Transcript of Tim Kurkjian Loves Baseball More Than You | Hour 2

Meditieren, Yoga, Joggen— nichts entspannt mich. Echt?

Mich entspannt meine Steuer total.

Steuer? Wie Finanzamt? Die Steuererklärung?

Ja, ich hab ganz locker über 1.000 € zurückbekommen.

Hast du geheime Connections oder Excel-Superkräfte?

Nö, nur die WISO Steuer App.

Wow, und das ist einfach?

Klar, die macht fast alles automatisch.

Ich fühl mich plötzlich so entspannt. Hol dir dein Geld zurück. Abgabefrist: 31. Juli.

Was?

Schaffst du ganz entspannt mit WISO Steuer.

Ach ja.

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Before we get to Tim Kirkshun here, and he'll be on with us in seconds, can you just give me the stat of the day music to preview today's giant game between England and Argentina?

Star of the day— star of the day! It's Star of the Day! Start of the day— start of the day! This year it starts off today! Start of the day— start of the day! And this here stars up to date! That'll be Dave starting me there at least yesterday or today?

At the 2026 World Cup—that's this one—the 39-year-old Lionel Messi ranks either the top or tied for the top, uh, for goals, 8 shots, 33 chances created, 21 big chances created, 6 successful crosses, 17 through balls, 15.

This is the first time he's ever played England. Crazy. His team stinks.

It's the weakest of the 4 that were in the semifinals. It's the slowest of the 4 in the semifinals, and he is somehow still nuts. Uh, that stat is courtesy of Opta Joe.

Mike, who would better, this Argentina team, or if you put Messi on Cape Verde?

I mean, this Argentina team, but Cape Verde, I'm looking at them in a whole new light after seeing what Spain did to France yesterday. No doubt. Tim Kirkshen is everyone's favorite.

He's the Hall of Fame baseball writer, ESPN's MLB analyst, reporter for Baseball Tonight, and the host of Is This a Great Game or What?, the podcast he does with his son Jeff. It is always nice to see him. Rob, I'm curious what you have to think about a couple of different things. Rob Manfred, first of all, saying that the payroll disparity and why the league wants a salary cap— he says, quote, the gap is $441 million. It defies human experience to ask a fan to think that the bottom end of that gap has the same opportunity to win as the top end of the gap. Now, he said to us that the bottom end did have a chance when I was challenging him on some of this stuff. But what do you think is going to happen there as it regards— Tim, and thank you for being with us. As it regards the salary cap?

Well, as I've told you, Dan, I covered the '81 strike. '81. It was 45 years ago and we're still talking about very similar things and we haven't gotten a whole lot closer to any solution. So I just don't see at this point the union accepting a salary cap because they've been against that since the days of Marvin Miller, who screamed at me in Washington one day in 1981 because of something I had incorrectly written because I didn't know what I was doing back then. Not sure I know what I'm doing today when it comes to labor, but we're in a bad spot and something has to happen here because these two sides are really, really far apart.

Speaking of a bad spot, Buster Olney on Get Up was talking about All-Stars not playing in the All-Star Game. And he says, quote, I think the Midsummer Classic is in a fragile state. I don't want to be negative. I love baseball, but I'm not tuning in to a game to watch my favorite players strike out and not be able to hit the ball, Tim.

Yeah, we had 27 strikeouts in the game last night. That's the most in any 9-inning All-Star Game ever. And again, the, the high road to take, which I almost always take, is that the stuff that these guys see today, we, we've never seen this before. It's the hardest hitting environment in Major League history, and the secondary stuff that these guys have to go with 98 to 105 miles an hour is, it's just too much. And it's just another reminder last night that when really good pitchers with great stuff locate that great stuff, the hitters have absolutely no chance. Even the best hitters on the face of the earth have no chance. Dan, we had 22 players strike out 100 times by the All-Star break. 22 have struck out 100 times or more. Hank Aaron never struck out 100 times in any season. Tony Gwynn had one. Look, get different time, different era, different players, but it's, it's an issue when we have this many strikeouts and this many homers and not enough in between. And it's an issue that, you know, Paul Skenes and Jacob Mizraouki and Shohei Ohtani didn't pitch last night, unfortunately. I would love to have seen that.

