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No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void board prohibited by law. 21 plus. TNCs apply. What's up, everybody? Welcome to the 611. It's your boy, Ryan Howard, again with my man, Young James J. Rose. Yes, sir. Man, we got another great episode. Bro, you know what? We just gonna get right up into it real quick. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's talk about these call-ups, bro.
Can we talk about that for a second? First, how long were you in the minor leagues for? I want to say four and a half full seasons. Drafted in 96. Got the first call up in 2000, so I did
Rookie ball in 96, 97 was the, uh, was the full season. A 98 was a clear water. 99 was reading scrunching 2000 was scrunching big league. So yeah, you know, I don't really count the, the rookie box. That was like 30 or 40 games, whatever it was. So four and a half seasons. So I don't know. I mean, I,
A lot of it bats. How about that? A lot of it bats. Over 2,000, I believe. Yeah, a lot of it bats. So what about you, Rob? How long did it take you to get to the big leagues? Man, so I want to say it was about three and a half years. I was in my leagues or whatnot. Which is funny, which is almost like the express train back then. When we were coming up, three years was no time. Well, because I was drafted in 01.
And then started out in New York Penn League, short season. And then the following season went to Lakewood, New Jersey, Sally League, long season A. Then the following year after that, Clearwater, high A. Redding the year after that. And then after the year in Redding, in 04, I got that September call-up. Right. So I was up there for that month. And then AAA, started out AAA in 05. Tommy got hurt.
Got called up for two weeks, went back down when he came back. And then like another month later or whatnot, he got hurt and was out for the rest of the season. And I was up the rest of the year. And then that was that was it. So, I mean, I was I was able to do some some damage in the minor leagues. Oh, yeah. You did some damage. But these kids today is and I and I appreciate how they're putting emphasis on the youth getting in the game early.
especially with free agency. You still have to go so deep into your career before you become a free agent. Something that's also changed, they're giving these kids money two and three years into their career, which is something I'm also happy with. I think...
You know, it's security versus top end. Yeah, you get some security. You know, you have one or two good seasons. They want to save some money. But as a player, especially when you're young, yeah, you're going to take that security. You're going to take, you know, $150, $200 million. You may be sacrificing, you know, what looks to be a sacrifice. And it's hard to say that when you're getting hundreds of millions of dollars. But, hey, you're going to take that security.
You're setting up the rest of your life. And if you go out there and you have three or four good seasons, you're going to get an extension anyway. But anyhow, that's going deeper off the end. But the fact that in today's game, we can look at guys, Paul Skings, for example, 12 minor league games and 34 innings. I think it's the right call. Why? Yeah, the man has proved what he's what he can do in college. He went to the minor leagues.
Ran through that. Why waste his innings down in the minor leagues? You're not going to get any better to becoming a big league player. You're not going to get any closer to becoming a big league player by facing minor league hitters. Period. That's just what it is. So I'm glad that they're making that. But let me get your take. I've been talking too much. Let me get your take on some of these guys. Look, I mean, bro, I agree with you wholeheartedly with Paul Skeen. Sometimes, hey, in a draft, you get that dude that's just that Rick James super freak, bro.
Right. All of a sudden, all of a sudden, it's one of those things to where it's like, OK, this dude does not need to be down here. Like he can come down and get his reps. You can work on certain things, but he's pretty much polished.
Right. He's pretty much polished and that he's going to be it's not he's not going to be down here very long. You know, his stuff is plus plus stuff. So like you say, why waste it? The other thing kind of going back to the very beginning is guys are coming in at a much younger age where I think we were told, you know, guys peaks or was between twenty nine to thirty two. Correct. And I was I remember thinking to myself, like, why?
My bro, I could roll out of bed at 2021. Exactly. Don't even need the stretch. Don't even need the stretch. Just put on my uniform and go out there. Just go straight from the parking lot and play the game. With a peanut butter and a peanut butter and jam sandwich. You know what I'm saying? There you go. I think it's one of those things now where it's like, okay, they got hip to the game to where it's like, hey,
These kids are all coming in at a younger age because you can get more output. Now you got to let them figure out how to play and be big leaguers. Play the game at the big league level. You know, some of the development, you know, they may, they may lack in some of the development in certain stages, but like,
If they can go up there and they can figure it out where they have the tools, again, Paul Skeens is in a whole class by himself. Correct. But we have other guys, you know, for sure. We have other guys. Jacob Wilson. Now, we know his pedigree. We know that DNA. We've seen that from his pops. Jack.
