Hey everybody, we're back. The Bristol boys are
in the house. December 10th, 2025. Fresh off
of our remote episode at the Bristol Sports Hall
of Fame. What a night it was, guys, wasn't it?
Awesome. We're in the studio. Sorry. Oh, come
on, man. We're in the Don Fathers studio. Angry
Jay's in the house. Crocker just joined us late
from a dinner date. We're hoping that lot here
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for sending those checks We have a special guest
tonight Okay, we're gonna play a little game
called guess our guest Our guest for this episode
It's a professional baseball umpire in major
leagues He's active. August 29th, 2025, became
the oldest umpire in Major League history. He
made his debut as a reserve umpire in the National
League from 1991 to 93. Can anyone guess out
there who it is? How about Phil Cousy? Oh, you
got it. Hey! You got it. Hey, welcome, Phil.
Thanks for having us. Thanks for joining us on
the show. What does he win? It's in the mail,
just checking. UPS is running a little behind
with the Christmas season, but thank you so much
for joining us. I want to jump right into the
highlights of your career, but can we go back
and have you just talk a little bit about the
grind and the path for one to become a major
league umpire? Can you tell us a little bit about
that? Well, it's you use the word grind and that
that's a that's a good as any to describe it
because You know when first thought out you go
to umpire school and although it's a little bit
different now back when I Went out umpire school
It was 1985 was my first year, but I had been
to the umpire school three years prior you know
the bad thing about it is You go there and you
don't know what to expect. You think you know
everything about baseball because you played
Little League and every year after that. And
you get there and you realize that playing baseball
has nothing to do with the job that they're trying
to teach you about umpiring. So when I first
went to school, they were privately owned schools.
There were two of them, Joe Brinkman and Harry
Wendlestad. And we had 100 guys. And maybe out
of the 100, maybe 20 went into the minor leagues
that year. Now in fairness, not everybody who
was at the school wanted to go into professional
baseball. You may have had high school umpires
that were trying to get better and become college
umpires. You might have had Little League umpires
that were trying to become high school umpires.
And you had Canadians just wanting to get out
of the cold because it was in January in Florida.
So, you know, but then once you got into the
minor leagues, you know, then it was a whole
other ball game. So, you know, talk about a grind.
And we didn't know what we didn't know. We didn't
know what to expect. And, you know, back then
at that level, rookie ball, New York Penn League,
It was just you and one other guy. And one guy
signs up as a rider, the other guy signs up as
a driver, and they give you a schedule, and off
you go. And, you know, I remember the first year
I was working with someone that you may know,
Richie Dawn, and he was the driver, I was the
rider, and we had a meeting in Auburn, New York.
And then our first assignment was in Watertown,
New York. In order to get there, we drove through
Syracuse. And there was a triple -A game going
on. Remember, the rookie league starts mid -season,
so it was like June. It's like a half season.
And so we thought we were big shots to be able
to get into the ballpark for free. And we went
to the game. We saw the triple -A umpires. They
took us out for a beer and pizza after that.
By the time we got to the hotel, It was probably,
you know, two o 'clock in the morning. It was
a little roadside hotel and there wasn't a light
on anywhere. But there was a pay phone at the
end of the parking lot. And we said, we better
call because we're supposed to, you know, and
so I call, I wake the guy out of bed and thinking
that we're, you know, these big shots coming.
And I said, yeah, this is Phil Cousy and Rich
Dawn. We're New York Penn League umpires and
we're supposed to be staying at this hotel. He
said, well, what are you calling me at this hour
for? Just take a room that there's not a car
in front of the door. The door's open, and come
see me in the morning. So we thought that, you
know, what was going on. But, yeah, but it is
a grind. And, you know, you go through rookie
ball, A ball, double A, triple A, and you get
the triple A, and you hope that you get a look.
And it wasn't until my third year in triple A
that I did get a look. And, you know, and then...
you think it's competitive to that point, but
that's when the competition really starts. So
it is a grind. And, you know, a player can, if
he gets released from a team, there's 29 other
teams that he can go to. But if we get released,
there's really nowhere else to go. Wow, that's
cool. Phil, did you say you had a beer and a
pizza and you got home at two in the morning?
You said you thought you knew everything about
baseball so that sounds like all the parents
of the kids that kids coaches have to deal with
today because they know everything about baseball
but Can you talk about specifically? the life
in the minor leagues versus the life in the big
leagues. I mean, we know about the players. We've
seen the documentaries and read the books. They
go from buses to planes. What is the difference
for an umpire? Well, as I started to say, you
know, you're in a car with one other guy and
you're driving everywhere. So, you know, New
York Penn League, we had, you know, I mean, off
the top of my head, you know, I have to think
about the cities that we went to, but... You
know, it was just, you worked a game, usually
we're in town for, I don't know, in the big leagues
now, we're in the town for one series. So the
series could be two games, mostly three games,
and then there's some four games. But back in
the minor leagues, you might've been in the town
for a week, and then you just, you know, you
pack up your bag, you pack up your car, and off
you go. But... You know, it's just you and one
other guy. So I've always been lucky that I've
had decent partners, but guys I got along with.
But not everyone has been as fortunate, because
personalities come into the game. You get along
better with some guys than others, like anywhere
else. But you're just with one other person.
And that is a... If you don't get along, that
could be a very long season. But that's the difference
with the minor leagues, because you're driving.
When we get to AAA, we did take some flights.
I think it's different now. I think they have
fewer flights. They stay longer, and they do
drive. But AA was the same thing. It was a three
-man system, but you still drove. But our longest
drive, I was in the Southern League, was from
Memphis. to Jacksonville, Florida. So, you know,
you're working a game, you're driving all night,
and you might get in at, you know, eight o 'clock
in the morning. So, you know, it's just a lot
different. The big leagues, of course, were flying
everywhere. I mean, just about everywhere. You
know, if we're going from Philly to Baltimore,
you know, we would drive or we might take the
train. But the travel is still a grind. especially
with the airlines today. I was thinking about
the trouble that they had a month ago, thinking
about if it were during the season, what would
have happened? And I'm sure that guys would have
missed games and it would have been a disaster,
I'm sure. Hey Phil, how many games as a Major
League umpire do in a season now? We do about
120, 125, something like that. because we get
we get four one week vacations and then yeah
and then we're usually in replay for a week at
a time for three weeks so that's seven weeks
off the field which is a nice break you know
at first when when we first went into the replay
room you know we're thinking oh what's this going
to be like you know because you know we're not
really good at adapting to change And we've had
so much change since I started. But it really
turned out, and especially for me, being in New
Jersey, the replay center is in Midtown Manhattan.
So I'm home. That's an extra week for me at home.
And like I say, usually there for three weeks.
So that's three extra weeks at home, which is
a big deal. Phil, I want to ask you this. Just
go back to the minor leagues real quick. You
mentioned the two and the three -man crew. How
much different? And is it a lot harder? To me,
it seems a lot harder than the four -man crew.
I would imagine you guys just starting out and
running to bases when balls are hitting the outfield
from behind home plate and stuff. That has to
be kind of a challenge, especially for a new
umpire. Yeah, but you know, that's all that you
knew at that stage of your career. You know,
I mean, depending on, even if you had a lot of
experience, which I really didn't before going
to umpire school, you know, guys work high school
games, even college games. uh... no chances are
looking for a good look at the the decent college
uh... you work in two men so we're not used to
that but yeah you know you can have a situation
where in the plate man if i hit the triple and
if the baseball card goes out on the ball that
plate man is coming from behind the plate and
and and cutting it you know around the mound
and and you know his responsibility to watch
you know for a second if there's a place third
but uh... so You know, it's a different game
completely. You know, we thought what a relief
it was to be working four -man. I'm sorry. You
know, you get the triple -A working three -man.
We thought what a relief that was until you get
the four -man. And then once you work four -man,
you know, there's nothing really like that. But
on occasion, and it happened to us this season,
where we had two umpires, Dan Bolino got hurt
and Tony Randazzo, uh... was working the plate
that left the game of the with the uh... concussion
and uh... alone but i think it's a little while
but uh... pulling his is uh... hamstring and
um... he said that i don't know i i'm not going
to leave the field because it's just the two
of you but i mean that i had run that will not
be heard he would have left but he said i think
he's working first he said i'm just gonna stand
at first i can't go anywhere else so it almost
was like working a two -man system But on occasion,
something like that happens. But never to be
down to two. But it's happened on occasion where
play -dump pile, get hit, leave the game, and
then you have to revert back to a three -man
system. And you kind of have to, it's much different
than what we're used to, but you just have to
adapt to it and adjust. But it's a huge difference
working just a two -man system, which most of
the minor leagues, with the exception of AAA,
is. I was told to ask you about art the Tasmanian
devil so Believe it or not my first professional
ejection was art Mazmanian and it was because
of Richie dawn He was working the basis. I was
working the plate. He had a play at second base
Art Mazmanian came out to argue and You know,
no big deal. This is typical. And as he's walking
back to the dugout, he passes me and he says,
your partner's outmatched out there. And I ran
him because I said, what are you talking about?
