WEBVTT 00:00:04.279 --> 00:00:07.400 Well, welcome to the latest episode here of the 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.439 day and time podcast if you like discovering 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:14.800 new music and you like baseball like I do Hopefully 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.579 you found a show that it feels like it's tailor 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:20.899 -made just for you With that being said today's 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:22.879 guest. This is really exciting episode number 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:28.679 101 and I'm pleased to welcome Who I consider 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:33.020 in my research the authority on Montreal Expos 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:38.630 baseball If there is a peer in this realm, I'd 00:00:38.630 --> 00:00:40.270 like to know that person's name. And I'm sure 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:42.310 Danny would be interested to know who that person 00:00:42.310 --> 00:00:45.429 is as well, because this is probably the most 00:00:45.429 --> 00:00:48.829 thorough research you're going to find. I would 00:00:48.829 --> 00:00:52.929 argue on most major league baseball teams past 00:00:52.929 --> 00:00:56.189 or present. Danny Gallagher, my guest today, 00:00:57.070 --> 00:01:02.520 has published 11 books on the Expos. The latest 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.480 and I'm pleased to have a copy with me here if 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:09.219 you can see it This is called explosion Genesis 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:14.799 to relocation 1994 saga contraction revelations 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:20.519 about the dying days Moise or Moises Lenny Schneids 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:24.299 and the Expos this is the latest in a long series 00:01:24.299 --> 00:01:31.329 about the Expos and No surprise May 2026 or early 00:01:31.329 --> 00:01:34.829 spring. We'll call it another book on the Expos 00:01:34.829 --> 00:01:39.469 Willie Davis the tragedy of Willie Davis and 00:01:39.469 --> 00:01:43.730 more exposed stories, but and Danny has published 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:47.450 hundreds hundreds of articles on the team and 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:49.989 I want to come out and say Because some of you 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:52.010 may be hearing. Okay. Well, that's a lot of that's 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:55.730 some good material on the Expos fans of baseball 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:59.719 and I would I would even say fans of sports You're 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.420 going to love these books. There are stories 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:09.280 just in the 2024 book explosion on Terry Francona, 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:15.000 on Moises Salou, Jean Mock. There is material 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.840 in here that you have never heard before on any 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:22.180 outlet. And it's a fascinating read and it's 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.280 a great book as I believe some of the other ones 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:28.360 are in the catalog where you can, you can sit 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:32.590 down, flip it open, get to a random chapter and 00:02:32.590 --> 00:02:35.949 start reading and enjoying it. But Danny, I'm 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:38.189 really rambling here. I'm great at doing that. 00:02:39.069 --> 00:02:40.909 Welcome to the show. Thanks for making time to 00:02:40.909 --> 00:02:44.289 be on Dan Time. Yeah, Dan, thank you so much 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:47.189 for having me. It's a pleasure. Always nice to 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:49.590 talk about the Expos and baseball in general. 00:02:50.569 --> 00:02:55.430 It's been a passion of mine since 1988 as far 00:02:55.430 --> 00:02:58.319 as publishing. you know, books, because that's 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:02.060 the year I joined the staff of the Montreal Daily 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:05.319 News covering the Expos. So ever since then, 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.259 I've been, as you say, I've been writing hundreds 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:11.800 of articles about the Expos and coming out with 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:15.860 my 11th book in 2026 with special emphasis on 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:19.539 Willie Davis. There's a real fascination about 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:24.580 the Montreal Expos. If you look around, And people 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:27.159 are familiar with teams that have been relocated 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.699 over the years. Markets that have lost teams. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:34.960 You've got, of course, the Brooklyn Dodgers. 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:38.599 Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, those franchises 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:43.020 move west at the end of the 50s. But as we know, 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.120 New York gains the Mets. Milwaukee loses the 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:49.319 Braves to Atlanta. As we know, Milwaukee gains 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.270 the Brewers later on. Baltimore loses the Orioles 00:03:52.270 --> 00:03:54.150 to Washington, but then they get the Orioles 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:59.110 back Seattle the doomed pilot season, but give 00:03:59.110 --> 00:04:02.150 it a few years. They've got the Mariners Washington 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:04.969 loses the Senators gets the Senators back or 00:04:04.969 --> 00:04:09.349 the Nationals by way of Montreal Kansas City 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:12.830 the athletics moved to Oakland Kansas City, of 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:15.550 course has the Royals now You really have to 00:04:15.550 --> 00:04:18.230 go and and we all know what's happened with with 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:22.660 Oakland and this limbo period in Sacramento for 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:27.720 the A's. But you really have to go back to, in 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:34.279 some cases, the 19th century. Indianapolis, Buffalo, 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:38.779 Louisville. Danny, is there another municipality 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:44.420 in modern history that has lost a franchise and 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:46.500 we just don't know if we're ever gonna have another? 