Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network. Guardians Weekly is front
to you by Progressive helping Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance. Hi,
every one, Welcome to Guardians Weekly Chamber and house along with you at Progressive
Field in downtown Cleveland where the Guardians are playing the Miami Marlins this weekend,
unfortunately a postponement on Friday night, but doubleheader Saturday, with a traditional doubleheader
beginning with the first pitch of Game one scheduled for three ten, and then
a one forty first pitch on Sunday afternoon to wrap up what is now a
two day, three game series with a National League ball club, the Miami
Marlins, coming up a little bit later on on our show this week,
we will hear from Rob Sortfolio, he's the director of player development for the
Guardians the Farm Report. We'll also hear from Guardians Senior Vice president Bob di
Biasio, another edition of at the Ballpark with Bobby d. And we'll check
in with former Cleveland Indian and current Guardians broadcaster Pat Tabler, who's joining us
this weekend on the radio side and will relift some fun memories with Pat and
just a little bit. But first, in our first segment of the show
this week, we had a chance to visit with Sandy Alamar earlier this week
and talk base running as well as catching, and with three new catchers on
the Guardians roster this season, Sandy says, there's a lot of work to
do to get them up to speed with the pitching staff as quickly as possible.
Well, for number one, first of all, we had to understand
their bodies and how their body moved and stuff like that and teas they have
done in their past, and then we tried to accommodate them according to the
way our pitchers pitch. What do we do, how much how much spreen
do we throw? Because we are breaking ball pitching st that we do a
spin a lot of ball. So I kind of present that to them while
in the off season, how the our pitchers pitching profile is. And then
we start adapting to mechanically to how we can help them to do their best
to catch those guys. And it seems with keeping three catchers, all three
have different skill sets, don't they correct? You know, like you know
Son, you know, you know he lost a year, so he was
a little behind and many things. His heat mobility was lacking at first in
spring training. He's doing a lot better now. Slowly, small games,
but he's doing much better receiving, working under the ball and blocking. I
had a rough time at the beginning, but he's kind of understanding how his
body is moving, the things he need to do to become a better blocker.
Gallaghy pretty much he's always been a defensive catcher. You know, you
tend to leave him alone a little bit and just kind of thinker here and
there and many things to to get him lower in the ground with a little
bit more hit mobility. But his receiving skills are good. And as long
as he worked under the ball and be able to be close to the ground
as the ball's coming to four balls in the dirt, he should be fine.
And Beloria is probably like a hot He has a lot of upside.
He just doesn't play that much. He has a good bat too. He's
he has a you know, like slightly above average arm, and he's always
been a catcher, so he's he has his mechanicals right to part and the
kid waiting in the wings bow Naylor, you had a chance to work with
him in this spring and what are your impressions as he grows into this game.
Yeah, Bob was learning so many things last year and this year and
spen training with he had a fantastic time and he was working basically kind of
like solidified. He's won the stands. He's pretty much a hybrid catcher.
He doesn't do it all the time in one knee. I mean, we're
still learning many things about that particular stance about We tend to analyze and look
at videos and look at the most efficient way that you can do things for
any particular catcher, not just dump stuff for the guy to do the same
the same way. So you know, we have a collaboration of people that
look at stuff like that. And boll did a good job in the all
season, brought it to spring training and done grateful for it. And all
these guys this season are dealing with some new rules that seeming they're making it
really tough on catchers. What are you seeing that the challenges for them as
they try and control the running games, Well, the challenges are going to
be more on the pictures. You know, at the end of the day,
the times this is about thresholds. You know, every every picture and
a catcher have a threshold. But start with the with the pictures, and
you have to get the catchers a good time to throw out what they're gonna
be rushing throws. But um yes, uh, you know, adding up
three inches and the limitations of throwing to disengagement and makes it very hard for
a catcher even though with a great arm to throw people out. Sandy Alamart
joining us and Sandy on the other side of it, you're the first base
coach of the team that has also a great start stealing basis. What do
you say, is it just the talent or the rules coming into play too?