You're not going to talk about my partner like
that. So my first, I always, you never forget
your first, right? So Richie was my first partner
and he was the first ejection that I had was
defending him. Nice. All right, Phil. I'm going
to throw out a few things, too. We just want
to go, like, first thing that comes to your mind,
who were the worst managers you ever had to deal
with? The most unfair manager that I ever had
to deal with was Ozzy Guillen. Really? He would
just come out, and it didn't matter what happened,
what the play was. I never, I don't know how
many times I've ejected him, but I know that
I ejected him every time he came out except once.
He would just start calling your names and cursing
at you and never once talked about the play,
never once wanted to ask you about the play.
I even remember him blasting his own players
in the press. I had him as a player. He was jovial,
he was laughing, joking. Then he became a coach
and he was a little bit more standoffish. That
when he became a manager, you know, I think he
was just, you know, I wouldn't call him terrible.
I would just say he was very unfair. Phil, I
mean, the game's not played without you guys.
Often overlooked, easy to criticize, but the
game's not played without you guys. Who were
the managers that knew that and that handled
umpires with class, even when they were pissed
or wanted to fire their team up or whatever?
Yeah, you know, the flip side of of talking about
gian it is a guy like bobby cox bobby cox rejected
more than anybody in the history of the game
so you automatically think that umpires would
say all he was the worst he was the most difficult
but but he wasn't because he he got ejected and
he got ejected more than anybody but he was fair
and once it was over it was over and the next
day it was over and uh... you know so You know,
guys like that. And you know, you just want a
guy to be fair. You realize that everybody has
their own job to do, and their job is to defend
their players, and their job is sometimes to
be ejected. You know, I remember having Buck
Showalter when he was in Baltimore, and I missed
a play, a field play at third base. and he came
out and and he was just uh... i think that the
player was nick murkakis who was a good guy and
he was probably the type of a guy that didn't
argue very much or didn't question very much
that i remember and so buck felt as though he
had to come out to you know to defend him and
buck says I think you missed it, but what's going
to happen is, I'm going to stand and argue with
you for a little while, then I'm going to start
jumping up and down, acting like I'm really mad,
and that's going to cause you to eject me, and
then I'm going to jump up and down a little bit
more, and then I'm going to go away. I said,
OK. That's hilarious. Angry Jay here with us.
He loves the old Braves manager, if you know
what I mean. How about Bruce Bochy? Any dealings
with him? Like many, yeah. Bruce Boshy's gonna
be a Hall of Famer, no question about that. I
have to say that he was a little more grumpy
when he was younger, but as he got older, like
all of us, we mellowed a little bit, but he was
a fair guy. He would argue, he would get mad,
but he was fair, and he did it when he had to
do it, but he was a decent guy. Not gonna ask
you about every manager, obviously, but I gotta
have... You got to throw one more out there,
Lou Pennella. Lou Pennella, you know, I had him
in Seattle, I had him in Cincinnati. And, you
know, actually, you know, I do a charity dinner,
and I have a mystery guest every year. Lou, Lou
did my dinner one year, and he was great. He
was great. But he was, you know, I remember,
I think it was, I think it was, yeah, no, it
was when he was managing Cincinnati. And I was
working, I was a call -up umpire, so I was up
and down, still going back and up and down in
Chez Belay. I was working with Bruce Freming,
and turns out that after Cincinnati, we were
coming to New York, so I was flying home, and
Panela was on the same flight that I was. And
the night before, Bruce had an ejection of Panela,
arguing over his runner being out of the running
lane. And any time that that happens, I mean,
it's kind of black and white. He's inside the
lane, or he's not. And if he causes interference,
and he's out of the box, he's out. And the runners
return. But there's always an argument with that,
and oftentimes leads to an injection. And that
happened that night. So Luke Pennella was sitting...
And again, I was just up and down for, might
have been my first year or second year up and
down. And we're getting off the plane and I see
him and he thinks he recognizes me and I introduce
myself. I say, hey, Lou, I got to ask you about
the play that happened last night. And I kind
of explained it the way I just explained it to
you guys. And I said, You know, I mean, to me,
there was no question he was at. So what really
did you see that, you know, he said, oh, I don't
know. I was, I love Bruce Framing. He said, I
just, I just had to get ejected. And it was,
you know, so oftentimes it has nothing to do
with the, you know, yeah. I got to ask you this,
Phil, the, um, for a, for a player getting called
up to the major leagues, it's got to be like
a throw of a lifetime. So when you were, when
you got the call that you ran it, get them to
ump your first major league major league game
what was that like and where was the first game
obviously do you remember where it was uh my
first game yeah yeah it was in st louis against
the dodgers and it was uh june 4th 1991 just
before that i was in radchester new york And,
you know, the nice thing about the minor leagues,
you, as in the big leagues, but it was a little
bit different in the minor leagues because you
went to the cities more often because there were
so fewer cities. And every time that I went to
Rochester, I always went to this Italian restaurant
called Rocky's with a guy who worked at the ballpark,
an old timer, old Italian guy who was like an
usher. I never not had lunch with him and I just
had lunch with him and he was driving me back
and I got the call from Ed Vargo who was in charge
of the national league umpires at the time and
he told me that Randy Marsh twisted his ankle
and he's gonna be out for a little while and
I was gonna join how he won the stats crew. So
and the first game actually The first day I came
into town, we had the day off. So the guys all
went home, but I flew into the city. So I spent
my first night on an off day by myself in the
town. The guys told me where to go eat, and I
did. And the next day, my first assignment was
working first base. Joe Torey was the manager
of the Cardinals and I'll never forget it. It
was, that has to be, you know, getting that first
call is certainly a thrill of your career. So
Phil, it seems like you've had a lot of big thrills.
You look at your bio and you know, you've done
World Series games, multiple league championship
series, All -Star games. You've also been on
the crew for a couple of no -hitters. Like is
there one that's more nerve -racking than the
other? You know, the postseason is a different
animal altogether. The All -Star game is, you
know, it's exciting to do and it's an honor to
do. But any postgame is more, you know, there's
more electricity in the air, there's more pressure,
but it's nothing like work in the World Series.
You know, you look on the scoreboard and there's
only one game lit up. And, you know, I mean,
that's... That's what everybody is working towards
is to get to the World Series. Whether you're
a player, a coach, a manager, a trainer, the
groundskeepers, they want to get the World Series
at their home field as well. So everybody who's
on the field, front office too, I guess, we don't
have much feelings with them, but everybody's
trying to get to the World Series. And when you
get there, You know, you think about, you know,
as a kid, remember, like throwing a ball against
the wall and saying, okay, it's three and two,
game nine of the World Series. You know, you're
just thinking of that. And then here you are.
And then you're trying to tuck yourself down
saying, okay, it's just a regular game. It's
not a regular game. But, you know, after the
first couple of pitches, it is almost like a
regular game. That's the mindset that you have
to have. And I also read that you did, so you
did the last All -Star game at Yankee Stadium
in 2008, and then you did the very first game
at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009. Is that correct?
Yes. So how was, what was the paradigm like between
those two, like wrapping up the history at that
stadium, then opening it up with a new stadium?
Like how was that to be a part of both of those
scenarios? Yeah. You know, I think, you know,
maybe more for me because I grew up, you know
going to yankee stadium i i i mean i was a met
fan as well but i grew up a yankees and a met
fan and you know to show my age you know you
already mentioned uh... the the oldest umpire
of all time but i grew up you know mickey manor
roger maris and and you know those guys and and
uh... just uh... you know walking through the
the hallway to our locker room at the old yankee
stadium It was real narrow and a lot of bends
and turns. And I remember the first time like
walking through there saying, you know what,
like Babe Ruth walked through these same halls,
you know, Lou Gehrig walked through these same
halls, Joe DiMaggio. And it really, you know,
I mean, again, it may have meant more to me because
I grew up here, but, you know, it's, that's what
makes the game so great, really. It is a great
game. Phil, 2008 All -Star Game, Inky Stadium.
Is that the Josh Hamilton Home Run Contest? Yes.
Were you in attendance the day before for the
Home Run Contest? No, no. I was at a restaurant
downtown with my family. Restaurant, yeah. Okay.
I love a good restaurant. Phil, the Cole Hamels
no -hitter. July 25, 2015. Do you ever have a
contact with the catcher or pitcher from something
historic like that afterward, like sign a lineup
card, I don't know, anything or you just move
on business as usual? Yeah, I mean, it's business
as usual, you know, after that first night and
then maybe like the next day. But the interesting
thing about that no hitter was I had the plate
and I didn't even know that he was pitching a
no hitter. And I had heard that there were trade
rumors about Cole being traded to, I don't know
where he went after that. I don't know where
he went, but I just heard that he was on the
trade block. And after the last out, which if
you really remember was like a circus catch out
in left center field. And after that out was
made, you know, game's over and we're walking
off the field. And I see that Cole is mobbed
by his teammates. And the first thing I thought
of, you know, I said, I knew he was talking about
being traded. Are they just so happy for him
that he's going to a different team? And as I'm
walking off, I happen to look up at the scoreboard
and I saw zeroes. And I said, I didn't realize.