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:51.069 Major League Ball Club in that city again? Well, 00:04:51.250 --> 00:04:55.709 it's possible, you know, all this time, 21 years 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:59.810 at the Expo Dress for Washington. You know, from 00:04:59.810 --> 00:05:05.370 2004 to 2012, there really was no talk about 00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:09.509 anybody interested in promoting a new team in 00:05:09.509 --> 00:05:13.069 Montreal. And then in 2012, Juan Comadi, the 00:05:13.069 --> 00:05:18.560 former Expo, started beating the drums. And he 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.699 was meeting with some Major League Baseball officials, 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:24.300 but really didn't have any money. One comedian 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:27.399 had no money then, and he had no money now. But 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:32.199 he, for many years, he was, you know, a silent 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:36.199 drummer, beat drummer, running the Expos back. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.879 And then a few years ago, Stephen Brantman, the 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.339 son of the former Expos owner, Charles Brantman, 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:47.399 showed a lot of interest in getting the team 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:50.779 back in Montreal, but he was especially interested 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:55.519 in the split season sister city concept with 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:58.839 Tampa Bay, which really didn't work out because 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:02.639 he, Stephen LaVapen, did not have a lot of money 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:05.300 compared to his father. So he just said that 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:08.560 he did not have the financial resources to... 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:11.819 have what you call a full -time team, meaning 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:15.259 162 games. But he was interested in the Tampa 00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:19.920 concept, where 41 games would be played in Montreal. 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:24.540 And Tampa Bay, supposedly, would pay a lot of 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:27.800 the expenses. And Bronfman's group would get 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:30.339 some of the money for the Tampa Bay home games 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:32.740 played in Montreal. Then, of course, as you know, 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.899 that was turned down by Major League Baseball 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:41.620 in January of 2020. to 2022. So since then, it's 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:44.779 been, it cannot be leaked and nobody has really 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.600 showed any interest. When I heard about that 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.360 concept, I thought that there's just call it 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:53.519 some psychological problems with that. If you 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.279 live in Montreal, you live in Tampa Bay, and 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:58.800 it's like, okay, half this team is mine. Half 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.060 of it belongs to this other city. It's psychologically, 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:04.980 I just don't feel like it works for the fan. 00:07:05.019 --> 00:07:09.189 You don't feel like you're the same. It's your 00:07:09.189 --> 00:07:12.709 same ball club as a Texas Rangers fan or Pittsburgh 00:07:12.709 --> 00:07:14.189 Pirates fan. They don't have to share it with 00:07:14.189 --> 00:07:18.069 anybody. But that was my thought. My first reaction 00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:22.589 to that. For sure. I don't know what the fan 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:24.629 reaction would have been. Let's say that was 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:27.529 pulled off. How the Montreal fans would react 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.209 to it to a team that was not called the Montreal 00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:34.430 Expos called Trappabay. X -rays or whatever you 00:07:34.430 --> 00:07:38.430 want to call them and but it was. Stephen Brompton's 00:07:38.430 --> 00:07:42.290 idea of getting baseball at least back into Montreal 00:07:42.290 --> 00:07:47.769 in some form or concept and that later on possibly 00:07:47.769 --> 00:07:53.149 a full -time team would come. But that was ideal 00:07:53.149 --> 00:07:55.689 for him because he just didn't have the money 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:59.629 for a team play at 162 games. And you know the 00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:02.269 Players Association didn't like that idea of 00:08:02.269 --> 00:08:07.879 the of the race playing games in Montreal. The 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.079 Tampa Bay players would have had to get accommodation 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.860 in Montreal while they already have an apartment 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:19.740 or a house in Tampa Bay. Sure. I do want to say, 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:23.220 Danny, with these publications coming out, I 00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:26.800 think yearly for, you know, up until 2024, I 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:29.060 think you've released five books or a book every 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:32.870 year for at least five or six years. this in 00:08:32.870 --> 00:08:37.330 tandem with the interest in the Montreal Expos 00:08:37.330 --> 00:08:40.490 memorabilia the jerseys the t -shirts the hats 00:08:40.490 --> 00:08:45.350 people are still buying these items and everybody 00:08:45.350 --> 00:08:48.909 loves nostalgia and you never know what the next 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:50.889 generation you know what what they're driven 00:08:50.889 --> 00:08:54.730 by but I I Feel like you probably agree. We're 00:08:54.730 --> 00:08:56.610 kind of sitting back in this lull period. We 00:08:56.610 --> 00:08:59.769 don't really see any action on the horizon, but 00:09:00.920 --> 00:09:04.340 It hasn't I don't feel like that will ever completely 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:08.399 vanish this interest in the Montreal Expos in 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.720 their path certainly in their past but kind of 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:14.000 the what if