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Welcome back to the 611 Podcast. It's your boy, Jimmy Rollins. My man, my main man, Ryan Howard. Got some interesting stuff to talk about today. Some stuff that's going to make you think. Some things that may make you argue. I don't know, but it's here. We're here, so let's jump into it.
Aaron Judge. Oh, yes. You know, I won MVP, but not like you and Judge did it. You know, there's a power element to it. Yeah. There's a fear factor. There's a respect. There's a we're not going to let this guy beat us, that we're going to pitch around you. We're going to pitch you tough, but you find a way to get it done. Correct. And when doing so, you're awarded with the MVP, the Atlantis Award at the end of the season.
And the man that we want to talk about next, Aaron Judge, not only has he done it a number of times, but he's seemingly getting better. Yes. Before we get into him and who we want to compare him to, what is it like when you're in that zone where it's like no matter what they throw, where they throw it, when they throw it, you know damage can be done? It's one of the greatest feelings you can ever have. Yeah.
showing up to the ballpark, you get in these episodes of it doesn't matter who's pitching, what they throw, how they throw, because you're so locked in on what's working for you. You understand what they're going to try to do. But as soon as they make that mistake, you're just not missing. And I mean, the other thing to add to what you were talking about with Aaron too is he's doing it in New York for the Yankees.
in one of the toughest spots to be able to go and do it in all eyes on Aaron Judge. All eyes on me. Exactly. So you have all these eyes on you, the expectations, and he shows up and he shows out every single day. And like you said, from where he began...
Because you could see when he first kind of came up, you could see the holes in his swing. Yes, yes. And he's like, he's continually getting better and better and better to where he's become a complete hitter. He's becoming more of a complete hitter. He's spitting on pitches and he's not missing the ones that he's supposed to hit. So I think in terms of with what Aaron Judge is doing, it's so impressive with what he's doing. I mean, he's a large individual already, which is not fair.
Which is not fair. The way you make me look when I'm standing next to you is how he makes you look when you're standing next to him. Facts. Facts. Judge following up his MVP year with an even better year. With an even better year, yeah. Which is crazy because last year at this point, I think he was still batting right around 200. Yeah. Yep. And then he caught on late. Then he caught on. And how did he do that? Which is crazy to bat...
to 200 for a month and blow everybody else out the water. That's how dynamic this man is. But this year is completely different. - Yeah, it's completely different. But to kind of go back to what we were talking about with him starting out hitting 200, we always had the saying, when you're starting out in the Northeast, that weather's a little bit colder.
It's a little bit cooler. Like you're trying to be a little bit more selective. You know, you're trying to put the barrel on the ball at all times. - Trying not to get the little stingers. - Yeah, you're not trying to get the stingers out there. So it was always one of those things. 'Cause I remember for myself personally, I would always get off to a slow start. And once the calendar changed from April to May,
It's like old Charlie used to say, all right, now it's hitting season. Once that weather starts to kind of get warmer, you start to get more into that vibe and get that feel about yourself. Yeah.
For him to do this and it's already he's hitting 414 Hitting season is just now coming. So it's like it's one of those things where it's like hey, you're gonna see him Continually get better. No, he's not even sustainable. He's not even hot yet. Oh, but he's gonna go on some tears like you know It is he's gonna go on some crazy tears that are gonna just be so fun to watch it's gonna be like with what Oh Tony did last year from the standpoint of him hitting the home runs and stealing bases and
I think Aaron Judge is going to have one of those months where that dude might drop off 20, bro. He might drop off 20. I wouldn't be surprised. Easily. With that said, can we see a 60-30 out of him? If he wanted to? If he wanted to. If he wanted to. You know what? I mean, he going to have the legs because he going to do a lot of jogging. I'm saying it out there. You know, we got to get Aaron. Yeah.
To see this episode. See this episode, Aaron. We want to see 60-30. We got you, bro. We want to see 60-30. I mean, you've seen 70-40. What can you do? 70-40, 70-50? 70-40? Yeah. We saw 50-50. Yeah. But Judge is different. He's different. I want to see a 60-30 out of him. He is different. That'd be sick. Okay, so here's a question, which is what we've been dancing around trying to get here. Barry Bonds. Yes. Yes.