I just worked a no -hitter. That's awesome. Yeah,
I'm glad I didn't know. I didn't know and I'm
glad I didn't know. You know have you ever worn
a maroon blazer when working in nationally? No,
that was before my time and it was that was just
the American League guys were that American the
big balloon Yeah, how about the big chest protector?
Yeah, not in the big leagues no no I did it at
a you know when I first started out doing a freshman
high school game, but Yeah, when I went to umpire
school the the the There was that you could not
wear the balloon And the only guys that worked
were the guys that were grandfathered in to the
American League. Right. Phil, so you've had many
postseason assignments. Do they assign an entire
crew, or is the rating system such that you work
with new people once you get there? Yeah, it's
a completely new crew. Maybe, just by chance,
you may have a guy who you work with during the
season on the same crew. But it's an altogether
new cruise. OK. I mean, all you guys are pretty
probably proud of the work you do. So whether
ego or preference, do you or other umpires, do
you believe have a preference of doing the play
or hanging around third base? Well, you know,
that's the good thing about the job is that,
you know, every day is different, you know, so
we rotate clockwise. So if I had the plate today,
I'll be at third tomorrow, and then go around
the clock. But if there's a big game, you want
to have the plate. And there's some guys that
just, depending upon where they're starting in
the rotation of a postseason game, the series
might be over before they get to that. So I think
that any umpire who worked the World Series and
didn't get the opportunity to work a plate, I
feel confident to say that they're probably disappointed
about that. Okay. Can I just give you a little
word association? You don't have to talk loud
or long about these people. I'm going to throw
out some familiar names to the average baseball
fan and just a word or two. And if it's a negative
word, maybe you can expand. This first one might
be too old. I was gonna say Don Dankinger probably
did you work with him? I did not but you know
when I was coming up and down remember when I
first came up and first broke in I was working
National League and I Never did I've met Don
a real nice guy You know, it's it's a shame for
what he's remembered for and if replay was implemented
in his day You'd never even remember his name,
I'm sure. Todd Warwell does. How about Richie
Garcia? A great guy. I know Richie very well.
I've worked spring training games with him years
ago. He became a supervisor and he was like a
mentor. Just a great guy. If you have a question...
uh... you know uh... he's uh... you he's the
type of a guy that it is a richie i had a i had
a still play it uh... last night and i i missed
it i just didn't see it if they send me the tape
and there he would look it up or send the tape
and then say okay you're too close to the play
you know i mean he was he was good like that
yeah yes i mean there's there's some guys that
are that are are good Uh, like as a mentor, but
they can't really tell you why they take a play
where they do. Um, but Richie was good with positioning
and he was able to, uh, he, he, he helps any
umpire who asks him. As a, as a diehard Yankee
fan, I just want to say he got that call right
in 96 with, uh, Jared Jeter. Hell of a job by
him. Uh, Hunter Wendelstadt. Hunter was that
good guy we came up together I I never worked
the full season with hunter III May have worked.
I'm sure I worked the postseason game with him,
but you know come came from good stock his father
did it and You know, it was good good with the
rules and he was he was a good union guy It was
that the the umpire school you went to his dad's
or no? Uh, yes. Yeah, I just remember seeing
as a kid in the back of the sporting news, they
used to have the Harry Wendlsted umpiring camp.
I thought was kind of neat. Yeah. Phil, CB Buckner.
CB Buckner, great guy. Gets a bad rap. Um, you
know, got a lightning rod to the media, but um,
really is a good guy and a good partner. Choice.
Jimmy Joyce you're picking all the guys that
have had hard luck on the field. We all have
had it at one time or another Jimmy Joyce another
guy that you wouldn't you would never mention
his name if there was replay at that time and
yes Last I worked a couple of I've worked a couple
games with him here and there But never spent
the full season with the guy, you know, you never
really know a guy unless you work a full season
with him. You know? And, you know, it's the same
thing like, um, uh, whether a guy has a good
reputation or a bad reputation, and it seems
as though either, uh, people just kind of perpetuated
maybe without even real... I'm not talking about
the fans. You know, I'm talking about us as,
you know, other umpires. You know, like, um...
You know, somebody may say, oh, this guy is a
great umpire. Oh, yeah. And then the next guy
says, well, yeah, I never worked with him. I
heard he's a great umpire. Yeah, he's a great
umpire. But unless you work with the guy every
day and see him how he performs and how he prepares
every single day, you're really not qualified
to make a judgment on a guy. I can tell you that,
you know, you mentioned guys that have had rough
plays. I am in that category as well. Every guy
misses a play that he wished that he didn't.
That's just the nature of the beast. Did you
ever work a full season with Angel? Not in the
big leagues. I worked a couple seasons with him
in the minor leagues. In the Southern League.
And Angel is a great guy. He would give you the
shirt off his back. Again, lightning rod to the
media. And that's all I can say about it. I know
him as a person. I know him as an umpire. He
had some hard luck. I don't know how he did it
night after night sometimes. You know, he really
is a stand -up guy if you knew him. You work
with Brian Onora? I work a lot of games with
Brian Onora, yes. He couldn't have played baseball,
is all I'm saying. Just an observation, I'm just
saying. Yeah, well I don't know if he played
or not, I don't know. Phil, fans are stupid sometimes.
I actually hate when these fans are heckling
players, especially umpires. Have you ever heard
one that's actually so good or original that
you gotta just laugh about it? Yeah, yeah, sometimes.
I remember in the minor leagues, it was in Memphis
and there were these two brothers and they would
never get on us but they got on every player
of the opposing team. and but the one guy would
would would say a line in the other guy would
repeat it or he would be you know so so they're
big line i remember and how many years ago that
i remember to this day where uh... uh... somebody
would come up with opposing team and they would
say You couldn't hit water if you fell out of
a boat. And his brother would say, yeah, if you
fell out of a boat. And he would do that all
game long. That's pretty good. That's awesome.
Hey, Phil, I don't know if you know, but you
got nominated in 2019 for one of the ejections
of the year when you ran Brett Gardner for the
bat tapping and the dugout. I guess he was maybe
picking on a minor leg umpire. So you stepped
up and. Kind of Ted said enough is enough and
got him out of here. Do you remember that? Well,
yeah, I don't remember that I was nominated for
But I do remember the the the incident for sure
Yeah, and and he had done it before I think that
was his about his third time that he may have
done it I saw it on TV and I think the first
time may have been in Toronto, you know, the
funny thing about it was that people like forget
fans but even like people in the media said well
gee whiz you know i got ejected for for banging
a bat i i don't think there's anything in the
rule book about you know that you can't bang
the bat on the top of the dugout or cause this
to be ejected and i'm saying like they you know
they don't get it you know they just don't get
like it doesn't say that it doesn't it doesn't
say in the rule book that that if you throw a
tomato at an umpire on the field you're going
to get ejected either but you know that if you
do that you're going to get ejected But, um,
you know, I, and they also said, you know, he's
just showing his feelings. If he did it after
his teammate hit a home run, or if an infielder
or an outfielder made a diving catch to Sarah's
leap at the wall to save a home run, no problem.
But he only did it when he was... disagreed with
an umpire's call, whether it was a strike or
a play. And I said, you know what? It can't go
on because the kids in Williamsport will be doing
it next. You know? I'm a Yankee fan. I love Brett
Gardner, but he had to go that day. He was showing
somebody up. Didn't matter who it was. He got
to go. Yeah. He ran CCL that day too. I love
CCL. That day? Did you run C .C. Sabathe out
the same day? Was that the same day? Yes. It's
good memory down. How about this? I want to ask
you about the new rules. Like I'm old school.
Jay, I got to do one more. Go ahead. Fact or
fiction? Were you part of a brawl where eight
players were ejected and it happened to be the
one where Pedro Martinez hit Gerald Williams
on the hand and Gerald went out to the mound
to see what was going on? were you were you on
that game that that was my birthday um on august
29th back in i forget the year you may have the
year but but i think there were more than eight
uh got ejected that day i don't remember but
but the first one was Pedro hitting Gerald yes
and then it's just It went crazy from there.
Is it true that Pedro was whining like a little
person, I was going to say, at the bottom of
the pile saying, get off me, get off me. Was
that true? I heard that. These are Yankee fans,
Phil. These are Yankee fans, just so you know.
I can't confirm or deny that, no. Thank you.
Thank you. Sorry, Angry Jay. Go ahead. Phil,
I want to ask about the new rules. Like, you've
been... doing this for a long time when they
first came into play i'm old school i don't like
any of them i'm not i hate the i hate the throw
over thing the pitchcock is to me it's okay now
i mean i'll admit i did hate it i hate the new
bases What are your thoughts on all that? I really
dislike the ghost runner on second. Terrible.