Can't we make this work again? What's 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.539 it gonna take? Do we need to? Does this the city 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:20.379 need to finance a new baseball stadium and just 00:09:20.379 --> 00:09:23.740 say we'll build a stadium Has it ever been discussed 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:25.919 or do you think there's any? conversations being 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:30.269 had about really rolling the dice there and trying 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:34.169 to finance a stadium and then seeing how the 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:38.750 league will respond. Yeah, you know what? The 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:42.669 estimate of getting an expansion franchise is 00:09:42.669 --> 00:09:46.629 about 2 .3 billion US or 3 billion Canadian, 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:49.889 which is pretty high. And then to get a new stadium 00:09:49.889 --> 00:09:53.809 downtown Montreal would be, let's say, another 00:09:53.809 --> 00:09:57.620 billion Canadian. And as you know, Dan, the city 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:00.100 of Montreal and the province of Quebec spent 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:03.080 close to a billion dollars recently, and I guess 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.740 they're still renovating the roof and the perimeter 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:12.220 of the roof at Olympic Stadium in East End. So 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:15.460 that was kind of like a signal saying that, okay, 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:19.399 we're fixing up Olympic Stadium, but not for 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:24.000 baseball. When what they did was they... We did 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.919 the configuration of the Olympic Stadium field, 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:29.940 but not for baseball. They made it more for football 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:34.879 and soccer. But they told me that let's say baseball, 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:37.039 let's say the Blue Jays came back and they want 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.980 to play another exhibition during one year, that 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:42.960 they could change the field into baseball again. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.679 But it would require somebody with deep pockets 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:55.519 then to get a... another franchise. Rob Manfred, 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.679 the commissioner, said that he would like to 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:04.000 expand in the final year of his year as a commissioner 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.700 in 2029. So you're talking another four years. 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.759 You never know if somebody might come out of 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:14.220 that blue and try to get something going. Warren 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:18.690 Cormarty told me recently and he told a a talk 00:11:18.690 --> 00:11:21.309 show host in Montreal recently, but he's trying 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:25.190 to get Japanese investors in Japan where he lives 00:11:25.190 --> 00:11:28.230 about six months of the year as a broadcaster. 00:11:30.389 --> 00:11:34.169 But nobody has come forth in the two and a half 00:11:34.169 --> 00:11:38.149 years since the cap of a situation was turned 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:41.789 down. Danny, I want to take you back to that 00:11:41.789 --> 00:11:44.450 year, 1988, when you became the beat reporter 00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:48.889 for the Montreal Expos. While working with the 00:11:48.889 --> 00:11:53.389 Montreal Daily News That's right and coincidentally 00:11:53.389 --> 00:11:55.929 at my age that was around the time that I started 00:11:55.929 --> 00:11:58.909 watching baseball in earnest Started collecting 00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:03.389 baseball cards in 88 by 89 I was watching most 00:12:03.389 --> 00:12:06.750 games on TV that I could watch after school when 00:12:06.750 --> 00:12:10.909 I could watch them I was a big fan 1988 1989 00:12:10.909 --> 00:12:14.789 I'll start with that now you told a story on 00:12:14.789 --> 00:12:18.639 the Good seat still available podcast episode 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.700 and at the end of this episode I do want to kind 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:23.799 of rattle off some appearances that you've made 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:25.559 and I'll list them in the show notes, but she 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:29.340 told a great story about one of your favorite 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:34.139 expo players Rusty stop when he comes back to 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:37.840 Montreal Around the time that I was born late 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:42.980 July of 79 and you described this this setting 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:48.830 that Don't recall seeing in 1989 1990 91 on TV. 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:53.830 You recall you described something like 50 ,000 00:12:53.830 --> 00:12:57.769 Exposed fans Cheering as loud as they can. He's 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:00.549 coming up too bad as a pinch hitter in the second 00:13:00.549 --> 00:13:03.710 game of a doubleheader And I just I'm curious 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:05.850 if you can describe for our listeners who like 00:13:05.850 --> 00:13:10.230 me, you know, we're not 25 but we're 45 and we 00:13:10.230 --> 00:13:13.190 just don't remember just a rocking crowd at Olympic 00:13:13.190 --> 00:13:18.429 Stadium. What was it like back then? Oh, it was 00:13:18.429 --> 00:13:22.029 it was electric. You see, he had been with Detroit 00:13:22.029 --> 00:13:26.470 and several other teams after he left the Expos 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:30.029 in 1971 and went to commit. He had three years 00:13:30.029 --> 00:13:34.509 with the Expos, 69, 70, 71. And so he was like 00:13:34.509 --> 00:13:39.409 an early franchise hero. People loved him. When 00:13:39.409 --> 00:13:41.950 they brought him back in that trade with Detroit 00:13:41.950 --> 00:13:47.570 in July of 1979, they had played several games 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:49.769 on the road, and then they finally came back 00:13:49.769 --> 00:13:53.269 to Montreal for his first game back in Montreal. 