The absolute complete hitter. I mean, even defensive players, still bases, play some defense, but he was revered and will always be known for, you know, how efficient he was at the plate. And then this version of Aaron Judge this year, singularly, I think overall,
You know, it's not really a comparison because Barry was so effective at the plate. And I'll get into that by saying that he didn't strike out. No. Barry would go through cold streaks, which meant he probably wasn't getting hits, but there wasn't striking out. He'd walk three times and, you know, maybe have one chance to swing the bat and wouldn't get a hit. When he was on, he wasn't swinging and missing. There was nowhere to go to. He was getting intentionally walked. He didn't get a chance to get his bat warmed up. Mm-hmm.
I think that's a difference between Aaron Judge and Barry. Both complete package hitters. Pole to pole, doesn't matter what ballpark, what time of day, who's on the mound. If you put the ball in the wrong place, you know something bad is going to happen. But...
Barry did not have the holes in the swing, especially at this point in his career. So my question to you, my opinion, I'm going to give to Barry. And it's, you know, for me, it's like the Michael slash Kobe slash LeBron question. Right. Different errors, different style of ball. But I'd have to give Barry for sure the number one greatest hitter that I've played against and seen ever.
in my lifetime. - I would second that notion. I agree, I think at this point in their careers, I mean, there's no slight of what Aaron Judge has done, but like you said, Barry was going up there getting walked four times. He'll get walked in a game four times.
I'm not sure and it's like, again, there's no slight against Aaron Judge, how many times Aaron Judge has been walked with the bases loaded. - Right. - To give up one. - Right. - And the pitching in this era is so different now to where everybody's throwing like a hundred miles an hour. And, but with what Judge is doing average wise, I'm sure he's taking his walks and whatnot. But if you took Barry and put Barry in this era now,
And I think in terms of with what Judge is doing, I think Barry does that much better. Even more. Because, like you said, there was no hole in his swing. So when he got the pitch, he didn't miss. Barry was surgical when it came to setting pitches up. Like one of the greatest to ever do it, Greg Maddox. He told that story about how, like, man, like, Barry got me.
He set me up. - Set him up. - And Barry was like, "Yeah, I set him up." - And we faced Maddox. - We faced him. - You don't set him up. - You don't set him up. - It's the other way around. - He sets you up. - He sets you up. - Right, and I think that's what was so big and key about Barry was Barry figured out how to flip it.
like we as hitters, we're thinking about, okay, here's the scouting report. Here's what we're going to do. We know what they're trying to do against us. Right. So we know what our strengths and weaknesses are. Barry was like, I know what you're trying to do against me, but I'm going to take what you're trying to do against me. I'm going to flip it back on you because I'm going to set you up to where you come to where I want you to come to. And I remember I had the opportunity to be able to work with Barry for, for like a week, week and a half and hit with him. And just, and just the mental state of,
being able to like just hear him talk and hear him talk about what the philosophy is to where he was like, man, his approach was early on. He's like, yeah, I'm gonna look away early because early in my, in the game and early in a B's because I know that's where they're going to try to go. And when I hit that pitch early,
they've got no choice but to come in which is where i really want you to throw the ball so just listening to his philosophy and how he was able to flip everything on his head like i firmly believe everybody has that inner berry in them to where they can figure something out like that that works for them right and i think that's what made barry so great and i think
Judge gets that, if Judge finds that to that point to where again, Barry's getting walked four times in a game, right? Doesn't even take the bat off his shoulder. He might as well just go up there with no bat, literally. - With two balls and start taking all the arm off like this. - Yeah, just start taking anything off. - This ain't happening. - And still come out the next day and as soon as they make that mistake, he doesn't miss. - He doesn't miss. - He doesn't miss it. So Aaron Judge gets to that point
- Bro, watch out. It's a completely different conversation. So he's still progressing, he's still getting better. That's the scary part about it. Because you saw from where he first kind of came in the league and he slowly progressed, slowly progressed, and then it clicked in.
to where now it's like he's doing what he's doing. He's coming off MVP year with an even better MVP year. - Even better. - So it's like-- - That's crazy to say. - Yeah, he's doing even better this year. - One more thing about Judge and we, okay, so for us, it's settled. The Barry, Judge conversation. What about right-handed hitters?
