WEBVTT 00:00:08.680 --> 00:00:11.679 Hey folks, welcome to good news York. I'm Matt 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.679 major from growth mode technologies Joined as 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:18.899 always by my sidekick here Mike in his very fashionable 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:22.179 T -shirt he's rocking. Well, we've got a very 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:25.000 Extinguished guest today. So yeah, so you wore 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.579 a t -shirt. So I mean excuse me a v -neck It 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.039 doesn't have any stains on it. That's the what 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.359 it was. That's the impressive part I gotta go 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.799 v -neck and I've got to go not stained Mike tell 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:41.420 us who's joining us enough about you Okay. Joining 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:45.460 us today, the GM, the General Manager of the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:48.579 Syracuse Mets, Mr. Jason Smoral. Hello, gentlemen. 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.920 Dude, it's so exciting to have you here. You 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:53.880 are a busy man and you took the time to come 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:56.700 sit with us schlubs. And can I say, before anything 00:00:56.700 --> 00:01:00.539 else, I really appreciate you coming after we 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:03.100 visited the stadium and these two guys ran around 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:05.640 like clowns. The fact that you're even associating 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.540 with us still is pretty... Yeah, we really appreciate 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:11.620 it. Anybody that buys and wears a foam Syracuse 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:13.819 Mets hat, I will talk to any day of the week. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:15.959 That's fair. I'm a little disappointed. No offense. 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:18.400 There's so much work that went into the outfit 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:21.730 today that you didn't. Go with the foam, Syracuse, 00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:24.109 Smith's hat. I thought about bringing it out, 00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:26.450 you know, bringing it because, you know, obviously 00:01:26.450 --> 00:01:28.530 I wore it at the stadium. There's only so many 00:01:28.530 --> 00:01:30.170 times and places you can wear that hat. It really 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:31.730 is, but now it would have been good. Now it would 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:33.629 have worn up those times. When we walked into 00:01:33.629 --> 00:01:37.230 that, by the way, your shop there, the merchandise. 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:38.769 The team store. The team store, thank you. Where 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:41.730 it's fun to shop. The team store is wildly impressive. 00:01:41.989 --> 00:01:44.010 Like, this isn't, you know, we're gonna get like 00:01:44.010 --> 00:01:45.790 a nice little t -shirt. I mean, we've got... 00:01:45.790 --> 00:01:49.189 with throwback jerseys, all kinds of hats. And 00:01:49.189 --> 00:01:50.769 when Danny and I saw the full hat, we looked 00:01:50.769 --> 00:01:52.510 at each other and we went, yep, we got to do 00:01:52.510 --> 00:01:55.250 it. You see that, like yesterday it was at a 00:01:55.250 --> 00:01:57.680 game and there's just... group having a conversation 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.439 and one of the women had one of those Hulk drinking 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:03.840 fists. Those are the kind of things, like there's 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:05.659 having a regular conversation and some ladies 00:02:05.659 --> 00:02:08.280 just got a Hulk drinking orange Hulk drinking 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:10.900 fist. Casually walking around with a Hulk drinking 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:14.719 fist. That's the allure of sports and especially 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.479 the minor leagues. People don't understand the 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:20.099 fun of minor league baseball. Listen, I'll be 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:21.960 honest, I'm not a huge sports guy, but I've been 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.460 to a number of different places. And this stadium, 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:29.080 that whole experience is really top -notch, way 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.400 above what I would expect. What I feel like is 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.139 kind of our local team situation. So you're doing 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:35.659 a great job. I see it all the time. We're like 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:38.599 the best kept secret in Central New York. We've 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:43.719 been there for like 137 years. Wow. I don't know 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:45.819 the math, but professional baseball goes back 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:49.500 to like 1876. Yes. Yeah. So with the Syracuse 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:51.879 Stars. That was the year you were born. It was. 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:54.419 I look fantastic. You look awesome, too. Well, 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:57.479 it's my diet. Diet, doctor. Coffee and alcohol. 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:01.150 No. See, I am a huge sports fan. And but I had 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:04.169 the same reaction because listen you go around 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:06.870 the country and there are minor league clubs 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:10.150 that kind of live up to the name minorly you 00:03:10.150 --> 00:03:12.310 get there and you're like, okay, this looks like 00:03:12.310 --> 00:03:15.110 a You know a minor league club step above a high 00:03:15.110 --> 00:03:17.349 school you pull into the what is the name of 00:03:17.349 --> 00:03:19.550 the statement historic? NBT Bank Stadium historic 00:03:19.550 --> 00:03:23.770 NBT VT Bank Stadium I feel like I was at the 00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:26.569 major leagues. From the outside to the inside. 00:03:26.990 --> 00:03:29.409 One of the last big ones built. So when they 00:03:29.409 --> 00:03:31.610 were building the stadium, and this is the new 00:03:31.610 --> 00:03:34.710 stadium that was built in 97, it kind of has 00:03:34.710 --> 00:03:38.629 that feel to it. It has that upper deck. And 00:03:38.629 --> 00:03:40.710 it kind of looks like a castle when you're coming 00:03:40.710 --> 00:03:43.289 in. It really does. It's really kind of neat. 00:03:43.750 --> 00:03:46.009 And you do. You come around this corner and it's 00:03:46.009 --> 00:03:48.180 like... And people say they're like, wow, it 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:50.159 just kind of, it comes out of nowhere. It appears. 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.819 Yeah. Yeah. It's beautiful. It is. And I got 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:55.599 to say, even like the seating, I thought was 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:57.860 neat. Like we got a table. Yeah. Where can you 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.819 go to a stadium, I feel like, and sit at a neat 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:02.599 little table with a couple of folks. That was 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:05.120 great. The renovations, what it needed. So, I 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.599 mean, so, you know, I'm going into my 12th year 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.080 and we inherited old historic NVT Bank Stadium. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:16.370 And then... The Mets purchased us in late 2017. 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:21.170 In 2018, we still had the Nationals on the field, 00:04:21.329 --> 00:04:23.889 the affiliation with the Nationals. 2019 was 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:26.509 the first year that the Mets players were on 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:30.000 the field. And then we had been talking with 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.959 the county and the state and we got the renovations 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:38.279 done. So 2020, you know, COVID. So we didn't 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:42.259 open until 2021. We had that two years to spruce 00:04:42.259 --> 00:04:46.009 up. And I think it was really good. uh, smart 00:04:46.009 --> 00:04:48.230 way to invest the money because some of these 00:04:48.230 --> 00:04:49.629 minor league teams are building these new stadiums. 00:04:49.670 --> 00:04:53.410 They're $190 million, $100 million, uh, where 00:04:53.410 --> 00:04:55.410 we had a perfectly good stadium. The county did 00:04:55.410 --> 00:04:57.610 a great job keeping the infant structure up. 00:04:57.829 --> 00:04:59.629 Everything was level. Everything was still good. 00:04:59.870 --> 00:05:02.209 And it just needed a little facelift. So a ton 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:04.550 of paint, you know, a little bump out of the 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:07.189 team store, all new seats. Everything was fan 00:05:07.189 --> 00:05:10.889 facing. Wow. And, you know, for $25 million. 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:14.269 We have a brand new stadium. Yeah, you know and 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:17.889 then that's signed a lease till 2043 and everyone's 00:05:17.889 --> 00:05:20.930 happy and it's exciting and it's just reinvigorated 00:05:20.930 --> 00:05:24.170 The team that's that's incredible and it shows 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:26.829 it's a fantastic facility and and we had a great 00:05:26.829 --> 00:05:29.709 time Oh my god at the game. Tell us a little 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:34.519 bit about you guys You play a lot of games as 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:36.959 professional sports go, right? You do. You know, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.060 I tell people all the time, I said, you know, 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:40.939 and I speak to sports management classes and 00:05:40.939 --> 00:05:43.600 I say, you know, the dumb people go into sports 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.319 management and the dumbest of the dumb work in 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:51.079 professional baseball. We have, you know, it's 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:54.920 150 games for the whole season. We play 75. We 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.860 have a weird business. We're open 75 days a year. 00:05:57.959 --> 00:05:59.959 for three and a half hours. And some of those 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:02.120 days are in April and May outside when it rains. 