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listen to any Being Frank virtually any time that you want. It's certainly the
intelligent thing to do. Tonight, we're taping on the When is it it's
the twenty ninth, Yeah, I think it's the twenty ninth March. I
always catch up eventually. Well, due to a family emergency, our original
guest, mister Paul Adler, was forced to cancel his appearance. We send
our concerns and best wishes to Paul and his family. Don't worry, He'll
be rescheduled when the opportunity comes through again. But thanks to the efforts of
two of my favorite people and some of the best baseball minds that I know,
we will be having some intelligent conversation on Being Frank about baseball. Of
course, today was opening day for all thirty Major League Baseball teams, the
first time that's happened since nineteen sixty eight, and radical new rules have been
put in place an attempt to make the game move faster, with more exciting
play. But will they work. We're going to talk about that this evening
or whatever. You're listening to us, I should say, join us now,
joining us now, excuse me. A filmmaker, philanthropist, and a
whole bunch of other things too much to read, and a man who counts
the days from the end of one baseball season to the beginning of another.
And it's finally here, Joe Allen. Joe has been a frequent guest,
and we welcome him back in this capacity as a baseball aficionado. Let's call
him that at least, Hello, Joe, welcome back again. Thank you
very much. Frank. It's it's New Year's Day, and it's one hundred
and fifty days since uh, since baseball ended. Ye maybe one or two
more than that. And we're back into the freedom zone again us. No,
we're not. We don't have to rely on if we don't want to
hockey, basketball, football, or or anything else. We have baseball back.
Now, you have the game, and we're going to talk about that.
Joining us, Joining Joe and myself and Neil and you guys who are
listening. Remember I remember not to say viewers. We're not viewing anymore.
We're listening. It only took me a year, a month or two to
get that right. But anyway, we're there, and we have sports producer
again. And this is a very truncated version of these guys, very accomplished
men. He's a sports producer at CBS CBS and the creator and host of
The Blow Metstra Damas and John Coppinger. John, welcome once again, always
a pleasure. Thank you, thank you for having me into all that are
listening to uh and to you guys, to to John and Neil, thank
you very much. And happy Opening Day to all of you. To those
who celebrate, yes, and there are people who do celebrate. And I
remember, and I'm probably still get in trouble and my mother's ninety nine and
might be listening. But one day that we got to play hooky from school
and kind of got excused was for Opening Day. For me, in particular,
as a Yankee fan, I went to Yankee Stadium. I know you
guys are generally Mets fans, although New York fans, but certainly preferably the
Mets. But my experience with the Yankees was on Opening Day to kind of
disappear from school and sit in the bleachers and watch and watch Opening Day today
a unique experience with all thirty thirty teams playing on the same day. As
you mentioned, it been five decades since then, nineteen sixty eight. What
are your feelings on that it's Is it worth mentioning, commemorating at all,
Joe, you want to Yeah, I do think it's worth mentioning. I
think it's an important, a big thing that along with a balanced schedule that
is out there now. But I remember just Opening Day has been a miracle
to me. After going through the winter. When I was thirteen years old,
they put a Major League baseball stadium in my neighborhood in Queens, and
I suddenly had what I never thought I would have before, and that my
friends in the Bronx, my friends in Upper Manhattan seemed to have that was
a baseball stadium. And not only that, I could see it from my
house and my parents would allow me to take my bike there. I went
to sche Stadium the day before it opened in nineteen sixty four, and I
just stood outside and I had aeen year old version of a holy you know
what moment? And I must have said that twenty times and I looked at
the several Zipper sign out in the outfield, and I watched the trains go
by, and it never, it never, it never went away. And
in all this time, I'm a little older than that, and there's no
more sche Stadium. But uh, it's been. It's a wonderful and miraculous
thing. John. You're you're a Queen's boy as well, and people can't
see you, but I can as we heard this to tape. You're wearing
your Mets jersey and Mets Mets hat. What does it mean to you to
have the the uh the the professional baseball team in your home borough. It's
well, first off, I can't believe that you could have had anybody on
your show, and you found somebody that actually lived closer to schae Stadium than
me or which is amazing. Uh, you know, I grew up on
I grew up on Roosevelt Avenue between eighty second and eighty third. So I've
since moved to another neighborhood in Queens, but I'm still within walking to instance
of the area over there before Shay Stadium and now City Field. Opening day
through today is a holiday. You know, everybody, everybody zero and zero
and everybody notices you in your jersey and your hat and else give you a
let's go mets, or they'll they'll give you a happy Opening Day. I
heard you share stories about Opening Day, and I want to share two quick
ones with you if I can. When I was in fourth grade, it
was nineteen eighty and uh, you know, my mother would always be sure
to write notes for me if I had to skip half a day of school,
like I would go in the morning, I'd come home for lunch.