00:13:53.889 --> 00:13:56.309 So at that time, I was working for the Ottawa 00:13:56.309 --> 00:14:00.710 Journal newspaper, but not as a... I did not 00:14:00.710 --> 00:14:04.230 go to the game as a reporter. I went with my 00:14:04.230 --> 00:14:07.429 girlfriend because I'd grown up... in the Ottawa 00:14:07.429 --> 00:14:10.230 area and went to a number of expose games as 00:14:10.230 --> 00:14:16.389 a fan before I became a beat writer in 88. So 00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:20.669 that game, it was electrifying. So he comes up 00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:23.830 with a pinch hitter and he can't get into the 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:26.990 batter's box because the fan noise is so much. 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:30.450 He had to step out several times. It was electric. 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:34.029 It wasn't so much the bat itself. It was the 00:14:34.029 --> 00:14:38.210 moment in which he tried to get into the box 00:14:38.210 --> 00:14:43.149 and the fan applause was so deafening that he 00:14:43.149 --> 00:14:47.730 had to step out several times. It was just an 00:14:47.730 --> 00:14:54.070 applause of a hero coming back to Montreal. Maybe, 00:14:54.269 --> 00:14:56.450 I don't know whether you call him the prodigal 00:14:56.450 --> 00:15:00.350 son, but it's a real, it was quite a tremendous 00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:02.909 gathering. You know, he went out, he popped up 00:15:02.909 --> 00:15:06.500 to the outfield, but the moment of him being 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:11.559 in the Scottish box which were electrified. Wow. 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:16.679 And coming back to 1988, this must be an exciting 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:21.379 year for you. Otis Nixon signs with the Expos, 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:23.700 granted free agency by the Indians, I believe. 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:28.019 He comes over. Randy Johnson, the big unit, a 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:31.580 late September call up. Do you have any special 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:35.940 memories in 88? Maybe like when you Did you see 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:38.659 Randy Johnson in spring training? Did you do 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:40.539 you remember seeing him around the clubhouse 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:43.700 there at the very end of the season? All right, 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:47.779 I was Covering for the Montreal daily news when 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:50.720 he made his first appearance for the Expos in 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.580 Montreal And so, you know, you're watching the 00:15:53.580 --> 00:16:00.399 clubhouse you six foot ten So you said yeah, 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:06.809 he said I'm looking forward to this And he won, 00:16:07.129 --> 00:16:09.309 from what I remember, he won his first game and 00:16:09.309 --> 00:16:15.090 then he was kind of up and down to Indianapolis 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:19.230 for 88 and 89. And then, Dan, as you know, he 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:23.950 got traded to Seattle for, along with Brian Holman 00:16:23.950 --> 00:16:27.990 and Gene Harris for Michael Engston. And they 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:31.059 had, they wanted to go for it. they wanted an 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:33.480 experienced pitcher like Mark Langston and at 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.039 the time they were leading the National League 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:41.720 East by a fair number of games and Langston they 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:45.659 wanted somebody else to come in and continue 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:48.759 the push for winning the National League East 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:52.559 and you know Langston was reasonably good and 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:55.379 then but the the bats fell apart in August and 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:59.909 September and they're just a real Fiasco, they 00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:04.789 finish up at 81 and 81. And, you know, it was 00:17:04.789 --> 00:17:09.609 a case of the Expos felt that Randy Johnson maybe 00:17:09.609 --> 00:17:13.490 wasn't quite ready to come in and be a pitcher 00:17:13.490 --> 00:17:16.029 on a full -time basis, because at the time of 00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:21.509 the trade, he was in the minor leagues. But it's 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:25.309 like pushing the cart before the horse, could 00:17:25.309 --> 00:17:28.740 you have waited until and you got better, but 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:32.579 that particular year, it was getting close to 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:35.779 a championship, NL championship, and the owner, 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:38.019 Charles Balfon, gave Dave Gumbosky the manager 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:40.819 to go ahead and make this trade. But then, you 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:43.720 know, everybody today is criticizing that trade, 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.259 but there's also some people who like to trade 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:49.779 because the expo was pushed to get a better picture 00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:53.640 into the rotation. Danny, there's just so much 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:57.079 to cover here. A lot of things on my mind. I 00:17:57.079 --> 00:17:58.640 want to talk about and then talk about some things 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.960 in the book You may have mentioned this or certainly 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.500 written about it in some prior books but wow 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:08.980 if Montreal if Major League Baseball had had 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:13.059 Just one wild card to certainly three wild cards 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:16.599 like we have now in the early 80s in the mid 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:20.819 80s Maybe you know at the end of the 70s It is 00:18:20.819 --> 00:18:28.450 preposterous 1981 I'm sorry 1987 Expose 20 games 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:32.950 over 500 91 and 71 they finished third in the 00:18:32.950 --> 00:18:36.849 division Do not reach the playoffs Of course, 00:18:37.049 --> 00:18:39.910 everybody knows about the 94 team the 93 team 00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:43.930 94 and 68. That's good for second place miss 00:18:43.930 --> 00:18:46.849 the playoffs There's another year here. I think 00:18:46.849 --> 00:18:55.220 there are 30 games over 500 1979 95 and 65 and 00:18:55.220 --> 00:19:01.259 in 79 that's good enough for second place. A 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:03.740 lot of young baseball fans are maybe hearing 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:07.099 that thinking how are you are you just knocking 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.319 them dead and finishing with a few games shy 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.599 of 100 wins and you're not playing in October. 