Alex Rodriguez On Shohei Ohtani, the World Series, Working with Jeter and Papi and New Doc

Summary

Podcast Summary: Throwbacks with Matt Leinart & Jerry Ferrara

Episode: Alex Rodriguez On Shohei Ohtani, the World Series, Working with Jeter and Papi and New Doc
Original Air Date: October 23, 2025
Hosts: Matt Leinart & Jerry Ferrara
Guest: Alex Rodriguez

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Overview

This episode features a lively, in-depth conversation with baseball legend Alex Rodriguez (“A-Rod”), exploring his insights on Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented impact on the game, memories of playing and working alongside greats like Derek Jeter and David Ortiz, and the personal journey captured in his new HBO documentary, Alex vs. A-Rod. The discussion also touches on his broadcasting approach with Fox MLB, lessons learned in life and on TV, his role as co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and advice on family and sports for the next generation. The episode is filled with behind-the-scenes stories, revelations about his vulnerabilities, and plenty of laughs.

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Episode Highlights & Key Discussion Points

1. Celebrity & Fanboy Excitement (00:56-02:29)

• Jerry admits to being especially nervous and excited about booking A-Rod, calling him “one of your favorite Yankees of all time,” (01:50).
• Matt and Jerry reminisce about big guests on the podcast and set expectations for a "fantastic” episode with A-Rod, highlighting they’ll discuss the new documentary, FOX MLB, fatherhood lessons, and more.

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2. New York Sports, Otani, and Dodgers Stories (03:04-08:06)

• Jerry and Matt riff on the state of New York sports, expressing surprise that the Knicks represent the city’s best hope entering 2025.
• Matt shares a great Dodger Stadium anecdote: while preparing to catch a ceremonial first pitch, Shohei Ohtani walked by and nodded hello. Matt, in awe, acknowledges Ohtani’s stature and presence:
  • “It was like... Shohei Otani just shook my hand. That was pretty cool. Like, that was awesome. So, yeah, he is... it’s must-see TV, man.” (07:48)
• All three agree: Ohtani is appointment viewing, even in his slumps.

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3. The Unique Greatness of Shohei Ohtani (08:58-13:37)

• A-Rod: “In my opinion, [Ohtani] will go down already as the greatest baseball player we've ever seen. And the greatest talent that this sport has ever seen by far.” (08:45)
• Matt compares watching Ohtani to must-watch NBA legends like Kobe.
• Jerry contextualizes Ohtani’s 2024 World Series performance and how he’s already rewriting the history books.
• A-Rod's deep take: “Ohtani is a combination of [Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens]. And that's the highest compliment I can give. I've never seen anyone like that in my lifetime. And I don't think in our lifetime we'll ever see anything like that again.” (13:37)

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4. Behind the Scenes: FOX MLB with Jeter, Papi, and More (11:38-15:49)

• A-Rod describes the camaraderie and chemistry working with Derek Jeter, Big Papi, and Kevin Burkhardt on the Fox set. He prioritizes fun, information, and entertainment for the fans.
• A-Rod: “To be reunited back with two great friends with Derek and Big Papi and Kevin Burkhardt... I think the four of us work really, really well, and I think we're getting better as we go.” (12:15)
• He explains his multi-dimensional prep: as a roster architect, strategist, and player, aiming to break down "superstars, strategy, storylines" for a broad audience (14:37).

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5. Growing as a Media Personality (15:49-19:03)

• Matt credits A-Rod’s progression as a broadcaster, especially in simplifying concepts for wide audiences.
• A-Rod admits the transition was grueling:
  • “I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever, ever, ever be on TV broadcasting. I just thought that wasn't for me. But I've worked really hard at it. What's challenging about television and also fun is you have to be concise with your point... sometimes you may have only 15 seconds.” (16:53-16:46)
• He tries to make his breakdowns digestible, saying he tests his explanations on his mom or daughters.

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6. The HBO Documentary: ‘Alex vs. A-Rod’ & Personal Growth (22:39-28:02)

• Jerry praises the documentary as “more of a human study than anything.”
• A-Rod shares deeply:
  • “I think there's a story about a flawed man that happened to play baseball and therapy saved his life... In many ways a part of me died when I got suspended and it cost me the Hall of Fame... But in many ways, it saved my life because I was able to work on the tools, rewire the brain and make me... a better person.” (23:15)
• Discusses growing up in Washington Heights and family struggles, including his father leaving and his mother’s hardships (26:26).
  • “I saw my mom collect food stamps at the age of 12... I prayed... if I ever have the great opportunity to be a father, I'm going to be the best father I can be.” (26:26)
• Stresses that his worst moments don’t define him.

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7. Multi-Sport Lessons & Youth Development (28:02-31:16)

• A-Rod advocates playing multiple sports:
  • “I was a quarterback, I was a point guard, and I was a shortstop. And I quite honestly learned more kind of great lessons, virtues and all of that by the other sports...” (28:31)
• Matt and Jerry joke about each other's shots in basketball.
• A-Rod discusses promoting sound baseball fundamentals through his YouTube channel, recalled as a response to constant questions from parents and youth coaches (30:11).

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8. On Hitting, Launch Angle, and Teaching Kids (32:00-36:05)

• A-Rod critiques the obsession with “launch angle” in modern youth coaching—emphasizes simple, practical advice:
  • “If you're swinging 100% under the ball, why would you ever teach a kid to go more under? ... Stay tall and stay on top of the ball because that's the strongest position you can.” (33:26, 34:56)
• Details how imitation of great players and coaches was crucial in his own development.

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9. Analytics in Baseball: Balance with Instinct (36:05-38:15)

• Appreciates analytics, but cautions against losing sight of common sense and the “human element”:
  • “If a guy's dominating and he's throwing a no-hitter in the fourth inning, why in the world would you take that guy out? ... At the end of the day, you have to trust your eyes.” (36:37)

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10. NBA Ownership, the Timberwolves, and Basketball Passion (40:07-43:55)

• Jerry asks if A-Rod travels with the Timberwolves:
  • “I probably do about a little bit more than half the games and then I do about 20 games on the road... I try to plan my... business schedule and my obligations around [the team].” (40:32)
• He admits to obsessive film study, often watching each game three times, reflecting his old baseball habits (41:34).
• Discusses mentoring players in business and life, never gives direct financial advice but is “always available.”

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11. Family, Fatherhood, and Girl Dad Advice (44:05-45:47)

• Matt, now a new “girl dad,” asks for parenting insight.
• A-Rod’s advice: “No phones, no electronics, one conversation and really kind of being in the moment with them... be engaged in their lives, and make their thoughts more important.” (44:20)
• Shares the value of therapy in becoming a more present and aware parent.