We really, you know, the rules really help for a guy to
be more aggressive. This engagement is the part that I feel. And the
distance between bases. Now, so the picture dick state how much of a
lead you get. But if a picture doesn't have a good move to first
base, you can go out there fifteen feet lead. I mean that'll make
one three to one four on time. So, like I say before,
everybody has a threshold on time. Catcher picture combination and the distent the runner
have to cover. So the best thing to do for a pictures to have
a great move and work in a great move in that way, it's a
lot of it's more difficult for the for the runner to the things sail from
first base. Sandy has always thanks for the insight. Appreciate it. I
appreciate it. That's Guardians catching instructor and first base coach Sandy Alamar. On
the hitting side, Chris Felaka has been working with the hitters, trying to
get them going here early in the season. Cold weather has always been a
challenge for any season that Cleveland plays, and this year no different than with
that cold weather hanging around. Chris says that his experience as a player now
a hitting coach, well, there's a it's a lot more challenging when you're
trying to hit good major league pitching and the temperatures are not exactly where you'd
like to see them. Yeah, I mean it's uncomfortable for everybody out there,
you know, not not the most enjoyable at bats. But you know,
things we talked about in spring training, we talk about with the cold
weather, you know, shortening up, choking up on the bat, you
know, just continuing to look for hard contact, but you know, the
damage is tough to come by, you know, in the weather. Normally
these games are are tight, you know, one run, two run games.
So you know, the more we can execute, we can play small
ball, get guys over, you know, put the ball in play,
make contact, get that guy in. You know, that's kind of the
focus for for these tough days. And you come here in these conditions after
a nice warm weekend in Washington. Does that make it even tougher? You
think, yeah, I mean that's what we signed up for. Though,
you know, we know the weather's different in all kinds of places. You
know, looking at the forecast, we knew it was gonna be nice in
DC, and then coming here the weather was gonna be a little cooler.
So you know, we'll have our meeting today, we'll go over it,
kind of go through the game plan. But you know, uh, you
know, hopefully look to you know, shorten up a little bit, you
know, continue to put the ball in play like we do, you know,
looking for hard contact, but you know, not really searching for damage
and big swings. Today, Chris said, you look at it these first
several weeks of this season. I know it takes a while for a lineup
to gel um. What are you seeing so far? Positives and some challenges
so far. Yeah, you know, I think we've seen guys at different
points already. You know, in the short, short start to this season.
Um, you know, guys have gotten off to pretty good starts.
Some guys got off a little colder than than we would have liked. But
you know, seeing seeing Josh Bell starting to turn a corner that's been um,
you know a positive. Quan has been solid early. You know,
we got to get him back on track. But you know that's that's the
way it is early in the season, trying not to put too much stock
into it until you know, guys get close to you know, a hundred
at bats, you know, with spring combined, so before we really start
digging into you know, see what's really going on. You mentioned Josh Bell
and he's new to you. How do you get up to speed to help
him, especially when he gets off to a slow start like he did.
Yeah, so doing doing a lot of you know background on him, you
know when he signed him, having some conversations this winner, you know,
trying to build build the relationship through spring training and a little bit of the
off season. Um, you know, so kind of just trying to understand
how he ticks and then you know, going through through the work, you
know, letting him lead a little bit. There are some things that we've
we've dug into um a little bit more of late um, you know.
But you turn his baseball card around. You know, at the end of
the year you see two sixty with thirty. You know, you know it's
going to be there. So you kind of ride the waves and the ups
and downs, but try to get him on track as soon as possible.
Miles Straw is off to a nice start. Is that a byproduct of some
of the work he did in Cleveland in the offseason? Yeah, I think
a big cooters to him. You know, he came to Cleveland, we
did some work this winter, and then you know he went back to Florida
and you know put the work in himself. So we saw it, you
know in spring training him really you know, kind of turning that corner and
then you know, getting off to a start like he has is nice.
You know, not only for the beginning of the season, but the whole
season. You know, you don't want to dig a hole too deep early
um, you know, so love him at the bottom of the lineup like
that, turning in around for the top of the lineup. You know,
he's been driving in runs, making hard contact. So that was really the
biggest point um you know, going into this season, was you know,
ramping up that intent, looking for him to take more chances and get his
swing off more a hitter. We haven't seen a whole lot of but it's
usually pretty good. Is Will Brennan. And what's impressed you about him as
you get to know him, you know, just the trust in his at
bats. You know, he goes up there, you see the confidence he
has. I think that gives us confidence in the dugout. You know,
his ability to hit righty's and lefties has been really good, at least to
start this season. I think he's got something like four doubles, you know,
right out of the gate. So it's nice to see him driving the
ball, you know, getting those extra basses. But you know he's been
a tough out, you know, through and through the first sixteen games.
