does. He's such a winner. And everyone was pulling for him. And they did right by Shane Bieber by making sure they didn't push him too quickly so that when he came back from Tommy John surgery, there would be no red flags, he'd be good to go. But where they were at that point with the deadline, you know, they're also looking realistically, is this club good enough as it's currently constituted to get into the playoffs and make a run to the World Series? They didn't feel it was with Shane Bieber. They knew if they brought him back and he pitched well, it was unlikely that he would come back next year. He's earned that right to become a free agent. And so they went out and got a good double A prospect, as Dan mentioned in the Stephen Kid. So that's kind of how they do things here. And they weren't giving up on the season, but they were realistic enough to know that they weren't in the place they were a year ago. If they'd have been where they were a year ago, Shane Bieber would not have been traded.

[Jason Stark]

You know, guys, our friend Tim Kirkshen has an expression that I know we all love. Something incredible happens, and Timmy says, circle that game. Is there a game that your team has played that you remember most vividly? That would be a circle that game special. Tom, I'll start with you.

[Tom Hamilton]

Oh, boy. It's hard for me, right? Yeah, it's hard for me to pick one. But what I would say is this, Jason. We lost devastating games in the late innings to Detroit and on a Saturday night and a Sunday to hand us our 10 game losing streak in early July. And we were going to Houston after the Sunday game. And this club has never played well in Houston, even when this was a perennial playoff team and one of the best teams in the American League and they went down to Houston and swept the Astros. That was where you were like, how in the world did that happen? They're 40 and 48. They've lost 10 in a row. It looks like it's over. And that series didn't necessarily turn around the season, but I thought they could go to Houston and get wiped out and then you don't know how long the spiral is.

[Jason Stark]

Dan, do you have a game you're going to remember?

[Dan Shulman]

I have two if I could. So one I kind of alluded to was part of that series against the Yankees. It was on Canada Day. They had won the first game of the series and again they wear the red jerseys and there's a little bit of a. A negative about the red jerseys here because I guess their record on Canada Day is not very good. So people were expecting the worst. It's the only worst. It's to be going the only day. They wear them all season. And I think they were up 5 to 4 in the late innings. And George Springer hit a grand slam. I think it was off Luke Weaver if I'm not mistaken. And if like you just google Springer grand slam, it'll come up with him rounding first with a, you know, a pump of the fist and a look on his face. And that gave them a 9 to 4 lead. They won that game. They won the next two. That's one. The other one was wild and I don't remember exactly when during the season they were in la. It was in the summer months. At some point they were thin on pitching as they have been like in terms of the bullpen being overworked. And Jeff Hoffman, I believe was out there and had worked a lot and he couldn't find the strike zone. He just, it just was one of those days. And he couldn't get through the ninth inning. And Mason flu Hardy, a rookie left hander, sinker, sweeper guy came in. I hope I'm getting this right and not like combining two games into one. You know, we see so many games, but came in with the bases loaded, a one run lead, one out in the ninth inning. Sh Otani and Mookie Betts coming up, and he struck out Otani and he got bets to ground out to win the game at Dodger Stadium. And that's another moment. You know, this is Flu Hardy didn't make the team out of the spring. You know, outside of Toronto, how many. How many people know much about Mason Flu Hardy, even though he's had a very effective year as a rookie? And it was like Tom was saying with Allard and Gattis, and, you know, just. That's what has made probably both of the teams, Cleveland and Toronto, good this year, is. It's, you know, Jose Ramirez is Great, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is great, but it can't all. Baseball's a team sport, and the Mason Flu Hardys have had a huge impact. And, you know, Flu Hardy getting Ohtani and better, and Mookie Betts at Dodger Stadium with the bases loaded and one run lead is. Is a pretty big deal.

[Jason Stark]

I can't let you guys go without giving both of you a chance to talk about two very cool parts of your lives. Tommy mentioned this.

[Tom Hamilton]

You.

[Jason Stark]

You gave a Hall of Fame speech two months ago. What are you always gonna remember about that?