You know what I mean? So it's, it's that apple don't fall too far off the tree, but I mean, my man is coming up and he's just putting back to ball. Right. Just balling. And it goes to the thing. Why waste that? Let these guys learn how to be big league players in the big leagues. And I think that's what is, what has changed. Obviously we could go to the training where the kids are training on the way up as very specific movements to what they're trying to accomplish as opposed to,
Back in the day where it was, you know, see the ball, hit the ball, you spring trying to get in shape.
don't, you know, stay healthy in your off season. Don't do anything stupid. Now their off season is full of training, specific training on strength, on mobility, on agility, the size behind what we're trying to do at the plate, the signs of how to throw the ball as a pitcher, all these things, the more we're learning, it's advancing these kids at a younger age. So with that being the case, it makes even more sense to,
to bring these kids up and teach them how to be big leaguers and a big leagues. Cause there's only one way to be a big league player. There's only one way to learn how to conduct yourself, how to deal with pressure and the big leagues. And that's in the big leagues. We've seen it guys who were in a minor leagues, destroy it. And they, and they, and they'll come up, you know,
At an older age, because they feel that they're mature enough, but haven't handled that pressure. Maybe if you expose that to them when they were younger, maybe they would have had a better chance of doing it. You can always make cases both ways, but I like the fact, see Mo, he's up in a big league. I see he got his first hit, a triple against the Yankees.
Hometown boy tripling against his hometown team. Come on now. It doesn't get better than that. Some of these things that you dream of are happening. And like I said, it's the emphasis on why waste the time. And there has to be a position open. We know that. We do know that, yeah. The position is open. These guys are coming out of college, which is equivalent in many ways, equivalent to the three years you're going to get in the minor leagues. Yes, you're going to have, especially if you're going to a top program. You're going to a top program. You're playing against the best kids in this country. Yes.
these guys have been tested. They're going to face these guys in a minor leagues with a couple new guys that are going, especially the international guys. They're going to face those as, as pitchers and hitters. But for the most part, you're facing guys that you've played against since you were kids through college and now in a minor league. So get them up to the big leagues. Yeah. I mean, look, bro, you look at Roman Anthony, you look at Marcelo mayor, like bro, it's like you said, why waste it? Like you look at, you look at, for example, right.
oh boy, Byron, Byron Buxton. Like when Bucks, when big bucks came up, like he scuffled, he struggled a little bit. Just a raw, right? Raw little young kid. He was raw. And you brought him up. You had to see what you could do. And then you sent him back down.
Let him work on some things. And then he's going to dominate a triple A. He's going to dominate. So that's why he brought him up in the first place. Now you bring him back up. You got to let him scuffle. You got to let him struggle a little bit and figure it out. You got to give guys opportunities because we've all had success. Every ball player that's in the big leagues has had success at every level they've ever played. The biggest thing is when you can get to the big leagues, struggle.
and then figure it out, bro, that's what it's all about. So when these guys are able to come, one, they're bigger, stronger, faster. Each generation is getting bigger, stronger, faster because, as you mentioned, the training is completely different all the way down to high school. Hell, all the way down to junior high. Yeah.
Right.
Like, even when, you know, I didn't have that when I was coming to school. Like, we worked out, but we didn't have, like, the type of workouts and the nutrition and all that focus. We didn't have that when we were playing. You know, the teams have invested now. The organizations have invested in the well-being. I say overall well-being because now these teams have –
Strength coaches, they have the trainers, they have massage people, they have mental coaches, they have nutritionists. These guys lack for nothing. Nothing. They lack for nothing. So they're given every single opportunity to go out here and try to succeed. And these guys are taking full advantage of it.