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12. The Fresh Take: All-Time Yankee Favorites (46:13-47:25)

• Jerry asks A-Rod to name his three favorite Yankees he never played with.
  1. Reggie Jackson – “The three home runs in ‘77 against the Dodgers was pretty iconic.” (46:26)
  2. Ron Guidry – “He was just such a great guy and big-game pitcher and he had balls of steel.” (46:54)
  3. David Cone – “A true gentleman and a fun guy... so smart... a real pioneer in the world of baseball.” (47:02)

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Notable Quotes

• On Ohtani and Baseball Greatness:
  “Ohtani is a combination of [Bonds and Clemens]. That’s the highest compliment… I don’t think in our lifetime we’ll ever see anything like that again.” (13:37, Alex Rodriguez)

• On Personal Growth:
  “In many ways, a part of me died when I got suspended and it cost me the Hall of Fame… but it saved my life because I was able to work on the tools… make me a better person.” (23:15, Alex Rodriguez)

• On Parenting:
  “The thing that’s worked best for me is: we have this rule at breakfast, lunch and dinner—no phones, no electronics, one conversation. Really being in the moment with them…” (44:20, Alex Rodriguez)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:29] Jerry on Alex vs. A-Rod doc preview and Ohtani swing fandom
• [06:18] Is Ohtani Matt’s favorite Dodger?
• [08:06] Otani’s injury and historical accomplishments
• [12:59] A-Rod: Ohtani’s greatness and comparisons to Bonds/Clemens
• [14:37] A-Rod’s FOX MLB prep—superstars, strategy, storylines
• [16:46] Transitioning to TV, storytelling, and broadcasting style
• [23:15] Emotional journey, suspension, therapy, and the HBO doc
• [26:26] On family struggles, fatherhood, and lessons from hardship
• [28:31] Philosophy of multi-sport youth development
• [30:11] Motivation for launching youth coaching YouTube
• [33:26] Debunking launch angle myths in youth hitting
• [36:37] Analytics vs. gut feel in baseball
• [40:32] Timberwolves ownership, game attendance, and mentorship
• [44:20] Girl dad advice: no phones, engage deeply in their lives
• [46:13] Favorite Yankees never played with

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Memorable Moments

• A-Rod’s humility: Willingness to openly discuss his flaws, therapy journey, and lessons learned.
• Matt’s Shohei Otani story: Starstruck moment catching Otani’s handshake like a kid meeting a superhero [06:56-07:41].
• A-Rod’s old-school advice about hitting and analytics: Sheds light on the contrast between modern and classic approaches.

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Tone & Style

The entire episode remains conversational, irreverent, candid, and full of playful trash talk and mutual admiration. The hosts and guest blend deep sports analysis, nostalgia, and honest reflections on professional mistakes, family growth, and the importance of storytelling in sports media.

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For Listeners: Why This Episode Stands Out

• Rare candor: A-Rod’s vulnerable reflections about fame, mistakes, and redemption.
• Expert analysis: High-level, yet accessible, baseball and sports commentary.
• Entertaining stories: Locker-room tales and insider details from three different sports.
• Inspiration: Encouragement for athletes and parents about the importance of growth, family, and second acts.

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Listen for: Deep dives on Shohei Ohtani, lessons learned in and out of baseball, stories from behind the TV cameras, and practical wisdom for parents and young athletes.

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For further context, refer to timestamps for targeted listening to subjects of interest such as Ohtani, TV broadcasting, fatherhood, analytics, and the new HBO documentary.

Transcript

[Matt Leinert]

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[Alex Rodriguez]

Man, it's kind of sick. I'm embarrassed to say. I usually watch the games three times which is again, it copies exactly the same six person that I was in baseball.

[Jerry]

Welcome to another episode of Throwbacks everybody. I'm giddy today. Real giddy. Before we get into why, don't forget, follow us on all social media platforms at Throwback show, go to the YouTube hit the subscribe button. We know you guys are afraid to hit subscribe sometimes. It's free. Don't worry about it. Throwback show, hit the subscribe button. Maddie Ice, Matt Liner, what's up? Of all the things you have done to make Throwbacks great and you've done a lot of things.

[Matt Leinert]

I'm sad.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Done a lot.

[Jerry]

I've done a lot of things. No, but like, you know, you're, you do a lot of things to make the show great.

[Matt Leinert]

Thank you.

[Jerry]

You have facilitated a guest today that I, I couldn't sleep last night knowing we were having this guy. Come on. Do you. I'm gonna leave the floor to you to tell everybody who I would say.

[Matt Leinert]

The, the most nervous I'd ever seen you on throwbacks was getting Justin Thomas by far.

[Jerry]

That was pretty nerve wracking.

[Matt Leinert]

Well, this one, I know you're a Yankees guy and I know he is one of your favorite baseball players of all time. One of your favorite Yankees of all time. We have Alex Rodriguez in a bomb.

[Jerry]

From a rod that was.

[Matt Leinert]

We have a rod on on this episode and it is fantastic. I'm gonna leave it at that. Everybody has this is talking about, you know, he's got a dot coming out that he talks bit. He talks about the MLB show on Fox. He talks about being a father and some of the stuff he's learned. It is, it is incredible and we appreciate him coming on Throwbacks.

[Jerry]

It's the most nervous I've been and I have had the pleasure of seeing the HBO documentary Alex vs. A Rod already. We talk about it in the interview as well. I encourage everybody. Yankee fan, non Yankee fan, baseball fan, non baseball fan. Check out the documentary because it's more of a human study more than anything. It's really, really good. And yeah, man, I Nerd. He nerded out about a baseball swing. Like, what's not to love? So that's.

[Matt Leinert]

Can't wait for people to listen.

[Jerry]

That's coming up in a minute. I'll try to contain myself till then. But we do also have some other fun stuff, Matt. I mean, basketball is upon us. I know this is like, this is.

[Matt Leinert]

The happiest I've seen you in a long time because your, your Giants. I know last, I know last week you're not going to bring it up, but there's, there's, there's excitement around the Giants and now we got the Knicks back on and NBA's bag. This is like, this is the best version of Jerry that I get throughout the year is, is fall.

[Jerry]

Would you have believed me when we started throwbacks a year ago, year plus ago, if I would have said going in to 2025, football, baseball, basketball, all of it. The hope, the great hope for New York City sports will be the New York Knicks. You would have told me I was a crazy person. It's either gonna be the Yankees, maybe the jets get hot. The Mets have like a billion dollar payroll with Juan Soto. It wouldn't have been necessarily. The Knicks were in good shape, but now. Sad that town's missed the game already. I'm just ready for it because it's a good pallet cleanse. I love football. Football's unbelievable.

[Matt Leinert]

It's just.

[Jerry]

Yeah, I need a change, man. I take football losses so hard the next day. At least with basketball, it's like you lose. All right, there's a game tomorrow. Next game.

[Matt Leinert]

No, it's, it's a, it's a great time of the year, man.

[Jerry]

And your Dodgers in the World Series, I mean, you're going to go back on us.

[Matt Leinert]

Yeah, I mean, I think we're unbeatable. I'm, I'm planning on going to game three next week.

[Jerry]

You're gonna go to game three?

[Matt Leinert]

I'm gonna go to game three. My brother and I are gonna take my pop. We're gonna take my pop. Probably. You never know how many more you get with.

[Alex Rodriguez]

With.

[Matt Leinert]

We, we don't know how many more we'll get with my dad. We also don't know how many more World Series attempts we'll get. I know they're loaded and I get that. But sports are tough, so we are gonna, we're gonna plan on taking them to game three. I might even, I might even see a rod there. I know that the, the Fox guys are going to be there, but. Yeah.

[Jerry]

Do you Cross paths with a rod and Jeter and Ortiz a lot or not. Not really.

[Matt Leinert]

I used to. When, when, when. When I was in studio right before Big Noon and a rod came on. And this was before Jeter. So this was Frank Thomas. It was Frank and. And Pete Rose was there. And a rod came in. It was kind of his first couple years, and Big Poppy was a part of it. We would sit on. In this part of the year, in October, we would sit in a green room in Fox and it would be the college football guys. It would be me, Wonstead, Rob Stone, and Robert Smith, because that was our crew then. And we would be in the same room with those guys. And it was like. And there's. There's 15 TVs going on in the middle. The big one that's on in the middle. And I would be talking college football with Big Hurt. Pete would be telling a story. Poppy would be playing, like, mess around. He was like the jokester. Like, he's. How you would see on tv. Just great. A rod is there taking notes. Like, it was like. And, you know, it was just like a kid in a candy store for me because I'm a baseball nut at heart. Like, I love baseball. So, yeah, we used to cross paths. That's where I got to know Alex a little bit. And, man, he's. He has grown into one of the best on tv. And yeah, man, what. I mean, what a show, dude.