But the guys who are still there are still unhittable. Just another reminder how hard it is to get a hit in the big leagues today.

Does Adam Silver Look like every hotel concierge merged into one person.

Does Adam Silver— told you I'm an old man now.

I'm almost 70. I have grandchildren. We can't be doing this still.

Does he look like what, a magic wand? Does he look like— that's a good one. Does he look like a mile marker?

Does he look like a brand new drumstick?

Does he look like an uncooked spaghetti noodle? Does he look like the ghost of a broomstick? Does he look like a plastic spoon? Does he look like a foul ball pole?

What? Too old. I'm too tired to be laughing like this. It is so funny, Dan. I tell you this every time I come on. This is all anyone wants to talk to me about. They don't want to know about anything else that I know. They just want to know about Adam Silver on your stupid show. It's so funny. God. Oh, total strangers come up to me with Adam Silver lookalikes.

What can you tell me about the last week here over the midsummer break here, specifically as it relates to Zach Wheeler?

What's the most petty and indignant you've ever seen a player do something like that?

That was not good. Look, I really expected him to play because it's in his hometown and it is— he would have gone with 6 of his teammates. I was surprised that he did that, but, um, you know, he's a very underrated pitcher and he just decided, if I'm not in the first group— and he should have been in the first group, he's had that good of a season— but the bottom line is, um, just take, take the accolade and, and go, go to the All-Star Game. It's amazing how many players are not going to the All-Star Game, or when they get there they can't play. Again, Dan, I grew up at a different time. I grew up when the All-Star Game was the coolest thing ever when Willie Mays hit a home run to start the '65 All-Star Game on our color TV, the first thing we'd ever seen on our color TV. Pete Rose used to meet people at the door of the clubhouse saying, we are going to beat the American League again this year. You understand that? Well, those days are over. And I understand it was a great week. It was a great week in Philadelphia.

The Home Run Derby was great. All-Star Game, too many strikeouts, but the crowd was in it. Philadelphia did great. But I would just like to see more guys have tremendous pride in going to the All-Star Game. And once you go there, you got to do everything you can to play in the All-Star Game. But as we try to protect our players, no matter what teams are stepping forward and say, nope, he can't pitch, we can't have him throw an inning, he might get hurt and we can't have that.

Tim, Major League Baseball wants its players to play in the Olympics in Los Angeles in a couple years, but they're using language like mandatory participation. Can you explain that a little bit further? And what does the union feel about this?

Well, the union's not going to be real wild about anything being mandatory because the players, it needs to be their decision, not that of Major League Baseball or anyone else. And look, fellas, I'm, again, hopelessly biased as a baseball guy. You can't take 10 days off, let's say, in the middle of a baseball season and expect to be really good when you come back. It doesn't work that way in baseball, whereas a great NBA player can take 10 days off and get his shooting form and his shooting motion back instantly because that motion is easier than trying to hit 103 miles an hour with violent movement. So, you know, this is a work in progress to see if the Olympic situation is going to work out for baseball players. But the union is probably not going to accept accept mandatory anything. It will be a choice by the team and the player whether the guy wants to play.

Tim, it came up on the show yesterday that I run a fan site on Twitter, now X, for my childhood hero Carl Yastrzemski. And the, the slogan of the fan site is "It's all you can 8," after his, uh, after his famous number. Can you tell me, is there a better all-time number 8 in baseball than Carl Yastrzemski?

Yeah, I think there are 3 better than him, and I love— oh boy, sorry, sorry, Greg, I shouldn't have done that. Um, all right, either should have, Dan. Yeah, I think Yogi Berra is the greatest number 8, won 3 MVPs, and he finished second 3 other times. I think, I think Cal Ripken was a better number 8 given how he changed the position of shortstop for everyone who followed him— Jeter, A-Rod, Chipper Jones, Troy Gloss, Nomar, all those guys. And I think Joe Morgan was a better 8 also. Joe Morgan won back-to-back MVPs. Joe Morgan is one of the 3 greatest second basemen of all time for me. Look, nobody loves Yaz more than I do because I grew up watching him play. But I— you do, yes. Poorly said by me, I'm sorry.

You do, do cut that out.