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:06.819 It's a weird business, but every series is Tuesday, 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:08.759 Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.399 So it's a challenge. And every business has its 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:13.180 challenges, every business has its obstacles, 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:14.759 every market has their different challenges. 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:18.779 So one of the ones in baseball is Tuesday, Wednesday, 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:20.879 Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, six days 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.879 in a row. It's hard for people to go to a game 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:26.160 six days. Football plays on the weekends. Basketball 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.160 maybe plays one or two games a week. Hockey plays 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.560 one or two games a week. It's a different way 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.060 to market, different way to experience that. 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:37.660 We play six days a week. So we'll finish this 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:39.519 homestand. We'll have a week off. Then we'll 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.560 play 12 games in 13 days. We have two back -to 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.839 -back stands. So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.740 Friday, Saturday, Sunday, off day. Tuesday, Wednesday, 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.410 Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It's a challenge. 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:52.230 It's a challenge for the fans. It's a challenge 00:06:52.230 --> 00:06:54.259 to get people to go in there, but... We have 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.060 a great team, you know, staff that that that's 00:06:57.060 --> 00:06:59.399 why we do what we do. Yeah. That's why every 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.199 night has to be an event. There's Taco Tuesday 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:05.980 and Wildcat and Wine Slushy and We Care Wednesday. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:08.860 I love the moderation. Rolls off the top. Dollar 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.639 Thursday. Fireworks every Friday. Fireworks every 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:14.040 Saturday. A giveaway every Saturday. Kids eat 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.459 free on Sundays. Run the bases after the game. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.980 You know, topical stuff. Seeing if Jim Morrison 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.100 is still alive. Yeah. Bring your cat to the bark. 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:27.230 That was a horrible idea. What a terrible idea. 00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:31.430 Were they running all over the field? Five cats 00:07:31.430 --> 00:07:34.790 showed up. Five cats. I've been wanting to do 00:07:34.790 --> 00:07:36.709 Cat Day forever because we're just racist against 00:07:36.709 --> 00:07:38.689 cats. We love dogs, right? Dogs get three days. 00:07:39.149 --> 00:07:41.029 You're right, man. I'm a cat guy. I'm a dog and 00:07:41.029 --> 00:07:42.730 a cat guy. Everybody gets a day. Dogs get three 00:07:42.730 --> 00:07:45.649 days, right? So I was like, we're being unfair 00:07:45.649 --> 00:07:48.149 to the cats and the cat lovers. Sure. Diversity. 00:07:48.689 --> 00:07:51.769 I wanted to do it. And then I was afraid. I was 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:55.990 like, even I know a bad idea when I see it. You 00:07:55.990 --> 00:07:57.709 know, but then Lehigh Valley did it. I said, 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:00.430 well, if they did it, I can do it. So this year 00:08:00.430 --> 00:08:02.649 we announced Cat Day. The whole staff thought 00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:05.829 it was a horrible idea. Cat lovers, animal lovers. 00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:07.250 Everyone's like, that's the worst idea you've 00:08:07.250 --> 00:08:09.709 ever come up with. I was like, we're doing it. 00:08:10.189 --> 00:08:11.250 Originally it was going to be on a Saturday. 00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:13.449 We're going to call it Caturday. And then we 00:08:13.449 --> 00:08:16.269 decided to put it on a dollar Thursday. And then 00:08:16.269 --> 00:08:17.930 someone, I get to take credit for it, but someone 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:20.560 came up with dollar purrsday. Uh, I said, let's 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:23.759 just do it. Right. So how bad could it be? Five 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.199 cats showed up. The over under was 15. So we 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.439 have the under, uh, not one of them was from 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.399 Syracuse. And this is the interesting fact. You 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:34.379 asked them. There was only five of them. I know 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:39.399 where they live. So, uh, uh, they came from Saratoga, 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:44.840 Albany, Utica, Oriskany Falls. And the closest 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:48.669 one was from Cato. And the people from Saratoga 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:50.870 brought their friends from Cooperstown. What? 00:08:51.210 --> 00:08:52.870 That is wild. Everybody in Syracuse thought it 00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:54.590 was a horrible idea. Oh, these people came from 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:57.169 Saratoga. They're like, where are all the cats? 00:08:57.230 --> 00:09:00.110 These cats had harnesses. They had little carriers. 00:09:00.289 --> 00:09:03.409 The one cat, Miso, from Cato, I believe. She 00:09:03.409 --> 00:09:05.629 had a little bubble on the back of her things. 00:09:05.750 --> 00:09:08.230 Her little head was sticking out. Ron Weasley 00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:12.879 was from Saratoga. It was a gigantic... A Maine 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.059 Coon cat. It's the size of you. It's like you 00:09:16.059 --> 00:09:18.240 are there. Wow. And he had this thing and he 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.539 was the best cat. These were all good cats. They 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:24.340 had a blast. It wasn't Toontz's, it was Zoodle. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:29.159 Zoodle was from Utica. Zoodle was the first one. 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:31.559 Wow. This is I Love You. You are my spirit animal. 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.899 This guy... I can't remember my wife's anniversary, 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:39.120 but I know Zoodle is a cat from Utica. But you 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:41.399 remember Zoodle from Utica. I mean, it's a much 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:43.779 more memorable event if we're not. It was Moon. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:46.419 Oh, it was Moon. Moon. You know, I wanted to 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:48.639 ask you, speaking about you say you play 150 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.139 games. Yes. There's been a lot of talk in sports 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:57.519 media about, you know... Are there too many? 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:00.580 Well, yeah, but overall what they're saying is... 00:10:00.580 --> 00:10:06.139 They say 161? That's right. 162. And they're 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:09.799 talking about how they're trying to keep people 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:11.860 interested. Obviously with social media, you 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:14.659 know, sports in general are having trouble keeping 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:18.080 people engaged, specifically baseball. And I 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:19.720 thought about it from the frame of mind of, well, 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.559 look, baseball was invented long before there 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.940 were any distractions, let alone all the distractions 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:28.080 we have now. So I started thinking, you know, 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.159 listen to all these sports media. Wanted to hear 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:32.340 your thoughts on this these were the ideas that 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:34.419 I came up with that I thought you could on your 00:10:34.419 --> 00:10:36.720 idea These are my idea to save base. This is 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:40.639 dangerous. Let's save baseball Brickville Catterday, 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:44.659 we're gonna do that I thought I want to see what 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:46.840 you thought. All right, and this isn't to save 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.320 the game The game is always going to be there, 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.639 but you know, they added the pitch clock They 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:53.480 did the base runner the extra base runner in 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:56.080 extra. So they're trying I thought let's just 00:10:56.139 --> 00:10:58.399 break it down simplistically. I would love your 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.740 opinion on this. First of all, I think a salary 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:05.899 cap would be perfect because you've got teams 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:07.419 like the Dodgers, right? They have this gigantic 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:09.559 payroll and then teams in smaller markets like 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:11.679 Pittsburgh. They just can't compete. We need 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.039 more parity. We will. You know, that does not 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:15.820 compete or they choose not to compete. Well, 00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:17.899 that's that's that is true, too. There are some 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.940 clubs that I believe just choose not to. So number 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:24.779 one is that might keep the money. My second. 