[Jerry]

So has Otani climbed your list? Not of goats. Like, we all know he's a goat in his own right, but just one of your favorite Dodgers. Not best, but, like, favorite to watch. Like, oh, I have to watch Otani at bat. Has he climbed to top of the mountain? He's.

[Alex Rodriguez]

He's just.

[Matt Leinert]

It. It. How. How would I compare? Like, Jordan, I was obviously younger. Maybe Kobe, right. Kobe was like, my. I'm a. I'm a Lakers guy, and Kobe was my favorite player. But any chance they were on tv? Like, oh, I gotta watch Kobe, right? I gotta watch him play this game. Sh. To me is he's must see tv. Like, I don't. Well, I. Even when he strikes out, like, I'm like, I don't care, man. I got to see him. And I. I tell this. I'm going to tell this funny story real quick. So I put this on my Instagram. I don't know if you remember this. I caught Reggie Bush's first pitch at a Dodger game last year.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yes.

[Matt Leinert]

And it was a whole surprise. And all this stuff with Reg, and I'm down I'm downstairs in the, you know, in the. In the cages right behind the dugout. And I'm in full uniform, dude. Full dodger uniform, full catcher's gear. And I'm sitting there in the hallway, and I'm like. I'm like five minutes before first pitch. And I looked to my left and down the hallways, coming Shohei by himself. And I'm like. I told my boy. I'm like, holy, dude, that's showing. Tony and I had this video.

[Alex Rodriguez]

We could.

[Matt Leinert]

We should play it. I had this video. He comes up to me and he had no clue who I was. Zero clue. He's like, who, Who. Who's this big guy?

[Jerry]

Who's this lefty guy?

[Matt Leinert]

He just comes up to me, shakes my hand like, nods and smiles like, hey, you know, nice to meet you. And then just goes. Goes up into the dugout. It was like. And I looked at my boy. I'm like, holy. That was. Shohei Otani.

[Jerry]

Just shook. Taller than you.

[Alex Rodriguez]

He.

[Matt Leinert]

We're about to say, about the same.

[Jerry]

Year, like, about pretty tall.

[Matt Leinert]

I think I'm probably a little taller. He's just thick. He's just a big dude.

[Jerry]

Yeah. So he's like a solid six four, basically.

[Matt Leinert]

He's. No, he's easily six four, because I'm like a solid six five. He's six four, two forty. Like, he's got to be. He was big. And I was like. And I looked at my guy like, dude, that was pretty cool. Like, that was awesome. So, yeah, he is. It's just. It's Must see tv, man. I mean, that's.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Well, like.

[Jerry]

Yeah, he's done so much already and we. We forget. A year ago, you and I were barking at each other because it was Yankees, Dodgers. He was hurt in that World Series and still had some hits. He didn't win mvp, obviously, but he. He was not healthy. He didn't remember he wasn't pitching in the World Series last year. He has a real opportunity.

[Matt Leinert]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

To rewrite the books, and he's already has done that, but we really will have to rewrite some books if he does what he can do.

[Matt Leinert]

I think if he has. If he hits well, and obviously we know the game that just happened, and I don't know if he'll ever get to do that again. But if he pitches well and he hits well, whether he's MVP or not, because I see the doubters out there.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Oh.

[Matt Leinert]

But like, he. He, in my opinion, will go down already as the greatest baseball player we've ever seen. And the the greatest talent that this sport has ever seen by far. So.

[Jerry]

I agree.

[Matt Leinert]

Well, let's go.

[Jerry]

If you want more Otani baseball talk, stay tuned, because coming up right now, an A bomb from a rod. Only New Yorkers will get that. Alex Rodriguez joining us. That's the famous radio call, John Sterling. Every time, he'd hear you go, hey, bomb from a rod. It became a thing.

[Matt Leinert]

This week on throwbacks, we have an actual goat, the legend. This man played 22 season the MLB, accumulating almost 700 home runs. 14 time all star. I hope I'm getting all these numbers right, because this is crazy. 10 silver sluggers, couple Golden Gloves, World championship. He's a world Series champion. He's a girl dad of two. He is a business leader and now the governor of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lynx, the man who has been cemented in the baseball memories of America, Alex Rodriguez.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Well, Matt, I need to travel with you. You. You're. You're like my agent. You're my feel good.

[Matt Leinert]

I'm your hype man.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And you forgot Entourage actor for like, 30 seconds with my man Jerry.

[Jerry]

That's what I was going to say. You know, we're so excited for the HBO doc, Alex versus a Rob. But that is not your first appearance on hbo. Your first appearance on HBO is Entourage. What do you even remember from that shoot? Because that must have been wild for you, because you were in season, if.

[Alex Rodriguez]

I recall, how atrocious of an actor I am.

[Jerry]

No.

[Alex Rodriguez]

So it was fun, though. We had a blast.

[Jerry]

So I remember really quickly, we had approached to share about wanting to get you guys on the show. And the word that came back from Teshira and you was, we're not doing that until we win a ring. Then you guys won the ring. I was at the Regis Philbin show. You guys were there celebrating your ring. And I looked at the share. I'm like, it's time, right? Like, yeah, maybe we'll see what happens. I'm like. And it ended up happening, which was huge for us with Entourage. We've always been, like, indebted to you guys for. I mean, to shoot at Yankee Stadium with Alex Rodriguez was unbelievable for us. So thank you, buddy.

[Alex Rodriguez]

That was such a. You're welcome. And that was such a cool moment. I mean, first of all, coming off winning a title in New York, there's nothing like it. And then you guys had the show for so many years. I mean, you basically were pioneers in the. In the world of that. Everyone feels like you have a show now, but back Then that was the show.

[Jerry]

Well, speaking of shows, too, you're on my favorite show right now because you guys are absolutely killing it with the MLB show, especially now. Obviously, the playoffs are going. You got four sports Emmys. You have more Emmys than Entourage ever produced, so congrats. How is that. How has this playoff run been for you guys? And now we're coming to the big day. Friday's first pitch, World Series.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Like, Jerry, this is, like, the coolest time of the year for me. I. I honestly, like, I put everything in my life besides, you know, my. My loved ones on. On pause for the entire month of October because it takes so much out of us because we're in it every day. And. But, you know, fans like you and Matt that may not watch every single day of every day, you guys tune in for October, and it gives us an opportunity to talk about the game that we love so much and. And really have a little fun. I think you get a little bit of, hopefully some good information and some good entertainment, and I think the world needs a little bit more laugh, especially before they go to bed at night and, you know, to be reunited back with two great friends with Derek and Big Papi and Kevin Burkhardt. I mean, I just think the four of us work really, really well, and I think we're getting better as we go.

[Matt Leinert]

I want to. I want to dive into the show a little more because I've gotten to know, obviously, you guys with Fox and KB's the best. And just. Just briefly on this matchup of. And you've talked about Ohtani, and it's. It's pretty rare that we're seeing someone like him. You are considered one of the greatest baseball players in my mind and probably millions of people's minds throughout the world. From your perspective on what he's been able to do and what he continues to do, like, I don't want to ask you if, is he the greatest baseball player of all time, but, like, how would you describe what he's been able to do?

[Alex Rodriguez]

You know, Matt, in many ways, you hear the term. You know, if Jerry does a great job, or Matt, you throw five touchdowns, someone may say that's a Ruthian feat, right? Going back to Babe Ruth, you know, over 100 years ago. I think this young man is getting to the point where it's like, is this an Otanian feat? Right. And really, the definition goes above and beyond any sport. It transcends sports. But in many ways, the best player I've ever seen in my life by a Long shot is Barry Bonds. I mean, he could just do everything on the field. Hardest worker, smartest. I mean, the guy was just a freak.