I think he's the 4th best number 8, and I think Willie Stargell is the 5th best number 8. But that's a, that's a tough number. And Gary Carter outside the top 5. Uh, on our podcast I had, uh, last year we did From Aussie to Oral, the greatest players of all time, number 1 through 55. When we got to 8, it was like, oh, what am I gonna do here? There are so many good choices, just like number 5. Dimaggio, Poole Holtz, Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson, George Brett. So there's some really interesting numbers, but 8 is the good one. And I'm sorry, Greg, if I offended you, but I— if you're asking me, I think those other 3 guys, given the positions that they played— shortstop, second base, and catcher— are slightly ahead of Carl Yastrzemski on the all-time 8 list.

You can settle the disputes from yesterday as well. Better Red Sox left fielder, Manny Ramirez or Carl Yastrzemski?

Well, defensively, it's not even close. Carl Yastrzemski is arguably the greatest defensive left fielder. I know he's the greatest defensive left fielder that I've ever seen. Rickey Henderson in his prime was awfully good. We don't give him enough credit for how he went to that line, would spin and throw the ball to second base. Barry Bonds in his prime, prime was a really good left fielder also. But Yaz was better than Manny Ramirez because he spent his entire career with the Red Sox. But I think Manny was a better better hitter overall than Karly Stremski. Forget everything else involving Manny Ramirez. But if I have to pick a left fielder for the Red Sox, I'm taking Yaz for sure.

Cal Raleigh had one of the greatest seasons of all time last season, and I know baseball can happen sometimes, but this is an all-time slide. What do you think is happening there, and where do you rank it in all-time year-over-year slides? Well, good, good question, Mike.

We have to figure out where he ends up this year, from 60 homers to 165 at the moment. Now, I'm not going to make excuses for anyone because Cal Raleigh is one of the really good guys in the game and a really good player. But this is the way it was explained to me. You can buy it if you like. He goes to the WBC and he gets 9 at-bats in 2 weeks. And when you're a spring training player and you're trying to get ready for the season, you need more than 9 at-bats in 2 weeks. And the other thing is, and I'm not real wild about this either, these guys hit like 3, 4 times a day. They go to the cage like all day to hit. And Cal Raleigh didn't get that in spring training either, because when he was with the WBC, they didn't have the facility to just go to another indoor cage and hit it 1 in the afternoon for a 7 o'clock game and then hit at 10:30 after the game. That's what guys do today. So I think that really set him back, according to the people with the Mariners that I have spoken to.

But it's just another reminder, fellas, how beautiful of baseball is that you can go from a great player to a below-average player, like, just like that. Whereas a great NBA jump shooter doesn't shoot 51% one season and 18% the next. It just can't happen that way. But it does in baseball, which makes the game so beautiful because it is so hard to play. Shabba!

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Dan Levitar. I want to address, uh, Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public. Greg Cody.

Don't do it. This is the Dan Levitar Show.

Does Tom Verducci look like he's one Cadillac sale away from President's Club and an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Acapulco.

I did the All-Star Game with Tom Verducci last night. We were in the same dugout briefly, and then I switched to the other dugout. So yes, and Dooch is one of my dear friends from a long time ago.

And terrible, terrible nickname. Terrible nickname for Verducci.

Yeah, sorry. Yeah, that's— yeah, sorry. Tom is a dear friend of mine. Sorry.

What up, Dooch? Put it up on the poll. Is Dooch a terrible nickname? Yes or no? Uh, does Jim Harbaugh look like the dad who always keeps his high school cleats in the trunk of the car just in case he needs to lace them up.

Does Bobby Witt Jr. look like the assistant manager in the 1980s stereo shop who can get you a big discount on some used tower speakers?

He really does.

Uh, what are you most worried about when it comes to baseball, Tim? If you had to put at the top of your list your greatest, uh, concern as someone who really loves the sport?

Well, again, Dan, the The labor is the only thing I'm really truly worried about. Okay. The rest of the game is in good hands right now. We had one of the greatest Octobers ever. We had the best World Series I've ever seen. The WBC was tremendous. The regular season has been fantastic just because of its unpredictable nature. And the players are bigger, stronger, faster than ever. We had 7 rookies in the All-Star Game. That's most ever. We had 20 players 25 or younger in the All-Star Game. That ties for the most ever. This all points to baseball is in a very good spot. So I have very little concern about it other than, of course, where we are with labor. But we've been over this, Dan. The strikeout rate just is going to have to change and adjustments are going to have to be made. Otherwise, we're going to continue to get 27 strikeouts. In the All-Star Game. And we're going to have, I repeat, 22 guys at the All-Star break with 100 strikeouts. That has to change. And the Otto Lopez of the world can help change that by hitting a rocket opposite field single like he did last night.