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:18.400 It's really crazy as you say 79 and 80 and 82 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.960 they had a good team and then they kind of failed. 00:19:21.600 --> 00:19:28.839 But 79, 80, 1993, 1987, you know, it was just 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.640 some great, great baseball. It should have been 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:34.059 really unfortunate that they didn't get into 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:40.380 the playoffs. Now, the Expos had a mini dynasty 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:44.079 from 79 to 82. They finally get in the playoffs 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.299 in 81, but they probably had even better teams 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:50.480 in 79, 80. And some people said the team in 82 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:54.609 would... really really good too but uh and even 00:19:54.609 --> 00:19:58.950 83 and 83 they fitted too but I agree with you 00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:01.349 if they had the wild card it would have been 00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:05.009 so much better the popularity of baseball in 00:20:05.009 --> 00:20:07.529 those years in Montreal in general and baseball 00:20:07.529 --> 00:20:12.170 because in Montreal is a unique city in the sense 00:20:12.170 --> 00:20:15.890 that there's always events and festivals and 00:20:15.890 --> 00:20:18.390 things to do with your money and places to take 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:21.779 the kids and Places to go on a date besides going 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:24.859 to a baseball game. It's not totally unlike a 00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:26.940 lot of other cities But do you think Montreal 00:20:26.940 --> 00:20:28.839 always struggled with that where if they just 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:33.980 had had one? one playoff birth via a wild card 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:37.039 or if they had you know, 1981 goes differently 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:40.440 and They reach the postseason. They win the pennant 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:45.140 it's like they needed one postseason run to Compete 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:47.259 with all the other events in town and just going 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:50.339 into the next year the next year Being a strong 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:57.599 draw all the time Exactly You know 93 that team 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:03.279 is almost good. He said 94 93 You know, they 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.279 changed a few people for 94, but that was a tremendous 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:13.000 team if they had been able to Keep a lot of those 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.059 players with a maybe a bigger budget then They 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:20.380 maybe could have maybe even 92 and Felipe took 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:22.660 over it would they turned out to be putting the 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:27.740 team at the end and then you know 94 as you know, 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.500 you know with the strike they Were able to complete 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:33.440 that year and that time would have been a wild 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.119 card year Let's say even if they had not won 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:38.339 first place. They probably would have made the 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:42.700 playoffs as a wild card and Then you know with 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:49.420 with playoff money, let's say 79 80 87, 93, and 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:54.619 94, you're able to build up a revenue chest of 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:58.319 money to keep players to stay around for a few 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:02.799 years. But what happened with the 94 team, when 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.099 that strike carried into the next year and then 00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:10.099 it was finally settled, the Expo's ownership 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:13.450 wanted to trade. Ken Hill, Marquis Grissom, and 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:15.190 John Reckland, and they didn't want to offer 00:22:15.190 --> 00:22:18.670 a contract to wire Walker. So that was kind of 00:22:18.670 --> 00:22:21.349 like the beginning of the end of the expo, but 00:22:21.349 --> 00:22:23.170 they, you know, they stayed around for 10 more 00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:26.829 years. Yeah, and those are fan favorites. Those 00:22:26.829 --> 00:22:29.470 are kids going to these ball games. They, you 00:22:29.470 --> 00:22:31.470 know, they love Larry Walker. They love Marquis 00:22:31.470 --> 00:22:35.789 Grissom, and that had, especially when the Marlins, 00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:38.269 you know, in 1997, they won the World Series, 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:40.049 and all those players are gone the next year. 00:22:42.350 --> 00:22:47.269 Danny, there's a, and folks again, this book 00:22:47.269 --> 00:22:50.450 explosion, which I've been just having a blast 00:22:50.450 --> 00:22:54.529 reading, but without giving too much away, you've 00:22:54.529 --> 00:22:58.390 got a chapter in here where Claude DeLorme, the 00:22:58.390 --> 00:23:00.549 executive vice president of business affairs, 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:03.069 not somebody's name that people may be familiar 00:23:03.069 --> 00:23:06.569 with in the media or the reports of the end of 00:23:06.569 --> 00:23:10.230 the expos, but this is literally the guy that 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:13.700 turned off the lights for the last time in the 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:17.900 offices at Olympic Stadium by himself. The way 00:23:17.900 --> 00:23:21.039 that you wrote in that chapter Danny gave me 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:25.079 goosebumps. It's very almost a visceral feeling 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.980 because he's kind of spending more time in Florida 