I lived the block away from school, and then I would go back for
the end of my day. And there were a few times where I didn't
go back for the end of my day, but my mom would always bail
me out with a note, please excuse my son he his stomach hurt,
or if it wasn't that he had a cold, and it went back and
forth, back and forth. So nineteen eighty Opening Day, I was my
father had taken me to Opening Day, so I didn't go back for the
second half of school, and I came back. And then so the next
day I went to school and I got the note from my mom, the
bailout note. I didn't even read it, thinking okay, what's it gonna
be, Uh, you know, stomach flu or flu flu. And right
before I handed the note in to Miss Lick, who was the strictest and
meanest teacher in the in the whole school, and of PS eighty nine,
I looked at it and I said, I wonder what. I wonder what
mom said? So I read the note and it said, dear Miss Lick,
please excuse my son for not going to the not attending the second half
of school. Uh he was at opening day. So and then she signed
it, and then she said PS. The Mets one five to two.
So now I am nervous as anything when I got to go up and hand
the teacher this note that says I skipped school to go see a baseball game.
So I handed to her. I walk away, hoping she doesn't say
anything, and but then I got the I got the wait a minute,
and I stopped, and she said to me, in front of the whole
class, do you mean to tell me that you skipped school to go to
a Mets game? And I said to I said to her, I said
yes, but it was opening day and she said in front of the class,
well, as long as the Mets one. So that was. That
was story number one, and story number two was three years later, was
Tom Sever's return to uh to Shay Stadium when he returned to the Mets.
So my and I was at a different school, but my mom still gave
me the bailout note my son had to go to the dentist. So I
snuck off and I and I went to see Tom Sever come back. And
it was still one of the seminal moments opening day moments. As far as
opening day moments go, that that's right up there for me. So those
are my two quick opening day Opening Day stories. You know, guys,
you both big sports fans. John, as a profes producer of sports,
you know you have to give kind of equal time to football, baseball,
Hockey, etc. Etc. Joe, I know you are also a sports
fan, in particular New York sports fan Nick's Rangers, Giants, Jets,
etc. But baseball seems to shine rightist for both of you. Joe,
why don't you take it first? Why why baseball over all others? Because
you get to do something in baseball that you don't get to do in the
other sports, and that is whatever your team is, you get to walk
through that tunnel and walk out and be exposed to that incredible green and that
luscious dirt that's that's that's around the infield, and you get to see all
the other people, and you get to see the signs, and you see
who who's who's advertising, and even though it might be cold on opening day,
you've gotten that feeling of walking out there. I've always debated what's better
to walk out in the in the in the when it's dark or walk out
there when it's when it's daylight. But there's no other feeling like that.
And I've I've I've covered sports. I've covered all sports. I was a
radio reporter in a in an earlier life, so I've covered covered all the
sports. There's just no feeling like walking out in a in a baseball stadium.
And I grew up and I had we were kind of all screwed up
because my father took my brother and I to see a Yankee game. They're
playing, They're playing at the Tigers and um Al kay Line made an incredible
catch in the alfield, as he did of the league every time he played
the Yankees. And from that moment on, I might have been eight,
my brother five, but from that moment on he was al Kay Line and
I was Mickey Mantle in every game of single double triple we ever had,
in every stickball game we ever had, and we were both on opposite sides.
And then when the Mets, when Shay was what came in, we
both kind of dropped that allegiance a little bit and now we were we were
met fans, and we had everything from to Chu Coleman and Jay Hook winning
the first game ever and and it was it was an incredible run to have
Shay and then and then working for both teams in later years. Um,
it's been amazing. But there's just nothing like walking out into a baseball stadium.
John, your feelings again, as is said, you cook covering all
sports with equal enthusiasm. But but I get the feeling that that baseball's the
special one for you. Why I think baseball will always be the special one.
I mean, I'm a big New York Rangers fan as well as a
Mets fan, so I love I love my hockey in the winter, I
love the Stanley Cup playoffs. But I think what endears me to baseball it's
just that it's when it's in season, it's every day you know where you're
gonna be at seven ten every night, you're gonna be in front of your
TV watching your team play. And it's just the and and I think and
it's funny because fans of sports now and fair were fans of anything now.
Um, they're not really into the routine of anything now. Somebody put it
great, Um the the other day said, you can't binge watch a season.
You can't just go in and pop, Oh, okay, I'm gonna
see how this. I'm gonna I'm gonna get this season done in three days.
No it. You gotta let a season breathe over one hundred and sixty
two games and the postseason. It's just it's a six month odyssey where you're
in there every day and it's an ever evolving animal and there's not really that
downtime to worry about what did this guy say at practice? Uh? What
did what did this guy do on his off day? What did he post
on his instagram? You know, there's nothing really like that for baseball a
little bit. But it's just the everyday enjoyment of it. And it's just
the comfort of it that every night, except for the very rare off day,
every night you're going to see your team play at seven ten or one
forty or one ten. It's always there for you. And that well,
that's what makes summer special, is that baseball is always there for you.