Do you care about any of the rules about the
new things? And I got to ask about the strike
thing coming in next year. I mean, I know you
can only say so much, but do you like any of
it? Or you just go along with it all? I like
the clock. Well, you know, there's been so many
changes. since i started and and when you first
hear about it like you know replay you know i
remember replay just but first came out with
boundary call it was just a little bit of a well
yeah yeah just home runs and and you know and
and and that returned it really was helpful because
especially a lot of these new stadiums the fans
are so close and sometimes you can't get a look
whether the fan touched the ball like you know
it was a home run that he touched it and you
know and and so that turned out to be helpful
and we're skeptical i was at first you know because
uh... i i i consider myself a purest of the game
because i said you know it's not but then that
turned out to be okay and then you say well okay
we're going to go from here and we we see where
where it is gone and i described replay as helpful
like a medication can be helpful but there's
a side effect to every medication right that's
pretty old The side effect to replay is the guy
who hits a double and he's safe by by two three
feet to the point from my point of view I'm not
even making I'm making a very casual safe call.
And then all of a sudden they're holding you
up and then you see the manager, you know, cupping
his ears to take a look at it. And then as soon
as that happens, and I've been at both ends of
that, on the field as well as on the headset
in the replay room, and as soon as that happens,
you say he had to bounce off the bag, you know,
in the air while the runner held the glove on
him for a split second. for, you know, and you
look at the replay and you say, okay, you know,
I can't be mad about missing that one because
it was, I mean, it was so, you can't see that
in real time. And in the replay room, you say,
I see it, you know, in super slow motion and
I have to overturn it, but it hurts me to do
it, you know? So, as far as replay goes, you
know, that's that. As far as the, you mentioned
the larger base at first, We said, oh, it does
look like a pizza box. But after a while, we
don't even notice that now. And I'm sure even
the fan doesn't even notice it anymore. As far
as the pitch clock goes, I said, oh, this is
going to be bad. I mean, the beauty of our game
was that we never had a clock. And then all of
a sudden, you know, and anything that comes new,
there's always, there's growing pains and there's
just, you know, everyone adjusts and everyone
does. And then what I realized about it was,
after you kind of got used to it, because in
the very beginning, you know, you're looking
at the clock and they say, no, here comes the
pitch. But then, you know, and then we had these,
these, you know, these backpacks that we're wearing
now and earpieces and You know, if the clock
goes to zero, it'll buzz. But when I realized
it, and after I got used to it, where the newness
was gone, and it took a half hour off game times,
then I said, you know, this is like going back
to the 60s when a pitcher just got the ball.
You know, you look at the old clips. Pitcher
got the ball, took a sign, and threw. And that's
what they're doing now. You know, they have to
do that now. So in that sense, you know, after
we adjusted to it, you know, I think it was great
to cut a half hour off the game time. Yeah. Now
you could get two beers in a pizza and be on
by two o 'clock. How about, how about, yeah,
just real quick. How about real quick, just like
next year, the challenge with the strike, is
that going to be kind of like the same thing?
You think we're, I mean, it's going to be hard
for a home plate umpire if a guy can just step
out of the batter's box and tap his head. Yeah.
Any thoughts on that? You know, we experimented
with it in spring training last year, and you
know, it was very different. That was probably
the biggest change of any that I've gone through
in my career. And you know, pitcher, catcher,
hitter, the only three that can challenge it
and has to be done right now. And you know, again,
I don't have a crystal ball, but You guys see
it if you watch games where the catcher is trying
to frame every pitch to look like a strike, right?
Yep. And I can show you video where the pitch
comes in at the knee just off or just on the
corner. And he's pulling the pitch to center
high. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Very
nice. I think that you're going to see the opposite
with this. I think he's going to take that borderline
pitch and slap it to the ground to try to make
it look like a ball. And that's just my feeling.
Does it make me right? Time will tell. but i
think that there you know there there there's
gamesmanship in everything right you know the
catches the catcher's job is i think in a try
to make like a like a borderline strike look
like a ball for the hitter may challenge it but
i think it's a big adjustment is going to be
they're going to be much more selective about
when they challenge the only going to get to
from what i understand so uh... you know we don't
hear uh... you know i i i think there's going
to be guys uh... you know that that uh... their
manager is going to say you cannot challenge
you know and uh... yeah and i think that they're
going to have to be selective you know you're
going to have to save it until you know you have
tying run on second in the eighth inning as opposed
to you know an 0 -2 pitch in the bottom of the
first so we'll see what happens it's going to
be interesting i i i i fear that perhaps there's
going to be more walks because again The hitters
are that good. They're going to adjust to it.
And they're not going to, you know, what was
the first thing you learned in Little League?
Well, if the pitch is closed, foul it off. If
you don't think you can hit it, foul it off.
They're not going to have to foul off the closed
pitch anymore because they're going to know it's
going to be a ball. And, you know, again, everyone
may not be have that kind of an eye, but a lot
of them do, you know, and they're good. These
guys are good. And what that will lead to, I
believe, is longer game times. Matt, that's insightful.
That's awesome. Well, your answer was awesome.
Phil, going way back to probably when you first
broke in when the neighborhood play is tough
now on middle infielder, seeing that they could
go to New York and prove that maybe the second
baseman or shortstop isn't actually on the base
when they catch the ball. It kind of, like when
you said before, the side effects. You also can't
go out of your way to crush a middle infielder
anymore. Were you in the game when the Hal McRais
of the world could still... No, no way, Hal McRais.
Who was the meanest guy going in the second to
break it up? Albert Bell, somebody like that?
Like, who was the meanest guy that a shortstop
or second baseman didn't want to see coming?
Yeah, I mean, we've seen clips of both of the
guys that you mentioned, you know. We saw the...
Devastating one with with Chase Utley who was
a great guy and you know That's just the way
the game was played and and it was a good it
was it was a good move that they made by You
know by not allowing that to happen So yeah,
I mean I could still break it up. You just got
to slide into the base, right? Yeah, you can
fly hard, you know, which you can't you know,
you can't slide late You know you you can't you
know, you can't You can't do what Chase Utley
did. You have to slide to the base. You can't
slide past the base. You can't slide so far to
the side of the base that you can't reach the
base. And you have to be able to hold the base.
And those are good changes. You've been awesome,
Phil. Thanks for coming on. Just a couple last
questions. You said you're a purist. You said
you love baseball. Before you realized you didn't
know it all, you thought you knew it all. So
you're a baseball guy. But you have a job to
do. Maybe on the bases or on an off day or when
you're in New York and you're you've seen these
guys up close Who are the pitchers in your career?
That like didn't throw like in a pitch like no
hitters like in one two hitters Who are the guys
you knew were out there and like they were just
really tough to beat and they were coming after
you Yeah, you know I would say Clements for sure,
you know, I would say uh... of what holiday i
mean he he would he would be done and i i always
work spring training in the clear war area so
i have the fillies a lot and fillies and blue
jays as well there you know in the same neighborhood
so when he was with the Toronto and philly same
thing i i i saw him a lot he actually got mad
if he gave up a hit in spring training but that
that that's really not how much of a competitor
you know he was and uh... You know, I mean, it
was just all about preparation and, you know,
it was... He was the competitor. Those are two
great names. How about hitters? Who have you
seen step in there and be like, this pitcher
has no shot here? I would say going back to when
I started, I would say... What's his name? from
San Diego Tony Who was it Tony Gwynne Tony Gwynne
absolutely. Yeah, he was just a pure hitter and
Like he just kind of did magic with the bat.
It looked like and yeah, that was the first You
know, he was the first person that I saw like
up close as a hitter and said oh This guy knows
what he's doing. I'm gonna be okay when he gets
older That was tremendous, Phil. I want to ask
you one last one, Phil. Odd rules. I remember
as a kid watching a game and I was at old Tiger
Stadium and I forgot who the Tigers were playing,
but Sparky Anderson was on top of the rules and
there was a ball in the dirt. The catcher blocked
it and it rolled in front of him and the catcher
used his mask just to pull the ball back to him.
yeah, and he just picked it up and threw it back
to the mount and Sparky Anderson came out and
he was just talking to the umpires and the umpires
got together and I believe there was a kind of
first is it two bases or it was it was a three
back then and use it because it was using a piece
of equipment one base for a pitch ball. Yeah
two for a thrown ball and Well, assuming you
like you throw your glove at the ball, you know
Yeah. And three, if it's a batted ball. Yeah.
Well, he just used his mask to pull it back to
him so he could throw it back to the pitcher.
That's right. It was three bases, I believe.
The guys from first scored. I just thought it
was so bizarre. I think it should be take your
equipment off to do it or something like that.
Well, he took his mask off, so I guess he did
take it off. Phil, if the ball gets stuck in
your equipment, what's the rule there? Yeah,
if it gets stuck, then it would be one base on
a pitch ball. In your equipment, the umpire.
Yes. You got to get out of the way. Both ways.
Phil, we're called the bristle boys. We'll be
sending you this. You are fantastic, our second
umpire we've had on. If any of your other boys
want to come on, we're down to talk baseball.
I can do this all night. I really appreciate
it. Phil, it's Jeff. I'll get you the recording
of this in a day or two. I'll shoot it over to
you. Thank you so much for coming on. That was
good. It was fun, guys. It was a lot of fun.
How about Phil Cussey? Yeah, you're the best.