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:30.500 at that at that time kind of getting into the 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:33.740 spring of 05 but he's flying back up to Montreal 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:36.099 to tie up some loose ends and then of course 00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:39.500 there's a final day where you're not coming back 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:44.420 to that ballpark and a very lonely, very melancholy 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:47.920 description of how it all ended. I just can't, 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:49.839 and he spent 20 years with the ball club. I think 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:51.880 you wrote in that chapter that he would have 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:58.259 stayed forever. Very sad. Yeah, that what you're 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:01.099 telling me is just sending shivers up my spine 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:04.880 right now, Dan. Just thinking of Dan Claude Delon 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:10.420 because he was an unsung hero. who maybe most 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:15.319 people didn't know about, but he worked his buns 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:20.420 off to keep it alive as the vice president of 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:23.720 business operations, the stadium operations. 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:29.779 And at the end, on September 28th, which is the 00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:33.559 night of the 28th after the game, all of a sudden 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:35.819 there was the rumor that the team is finally 00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:39.950 moving to Washington. There had been no signal 00:24:39.950 --> 00:24:44.250 all through the 2004 season that the team was 00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:46.490 going to be moved. There was a schedule made 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:50.990 up for the 2005 season with Montreal in it. So 00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:53.950 Claude DeLong was the guy. It wasn't the president 00:24:53.950 --> 00:24:57.630 of the team or the general manager who kind of 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:02.630 was winding up the operations and doing interviews 00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:05.970 with the media. Tony Tavares and the president 00:25:05.970 --> 00:25:09.779 and Omar Manaya. You know, they had something 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:14.059 to do with the end of it, too. But Klob became 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:18.799 the spokesperson explaining to the media what's 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:21.440 going on. And they had somebody from Major League 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:27.319 Baseball who came to Montreal in secret conditions 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:31.339 to speak to the players. He was not introduced 00:25:31.339 --> 00:25:33.160 to the crowd, but the crowd would have really 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:35.799 booed him. I'm not trying to remember that guy's 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:39.589 name, but... But in your stories, there's really 00:25:39.589 --> 00:25:43.250 a lot of intrigue about closed alarm coming a 00:25:43.250 --> 00:25:45.750 couple of times to Olympic Stadium for a few 00:25:45.750 --> 00:25:48.869 months after they left for Washington and conducting 00:25:48.869 --> 00:25:53.130 league matters, winding up the expose operations. 00:25:53.690 --> 00:25:56.950 And then I think April, I like the way you put 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:02.390 it, April 30th of 2005, and he turns out the 00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:05.660 lights for the last time. That's really... But 00:26:05.660 --> 00:26:09.819 really, I've got shivers right now. And then, 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:12.180 you know, other other nameless people in the 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:16.980 organization, secretaries, just various office 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:20.220 personnel that had perhaps been with the Expos 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:23.539 for seven years or 10 or 12 or how there had 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:26.200 to have been people like that. That all of a 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:30.059 sudden, like you said, the end came at the end 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:32.099 of the season. It wasn't like they knew in July, 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:34.700 hey, this is going to be a wrap in a few months. 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.119 Those people weren't going to Washington. They 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:39.900 live and work in Montreal. They work for the 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:43.460 Expos. How many people do you think from the 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:47.500 front office were just on edge of which direction 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:50.579 this was going to take and then they got to go 00:26:50.579 --> 00:26:55.589 find work somewhere else? Yeah, the rumors. and 00:26:55.589 --> 00:26:57.849 the scuttlebutt had been going on for two or 00:26:57.849 --> 00:27:00.210 three years ever since Major League Baseball 00:27:00.210 --> 00:27:03.609 took over the Expos by buying the team from Jeffrey 00:27:03.609 --> 00:27:07.630 Lawyer who bought the Florida Marlins and John 00:27:07.630 --> 00:27:15.089 Henry came in and bought the Red Sox. So I suppose 00:27:15.089 --> 00:27:19.460 it was not a total surprise that the yet the 00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:21.599 Expos were moving to Washington, but it was still 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:25.079 a shock. On the day of the 29th, the final home 00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:28.720 game, a lot of the players who I talked to in 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:32.000 that book and other books, they weren't in street 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.519 clothes. They may have been in their uniforms 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:36.039 too, but they walked into the Expos office to 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:39.740 say goodbye to the Expos employees. It was very 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:42.500 tearful for some of those players and the employees. 