That's what the game— that's how the game used to be played, that you walk to the plate and you realize, I can't hit this guy. He's too good. He's got 3 pitches, sometimes 4, that he can strike me out with. I have to change my approach and figure out how to hit a ball hard and get it in play. That's what we're not doing. And that, that's one thing that worries me is this incredible stuff we see is going to continue to dominate the game.

Tim, down here in Miami, we call Otto Lopez Olo. Have you heard about that nickname yet? Olo?

Well, I have not. I'm ashamed to say I haven't been to too many Marlins games yesterday. We're traveling much the way they are.

They're a playoff team.

They're, they're going going to be a playoff team. I feel like they're good enough to be a playoff team, Tim. They're, they're legitimate, even though the Guardians hit them in the head because they pitch too well.

Yeah, the Marlins are an interesting team, and there are so many teams out there that you can look at and say they are, they might be a playoff team. And I agree, I think the Marlins are going to make the playoffs. I'm so impressed with the way they play the game, steal bases, put the ball on play, take the extra base, take the action to the other team as opposed to just waiting for a 3-run homer. And And then you look at the American League, fellas, only 3 teams are like out of the race completely at the All-Star break, meaning 12 teams have a chance to make the playoffs. Now, a bunch of them stink. They're under .500. But you can't give up on a season when there are this many playoff spots to be had. And I'm just fascinated what the second half is going to look like.

This is a good one. Does Aaron Judge look like a caricature drawn by a failed artist at the carnival? With the exaggerated features. That is excellent. Does Jim Boeheim look like the underworld financier laundering money for his crime boss, Pat Riley?

You know, my kids went to Syracuse, Dan, and I had some really good moments with, with Jim Boeheim. He came on our podcast a couple of years ago and I sat alone with him 3 years ago when— well, more than that— when my daughter went to school there and We talked about baseball and basketball, and it was great. And he told me all about Kobe Bryant and what a killer competitor he was. It was really an interesting conversation. And he loves baseball also, but he watches from the basement of his house. He loves the Yankees instead of going to games all the time. But I was really impressed with his baseball knowledge. And he grew up a big Braves fan, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn. He said, I couldn't even speak to Hank Aaron if I ever got a chance to meet him. That's how big Hank Aaron was. —was.

Put it on the poll, please. Are you surprised at all that Jim Boeheim watches baseball in the basement of his home at LeBittard Show? Does Kurt Cignetti look like he's controlling satellites with his eyebrows?

Timmy, that—

yeah, sorry, that's the Indiana coach. That is correct.

That is who that is. Yes, it is. The— that is the author of the greatest college football season ever played.

Right, Dan, I've lost track of so many things now that I'm just so immersed in baseball and so busy with 5 grandchildren. I've really lost track of football and all sorts of other things. It's embarrassing, and I'm sorry. I should have known that he's the Indiana coach.

Uh, does Reggie Miller look like he can teleport? Nice seeing you. We love you. All right.

Sorry. The lesson with Reggie Miller is go watch his shooting motion sometime. It's one of the worst shooting motions of anyone who was a great shooter in the history of the NBA. We teach people how to shoot. You know, this hand's got to stay straight. This comes through. Reggie was completely backwards. So please, for all of our parents out there and all of our coaches, let's not change a kid's approach as a 7-year-old or a 12-year-old if he is having success. Reggie Miller is the perfect example of— all right, it was an unorthodox shooting motion, but he was one of the greatest shooters of all time.

Speaking of basketball, let's play for Tim Kirkshin this video shot by Brad Williams at the Little People Convention in New Orleans. Tim, have you ever seen someone crossed over this embarrassingly? Have you ever seen a defender crossed over in a way that makes him go from about half court to falling on his face at the free line. You love basketball. Have you ever seen anything that embarrassing before?