How many layers do you go with today to to survive the dugout? I
got three right now, probably a PARKA for the game. Thanks Chris,
Thank you. That's Chris Placup Guardians Hitting coach, and stay tuned. We'll
have more to come after this time out on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Here's the payoff swung and drill the left ance ofa sit down. The
line that'll score Kuan. It goes all the way to the wall and into
second with a stand up Arbi double is Josh Bell. My goodness, Corbin
pitched him and pays the price. Those are sports sounds, and people have
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Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse back with you from Progressive Field
in downtown Cleveland, where the Guardians will play a double header on Saturday after
a rainout on Friday night the Marlins in town a rarity. It has been
a while since Cleveland played Miami here in Cleveland, but it'll be a three
ten first pitch for a traditional double header on Saturday afternoon. And we are
joined now by our special guest who is going to be filling in on the
broadcast this weekend, Pat Tabler, former Cleveland Indian, longtime broadcaster of Major
League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and now a part of the Valley Sports
Crew and on this weekend part of the Guardians Radio Network. Great to see
a Pat, Rosie. It is so good to be here. And finally,
you and I've known each other for how many years? Something molose to
that. Yeah, and I've never worked with you, and now I got
a chance to work with you. I hope we're still friends after this weekend.
Oh we thought it was going to be last night, but boy,
it just didn't work out. Now we'll play two this afternoon and it should
be a lot of fun. I would think. Is the Guardians trying to
get it rolling. They're getting good at these doubleheaders early after last season when
they had a ton Yeah, you know, it's still April. It's Cleveland,
it's April. You have to expect these kind of things. We go
way back, you know, for the last thirty forty years. You can
get sunny and seventy five on one day in thirty and snow the next day.
So you just have to make those adjustments and go from there. And
you mentioned that, and gosh, you played over at the old place.
I don't know if there was a difference whether it was here or the old
place, which was colder. I imagine they were about the same, but
was it really mind over matter. On a lot of nights early in the
season, I was just having this discussion with Sandy all Alamar before Friday Night's
game about the difference between this ballpark in the old ballpark, and we kind
of like looked at each other, winked and said, you know what,
they didn't have heaters in the dugout back then. It was just freezing down
on that lake. And again you would have snow on some days, you'd
have freezing rain on some days in April, and then some days it'd be
seventy degrees. But it was It was a lot of fun rehashing that I
can laugh about it now with Sandy Earlier this homestad. Some of my favorite
stories Rick Manning used to talk about in the fall, when they would line
the field for the Browns games. A lot of times the lines were still
there and on a flyball to center, he would do a fair catch like
he was a punt returner. I don't know if you if you remember that
playing with There are so many stories about the old stadium of things that went
wrong. A couple of them that come to mind for me is it was
during the football season when when the baseball seasons in the football season overlapped and
we were out of town, and they put a tarp across the football part
of the stadium. It rained, and they never took the tarp off to
dry the field. So when we came back then on a Monday to play,
they pulled the tart back and it was like a quagmire, one hundred
yards of quagmire right down the middle of the field that you would literally step
in it and you would sync down into your ankles. They had to call
the game. I guess so on that one. I remember that. I
remember the game that was a call because of the bugs down on the lake.
I remember we got fogged out of a game one night. We were
playing the Boston Red Sox and this fall came over the left field wall like
I'd never seen before, and you could not see the ball. Roger Clemens
was pitching for the Boston Red Sox, and you couldn't see the baseball.
That right there scared the heck out of me. But I remember Bobby Bonds
going out hitting fly balls to the outfield to see if they could see either
get up into the fog, couldn't see it. Game was called maybe about
the fourth or fifth innings. You were no longer with the Indians when this
place opened. When you first saw this place, did you think, now,
wait a minute, that would have been a nice place to play it.
I thought I was born ten years too early for sure. You know.
When I played here, we had some pretty decent ball clubs, and
we had some pretty decent ball players. And I always knew that if we
had a winner, and we had a stadium that we could call our own,
this place would get packed because it's a baseball it's a sports town.