He's the greatest in the game right now. I don't think that's to be disputed. I mean, he's probably the greatest hitter in the game right now when you factor everything in. But right at a hitter, and I just go against guys that we've played against, you know, Gary Sheffield.
That's the most scary. I did not want to play shortstop when he was hitting. That's how Gary was. You had Vladimir Guerrero. I don't know if you got to play against Vlad. I think he was already in the AL. Miggy. Oh, yeah. AP5. Yeah. And there are a few more, but those are guys that you think about hitting with power, hit for average, a complete package player, will take the walks. What do you see him in that group?
- I see him. - I'm going to you 'cause you fall in that category. - I mean, right now, right now, I would put him still at the back of that list because he's still putting his catalog together. So I mean, obviously we played against those other guys. - When I said Vlad and Miguel. - Yeah, and you said Vlad. So it's like, we got to experience that firsthand. We got to maybe see a little bit of Judge, like on our way out, he was coming in.
So he's definitely on the path to that. I think too, the other thing is, is you got to look at those guys too. Cause one of the things for me is coming up in clutch moments. So, you know, how many clutch moments have you had either with the game on the line and be able to come through with that big hit? He's putting it together. He's putting together a hell of a season thus far. Now, again, it's a marathon, not a sprint, but yeah,
to be in that category with the guys that you listed, Pujols, Miggy, Chef, like Vlad, like all those guys, like again, those big moments, you can't, none of those guys would shy away from those big moments. And I'm not saying that Aaron Judge would shy away from those big moments, but it was like when the lights got bright,
it was time to shine. And those guys just coming through, doing what they were doing. I remember talking to Miggy one time, man. I was like, Miggy, bro. I was like, man, you realize like how good you are? - Is this Marlon Miggy? - No, no, no, Marlon Miggy. - Young Miggy. - This was Marlon Miggy. Yeah, Marlon Miggy. I was like, bro, you know how good you are. I was like, bro, how come you don't like just go out and just post up and just knock out like 40, 50 homers or whatever? He's like, bro, I go in, I hit 300.
I hit my 30 home runs, 100 RBI. I'm good. He's like, I get paid. I'm good. And then I was like, bro, I was like, bro, when you decide, when you decide that you're going to do something dangerous, like you're going to be the best here in the game. And what's he do? The next year you go out.
- Back in the titles three in a row, I think it was. - Yeah, I was like, this does not surprise me. I was like, bro, I've been. - We saw it. - We saw it. - Yeah, we saw it. - And when he decided to like, all right, bro, I'm gonna stop messing around. - Stepping on the gas. - I'm gonna step on it and then show y'all what's up. Like it's that kind of stuff to be able to go in and post up and post every single day. So I think with Judge being in that category,
I got to put him down there at number five right now, but he's steadily moving up because he's still working on that catalog. So when it's all said and done, then we can see who's on that Mount Rushmore right-handed hitters because he's just continuing to get better and better and better. He's one of those guys where
Like you leave the concession stand. Like you just put your order in. You were waiting in this concession stand line for 40 minutes, 30 minutes. Had the card at the tap. Had the card tapped up. Now batting Aaron Judge. Hey, hold that for me real quick. I'll be right back. Like that's the dude that you're not missing that at bat. What get guys right, in my opinion, is when you can go
with the emphasis of going opposite field because you're seeing the ball, you're slowing the ball down. And that's what I learned that like,
back in like college. That's what, I was a Deadpool hitter, believe it or not. In high school, I was a Deadpool hitter, man. - Showing off that speed. - Mm-hmm. - Believe it. - Hitting the ball in the first base, beating it to the back. - Believe it, bro. - Hey, Ryan swears he was fast. - Hey, look. - No, no, no, time out, time out, player. - Okay, go ahead. - He swears he was fast. He said at one point, he was fast. Now, can we get them feet? Can we go down to those shoes? Now tell me, is there any speed, put that, hold that up again, I hope it's heavy.