You know what strikes me now, Frank, I think of I think of
my dad, uh and and long gone, and he passed away before the
media explosion of the last thirty years, and I remember he bringing home the
New York Post or the Long Island Press or some other paper, the daily
News, and me pouring over those box scores because that was the only way
that I could I could, I could get it. And god forbid when
when my team, when the Yankees or the Mets went out to the West
Coast, and then I couldn't get it, couldn't get it for for two
days. Now, the immediacy of it, I'm sure, I'm sure my
dad would be envious as all heck of of the way that people can access
the sport now. I mean, there's there's just nothing that goes by.
And it's at the point where where if my team doesn't win, I don't
even bother watching the post game. If they win, I watch it because
I want to hear the interviews, and I want to hear the manager.
But there's just there's just something nothing like being able to open up that paper
and going about fifteen pages in after Jerry Donano made his predictions, and after
after going through the whole thing, and now I've got the I've got the
box score, and what did Kubec do? And how did Richardson do?
And and and whatnot? And and when? And sixty nine what did clenden
And do when I became a Clendenin devote when he came to the nets.
It just it just was incredible. You know what people will never know the
stress of waiting of those West Coast road trips and waiting for the late edition
of a newspaper. You're right, right, yes, And you know and
as kids, little things that you think of in your head. And when
I was young, I used to think like, well, I don't understand
if somebody went, for example, got one hit in four at bats,
it's two fifty average. Okay, so a quarter of the time they're successful.
But I never understood, But he homered. Shouldn't that be worth extra
points? A home run's got to be worth at least two or three extra
average points? Now you kind of have that. You've got, you've got.
That's what slugging percentage and ops is eventually get into metrics, but that
was something as a kid, we never thought of such things as metrics.
And my father tried to explain, no, it's a matter of percentage.
It's that doesn't matter how far you hit it. So that always was something
that impressed me, how And they used to coaches used to tease us.
You'd hit a dribbler down the third base line and I was really quick and
I could leg it out for a base hit, and they said, tomorrow
you could tell everybody was a screaming line drive. They'll never know the difference
I hit as a hit as a hit. So that's kind of the little
nuances of the game that I always gotta kick at him. Guys. I
think before we go any further, too, we've got to talk about not
only the unusual fact that all teams played today for the first time in five
decades, the rule changes. Some of them are extreme, and in discussions
with my steps on Jeremiah, he's not too happy about most of them.
He doesn't necessarily think they'll improve the game, they'll just add more confusion,
which will add and I should say, detract from the overall game. Let's
go over some of the some of the more important rules, John, what
do you think there's a bunch of them. What are some of them that
stand out to you as the most I can't say egregious because they may work
out, but certainly something that definitely will change the pace of the game and
therefore the actual perhaps outcomes of the games. Well, I'll lead off by
saying this baseball needed to do something. You know, we've always said,
well, the game will self correct. That's what we've always said. When
there's been a change in the game, the game will self correct. And
when it hasn't self corrected, like nineteen sixty eight, the year of the
picture, that's when they had to do something drastic which was lower than mound
so that guys wouldn't have one the eras of one twelve. So I think
this was one of those times where the game wasn't self correcting. And I
don't mind spending four hours, four and a half hours in a baseball stadium,
but the games have become boring. It be with the emphasis on the
three tour outcomes. It was like watching slow pitch softball, and it just
something had to be done. So as much as purists may want to say,
well, the pitch clock, you know, the baseball shouldn't have a
clock because no, because it was the only sport that didn't have a clock,
I would argue that the game needed needed a pitch clock. I think
fifteen seconds between pitches with nobody on base is going to drastically make the game,
put the game on a better pace. I mean, how long was
The Godfather the movie? Would you say three thirty four hours? Yeah?
Right, so you know what a baseball game is. Now. If a
baseball game was like The Godfather, then you could sit there for four hours.
But you know what baseball games are when they're not The Godfather, They're
boring. So they had to do something. I think the pitch clock is
going to work. I think they may have to tweak some things with pitch
clock. With runners on base, make it a little make it a little
more. Maybe give him five more seconds instead of twenty, make it twenty
five. Uh. And the one thing I think will make it confusing is
the disengagement. You can only throw over twice. Um, you can only
call time out once. As a batter you only and you only have two
step offs as a pitcher. I think it's gonna be confusing for a lot
of the people involved. But I also think, you know, when we're
watching the games today, there was a lot of strategy involved. After Max
Scherzer through t twice to try to pick off Jean Sagura, then it was
then you're wondering, Okay, is he gonna steal? And then and then
if somebody gets off to a big lead and you throw that third pickoff and
you hope to get him because you could throw a third pickoff, but you
gotta get him, right, Yeah. So I think there's gonna be some
strategy that we haven't seen before, and I think it's gonna be compacted into
a shorter period of time, so it's gonna make the game move with more
pace. The Mets, I think we're two two hours fifty minutes today the
Yankees were two thirty, and the game is gonna move. There's gonna be
more action, there's gonna be singles, there's gonna be steals, there's gonna
be a variety of things happening in a baseball game. And the long term
effect is that you're gonna have a variety of skill sets that are gonna be
looked at in baseball players. Right now, they're only drafting for a generation.