Uh, well, that's pretty bad, but I watched— yeah, first off, I love basketball, you know that, Dan. And Allen Iverson's crossover is still the greatest single, uh, basketball move in the history of the sport. Uh, Kareem's hook shot is the greatest shot in the history of the sport. But I watched Jason Williams on one of those highlight films. I could watch those highlight films of Jason Williams Jason Williams all day. In fact, when I get depressed, which isn't often, I watch that. He did something to John Stockton one night that I can't even explain what he did, but he left John Stockton, one of the great defensive point guards of all time, just— he had no idea what to do. He was like frozen solid by this triple crossover that Jason Williams made. So I'm going to say that was even more embarrassing because he did it to one of the greatest point guards of all time.

I mean, so did this guy. But anyway, thank you, Tim. Good seeing you. Reminder to everybody involved, Is This a Great Game or What? is the podcast he does with his son Jeff. Always great catching up.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Can I ask him a trade question? Any big names get moved at the deadline, Tim?

Well, good question. Yeah, I got a second one. My, my, my initial question was going to be Tim.

You're in the right question. Yes, I have two good baseball questions.

Nobody thought your question was good. Mike had two good questions. Tim didn't think your question was any good, Roy.

All right, Tarik Skubal will dominate the entire trade deadline. The, the Tigers have to decide, are we in or are we out? Are we going to try to win and make the playoffs and do something in October, which is possible in a winnable American League, or are they going to say we're going to lose him to free agency after the season, we have to trade him? The next 3 weeks is going to be mostly about Tarik Skubal. So keep your eye every day on the Tigers and see where they are and what they're going to do. This is going to be one of the most difficult decisions ever by any team at the trade deadline.

Dan Levitar, you are a fool. You're nobody. You are an infant. You have no skin in the game. I literally put together Mike Ryan's stage for your toenail. Nobody I am your career right now, pal. Look at me. No, I am your career. No, Greg Cody, you have messed with McDavid and now you're messing with me and I'm more dangerous, pal.

This is the Dan Levatar Show.

Jeremy, now that we've got extra bonus time with Tim that we're taking, why did you cry during the All-Star Game last night? Oh, the Sandlot trip.

Beautiful. So the, the, in the 5th inning, they did this J.K. Simmons narrated commercial where you saw kids riding on their bikes going toward the ballpark. And then they picked up the commercial live in the ballpark and had this moment where all of these kids ride out onto the field on their bicycles with fireworks in the background, like the 4th of July moment in The Sandlot. And they're going up to the different big leaguers and Freddie Freeman's having a catch and Jacob Mizarowski Majorskis showing a kid how to grip baseballs. And between the narration from Simmons that had some of the most beautiful lines I've ever heard about baseball, about how it's ever-present and it's not nostalgia, it's just a moment in our time. I felt so emotional. And so, oddly enough, I think it's the most American I've felt in a decade in that I just was sitting there watching this beautiful moment with the fireworks going off with all of these different people from all of these different backgrounds. And I had this overwhelming feeling thinking about baseball as America's pastime and the ever-present sport and the way that they narrated all of this free kick.

I can't tell you how happy I felt just sort of experiencing all of that. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on a field. Tim? Yeah.

And I was in the National League dugout working for radio last night, so I was at very close to the opening of the door when these bikers came out, these kids on bikes came out. It was, it was really cool.

Bikers is totally different. You're making it a totally different moment when you make it bikers.

When you say it's bikers, yeah, next thing you know, there's just a bunch of kids on bikes.

It was really, really cool. The whole night was really cool. And I saw Miles Teller before the game. I met him a couple years ago at the World Series, and he's a big Phillies fan. Then he went out and made a speech on the field that kind of inspiring also. So I had a really big night last night meeting people and seeing people. And I saw Ken Griffey Jr. again. I see him like once a year. And now once a year, Ken Griffey Jr. just looks at me and says, you know, people, people do retire. You know that, right? And he says that to me every year now, like it's my turn to retire. Why are you still here after all these years? So thank you, Junior.

I'm still here after all these years. Nice to see you, Tim. We love you, Tim. It is always lovely. Yes, it is always good. It feels— it just feels like summer having him around and talking baseball. Do you guys want to hear Jeremy's top 5 list on the top 5 moments or feelings that he had from last night's All-Star Game? You seem to be— all of you seem to be making fun of it.