Cleveland is a sports town, and unfortunately we were We were had some bad
teams too, And I always said, if we got a winning team here
and we played in our own ballpark, great things would happen. What is
that four hundred and fifty five consecutive sellouts here? The great teams that came
through here I'm not surprised that this has been such a success where this ballpark
is and it's still it's great today and now here you are back with the
organization again that that you started with. And I know a lot of people
were excited when they heard that news initially, and Tabby a great to have
you along this weekend. We'll enjoy the games. A bummer that Friday night
was postponed, but they'll play two Saturday and another one on Sunday. What
a pitching matchup we're going to have Al Kantara and Bieber. Yes, that's
gonna be a lot of fun. Yes it will. And we'll fill you
in on the pregame show prior to game one once we know which game that
will be. I imagine it will be the opener, but we'll see as
the teams were making decisions after the ball game last night, and we'll fill
you in on the Guardians warm up when we can. Well, Tabby,
I'll I'll see you on the broadcast. Thanks a lot for coming by Guardians
Weekly. Happy. I'm looking forward to teaming it up with you and teeming
it up. That is Pat Tabler who's filling in this weekend for Hammy on
the radio side. Stay tuned more to come after this on the Cleveland Clinic
Guardians Radio Network. We're going to be here a while today, folks.
Jim Rosen Now's back with you. It's Guardians Weekly. We're in downtown Cleveland
at Progressive Field as the Guardians will play the Marlins in a traditional doubleheader on
Saturday, starting at three ten in the afternoon for game one, a lot
of baseball two for the price of one. If you haven't made plans yet,
head on down to the ballpark, the best value in sports, and
you can pick up your tickets on the Ballpark app or cle guardians dot com.
Rob Sorfolio is the director of player development for the Cleveland Guardians, and
we had a chance to visit with Rob earlier in the week. Man he's
finally having that chance to get out and about and see the minor league affiliates,
and he says, it's a great time of year to see some of
the younger players in action. Absolutely, it's it's that time of year where
the young guys are out competing and try and show what they can do and
see them in some game action versus we play against ourselves quite a bit in
spring training, So it's nice to see them go head to head and tow
them out or the plate with guys in different uniforms, which is which is
awesome, And I know our staff really enjoy it being back out there on
the road kind of going through the grind. But uh, yeah, it's
it's a fun time of year. Let's start with Columbus, and with some
pitching injuries here and and really some other injuries too, it's maybe at this
point in the season has been a little bit more busy than than you would
expect. Yeah, a little bit, especially early on, you know,
with the weather and the new travel schedule, playing all over the place,
there's some additional hurdles that are our major league team faces, and in the
minor leagues. We're here to support our major league team and so doing everything
we can in Triple A to make sure that we've got guys ready to come
up here and compete and help our team win, while also still trying to
work towards some of their developmental goals with such young teams across the board for
us as a fun dynamic to try and balance. All right, we're one
minute in. What about Tanner, Bobby We don't. You can't say when
he's coming up. We don't know, but very excited. I'm sure to
see the start that he's off to Tanner byby a good young prospect. Yeah,
I wish we had the crystal ball of when that day is going to
come. I feel pretty confident that it will come, and at least with
Tanner, you know, I think one of the exciting things for you know,
the fans that will get to see him at some point or either are
seeing him now in Triple A is just the behind the scenes work ethic and
knowledge of craft and the way that he kind of is still learning and developing
as a young pitcher. I mean, we've only had him for one full
season in our organization, so it's pretty impressive that he's made to Triple A
this fast. And so again, like I mentioned, it's how do we
prepare him to come up here and have success. Tito's big thing is it's
not about making into the major leagues, about making the major leagues and helping
us win, And so that's kind of the mindset we're trying to really hammer
out with these guys in Triple A while also making sure that like hey,
they know these are their one to two highest leveraged things to keep working on.
And one of the cool things about Vibes is just like his attention to
detail and how competitive he is, and our group in Columbus and our coordinator
staff that was in there with me this past week's doing a great job of
trying to zero in on the things that are going to allow him to have
success when he's hopefully out here in a progressive field with the Guardians uniform.