00:11:24.990 --> 00:11:27.450 thought was, but now this is where I really want 00:11:27.450 --> 00:11:29.190 your opinion, because it would affect revenue. 00:11:29.269 --> 00:11:31.889 But I thought, can we cut it down to a hundred 00:11:31.889 --> 00:11:36.309 games? I mean, for the players themselves, right? 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:41.830 For the fans? Because once football starts, people 00:11:41.830 --> 00:11:44.389 get really distracted. And then my third idea, 00:11:44.529 --> 00:11:48.929 other than Caturday, was I just think MLB Network. 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.320 They should be more present at these minor league 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.860 ballparks. I think they should be going and broadcasting 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:57.419 from the parks and showcasing all the great things 00:11:57.419 --> 00:11:59.100 you guys do. I've thought that a lot. You know, 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:03.059 you watch a major league game and they don't 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:06.399 talk about... Louis Angel Acuna, they don't talk 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.240 about his time in Syracuse, his time in Binghamton, 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:12.860 his time in Port St. Lucie, a picture of him 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:14.940 from St. Lucie, and a picture of him when he 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:16.200 was in Binghamton, well he wasn't in Binghamton, 00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:17.759 we actually got him on a trade from Houston Nationals, 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.639 but Mark Vientos maybe is another example that 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:24.000 came up through the med system, and a picture 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.720 of him in Promote. the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:28.899 and the St. Lucie Mets, and the Brooklyn Slate 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:32.340 Clones, and on those national broadcasts, and 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:34.399 it doesn't matter if it's Seattle, because the 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.720 journey that these players take is sometimes, 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:39.720 you know, they always talk about, you know, this 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:41.679 guy plays, you know, Dak Prescott, you know, 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:43.820 he went to like Old Mess or Mississippi State. 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:45.960 They talk about that all the time. Why don't 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:47.639 we talk about the journey that some of these 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:49.840 high school, these players, they might have gone 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.759 from high school straight to professional baseball. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:54.580 They could have gone from the Dominican or Latin 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:56.980 country into professional baseball. There's a 00:12:56.980 --> 00:13:00.519 story there that they could tell that would then, 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:03.000 does it shed more light? Yes. Does it shed more 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.879 legitimacy on the process of minor league baseball? 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:09.379 Because these baseball players are amazing. It's 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:12.679 a journey. And if you get to triple A, just to 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:16.039 get drafted, You're an unbelievable baseball 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:19.519 talent. But to get to AAA, we have AAA baseball 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.279 in central New York, in Syracuse, New York. These 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:25.340 baseball players are unbelievable. You can watch 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:28.620 what they do night in and night out. The Yankees 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:31.220 of tomorrow are sitting in that dugout. The Mets 00:13:31.220 --> 00:13:34.120 of tomorrow are in our dugout. Boston Red Sox 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:36.720 come through. The Toronto Blue Jays come through. 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:40.480 We've seen these players in Syracuse for practically 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.740 nothing. Ellie Delacruz. where the Cincinnati 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:45.679 Reds, he had a home run over the scoreboard. 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:48.759 And he was just the best player. He's incredible. 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:51.720 He was there for a week and he was, I don't think 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:53.019 he made it the whole week. I think he had like 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:54.899 three home runs in like two days and they just 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:58.019 brought him up to the Reds. But to be able to 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:00.659 say that you saw him in Syracuse. It's like when 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:04.620 you say, I saw this band, you know, in... Cleveland 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:06.960 back in 96 before anyone knew who they were. 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.220 You can do that. I also feel like, you know, 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.480 you see in other sports like, what's her name, 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.539 Caitlin Clark, the young women's basketball star. 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:18.539 Suddenly she kind of became a star and brought 00:14:18.539 --> 00:14:22.820 that whole thing up. And I feel like that's kind 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.879 of exactly the idea of this program is to build 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.320 some people up, but start with their story from 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.220 them and you get that, you know, build that marketing 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:33.090 along with the talent that. you know, don't only 00:14:33.090 --> 00:14:35.610 discover them when they get there. And I think 00:14:35.610 --> 00:14:37.809 that would help, you know, and we say all the 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:39.590 time, we specialize in people who don't like 00:14:39.590 --> 00:14:42.129 baseball, you know, because we, as the minor 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:44.110 league, we don't have any control over the baseball. 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:46.190 People are often very disappointed when they 00:14:46.190 --> 00:14:48.169 find out what I do for a living as a general 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:50.370 manager of the Syracuse Mets. I keep the bathrooms 00:14:50.370 --> 00:14:55.370 clean in the vehicle. That's my main job. Uh, 00:14:55.450 --> 00:14:57.330 you know, I don't decide who's playing first 00:14:57.330 --> 00:15:01.029 base or whatever. We just are the hosts of the 00:15:01.029 --> 00:15:02.990 team. You know, we provide the buses and the 00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:04.710 transportation to make sure there's a dirt and 00:15:04.710 --> 00:15:08.309 all that stuff. Uh, you know, so we can only 00:15:08.309 --> 00:15:10.090 control, we control, we can't control the weather. 00:15:10.649 --> 00:15:13.450 And we'd get to play in Syracuse in April and 00:15:13.450 --> 00:15:15.830 sometimes March. So horrible. It's worse than 00:15:15.830 --> 00:15:21.090 getting 38 degrees on opening day. It was the 00:15:21.090 --> 00:15:24.279 coldest baseball game I've ever played. The players 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.720 come from like, they come from like, you know, 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:28.799 Dominican Republic or Venezuela. They're like, 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:29.960 it might be their first time. They might have 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:31.659 been in St. Lucie. They might have been here 00:15:31.659 --> 00:15:33.399 or there. They might have been in another system 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.039 that only plays in the south. They're like, what 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.580 is going on? Why are we doing this? You know, 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:40.799 30 degrees is a great time to play baseball if 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.179 you're in the World Series. That's right. Not 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:48.000 if it's April 7th on a Wednesday. So, but we 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.500 can't control that. Yeah. And also we have to 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:53.590 do to make sure that our are what we can control 00:15:53.590 --> 00:15:57.450 is awesome. So that's doing fun things, customer 00:15:57.450 --> 00:16:00.529 service, cleanliness of the ballpark. We can 00:16:00.529 --> 00:16:03.190 have the greatest promotion set and it could 00:16:03.190 --> 00:16:06.250 rain. So you've gotta power through, you gotta 00:16:06.250 --> 00:16:08.730 have thick skin, you gotta do the right thing, 00:16:08.889 --> 00:16:11.610 gotta communicate that stuff to the fans. And 00:16:11.610 --> 00:16:14.629 I think if the fans know that you're honest and 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:17.549 fair with them, and we're giving good dollar 00:16:17.549 --> 00:16:24.250 value, that they will support us. with this mentality, 00:16:24.809 --> 00:16:26.830 we're the number one attended sporting event 00:16:26.830 --> 00:16:29.049 in Syracuse. And it blows everybody's minds. 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:30.870 It's awesome. Because they might come, you know, 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:35.350 yesterday on April 29th when it was, the thing 00:16:35.350 --> 00:16:37.970 said it was 53 degrees. I don't know if I believe 00:16:37.970 --> 00:16:40.970 it. Yeah. You know, and the park is a third full. 00:16:41.149 --> 00:16:43.340 They're like, ah, I can't believe it. But as 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:47.440 it warms up and it fills up, we have that skeletal 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.980 girth. We do have 75 games, and we do have a 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:54.600 10 ,000 -seat arena, so it adds up. Yeah. That's 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:56.860 incredible. And it really is. I'm not just saying 00:16:56.860 --> 00:17:00.620 this for the air. You really do create a really 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:02.679 fun environment. Like, when you think of going 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:07.500 to a game, and it's more about the full experience, 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.480 you do provide it. I mean, you can see the footage. 