Thanks, Phil. Thank you, man. Thank you. Both
ways. Clank, clank, clank. Thank you, guys. Thanks
so much, Phil. Appreciate it. Part two of our
December 10th episode We have a visitor in the
studio and it is none other than we'll see if
you got if you guys could guess this one Connecticut
State champion baseball coach three times within
ten years maybe within eight years or nine years
Thanks for having us or me All right, we got
a baseball guy in the studio we've already had
Phil cozy on let's do a real quick who'd you
rather Yankees, Sox, Mets. And I guess just whatever
team you might root for. I couldn't imagine it's
a different team than that, living around here.
But who would you rather? Real quick, Kyle Tucker,
Cody Ballinger, go. Tucker. Tucker. Tucker. Tucker.
Wow. I don't want any of the one. OK. Who would
you want? Who would you rather? Who would you
rather? I want either one. You got to pick one.
I can't say Dominguez. So who would you rather
out of two guys? There's one guy I would take.
Hold on. It's your segment. Tucker or Ballinger.
And you guys all want Tucker? I want Ballinger.
What about Tatis in a trade? Another right -hander.
Well, he'd bring a little energy that we might
lack. That'd be electric. We need some electricity
in a ballpark. I just want to play it that make
us all right. How about scoobler scenes? That
was a good one coach I'm going skeins if I jumped
I say someone He's only cuz he younger not by
a landslide though skeins because of who he's
gonna bring with him and his girlfriend Yeah,
exactly exactly coach How about school bull and
that cavernous Left field though. I mean, he's
a he's a lefty. They're gonna stack righties,
you know No, are you asking us to confirm the
answers? We just gave you is that where you're
asking? Are you sure you want schemes? Forget
it Speaking of school ball. I know we talked
a little bit Off the mic about the Mets and the
Dodgers Dodgers picking up DS today some trade
rumors. I saw this afternoon was the Dodgers
are involved With Scoop will talk. Yeah, so that
would be depressing. That'd be fun. There should
be a rule that they have to trade Shohei or the
glass. I can't really blame the Dodgers, though,
because the Dodgers are what the Yankees used
to be. They play the roles they give you. It's
just annoying as a non Dodgers fan. Magic Johnson
and his group are the new George. Yes. Pick a
Japanese player. I don't even care if you can
pronounce the name. Do you want the pitcher,
the first baseman, or the third baseman? Go.
Pitcher. I'll take Murakami to hit her. That's
Babe Ruth? Yeah. He's the third baseman? Yeah.
I think he strikes up a lot. I don't know if
the Eagles need that. We don't need that. We
don't need that. Learn from the Blue Jays. I
want the pitcher. Never have enough pitching.
We got a lot of it. Yeah, but what are you going
to do with McMahon at third? That's what I'm
saying. 188 eight bottoms All right, how about
this one? I think this is a fair one. I think
you're all gonna jump on the lefty quick But
as far as the age, I think this is a good one
Alonso or Schwerber? I lost the Schwerber already
signed. So he signed today. Filly's five years.
It would have been him though. Five years 150
or five years 160. Good move by the Sox letting
him go Well, the Sox will probably get Alonzo.
All right. How about Bregman or Bichette, left
side guys? Bichette. I hate them both. I don't
want to. You got to pick one. You made me pick
one. I hate both of them. You made me pick one.
Whoever's a shorter contract so we can get out
of it. Bregman. Bregman because he's placed third
base. All right. Bichette's going to be 250 in
a couple of years or waddling around as a DH.
So Jay wants Bregman. Just everybody. Jay wants
Bregman. So Couple Baseball things just because
of our Our great guest tonight coach Vic Rinaldi
umpire Phil Cousy I'm gonna give a quick preview
into not say what but just a few baseball quotes
about umpires and You know respect to our one
of our guests What legendary player and manager
for New York Yankee said, um, he was safe. Even
my watch saw it and it's not working. Famous
quote guy. Yogi. Absolutely. Yogi. Yogi. How
about this Orioles manager said, here. Oh no,
he was arguing with an umpire and the umpire
said, here, look at my rule book. And Orioles
said, I don't read Braille. I'm gonna go Weaver.
Terrible move my game. This one I'm not saying,
I'm not even gonna say what its nickname was
at third base, but this pirate, well among other
teams, this pirate said if that was a strike
I'm the Queen of England and I need to get the
memo. Third base Pirates, Bill Mella, Mad Dog.
Bill Mella. Bill Mella, you got it. Okay, we
are flying, and now we're gonna get into Coach
Vic Rinaldi. Three -time state champion. Coach,
little bit of history here. You and I used to
go at it back in your virtual league days. That's
right. You were the head coach of Lewis Mellos.
What do you mean, go at it? Well, his team would
cheat, and mine would play by the rules, and
we would see who would not. Hey, before we get
this started, he used to tear you up. Like, he
said nothing good about you, but... That is not
true at all. I've given him props on the show
before. I'm used to it. That's fine. Yeah, no,
we started back in, what, 2006. You were already
there for a couple years. at Thomaston and then
yeah 2006 was my first year at Mills I wasn't
the head coach yet you weren't that's right that's
Skons was the head coach my first year and then
you I think took over when in 08 08 and then
won a state title yourself in 2009 all by myself
all by yourself all by yourself that's right
all by yourself in 09 and uh yeah and then I
stopped coaching in 2012 uh didn't think I was
gonna go back to coaching but uh opportunity
presented itself and worked out pretty well and
what an opportunity it was yeah it was nice st
paul treated me is treated me great um so it's
been a fun uh fun nine ten years i don't even
know how long i've been there now well you got
three ships so yeah well we've had a lot of talent
a lot of talent we still have a lot of talent
coming back so coach i think not to put me down
i think not this coming spring which you're i'm
not looking past the season in any way i think
you'll be phenomenal and you'll make a run. I
think that following year, your pitchers are
going to be almost unbeatable. Well, Degada will
be back. You know, Kobe's already committed to
East Carolina after his sophomore season. Unfortunately,
you know, had an injury this summer, had to have
Tommy John, but he'll be in the lineup. He'll
hit and he'll work his way back. I know he's
going to work hard, but yeah, having him back.
Then you'll have two juniors backing him up,
at least that I know of. You probably have more.
Evan Judenis, he was a freshman last year, a
sophomore this year. We have a lot of young arms
coming up, so it's going to be exciting. Coach,
I'm not going to do the old... You've got to
be kidding me. I'm not going to do the old, well,
your job's easy because you get kids from many
towns to things. But do you even have to bother
looking for them, or do they just find their
way to St. Paul? Are you kidding me? I think
we get a lot of guys from the Southington area.
I don't know if it's because we have a small
school atmosphere, smaller classroom, but we
do get a lot of guys from Southington. uh...
not many bristol guys we get a couple you know
couple bristol guys but uh... you know uh...
we do get players from sidington and you know
other towns let me rephrase the question are
you out there looking for these guys or they
just come the same ball? no everyone everyone
thinks that we're out there recruiting uh...
you know uh... i live in thompson i have a sixteen
fifteen -year -old boy who's soon to be sixteen
You know, two, three sports himself. I have a
daughter who plays two or three sports. So no,
we're not out looking for players. One, I don't
have the time. And two, that's not what we do.
But some coaches do. It's within the rules, right?
I wouldn't say baseball really is that sport,
but a little bit. There's a school in Waterbury
that might do that. That's what I was looking
for, yeah. Yeah, I mean. There are some rumors
out there, but yeah, we are not looking for players
actively. I think the school does a good job
academically and having the talent that we've
had and players that we have come in, it does
help with newer players coming in from those
towns that have watched them from the same town
play Little League and now they're over at St.
Paul. So it does help getting those players in.
But yeah, I mean you got division one pitchers
division three players up and down and you have
two that are under minor league contracts as
Like right now, right? Yeah, I mean the program
is pretty much recruiting for itself Yeah, no,
I think I think the program is doing you know
doing pretty well for itself. Um Yeah, Daniel's
drafted by the you know drafted by the twins
But you know, we do have we do have another talented
class that's in this year as you know, they're
a freshman class So we we want to keep it going
a lot of credit goes to the coaches. We have
we have a really good freshman coach in Mike
Church that does a great job with the freshman.
He's your freshman coach? Mike Church is our
freshman coach. Yeah. Yeah. Last year was his
first year. He does a great job with them. You
know, my assistant, Jared Stowers, he was there
before me. He's the reason why I ended up at
St. Paul. He's been the pitching coach there
since 09, I believe. So, Jared does a great job
with the pitchers. Bob Hanson is another assistant
and our JV coach. Jared Zima does an awesome
job. So, I think our coaching... fix a glove.
He can fix a glove but I think they do a good
job developing these guys and of course you know
our players do do a good job of playing in the
offseason and working out you know all year round
which is good and then also bad in itself I think
you know another thing you know we could talk
about is I like to talk about is some of these
these arm injuries these these kids are having
because when you and I played I didn't know anyone
that had arm issues or had Tommy John. Right,
Tommy John's the only one. And everyone thinks
it's pitchers throwing too many pitches and the
pitch count thing. I just think these guys are
training year round and not giving their arms
enough rest. A lot of it goes, when they're done
playing high school ball, they're off to a showcase
in Virginia or North Carolina or Florida playing
in these showcases and not taking a break. playing
all summer long, fall showcases, and then maybe
they take the month of December off and then
they're back out and back in their throne, you
know, in January, February, and March getting
ready for the high school seasons. But no, I
saw a video, I don't know what facility, but
it was like two weeks ago, right around Thanksgiving.
