Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Hi, everyone, well, welcome to our first edition of Guardians
Speaker 2: Weekly for twenty twenty five. Jim rosannounce along with you
Speaker 2: as we join you for Baseball Talk on the radio
Speaker 2: after our hiatus from Thanksgiving through the holiday season and
Speaker 2: then the new year. And here we go. If you
Speaker 2: are listening to this show on the radio on our
Speaker 2: flagship station WTAM, that is Saturday, January eleventh, one month
Speaker 2: away from pitchers and catchers reporting the spring training in Goodyear, Arizona,
Speaker 2: and the first full squad workout in the first exhibition
Speaker 2: game not far behind that, so we're closing in on it.
Speaker 2: Just a month to go, and all kinds of great
Speaker 2: stuff for you lined up for our show this week.
Speaker 2: We hope you can stay with us for the second
Speaker 2: half of the show. We'll be joined by longtime voice
Speaker 2: of the Indian Slash Guardians, Tom Hamilton, who was elected
Speaker 2: to the Baseball Hall of Fame as this year's Frick
Speaker 2: Award winner. On that broadcast side. What a great honor
Speaker 2: for Hammy. We'll talk to him about the day it
Speaker 2: was announced, his reactions, and some great stories from when
Speaker 2: he first began with Cleveland way back in the early nineties.
Speaker 2: So some good stuff coming in the second half of
Speaker 2: the show and some great stuff coming in the first
Speaker 2: half of the show as well. As we'll be joined
Speaker 2: after our first break by President of Baseball Operations Chris
Speaker 2: Antonetti to kind of set the scene heading into the
Speaker 2: new year with a month to go till spring training,
Speaker 2: as the front office was very busy during the months
Speaker 2: of November and December trying to reconfigure the roster and
Speaker 2: get it in a really good spot not only for
Speaker 2: this season but in the years ahead. And along those lines,
Speaker 2: just recapping the trades and acquisitions that were made by Cleveland.
Speaker 2: First off, a trade of their Platinum Glove second baseman
Speaker 2: and a multi time Gold Glove Award winner, Andre Cimenez.
Speaker 2: He went to the Blue Jays, and although Spencer Horwitz
Speaker 2: and infielder was acquired from Toronto, he was with Cleveland
Speaker 2: for about twenty minutes, it seemed, and they flipped him
Speaker 2: to Pittsburgh with the id being how do they supplement
Speaker 2: the starting rotation. Well, they got a good one. A
Speaker 2: young right hander in Luis or Tees. We saw him
Speaker 2: late in the year and he had a beauty against
Speaker 2: Cleveland while pitching with Pittsburgh, six shutout innings, allowing just
Speaker 2: one hit. So you couldn't ask for a better opportunity
Speaker 2: to scout a young starting pitcher. But he's coming off
Speaker 2: his best major league season after beginning the year in
Speaker 2: the bullpen with Pittsburgh. Or Tees is just twenty five
Speaker 2: years of age, throws hard, and should slot right into
Speaker 2: that starting rotation. They also got a couple of young
Speaker 2: pitching prospects in left hander Michael Kennedy and lefty Josh Hardle,
Speaker 2: both highly regarded prospects with the Pirates, and they're still
Speaker 2: a little ways away, but we'll certainly follow their careers
Speaker 2: through the minor league system and see if they can't
Speaker 2: contribute at some point and time as well. Staying on
Speaker 2: the pitching front, the Guardians also re signed Shane Bieber
Speaker 2: to a two year contract. There isn't opt out after
Speaker 2: the first season. He's coming off to Tommy John surgery,
Speaker 2: but he's the Cy Young Award winner, two time All Star,
Speaker 2: and gosh, he was off to a great start. A
Speaker 2: year ago when the elbow gave out, had Tommy John surgery.
Speaker 2: Look for him around mid season if all goes well,
Speaker 2: and certainly the early reports are that everything has been
Speaker 2: going according to plan for really one of the best
Speaker 2: pitchers that the Guardians have had, certainly in recent memory,
Speaker 2: but continuing in that long line of tremendous starting pitching
Speaker 2: and Cy Young Award winner since the turn of the century.
Speaker 2: So Bieber's back in the fold and look for him
Speaker 2: around mid season. And then that one more trade that
Speaker 2: was pulled off just before Christmas time, Josh Naylor was
Speaker 2: sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Slade Secone
Speaker 2: and he'll slot, if not the bullpen, perhaps the starting rotation,
Speaker 2: but certainly a valuable arm coming back. Naylor coming off
Speaker 2: a tremendous season and a fine career with Cleveland. They'll
Speaker 2: miss him for sure, but they just felt the move
Speaker 2: was the timing was right for the move, and we'll
Speaker 2: certainly hear from Chris Moore on that in just a
Speaker 2: little bit. So a very busy offseason so far for
Speaker 2: the Guardians. Is there more to come?
Speaker 1: We'll see.
Speaker 2: There's still some time between now and spring training and
Speaker 2: we've seen before, acquisitions made, ass spring training has gone along,
Speaker 2: So a lot happening. And when we come back, we'll
Speaker 2: hear from the president of Baseball Operations for the Guardians,
Speaker 2: Chris Antinetti, heading into his twenty seventh year in the organization.