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:11.640 If you go to goodnewsyork .com, watch the episode. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.720 I mean you are out there and your gold jacket 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.880 and your gold jacket only works on certain days 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:18.460 like it was cold yesterday and I don't have a 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.460 lot of work you can't wear the gold jacket on 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.339 a Wednesday April 29th and you can wear it on 00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:26.440 opening day and that's and and that's what makes 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:28.140 baseball great and that's what makes the minor 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:30.559 league baseball great is specifically the Syracuse 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.809 Mets you really do a hell of a job man I Thank 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:37.910 you food to the the the atmosphere the events 00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:39.910 and then the game itself so but we're brothers 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:42.210 and sisters in this and you know So we don't 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:44.609 compete against the Rochester Red Wings as horrible 00:17:44.609 --> 00:17:46.470 as they are and let me just make sure we say 00:17:46.470 --> 00:17:49.509 this on record as Horrible as Dan Mason is the 00:17:49.509 --> 00:17:52.289 world's most horrible person general manager 00:17:52.289 --> 00:17:55.250 of the dreaded horrible Rochester Red Wings I 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:58.849 mean, I was gonna say that We're brothers and 00:17:58.849 --> 00:18:00.990 sisters with them, because we'll steal ideas 00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:02.509 from them. Even though he's a horrible person, 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:04.730 he has some good ideas that I can steal every 00:18:04.730 --> 00:18:06.730 once in a while. And hopefully they steal some 00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:09.130 ideas from us. We stole Caturday from the Lehigh 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:13.029 Valley Iron Figs. So we don't compete with Rochester 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:16.349 and Lehigh Valley and Scranton. We share experiences. 00:18:16.490 --> 00:18:19.450 We share best practices. And we'll call each 00:18:19.450 --> 00:18:20.890 other. We'll talk to each other. We'll say, hey, 00:18:21.190 --> 00:18:23.250 this is a great idea. You should think about 00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:26.210 doing it. That's great. We just saw him cut a 00:18:26.210 --> 00:18:28.769 WWE wrestling promo. That was great. I want Dan 00:18:28.769 --> 00:18:31.589 Mason to come back with a rebuttal on that one. 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:33.450 Oh, he will. Okay, good. Tell you what, T. He's 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:35.549 not surprised it's already not there. This is 00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:36.990 live. He's probably already done it. This is 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:39.650 Warrior vs. Hogan. I'm loving this. No, this 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:43.490 is awesome, man. I'd love to hear just a little 00:18:43.490 --> 00:18:45.250 bit about, you know, you've got this crazy season, 00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:48.029 you got 75 games, but then what happens the rest 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:49.910 of the year? Do you get to just kind of relax? 00:18:50.170 --> 00:18:52.269 Play video games and drink. All right. Cool. 00:18:53.690 --> 00:18:56.809 That's the perception, but the reality is it's 00:18:56.809 --> 00:19:00.210 a year round gig. Yeah. And, you know, you get 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:04.089 to take the pedal off the gas a little bit because 00:19:04.089 --> 00:19:06.910 you just don't have to finish the night with 00:19:06.910 --> 00:19:08.910 a baseball game. Sure. You know, but it's still 00:19:08.910 --> 00:19:11.599 every day of the week, it's still... Sometimes 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:13.539 it's seven days a week because there's community 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:17.519 events. There's things to go to. So there's no 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:21.140 off season. They've extended the season a little 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:23.299 bit. We used to end at Labor Day and then that 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:25.839 was kind of nice. You'd end at Labor Day and 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:29.000 you had the month of September to get your breath. 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:31.609 Then you get back into it in October. Well, now 00:19:31.609 --> 00:19:34.309 we end at the end of September, and October is 00:19:34.309 --> 00:19:36.750 the next month. Right. So there's no bring. Yeah. 00:19:36.750 --> 00:19:39.990 We just kind of keep going, and we start the 00:19:39.990 --> 00:19:43.369 planning for next season in this season. So, 00:19:43.390 --> 00:19:46.650 I mean, we even start renewals in July. If we 00:19:46.650 --> 00:19:48.569 have a schedule, we'll start renewals in July. 00:19:49.049 --> 00:19:50.670 You know, group renewals, season ticket holder 00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:52.789 renewals, coming up with the right idea, seeing 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:55.509 how the schedule lays out. The off season is 00:19:55.509 --> 00:19:57.450 all the business stuff. It's it's budgeting and 00:19:57.450 --> 00:20:01.910 it is is HR stuff and exit interviews and check 00:20:01.910 --> 00:20:04.970 -ins with the staff and and Purchasing because 00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:08.069 we have to buy stuff so far Sure in advance stock 00:20:08.069 --> 00:20:10.569 up of things capital projects, you know, how 00:20:10.569 --> 00:20:13.730 do we keep the stadium fresh? So there's always 00:20:13.730 --> 00:20:16.970 something going on Yeah, it never ends and and 00:20:16.970 --> 00:20:19.650 then just in in season. It's just dialed up to 00:20:19.650 --> 00:20:23.210 11. That's incredible. That's It's it's a whirlwind 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:27.049 no doubt It absolutely is. I wanted to also just 00:20:27.049 --> 00:20:29.650 ask you a little bit about staff. So specifically, 00:20:30.829 --> 00:20:32.650 do you have positions open at different times? 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:35.250 And then also, even if you don't, people that 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:36.970 are interested in baseball and interested in 00:20:36.970 --> 00:20:38.990 maybe a career like this, what's some advice 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:41.509 how they can get into that? Dumb people get into 00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:43.829 sports management and the dumbest of the dumb 00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:49.579 do is baseball. I'm only half kidding. Some of 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:52.759 us love it. The important thing for the youngsters, 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:54.519 I mean, a couple of things on this whole thing. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:57.619 First and foremost, pound for pound, Syracuse 00:20:57.619 --> 00:21:00.799 Mets have the best staff in professional sports. 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:05.140 We met them. And they're the engine that makes 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:08.660 it go. And we have the smallest staff in AAA 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:10.940 baseball. Oh, wow. We're smaller than a lot of 00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:14.119 double A teams. So when I say pound for pound, 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:16.420 we're the best pound for pound. We are the best. 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:19.000 Yeah. You know, the Katie stewards that manages 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:22.920 HR and all the business operations and all the 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:26.539 purchasing and the team store and you know, everything 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:28.619 else I put on her, on her plate. Uh, you know, 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:31.329 she's amazing. Brian Pawpick is another assistant 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:34.410 general manager and everything that he manages 00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:37.430 that has just elevated the stadium to keeping 00:21:37.430 --> 00:21:39.769 it where it needs to be, booking all the hotel 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:43.109 rooms, booking the bus travel, booking all the 00:21:43.109 --> 00:21:46.130 air flights, and at the same time making sure 00:21:46.130 --> 00:21:48.430 that those bathrooms are spick and span because 00:21:48.430 --> 00:21:52.130 a clean house is a happy house. To Will Camiso 00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:54.549 and the ticket office and the ticket department, 00:21:54.670 --> 00:21:57.859 the whole group's division. Phoebe and Katie 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:01.299 and Billy Schultz and Stephanie Delaney to go 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:03.539 out, you know, and we come to this area where 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:06.099 I'm very familiar with where your offices are 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:08.779 because there's a ton of small businesses around 00:22:08.779 --> 00:22:10.940 here and we've got to go and knock on those doors 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:13.319 to say. would you like to come to a baseball 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:15.940 game? And in what way would you like to come 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:18.500 to this baseball game? The answer is either no, 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.720 get out of my office, which is fine, or what 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:23.579 do you got? Maybe a season tickets, maybe it's 00:22:23.579 --> 00:22:25.160 a flex plan, maybe it's a hospitality party, 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.900 whatever it is, but that goes on all the time. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.740 John Stewart on the grounds crew doesn't just, 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:32.839 he loves doing grounds crew work, you know what 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:35.009 he doesn't love doing? He's also the sign guy. 00:22:35.230 --> 00:22:37.150 He's also, hey, we need some shelves built guy. 00:22:37.589 --> 00:22:39.309 Yeah. Hey, we have to go transform the stadium 00:22:39.309 --> 00:22:42.410 into this. Uh, you know, so he and his staff 00:22:42.410 --> 00:22:46.089 are amazing. Anthony Sanchetta upstairs, you 00:22:46.089 --> 00:22:48.250 know, he, we do all of our own graphics. We do 00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:50.769 all of our own social media. Uh, and he does 00:22:50.769 --> 00:22:53.930 all of that while he hires the cameraman and 00:22:53.930 --> 00:22:57.769 hires and trains young kids to do the replay 00:22:57.769 --> 00:23:00.880 machine and the tricorder. Wow. a television 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.539 show, a radio broadcast, all the graphics in 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:04.980 the house. It's incredibly impressive. To be 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:06.839 able to manage all that stuff, plus the concessions 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:11.279 and all that stuff. So we couldn't do it without 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:13.619 our staff. And not all staffs are created equal. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.420 And our staff is the best. That's incredible. 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.059 So you say the smallest staff in the miners, 00:23:19.900 --> 00:23:23.779 is that by design, by choice? Are you understaffed, 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.319 or you want to keep it the way you have it? Well, 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:29.680 it's... I don't think you would not design it 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:33.160 this way. Sure. You know, and so we have 19 people. 00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:36.220 Really? Two of those guys are accountants, and 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:38.259 three of them are, two of them are groundskeepers, 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:42.059 and the rest of us do this, and some staffs are 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:46.460 40, 50 people. It started by necessity. Sure. 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.079 We were the Syracuse Chiefs, the team that probably 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.480 shouldn't exist, team that should have gone away, 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:55.640 and was saved. you know, multiple times over 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:57.460 the course of the history of the team, you know, 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:00.880 starting in the 60s, and then again in the 90s, 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:05.099 and then again, you know, in 2013. So, you know, 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.920 we had to do more with less. And we just kept 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:10.839 asking the staff to do more with less, and they 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:13.480 just kept doing it, so we're just used to it. 00:24:13.819 --> 00:24:17.000 Yeah. Other people come. You know, the New Hampshire 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:18.819 Fisher Cats, a couple years guy came, and he 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:20.259 was at the stadium. I was talking to him. He's 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:22.339 the owner. And he was like, wow, this is amazing. 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:24.099 So how many people do you do this with? I was 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:26.440 like, we got 19 people. He's like, we got 19 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.980 people. He's like, I got 35 people. I was like, 00:24:28.980 --> 00:24:32.400 I don't know. So it's a testament. That's great. 00:24:32.579 --> 00:24:35.400 And it works. It's mean. It's mean. But we'll 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:41.480 burn some people out. We're not afraid. So it's 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:44.880 a lot. But we have a different philosophy. I 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.779 have a philosophy of just get your work done. 00:24:47.969 --> 00:24:51.150 as strict and as prudent of it's a nine -to -five 00:24:51.150 --> 00:24:53.369 job and it's this and that, just get your work 00:24:53.369 --> 00:24:56.890 done. And if your work is done and we're doing 00:24:56.890 --> 00:24:59.869 it for the right reasons and it's for the end 00:24:59.869 --> 00:25:01.970 result of the good of the team, the good of the 00:25:01.970 --> 00:25:04.690 brand, the good for the fans, and you're happy 00:25:04.690 --> 00:25:06.529 with your work -life balance and the work is 00:25:06.529 --> 00:25:09.109 getting done, then that's what's gonna work for 00:25:09.109 --> 00:25:11.450 us. That's awesome. Are you anticipating, everybody 00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:14.380 in the area is obviously very excited. about 00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:18.200 Micron coming. Is there any sort of prep that 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:23.039 goes into as far as marketing or preparation 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.839 for that? Are you guys anticipating anything 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:30.619 with that? No, we just do us. I think it's important 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.880 to know who you are as a business, as a person. 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:37.400 Be comfortable in your own skin. We have learned 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:39.950 that from a lot of people over the years. And 00:25:39.950 --> 00:25:42.470 we're just gonna do us. And if our vision is 00:25:42.470 --> 00:25:45.609 right, our vision is true, and a gigantic business 00:25:45.609 --> 00:25:49.529 comes into town and fulfills its potential promise 00:25:49.529 --> 00:25:54.130 of 9 ,000 more jobs and 27 ,000 more people in 00:25:54.130 --> 00:25:56.589 the area. That's 27 ,000 more cats, by the way. 00:25:56.670 --> 00:26:01.210 It could be. And we're doing our thing. And our 00:26:01.210 --> 00:26:03.529 thing is good. Yeah. And people are walking out 00:26:03.529 --> 00:26:05.769 there saying, hey, the Syracuse Metzorostomy 00:26:05.769 --> 00:26:08.619 should go. Then I think that we're gonna benefit 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:10.779 from that. So we have to be true to ourselves 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:13.700 We don't need to glom on to you know micron coming 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:16.640 in if we're good. You got the right recipe already 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.140 Yeah, I agree then then you build it. They will 00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:23.519 come sure. So hopefully Micron wants to get involved 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:25.740 with us and we'll obviously knock on their door. 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:28.339 Sure You have to invite somebody to come check 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:31.460 you out. Yeah, and we'll see what happens. That's 00:26:31.460 --> 00:26:35.269 that's great One last question I will ask you. 00:26:35.349 --> 00:26:39.130 I have one more. And I'm curious, and if you 00:26:39.130 --> 00:26:40.509 don't even want to speak on this matter, that's 00:26:40.509 --> 00:26:42.670 cool, but is there any competition around the 00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:46.309 city versus the other kind of bigger sports venue 00:26:46.309 --> 00:26:50.109 options? Really, you know, we compete with going 00:26:50.109 --> 00:26:54.890 to camp. Gotcha. We compete with, you know, we 00:26:54.890 --> 00:26:59.650 compete with travel baseball and travel speaker 00:26:59.650 --> 00:27:02.589 and travels, you know, whatever's, you know. 00:27:02.750 --> 00:27:05.990 Do we compete with the Irish Fest or the Polish 00:27:05.990 --> 00:27:09.130 Fest? It's a Saturday afternoon. But again, we 00:27:09.130 --> 00:27:11.430 got six games. So maybe you want to come to us 00:27:11.430 --> 00:27:14.769 on Dollar Thursday. There's enough people around. 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:19.609 There's 440 ,000 people in Onondaga County. There's 00:27:19.609 --> 00:27:23.710 660 ,000 people in the surrounding area DMA. 00:27:24.849 --> 00:27:27.670 We would love 6 ,000 people to show up. So if 00:27:27.670 --> 00:27:33.250 6 ,000 people show up, there's still some 659 00:27:33.250 --> 00:27:35.470 ,000 people that have to go do other events. 00:27:35.650 --> 00:27:39.589 We actually need other things to do. I think 00:27:39.589 --> 00:27:43.289 that again, it gets back to knowing who you are, 00:27:43.490 --> 00:27:46.190 our product, it is what it is, the schedule is 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:49.240 what it is. you can't control those things, control 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:51.859 what you can control, and work with those people. 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:54.240 We work with the Polish Festival, we work with 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:55.940 the Italian Festival, we work with the Irish 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:59.880 Festival. We've always promoted, one of the first 00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:02.460 things when I got the job was to promote the 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:04.940 puck drops for the Syracuse Crunch. We work with 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:08.160 Syracuse University, so we work with the Amphitheater, 00:28:08.180 --> 00:28:11.599 and we will promote their concerts and give away 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:14.380 tickets to the concerts. We work with the New 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:18.140 York State Fair. We embrace everything that makes 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:21.640 our community great. And then those guys embrace 00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:24.720 us. And that's the balance that you need to make 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:27.579 a community work. Exactly. Everything you describe 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:30.359 is just a good functional community. And I love 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.200 that we see folks in charge of these massive 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:36.599 things that have that very community -based mindset. 00:28:36.700 --> 00:28:38.079 We're working with Syracuse Stage tonight. And 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:40.359 we're working with Syracuse Stage over the course 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:41.900 of the years when they have something that's, 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:43.319 you know, they have a new play that they have. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:46.079 that they've commissioned called the National 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:48.299 Past Night. You remember when, like years ago, 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:50.500 there was some report coming out of Cuba that 00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:53.200 they were sending sound waves into our embassy 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.400 and people were getting sick? So somehow they 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:59.160 commissioned a play. Somehow they're taking that. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:03.019 And the Houston Astros cheating scandal and a 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:06.000 play is coming called the National Pastime to 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:07.859 Syracuse stage. We're going to learn all about 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:10.460 it tonight on Dollar Thursday, which is Copa 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:13.660 de la Diversión as we take the field as the Congueros 00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:16.519 de Syracuse and I can butcher the Spanish language 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:20.359 on the field in my pregame. That is phenomenal. 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:23.920 This is incredible. That's a lot of info to get 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:26.789 through right there. I'm trying to... The most 00:29:26.789 --> 00:29:29.890 important part is it's Dollar Thursday. Right. 00:29:30.109 --> 00:29:32.769 And what time's the game? Our games generally 00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:36.289 start at 6 .35. The gates open at 5 .30. You 00:29:36.289 --> 00:29:38.890 know, and I always get back to the things that 00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:42.609 shock people. And if you take a look at the landscape, 00:29:43.809 --> 00:29:47.970 nobody does what we do. Right? And this day and 00:29:47.970 --> 00:29:50.730 age of complaining about how expensive everything 00:29:50.730 --> 00:29:53.650 is, and this, that, and the other thing. Taco 00:29:53.650 --> 00:29:57.710 Tuesday. We have food discounts, uh, 50 % off 00:29:57.710 --> 00:30:00.630 wine slushies on Wednesdays, $5 off Wildcat chicken 00:30:00.630 --> 00:30:02.809 wings and the stuff in the store. Another food 00:30:02.809 --> 00:30:06.549 and drink discount. Dollar Thursday, $2 for a 00:30:06.549 --> 00:30:09.250 national casing, world's greatest hot dog. Uh, 00:30:09.309 --> 00:30:12.450 the Hoffman, Hoffman hot dog and the Cooney. 00:30:12.569 --> 00:30:15.549 Way better than the Zweigel's hot dog served 00:30:15.549 --> 00:30:17.549 by the Rochester Redwings and the world's most 00:30:17.549 --> 00:30:21.549 horrible person, Dan Mason. Yeah, Dan. You're 00:30:21.549 --> 00:30:29.130 going down. And $3 .16 cans of beer and 1911 00:30:29.130 --> 00:30:32.049 hard cider. We can get a Saranac craft beer for 00:30:32.049 --> 00:30:36.809 $3. Fireworks every Friday with a fizzy Friday 00:30:36.809 --> 00:30:38.910 with a deal. You buy a ticket, you get two craft 00:30:38.910 --> 00:30:40.990 beers or two canned cocktails. Again, it's gonna 00:30:40.990 --> 00:30:43.089 save you 50 % if you bought that at a regular 00:30:43.089 --> 00:30:46.170 price. Kids eat free on Sunday. Jeff the Magic 00:30:46.170 --> 00:30:48.910 Man's there doing free balloon art. Run the bases 00:30:48.910 --> 00:30:52.349 after the game. I mean, nobody does what we do. 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:54.410 That's awesome. And we're going to keep doing 00:30:54.410 --> 00:30:58.390 it. And we'll play to the people that show up. 00:30:58.730 --> 00:31:00.650 And if they have a good time, they're going to 00:31:00.650 --> 00:31:02.430 keep telling their friends and their neighbors. 00:31:02.730 --> 00:31:04.690 And I don't blame people for not coming out on 00:31:04.690 --> 00:31:07.710 a Wednesday night. I mean, on a 38 degrees? Sure. 00:31:07.869 --> 00:31:10.670 I mean, it's 50 % off a wine slushie. But guess 00:31:10.670 --> 00:31:12.369 what? There's a Wednesday in June where I'm going 00:31:12.369 --> 00:31:15.170 to get 50 % off of that wine slushie. Could be 00:31:15.170 --> 00:31:16.750 warm. I mean, honestly, your biggest competitor 00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:18.450 would be the weather. The weather is probably 00:31:18.450 --> 00:31:20.779 our number one. Yeah. You know, and this is what 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:22.759 I meant. I want to reiterate. I'm not just saying 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:24.640 this because Jason's on the show. I'm telling 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:28.039 you that this is they go above and beyond other 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:30.720 minor league clubs to create that experience. 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:32.200 And I don't know that we do. I think this is 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:34.640 what we all do. I think if you went to Nashville, 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:37.700 I think if you went even to dreaded Rochester, 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:40.220 New York, Dan Mason, we're led by the world's 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:44.140 most horrible person, Dan Mason. They thank you. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.089 I'm going to need one of those. They do an awesome 00:31:47.089 --> 00:31:52.289 job. They have great food and great fun. And 00:31:52.289 --> 00:31:55.069 Rochester is doing it, and Buffalo is doing it, 00:31:55.329 --> 00:31:58.950 and Worcester is doing it. And we're all like 00:31:58.950 --> 00:32:01.009 this. When I say that we're a brotherhood and 00:32:01.009 --> 00:32:03.430 sisterhood of the minor leagues, if you've worked 00:32:03.430 --> 00:32:06.069 for any extended period of time in minor league 00:32:06.069 --> 00:32:08.289 baseball, And it probably extends to some other 00:32:08.289 --> 00:32:09.930 minor league sports, but specifically minor league 00:32:09.930 --> 00:32:12.329 baseball. And I meet you and you said that you 00:32:12.329 --> 00:32:14.670 worked for the Chattanooga lookouts, or you worked 00:32:14.670 --> 00:32:16.589 for the El Tuna curve, or you worked for the 00:32:16.589 --> 00:32:19.910 El Paso Chihuahuas. We know. The fact that you 00:32:19.910 --> 00:32:21.549 even know the names. You're already on the same. 00:32:21.549 --> 00:32:23.730 We're already there, because all the stadiums 00:32:23.730 --> 00:32:26.450 are very similar. We're all doing this for the 00:32:26.450 --> 00:32:28.829 fans and for the fun. Because when it works, 00:32:29.230 --> 00:32:33.029 it's amazing. It's so fun. And that's the perk 00:32:33.029 --> 00:32:35.109 of the job. And a million years ago, when I started, 00:32:35.690 --> 00:32:39.799 1990, three in Watertown, New York. My boss, 00:32:40.019 --> 00:32:43.240 Jack Trotz, he made me sit out front at the gate 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.380 and thank people for coming and just shake their 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:48.220 hands. If there's a problem, deal with it. And 00:32:48.220 --> 00:32:49.920 if not, just thank them for coming. Let them 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.339 know we got a game tomorrow night. Let them know 00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:53.819 we got a game the next day. And I do that to 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:56.359 this very day. And I sit out front and I shake 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:58.880 people's hands and I thank them for coming. And 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.279 you just see the smiles on people's faces. And 00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:05.220 now here, scooch is there. and you see the kids 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:07.119 just go up and get a picture with Scooch. You 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:08.980 see adults go up and get a picture with Scooch. 00:33:09.140 --> 00:33:11.380 Last time I took a picture of like 10, you know, 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:14.119 they see college kids with Scooch and they just 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:17.039 had a blast. Somebody came, he's been in the 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:20.440 city for four years. He's from the Bronx, Yankees 00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:22.880 fan. He's never been to a ballpark, never been 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:24.819 to a game. Somebody brought him last night and 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.719 he said he had a blast. You know, so. There's 00:33:27.719 --> 00:33:30.180 opportunities out there, and you don't know that 00:33:30.180 --> 00:33:33.259 unless you're out there with the people and talking 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:35.720 to them and inviting them into your business. 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:39.779 And just to back that up, that is how I met you. 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:42.960 Danny, when we went to shoot the episode at the 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:46.160 park, we're standing there, and Danny goes, you 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:47.759 know, I probably should try to get you to meet 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:50.059 the GM, Jason. I'm thinking, oh, God, I would 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.980 love it. I'm thinking I'm going to meet a guy 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:52.400 in a suit and I'm going to go to his office. 00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:54.700 And I go, yeah. He goes, actually, there he is. 00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:57.049 And I look, and there's... I go, where? He goes, 00:33:57.109 --> 00:34:00.190 there. I'm like, that guy? He's got a gold coat 00:34:00.190 --> 00:34:02.509 on and flappy hat, and he's going, ooh, top coat 00:34:02.509 --> 00:34:04.670 too. And he's slapping hands with the band. I'm 00:34:04.670 --> 00:34:08.329 like, this is amazing. So you really are out 00:34:08.329 --> 00:34:10.829 there with the fans, and I love that, man. That's 00:34:10.829 --> 00:34:12.190 what we do. That's how we roll. That brings me 00:34:12.190 --> 00:34:14.389 to my last question, which is, I'd love to get 00:34:14.389 --> 00:34:16.750 your opinion on this. Speaking of fun, right 00:34:16.750 --> 00:34:20.269 now, there's this trend. There's a thing called 00:34:20.269 --> 00:34:23.539 the Savannah Bananas. Oh, yeah. And they, you 00:34:23.539 --> 00:34:25.139 saw this event, didn't we talk about this event? 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:26.679 I'm the one that brought it up. You are the one 00:34:26.679 --> 00:34:28.900 that brought it up. You may recall. You may recall. 