Is there any speed in that foot? No, it's power. - Man. - It's raw, it's cool. - Look. - Hey, I still love you, bro. - I'm just saying, speed kills. - Right. - Speed kills. - See, we went the opposite. They went back for you, they came in for me. It is what it is. Anyhow, let's jump over to the other side of New York. Polar Bear has done nothing but bang all season long. Hitting basically 350 on a team that has improved itself a whole bunch.
And usually you get a guy like Juan Soto and he should be the talk of the town. But Pete Alonzo is like, hold on, player. This is still my team. This is my side of New York. Right, right.
Coming out of free agency, didn't get the contract he wanted. You know he has to fill a waste in Juan Soto getting $750 million and feeling like he got just what was left over after the work he's been putting in that organization since he's gotten up. We got to talk about him. We do. Is he the truth? We do. Is he the truth? Because he's done nothing but bang since he's got up there. You know what? I think towards the end of the year last year, it could have been –
the maybe a little bit of the pressing because he knew that the free agency was right there didn't know you didn't know what was going to happen and maybe it was like sometimes guys will press a little bit over the course of the season is he going to get traded am i going to get traded there's a lot of uncertainty yeah and so maybe you're trying to press to try to you know do what you need to do to say hey i got to get these numbers in so i can get paid and do this or do that well you know
Fast forward, you go through the postseason, you get some big hits. The Mets finally come together. They figure out who they are as a team and they had a great run and they've carried that over into the first couple of months of this season. Pete Alonzo, you know, gets the opportunity to try to look at free agency. But I think you look at the situation where, OK, the Mets finally came together and he's like, I want to stay in New York.
So, yes, you don't necessarily get what you want out the gate. But right now you've got an opportunity to play on a team to where you're a game or so from a couple games from trying to make it to the World Series and be able to compete for a championship. Now, Pete this year is is Pete.
He's playing loose. He's playing relaxed. I think now that the contract stuff is over, he's just focused on playing ball. In this game, you have to bet on yourself. For sure. You have to bet on yourself. Always bet on you. Always. And in all actuality, it's like all the eyes for the most part are on Lindor and on Soto. So Pete can just go be Pete and just go play and be loose and lax and
do what he does. And that's hard to say. And it's funny you say that.
Because, yes, for sure, you know, Lindor was the first big signing leaving Cleveland to come over there. And it was almost like Pete was kind of pushed off to the side, like Lindor is going to be our savior. And I'm glad to see him. Once again, he had a great second half. And, you know, moving up to that leadoff spot, you know, just put him back where he belonged. He's very comfortable there. And the team responded. And then a few years later, you know,
We bring over Juan Soto. Now he's the new savior. And Pete's just sitting there like, bro, what about me? I've been here. You guys know me. And it's almost like, well, we know who you are. We're not excitable anymore. And I think Pete has taken that personally and reminded people of why he was the rookie of the year. What did he come up with? Like 40, 50 home runs, whatever it was? Yeah. And why...
he's the guy that in the lineup and on this team, you need to worry about. Yes, we have a great team, we're stacked, and every team's gonna have their three or four guys that you have to watch and say, you can't beat us. I think he was getting left back, and it wasn't like he wasn't putting up numbers. He was still hitting 35, 45 home runs. But he was never considered, hey, you're the guy that's gonna carry us there outside, outside of maybe his first two years. But it didn't happen. Having competed against him, you know what he's capable of, you see what he's capable of.
But this is also a dude that was like, didn't make all-star teams, but was still participating in the Home Run Derby. He's like, I'm about to show y'all what time it is and get in this Home Run Derby and let y'all know who Pete Alonzo is. So I think, what has he done? Like 20 Home Run Derbys now? But when he gets in there, he's about that show, that showtime when it goes to that Home Run Derby. Red light player, we call him. Yeah, so when you look at it,
and you see what he's doing, it's not a surprise. If he can continue to sustain what he's doing, he's going to be in the conversation for MVP. Why? Because he is going to be that catalyst that helps make Soto better, that helps make Lindor better, and help be the engine that goes
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- For the Mets. - All right, big, big piece. - Yes, sir. - There was a young man that I've known since maybe he was about four years old. And no lie, you saw him, he had the build, the makeup, his bat, was my manager in AA Reading. Had a very interesting play the other night. Dalton Varshow, out in center field,
Now, everybody knows about the Turf Monster. Right, right. Everybody knows. Right. Everybody knows about the Turf Monster. Right, right.