Baseball teams have drafted only a certain type of player, the big,
hairy guys that can hit the ball five thousand miles. Now its speed having
more of a making more of a difference in the game. With larger bases,
maybe a guy like one per or maybe a guy like Maury Wills will
be looked at again in terms of kids coming up playing baseball. So you're
gonna have a great variety of people that are gonna be that are gonna be
looked at to play this game. And I don't think that's a bad thing.
So overall positive you give it overall so far? Yeah, absolutely,
I think there's gonna be some bumps in the road, for sure. Jeff
McNeill had a strike called on him today because Pete Alonso didn't get back the
first base fast enough, which is as a base runner, which was interesting
and I think was a misapplication of the rules. But as long as umpires
institute some common sense, which I'm not confident in it at all, because
I don't think umpires have common sense I think it'll be okay, Joe.
Yeah. I love the rule changes, and I love it for a variety
of reasons. For one, I love the fact that the Yankees were two
hours and thirty three minutes today. I love that. I just remember watching
the Yankees and Red Sox seemingly all the time, and it was four hours.
The problem with that is, I believe we were losing a generation of
baseball fans. Kids were not really I mean, kids are losing their affinity
for baseball. They're finding it so much easier to access basketball, and so
much easier to to to access even football. Baseball has been really, really
tough on a on a whole generation, and if we didn't do anything to
speed it up and to move it quickly, it would have been a problem.
How in the world can you sit down with your seven year old and
watch an important game that you know, darn well is going to be over
at eleven thirty if you're watching a Fox game, it's you can't do it.
You've got to be able to give them a break. And secondly,
we're in a we're in an age. We're in in a communication era right
now where quickness where speed where one minute TikTok's we're short videos that go on
Facebook. That's the way people are accessing it. It is not it's not
that James Earl Jones description of baseball sitting out there in your shirt sleeves on
a on a warm summer day. It's not that way anymore. It's got
to move and we've got to be able to compete. Um I work.
I work at the Boulders. I'm in charge of all the nonprofit activity at
the Boulders. If you can explain to people's job, because the Boulders,
the Boulders are an independent minor league team in Pomona, New York, and
they've been around for twelve years and I work. I work for them.
And it's the same problem on the minor league level even more because on the
minor league level, they don't know the players. Right If I know,
if I know that that Aaron Judge or is batting forth in an inning,
I don't mind sitting there and waiting to see if somebody gets on so Judge
can get on if I don't. If you don't know the players an independent
minor league baseball, then you don't even have that. So you have to
be able to move it along. I love I love the the bigger bases.
I love being able to figure out how much more speed matters, and
I love getting making having for infielder on the dirt and two on each side.
We're just going to say that to me is probably my favorite rule change
is to prevent those radical shifts. You want to shade somebody one way or
the other. Absolutely, that was always part of the game, These radical
shifts of putting the entire team virtually on one side of the field or the
other was you know, just consider this, Frank, consider watching a baseball
game and what that takes to watch it, and then consider what it's like
watch a basketball game at the garden or in Barclay's and it's pounding, the
music is pounding, this action all the time, there's things going back and
forth. How does baseball compete with that with a generation that's growing up with
that kind of speed and short and short bytes of life. You know,
So something had to be done, and I'm glad they did it. Let's
let's talk a little bit and we mentioned some of the great players in the
game today, and that has already been mentioned in the American League. Most
valuable player and the record setting a home run king in the American League.
Aaron Judge certainly a superstar, an all tools player for a big guy.
He can run, he can hit for average, he can throw, he
hits with power. Obviously, who in your mind that John will start with
you? Who are some of the great players in the game today? Well,
I think yeah, I think you have to start. The conversation begins
and ends with Shoheotani. He's doing things in baseball that no one's done before,
not in the same season. I mean, he's he's Babe Ruth.
He's Babe Ruth early and late in his career at the same time. And
he's doing it on an international stage at the World Baseball Classic. He's performing
both both tests pitching and hitting at a high level, something that nobody thought
was possible in terms of not having enough hours in a day to prepare as
a pitcher and a hitter. And what he's doing is just absolutely incredible.
And I don't think it's talked about enough. Is do you think the fact
that he plays for a West Coast team and there right now the Angels aren't
really contenders, does that hurt him? Because he's really not a household name.
I think outside of people who are real hardcore fans. You mentioned his
name and it's it's obviously Japanese, it's quote unquote foreign to US, etc.
Does he really get the credit he should be getting. I think he's
starting to now with his World Baseball Classic performance striking out his team Trout to
to end the World Baseball Classic, for sure, and definitely if he had
played for the Dodgers, which I think he will do next year, I
think that will help him. I think him making a seismic move from LA
Team to LA Team is going to brighten his star even more because then you
know he'll he'll be in the postseason and he'll he'll be on the grandest stage
in America like he was in the world. At the World Baseball Class.
He gave us a moment that last at bat against Trout. I mean that
was a moment of drama that was as good. I mean that that's up
there with lots of other dramatic moments that I've I've seen. And this was
an in an exhibition. It was in it was it didn't even it didn't
it didn't it counted for the World Baseball Classic. But it didn't didn't count.