[Tom Hamilton]

Oh, boy. You know, family. That's the first thing that comes to mind. People like yourself that were so kind that reached out ahead of time with ideas, suggestions, and advice on putting a speech together. How kind everybody was. The parade was astounding. I mean, the only time I've been in a parade is when I dressed up as a clown. This time I was actually on a float. So that was new. But how big a deal it was for those people in that city. But I think on top of everything is how good the Major League hall of Fame players returning were to myself and our family. I mean, at the end of the day, the hall of Fame is about players. You know, we're very grateful to be a small part of it and to be even recognized, but the hall of Fame is about the players. The game is about the players. But that week and that weekend, they made you feel like you were one of them. And that is something I'll never forget.

[Jason Stark]

You're giving me goosebumps, man. Dan, you're going to give one of those speeches in Cooperstown today. I know it hasn't happened yet, but right now you're experiencing something that very few people have. Your son Ben is the radio voice of the Blue Jays. What's that been like? To share this experience of broadcasting your hometown team with your son in the next booth.

[Dan Shulman]

I'm glad you mentioned hometown team, because And I'm sure Tom would agree. Like there are 30 television play by play announcers and 30 radio play play by play announcers. And I think the 60 of us are the luckiest people in the world. I think we have 60 of the greatest jobs there are. And I think I'm doubly lucky because this is my Hometown. You know, April 7, 1977, in the snow, when the expand, when Doug Alt hit two homers and they beat the White Sox nine to five. Ten year old Danny was sitting in the bleachers watching that game that day. And that's something that means a lot to me. And I'm broadcasting for a lot of people as Tom is as well. But I, but there are a lot of specific people that I know I'm broadcasting games for too, because we all grew up together, you know, taking the subway to the streetcar to the X to go to go see games. So the hometown part means a lot to me. And then to have my, my son there is great. And, and I only have one rule and that's if he's talking to a player, I don't go over. Like who wants their dad hanging around when you're talking? You know, the only time I break it is and, and Tom said he's a Packer fan. And as you guys can see over my left shoulder, I'm a Packer fan as well as Ben. So the only time I break the rule is if Ben and Dalton Varsho are talking, are talking. I go up to them and I go Blue Jays or Packers? And if they say Packers, I stay for the conversation. If they say Blue Jays, I keep going. But it's really fun. He works hard. He's known, he's wanted to do it since he was a little kid. Went to Syracuse where all the, the smart young broadcasting students go and got a great education there. Works his tail off. And you know what's fun about it is because we're living the same life like 10 to 20 times a day one of us will text the other with hey, did you see the article on this? Or I'll send you a link for that. And the older I get and the more seasoned he gets, the more he's helping me rather than me helping him. He's my IT guy, like he's everything. He, he helps me whenever anything goes wrong. But it is very fun. He, it's fun watching him. I mean, you know, we're not in the same booth obviously on tv, he's radio. We don't work together, as you guys know. But just being around him on a day to day basis and seeing him grow into the job and experiencing things, you know, I see myself from 30 years ago in some ways. So it makes me very proud as a dad. Not the broadcaster he is, but the son he is, the person he is. Watching him and go about his business.

[Jason Stark]

That is so special. Dan, you're lucky. Tom, you're lucky. Both you guys have made a lot of your own luck because you're so good at what you do. We could hang out with you in Starkville all day, but really appreciate that you found the time to do this. I hope the call of a lifetime is just over the horizon for both of you. Thanks so much for fitting us in. It's such a busy time of year.

[Tom Hamilton]

Oh my gosh. Thank you guys.

[Dan Shulman]

Thank you very much Tom. Hope to see you in a playoff series soon.

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[Jason Stark]

You know, I made a joke a few minutes ago about Tyler Hyneman was when I asked Dan Schulman which game of the playoffs he's going to start for the Blue Jays. And to be honest, I'm pretty sure he's not going to throw a pitch for the Blue Jays in the playoffs. But he definitely threw some pitches over the weekend in Kansas City. So went to the mound Friday night. The Blue jays were losing 10 to 1. Doug, I don't think he's going to win the Cy Young Award for what he did next. So should we listen to to some of the highlights? If that's the right word?