So when you see a Jack Caglione, that dude is a monster first and foremost, bro. Just absolute beast. And he's only played 79 minor league games. Bro, that's like a spring training. Right. For real. It's basically a spring training, bro. You're going down there. But like you said, if he can have an impact or you can get that guy in there and get him started to where he can be a part of the culture of the team,
And he gets his feet wet and he's like, okay, now I understand what it is. You know, the lights are a little bit brighter, you know, got a couple more O's in the bank roll, a couple more commas in the bank roll, but yeah,
The game is the same, bro. You still got to hit the ball. You got to catch the ball. Throw the ball. It's the same. And that's what I tell guys all the time. It's like the game is the same. You still got to hit it, catch it, throw it. I mean, more people in the stands, lights are a little brighter, more commas in the bank count. That's it. That's a fact. And also, by getting them up there early, you give them time to fail and figure out.
how to be a big league ball player, where I need to make the adjustments, how to go about conducting myself. Because when, and it's messed up when a guy gets called up and he's older, for example, and he doesn't take off right away, he knows his window is limited. Yeah. He's already been in the minor leagues for a long time and I need to come up and make an impact right away. I don't get a chance to struggle necessarily like this young prospect or this younger kid that has a
more youth on his side. So by giving him that time, as you said, with Bucks, bring him up. He struggles a little bit. Send him down. Let him get his confidence back and bring him back up. Jackson Holiday was another one. Came up, struggled for a second, sent him back down, brought him back up. He was able to beat Jackson. Giving these guys a chance to figure it out, but it's big to have the time to be able to figure out
And we know and we'd be remiss if we didn't, you know, say how these teams played a clock game when they want to get a guy's clock started, which was always the dumbest thing to me. What do you mean get my clock started? You want me in a big leagues to help you win. That clock should start ASAP. As soon as you feel I'm ready. As soon as I feel I'm ready. Not, well, you know, we're not sure where we want to go. Let's not start this guy's clock because we don't have to pay him. Do you want to win or not?
It's period. Do you want to win or not? If you want to win, you get the guys up that you drafted to say this is going to be the guy to help us, you know, bring a championship trophy home. If not, what's the point? Quit playing with these guys. Right. But let me ask you a question, too, Jay. How much more comfortable. Right. Who was who was there when when you first came up? Who was shortstop?
Desi Rutherford. Desi, right? Okay. And I know Desi kind of took you aside, kind of helped you and gave you too. But when they told you, all right, Jimmy, the job is yours, as the young guy, right, how much more confidence do you get? Like you said, now you know that when you show up to the field, when you go home from the field, when you rest, everything you do is in prep. Like, okay, I'm that dude. I'm in there tomorrow.
right like i remember i remember when i got the call and after in 05 in the off season and they had told me like oh hey um my agent had called me bro i was literally you remember the d now my white my white yeah yeah yeah bro because i'm back i'm back at the house bro i was at the car wash and i get the call from my agent and he was like hey right like
Yeah, they just traded Jim Tomey. So it looks like, you know, first base is going to be yours next year. And I was like,
all right cool best car watch you ever have in your life let's go ahead and upgrade to that platinum you know what i'm saying let's come get the shine on the rims yeah don't skip don't skip on the rims but you know my mindset like instantly changed like going into spring training your prep everything like you still have that competitive nature and that mentality of what you're going to do prep wise but you know in the back of your mind it's like okay
Now it's mine. Now I can kind of, you know, relax a little bit. Take a deep breath. And just take a deep breath. Yeah. And just and now you go out there and play. So I think when you get that with these guys, as you mentioned, the younger versus the older player, like these guys can get in there now knowing like, OK, I have the room.