We're good. We don't need it.

Yeah, we're good. From every angle.

Thank you, though.

Just think about Jeremy.

Ryan, it's good to know that it's on the table. It was real tears.

Like, some of the things that they said, it was amazing. Like, baseball— it— there was a moment where he said, I believe it's, it's whether it's rounding the diamond, whether it's showing up to the ballpark together, if the ball goes over the fence, you're home. I mean, in J.K. Simmons' voice, not my annoying voice. Imagine that.

Yeah, we're good. Yeah.

I'm watching, uh, yesterday, and I was surprised by something that happened on television. And I will tell you that my surprise, uh, I just did not realize that what Ryan Clark was complaining about was so. Ryan Clark was mad because Jalen Hurts, in these rankings that now everyone's doing in the offseason because they want to talk about football, and people are upset that Lamar Jackson has fallen from the second most valuable player in the league or the third most valuable player in the league to now being ranked number 69. He was upset that Jalen Hurts had fallen among quarterbacks in the quarterback rankings to the sixth tier. And the thing that I was surprised about is I did not know there were six tiers of quarterback rankings. Rankings. Did you guys know there was— you guys, you think there were— how many are there?

6 seems low for a Super Bowl.

I could easily see 7.

But what do you mean you can eat?

How many are there?

How many, how many tiers of quarterback rankings are there?

96. Yeah, I mean, look, you have, you have the S tier.

Everybody knows S, all right? Everybody knows S at the top. Then you, then you have elite, and then you have like, you know, Pro Bowl caliber, and then you have good, and then you have average. We're already at 5 there. Then you have bad, then you have shitty. That right there is 7.

Wait, what is the— at the S tier? What is— what is the S tier? What— I don't know what you guys are talking about.

It's an internet thing, Dan, don't worry about it.

All right, so 96 tiers of quarterbacks. Yeah, I'm not even sure they're 96 quarterbacks. There are. There are.

Yeah, every team's got 3. 3 times 32.

Not every team 3.

Well, if you include the— what used to be called the taxi squad. Practice squad. Yeah. Now the practice squad.

Not sure what any of us are supposed to do with that. Yeah. I'm not sure what any of us are supposed to do with that.

Again, I don't know how many tiers are there. 7. I reject Greg's answer of 96 tiers. I reject it. 4 tiers.

But then how is Jalen Hurts in the 6th tier?

He had a bad season.

Yeah, that makes sense. See, that was the name of a song, 96 Tears by Question Mark and the Mysterians in the mid-'60s. '60s, parenthetically, just, you know, sometimes you got to explain.

I just saw Roy scamper. I'm hoping he's scampering to the Back in My Day music. We were promised a Back in My Day monthly, uh, yeah, you, by you.

So now I did two this year.

We're in July.

I know, it's only the middle of the year.

You promised us one every month. I did.

Yeah, I really, uh, didn't follow through on that, did I?

Well, go ahead and tell us more about this song by 96 Tears.

Yeah, everybody knows 96 Tears. Uh, Question Mark and the Mysterians was the name of the group, and it wasn't spelled out, it was an actual question mark. I forget whether there was an ampersand or it was the word 'and' spelled out, but it's Question Mark and the Mysterians. And back in the day, that was a huge hit. Um, may or may not have been a one-hit wonder, I would have to do the research on that, but 96 Tears '96 Tears was a banger, a banger, a banger. You mentioned that. You're gonna do it 96 times? It was great. Are you allowed to play songs on this network? Not really. On this show? Not really.

Okay, 'cause it's a banger. Are they litigious?

It's 4 times now.

Everybody listen to it. Everybody go out and go on Spotify, Google '96 Tears. Let's send that song up the rankings for the first time in 16 years.

Tony, Tony, go ahead.

Do you want Spotify or do you want me to Google it?

Tony, I want you to play it for yourself on your phone and tell me whether his 4-banger ranking is something that is meritorious. 96 tears by a question mark of some sort.

I had 96 tears last night.