[Matt Leinert]

Yep.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And the best pitcher ever saw was Roger Clemens, right. Seven, Cy Young. Just a complete warrior and play for, you know, 25 years. Ohtani is a combination of both. And that's the highest compliment I can give. I've never seen anyone like that in my lifetime. And I, and I don't think in our lifetime we'll ever see anything like that again. It's really phenomenal, special what we're seeing.

[Jerry]

So when you're prepping for the World Series, one thing, and we'll talk about the doc too, which I saw and I loved and I'm not going to spoil too much of it because it's coming soon. Soon. But you really got the feel of the fact that you are such a baseball historian and a student of the game and how even like the stories in the doc about how like some guy like Jeter I think was like, no, we'll talk baseball after the game. And Alex, like, what, what do you, what do we talk about? I got to imagine you're approaching prepping for even, you know, the broadcast show the same way, right? Like, are you looking at Dodgers, Blue Jays, almost approaching like as if you were playing? Yeah.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And I'm looking at it like three dimensional, right? One is the architect of the team and like, what is, what are the thoughts of why they put this team together? Right. Are they a big market team? Or is it more like David versus Goliath, brewers versus the big bad Dodgers? And how can a team that's spending $150 million beat a team that's spending 500? And kind of explaining that. Then I'm talking about it from a, you know, I always say the three S's, right? It's superstars, strategy, storylines. And think about from a manager's point of view, like, what are his positions? Because I want to really break it down for the audience at home saying, what are the ramifications if you take a pitcher out in the third inning? How does that affect the seventh or eighth inning? And in a seven game series, you're playing a team seven times in 10 days. That never happens in the course of a six month season. So again, you have to be able to really play chess, not checkers. And then from a player's perspective, what are they thinking? You know, who's hot, who's not, and obviously all the X's and O's. But I love to watch Jerry so It's not like I have to do something that like oh my God, you're twisting my arm. I gotta watch baseball. Like I love watching baseball.

[Matt Leinert]

I think I remember Alex, when you first started tv. And again, I'm a lot younger and I've been a fan of yours and I was a baseball player growing up and, and seeing you from early on. And you know, we have Bardia, we have all this, we have a lot of crossover producers, Jerry, in our world at Fox Sports. So like we're just like one big intimate family and everybody loves sports. And I remember actually we were in the green, the avocado room a couple times together and just sitting there and from there to now, like to watch you, it's been, it's been really incredible. The, the knowledge. I think one of my favorite clips is you and Pete Rose, the late Pete Rose, just talking like hitting, just talking baseball. Where, where do you think personally you have grown the most on like on TV and stuff? Because it is hard. It's different, right? It's a different world than just shooting the with your boys and talking baseball. Where do you think? Because I think you've become the best on tv. Talking baseball. Where have you grown the most?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Thank you. Thank you. Matt. You made me feel very old when you said you're a lot younger than me, but you're older.

[Jerry]

Because I'm older than him too.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, no, I think, look, and I think just to double click on what you said, Matt, which I agree 100% working at Fox, I mean it's a public company, but it's ran by like a family. And one of the things they do so well is like, is probably when you were back at usc, right? Like I feel like we're in Fox University and Fox Sports University. And what I mean by that is whether you play basketball, football, baseball. We're all wear the same jersey, we're just kind of in different sports. And that's what's so cool about Fox. You know, for me this has been always a very hard transition. I remember like life is a set of transition. Like I went from shortstop to third base. I went from being a baseball player to a businessman. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever, ever, ever be on TV broadcasting. I just thought that wasn't for me. But I've worked really hard at it. Because what's challenging about television and also fun is you have to be concise with your point. Like some people have great points, but if it takes you seven and a half minutes, it's just not gonna work. Maybe more podcasts is a better platform, but live television, you may have 15 seconds to make a really important point. And then how do you articulate your words, not only to explain it well, but to make it digestible for the viewer and make it fun. Like, I'm always thinking about it from the prism of, like, you know, my girls are older now, but like, when my daughters were in third grade and fifth grade, can they understand me? Because in October, you know, just like the big games you have on Saturdays, right, as you get to the end of the season, the audience gets much, much wider and they may not be as knowledgeable, right? So you got to make sure you don't lose them. And sometimes I find that too many people threw too many numbers at people. And I'll ask my mom or my daughter. I'm like, yeah, I just turned the channel off, Dad. I was you putting me to sleep. But if you tell me a story, I'm going to dig in, right? So that's how I've tried to work on it. I got a long ways to go. Long winded answer to say. Barty is a big key. He's the kind of puppet master that makes Bardia. Charay is our main producer with Kaplan. And we have a wonderful team and the continuity of it. Kevin and I have been together now for 11 years.

[Matt Leinert]

Yeah, that's crazy. 11 years. Wow.

[Jerry]

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[Matt Leinert]

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[Jerry]

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[Matt Leinert]

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[Jerry]

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[Matt Leinert]

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[Jerry]

So I'm, I'm lucky in the sense where I got to see the documentary Alex vs. A Rod A little early. Maybe it was the HBO help, too, but knowing you were coming, I'm not going to spoil anything. I encourage everyone to watch it. But the first couple of things, I thought of that. First of all, it's almost I thought, you know, here's a guy who doesn't need to do this. Like, if you didn't want to do it, you for sure don't have to. But you did. How long did it take you to getting used to? All right, I'm going to tell my story with a camera on me. Did it happen right away or did you have to kind of warm up to it once you started that process of making the documentary?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, that's a good question, Jerry. You know, it took me 15 years, and I think 15 years, because I don't think emotional is ready to be so raw. And what you saw. I'll give you a little glimpse to your viewers and listeners on the documentary. I think there's a story about a flawed man that happened to play baseball and therapy saved his life. And Dr. David is a figure that if you see the documentary, you'll understand that in many ways a part of me died when I got suspended and it cost me the hall of Fame, which kind of really sucks, but I have no one to blame but myself. But in many ways, it saved my life because I was able to work on the tools, rewire the brain and make me, I believe, a better person to be a better father, a better friend, a better owner, and just a better, you know, just dude, you know.

[Jerry]

You know one thing too, and I think we saw a little bit this when, like the Last Dance with mj. But you know, I thought I knew everything about your career. Right. But obviously I don't know you all that well as a person. And first of all, totally forgot you were from Washington Heights, like as a die hard Yankee fan.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Like, that's right.

[Jerry]

A Rod Alex from Washington Heights, man, we could claim. We claim you're a New York dude. Yeah, for sure. But the other thing that I always find as a fan interesting, and again, I'm not going to spoil one of the main plot points, but all I'll say is you had a series in Minnesota where you just went off. Now you had stuff going on behind the scenes that none of us fans know. And I'm not going to say what it is today. Go watch the doc. But that's what, for me, is so cool. As a fan. We never know what's going on in your personal lives when you're going and playing in front of the whole world. And I thought it was really cool for you to share that.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah. And you know, Jerry, I remember most of my career wasn't in the social media era.

[Matt Leinert]

Right.

[Alex Rodriguez]

So then you become a victim or just a bystander in your own story, because everybody's telling it for you, whether it's the New York Post, the New York Times, or, you know, whoever's writing about you. And we didn't have the tools to not necessarily fire back, but, you know, to control our narrative or our message. Right. Because you needed a reporter. And then it was Sports Illustrated. It will come out every Thursday. And it's just a different world we live in today. So part of my mission, or kind of my goal with this documentary is to finally be able to tell my own story with my own words, with my own truth, and to be able to share that. And if young, I'm thinking about, like, if a young Alex Rodriguez is watching this at the age of 15, hopefully those youngsters can learn from my dumb mistakes and can hopefully avoid some of those mistakes.