It wasn't it wasn't the World Series. It wasn't. It wasn't for
all the marbles. It was for no marbles or none that I that I
discerned. But it was still about as dramatic a moment as you're going to
see. And if you listen to these players, if you listen to these
players, the World Baseball Classic does have a lot of marbles for them.
This is the first generation of players that grew up with international play in baseball.
We hadn't had a real international play before and a ball so this is
this meant something to the players, and it meant something to a lot of
fans around the world. And I think even you know, the who it
meant to the least was probably American baseball fans. And that's but I think
general generationally, I think that's slowly changing as well. So it's so interesting
that you bring that up because very practical. I was actually traveling in Europe
while the Baseball Classic was going on. I think we were in Italy and
I was with my stepson Jeremiah, and the news came out about the great
met reliever Edwin Diaz, who suffered a season ending knee injury, and he
was livid, absolutely livid that a frontline player, especially a met who the
team that he happens to root for, would be quote unquote wasted on something
that no one cares about. That it seems to be that the owners of
forcing the players to play. He had a very different perspective, and I
dare say, as you was saying, an American perspective, where like,
we have our own teams, why do we need to sacrifice our own guys
for games that are essentially meaningless to us? You know, it's your thoughts
on that, Joe, take Frank. It's like, it's like what happens
or what had happened a number of years ago when when the hockey guys went
to the Olympics as in the middle of their season to someplace where they could
get hurt and and and it would be ruined. And they're doing that for
for something that's not professional hockey. And you had that, You also had
that with the Dream Team, and and and you know, but the fact
is international sports are getting huge. If you don't believe that, ask the
NFL why why they're going to London, or ask MLB why why they're traveling
in places all over the world. They're exporting this sport now, and what
they're finding besides people who never really had access to the sport, they're also
finding people who had who were under served by the sport, like in in
countries. And I mean, the Dominican have given has given us so many
great players, but there wasn't really an opportunity for them to shine as a
as a cohesive unit. Now they can. Now, Cuba can, now,
now Mexico can. So I think I think, I think it's if
we're trying to make it an international game and all in pro sports, in
every sport, you gotta do this, you gotta do And I'll take it
a step further. How about how about countries like like the aforementioned Italy,
how about Great Britain. How about the check the Czech rep Israel who had
a big run in the last tournament, the Czech Republic? Who was You
know those guys that were playing, they're like dentists and uh and factory workers
in their normal lives and they're playing bass ball in there and they didn't play
too bad. I went to um a World Baseball Classic qualifier when it was
in Brooklyn where the Cyclones played, and I saw Brazil play Pakistan and it
was just the most interesting thing because you know, because Pakistan, yeah exactly.
You wouldn't think the Pakistani and watching them try to adapt to this sport
was so interesting because they could play the game. They didn't have any players
that had any plus skills, but you look at some of their little habits
that they have, like when they would take the field for an inning after
they batted, they didn't just take the field like like regular ballplayers. They
would all line up on the third base saline and then when they all got
there, they all then they ran onto the field to start warming up for
that half inning. It was just it was amazing to see. But this
is how baseball grows. This is how this is how you get more people,
more of a poll of players to h to play your game. It's
just what I what I went back to what I mentioned before about having different
skill sets. You open it up to a bigger pool of people to play
the game and to enjoy the game. And I think that's what this World
Baseball Classic does. In uh, you know, the Great Britain went crazy
when they won those two games in the in the WBC. Israel went crazy
in twenty seventeen. And there's gonna be more countries that are gonna be it's
gonna make such a huge difference. And you'll see generally, generationally they'll be
they'll be players in the major leagues from Great Britain and Pakistan and you'll you'll
say, you watch and then and that's when baseball truly grows. It was,
it was great, It was great. I was in Israel number of
years ago, and Israel has great basketball teams, great basketball leagues. They've
got great soccer leagues. They got tremendous tennis players, they're great gymnasts and
throughout the entire the whole country. There's one one park outside of Tel Aviv
that's a baseball park. And after after watching soccer guys for the two weeks
I was there, to be able to see baseball being born. It was
was amazing, very much like you said, to watch the different the different
cultures begin to adapt to it and to see it become a new thing and
a new accepted thing. And I know that there's some kid now who's following
MLB from his his his his room in Hurtzelia outside of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem,
and and it never was like that before. You both mentioned, you
know, it's a new generation, new generation of players. It's a new
game, if you will, um, So, is it fair to compare
today's players to some of the past. I mean we've talked about and you
mentioned al Ka Line, a great player from the fifties and sixties and into
the seventies, Mickey Mantle legendary player, etc. Is it fair to make
comparisons between today's players and those players? Is the game the same? Is
it played the same way? Is it fair to say on an athletic level
they could be equal? What are some of your thoughts? Is it fair
to compare great players from different eras? And can we even do so?