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah, I think we should. I mean, it's not high, it's a little low, but that's okay.

[Jason Stark]

Yeah, let's do it.

[Dan Shulman]

A position player on the mound, a catcher. Tyler Heineman is pitching for the Blue Jays. Another pitch. Hitter Luke Maley lines the first pitch he sees into center basic. Coming home from third, Bobby Witt Jr. Mainly with an RBI single. It's 11:1 for the Royals. And now his first pick. Pitch is hit high and deep by Caglion, right center. And it's gone. Three run homer. Jack Caglion. 14 1, Royals bottom of the seventh. 14 1. And it'll be more Tyler Hyneman on the hill for Toronto. And the bases will be loaded. Not sure that Heineman's shoving. And now the first pitch to Neely is lined down the left field line. Fair ball rolling into the corner. India scores. Gritsic score scores. Stopping at third base Tolbert two run double melee, who has three RBIs, all off Heineman, and he swings at the.

[Tom Hamilton]

First pitch and singles the left. And a run is in.

[Dan Shulman]

So 20 runs and they're going to take Heineman out of the game, I think.

[Jason Stark]

Did it seem like that didn't go that well?

[Doug Glanville]

It did not. It, it, it rolled downhill and then it just went off a cliff. And then it left the Earth's orbit gravitational field.

[Jason Stark]

It's still tumbling.

[Doug Glanville]

It's somewhere in the solar system at this point. Yes, it's gone.

[Dan Shulman]

Right.

[Jason Stark]

So it was 10 to 1 when he took the mound. It was 20 to 1 when he left the mound. Four outs. Doug. He gave up 13 hits and 10 runs, and it only took him 33 pitches. Does that.

[Doug Glanville]

That was very difficult. I mean, you could be successful if you tried to. If you just didn't face the hitter, took the ball and just threw it over the center field fence. If you just threw the ball all over the field, I think you could have pulled that off. Yes, in 33 pitches.

[Jason Stark]

It's funny, just last week I did the research on this. That's because Scott Kingry just had a game for the Angels. He's not a pitcher, but he came in, he pitched, he gave up 12 hits and eight runs. And so I looked it up. No position player had ever done that. And if that seemed like a record that was going to last a lifetime, it lasted for about 12 minutes. Tyler Heinemann crushed it. But I have some tidbits for you. You know how many starting pitchers, starting pitchers this year have given up 13 hits in a game? Exactly one. Bradley Blaylock of the Rockies did it in May, but that was at Coors. And it took 87 pitches. This guy, 33 pitches. So I decided, all right, I'm going to look up the record for most hits ever allowed by any relief pitcher who threw that few pitches. Now, we've only been counting pitches since 1988, so I could go back to then, but the record was only nine by A.J. sager. He gave up 13 hits and 33 pitches. What was the most amazing part of that for you?

[Doug Glanville]

Just how high our numerical system can go. Like how high up it can go. I was waiting for Greek letters. I was waiting for new alphabets and possibly crop markings for extraterrestrial beings. I mean, I think he was entering, you know, some sort of code. That's what I was waiting for. I saw 13. I was like, 14. What's after 14 in baseball? I don't know. I think it just. It could keep going. So I was very impressed that his endurance of staying out there, facing the music, he didn't want to come out. He shook him off. He shook the catcher off. I don't even know if he had pitchcom. He might have done it without pitchcom. Do you need pitchcom when you're. When you're pitching in those games? You probably don't.

[Jason Stark]

Well, they have to signal somehow what he's going to throw, don't they?

[Doug Glanville]

I mean, it's. It's really one. It's like Mariano Rivera. He only has really one pitch, and he was trying to dominate with him with it. And it was actually the reverse of domination. I don't know what that is, but it's. It's the opposite. So I was impressed that they. They kept them at him. I was wondering about, was this in Canada or this was in Kansas City?

[Jason Stark]

Kansas City. Yeah.

[Doug Glanville]

Okay.

[Tom Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Doug Glanville]

So I wonder if there's something to do with Canadian relations with the United States. You know, passports, you know, there's a lot of things involved here. But it didn't work out.