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:46.599 It was really heartbreaking. And, you know, after 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:50.880 the final game, Brad Wilkerson broke down in 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:54.819 tears because he was thinking of those employees 00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:59.359 who were no longer going to have a job. So he 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.319 had to be held up and composed by Claude Raymond, 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:06.339 the former expo who was doing some speeches. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.599 And he had to hold his arm around Brad Wilkerson 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:14.279 and tell him, you know, hang in there. But Brad 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:21.049 Wilkerson, he was the... epitome of the grief 00:28:21.049 --> 00:28:25.210 and depression that took place on the final game 00:28:25.210 --> 00:28:33.650 in September 29, 2004. Somebody had to be the 00:28:33.650 --> 00:28:38.190 guy to carry it all on his shoulders. Yeah. I 00:28:38.190 --> 00:28:42.809 talked to a few of those. In this book, I made 00:28:42.809 --> 00:28:46.269 an attempt. This is my big, big attempt, although 00:28:46.269 --> 00:28:48.730 I tried in other books, but this was a big attempt 00:28:48.730 --> 00:28:55.589 to explore how that came about, that the team 00:28:55.589 --> 00:28:58.849 was leaving on the 29th and that there had been 00:28:58.849 --> 00:29:02.990 a relocation committee set up earlier in 2004 00:29:02.990 --> 00:29:06.910 as to where they might send the exposure. It 00:29:06.910 --> 00:29:09.049 could have been Portland, Oregon or Charlotte, 00:29:09.250 --> 00:29:13.940 North Carolina or Nashville or So I talked to 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:16.119 some of those people who were on the relocation 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:20.319 committee and I wrote a letter to Buxillic at 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.839 his house address to see if he might talk to 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:26.579 me again. I'd talked to him before and he was 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:29.319 kind enough to talk to me, but this time he didn't 00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:32.619 want to talk. Maybe he just didn't want to, he 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:37.359 talked enough about this topic. Anyway, there 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:41.240 is several chapters in there, Dan, about the 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:44.059 You know the relocation of the team so I kind 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:47.799 of explored that topic in a big way in this book 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:50.819 Another thing I wrote down here and I think this 00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:54.519 is something you said on a podcast episode That 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:57.359 I really appreciate Danny because I like to have 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.460 guests on my show that sometimes it's a singer 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:02.880 -songwriter Just trying to get their music out 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:05.299 there and they're not a household name But man, 00:30:05.299 --> 00:30:08.519 they've got some great songs or I've had some 00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:10.819 ballplayers. I've had Major League Baseball players 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:15.779 former players but you said that you do a lot 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:18.619 of stories on players who are not stars these 00:30:18.619 --> 00:30:22.859 are the utility men the pinch hitters the platoon 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:27.119 players trying to give some recognition on what 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:30.440 they encountered I always had a fascination with 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:34.759 those guys that maybe a big personality not a 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.380 big bat you know but you love seeing them seeing 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:40.279 them on TV when their number was called in the 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:42.559 ninth inning you're just thinking okay let's 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:45.039 one swing of the bat let's get let's get some 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.380 a couple runs in here and you really do a great 00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:51.200 job of romanticizing those players in this book 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:53.839 explosion and i'm sure in some past books as 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.880 well and one that i particularly enjoyed was 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:00.880 being dan time was the dan norman chapter uh 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:04.480 dan norman who i i learned reading his story 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:07.690 and he's the current manager for The Chatham 00:31:07.690 --> 00:31:10.930 Kent barnstormers, which I had a guest on the 00:31:10.930 --> 00:31:15.089 show, Dan Cabelka, who founded or brought challenger 00:31:15.089 --> 00:31:17.609 baseball to Chatham over 30 years ago. Challenger 00:31:17.609 --> 00:31:20.990 baseball being a program for children and adults 00:31:20.990 --> 00:31:24.430 with special needs. But I love the story about 00:31:24.430 --> 00:31:27.170 Dan Norman wanted to be a stunt man, wanted to 00:31:27.170 --> 00:31:31.190 get involved in movies and kind of reading about 00:31:31.190 --> 00:31:33.369 his career. It sounded like everywhere he was, 00:31:33.430 --> 00:31:37.099 whether it's Cincinnati or the Mets. He's involved 00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:40.799 in the the Seaver trade the Reardon trade everywhere. 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:43.059 He goes. It's a stacked outfield. Where's he 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:46.059 gonna fit in? And it reminded me there's so many 00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:48.099 players and I'm glad that you wrote that you 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:51.960 highlight these guys that superstars sometimes 00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:54.880 become superstars because they Well, a lot of 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:57.339 them had the natural ability, but a lot of them 00:31:57.339 --> 00:32:01.440 also got regular playing time so if you're with 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:04.519 an organization and You're not playing every 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:07.349 day at the Major League level Your narrative 00:32:07.349 --> 00:32:10.289 maybe maybe goes a different way, but love that 00:32:10.289 --> 00:32:13.450 stuff Danny and What are some some thoughts there 00:32:13.450 --> 00:32:19.809 on on Dan Norman? Oh well, so see I've done some 00:32:19.809 --> 00:32:23.690 a fair number of work in the Movie business as 00:32:23.690 --> 00:32:26.210 an actor and sort of a part -time actor since 00:32:26.210 --> 00:32:30.470 1995 So I found it intriguing when he started 00:32:30.470 --> 00:32:33.130 talking that he worked in several movies and 00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:38.750 he wanted to be a stuntman but he was, his football 00:32:38.750 --> 00:32:43.750 team was picked to go and be part of some movie. 