John? Why don't you take that first? I think it's fair because baseball,
for the most part, is universal. But I will say this because
I've had this thought the last few weeks, because I remember years ago,
or maybe months ago, I was having an argument with somebody about Babe Ruth.
If you put Babe Ruth in today's game, how would he do?
Now? It's an interesting question because I think if you took Babe Ruth from
nineteen twenty seven with his nineteen twenty seven training and nineteen twenty seven diet.
Uh, and you dropped him in the major leagues today. I think I
think he'd struggled to hit two hundred. If you take Babe Ruth and you
say, Okay, Babe, you're gonna be born in nineteen ninety nine,
and you're gonna be Babe Ruth, but you're gonna have access to all the
best training and nutrition and load management, then how would he do? Then?
I think he would be Babe Ruth for sure. And I think you
could say that about anybody. I think, for for for the great players,
if you could play it today, you could play in nineteen fifty,
And if you could play in nineteen fifty and you had today's training, you
would be you would be what you were then. Baseball's universal. That's the
way I see it. You know, I'm not I'm not sure I'm all
the way there with that because I think of Babe Ruth, and I wonder
Babe Ruth never saw one hundred and two mile an hour fastball, and I
don't know how he would how he would do with that, And he probably
never saw a pitcher that had four or five pitches, maybe he maybe one
or maybe he did pretty right right. But there there, the game is
really really different. It's like saying, does the greatest does the well great
catchers have as much of a pop time as the great catchers. Now you
know, the guys are going to steal bases on you because someone someone like
Smokey Burgess, uh catcher for the Pirates back in the day, he could
barely get up, you know, and and and before he moved to the
outfield. Same thing with Yoie Berrick barely get up. Now you've got these
guys that are that are up and if you can't get down and you can't
get the ball out in one point five seconds, then you know, you're
that's like that's like blowing the combine in football, you know you. So
it's very hard to compare one era from the to the next. In mind
another thing that it may sound tripe, but it's really not. And as
a former player, even the equipment though, some of the equipment that the
older players played with, and I'll give you an example. As a kid,
we were playing football, we were assigned our cleats and I just thought
they were they were these high, top heavy leather full cleats. It was
like trying to run in galoshes and boots. At least that's the way I
felt. And then as things improved, Puma came out Nike, which was
a brand new name. When I started to get it later into high school
and college, and you wore those, I felt like I could fly in
them. In the difference, and coach used to say, oh, that's
an excuse. You could run and you could run in an army boots if
you had to, No, you can't. Not the same way with a
pair of kangaroo leather Pumas with nylon bottoms. It was a huge difference,
and it made a difference to me. So well, guess what I'm trying
to say is that things do tend to balance out. As you mentioned,
improved training and improved equipment, etc. Raises your game overall. But as
a level as an athlete, these great athletes would always be you know,
we're we're doing something at the Boulders this year to celebrate and pay and pay
homage to the Negro leagues. And back in the day, the uniforms that
these guys war it was like my grandmother could have knitted that. As a
as a sweater. It was ridiculously hot. You could not you could barely
move in it. And you're playing you're playing ball, and there's no no
in dad stadiums, and there's nowhere to hide from the sun. So how
in the world can you compare that to what to the uniforms that there that
that that people are wearing today, let alone all the other protective gear that
you have in addition to that. Spandex was a revelation to me, Oh
my god, it's stretches. You could wear as tight as you want.
Stretches. We're not You're not going to do the cotton uniforms like George Costanza
when I was a kid. This is the honest truth. To get into
our cotton football pants, and you wanted them tight as possible. You had
two of your biggest guys each hole the side of the pants lower. You
stood on the bench and you jumped into your football pants so they would slide
on, because that was the only way you were going to get into them.
The difference now to putting on these things and they stretch and they whisk,
they whisk sweat away so they stay light weight and airy through the whole
game. We used to wear cotton. If we played in the rain,
you had an extra forty pounds worth of gear on by the end of the
game. So it made it made a big want to. I want to
bring up one aspect of Babe Ruth that would really fit in today's world,
where where the mantras let the kids play and let them have swag. I
think Babe Ruth would have the most swag in today's game. With as gregarious
as he was back in the twenties and and being in all the movies and
just enjoying the spotlight, he would have adapted very well to uh, to
the to the social media world today. He would have loved it. He'd
have he'd have millions of followers, and based based on what we're we're all
exposed to. Did Babe Ruth ever hit a double? Did you ever see
Babe Ruth double anywhere? Babe Ruth. No. The only pictures I've ever
seen of Babe Ruth he's either hitting a home run and he's got those little
those little pop pop around legs, or he's running down at first. I
can't imagine Babe Ruth making the turn and trying to take two interesting guys.
Well, of course we've got to talk about predictions. But we've got to
take a quick commercial break. Uh, they're not long, so don't go
anywhere. Joe Allen and John Coppinger my guests this evening, and we're talking
baseball. Who was Opening Day today? We got a six month season ahead,
and you don't have to be a big baseball fan to actually enjoy the
game. There's something and there's something exciting about having two really good teams in
New York at the same time. And I believe this year that will be
the case. So let's have a little fun with it. You're watching Being
Frank. We're the only way to be there. I said it again,
you're listening. I thought you didn't have to get me that time. Meal.