They had kids crow hopping into a net with a
radar gun. Like, what are we doing? Well, is
it the problem? This pure velocity is all they're
trying to get right because they know if they
hit a magic number, right? Yeah, they can't maybe
hit the strike zone. But if I throw 90 at 15,
it's all about spin right now, man But you know,
I talked to coach hunt about this, you know,
um black glafer is 40 and over team in the summer
and we talked about You know the arm injuries
and he said the same thing, you know, these kids
don't you know, they're they're they're not taking
enough time off in between seasons. They're just
training year round, and that's why these guys
are getting hurt. You see so many more injuries.
It's not the kids fault though. No, no, I totally
agree with that. I totally agree with that. I
mean, you know, my son plays soccer here in Bristol
for, you know, Leschick's place, Leschick Rona,
plays for Ajax, and it's, you know, year round.
You know, it's a year round commitment. you know
so it's it's not it's not the kids fault it's
parents fault i'm you know i'm part of the problem
just the parents it's all adults it's all adults
yeah you know what should be encouraged is playing
as many sports as possible all the time you know
or play in season sports right and have to be
a priority there's nothing worse than a high
school kid in the winter who's tells their basketball
or wrestling coach or indoor track coach that
they won't be here one weekend because i'm going
to a showcase right oh oh you are and then for
what right to post it on instagram so that you
can then quit yeah well i mean jesus we had that
problem like my my wife and i had we ran into
that issue this weekend you know thompson basketball
had practice sunday morning and our son had a
Quote -unquote college showcase soccer tournament
in December in Middletown. He had two games Saturday
and then a game Sunday morning He didn't go to
his game Sunday morning. He went to basketball
practice, you know, he's in season we had a conversation
with with him and he's gonna have the conversation
with his soccer coach and Tell him that you know,
I'm playing basketball. It's basketball season
and I'll be a practice and indoor games when
I can We always got to get a Thomas and basketball
reference in here A life. That conversation won't
go easy with the soccer premiere. It won't. It
won't. It won't. But that's what I'm saying.
It won't. It won't. Don't mess it up, man. Leave
the kids alone, man. I agree with you. Wholeheartedly.
I've seen it a thousand times and they'll tell
you I'm a fan of multi -sport athletes and when
it comes to your kid leaving their program to
attend that multi -sport, that other sport, it's
an issue. It always is. It's too bad. I'm a realistic,
we talk about parents all the time, like sometimes
having unrealistic goals for their kids. I'm
realistic as it comes. My son is going to, if
he's going to go to college, he's going to get
an education. If he's lucky enough to play a
little soccer, maybe at a D3 school, great, but
he's not going, you know, division one. Definitely
not going to be a division one basketball player.
So, you know, we're just going to try to get
him through high school. And if he's lucky enough
to play some soccer in college, great. If he
doesn't, he gets college education, gets a good
job. You know, that's what we're looking for.
Well, the four year high school window isn't
good enough for people anymore. And I don't understand
it. Like it's all about the You know, the bragging
rights for what your kid's doing in the Instagram
posts, and I guess fake book too. Very few of
them are talented enough to go Division 1, like
the Don Father's daughter, called for at Le Moyne.
But no, legit, she's doing that. Like, that's
not for everybody. It comes with a talent, number
one, support system, and then... Just a little
realism. Not seriously. Realism. No, that's a
good word. Yeah, realism. But yeah, a lot of
those commitments that you read about is, I think,
a lot about the social media posts of the parents.
Just putting it out there to make sure everyone
knows that their son or daughter committed to
a certain school. I love the testimony. How hard
Suzy worked for this. She's realizing her dream.
Coach Rinaldi. We had Major League umpire Phil
Poseon tonight. How would you rate yourself in
terms of dealing with game officials? And I know
it's tough in baseball. I mean, one pitch could
be the game. So Phil brought up, I think it was
Bruce Bochy. He said he was a little rougher
when he was younger around the edges. And then
as he got older, kind of developed a little bit
better relationship with the officials. started
coaching. My one and only ejection was against
Thomas in 2006, my first year. And I was 25,
26 years old at the time, a lot younger. So obviously
over time, you kind of learn that arguing calls
is not going to change the call. You kind of
have to pick your spots. And I don't necessarily
go out there and... Yell at umpires maybe like
I used to and go out there and more have more
of a conversation Maybe buy a call later down
the road, but I tend to I think I have a pretty
good relationship a pretty I was pretty happy
this year, not only did we win the state championship,
but also from the Hartford board, we were awarded
the sportsmanship award for... But that never
happens. Yeah, so we were awarded the sportsmanship
award, so we were really proud of that. And a
lot of credit for that goes to Cal Chance. So
if anyone is listening and knows about our team,
Cal Chance was our four -year starter. He was
our catcher. three out of his four years. His
first year as a freshman started at third base
for us for the 22 state championship team. But
he set the standard for us and set the tone early
on. Would always introduce himself to the home
plate operator with a handshake. How you doing?
Good afternoon, Blue. My name is Cal Chance.
I'm going to be protecting you today. Every game.
Every game. And Young Pirates after the game
would be like, that kid's awesome. He's the best
catcher I've ever had, you know, I've ever called
the game with. Not only the way he plays, but
his personality. Great kid. just a great kid
and uh you know sorry to see him go like obviously
he graduated the share but uh love cal i remember
when you didn't recruit him down at we don't
we don't recruit we don't recruit i get it um
what a great kid and i heard he's doing well
doing really well doing really well um i actually
texted him when uconn played him early in the
year for basketball and i think the score was
I was 43 to 3 in the first quarter. And I texted
him. I said, Cal, they might, you know, UMass
may need you on the basketball court just as
much as they need you on the baseball field.
And he was like, man, he's like, they were pretty
bad that night. But yeah, I was like 43 to 3.
And I texted him. But he's doing great. I heard
he did pretty well in the weight room, too. Yeah.
No one's going to outwork him. No one's going
to outwork Cal on the field or in the weight
room. Yeah. They got a special player at UMass
Lowell. Coach, I give you some credit with the
job of a high school baseball coach, especially
that school year size. The catcher before him,
I think went to New Haven. Casey Ceruto. Just
interned with me in my office. And that year,
or two of those years, one of those years, another
one of the better catchers in Connecticut. You
had a need at first And on the mound and you
ended up going Davis figuring out where so My
point is coach took a catcher put him at first
base. He ended up being one of his top two pictures
He was he was see how he was our He was probably
considered, we had that year we were like one
A and one, we had one and one A. And I think
you lost in the finals that year. We lost in
the finals, yeah. So you took a team to the finals,
you put a catcher at first and pitched them.
And this is what class S coaches do. And again,
going back to adults ruining stuff for kids,
they're travel coaches, maybe they're, I don't
know who, but like you come in and say, oh, I
play left field. Well, no, you don't. You play
where we tell you you're going to play. Right.
That happens every year. Oh, I play short. Play
short. Everyone's a shortstop. Actually, you
play center right now, because that's where I
wrote you in Atlanta. Right. Everyone's a shortstop.
Everyone bats third for their summer teams, because,
you know, mommy and daddy are counting to check.
Because there's five million of them. Well, you
have a 15 -year -old or a 16 -year -old coming
to play for varsity, and we do play some of our
younger guys, but we plug them into the lineup
where they fit our needs. So when your 15 year
old Say sophomore is coming up Yeah, maybe he's
playing playing shortstop for his 15 you team
when he's playing against other 15 you teams
But when he's coming up the varsity is playing
the sophomore. He's not gonna be a shortstop
You know and Again that rings true, you know,
there seems to be like an a you or travel team
on every street corner now, so That happens a
lot too. So I I know I kind of have an idea of
what type of player I'm getting if just just
Trying to get an understanding of how many travel
teams that players played for in the last four
years You know, I had someone a couple years
ago and He played for four different travel teams
in four different summers because you know the
coaches didn't like them Well, I don't think
it was at the coaches it was anything personal
They just you know, you didn't like where they
were playing you were batting you in the lineup
So you're gonna go out and find another team
So we kind of knew what type of player was coming
into the program, so. Coach, wish you continued
success. Boy, am I a big supporter of the St.
Paul Falcons. We appreciate it. We appreciate
it. Hoping Shawn comes out for the team this
year. He'd be a great addition to the team. It
hits bottoms. Listen, I've been trying to get
him to play the last two years. Hits like Jesus.
Fields like Judas, throws like Mary. I didn't
say that. That was a compliment. I know a kid
named Mary that's got to help her. Coach, you're
going to join us with these next few segments,
but we're going to turn it over to the Don father.
Don father, where are we going next? We got some
great football. We got some great basketball.