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:31.260 And, you know, they're like the Harlem, for those 00:34:31.260 --> 00:34:32.500 of you that don't know, they're like the Harlem 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:35.380 Globetrotters of baseball. Don't say that to 00:34:35.380 --> 00:34:39.800 Jesse Goff. Oh, sorry. The general concept, but 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:42.239 yeah, they go way behind. Oh, he's the owner 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:44.539 of this event, okay. Well, what I mean is, it's 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:46.519 along the same lines of just an entertaining 00:34:46.519 --> 00:34:52.699 experience. Do you, is that... amongst your peers 00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:55.940 in the business, do they feel like a threat to 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.119 the game of baseball, or do you feel like it 00:34:58.119 --> 00:34:59.800 complements that? It complements, I mean, it's 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:01.519 what we all would wish we could do if we didn't 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:04.619 have rules. Yeah. I don't know that we'd be able 00:35:04.619 --> 00:35:06.940 to do it to that successful level, that awesomeness, 00:35:07.579 --> 00:35:09.900 but it's such, they came here a couple years 00:35:09.900 --> 00:35:13.920 ago, we were lucky enough to have them, and you 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:16.219 have to see it live, you have to experience it. 00:35:16.619 --> 00:35:18.619 And I think some of the most amazing thing was 00:35:18.619 --> 00:35:20.920 they came to Indianapolis and we were talking 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:23.300 to other teams to, to say, Hey, what do we need 00:35:23.300 --> 00:35:24.940 to prepare for? You know, we've heard all these 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:26.739 rumors. So, you know, we can get on the phone 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:28.860 with Randy Lewandowski who runs the Indianapolis 00:35:28.860 --> 00:35:31.440 Indians. And he was an old school guy. He's old 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:34.199 school. And Indianapolis is just one of the most 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:37.980 well respected minor league teams. Uh, and Randy 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:42.019 Lewandowski says it is the single most exciting, 00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:44.719 greatest. baseball event I've ever seen in my 00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:47.300 life. Wow. And then they came here, and it's 00:35:47.300 --> 00:35:49.340 the single most amazing baseball event you've 00:35:49.340 --> 00:35:52.000 ever seen. It's incredible. They're the best. 00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:54.659 And the fans just love it. We're like, we were 00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:57.039 terrified. Yeah, it's general admission seating. 00:35:57.619 --> 00:35:59.619 There's 10 ,000 people at general admission, 00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:01.659 but nobody has a seat. There wasn't one problem. 00:36:02.099 --> 00:36:05.039 Wow. Everybody was cool. And they have it down. 00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:08.320 The players were great. Jesse was great. The 00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:11.239 entertainment is great. You think, you know, 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:13.099 we're bringing these people in three hours at 00:36:13.099 --> 00:36:15.519 a time. They entertain you from the second that 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:18.219 you show up to the second you leave. And when 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:20.019 the players go out there, this might be the best 00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:21.699 thing. So at the end of the game, the players 00:36:21.699 --> 00:36:24.099 were out there for an hour and a half signing 00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:27.619 autographs for every single fan. You know, I 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:30.619 think that is what I wish that we could get more 00:36:30.619 --> 00:36:33.780 interaction with our players and get our players 00:36:33.780 --> 00:36:36.179 more involved in the community. The hard part 00:36:36.179 --> 00:36:38.469 is that they play baseball every day. Yeah. You 00:36:38.469 --> 00:36:40.289 know, there's not, there's not a goal. We're 00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:42.670 going to finish this series with the, with the 00:36:42.670 --> 00:36:44.610 Scranton rail riders. And then next week we can 00:36:44.610 --> 00:36:46.409 go to libraries and we can go to the mall. We 00:36:46.409 --> 00:36:49.050 can do this. They're getting on a bus. We're 00:36:49.050 --> 00:36:50.570 actually getting on a plane. We're going to Jacksonville 00:36:50.570 --> 00:36:54.829 to play the Jacksonville jumbo shrimp. My early 00:36:54.829 --> 00:36:57.650 baseball names are the best. Right. Are the best. 00:36:58.050 --> 00:37:00.650 Wow. Yeah. The isotope. No, I love to hear that. 00:37:00.750 --> 00:37:03.570 And honestly, um, I'm glad you asked that question 00:37:03.570 --> 00:37:05.940 because. A lot of what you've been talking about 00:37:05.940 --> 00:37:08.739 that whole time is what I see from them promoting 00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:10.980 excessively the Savannah Bananas, I'm saying, 00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:15.039 which is their fan experience. And every bit 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:16.659 of thing that you watch about their business 00:37:16.659 --> 00:37:18.260 strategy and things like that, it's all about 00:37:18.260 --> 00:37:22.039 100 % for the fan, which is exactly what we've 00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:23.360 heard you talk about this whole interview. They're 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:26.019 able to take it to 11. Yeah. So we think we're 00:37:26.019 --> 00:37:28.780 at 11. There might be a 12. That's only because 00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:31.760 they are able to... If you could take it to that 00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:33.739 12, like you said, you would. And that's what 00:37:33.739 --> 00:37:36.539 I mean, is like, within the rules of the game, 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:38.260 you... He'd look awesome in that yellow suit, 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:40.860 I'm just saying. I should be orange, though. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:44.599 I have a hat. You took it to the max. You take 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:46.860 it to the max, though. You do! The experience 00:37:46.860 --> 00:37:51.039 at the Syracuse Mets games are as close to Savannah 00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:52.929 Bananas as you can get without it. You know, 00:37:53.429 --> 00:37:55.389 without it being this absolutely. So Jason, we're 00:37:55.389 --> 00:37:57.809 going to, uh, we're not going to take much more 00:37:57.809 --> 00:37:59.269 of your time here, but I just want to make sure 00:37:59.269 --> 00:38:01.309 we get all the links and things. So people want 00:38:01.309 --> 00:38:04.289 to go to the game is the best bet. Grab your 00:38:04.289 --> 00:38:06.409 tickets in advance. Is it get them at the gate? 00:38:06.510 --> 00:38:07.789 What's, what's your recommendation? You know, 00:38:07.789 --> 00:38:10.329 there's just really to give options. So, I mean, 00:38:10.329 --> 00:38:12.070 there's always a ticket available. You know, 00:38:12.070 --> 00:38:14.469 it was very, we sell out on education days and 00:38:14.469 --> 00:38:16.690 you know, there's a big player coming back. You 00:38:16.690 --> 00:38:18.469 know, that's the, it's nice to have that skeletal 00:38:18.469 --> 00:38:20.809 girth. Excuse me. Little league night. Some of 00:38:20.809 --> 00:38:23.539 the nights are a little bit busier. Uh, but syracusemets 00:38:23.539 --> 00:38:25.739 .com you can get everything online. You want 00:38:25.739 --> 00:38:28.179 to skip the fees. We still have paper tickets. 00:38:28.179 --> 00:38:30.400 Uh, you can still just go to the, to the box 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.800 office, but we have great things like the flex 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:36.000 plan. Uh, and the flex plan is, is 10 undated 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:41.320 vouchers. Uh, it's $125. So it's $12 and 50 cents. 00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:45.380 You pick any game, any seat, uh, and you just 00:38:45.380 --> 00:38:47.840 exchange that voucher and you come in. Season 00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:50.619 tickets are affordable, but with our season tickets, 00:38:50.920 --> 00:38:54.920 if you don't come. to the Wednesday game and 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:57.019 you go to opening day and then there's the next 00:38:57.019 --> 00:38:59.039 day and it's still 30 degrees and it's Wednesday. 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:01.340 And you don't want to go? Those four tickets 00:39:01.340 --> 00:39:03.880 you can redeem for any game for the rest of the 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:06.760 season. So if you're a business and it's a great 00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:08.900 investment because guess what? I'm not going 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:10.960 to any games in April. And I had four season 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:13.579 tickets and you guys had 12 games. You now have, 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:16.599 what is 12 times 24? It sounds like a lot. But 00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:18.860 now you could bring your employees, bring your 00:39:18.860 --> 00:39:20.440 family, bring your friends, donate those to a 00:39:20.440 --> 00:39:22.369 high school team, whatever it is. And they could 00:39:22.369 --> 00:39:23.869 come to the 4th of July. They could come to Little 00:39:23.869 --> 00:39:25.210 League night. They could do whatever they want. 00:39:25.409 --> 00:39:26.989 That's incredible. So many different options. 00:39:27.849 --> 00:39:29.929 So I encourage you to go to SyracuseMets .com 00:39:29.929 --> 00:39:32.190 to check it out. Give a phone call. We'll all 00:39:32.190 --> 00:39:34.610 pick it up. And we'll try to talk you through 00:39:34.610 --> 00:39:38.070 whatever is the best thing for you in your situation 00:39:38.070 --> 00:39:40.929 to come and hang out with us. And go to SyracuseMets 00:39:40.929 --> 00:39:44.329 .com unless you're Dan Mason. Yeah, Dan Mason. 