00:32:43.910 --> 00:32:45.549 I forget, I don't have the book in front of me, 00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:50.809 but so I don't think, he never did get to be, 00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:56.289 learn to be a stuntman, but because he had some 00:32:56.289 --> 00:32:59.750 other things he had to do and then he became 00:32:59.750 --> 00:33:02.430 a minor league player and he played a little 00:33:02.430 --> 00:33:06.349 bit. you know with the Expos and Mets and uh 00:33:06.349 --> 00:33:10.230 you know he didn't as you say when he got to 00:33:10.230 --> 00:33:12.369 the Expos the Expos were stacked and he told 00:33:12.369 --> 00:33:14.609 me I'm not going to get much playing time here 00:33:14.609 --> 00:33:19.309 you know you got Andre Dawson and Tim Reigns 00:33:19.309 --> 00:33:23.250 and Warren Cromartie in the outfield where exactly 00:33:23.250 --> 00:33:28.809 so and then he got himself a niche of coaching 00:33:28.809 --> 00:33:32.099 baseball for many many years And that's what 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:38.119 he's been doing. And so Chatham Kent of the Ontario's 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:43.059 County Baseball League in Canada picked him to 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:44.960 be the manager last year in the first season 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.420 and he's back again this year. But he's like 00:33:48.420 --> 00:33:50.880 a non -son here. You know, he never played much 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:55.299 in the majors. I like to humanize these part 00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:59.359 -time players. I like to romanticize these players 00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:04.900 because people don't necessarily hear about them 00:34:04.900 --> 00:34:09.760 much or maybe they don't want the baseball card 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:11.599 or autograph because they're just part -time 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:14.360 players. But I think they're a really important 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:18.079 part of the team because without them, it wouldn't, 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:23.079 it gives the team credibility to have these part 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:26.159 -time players. You know, one of my favorite players, 00:34:27.699 --> 00:34:33.139 I'll do a quick, in the book is Rick DeHart from 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:38.840 Topeka, Kansas, who found out about an exposed 00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:42.760 training camp in Florida. So he took a Greyhound 00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:45.860 bus from Kansas to Florida, and he ended up getting 00:34:45.860 --> 00:34:50.599 a contract out of the camp and got enough service 00:34:50.599 --> 00:34:52.840 time in the major leagues to get a pension plan. 00:34:53.019 --> 00:34:57.199 So that's an example of a guy I love to talk 00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:00.210 about. Yeah, well I was gonna ask him who is 00:35:00.210 --> 00:35:02.949 maybe your all -time favorite utility player 00:35:02.949 --> 00:35:07.610 I Would think that oldest Nixon and you mentioned 00:35:07.610 --> 00:35:11.550 him at the start when he came in in 88 He had 00:35:11.550 --> 00:35:14.289 had some drug problems with the Atlanta bird. 00:35:14.610 --> 00:35:19.250 No now the India I forget who it was but the 00:35:19.250 --> 00:35:24.289 expo's have had a history of reclamation projects 00:35:24.289 --> 00:35:31.409 somebody who was in the drugs or alcohol or hearing 00:35:31.409 --> 00:35:35.329 impediment in case of Curtis Pride, but Aldous 00:35:35.329 --> 00:35:39.010 had some drug problems. Dennis Martinez had drug 00:35:39.010 --> 00:35:42.369 problems. He was more of a drinking problem. 00:35:42.550 --> 00:35:45.849 Dennis didn't have a drug problem, but they decided 00:35:45.849 --> 00:35:50.849 to bring up Aldous Nixon from the miners a couple 00:35:50.849 --> 00:35:53.590 of months into the 88 season and he was just 00:35:53.590 --> 00:35:57.860 gangbusters for the Expos. on the base pass and 00:35:57.860 --> 00:36:01.599 he was good until swing training in 1991 when 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:03.800 he was traded to Atlanta. So they had him for 00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:07.480 three years and he was shocked when he was traded. 00:36:07.579 --> 00:36:11.380 It was on April's day, April 1st and when he 00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:13.519 came out of the meeting he said, I thought it 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:19.360 was an April Fool's Day joke. So and I was told 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:21.940 that he cried his eyes out when he was traded 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:24.900 to Atlanta because he loved Montreal so much. 00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:31.000 And he was traded to give Monkeys Grissom more 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:33.800 playing time, because Grissom was coming into 00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:37.099 the forefront as a pretty good player, so they 00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:39.099 wanted to give Grissom more playing time in the 00:36:39.099 --> 00:36:44.019 infield. But no, Older's always been great to 00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:47.079 talk to over the years, and he always remembers 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:51.039 me. I've got a copy of his book from many years 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:55.030 ago, Keeping It Real. Yes, the same year they 00:36:55.030 --> 00:36:58.489 brought up Rex Sutler, who was failing in the 00:36:58.489 --> 00:37:00.489 Yankees organization. So the two of them brought 00:37:00.489 --> 00:37:03.750 up some speed that year and put the team first. 00:37:06.289 --> 00:37:09.750 Okay. That's it for part one of my conversation 00:37:09.750 --> 00:37:13.449 with Danny Gallagher. Be sure to subscribe to 00:37:13.449 --> 00:37:16.389 the Dan Time podcast on any platform. So you 00:37:16.389 --> 00:37:20.000 catch part two as soon as it's released. And 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.920 head over to YouTube and follow me at DanTimePod. 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:26.780 You can watch the entire conversation, the video 00:37:26.780 --> 00:37:30.739 episode on YouTube now. You can follow DanTime 00:37:30.739 --> 00:37:35.980 at DanTimePod on Instagram, Facebook and X. Have 00:37:35.980 --> 00:37:36.539 a great week.