[Matt Leinert]

Well, I mean, I think when everyone sees this, they're going to appreciate the vulnerability and just the authenticity coming from you. And there's just there. There's always been a disconnect sometimes, especially in that era, because I was right. I was pre social media, but just between the fan and the athlete, what do you. The last one for me on the doc, Alex, is what do you hope people take away from it when they watch it?

[Alex Rodriguez]

You know, the great Mike Francesa, who's now has become a friend and is one of the great voices of New York, one of the great voices of sports radio around the world. Right. Mike and the Mad Dog was an institution. And he had a great line where he said, you know, Alex is a Shakespearean figure, one of the best blah, blah, blah players of all time, but he's also a very flawed individual. And I think this is about a flawed individual that happened to play baseball and made his brightest and biggest mistakes in the great platform and spotlight of New York City. And that was difficult, but it's still a human being behind that. Right. You can take the hall of Fame away. You can take whatever. You can take all the shots. I still take great pride that I've been able to learn from those mistakes. I feel like I'm a really incredible father. I have a great relationship with my girls. And part of that is because my father left me at the age of 10. It's not because I'm this great guy or whatever, is because when he left me, I remember my dad left at the age of 10. I saw my mom collect food stamps at the age of 12. And I remember going down to one knee and praying. I said two prayers, please let me make enough money to take care of mom. Because I know she's going through a hard time as a single mother, two jobs, food stamps, trying to raise her three kids. And then second, if I ever have the great opportunity to be a father, I'm going to be the best father I can be. Just because I felt like my situation was pretty shitty at that time and. And then. And that's been exactly what's happened. Right? So it doesn't. Your worst moments for me doesn't define you. You get an opportunity to grow from them.

[Jerry]

So, something else I noticed, obviously, I'm a huge basketball fan. There is a sequence in the DOC where we get a little close up of the. Alex, the jumper. You got a job. Obviously everyone wants to talk to you about baseball, right? And I get it, but, like, basketball is truly one of my passions, and I could see it's one of yours. That jumper looks wet, my man. What was the basketball game like? You know, I saw there was, like, some footage of you and Jeter back in the day messing around. What was the hoops game like?

[Alex Rodriguez]

I love hoops. Like, by the way, I don't know anybody that doesn't like hoops. Like, right. And, like, I just think, like, I love sports. I mean, Matt, Jerry, I know we all share that in common. Sports is a great connector of people, and that's pretty awesome. But I do think that the best seat in the house of any sports is on the floor for your favorite basketball team. I mean, there's nothing like it. It's really cool. And, you know, it's funny because, Matt, I know that you really. And Jerry, you like youth sports as well. I think one of the great mistakes that young people do today is they go too narrow and deep too quickly with one sport. And I was a quarterback, I was a point guard, and I was a shortstop. And I quite honestly learned more kind of great lessons, virtues and all of that by the other sports that was able to cross over and play baseball. And it was a great asset to me to be able to play that many sports. So basketball was just tall point guard, shot was okay, but can dribble and pass pretty well.

[Matt Leinert]

Is that. Is that. You know, you started. You should ask Jerry about his shot in our shooting competition. I whooped him last year, but it's okay.

[Alex Rodriguez]

I will.

[Matt Leinert]

And you.

[Alex Rodriguez]

You.

[Matt Leinert]

You know, you started the YouTube series on the baseball and hitting all that, which I think is great. And it's probably naturally your way of kind of giving back and teaching is. Is that why you did it? Just because you sports now are like. It's just. It's crazy, right? You're talking about the one sport and specializing in one and sometimes high school coaches not allowing kids to play multiple sports. What kind of went behind this for you in starting the YouTube stuff?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, I mean, that's one of the great gifts that we have in today's world in 2025 that we can actually just like, we're doing, you know, I'm at my house, you guys are wherever you're at, and we could just, you know, chop it up over 30, 45 minutes. So the. The ability to reach a lot of people with very little effort, I think is pretty cool. But I was finding in my experience that no matter what meeting or what venue or what charity I was at, somebody like Jerry, you would pop up and say, hey, can I ask you one question? I have a son, and he's 8 years old, and he's thinking about an uppercut. And I was getting this hundreds of times, everywhere it went over and over and over again. And then someone started saying, can you do anything on YouTube and just put some stuff out? And I just did one or two. And then people started coming up to me. I said, oh, my God, we're using this with your son. I was hitting banning practices like Jerry did. So I just said, you know, why not? I mean, this is a good way for me to, you know, give back and share some thoughts and at least put some good information out there. Because I do think there's a lot of crazy stuff that's being taught right now for the wrong reasons.

[Jerry]

You know what's funny, too? And by. I love that you use golf references like, I don't. Don't hit this like a pitching way. I actually use it for golf. I'm like, wait, because you say in one of them, no uppercuts for a golf swing. So I remind myself, don't do a baseball swing on the golf course. Do a golf swing. I mean, all the kids in my son's like, coach, pitch Team watch. One of the kids, this kid Sam was literally like, when he heard I told someone, I bragged, I'm like, oh, we're having Alex Rodriguez on. He's like, what does he mean when he's talking about slowing the heartbeat down in big moments and staying calm? And I'm like, I think it's really cool that a 9 year old kid is, wants to know about that as opposed to just like, you know, leveling out your swing. So it's hitting off for all these young kids. I could tell you that at least over here it's really hitting.

[Alex Rodriguez]

That's really cool. That's really cool.

[Matt Leinert]

What is, what is X? What? I don't even want to, I don't, I don't even know why I want to ask you this, but I always see like the, like, what is that? What does that mean? Like when they try to do this and they come up like, is it the. You know what I'm talking about?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Matt Leinert]

Like, I know listeners aren't going to understand what I'm trying to say, but what is that? Like, why do they do that now?

[Alex Rodriguez]

What's being taught today's launch angle.

[Matt Leinert]

Right angle. That's right.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And it, it's such a tough thing to do. Like I'm a learner that if, when I play golf, I'd rather have someone be like, give me one good tip and then leave me alone. But if you're going to try to give me like a formality, like I don't play enough, I'm never going to be scratched. So don't give me like fancy lessons, like I just don't function that way. So I'm the kind of guy, if I say, jerry, I want you to jump high, instead of like giving you the scientific method behind how you jump high, I'm going to throw you a basketball and say, try to dunk the basketball and as a result you're going to jump as high as you can. And that's just always been my way of kind of teaching and kind of find some hacks along the way. But it's just simple math, right? If you. Matt, if you're hitting and you, and you miss a hundred fastballs at the belt, how many of those do you think you're going to swing under or over? Out of a hundred.

[Matt Leinert]

At the belt? Under or over? I'd say under probably, right?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, but how many would you say? Like what percentage?

[Matt Leinert]

70%.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Great, that's a great answer. The answer is 100%. Right? So, so think about that. So if you. If you're going to miss a ball a hundred percent. And I'm kind of making for your listeners, like not saying, but I'm basically saying if you're swinging 100% under the ball, why would you ever teach a kid to go more under? Right. You have to teach. The opposite is if you're swinging under, you have to have a top posture and swing above the ball and try to swing down on it. And you see this little. What do you call this right here? This little like your knuckle.

[Matt Leinert]

Knuckle?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, this knuckle. All you want to do is clip it down. And if you clip it down like that, that's all it takes and the ball's gone. And no one does better than a Shohei Ohtani, like. Cause he's so tall. And eventually. And then you get other nerds that get all mad and you say, no, it's really uppercut. Yeah, but that's feel versus real. Yeah, but you. You can't honestly, like, try to go under because then you're gonna be whack. Right? Like, it's hard. I'm not doing a great job explaining it, but so I get it. And stay on top of the ball. Stay on top.