And I think everybody at some point has been got by the turf monster. Yep. But to maintain concentration, not give up on a play. Look at his head. I mean, his eyes are on the ball. His neck never really snapped back. And if you've met this kid, he has a neck of a linebacker. Oh, man. Just boom, just muscles everywhere. Yeah. To make this play, to stick to it in this, to this play. I'm not saying it's a great play, but it's a great play.
Rule number one, when I was coaching my daughter's softball team, I used to tell them all the time, what's rule number one? They'd be like, don't panic. So don't panic. Like in that situation, he goes down and,
He tumbles, but the one thing is, other than him flipping, he still never took his eye off the ball. Never took his eye off the ball. Even when he was in the roll, he's still trying to find the ball, which allowed him to get back up. And then at the end, there was no panic. There was no panic. He got up and was like, it's still here. It's still there, yeah. Smoothly. I mean, as you watch it over and over and over again, it does get better. It does get better. Now, he calls it himself. The turf monster got up.
Grabbed him by the ankle. Right. Come on down. Right. He stood. He stayed with it. And you know what? As I'm looking at this, you know what this reminds me of? What's that? Cole's no hitter. Ah, yes. When Oduba went back there on the morning track. Yep. For no reason at all. Mm-hmm. Takes a tumble. Right. But stays with it. Stays with the ball. Yep. Stays with the ball. And again, you look at his eyes. He never takes his eye off the ball. No panic. And if I'm the hitter.
I mean, bro. I'm cursing them out. The only thing you can do is like, I mean. Well, it went from out. It went from out. Oh, yeah. They're like, oh, this could be a triple. Maybe. Double for you. And then. Well, we'll see.
And then he makes the play and it's out still. The next thing that I'm excited for. Talk to him, peace. We've got the East West Classic. Ooh. Right? So we've got the Rossers. Can you tell us about this East West Classic? So the East West Classic, man. The Rossers were just released. Yeah, bro. The Rossers were just released. The Rossers are out. I was able to participate in the East West Classic last year. Can we flex on them real quick, peace? Yes, sir. Talk to them. Did you win MVP? No.
I did. Oh, I did. Some things don't change. I did. I mean, hey, what was that before? Was that like a three home run day? What were we talking about? It was a it was a two for three day. Two for three. With a walk off. Walk off piece. Walk off. Walk off. What does this mean? Well, we was on a time limit.
And so they let the other team play still. Yeah. So I think they got a walk off, but it was technically a walk off. But like, yeah, we tried to celebrate and run out the rest of the clock. Take your glory. Take your glory. But bro, it was it was so much fun.
being able to get out there. And we had the first one in Cooperstown last year. So this year it'll be taking place at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. We got a nice little roster, the East-West. You got two captains, CeCe Sabathia and Chris Young.
- CYCC. But before we go there, can we, I mean, your family is from Alabama. - My family, yeah, yeah, yeah. - And for those that may not know, let's not assume that everyone knows. Tell us about Rick Wood Field. It is the oldest field in the country, right? - Yeah, it's the oldest field in the country. - Still running Negro Leagues, played there to Birmingham. - Yeah, Birmingham Black Barons. - Black Barons were there.
And with your family, you know, being directly from that area. Shoot, moms and pops both grew up probably about 10 minutes from Rickwood Field. And both parents born and raised Birmingham, Alabama. Shout out Sherman Heights, Inslee. So go down, check it out. My grandfather, my mom's dad was the baseball guy. So according to my uncle, my uncle was always like, right, like,
you got it from daddy, you got it from your granddad. So my grandfather early on had the opportunity to try to go and play in the Negro Leagues, but he was at the point in life where they had just had my mom. So they had my uncle who's the oldest. And then my mom is the second and then the third, my third uncle wasn't born yet, I don't believe. And so he had just had my mom. And so it was kind of one of those things where it's like, all right,
I can either try to pursue this baseball thing or I got to get a steady job and be able to take care of my family. So he chose, hey, I got to stay here, take care of the family, make sure everybody's good. But they always had
these industrial leagues that would run around Birmingham. So there was all these different groups 'cause he worked at the steel mill. And so, I'm sorry, he was a coal miner. So I used to always have the joke, my mom's a coal miner's daughter. But like, yeah, he worked like the steel mill, the coal mines and stuff like that. And so they always had these industrial leagues and they would play against each other all throughout. And so he had played some games like Rick Wood and played like in the neighborhood and all that good stuff.