I see you're smiling there, caught myself. You're listening to Being Frank.
We're the only way to be is Frank. I'm your host, Frank
Lebarno. Be back more with John and Joe right after these brief commercial messages.
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dot com. Welcome back to Being Frank. We're the only way to be
is Frank. It's the Intelligent Conversation podcast. I'm your host, Frank Lapona.
We're talking baseball tonight with my two guests, filmmaker and philanthropist Joe Allen,
CBS sports producer and creator of the blog Metstradamus, John Coppinger, guys
are having so much fun so far talking baseballs said, it helps to be
a fan, but you don't have to be. It's good conversation, it's
intelligent conversation, and it's fun. We talked about some of the good players
in the game. We mentioned three in particularly Osani, Judge and Mike Trout,
just three of some of the great players. But now it's time to
talk about some of the teams, some of the better teams in the league,
and then ultimately who will win it all? Your predictions, Joe,
let's start with you, if you would, who do you see as some
of the better teams in the league that will fight for the pennant in both
the American League and National League and win it all. I wish the Nets
and the Yankees didn't play in the East, because you know, it's one
time where I wish we were in the Central. But I think they're gonna
have both that will have dog fights, but I think they will emerge um
u out of their divisions. I like I like Saint Louis, and I
like Cleveland, and you know, of course, I I hate even to
say the word Astros, but I like them, and I think at the
end of the day. Um, I'm gonna have to say that the Phillies
could repeat interesting. Yeah, I'm sorry not. Let me take that back,
because I think the the Mets will come out of there. I think
I think the Nets gonna win the World Series. So you're calling for your
home team favorite. The Mets certainly arguably one of the best teams, great
core lineup, fabulous pitching, question mark. Now with their closer being injured,
as we mentioned in the World Baseball Class by the way, Verlanders injured
too, so after doesn't make it any easier. But I think over the
course of time, there'll be a dog fight down at the end. That's
and and you know they've got to They've got to overcome Atlanta, they got
to overcome Phillies. It's gonna be It's gonna be tough. John, you're
up. What do you think I would agree? I think it's gonna be
tough. Um the way I the way I envision it. Uh, And
I try not to be biased in my predictions, but I do think the
Phillies are gonna win the division because for the most part, I do think
the Mets are going to be careful when it comes to this regular season.
I think if they're gonna put a guy like Justin Verlander on the injured list
to start the season, I think it proves that they're going to be really
cautious with their older players and that they're going to try to get through the
season in one piece, and they're gonna I think what they learned from last
year is that you can peak too soon and listen. The Braves went on
an incredible run to win the division, and I don't think there was much
the Mets could have done differently, except maybe, you know, not get
swept by the Cubs but in September, but listen that that kind of stuff
happens. I do think they were a little bit tired at the end.
I think they'll adjust, and I think while they may not win the division,
I do think they're capable on going of going on a run to the
World Series. I don't know if anybody is gonna beat Houston. I do
think they've got better than even odds of repeating, even though I look at
my TV screen now and they're losing little white Sox huts. Still early,
but I do like teams like Toronto. I think the Yankees will make the
playoffs. I think Minnesota's gonna make the playoffs. I like Milwaukee out of
the Central I like San Diego in the West, and with the Dodgers,
you know, I think if there's gonna be one surprise, my surprise is
that I think the Dodgers could miss the playoffs. And I only say that
because they didn't really have too much of an off season in terms of acquisitions.
I think there's saving everything to next year to try to get Otani,
and I do think there's gonna be I think Arizona with their young core,
could sneak up on them for this year only this year only, I think
if so, I think if there's gonna be a big surprise, that's gonna
be it. But I I like the Astros and the Mets in the World
Series, and unfortunately, I think the Astros will probably have the advantage and
win it again. But I in that respect, I hope I'm wrong.
Yeah, I hope you're wrong too. Yeah. One last kind of a
rhetorical question. Being a Yankee fan and you guys being Met fans, who
owns New York? Is it? Is it the Yankees or the Mets?
And I think it probably comes down to where you hail from. I said,
you guys are Queen's boys. I was a fort ly boy, so
I could literally r almost walk to Yankee Stadium almost. So who owns New
York? I think the Yankees owned New York? And I'm a Yankee fan
too, so I think the Yankees own it. But it's whoever is hot
is going to own it. I would tend to agree. I think the
Yankees have consistently outpaced the Mets in terms of playoff appearances and performances, so
I think, right at this very moment, the Yankees own it. But
I think if the Mets, I think this is a Mets town that's I
think this is a Yankee this is a Yankee town that wants to identify as
a Met town. I think I think if the Mets go on a big
run, especially with the team laden with stars the way they have, I
think they could easily take it over with a big time playoff run in a
World Series appearance. Well, you know, being a big Yankee fan though,
I have to admit though, it's sort of like the Mets seem to
be the people's team, if you will, you know the U With the
Yankees, they're more they wear the pin stripes. They're more business like.