[Jerry]

Who for you? Because you didn't have YouTube when you were a kid coming up, I remember I had like one Fred McGriff VCR tape on like the art. Some baseball video. You know, what were or who or what did you turn to to get your coaching when you were 9, 10, 11 years old, you didn't have all these assets waiting for you. You didn't have Alex Rodriguez with a YouTube channel helping you.

[Alex Rodriguez]

I was just a. A mad scientist when it came, like, to studying. Right. I would just watch every game. You know, back in the day, we had May, Mel Allen, like game of the Week, this week in baseball, or we had the game of the week with Bob Costas, Vince Scully on NBC. We had Monday Night Baseball. Like anytime I had an opportunity to watch it, I would just watch. And then as I started getting older, I started asking a lot of questions and watching because I think the greatest way you can learn is through imitation, right? I think great athletes can imitate, they can copy and paste, and no one has their own original ideas. Let's be honest, everyone copy and pastes from a lot of people. But as I get into talking, like Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez and Albert Bell and a lot of my great coaches, Lou Piniella, the number one theme is stay tall and stay on top of the ball because that's the strongest position you can. And in golf, you don't want to scoop the ball. You want to hit the golf first. Like, I'm a bad golfer. I have my divot are behind the ball. When you play with great golfers, they're divots in front of the ball. Right. And the problem is, if someone's learned academically how to be a great hitter, it's not the same as, like Barry Bonds or Manny Ramirez talking to you. That's actually been there 15, 20,000 times at bat at the big league level.

[Jerry]

So I don't know how much analytics comes into it for you. I obviously, you like numbers. You're great with numbers. I keep getting sucked in by this one Instagram account that will go back and show, like, 90s baseball lineups, and you'll see, like, the 97 Indians, everyone's batting 300, obviously the Yankee lineups. And then you cut to today and you know, it's like, oh, he's batting 245. He had a really solid year. How much do you lean on numbers analytics? When you're doing the MLB show and when you're doing your YouTube, you know.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Coaching show, I think analytics is an incredible, incredibly important part of the game. And I love analytics. You also. It's my job to take some of those analytics and challenge them. Right? There's analytics and then sometimes there's just logic, Right. If a guy's dominating and he's throwing a no hitter in the fourth inning, why in the world would you take that guy out? Right? Yeah. At some point, you got the big plan. We all need a plan. But they say, you know, we make plan, God laughs. And at the end of the day, you have to trust your eyes. You have to still give yourself some freedom to watch the game and say, this guy's dominating. This guy looks like an athlete, like in the zone. So those things are very important. And then, you know, we all love home runs, but at what cost? If Matt is going to hit, you know, 30 home runs, but he's going to hit 150 and strike out 250 times, I would say to Matt, Matt, do me a favor, hit 17 home runs, hit me 280 and, you know, strike out a hundred times, right? Because I can't win with guys striking out 180, 190 times. Because in October, when pitching gets even better, those numbers are going to jump more and more. You won't even be able to put the ball in play. So it's all a balance, Jerry, to say analytics are important, but the human element is. And when you have the analytics department and then you have like a guy like Theo Epstein that understands baseball and you put those together, then you get what the Dodgers are doing right now. They're basically dominating the world of baseball.

[Annie Agar]

Foreign.

[Jerry]

For many children across the country, school is back in session and school buses are on the road.

[Matt Leinert]

This is a simple reminder for all drivers. You must slow down and prepare to stop when approaching a school bus from the front or behind when it's displaying flashing yellow lights. Those lights mean that the bus is getting ready to stop for students.

[Jerry]

Every state has a law that makes it illegal to pass a school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended when it stopped to load or unload students. Not stopping for a school bus or trying to beat the stop arm puts lives at risk and can result in large fines, points on your license, and even license suspension.

[Matt Leinert]

If you're driving, especially in school zones or where children may be traveling to or from the school bus, slow down and stay alert. Paid for by NHTSA.

[Annie Agar]

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[Jerry]

So hoop season is tipping off pretty much as we record this. I'm super excited for it. I know you are. I got first of all, are you going to be at Timberwolves road games? Because I'm planning on November 5 MSG, I will be in the building by by hell or high water. I'm gonna be there. Do you see yourself hitting up road games or are you going to be more of a home game kind of guy?

[Alex Rodriguez]

So I probably do about a little bit more than half the games and then I do about 20 games on the road like New York, LA, Miami and then I'll meet The team. If I'm in business somewhere, like, I may fly into San Antonio or wherever. I try to plan my. My business schedule and my obligations around.

[Jerry]

Kind of our catch Wemby in San Antonio. That's a good stop. Stuff like that.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And I'll be at msg. By the way, I hope you guys get to come to the premiere, which is going to be that week. I can send you both an invite.

[Jerry]

Yeah, that'd be great.

[Matt Leinert]

In the lines of basketball, I think it's really cool how much obviously you're giving back to baseball. And just, just the pure knowledge that you just gave us right now is like, oh, my gosh, my mind is blown. I can't wait to tell my five and a half year old. How about swinging? I imagine you're approaching basketball and, and obviously being, you know, owner of the T Wolves and just for how much you love the basketball is now that we, we finally realize, are you investing the same amount of time? Right, like, you watch film, like, how invested are you with the team and.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Stuff, man, it's kind of sick, I'm embarrassed to say.

[Jerry]

Don't be embarrassed. Say it.

[Alex Rodriguez]

We love it. So embarrassed to say this, but I usually watch the games three times. So if I'm there, which is, again, it copies exactly. The same sick person that I was in baseball, like my ex wife Cynthia would say, dude, you just went over 4. Are you a glutton for punishment? You're going to watch this crap again. And back in 05 04, when I first got to New York, you had to literally watch it. It wasn't like you had the iPad where you can just fast forward to your vats. You had to sit there for like, so I'll watch the game and then I get home and watch the game again. And then in the morning, I'll watch it one more time and then I'll hear some podcasts about the game and what I think is great, and I've talked to Magic Johnson about this, who's one of my great mentors and great friends, is that, you know, when we talk, he's asking about the Dodgers and I'm asking him about the Timberwolves. And the fact that we're not former basketball players or former baseball players, I think helps because there's something kind of innocent about being a novice and you want it to learn and not get in the way. So then it allows my partner Mark and I to just kind of macro hire the best people in the world and really get out of their way, set the culture Set the budgets and then get out of the way.

[Jerry]

Have you had any of the players reach out more in a sense of, you know, you played in a lot of big games, you've been a part of and are a part of a lot of big businesses. I mean, that time will come at some point, you know, is that available? I'm sure it's available to some of these guys, right?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah. This is my fifth year with the teams, both the Timbers and the Links. And I've had number of every year just like this, I meet with all our players either in person or zoom. You know, players today are so much smarter than when I play. They have so many more tools, they have so much more ambition. They don't want to be just great players. They want to be great business people, they want to be great families. They want to be family people, they want to be great dressers, they want to be in your business producing. They want to have podcasts. So their vessel is quite big and it's great because when they come in, they have their three things they want me to talk to them about. I never give any financial advice or anything. I just think a big picture. Some of the things you should be thinking about and some of the things maybe you could be avoiding.

[Matt Leinert]

Alex, a couple last things before we let you go. We appreciate the time. I know you have two daughters and I believe one is. Is Natasha's in college now. Is she in college?

[Alex Rodriguez]

She's in Michigan. Yeah.

[Jerry]

She's a junior Wolverine, which is great.