So growing up, my uncle was like, yeah, you got your baseball ability. My mom would say it too. Like you got your baseball ability from your granddad. He's like, you, you just like your granddad. Cause he would either strike out or he'd hit the ball or he hit the ball out of the ballpark. I was like,
- Why didn't do you like that? - I'll take those traits. I'll take those traits, man. But it's worked out well. So for me, the game last year in Rickwood with the Cardinals and the Giants and celebrating the Negro Leagues and being able to have the opportunity and Willie Mays, yeah, Willie Mays passing, you know, being able to meet some of the remaining living former Negro League players and being able to sit in their homes, chop it up with them means,
it meant so much more to me, obviously, like having my family and like lineage coming from Birmingham. So to be able to give back, 'cause my mom told me, she's like, "Ryan, you don't understand." Like anytime Birmingham can have any kind of recognition like this or bringing some type of recognition, like this is massive.
because of what all took place, the history, the civil rights movement and everything. 'Cause they grew up right there in the middle of it, all of it. - Dogs being sick, people water hoses. - Yeah, they were at protests and everything. So to be able to have,
That event last year was massive. And I think this year, again, continuing to shed light on the Negro Leagues, Rick Woodfield, bringing it to Birmingham is going to take it to even new heights as well. So I'm excited for it, man. Like last year, it was great. The rosters this year are even better. And I'm going to say I'm not doing it again.
- That's all right. - And it's not because I don't want to, my daughters, they dance and it just happens that it's on Juneteenth and this year we'll be in San Diego for nationals. And as much as I love baseball and I wanna be in this event, we only get these precious moments with our kids for so long. - I will say this, the cool thing about doing that game
was the baseball instincts. - How'd they come back? - Kickin' back in, bro. I was like, I'm standing at first base on defense. I'm watching guys swings. Like,
you just start positioning yourself like, okay, he's late on this pitch or he's doing this. - So you don't need a notebook in your pocket to tell you where to play? - Nah, we didn't get the cheats. - We're gonna play like straight up biceps to the right on this red dot. - Right. - You don't get that? - We didn't get that. - Y'all missed out. It's a new year. Maybe the East West will adapt this technology and you know,
Well, you don't have to give us Kindles or something like that, bro. We can take it to a whole new level. We'll take a Kindle out there, pull a Kindle out, pull it out the back pocket or something, bro. But it was so cool to where it was like getting back into that because I remember standing over there like holding a guy on and Prince is hitting.
first off it was great to see Prince like back in the box but then I immediately went back to like damn it I'm like damn it I was like I hated this situation back then I still hate it now bro I'm like I got kids bro like come on bro don't hit nothing down here bro just hit it hit it out there hit it out there but it's but it's fun to watch and be able to get out there and just
play that obviously you playing a little bit slower pace. Unlike the Harrison brothers who Jerry was playing short. - He tried to make a dive and play something like that. - No, he made a great play. It was in the hole. He made it, bro. It was amazing. It was like full regular game speed. And then Jerry came up limping, bro. I was like, man, that looked like it. I was like, dang, he ain't pulling that shit. He came up limping, bro. I was like, ah, nah, man.
Speaking of the comeback, how do you feel the next day? That's the real question. How do you feel the next day? I couldn't walk. I literally couldn't walk. Prince, bro, my knee was like so blown up. And it was like, bro, I was like limping. I got into the car. Prince was looking at me. He's like, bro, like, you okay? I was like, nope. But it was fun, man. I'm looking at you, bro. You're in shape.