Monsoon. I thought it was interesting too. He's had some great lines and
his early starts, but the other night some struggles getting some strike calls it
I'm sure he thought were good. I know his teammates did, and the
bench did. How did he handle that some adversity there? Yeah, you
know, it was great. Actually joked around with him once he was out
of the game and then the next day just of like all these opportunities,
our development opportunities and trying to frame that like, yeah, I'm squeeze a
little bit. That's probably gonna happen again, whether you're in Triple A or
in the major leagues, Like, there are things that we can learn and
take away from those experiences to make you better next time, because that's certainly
going to happen again, and it was just great to see him have to
work through that. And like I said, our staff was, you know,
challenging him with, Okay, what are the takeaways for you both in
game or when that happens again, like how can you be better for that
experience next go around? And he did a great job navigating that, and
it wasn't his best line and he wasn't overly thrilled about his performance, especially
coming off what he did the week prior in Worcester, but great opportunity for
him to get pushed and to learn something and hopefully grow from that. Logan
Allen. We saw a fair amount of him in spring training as well,
and it seems like he's off to a good start on the mound too.
He has and you know, I think to la with just how hard he
worked and dedicated he was in the off season. You know, we talked
about him a lot last year. Rosie two of guy absolutely crushed HIGHA in
twenty twenty one, dominated double A at the end of that year, did
the same thing for the first half of last year and got to triple A
and he'd be the first to tell you that, especially early on, like
he struggled a little bit more than he ever has as a pro, and
there were some things that we thought we could target in the off season that
would put him in a position to improve and go out there and succeed.
And to his credit, he put in the work, and I think we're
seeing some of that work shine through already with just his velocity and the quality
of his stuff and how consistent some of his secondary has been. So another
guy like you know, similar to Bobby, that we're really excited about,
we think is not a finished product by any means. We got, you
know, all of our players, we try and come, you know,
instill that mindset if we're never at the finish line, but what are the
things you can do to go from good to great? And Logan's done a
tremendous job of digging into the details of those conversations. Now in the pen
a little bit different in that you have some veteran arms down there, pictures
that we saw who were in major league spring training camp on the minor league
deals, and how are they doing to try and get themselves on the radar
here if there's a need. Yeah, like you said, it's it's spout
on. It's a little bit different than even especially towards the second half of
last year in Columbus, where had some younger guys that are now on the
forty men helping out our major league team, and especially different comparing it to
some of our other levels where it's mostly all in house players that we drafted
or acquired internationally, where we have a handful of guys that are, you
know, trying to make a case for a job in the major leagues.
And that's been really fun, both for our younger starters and younger relievers that
kind of pick the brains of guys that have more experienced even some major league
time, and those guys are really working hard with Cody Bukel and O and
D to prepare themselves for an opportunity should have come up onto the position player
front with Rob Sortfolio Brian Rokio. We saw him for a day and he
did not get a chance to play, but he was up here because of
some entry issues, but also off to a wonderful start at Columbus. Yeah,
and he did blame me. I happened to be there the day he
came back down, as if I was the reason he came back down.
But it was fun. It was fun to see Roque yesterday in Columbus and
just hear some of his even though it was only twenty four hours, some
of his takeaways of getting that first call up, which was cool. And
yeah, you know, another young another young kid position player that we pushed
last year up there at the end of the year and to see him kind
of continue to slow the game down and really work on some of like the
he's a super talented player, we all know that, and continuing to grow
just as he gets older with the tactical side of the game. And I
know that Andy Tracy's talked to him a ton about that and saying with Junior
Patanzas on the hitting side, to like really have a plan and an approach
and learn some of like the things that veteran players learn with more and more
experience. And Rocchio's doing a great job and to you know, dig in
and ask people's thoughts on those things. And yeah, I think we're really
excited for what the rest of the year is going to look like for him.