[Jason Stark]

Yeah. It had international incident potential, no doubt.

[Doug Glanville]

Absolutely.

[Jason Stark]

So I did find one ra of sunshine ready. He may have given up 13 hits. He may have given up 10 runs, but Tyler Hyneman did get twice as many outs in that game as the starting pitcher for. And that's a guy named Max Scherzer. So it was four outs to two, and Max has gone to the hall of Fame. So Tyler can at least tell his kids he wants to. Dad, that's work of art.

[Doug Glanville]

That is a work of art. Of strange. And I will hang it up at our museum when we open it.

[Jason Stark]

Foreign it's time once again for listener trivia, our way of involving you, our favorite listeners in this show. Doug. The bad news is we got the trivia question wrong last week. The good news is it didn't count as, quote, unquote, official trivia. It was part of a segment. We were just answering questions to our new Starkville voicemail hotline. That number, by the way. 267-227-9867. If you want to call us back at it this week. And we have no shot to get this question right, I'm pretty sure. But maybe you're more hopeful than I am.

[Doug Glanville]

I am not.

[Jason Stark]

Okay. For the record, neither of us is even hopeful. So our special trivia guest star could not join us live this week. He's a great guy. Been here before, but he lives in Israel. His name is Yisroel Picker. And between the time difference and the Jewish New Year, we couldn't line up a time when Yisroel could do this live with us. But all is not lost. He did record his question, which will give us a chance, I think, to prove we can get these things wrong, either live or on voicemail. So if you're ready, Doug, let's hear this week's listener trivia question. Hi, this is Yisrael in Jerusalem. Thank you, Jason and Doug, for taking my question. Here's this week's trivia question. Who is the guy who has hit home runs in 40 or more parks but does not have 400 career home runs? Once again, this is the only player.

[Doug Glanville]

Who has not hit 400 or more.

[Jason Stark]

Home runs in his career who has homers in 40 or more stadiums. So you got it, Doug. He's hit a home run in more parks than currently exist. He finished his career with under 400 homers. So East Rail is not here. We're going to bring in the mayor of Starkville, Brian Smith, to officiate. And actually, Mr. Mayor, I have a question. I assume this guy finished his career with under 400, but is it possible he is still active?

[Tom Hamilton]

He is currently not active. That is something. Actually, I have a small hint. This player retired in the 2000s.

[Doug Glanville]

2000S.

[Jason Stark]

Well, okay. So I figured that. Okay. As we work through it. So Yisroel, he knew this question was really hard. And he also knew since it only has one answer, it doesn't qualify for Glanville's devious cheating scheme, Operation Multiple choice. So he's cutting us some special Glanville rule slack. Doug, give us three guesses to guess, one answer. I don't know if that'll help at all.

[Doug Glanville]

It can't hurt, I guess. Yeah.

[Jason Stark]

All right, so let's start our three minute shot clock and see what happens. Okay. So we know it has to be fairly recent. Even without that hint, it could only have happened in the age of 30 teams. It can only have happened during all this modern stadium building. So I think that helps. I think it'd probably be helpful if you played in both leagues. So I asked myself, who's had some huge home run seasons over the last 25, 27, 30 years, whatever. I wrote a bunch of names down. Okay. Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn, Mark Teixeira, J.D. martinez, I thought was a good one.

[Doug Glanville]

I like that one.

[Jason Stark]

Yeah. Then there's a few guys. Like, they seem less likely. I wrote them down anyway because there was more interleague play then Chris Davis, the Old Oriole, plus the other. Chris Davis. Brewer Athletic. Chris Davis, Larry Walker, Nelson Cruz. I don't know. It could be any of them. Could be none of them. Doug, what do you got on your list?

[Doug Glanville]

I mean, Nelson Cruz is a good one. Does he. Doesn't he have 400 home runs, though, does he? Did he hit 400?

[Jason Stark]

Yeah, I think he does. And he didn't play hardy at all in the National League.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah, I mean, I like. I like J.D. martinez. I mean, I. I thought about someone like Reggie Sanders, you know, he. He had a lot of home runs. He kind of.