Oh, yeah, yeah. The last year, yeah. Now, be honest with the audience. You know, we keep it real on the 611 podcast. Let's keep it real. Did you get in shape?
knowing that this game was coming in 2025. - Keep it real, just tell the people. - You know what? - Tell the people what they wanna know. - This was, yes, partially in the background of it, yes. - Okay. - 'Cause I was like, you know what? I gotta start doing more and just feel like get the muscles and stuff activated again and just like get healthier, right? Getting older, gotta get, you know, try to work it on getting healthy and stuff like that. But I did know this was in the making and that it was gonna be coming back. So I was like, all right, this time,
- Maybe I'll go first or second. So like we try to, you know, we just do stations. We just do stations. Like I hit first base last year. I was like, hey, I was like, see why? Just speed recognize speed. And on speed recognizing speed, we gonna talk about Chandler Simpson. First and foremost, okay. This dude is on another level of speed. Like hitting routine balls. The first thing is you can have all that speed, right?
but my man is using it, which is the hustle factor. Most people, you hit a routine ground ball to first, like you jogging it out. Like if he's, if the first baseman is not coming in on that ball, like it's going to be bang, bang. And one thing that you learn in the game of baseball is, and for all you kids out there, like you want to put pressure on the defense, right?
And this man puts pressure on the defense at all times to where you've got to be perfect. It's like when Bobby Hamilton first came up. Yeah. It was just like, you have to shorten up everything. You have to shorten up everything. Because if you make a mistake, you might as well put it in your pocket because he's already there. And he knows that. When you look at this dude, Chandler Simpson, and what he's able to bring to the game, like in a game today that we talk so much about power, it starts to bring the game back to what it was when we grew up.
Right. There was a lot more speed, speed coming back to the game, I think is great because all these different elements are adding more excitement back into the game. I feel as though, you know, with the pitch clock and.
and some of the other additions in the game, like it's starting to bring more action. - For sure. - And I think with pitch clocks and stuff like that, pitchers may make more mistakes, which then you get more balls in play, which then you get more action going. And that's what it's about is like bringing back more action that we were lucky enough to be able to play with guys, like play behind guys that had their own internal pitch clocks that already worked fast. - For sure. - So you could keep the action going. - But speed is power. Everything's about those world works on,
Who can be the fastest? If my computing system is faster than yours and I'm making that trade before you, I'm making that money. That millisecond, that doesn't seem like much. And the game of speed is everything. We're all fighting for that edge. And I don't care if you're a hitter, a pitcher, on the defensive side.
That first step, that reaction time, you have to have that speed to win, to accomplish, to be the best. And so to see it being used and what it is now, it's a beautiful thing. All right, peace. There's been something going on around the Internet, and I like to bring this up as our banana boat ritual segment. Okay, okay. And we hear about this 100 men versus the gorilla challenge. All right.
Now who's doing this challenge? - Baseball players are superstitious. We know this. Athletes in general are superstitious. We all have a ritual routine that gets us in a mindset. Now Silverback, they walk around on a daily looking for the smoke. What are we doing to prepare ourselves? - I'm about to sit back, grab me a snack.
And watch the rest of these fools try to go take on this gorilla. That's going to be my routine. That's it. I'm chilling. I am chilling at the house, man. So you're pre-gorilla. So what you're saying is you're not joining-
- No, I'll buy a ticket. - You buy a ticket. - I'll buy a ticket. - Be a spectator. - Yeah, I'll be a spectator. - Okay. - It'd be like the Coliseum. - Yeah, no doubt. - I'll buy a ticket. 'Cause what, so we gotta get the parameters right here. We gotta get the rules right. - Yes. - All right, so this is hand-to-hand combat. - Hand-to-hand combat. - No swords, no shields. - And disclaimer, disclaimer. - Okay. - Because this is the only chance I think we would have as the 100 men, is that they're the heavyweight UFC style fighters.
Okay. You know, that's the only chance where they used to get hit and kicked and punched and slammed and you stretched and bent out of shape. You know, they're kind of trained for that. But I think the 100, you know, men challengers is like just the average guy. Right. And I'm not saying that they would or wouldn't get it done. That's the only way we have a chance. They're skilled fighters. They're skilled fighters. I think we may have a chance, you know, to do some damage. But...