I wanted to touch on something that you talked about it. He's in
Detroit on Wednesday, and then he's playing in Columbus on Thursday, and maybe
it's maybe it's not this, maybe it's not the same anymore. But the
years I was in Triple A, you had seventy two hours to come back
and report. I don't know if that's still the case, but it doesn't
seem like that's ever on the radar for any of the players who go back
down to Columbus when they're here. And to even add to that, it
was a day game on Thursday yesterday, and from what I heard from from
Andy Tracy and he called him, I was sitting right next to them,
that there was no hesitation that Rokee was in the lineup the next day and
was I can't use the word excited to be sent back down to Triple A,
but there was not even a second thought that he was going to come
down and play short stuff the next day. And then so we told Trace
and he was in the lineup for a twelve or five start yesterday, which
was which was pretty cool. Tyler Freeman is here. Now, have you
seen someone get off to or as as hot as stretch as he was on
at the time of his call up, Because it seemed like he really got
some things going offensively he did, and I think, you know, just
the peeling back some of the layers of the onion on that one of like
he struggled in spring training a little bit, and you know, some of
the things that just like all of our players were pushing them to take that
next step from how do you go from really good minor league or a really
good major league or like that gap is It's a really hard thing to do.
And with t Free, you know, there were some things, especially
on the offensive side of the ball, that the group was really pushing him
towards. And it takes time to gain confidence, and it takes time to
gain consistency, and I think we're starting to see some of that, especially
that week where he just absolutely went off, and in Willston, there was
some some signals that it was starting to show through before that, which is
what was really exciting, and then to see him have some performance results behind
that obviously makes it that much easier. And just you know, such a
great kid that everyone loves being around and just really works hard every time he
has an opportunity, and it's it's always fun to see that hard work really
start to pay off, and you know, Hopefully he gets more and more
opportunities up here with the big league team to continue to show through. Oh,
Brob, I know a lot going on at Columbus. Thanks a lot
for the time. Great to see you, and we'll catch up with you
again soon. Yeah. Black, It's good to be back as rops or
folio talking about some of the really good young prospects, especially on the pitching
side at Triple A Columbus. Stay with us. We'll have our final segment
after this time out on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Fu I wish
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or situations. Welcome back to Guardian's weekly Jim Rosenhouse back with you a progressive
field in downtown Cleveland, and every now and again we check in with Guardians
Senior Vice President Bob de Biasio for another edition of At the Ballpark with Bobby
D. The perfectly manicured field, the unmistakable room of a ballpark, hot
doctor, and the electricity celebrating another victory. This is at the Ballpark with
Bobby D. Thank you, Hammy. Welcome to at the Ballpark, where
we hope you and only our conversations with those involved in the wonderful game of
baseball, those who may be behind the scenes, or the colorful personalities who
have provided so many exciting moments and memories. Today we are joined by Tom
Candiotti, who enjoyed a sixteen year big league career, seven in the Cleveland
uniform from nineteen eighty six through nineteen ninety one and then again in nineteen ninety
nine. Candy, thank you for joining us. Bobby de man I am
so happy to be here. Anything with the Cleveland Guardians is like just a
It's like going back to my youth again. I love it. Well.
We enjoyed you and Rosie on the air doing that ball game and spring training.
That was like coming home for you, wasn't it. It was.
It was so fun, you know, being able to go down and set
you know, give him a hug, you know, see Sandy Alamar one
of my teammate, A lot of my teammates, you know, they're so
it was It's always good to be kind of around that whole crowd, and
it's really amazing how they've kind of stuck together. You know, every time
we come into Cleveland play, we'll see I'll see Sandy, and I'll make
sure I see Tito and stuff. You know, just ex teammates are always
fun to catch up with. Candy, I did all that come about you
being specifically a knuckleball pitcher, Well, well it wasn't an easy route,
that's for sure. You know. I had always thrown a knuckleball since I
was a kid. It was just one of those things. So I'd played
catch my dad. I'd wait for him to get him home from work.
You know, I had a couple of gloves out in the front yard,
you know, and so before he could even get into the house, you
know, we would play catch. So he had a knuckleball and I tried
to do what he did, and it just kind of developed that way.
But then once I got into professional baseball, I would just a regular pitcher
that would throw an occasional knuckleball. And so one day in spring training.
I've been, you know, fairly successful in major leagues as a regular pitcher.
I think I was about six and six at that time, but it
was probably a lucky six and six. I wasn't I wasn't dominating anybody.
And I was throwing a bullpen to my double a roommate, Bill Schroeder,
who now does the color for the Milwaukee Brewers. And Bill had probably already
caught about ten bullpins that day, a hot spring training day, and I
thought I'd have some fun with him, and I started throwing knuckleballs and I
was beating them up, and he was taking them off his mask and off
his protector and everything else. And hello and behold, I look behind me,
and who do I see? I see Pat Dobson, a pitching coach
sal Bando, who was think a special assistant at that time for the Brewers.