to make mistakes and not play like I have to look over my shoulder, like, oh, they're going to sit me down. Like, especially when the investments that these teams have made in these guys, obviously being a lot of them, you know, being first rounders, but they're going to make sure like, hey, we want you to come up here and be able to succeed. If you struggle and we need to send you down and maybe work on a couple of things, then you can do that. But you know, you're at some point you're going to come back up. But I got to say too, like the impact that these guys are having is,
on their teams as they're coming up. So it's like, it's not like the, hey, you know, I'm the rookie and I'm just, like, these guys are coming up and actually making an impact. It's a, it's a,
a breath of fresh air, it's a punch of a burst of energy coming out with these guys. Because the way that these guys are all coming out the gates, it's just horses out the starting block. Just gone. Because these guys are coming in and they're announcing their presence with authority. When that window open, kick that thing down. Don't open it. Kick it. Keep doing it. Kick it out the frame. Kick it out the frame. Keep doing it, young bucks. Keep doing it. All right, P. So I want to talk about something that's happening
In the great Northwest, there's a young man by the name of Cal Raleigh who was threatening Mr. Judge for the home run lead. Not only that, let's not stop. Let's not just leave it there. He's a catcher. That don't usually happen. No, he has to handle the staff. He has to squat down every single pitch.
For the course of a game and you looking at hundreds of pitches, usually about 90 to 100 from the starter. And then you have relief pitchers. Games go extra innings. And although they've sped it up, those are still times you have to be down in that squat position, calling the game, stand in tune with what's happening, throwing out runners.
And being really kind of the most complete player on the field. Not necessarily the most athletic. I still think that's me, the shortstop. But the most complete player on the field. Don't hate. It is what it is. And catching. But not only is he that. He's almost like a throwback in the sense that in today's game, catchers have seemingly been allowed to hit 100, 140, 200 as long as you handled the staff. If you handled the staff, you did your job.
And I know that wasn't always the case. And, you know, we could look at some of the greats and it's always easy to call out the greats. Right. But just overall, a catcher had to be more.
than just a defensive player. And yes, it's a defensive position. It's demanding to make sure you stay in tune with the pitch. That's your number one job. But you still get up. You still get a batch with runners in scoring position. You still have to drive in runs when counted. You still have to play the game right way on the offensive side. You're not necessarily counted on a score and a ball and a gap. But if you can, it's a plus. I think that the first thing we have to look at
is obviously the game has changed obviously since we came out because emphasis, the emphasis was in a lot of different places. They were in different places from when we played to where they are today, right? We came up in the era of home runs, RBIs, batting average, and those were kind of the key things, right? So as we exited,
batting average started to kind of dip a little bit. Obviously shifts were playing a factor, lived, lived that, lived through that. But no, you said as soon as you retire, they're going to outlaw it. Oh yeah. I knew at some point, you called it. Yeah. I knew at some point they were going to have to, because I thought it was kind of like taking the product of the game down because you had your superstars that were starting to struggle. So yeah,
batting averages had obviously gone down across the board. The emphasis in the training is a lot different than what we had where, you know, launch angle and everything, spin rates, all that kind of stuff. Exit VLO has been more of the focus in today's game. Now, that being said,
You know, you look at him, he's hitting about 260 right now, 26 homers, 57 RBI, and 260 plate appearances. And as you said, the most important thing, one of the biggest emphases in today's game is defense, right? So as you said, it's handling the pitching staff. What he's doing at the plate is the cherry on top.
you know, I'm sure that they would say, hey, we love what you're doing. Like, well, the emphasis for him, the more important thing is how he can go out there, go handle that staff to keep that other team. You can go out there, go hit a home run for us and get us some runs and we can win the game. Man, by all means, please do. But I think with what he's doing currently, you know,
especially in an era where you don't see that as much from catchers. You know, obviously, like you said, we had the greats. You had Piazza. I mean, you look at Yachty, Yachty Molina. You know, I would say Yachty was probably, you know, Yachty, Pudge. Hey, I'll even go out and say, my man, our boy Chooch. Chooch? Jay Kendall? Yeah, like Jay Kendall, like those guys were going to go out. Those were guys that you knew, they knew how to handle a pitching staff.
but then they also knew how to handle the bat. Russ Martin, another one. Yeah. What Riley's doing right now is fun to watch. And like you said, yeah, he's going to be an all-star. Hopefully we'll see him participate in the home run derby. I think guys that lead the league in home runs should participate in the home run derby. Everybody has their thoughts, their opinions on that. But, you know, if you don't want to be in the home run derby, don't lead the league in home runs. Yeah.