But I want to start with, I think everybody in
front of them has a sheet or always somebody
has a sheet. We're going to start with a grid
right now. It's a little grid challenge. You're
going to eliminate a player on this list. We'll
go around the table. This is career fantasy points
for wide receivers. It's PPR format. No, it's
not every receiver ever. So for those thousands
listening, we're going to run through them. Calvin
Johnson, Keenan Allen, Tyree Kill, Chad Johnson,
Wes Welker, Julio Jones, DHOP, Devonte Adams,
Mike Evans, Brandon Marshall. The question is,
who has the most career fantasy points. So what
I want to do is knock one off. So I'm going to
start with angry since he's next to me. Eliminate
one person off the list that you're confident
you're going to say there's no way this person
has the most fantasy points on this list. By
the way I was wrong when I looked at these. I
did not guess the person who had the most. Chad
Johnson. Okay that is correct. Chad Johnson on
this list is actually second lowest in career
fantasy points. So we're going to Vic. Brandon
Marshall. You're correct. He is eliminated. He
was third on the list in points. But you're still
correct. Kevin Crocker. You guys want to combine?
You want to go separate? What do you want to
do? I'm my own man. OK. I have no idea. Welker.
He was the low man on the list. Okay, so that
was the best guess. Low man on the list. Wes
Walker is eliminated. Crocker? No, Dehop. Dehop
is second on the list, so you are living dangerously,
my friend, but Dehop does get eliminated. So
after round one, we got one more. Mac? You just
got to go with the length of the career, Julio?
He was the one I picked. He was fourth on the
list in points. So we've gone around the horn
once, and there's only one, two, three, four,
five left. So are we going to make it around?
I doubt it. We got Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson.
Keenan Allen. Terry Kill. Devante and Mike Evans.
So angry, say Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson.
You are correct. He was actually second to last
on the list because of. Longevity of career,
right? I mean this as of this like this week
as of now as of this morning rushing I have a
pretty good idea who number one is But I'm not
gonna say you want me to give you my guy now.
Yeah, Mike Evans That's right. You're eliminating.
Yeah Correct, and he is number three on the list
all time You got number two or three and four
I think vector coach, right? So we got left Keenan
Allen Tyree kill Devante Adams, who is the all
-time leader in fantasy points? Who is or is
not? You want to guess who's not as your guess.
Change the rules now. I'll go with Terry Kell.
That is correct. So there's only two left. Terry
Kell was one, two, three, four, five, sixth.
Okay. There's only two left, so Matt is in. I'm
going to go Devante Adams. You are incorrect.
I have him to cheer. When this list came out
four weeks ago, D -Hop was number one. Devante
was number two. Where's Keenan on the list? Keenan's
2505. Seventh out of ten, but they're all in
the ballpark and Wes Walker was a little lower
behind in Chad Johnson Everybody else is pretty
close. I mean you take those two stints that
Kenan had out I mean he's had a dynamite career.
These are Devante was a is a hundred over D hop
so Devante by the way to put in perspective as
2900 points fantasy points in his career. How
many do you think Jerry Rice had? Jerry Rice
played for a while. How many points do you have?
2 ,900, Devontae. Out of these guys, he's all
for rent. No. You know what? I'm going to say
lower. I'm going to say 2 ,200. 5 ,600. Wow.
That was a trick question. Jerry Rice had 2 ,500
more points than anybody else on this list. Moss
had 3 ,600. How about this? Where did Devontae
Adam go to school? Wherever David Carr went,
Fresno State. Correct. There you go. Good guess.
Good guess. It's not a guess. How does somebody
guess Fresno State? You wouldn't even guess they
have football. Hey, not who would you rather,
but who had more fantasy points? Actually, it's
pretty obvious. Brandon Aubrey. You've probably
seen this recently though, because kickers are
going ballistic this year. More points. Brandon
Aubrey or Justin Jefferson this year? Fantasy
one catch for five yards Brandon Aubrey, Saquon
Barkley after last night. Well, because there's
a question Aubrey Aubrey Aubrey Aubrey Austin
Gentey Aubrey Aubrey's he has more points than
three first -round draft picks in everybody's
league a kicker Well, I knew I'm a Giants fan
I knew that 64 yard or whatever he hit in week
two I knew that was gonna be good. You just know
No one misses a kick against a Giants only thing
worse than a kicker having more points than three
first -run picks is the NFL having a bye week
in week 14 Give me a break How do you have a
week week 14 absolutely atrocious that's just
a dawn father side note but if I had more trivia
Mac so I want to see if anybody at this table
can guess the four quarterbacks with the most
passing yards in the game this year four quarterbacks
with the most passing yards single game this
year to who the top four would be Donald Mayfield.
No, no. Whoa, not Mayfield. Shadour Sanders,
no. Bryce Young, yes. Bryce Young has the fourth.
He has 448 yards in the game this year. That
is number four on the list. Drake May. Nope.
Not Drake May. Love? Nope, nope. Wow. Exactly.
We've gone through like eight quarterbacks already.
Not Drake May. Huh? Brissette had one huge hit.
Brissette number two. 452 yards in a game. Did
they say Dak? They did not. Dak. Wrong. Did I
follow your trick? Dark? Love it. Nope. No, it
wasn't dark. He had one big game. Flacco. Flacco,
number one. 470 yards. I believe we watched that
game. Jamar Chase had 45 targets that game, I
believe. Give me a hint for the last. So who's
number three? He played against Dak. The game
Dak had his highest class in the year Russell
Wilson 450 yards. Yeah, so put that in the back
of your head the four quarterbacks of the highest
passing yard this year Joe Flacco, Jacobi Brissett,
Russell Wilson and Bryce Young. Pretty old. Four
quarterbacks. You would not guess one of them
if you top your head to think about that. I thought
that was just pretty pretty crazy. And Philip
Rivers is coming back. Oh, I love it. He's a
grandfather. I want to do a mystery. I want to
do a mystery player. All right. So we're going
to do player A, player B. I'm going to tell you
player A is Josh Allen. All right. Last 50 starts.
Last 50 starts. Josh Allen, if you want to put
these numbers in your head. Passing yards 11,
750. Completion percentage 65. TD interception
86 to 34 passer rating 97 So what speed was the
next quarterback be? No, this is just Player
B. You want to see if anybody can guess this
I'll go back to Allen 12 ,000 665 yards more
yards a thousand more yards over the last 50
games Completely presented 69 four points higher
over the last 50 games touchdowns intercepted
averages, right 89 and 69 89 and 39 compared
to 86 and 34 so pretty pretty equal for a touchdowns
interception Pass or reading just over a hundred
compared to 97 for Josh. How many games last
50 starts? This guy's still active playing sure
And he's active he's active right now. Yes start
he's a starting quarterback in NFL right now.
Yep 50 starts It ain't hurts. No. God, no. Thousand
more passing yards. Four points more completion
percentage. Touch signs and receptions equal.
Three points higher passer rating over the last
50 starts. Is it Rodgers? Hell no. It is definitely
not Aaron Rodgers. I'm not ruling out. I'll give
you AFC. AFC? AFC. Could be Burr. 50 starts.
You know what? That's why I was thinking Rodgers.
He sat out a year. It's got, yeah, it might be
Burrow, but it's not. Okay. It might be coach.
It might be, but it's not. I say comfortably,
it's not. AFC. AFC. That was me. That was me.
Gino? It's good to get a group chuckle on that,
Mac. I like it. Has Herbert started 50 games?
Oh, sure he has. Yeah. Don't tell me. It can't
be two. Holmes To tell me a number Josh he has
better numbers in Josh Allen over the last 50
games and people act like he's a throwaway and
Josh Allen's Next our greatest player in the
history of NFL right now. I like that sound by
the way, but just I thought it was mind -blowing
They gave me I saw this the other day. So player
a player B I was like, I know I went through
a job where I was one of my three guesses. I'm
like never But it gets to her. I actually thought
of it. Well, I mean, over 50 games, he had Tyreek
there. Waddle. Waddle. I mean, this year. Lorraine
is rattling around in his head, though. So who
cares? Allen could use a weapon this year. I
mean, he throws to his three different titans.
He's only had one good receiver. I mean, Diggs
is the only one legit. Yeah, and he's gone. By
the way, side note, last time we met here, last
time I met here at NBA, Don Father made two points.
One, I said the OKC Thunder are going to go 81
and one. I'm still on track for my 81 and one
prediction. Point two, I said Victor when I'm
behind, that's still the biggest bust in NBA
history. How many games has he played since the
last time we met? Zero. Don Father on track.
Well, Trailblazers almost got him a second time
though. Almost. They almost did. Great segue
into basketball here. We're going to wrap this
up with a little hoops. But Don Father. Yo! Very
brash by saying Webiana is going to be a bust
because I think you're out of your mind. I'm
bright so far. Oh, you're right. Does he miss
a few games? That's part of being a boss. You
call him the gold. Greg Oden was a boss because
he didn't play. I didn't call him the goat. I
said if he's healthy and he plays. I said if
he's healthy and he plays. Well, if my aunt had
a penis, she'd be my uncle, but she doesn't.