And they called me into the office that day and told me that my
stuff wasn't good enough. And they didn't know I could throw a knuckleball like
that, and they want me to become a knuckleball pitcher. And so,
as a story goes, it's funny was sal because you know, God bless
him, you know, he said, look at if I'm hitting against you,
I know you can't throw your assball by me, you know, so
I'm gonna sit there and look for your best pitch, your curveball, and
if I'm looking for it, I'm going to hit it. And I said,
why don't we just go grab a bat right now and we'll see how
that a goat plays out. And he goes, oh, no, no,
I'm just come on, I'm just trying to you know, Da da
dada dah, which is kind of ironic because Chris Bando, his brother,
end catching me when I was with Cleveland, and so it just kind of
funny how that all comes around. Well, that it's nineteen eighty six,
after winter Ball, you signed a free agent contract with Cleveland, and it's
nineteen eighty six, you hadn't thrown many innings in the big leagues, and
all of a sudden and eighty six you throw more than two hundred and fifty
innings, You win sixteen games, You lead the league with seventeen complete games,
and along the way, as you said, you were beating up Chris
Bando, who became your personal catcher. I mean, it was really a
storybook season, you know, it was really amazing. I had gone to
win a ball, you know, before that season, started to work specifically
on a knuckleball. I started throwing it in eighty five in Triple A,
and I was getting some success with it. Actually, I was kind of
buying into it, but I didn't want to be a knuckleball pitcher. I
wanted to be a pitcher that threw a knuckleball, and so that's the way
I kind of approached things a lot like Joe Negro had. So when I
got you to Bigly Camped that year, Pat Corrales, who was the manager,
he ended up telling me that you'll hurry up, just throw as many
knuckleballs as you can, which I did, and then we acquired Phil Negro.
Phil became like my pitching coach, and then we just kind of went
on from there and then everything just developed. Yeah, let's finish up our
segment with that. How awesome was that for you to have Phil Negro as
a teammate. A Hall of fame knuckleballer. As you're recreating your career and
then you have fell to Lena. Yeah, I think Phil was forty seven
at that time. We played catch every single day. He developed games for
us to play. He said it was like playing catch with his brother.
Again. Yeah, we would throw knuckleballs from about you know, fifty sixty
feet and then you know how many times they turned. We got points for
all these different He had all these games. But what it was doing,
it was teaching me how to take spin off the ball. And that's what
I loved about that. And so I was able to watch Bill pitch and
then because of that, you know, I was able to develop my own
game. That was remarkable because from eighty six through ninety one you tossed at
least two hundred plus innings every year. So obviously you got out a remarkable
role. And then you get to return in ninety nine. So just because
I always loved the fact that guys who played at Cleveland Stadium, who were
able to come back at Progressive Field and enjoy the brand new ballpark, there
was something special about that. I had one of my most memorable games when
I came back, coming into relief for Charles Naggy. Charlie had a rough
outing against the Royals. I think give it up like eight runs and like
two innings. They called me in the game, and I think I threw
five or six innings out of the bullpen. Gotta win that day. But
about after the second inning that I threw, I was getting a standing ovation
every time I came off the mound to the dugout, and I didn't want
to come out of the game after that, and I told hardgrow, no,
this is great. I've never had ovations like this before, so you
know, it was an appreciation, I think from the fans for me from
all the previous years. But for me, you know, it brought like
a tear to my eye every time, you know, I'd complete that inning
and walk off the mound. It was amazing. Well, you were always
a fan favorite, Candy, So can't thank you enough for visiting with us
today, Bobby anytime, man, thank you for having me as usual.
Always fun, my friend, and we hope everyone out there enjoyed our visit
and we look forward to connecting next time at the ballpark. That's at the
ballpark with Bobby d and that's going to put a wrap on this week's edition
of Guardians Weekly. Thanks, as always going out to Brian Matsey for all
of his help and putting together our show each and every week. We will
join you next weekend from Boston and Fenway Park as the Guardians will be back
out on the road for a road swing through Boston and New York. Until
then, this is Jim Rosenhouse thanking you and reminding you that you've been listening
to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio at work. Guardians Weekly has
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