Nobody somehow was moved by Jeremy being moved to tears. I think we have to, I think we have to create a segment, uh, Jeremy is positive about something, and do just something a little bit syrupy that is a little bit feel-good. I think I've told you guys, uh, before about about. I used to listen before I did a Sunday morning show for ESPN Radio that had a ton of clearance because nobody's listening to sports radio. I used to listen.

Well, but nobody on sports radio at 7 AM on a Sunday, it's not a prime listening hour.

ESPN The Magazine. That's right.

So it was a 4-hour show. My dog would often bark during it because I was doing it from my home and Before that show, at about 4 or 5 in the morning, which is sometimes when I was driving in from my night out before doing this in my young days, there was a show that even fewer people were listening to because it was 4 AM or 5 AM on a Sunday morning, which was sort of like positive about sports, and it had some music that was just sweet and syrupy, and the show could develop no following because of sports radio, of course, is battery acid and hatred.

Positivity is not what sports radio exudes.

A celebration of life through sports.

That may have been the name. Yes. Wordy. Wordier. Wordier than no, no shit. Nobody gives a shit about this game or whatever the acronym was about the third place game. Shit Bowl. That's, that's quicker. I heard the song. It's all right.

Yeah, I— Banger.

I remember hopping in a car thinking, like, is this a Christian station?

A trip to the ballpark, a sprint around the diamond, a game of catch. That feeling often gets mistaken for nostalgia. It isn't. Nostalgia is missing something that's gone. Baseball never left. That elicited tears. 9 to a side. 3 strikes and you're out. Hit it over the fence and you're home.

The baseball poets have lived my entire lifetime writing about the idea of going home, and it's timeless, and there is no clock, and it's why it's the most wonderful game. Except now we're addicted to our phone. Everyone has attention deficit disorder and they're like, put a clock on that pitcher. Hey, 24.

You got 20. You got 20 seconds. Hurry up, pitcher. We're going to start calling balls on you.

They should be celebrated. And I do celebrate them. I think they've made great changes. Honestly, the biggest issue with baseball, it's the elephant in the room. It's, it's us and our phones. The sport just allowed for us to be in our phones a little bit. Now, not so much. And I really enjoy that they've taken that off the table such that it is. But yeah, the technology was a big reason.

I'm going to get you here, Tony. The ballpark became America's backdrop, a place for triumph, a place for heartbreak, a place for whatever we needed next. And it was a video of George W. Bush's first pitch. Oh, dog.

USA! USA! USA! Dan, can you imagine the moment?

Let's go!

USA!

We had just an insane, unbelievable— quite a bit— thing that was so terrible, right?

And you got the weight of the world on you. You're talking about 9/11? Yes. Yeah, it was bad.

And you walk up— there's some people that don't know about 9/11. They learned it, they learned it in history.

Everyone knows about it.

Well, not everybody knows about it.

You know what, let's just keep it moving.

Well, 2-seamer, 2-seamer for George W. I feel like everyone knows about 9/11.

Not everybody knows about it.

It's a known event.

Well, people still don't know about it. Does my granddaughter know about it? I don't think that—

exactly right, right. She does actually. Does she? They've taught her about that. Yes. Okay.

Jet fuel and whatnot. Anyways, he steps into the box, okay? He's there and he's underneath, right? And he's practicing, practicing. And who comes up? Derek Jeter. And what does Derek Jeter say, Jeremy? He tells J— he tells George W. Bush, don't bounce it, don't bounce it. Imagine the weight of the world, 40,000, 50,000 fans in the stadium. He walks up to the mound, throws an absolute dart.

Pretty sure you tell every person before they throw a first pitch, don't bounce it.

Okay, but this—

these are stakes that are more, more stakes than have ever been had, ever.

Yeah, like me at Greg Cody Day in Fort Myers. Another good pitch. It was a great pitch. It was good. Thank you.

There was no Judge Dub, but it was good.

You remember that. He wasn't there.

The baseball— you weren't there. The baseball poets though. Time has passed them by. I urge you to listen to Pablo Torre Finds Out. He sat down with Sarah Jessica Parker after the Knicks won to talk about what it's like to be a New Yorker, and a photo of her reading a book at a baseball game.

And she started talking about how baseball allows you the time to read a book, and I thought to myself, Sarah Jessica Parker hasn't been to a baseball game in a long time because it no longer offers you the time to read a book.

What up, douch?