So if, if, I mean, you know, I mean. We're not
getting into this. Greg Oden, if he played, he
could have been fantastic, but he didn't, so
he wasn't. We're not doing this. Injuries are
part of being a bust. I don't like LeBron, but
the guy never got hurt for 15 years. What kind
of odds are you gonna give me with OKC? But that
are gonna be 81 and 1 pretty pretty comfortable
in my assessment. They've won the last 10 games
I'm not gonna bet them being I Think we're on
track to win some money angry and what was what's
the bet the Giants bet and by the way I'm a Giants
fan by the way five over under wins five five
was a push where they got there to They have
the number one pick right now. They have the
number one pick. Let's go Titans. Let's bring
Tommy Devito back to win a game that means nothing.
So how many Giants fans here? Two? Three? Okay.
Now Giants get a top three pick. What do you
do with it? Trade down to get a better offensive
line. I agree. Trade down. Yep. You have a stud
quarterback, you have a stud receiver coming
back. He's a free agent. He wants like, I saw
today, like four years. 50 some 57 55 million
drop down get Jeremiah Smith into offensive lineman.
We need a middle linebacker that can stop the
run. You think he's gonna go that high? I think
the new coach is gonna play an important role
too. I think they gotta name the right coach.
He can't come out this year. Except I saw the
list. You can come out this year I think Jeremiah
right? Jeremiah Smith can come out this year
can't he? No. Oh he's got one more still. That's
the other guy they got. Is it Tate? What's his
name? I don't want Tate. Who's the other guy
they got? Jeremiah Smith, guys. He'll be like
the first pick this year. First or second. A
lot of things being chucked around in the studio
tonight. You're next. We talking about basketball,
Mac? Okay. Our last segment, also brought to
you by Senior Vice President of Capital Security,
Joe Moriello, who will take your money and give
you a life. Well planned. From Madison Square
Garden. This is called Say What? And this is
again in basketball. Oh, I'm sorry, I gotta stop.
Studio engineer extraordinaire Kevin Ross. Yes,
sir. Any update on the Charter Road? Can we see
him on the floor soon? We're still... He's averaging
almost a double -double, right? Yeah, he's a
little sore right now, waiting to see. Game day
positions. Okay. They're trying to have an A
plan or whatever he is, right? He played the
last game. He had two points, got knocked out
by Zachy. Zachy, he put a clothesline to his
face, broke his nose, I think. He played better
down the stretch. But those other centers aren't
a threat. I think they win a tie ball. A tie
ball never plays. If Rob Willows was healthy
all the time, he's still pretty damn athletic
when he can play. Yeah, once a week, he has a
nice box score. I'm not kidding. I like that.
Yeah. I love them in Boston for... Eight games
a year. Guys, how about, you kind of like, I
don't know how to feel about him. Like, first
of all, this Mullen's kid gets stroked. Oh my
god. Is he the best shooter we've had in a minute?
They compared him to Ray Allen the other day.
That's strong. It was. Is he a better shooter
in Camp Special? Yes. He was only a one -year
husky. No. He's made like four jump shots. Yeah,
we'll see. What are we basing on? It's too early.
Yeah. No, but he's got something. He made four
jumpers and we're talking about the best jump
shooter you got. There's something to him. Jesus,
yeah, he's talented. Could we not, like, could
we slow down with comparing him to Ray Allen?
He's so much better than Ray Allen. I said who's
the last guy we had that could shoot like him?
I don't know. He's better shooter than the Hawk.
The who? Hawkins. Barely. You guys made, you
wouldn't lie, he made Hawkins out to be all rookie
NBA. How's that working out? They did, they did.
They really forget making fun of me when he made
like an 18 point game like week two and they're
like, these guys are stoned. Yup, you did, they
did. Thank you. 100 % I remember those. No, but
how about Hurley trying about all these post
-season, or pre -season tournaments? He did build
himself a hell of a schedule. I mean, they played
games very far from Yukon. I mean, they went
out to Kansas again. I get it. But like everything
else, pretty close to Harvard. Donovan said that
was the hardest place to play. Kansas? You don't
remember? He said it was the hardest. So he went
back there. That was the first time they won
there, right? Yep. First time they ever beat
Kansas. That last game, I felt they were right
in that game. Spencer was hurt. Donovan was hurt.
They only lost by like a basket right at the
end. I mean, we missed it. This was a really
good one. He spoke highly of the fans, too. Yeah,
as we said, it was the best part. He said it
was non -stop. He said, but those fans, they
just rooted for the team, period. It wasn't against
the other team. It was just electric, though.
I watched a lot of college basketball this weekend.
You look at teams like Duke and Michigan State.
I don't like either one of them, but the preseason
schedule they play at a conference is unbelievable.
They bought point three top ten teams. I mean
they play teams over and I can't stand either
one of them But my god are our preseason schedules
unreal. Well, why do teams feel the need to go
to these far away places? I mean just to go to
the beach. I mean Maui They're talking about
honestly. Well, no, I The Bahamas are here and
on a ship and why don't they just go to each
other's venues where these students and even
alumni are crazy and just let the people around
in the United States have fun. Is it a recruiting
tool? Hey we're going to the Bahamas this year.
I was just going to say that. That was like they
they do say something like that they're gonna
do something a trip or go somewhere as you know
going to Europe to play a preseason thing or
you know you know they're It makes some of the
kids want to do it, yeah. It helps with tournament
experience, too, because you're playing back
-to -back nights against good teams. You can
do it like that, like preparation, especially
for the good teams, like at UConn. If we win
this night, we're playing the next night. I think
you guys make fair points, but I just... Why
not just keep it where the fans in the US can
enjoy these games? You gotta follow your team
to freaking Hawaii. And by the way, remember
back in Denim, when Denim Brown hit that little
hook shot against Gonzaga? Like, that gym was
puny. Like, that's not a tournament experience.
I mean, the play is, but they're playing in a
center school, dude. I mean, Bob Stack rolled
the freaking metal bleachers out of that. I don't
know. I don't know if I agree with you. Ooh.
I want to hear why. Dissension. We like it. I
got one more ship than you, so I want to hear
why. I mean, walk outside. It's miserable outside
right now in the Northeast. I get you. I get
you. I don't know. Maybe going to Hawaii isn't
a bad little trip. You a U -Car fan? Yeah, of
course. Of course. How many games have you gone
to in Hartford? In Hartford? Probably five or
six gamble gamble to I actually went last year
where they played Sacred Heart Yeah, Madison
Square Garden had been there a couple times.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. How many times have you been
to a Well, I'm not saying that's from a fan's
perspective. I'm saying for a coach and player
perspective Maybe you know, I get that but I'm
saying who who is Literally paying their salaries
now the fans are like the trusts people that
you know are fanatics because of the fans play
just let us watch the games yeah i guess you're
right but he's wrong he's wrong okay he's wrong
he's wrong he's right he's right all right all
right getting back to say what um which great
celtic modern day great celtic said if i was
a caesar cell the croutons would be my friends
the lettuce would be my family and the dressing
would be my mom Kevin Garnett. Anything's possible
with the Don Fathers there. Which current NBA
star who never plays and has been off and on
for the last five years? Victor Rombayano. I
said five years. So Don Fathers wrong already.
Horrific injury he came back from. If you look
at the box score, we won this game. Who said
that? It sounds like something LeBron would say,
but um... Close. Charlie Wimby. Another fraud
that's overpinned. Steph DeGeorge said it in
all the right moves. I don't care what the scoreboard
says, we won this game. Yeah, it should have
helped that. That's Paul DeGeorge, friends. How
about one of the greatest point guards slash
coaches in the last 50 years said, we're gonna
turn this team around 360 degrees. Kid One of
the greatest players our point guards slash coaches
last for tears Jason kid. Yeah, yeah, who said
kid, right? Oh you said Which idiot but a tremendous
talent and leaper and bunker and kind of like
scary guy our ceiling is through the roof Dominique
first name Josh Smith, yep. Okay, which guy that's
had many names says, they better not put me in
that All -Star game because I won't shoot, but
I'll dominate that game easy. I'll be playing
hard defense, I'll be following, I'll be flavoring
following. Everyone will be like, what are you
doing? We're on our test? Yeah. Actually, I'm
calling a meta world piece. Which current Nick
said, y 'all know how we have dogs and stuff,
right? So I think it was bigger people in the
world before us because they had dinosaurs and
spats Current Nick played in Missouri Josh Hart
No, Hart's Villanova. That's right I don't know
where I would you play Jordan Clarkson. He played
in Missouri might be wrong about the college.
I think I'm right probably Which top 20 NBA player
of all time said on his poor free -throw shooting
said Me shooting 40 % of the foul line. It's
just God's way to say nobody's perfect Shaq Shaq
I gave it away with the top 20 everybody We're
so happy to be back in the Don Father's studio.
We're happy for Phil Cussie stopping by. We're
grateful for three -time state champion coach,
Vic Rinaldi, St. Paul Catholic High School. Soon
to be five. Well, let's go start with four first.
The boys on Multistreet. Victor Webiana for MVP
next year. The Thunder will lose two games. Angry
J's gotta come prepared. Crocker, thanks for
stopping by. And studio engineer extraordinaire,
Kevin Ross. MVP. Did some stuff tonight that
you guys have no idea. And Phil Cousy. He was
awesome. He really was awesome. Thanks for coming
everybody. Good night, God bless. We'll see you
on the next episode. Rock and roll.