And just to bring another comparison, yes, we understand home run derby champ. We hear you. We hear you, Mr. 58 and 64, whatever many you hit in a three-year span. But just looking at Cal, just to give our listeners something to compare, when we say he's more of a throwback, when I say throwback, I mean a throwback to us.
We're looking at the 80s and the 90s and early 2000s. You know, those two decades when catchers were expected, in my opinion, were expected to be offensive contributors and hit for average and be able to drive in guys. Catchers are usually a big guy. You know, like, and you see a big guy, you want them to hit for some power. Other than that, it's not like it's a waste of size. But at the same time,
You know, big size was needed behind on plate because guys were able to run catches over then also. So you needed somebody back there that can defend the plate. But looking at averages, as I want to go by decade in the 70s, the average across the board was 248. Cal's at 269, almost at 270 in that range or 260, 260 range, shall I say. In the 80s, it was 247, not much difference. But then you get to the 90s and 2000s.
And you have a gain of 256 to 258. That's nearly 10 points on average. Now, that may not seem like a lot.
But when you put that 10 more points, you know, with runners in scoring position coming from a catcher position and adding power, that adds up. And if you're not a guy that bats in the middle of the lineup like the catchers we spoke about, they did bat in the middle of the lineup. They were expected to get hits and a drive and runs, which is why I think the average reflected that and they hit for power. He could have played in that era.
Right now, he's outshining the guys in this era with the home runs and also with the average. And I know there isn't much emphasis on average, but he's definitely slugging. I'm not sure if he walks. He's not a guy that's necessarily want to walk. He's not going to score on a ball in a gap, but he's definitely doing his part in the slug department. So I like to point that out and what he's doing. Now,
Not only leading the staff, but he's actually contributing on the offensive side and with power, which is something that hasn't been seen in a long time from a catcher's position. So, Kyle, great job. All-star you're going to be this year. If not, if not, you know, we got to go talk to the you got to go talk to the people. You know, it just wouldn't make sense. You have a catcher doing this. It wouldn't make sense. That's all I'm saying.
Cal, I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to throw this out there for you, bro. I'm looking at this stat line that we have here, and I see seven stolen bases in there. Ooh, hold on. I'm going to give you – Ryan, hold on. I'm going to give you – How many did you have? What was your highest season average, Ryan? I probably had – I had like nine or ten. Ooh, I think he got you. I think he got you. So, Cal – oh, he's going to get me for sure. That's why I'm throwing this out there. I'm going to say, Cal, you know –
I do think that you're a guy that can score on a ball in the gap. Okay? These seven stolen bases, you know, somebody who was –
It's speed challenged, I guess, if you will. It's debatable. But I get the freight train going, and there was only one way to stop. And it could be a nasty wreck at home plate. But, Cal, I see you got the seven stolen bases, sir. And I believe that you can be that guy that will score on a ball from the gap. So prove my man Young James wrong.
I would love to see it. I see these seven solid bases and I'm going to give it to him. I'm going to give it to him. Especially, you know, you always get a tight cast. He's getting double digits. He's going to get double digits. He's going to get double digits. Yeah, he's going to get that on accident.
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Hello, other truckie. Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply. As we talk about speed, young James, we need to talk about our boy Denzel Clark. What he's doing, the catches that he has made. In a month's time. I mean, just in a month's time. His last month has been crazy. Yes. His last month of like every time it's like almost like every time he's making a catch, it's like play of the year.
Right. He's putting himself up there for player of the year. And my comparison, and I'm going to just throw it out there, I think you might be thinking the same thing, is Mr. Torrey Hunter. Oof. I mean, he's going back there, he's grabbing stuff. Yeah.
in the fashion that he's doing. He's taking away hopes and dreams out there, okay? Young James just snatching them, snatching them. Like you sitting there thinking like, oh man, that's a homer. Oh man, that's a double. You know, for me, I'm thinking, oh, that's a triple.
There you go. You had me at double. You had me at double. But, you know, it's like a good space, Ambrose. It's too impossible right there. As a matter of fact, let's just take a look. Let's just take a look at what he's done. And we're going to start this first clip with the play that he made in Toronto. Let that go.