They approach things in a business like manager manage, excuse me manner one of
the things that I read it pissed me off last year. I have to
get my pet peeve in. After all, it is my show. I
can be frank. It is being frank, so allow me to be.
But once again, they took twenty premium games that were already paying for.
I pay for the S Network, specifically. My neighbor thinks I'm crazy.
I said, well, I have to watch my Yankees, so I'm willing
to pay something. Now they want you to pay. On top of that,
with exclusive games on what is it? Apple TV and Apple DA Amazon
Prime, so they a seven billion dollar franchise. The Yankees are worth seven
billion dollars. Need to get more money by preventing their fan base from seeing
their games unless they pay even more money to see them. And I got
and they charge their own players for Wi Fi on the team plane. Thank
come on, it's true. Look up good. Don't make me hate my
hands. But I do have to look the other way and say, you're
kidding me, and I'm telling you I'll get I'll refuse to watch watch those
games. I just won't. Maybe i'll catch the score the next day,
but I'm telling you it for me, it tarnishes their appeals somewhat because you
realize that the most important thing to them seems to be the money and not
the fan base. But then again, we had complain. You got to
pay one hundred and forty billion dollars or whatever for judge, You got to
pay another one hundred million for coal. You want the great players. The
money's got to come from somewhere. I guess that. And that's why parking
at City Field it's forty dollars now. Incredible. Last launch, gentlemen.
Now I'm looking forward to a tremendous baseball season. Even though we had a
easy, kind of an easy going of winter. Now the days are long
again, you know, get past this cold snap that we have on.
Give me the spring, let the let the let the flowers come out,
Give me baseball. I'm a happy guy for boys is summer. John.
Last thoughts. I'm just so thankful to be who have been a part of
this with you guys. And yes, I'm so glad baseball is back.
But now we need that baseball weather to go with it. I'm looking forward
to a great season and maybe we'll be maybe we'll do it all star,
an all star break show. Yes, ready for it, Let's do it.
We're great fun, guys, great, just great fun. We'd like
to thank our guests for Being Frank and their intelligent conversation, and of course
a special thanks to our listeners who takes the time to give us a voice
in their lives. Remember, we offer a fresh topic every week and you
can catch us wherever and whenever you get your favorite podcasts remember like Apple,
Spotify, iHeartRadio, Speaker and all the others. You can also check us
out on the Being Frank Facebook page. It's public, so just look it
up. There's lots of little cool nuggets in there. And I'd like to
leave you, of course, with two last things. One and I'll ask
you guys, you have a favorite yogiism? You know, Yogi Barra with
his malaprops. I think you don't even have to be a baseball fan to
know them. U Joe, you have a favorite yogiism? Um you can
think off the top of your head. No, I can't get the vision.
I played golf with Yogi one time, and and uh, I look
over and he's standing by a tree doing you know what. And I can
never get that, Yogi. Okay, you can't it, can't unsee it.
And what did I do, Frank? I took a photo. John.
I don't know if you can top that one. No, I don't
know if I should try to top that. I've always been partial to eighty
percent of the game as half mental. Yeah, and I saw a fork
in the road and I took it. But now now, if if I
vision Yogi Bearra taking a fork in the road, I'm gonna envision and taking
a week at that. Well. I have one that I that I heard
today that I had never heard before, and it's classic. Love is the
most important thing in the world. But baseball is pretty good too. I
think that was kind of our our theme tonight, and we tend to agree.
I'm wanna leave you with some great music from the Scoop. The Scoop
is Rea Vogel, Ray Labella, Mark Valentine and Naomi Hamilietti and they're really
rock and tune called rain on Me. It's the Scoop, folks. Thank
you for listening, guests, Thank you for joining us. Neil, thanks
for driving the bus. And we'll see you on the next being. Frank,
I'm your host, Frank Lebono, thanks so much for joining us.
I don't care what to say about me. I'm just having have you.
If I live to one hundred and three, I will always watch you.
Your love like a flowering spring, feels so good around me, on your
hand as a wedding rain. But you're lit seduced me like red white.
Let it rain that on me. I hate to see suffering and supper.
All in all, it's not so bad. Like sharp girl, don't be
sad that that dog. Be sad that one and Channa look small compared to
the one that you've built. But the thing that's worth of all is yours
is made of rugs. It's time to loosen that grip because you can't hold
on forever. Your worlds like a sinking ship in the wicked stormy weather.
Let it rain that. I hate to see suffering summer. All in all,
it's not so great life a short girl. Don't be saying that that
that doll be saying. I don't care what they say about me. I'm
just happy to have you. If I live to one hundred and three,
I will always watch you let it Rain down. All I hate to see
suffering super calling on its night show, So Life a Short Girl. Don't
for saying that that all be saying, don't be saying. Don't be say,
don't be Hudson River Radio dot com. We're so good we don't need
a transmitter.