00:39:44.349 --> 00:39:46.309 Yeah, Dan Mason hate night. That's what we gotta 00:39:46.309 --> 00:39:50.190 do. And that actually might be an idea. Dan Mason 00:39:50.190 --> 00:39:53.139 hate night. I'm not off -board with that. Listen, 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:55.920 if I owned a baseball team, my friend, Jason 00:39:55.920 --> 00:39:58.139 Smoral, you would be the guy I would want as 00:39:58.139 --> 00:40:00.579 my GM. Thank you for coming. Can I be the president 00:40:00.579 --> 00:40:03.000 and then I can hire Dan Mason so that I can just 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:05.159 yell at him every day? That sounds great, Adam. 00:40:05.239 --> 00:40:08.119 Yeah. Make him go clean the toilet, Dan. Whatever 00:40:08.119 --> 00:40:10.019 he does to him, it's a horrible idea. Yeah. Oh, 00:40:10.059 --> 00:40:12.539 what was it? Nah. We're just not gonna do that. 00:40:13.699 --> 00:40:16.340 God. I don't even know this guy. I'm in. Let's 00:40:16.340 --> 00:40:18.699 go. And the best part about it, he's literally 00:40:18.699 --> 00:40:21.179 the best person that's on. I had a feeling. I 00:40:21.179 --> 00:40:26.139 hate him. Jason, thank you so much for joining 00:40:26.139 --> 00:40:28.199 us here on Good News York. You are welcome back 00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:31.599 anytime. Thank you so much. We're happy to promote 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:33.360 all the fun things happening at the ballpark 00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:35.639 and we will definitely be back out there to do 00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:37.880 some more fun stuff. Don't threaten me with a 00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:39.980 good time. Go to a Syracuse. I double dog dare 00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:42.579 you. Okay, well now I have to. And he'll bring 00:40:42.579 --> 00:40:45.019 the hat. I will bring the hat every time I go 00:40:45.019 --> 00:40:46.659 to a Syracuse Mets game. Then you can accessorize 00:40:46.659 --> 00:40:49.059 it as you go. You can get the Hulk fist. You 00:40:49.059 --> 00:40:51.719 can get another foam concoction. Yeah, is the 00:40:51.719 --> 00:40:54.980 Hulk, not the Hulk, is the gold jacket a you 00:40:54.980 --> 00:40:56.980 thing, or is that available? The gold is not 00:40:56.980 --> 00:40:58.800 available, and it is the world's greatest Mets 00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:02.460 jacket, and it is, there's a story behind it. 00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:04.800 John Wallace, the basketball player. Oh, yeah, 00:41:04.920 --> 00:41:07.659 okay. Has a friendship with Archie Wixson, the 00:41:07.659 --> 00:41:09.179 director of facilities with Onondaga County. 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:11.840 And Archie has this jacket. I said, Archie, I'm 00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:13.840 going to need to wear that jacket. I'm going 00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:15.519 to have to take that. He goes, well. He goes, 00:41:15.619 --> 00:41:16.639 you're gonna need to wear it out. If you gotta 00:41:16.639 --> 00:41:17.900 give it to you, you gotta wear it on opening 00:41:17.900 --> 00:41:19.900 day. I said, that's the point. That was why I 00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:21.800 was. So it's a little small for me. I don't, 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:23.920 I think maybe that's why John Wallace gave it 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:25.760 to Archie Wixson because obviously the fit in. 00:41:26.139 --> 00:41:29.500 But I wore it to Citi Field last year for the 00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:32.639 playoff games. And if you wanna feel like you 00:41:32.639 --> 00:41:36.039 are the world's most important person, wear that 00:41:36.039 --> 00:41:40.699 jacket at Citi Field during a playoff game. Everyone 00:41:40.699 --> 00:41:43.400 can walk by and everyone's just like, their mouths 00:41:43.400 --> 00:41:47.510 agape. Now that was so great. That makes me that's 00:41:47.510 --> 00:41:49.050 another question. Sorry. That makes me think 00:41:49.050 --> 00:41:51.630 I believe John Walls had this Mac jacket custom 00:41:51.630 --> 00:41:54.809 -made Wow, really? Oh, yeah. I did not see another 00:41:54.809 --> 00:41:57.269 jacket like it If there is there's five of them 00:41:57.269 --> 00:41:59.909 on the planet. It's amazing. Damn. It's one of 00:41:59.909 --> 00:42:02.070 the it's the snap Yeah, I remember with the you 00:42:02.070 --> 00:42:03.909 know, it's shiny pictures and you can't wear 00:42:03.909 --> 00:42:06.929 it on Wednesday April 29th Yeah, you know wear 00:42:06.929 --> 00:42:09.570 it on opening day. So when you go to a major 00:42:09.570 --> 00:42:12.719 league game like that. Yeah, that's game Do they 00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:14.360 roll out the red carpet or are you just like 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:16.380 another, I mean, do they treat you the way you 00:42:16.380 --> 00:42:19.320 should? The Mets took incredible care for us. 00:42:19.619 --> 00:42:22.260 The Cohen family invited all the minor leaguers, 00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:25.539 everybody. They brought everybody to the game 00:42:25.539 --> 00:42:28.480 that wanted to go. They paid for transportation. 00:42:28.820 --> 00:42:31.239 They paid for a hotel. You could pick one of 00:42:31.239 --> 00:42:32.679 the, you know, if you wanted to go to every single 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:35.019 game you could, but they weren't paying for all 00:42:35.019 --> 00:42:36.900 your hotels and all that stuff, but they brought 00:42:36.900 --> 00:42:39.329 us down there. They couldn't have been more gracious. 00:42:40.329 --> 00:42:44.630 The Mets are a fantastic organization. We're 00:42:44.630 --> 00:42:46.369 not even owned by them anymore, and I'm still 00:42:46.369 --> 00:42:48.530 gonna say that because they are top notch from 00:42:48.530 --> 00:42:51.210 top to bottom. That's incredible. I have one 00:42:51.210 --> 00:42:54.090 quick thing I know. You're reminding me all this 00:42:54.090 --> 00:42:56.389 shit. I gotta tell you this. So my wife, I was 00:42:56.389 --> 00:42:58.730 born into a Mets family. Good people. And when 00:42:58.730 --> 00:43:00.929 I asked my father... Mets fans are real fans. 00:43:01.070 --> 00:43:07.460 Well, I'm a Yankees fan. Here we go. Okay, thanks 00:43:07.460 --> 00:43:11.099 Danny. When I asked my father -in -law if I could 00:43:11.099 --> 00:43:14.139 marry my wife, he said one minute. He got up, 00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:15.860 he went into the garage, he came back with a 00:43:15.860 --> 00:43:17.699 sledgehammer and he sat down and he said, proceed. 00:43:17.980 --> 00:43:20.500 So I do the thing. He says, all right, you can 00:43:20.500 --> 00:43:22.260 marry my daughter under one condition. And I'm 00:43:22.260 --> 00:43:23.920 serious. I go, OK. He goes, if and when you have 00:43:23.920 --> 00:43:26.559 kids, they have to be Mets fans. And to this 00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:29.320 day, both my kids are Mets. I have to bite my 00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:31.599 lip, but they're Mets fans. And that's why Mets 00:43:31.599 --> 00:43:34.280 fans are Mets fans. Exactly. And when I proposed 00:43:34.280 --> 00:43:37.940 to my wife, I bought a brick at Citi Field. And 00:43:37.940 --> 00:43:40.820 we went to a Mets Yankees game. And I forget 00:43:40.820 --> 00:43:42.579 what the excuse was, where we had to go find 00:43:42.579 --> 00:43:45.199 this brick. But all of a sudden, we found it. 00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:47.199 And I said, hey, look at that brick. And it said, 00:43:47.300 --> 00:43:49.260 Katie, Katie, you know, I don't want to say my 00:43:49.260 --> 00:43:51.059 wife's maiden name, but Katie, will you marry 00:43:51.059 --> 00:43:53.440 me, Mike? And she was like, what? And I got down 00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:55.559 on a knee, we took a picture, and all the Mets 00:43:55.559 --> 00:44:00.139 fans were like, shut it. We're Yankees here. 00:44:01.500 --> 00:44:07.519 So we have a strong tie, as much as I'm a Yankees 00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:11.260 fan. Come on over. No, no. Just the Yankees, 00:44:11.260 --> 00:44:13.280 but I do have a big spot in my heart for the 00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:16.280 Mets now, especially because of you. Is that 00:44:16.280 --> 00:44:18.099 still there, the brick? The brick will be there 00:44:18.099 --> 00:44:20.039 forever. That's incredible. Yeah, and we have 00:44:20.039 --> 00:44:22.559 a picture, we have a frame where it's the picture 00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:25.360 of the brick, then we have a picture of me proposing 00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:26.940 to her, so friends of ours were there, they took 00:44:26.940 --> 00:44:29.059 a picture, and the third one, we're gonna take 00:44:29.059 --> 00:44:32.340 my kids, with my wife and I, to a Yankees game, 00:44:32.420 --> 00:44:33.760 and we're gonna get a picture in front of the 00:44:33.760 --> 00:44:35.679 brick with the kids, and that'll complete the 00:44:35.679 --> 00:44:38.900 frame. Look at this, look at this. Met's fans 00:44:38.900 --> 00:44:41.460 are hardcore. Well, I'm a Bills fan, and it's 00:44:41.460 --> 00:44:43.880 the same mentality. You know? Very similar. And 00:44:43.880 --> 00:44:45.579 that's why, you know, I love them. Yeah. And 00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:47.340 I love you. Their Mets fans are nuts and weird. 00:44:47.659 --> 00:44:49.559 Probably the people want the Syracuse Mets to 00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:52.159 come to their city. Yeah. Because Mets fans will 00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:54.820 come out, use our radio broadcast team. You'll 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:55.980 be listening to the game. They'll be like, there's 00:44:55.980 --> 00:44:57.860 a lot of orange and blue here in Charlotte tonight. 00:44:57.980 --> 00:44:59.500 There's a lot of orange and blue. Jacksonville, 00:44:59.639 --> 00:45:01.219 when we come to Jacksonville, there's gonna be 00:45:01.219 --> 00:45:02.920 a ton of Mets fans just show up. That's all. 00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:04.280 They'll be like, oh, we want Syracuse to come 00:45:04.280 --> 00:45:05.679 back. Absolutely. It's all the people that left 00:45:05.679 --> 00:45:07.760 New York and live in Florida. Yes, 100%. Yep. 00:45:08.569 --> 00:45:11.269 That's awesome, man. Jason Smoral, GM of the 00:45:11.269 --> 00:45:13.630 Syracuse Mets. You gave us way more of your time 00:45:13.630 --> 00:45:15.230 than you needed to, my man. Thank you, man. We 00:45:15.230 --> 00:45:16.090 love you. We really appreciate it. We will be 00:45:16.090 --> 00:45:20.250 at the games. SyracuseMets .com. What's the next 00:45:20.250 --> 00:45:21.550 game? Do we talk about it one more time? Tonight, 00:45:21.710 --> 00:45:23.750 tonight, and then tomorrow night, and then the 00:45:23.750 --> 00:45:25.869 next night. And then the night after that. I'm 00:45:25.869 --> 00:45:28.389 just thinking about those discount hot dogs, 00:45:28.449 --> 00:45:30.289 and of course the ice -cold Utica club you saw 00:45:30.289 --> 00:45:33.610 there. Oh, and the pierogies. So good. The perogies. 00:45:34.010 --> 00:45:36.610 I don't know if I... Perogies, no S. Oh, sorry. 00:45:37.139 --> 00:45:39.239 I don't think I knew they had those. We have 00:45:39.239 --> 00:45:42.239 them not only on a vegetarian cart, but we also 00:45:42.239 --> 00:45:45.920 have them deep -fried, deep -fried buffalo chicken 00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:48.699 wing pierogi. Oh, you dirty little man. Well, 00:45:48.699 --> 00:45:50.739 that's it. I'm buying season tickets. Yeah, exactly. 00:45:51.500 --> 00:45:54.300 And with that, folks, thank you so much for joining 00:45:54.300 --> 00:45:56.480 us on today's Good News York. This has been an 00:45:56.480 --> 00:45:59.480 awesome episode. I'm really, really excited to 00:45:59.480 --> 00:46:00.619 see the squad. I think folks are going to love 00:46:00.619 --> 00:46:02.539 it. So, Jason, thank you so much, man. Thank 00:46:02.539 --> 00:46:04.780 you, guys. I appreciate it. And we'll tune in 00:46:04.780 --> 00:46:07.139 next week. Thank you. Later.