Spotted man! Time out. Now look, I know that they've lowered the fences in Toronto. I know. Those fences used to be high. But the way he climbed that fence, I would say he has some experience doing this, Ryan. He's probably that kid that when you used to race home and it was a fence on the way home, he knew how to hit it with one foot, be over the top and down on the other side.
Yeah. And you knew that if you race him, you better learn how to climb that wall because he knows how to climb that wall. So whatever he did in his youth has definitely contributed to his flinch climbing ability. Now, as I said, I know they lowered that fence, but I don't think it has made a difference for him.
I've seen this a number of times. I go to YouTube and I watch home run robberies, and I've seen the Japanese players do this all the time. They get back to the fence, climb the wall, and just hang out. Just wait for the ball to come down. He has done that. He's perfected it, and that is a beautiful thing. As you said, that was a dream to a nightmare right there. I'm too little personally to have those balls taken back. I'm not hitting them that way more than three feet over the fence. I need the speed of
of that center fielder to be lacking or to get a bad jump. But when Denzel is out there, you want him on that wall. You need him on that wall. Yes, sir. So, I mean, that's where we start. We start, we starting right there. Just, just, just a dream to a nightmare. I just want to say when you watch him go back,
One, how smooth it is, right? And for all the kids that are watching and watching his route, the kids that are playing center field, like you watch how he finds the ball and then he looks and finds the wall. Always got to know where the warning track is. There's no panic on there at all. And he knows it's like he had it timed out perfectly to where it's like, boom.
Get to the wall, get up, snag it, bring it right back. So, I mean, that's a great start. But what he does against Baltimore, let's roll the clip. Let's see what he does against Baltimore over here. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's like you said, you want him on that wall, you need him on the wall. Like, man, that right there, that takes me back to Roro's catch, Aaron Rowland's catch.
When in Philly, when he ran face first into the rail and that is just complete, completely selling out. Like just sacrifice. So you, you know, you're going to hit that wall, you know, and, and, and there's not much protection. And I don't know if anyone has actually tried to run into a wall where there's a fence, but especially MLB wall, it's padded per se. Yeah.
When you hit that wall, it does not feel padded at all. It does not feel padded at all. I mean, all of us watching WWE, WWF. Yeah, that floor is padded. But when you go into a full speed, oh, you're going to feel that thing. And guess what? That wall is going to win. So he put himself in position to make the sacrifice for greatness. Denzel, tip my hat to you, brother.
Yes, sir. Let's let this one roll. This is one. I mean, I don't know what's more impressive. You know, we saw the one in Toronto. Right. We've seen the one in Sac. But then we go to Anaheim. Maybe it's just the latest and greatest. Maybe it's just the latest and greatest. It's too hard to categorize these. And this is three. This is two. This is one. Maybe it's just with him. It's just the latest and greatest. You know, we just have to wait and see what's next. Let's let the clip roll.
Okay, that's uncalled for. That is just uncalled for. I mean, that's an instant, like, almost like a... It's like a... Bro, he didn't even look to find a wall. Spider-Man, bro. The instincts kicked in. The instincts. The Spidey instincts just... The hitter? Look at the hitter. His body language says it all. Yeah, no doubt about it. He can't even believe it. Just heartbroken.
He's like, I got to walk home now. I got to walk home. I did everything perfect, mom. And I couldn't beat that man. I could not beat that man. I just couldn't do it. And that one there, I mean, just every time I see a play like that where a guy goes up over the wall, I'm like,
It reminds me of Gary Matthews Jr. just going back on Mike Lamb and just turning around. And it's pure athleticism. He knows where he is. He knows where the wall is. He knows where the ball is going to be. And then you go for it. There's no hesitation. There's no panic. You go for it. And he went for it.