[Matt Leinert]

I. I have a nine month old baby girl and I have three boys. Best girl dad advice you could give me or something that you've learned along the way?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Well, I'm the wrong person to be getting advice about a lot of things, but I would say, Matt, like I have a junior in college and my little one, Ella is a senior in high school and wants to go to North Carolina next year. So I would say the thing that's been, that's worked best for me is we have this rule at breakfast, lunch and dinner, no phones, no electronics, one conversation and really kind of being in the moment with them and really kind of being a girl dad where you're almost like nerdy about it. Like if your daughter's talking about her favorite lipstick, you really have to care. I watch more damn YouTube musical theater stuff that I have no idea what I'm watching. That way when I go visit her right in college and I actually go watch her in the musical theater, I kind of have an idea of what I'm Watching, but I don't think it's working, but I'm working really hard at it.

[Matt Leinert]

Oh, I love that.

[Alex Rodriguez]

But I think really being engaged in their lives, right, and like making their thoughts more important and this is honestly something that I worked in therapy a lot, right. Because I was this kid that's going to like the moon, right. And like just so focused. And I was like Rambo, like a one trick pony. Baseball, baseball, baseball. And I created all these blind spots and you know, my self awareness went to zero and my ego grew and it wasn't like a crazy. I mean I've known you guys forever. I've always been a really nice guy and a gentleman. But the tools I needed to refine him and that's also really helped me as a father.

[Matt Leinert]

Oh, that's awesome, dude. Thank you for that.

[Jerry]

Okay, it's time now for our fresh take of the week presented by Wendy's. Wake up with the Wendy's breakfast. I got a question for Alex Rodriguez. It's my hard hitting question of the day. Here we go. So Alex, I want you to name your favorite three Yankees of all time that you have not played with. That's the kicker. You cannot have played with that player.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Oh, I have never, I've never been asked this question.

[Jerry]

Well, that's what I, I just thought, you know, because I, I know. You tell me my favorite Entourage guy. Well, I love Kevin Connolly so I pick him. But he's also like my best friend.

[Alex Rodriguez]

So Reggie Jackson for sure. And I'm going to try to. I can't go Babe Ruth because I'm old. But Matt, I'm not that old. You're not? I'm going to go Reggie. And of course the three home runs in 77 against the Dodger was pretty iconic. A little bit like Shohei hitting the four. You know, last week he was one. I would go with probably Ron Guidry. Cause he was.

[Jerry]

Yeah, L.A. lightning.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah, L.A. he's just such a great guy and big game pitcher and he had like balls of steel.

[Jerry]

Oh yeah.

[Alex Rodriguez]

And then one is like one of my all time classes that I wish I would have played with him. And I love this guy so much. He's a true gentleman and a fun guy. David Cohn, I mean five time world champion, but just a great dude guy you want to have a beer with. So smart, gets all parts of the game. Was head of the union, a real kind of a pioneer in, in our, in the world of baseball.

[Jerry]

I appreciate you answering that. It's a tough question. That was my Hard hitting question.

[Alex Rodriguez]

It was a hard hitting question.

[Jerry]

Alex versus a Rod on hbo. Obviously MLB on Fox World Series is with us. Also the deal, which is an awesome podcast and I think you just had Jeter on recently was your latest episode. Alex, I can't thank you enough for doing this. We know you got a lot going on. Good luck to your wolves. Thank you. Except for November 5th in New York against.

[Alex Rodriguez]

You. Got it. Well, come, come give me a hug and be great to see you then. Absolutely. See you at Fox, Maddie.

[Matt Leinert]

We'll see you soon, buddy. Appreciate you, man.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Be good, guys. Thank you.

[Jerry]

Annie Agar joining the show courtesy of Twisted Tea. Grab a refreshing twisted Tea today, Annie. First of all, the hoodie. Whoa.

[Annie Agar]

Thank you. Thank you, guys. I love it. There's good teams on the show. I don't think I've worn it on the show yet, but there's one logo that's not on it and it's the Dallas Cowboys. And I swear it's because Jerry probably didn't get the 1%.

[Jerry]

You know what a bold. Like the Raiders go on the. I know the Raiders are the same.

[Annie Agar]

Who decided that? Yeah, the design is kind of.

[Jerry]

Yeah, there's a lot of NFC South.

[Matt Leinert]

Where's that from?

[Annie Agar]

I don't know. My. So I have a jacket too that I wore to super bowl and my mom got that for me off like Etsy or something because somebody makes these. But this one, I don't remember where I found it and I wear it all the time. It's like my favorite thing ever. Thank you. I appreciate it. Wow.

[Jerry]

We're gonna get some twist.

[Annie Agar]

We should get Matt one, a college one. You know.

[Matt Leinert]

I'll wear it.

[Jerry]

We're gonna get to some twisted T trivia in a second. I want to run through the scores. Matt, you're up five to two in the trivia games as weeks. 18 total questions. So far I have 13 total questions. Right, but you went four and one last week, Matt.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Matt Leinert]

Last week was an absolute ass kick.

[Jerry]

Almost a sweep to make his comeback. Before we start any real quickly, being that the Raiders are the front part of that awesome hoodie you're wearing. Worst situation right now. If you had to choose Raiders or Jets, who do you not want to be?

[Annie Agar]

Oh, that's a tough one.

[Jerry]

That's. That's almost impossible to answer.

[Annie Agar]

Oh, it's a bad one. I don't. I mean, the. I feel like in. In terms of worst situation, I'd probably say the Raiders just because the jets like this is so expected for them. But When Pete came in, they're not thinking rebuild. They're thinking, like, win now. Like, that he brought Gino with him for the specific reasoning of making this. Not the Raiders that had Derek Carr, not the Raiders that had Antonio Pierce. And coming from, like, the two worst coaches that they hate, Josh McDaniels and Tony Pierce to now Pete Carroll, who they're hating on probably even more. I've seen people say this is, like, the worst Raiders head coach, and they had some bad head coaches. So in terms of, like, worst situation now for the fans, I would probably say the Raiders.

[Matt Leinert]

I mean, first of all, the Raiders roster is terrible, which we've talked about, but I don't know, why are they not using Ashton J. I mean, I don't know about. You know who I don't want to be J E T. When the owner calls out your starting quarterback.

[Annie Agar]

Yeah.

[Matt Leinert]

I don't know if I want to be a part of that.

[Annie Agar]

Former starting quarterback, former starting tyrod.

[Jerry]

And you. You were. You were a fan of the Russ Flatback on Sean Payton. I didn't love it any. I didn't love.

[Annie Agar]

I thought it was like, Larry, for me, I just think the drama is so funny.

[Matt Leinert]

But, Jerry, why didn't it land for you? Do you have a personal. No.

[Jerry]

I mean, Russ, you know, awesome cameo in the Entourage movie. He was fantastic. I just didn't look at it like some. I would have appreciated clapping back when he was on the Broncos.

[Annie Agar]

I was going to say. Okay, question for you. Do you guys see. Would he say that to Sean Payton's face? Like, if they were in a room together, would Russ say anything like that in person?

[Jerry]

I think Russ would just big time and probably not even pay attention to it. He wasn't even in the room.

[Annie Agar]

That's what. I can just see him behind his phone, like, oh, I'm gonna. This is gonna be a great tweet.

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Matt Leinert]

I love. I love drama. I mean, and I think Sean is great. It's like, it is unnecessary. You know, it's. It's an unnecessary shot to take. It's like, everyone's a professional, but it does give us something to talk about. And it's. I just. And I like that Russ clap back, because Russ doesn't do that. Russ is always. You know, he's always kind of taken the high road to his career. He has had a great career.

[Alex Rodriguez]

But, yeah, I know.

[Annie Agar]

It was so I. I had to double check. It wasn't like a fake account under us.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

All right. I like. You know what I like I like it a little.

[Annie Agar]

Jerry's on board. Love it.

[Jerry]

All right, let's. I gave the scores, same format. We're gonna do some just straight questions for the audio listeners out there, and then we're gonna go into some NFL player pictures. No helmet, no uniform for the YouTube audience out there. Matt, let's go.