I mean, as human beings, we get hit and it's like, ouch, that hurts. Animals get hit, silverback gets hit, and adrenaline kicks in. Right, I was like, what was that? And the angrier he gets, the more adrenaline he has, the less he feels.
And look, I'm too small. I'm just going to be honest with you. You know, when you see on Instagram or National Geo how you have a gorilla or another monkey just taking the other one just boom, boom as a rag, that would be me. I'm with you. I got the popcorn. Yeah. My ritual would be extra butter, a little salt, please. Right, right, right. And I would go take my seat in the stands. But...
I don't know how. Because it's not 100 men at one time. No. You're waiting in line. No, it's four or five. People are waiting. Yeah, you can't. There's like five dudes already on or whatever. Or trying, making an attempt. So you and I are in the back of the pack. We're just sitting here talking. So...
"What you doing after this, dog? "You wanna go grab a bike?" - Yeah, I'm straight, I'm gonna go say what's up. - If you are the 100th dude-- - And you've watched 99-- - And you just watched 99 people in front of you, what's our thought process here? - I'll tell you what. - There's possibly two ways. - I'm listening. - Right? One, like you said, somebody's gotta be crazy strong, right?
And you got to slide up behind and put him in a choke hold. That's it. You got to get a choke hold. You got to get a choke hold. But then again, right? He grabbed. If he gets you, if you get off the choke, if you get out the choke hold. It's a wrap. Like if you can't put him down with the choke hold, the only other thing I could think of is like, bro, you got to know like the five fingers of death. Like a five finger death touch. Something like hit him. You got to hit him like in that one spot. And he just goes, he goes down. Otherwise it's a wrap. Yeah, it's a wrap. Otherwise it's a wrap.
Because you're not going to go straight up hand to hand. The bone density on a gorilla, a silverback versus our bone density. Right. The bite strength. He's not just punching. No. He's grabbing. He's going to hit you one time. It's a wrap. Right. It's a wrap. You can't do it. Look, call me a punk. I'm not joining. Nope. I'm not a part of that 100. Why? I'm just not. Count me out.
Why are we looking at trying to fight gorillas? For what?
Like, what did he do? They're like close to seven feet tall. Probably, yeah. Like, you know, then they stand up, they extend, and all of a sudden, arms come out, them hands this big. Now, I may be exaggerating seven feet, but they ain't going to look like seven feet when they get upset. You know, we've been in them scrums where you get in the middle and somebody get hit, and I stand next to you, all of a sudden, you grew another six inches because you're mad. Right, right, yeah. What you think he going to do? The speed at which he's going to move? That's because he...
I thought that was a gorilla coming through. Right. We was out. We're not four of them in here. We're not. Between you and I,
- It's popcorn, extra butter, a little salt. Oh, I can't forget the red vines. Red vines and Reese pieces. I like the little Reese pieces, you know. Gotta pop those in too. - Little soft pretzel with that too. - Ooh, soft pretzel. - Little soft pretzel. - Shout out to Philly for the soft pretzel. I see you, peace. - You know what I mean, bro? Gotta get the soft pretzel in there too. Little popcorn, soft pretzel, you know what I mean? - Mustard or nothing.
That one, like if I'm watching that, it could probably be a mustardy type. A mustardy event? Yeah, a mustardy type event, bro, because it's not going to be pretty, bro. There's going to be a lot of ketchup out there. A lot of red out there, bro. Well, Jung James. Yes, sir. After this well in-depth conversation of the Gorilla vs. 100 Man. James and Ryan.
This brings us to the conclusion of this episode. That's it? That's it for this week. I can do this all day, bro. That's it for this week. I can do this all day with you, my man. Come on, bro. All day, every day. Let's go. Let's go. We appreciate y'all for joining us.
For another episode. Damn. We'll put that one on the. No, we got to leave that in there. We're going to put that one on the. We got to leave that in there. And this is why we don't let them close. This is why we don't let them close. Because these things happen. Thank you all for joining us on this beautiful episode.
of the 611 611 my man young james jay to the road big piece stay tuned we're gonna have some more stuff coming for you down the line but until then y'all be easy this is an ad by better help
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