He's three for three. I mean, you're talking about catch of the year. Which one? Which one? Which one is the catch of the year? That's the thing. It's not is it. It's just which one. Any, many, many more. Right now, my front runner, I got to go with that catch in Anaheim. Because he went all the way over behind the wall. Twist in, pulled it all the way back. Pulled it all the way back.
all the way back and the fun part is this this will be more to come if i'm the hitter i'm i'm like where's the guy in center field that's supposed to be behind the wall pulling his glove off when he does that that's all i'm saying you know i'm saying where's the rally monkey that's supposed to be on center field taking his glove off when he goes back like that where you at rally monkey you stupid stupid
Yeah, bro. As we go for that, I have a question for you, Ryan. As we approach the Home Run Derby, we like to call this our banana boat ritual segment. Not everybody has an opportunity to participate, first of all, in an All-Star game, let alone a Home Run Derby and win the Home Run Derby. You had a chance to win and then defend. So what...
is your preparation, if any different. And I'm sure it starts long before the Home Run Derby. You're taking batting practice, leading up to it as this half is coming to an end. Let us know what it's like mentally for you, how you prepare yourself, how do you visualize, and then the moment you step into that box, and it's the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby. You know, so my first Home Run Derby in 06...
was my, actually it was my first full season. And I remember sitting in the meeting where they had all the, all the participants and they were going over the rules of the home run derby. Now this was, this was back before they started doing like the three minute,
Like, you know, the three o'clock we had the 10 outs. Right. Right. So which is every ball that didn't leave the yard wasn't out. I remember we were having a meeting and I just remember Lance Berkman because I guess Burke Berkman had been in a home run derby before or whatever. This is my first ever All-Star game. And he was just like,
He told the whole group, he's like, hey, guys, like, you know, the first thing you want to do is you want to go up there and you don't want to swing at every single pitch. He's like, take your time, get some pitches in between, this down to third. Berkman goes up there and swings at the first seven pitches. We were like, bro. We were like, bro, he just told us to, like, chill. But I will say this. What?
Because you know me, I took batting practice. I didn't hit home runs in batting practice. No. You had to wait on your bat and hit singles in the left field. But I will say, because I think I was either in the lead for home runs or tied for home runs, the lead of home runs or something. I think I was in the top or whatever that year. So I felt...
The obligation of having grown up, you know, watching, watching like, you know, the idols of the past, the stars of the past, you know, the Maguires, the Griffey's, um,
all those guys like that were leading like participating in the home run derby and so i was like all right i kind of felt obligated i was like man i'm gonna go out here go have some fun so in getting into it i remember people coming to me the media in philly was like brian like you don't hit home runs in batting practice like are you gonna be okay i'm not media i was one of them i'm like i don't know this is gonna work i've never seen them do it i've never seen them do it it's like
Yeah. And it's like, I, I done a couple of home run derbies, like when I was younger. So it's like, I know, I know what to do. And then watching Bobby the year before, like if you really stopped and looked at, to me, it didn't look like Bobby changed his swing.
At all. And where... 05 in Detroit. And what I was... My whole process was, because I know everybody was worried, like, oh, it's going to ruin his swing. I was like, I'm not going to change my swing. Like, my natural swing is just going to do what it does. And so I just... Even when I was taking my batting practice for Home Run Derby, all I did was just add a little extra juice to it. Just, all right, boom, let me just get this. Let me get this. Because the biggest thing when you get into a Home Run Derby...
is once you get that first one out, all the pressure's off. Got it. You're not blanks. Right, you're not blanks. Yeah, you don't want to get that goose egg. So then you can kind of settle in. I would go and do my same type of batting practice and just get the swing because for me it was always about just getting the feel of my swing. And if I had the ball, whether the ball left or not,
if I had the right trajectory off the bat, then I knew once the adrenaline kicked in, like it was going to go off the wall or over the wall. So I would just add a little extra more extra pop to it, you know, and then occasionally like during the home run derby, I would go down and go, you know, take some swings, just kind of stay loose. But for me, it was always about getting grooving my swing and,
so that I can get the ball to come off the bat the way that I wanted to without changing my swing. So I wasn't really trying to uppercut. I was still trying to swing and hit through the ball and get that backspin. Is there anything that you learned about yourself or maybe even your swing in the home run derby? Because from the outside looking in, like hitting bat in practice and in the same group with you every day, you may pull three balls out of 30 swings. Maybe.