[Annie Agar]

All right. Has Jerry got a picture right, by the way yet? Because I feel like. Matt. Okay. Sorry. That wasn't it. That wasn't a roast or a shot either. Just trying.

[Jerry]

That was like throwing to some. One of the guys when he was like, in high school. Like, I don't know how that's fair to me. Let's start putting random actors up there, I bet you.

[Annie Agar]

Yeah, there you go.

[Matt Leinert]

I'm pretty well versed in entertainment, too, though.

[Jerry]

You are. You are.

[Annie Agar]

All right, question number one, gentlemen. Who is the current leader in standard PPR fantasy football points this season?

[Matt Leinert]

Current leader, Hookah, Nakua.

[Annie Agar]

Nope.

[Matt Leinert]

That was stupid.

[Annie Agar]

Well, if you weren't interested.

[Jerry]

Is it the Gibbs?

[Annie Agar]

Nope. No, That's a great.

[Matt Leinert]

Yes. Okay, we're back to normal.

[Annie Agar]

Standard, standard PPR fantasy football points this season.

[Jerry]

Who's number one?

[Annie Agar]

It kind of. It kind of surprised me.

[Matt Leinert]

Well, it's got to be a quarterback.

[Annie Agar]

So think of like, there's somebody that's literally carrying their team right now.

[Jerry]

No, no, I. Baker.

[Annie Agar]

Nope. That's a good guess.

[Jerry]

Go ahead, Matt. You could sneak one in there.

[Matt Leinert]

Jonathan Taylor.

[Annie Agar]

No, but you're closer.

[Jerry]

Whoa, how? These are all wrong. Oh, Dak.

[Annie Agar]

Nope, nope. That was closer with Jonathan Taylor. Think along those lines.

[Matt Leinert]

Who's the number one running back?

[Jerry]

Cmac.

[Annie Agar]

Yep.

[Jerry]

Yeah. Got him in fantasy.

[Annie Agar]

How did that go? Yeah, because it's literally him and like his friends.

[Matt Leinert]

So that counts as a win.

[Jerry]

If we're counting some of yours from last week. Yes, that's counts as a win.

[Alex Rodriguez]

You're right.

[Matt Leinert]

God, that's so bad.

[Annie Agar]

Okay, question number two. Who holds the record for the most rushing yards in a single NFL game?

[Jerry]

You want to go first? I have a guess.

[Matt Leinert]

Go.

[Jerry]

Terrell Davis?

[Annie Agar]

No.

[Matt Leinert]

Derrick Henry?

[Annie Agar]

No. That's a good one, though. Most rushing yards in a single NFL game. This is more like all time, right? Running back.

[Matt Leinert]

Is it fairly in the last 20 years or is it older?

[Annie Agar]

Yes, the last 20 years. Yep.

[Matt Leinert]

I would say this isn't going to be right. Adrian Peterson.

[Annie Agar]

Yes.

[Jerry]

You shouldn't get it if you. You're right before you say this is probably not it.

[Matt Leinert]

No. Well, that's what I was thinking.

[Alex Rodriguez]

But that's Good one.

[Matt Leinert]

Good one.

[Jerry]

Okay.

[Annie Agar]

That was good. That was good. Okay, number three. And this is in reference to Stafford through five touchdowns on Sunday. In case you guys didn't see, the record for most passing touchdowns in a single game is seven. Eight players have done this. Who was the most recent?

[Jerry]

Peyton.

[Matt Leinert]

Peyton Manning.

[Jerry]

No, he did throw. He's on the list, though, right? Yeah, probably on the list. Yeah.

[Annie Agar]

Just not most recent.

[Matt Leinert]

Seven.

[Jerry]

Damn.

[Annie Agar]

Most recently. I remember this happening, if that helps.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Drew Brees.

[Annie Agar]

Yes. Yep. Drew Brees in 2015.

[Matt Leinert]

I knew that. God, Jerry, I'm kicking your ass.

[Jerry]

I said Peyton, man. I said somebody on the list at least.

[Annie Agar]

Unfortunately, we don't award points for that. Okay, now on to the pictures. Who is this first NFL player?

[Matt Leinert]

Kyler Murray.

[Annie Agar]

Yep. Wow. This is a little nod to the world.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Annie Agar]

Throwing you off with the A's jersey there. It's just.

[Jerry]

I knew it. He just said it fast. Yeah, that was an easy one.

[Annie Agar]

Okay, next one.

[Matt Leinert]

James.

[Jerry]

James Winston.

[Annie Agar]

Oh, by a second.

[Jerry]

Really?

[Matt Leinert]

Are you serious?

[Alex Rodriguez]

Of course I did.

[Matt Leinert]

I beat you.

[Jerry]

That's because his Internet's faster than mine. You heard it quick, Steph.

[Matt Leinert]

That's definitely not.

[Annie Agar]

You had the other camera. You know, you never know.

[Jerry]

By the way, these are all the audio audience. These are all of their baseball. It was Tyler and A's jersey. It's Jamison of Florida State Seminoles baseball jersey.

[Annie Agar]

And those have to pretty low. Like, it's hard to see their. Hard to see their faces. It's the look. It's the look on Jamis's face. You're like, oh, that's James Winston.

[Matt Leinert]

Oh, three to one.

[Annie Agar]

Did Matt. Sweet. Oh, no. Jerry got one. Sorry. Sorry.

[Jerry]

I. Annie, I feel like you're on Matt's team now. I like working against me as well, so I'm.

[Annie Agar]

I know. I'm so sorry.

[Matt Leinert]

Seven and two in the last two. This is, like, not even fun, dude.

[Annie Agar]

And Jerry's defense, he did start off pretty hot, though. You got, like, the first couple trivias, I think.

[Jerry]

Jerry, you're gonna collapse like the Giants in the.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Well.

[Matt Leinert]

That'S the great Pete Carroll used to tell us. You can't win the game in the first quarter, you can't win the game the second quarter, you can't win the game in the third quarter, but you can win the game in the fourth quarter.

[Annie Agar]

Until now.

[Jerry]

Someone needs to tell them that in Vegas. Shout outs to Twisted Tea for the tribute. Annie, by the way, the videos coming from you, I feel like you're getting real. Like, you're almost like SNL joke writing.

[Annie Agar]

At this point, like, thank you so much.

[Jerry]

I forget I had a few, like, oh. Moments on some of the jokes. It was awesome.

[Annie Agar]

Thank you so much. McAfee shared it this week, so that was pretty. Yeah, yeah, that was. I mean, I've met Pat if you. I'm sure you guys have. I've met him, like, once or twice and. And he's always on the go and stuff, and he'll say he watches my videos and I'm like, oh, that's really cool. You never knowing if he actually has the time to do that. And so for him to share was just so cool, but awesome. But this week was fun.

[Alex Rodriguez]

No one does it.

[Annie Agar]

Like, the digs were out there, so.

[Jerry]

You got a lot of content to pull from, and it's going to be another great week. Again, thank you to Twisted T. I got to catch up to Matt. Thank you, Annie Agar. We'll see you next week.

[Annie Agar]

Thank you, guys.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Bye.

[Annie Agar]

Bye.

[Jerry]

All right, Maddie, that's the show. Big, big thank you to Annie Agar and Twisted T. Big, bigger thank you to Alex Rodriguez again. Don't forget Alex versus a rod. And big thank you to Matt Leinert, folks, for securing Alex Rodriguez to join us on the show. Buddy, I just. You'll always have a spot in my heart for just that.

[Matt Leinert]

Listen, man, I'm a team player. I gotta do. Do whatever it takes to make. To make Throwback successful.

[Jerry]

You did it at least for one day for me and my mom will be listening. It was awesome. And thank you to everyone behind the scenes, too. It was a heck of a day. We'll see you next week. Let's go.