[Jason Stark]

He played everywhere.

[Doug Glanville]

He played everywhere, you know?

[Jason Stark]

Yeah, he played everywhere. And he played a long time.

[Doug Glanville]

Played a long time.

[Jason Stark]

He didn't hit that many homers.

[Doug Glanville]

No, but it's just. Just the opportunity he had at least. I mean, he ret sooner. Yeah, I mean, you know, Adam Dunn's a good one. And does he have 400 home runs? Probably not. Toer is. Yeah. Teera is pretty good, too. I don't know. Those are three pretty good ones. He said done. J.D. martinez, Tera, Prince Fielder. Prince. Oh, Prince. Wow. That is a good one too.

[Jason Stark]

Good one, too. All right.

[Doug Glanville]

But he said he had 40 home runs in a season. Wasn't that another hint?

[Jason Stark]

No, no, no, no.

[Doug Glanville]

Oh. 40 ballparks.

[Jason Stark]

400 lifetime and 40 ballparks.

[Doug Glanville]

Okay. Yeah.

[Jason Stark]

What do you want to do?

[Doug Glanville]

I mean, I like. I'm gonna. Yeah, J.D. is good. Who's the other two? Yeah, I like. I like your guesses. Those are those three.

[Jason Stark]

J.D. prince. We know he didn't hit.400. Did Adam Dunn or Teixeira hit.400 and might have.

[Doug Glanville]

Sarah played with the Yankees, American League a lot. Braves. Yeah. Did I like any big years of The Braves, like 40 homeowners?

[Jason Stark]

Yeah. What do you want? So, Prince, J.D. you want to go Adam, Don. I. I love guessing. Adam. Don. Whether he's right or not.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah. All right. That sounds good.

[Jason Stark]

Okay. So. All right. We're just throwing darts anyway.

[Doug Glanville]

Yeah, we're throwing darts.

[Jason Stark]

Okay. Mr. Mayor, is there any chance one of those guys was the right answer?

[Tom Hamilton]

Unfortunately, no. None of those were the right answer. I thought maybe when I throwed out the answer and blew by it, like you guys like to do sometimes. But you did not get the answer correct, unfortunately.

[Doug Glanville]

That's all right.

[Tom Hamilton]

But the correct answer is Ellis Burks.

[Jason Stark]

Oof.

[Doug Glanville]

Rockies. Red Sox. Nice. Wow.

[Jason Stark]

He's one of those human triviancers. It's one of the things he does best.

[Doug Glanville]

That's a good one, though. I like it. Ellis Burks.

[Jason Stark]

Very nicely done. I feel like it's embarrassing enough just to get these questions wrong. When you get three guesses, isn't it like three times as embarrassing? It feels like it. But no matter how many guesses we got, at least we know this segment's about to get even better because here comes the part where Doug and I get out of the way and we bring in the mayor of Starkville, Brian Smith, to play a fun little play by play clip involving this week's trivia answer. So, Mr. Mayor, what do you got in store for us this week?

[Tom Hamilton]

All right, we head back to. We're going to go way back. We're actually sort of. The answer was Ellis Burks. He finished with 352 career home runs. We're actually going to head back to May 10, 1987. Mr. Burks hit it. This is his first career home run back in 1987. Here's the sound. Goes high and deep to left field, up into the blue and his first major league home run. Ellis Burke. Do nothing Boston.

[Jason Stark]

Wow, that was a cool one. I'm just glad, Brian, you didn't play a clip of him homering in all 40 parks. Might take a little time, right? But great question. We have to get Yisroel on here in real life one of these days soon. Okay, that's going to do it for this week's show. Doug, thanks for playing. Thanks to Dan Schulman and Tom Hamilton for visiting us. Thanks to Yisrael Picker for the cool trivia question. Thanks to the Mayor of Starkville, Bryan Smith Smith, for producing us and putting up with us. And thanks to you all for listening. Call our hotline with your baseball questions. 267-227-9867. Email us at starkvilleathletic.com and Doug and I will see you soon on Starkville. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

[Dan Shulman]

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[Jason Stark]

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