Maybe. And in a home run derby, for the first time, all of us that have seen you take a thousand swings, you were actually launching balls to right field like a left-handed hitter.
Like you hit the ball to left field, like a right-handed hitter. We've seen that. But we rarely see you hit the ball to right field without top spin. But although it ends up in the third deck, it was rare to see you hit a ball to right field with backspin. But in a home run derby, you did a lot of that. I think that was the biggest thing was the home run derby kind of took that.
and added it because early on in the year my home runs were all like you said kind of right center all the way over to left to the left field foul pole and at that time i don't know it just unleashed something it unleashed something in me getting to the ball and pulling the ball and hitting the ball to right field down the right field line and then that second half
it opened that up for me as well. So now I was pretty much going foul pole to foul pole, hitting balls out. So again, it wasn't anything I was doing to try to change my swing. For me, the home run derby actually helped in the second half because for whatever reason, I got it turned on to where it was pulling my hands in even more on balls in and now pulling the ball with backspin to the right side. There you have it.
Home run derby ritual with my man, Ryan Howard. But we're not letting you get out of yet because this is your area of the ballpark. And that is the long ball, the ding dong Johnson. If there were guys that would be your dream, I guess we use the word your dream, home run derby contestants for this season, who would be included in that?
we have we have the usuals you know polar bear we know we know he's done it he's won uh last year we had alec bone who hopefully i think he learned something about it bobby witt uh who was a finalist also i mean there were guys soto participated but who are guys that maybe have not participated uh that you would like to see participate in home run derby i mean it's the usual suspects i mean you want to see the big name guys getting out there
doing big game type things. I mean, yeah, you'd love to get out there, go see Bryce. But he's hurt. He's hurt right now. He's hurt. Yeah. Yeah. Swarbs. Yeah. Swarbs is, he's fun to watch, man. Yeah. He's fun to watch it. I mean, I think, I think you put Schwarber out there. You put,
Judge out there. You put Otani out there. Ooh, nasty. Garcia. You can put Muncie out there. Muncie will get out there. He'll grind it out. Kyle, obviously. Kyle Rowley. He's got to be one of them.
Yep, you got to put him in there. What about Acuna? Acuna, the way he— Acuna would put on a show. Another guy that's a sleeper to me that you may not consider is Soler. He has light tower power. Oh, bro. I was thinking about him or Robert. Yes. You put those two head-to-head. They can stretch. Yeah. Because it's exciting. You have a special ability to drive the ball out the yard.
And sometimes it doesn't always show up in games. And yes, that's a big part of it. But for the theater of it all,
Guys that can literally just stretch. They can hit the ball. Second deck at will dead center at will oppo just to have fun. I think those are guys that should be in and definitely would make it a lot more fun. Well, those it's, it's about putting on a show. So when you can have people that can bring that entertainment element to it, like you said, like a, a CUNA, right. Or,
or potentially like Soto. Like when you get up there, you can get the antics after, right? And the showmanship after. That's what you want. That's what it's all about. It's about guys going up there, having fun, but you're putting on a show for the fans. 100%. That's what it really all comes down to. Peace. I think, man, I think that's a wrap for today, brother. I mean. Yes, sir. You're in Paris. You know, I don't know what time it is over there. You know, it's probably wine o'clock.
As you sip on a fine bottle of vino. Got a nice little Bordeaux. Well, you know what? They have Bordeaux's here in Atlanta, too. You're not special, partner. I mean, you're special. Let me rephrase that. You are special. But I'm saying drinking a Bordeaux is not special. I mean, it just hits different. It hits different on the soil. It just hits different on the soil. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Yeah, it's just got a little different appeal. Touche, my brother. Touche. Well. Yeah, we done touched it all today. We appreciate our fans always for tuning in to the 611. You know, comment, tag, post, follow. Continue to support us and give us recommendations, things you'd like to see us talk about, quick hit subjects. We can jump on and do some special shows, maybe find some special guests. Let us know who you want to see.
Yeah, let us know what you want. Let us know. Let us know what you want. Thanks for joining us again on the 611 Podcast. Till next time. Peace. Peace.