Speaker 2: That is an eternity in the game of baseball with
Speaker 2: one organization. If you're in the front office. This is
Speaker 2: his tenth season coming up as president of Baseball Operations,
Speaker 2: and you attack on five years prior to that as
Speaker 2: the general manager. Last fifteen years he has been the
Speaker 2: man in charge of making moves and when you look
Speaker 2: at the results twenty thirteen, Cleveland has the third most
Speaker 2: wins in all of baseball and a World Series appearance
Speaker 2: as well. So some great work by Chris Antonedni and
Speaker 2: will talk to him about what he's done so far
Speaker 2: this offseason and what's to come when we come back.
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, joining us now President of
Speaker 2: Baseball Operations for the Guardians, Chris Antonetti, as we begin
Speaker 2: a new year, and Chris, a busy busy time really
Speaker 2: from the end of the season to the end of
Speaker 2: the calendar year and before again in the specific players
Speaker 2: and trades. You've had this run going where the team
Speaker 2: has been in contention or a playoff ball club for
Speaker 2: more than a decade now, and that consistency, I imagine
Speaker 2: it is challenging. But it seems like this is what
Speaker 2: you have to do to constantly churn that roster to
Speaker 2: keep it relevant. And how challenging can that be from
Speaker 2: year to year?
Speaker 4: It's certainly hard. I mean, I think we all experience
Speaker 4: it on an emotional level oftentimes. For us to build
Speaker 4: continually successful teams moving forward, it necessitates us making some
Speaker 4: difficult trades, and those trades often involve players we have
Speaker 4: grown to appreciate and love and admire for not only
Speaker 4: their contributions on the field, but their engagement in the community,
Speaker 4: the teammates that they are, so those decisions can be tough,
Speaker 4: but again we're guided by that light of trying to
Speaker 4: make sure we do everything we can to be a
Speaker 4: consistently competitive team, find ways to win the division and
Speaker 4: then get to in advance in the postseason. And it's
Speaker 4: often important to remember in moments like when you think
Speaker 4: about trading Andre Simenez or Josh Naylor, to recognize that
Speaker 4: those players were only here because we made some difficult
Speaker 4: decisions in the past to trade with some other very popular,
Speaker 4: very productive players.
Speaker 2: And why don't we start with the Josh Naylor trade.
Speaker 2: How difficult was that just based on what he has
Speaker 2: become and what did he mean to this organization. During
Speaker 2: the period of time that he was here.
Speaker 4: We saw Josh grow and develop into a really consistent
Speaker 4: and productive offensive player that was highlighted by him being
Speaker 4: selected to the All Star Game in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 4: So we all know what he's capable of doing offensively
Speaker 4: on the field. He's also really beloved as a teammate
Speaker 4: in the locker room, he's been engaged in the community,
Speaker 4: He's been part of some pretty special team moments along
Speaker 4: the way. So we have a great admiration for Josh
Speaker 4: all that he's provided for us. But at the end,
Speaker 4: we were approaching a point in time where he only
Speaker 4: had one year left with it in the organization, and
Speaker 4: so we made a really difficult decision to trade Josh
Speaker 4: to be able to get back a player that we
Speaker 4: think a pitcher that can help us this year and
Speaker 4: moving forward, a competitive balance B pick, which means we'll
Speaker 4: get a pick after the second and third round in
Speaker 4: the twenty twenty five Major League Baseball Draft. And then
Speaker 4: that was paired with resigning Carlos Santana to fill that
Speaker 4: void on the Major League ross or the trading Josh created.
Speaker 2: And how does all that fit together timing wise, where
Speaker 2: you obviously want to fill a gap if you can,
Speaker 2: and how aware were you of Carlos's interest to come
Speaker 2: back here and be a part of it again.
Speaker 4: Well, as talks intensified with Josh, we were engaged on
Speaker 4: the free agent market to determine and trade market for
Speaker 4: that matter, to determine which players might be available to
Speaker 4: us to come back and backfill an event we did
Speaker 4: make a trade, so we were having kind of operating
Speaker 4: down parallel pass And this is the second time this
Speaker 4: winter that we've had trans actions that were related to
Speaker 4: each other. Even though they weren't the same transactions, they
Speaker 4: were important. It was important to pair them together for
Speaker 4: it to make sense for us. Obviously the trades involving
Speaker 4: around the time of Andrea Simenez and now with Josh
Speaker 4: where we had to have two transactions that complement each other,
Speaker 4: and I think when you zoom out and look at
Speaker 4: them in total, you can see maybe where some of
Speaker 4: the logic wasn't how it made sense.
Speaker 2: Did you ever think when you started your career you
Speaker 2: would acquire the same player three different times over the
Speaker 2: course of your end his career.
Speaker 4: I'm not sure I would have expected that. But we
Speaker 4: are thrilled to welcome Carlos back to the organization. So
Speaker 4: it made a huge impact on so many people here,
Speaker 4: been part of so many great moments, and the fact
Speaker 4: that he will continue to be guardian moving forward and
Speaker 4: be here in twenty twenty five, we're really thrilled about.
Speaker 2: You mentioned the picture from the diamondback slate Soconi coming
Speaker 2: this way, What can you tell us about him? And
Speaker 2: expectations heading into spring training.
Speaker 4: Slat has a good track record in the minor leagues.
Speaker 4: His calling card has been his ability to pound the
Speaker 4: strike zone and throw strikes.
Speaker 3: He's got a good four pitch mix, highlighted.
Speaker 4: By mid nineties fastball that has touched the upper nineties
Speaker 4: when he's been in a relief role. His best secondary
Speaker 4: pitch is a curveball. And more excited to have him
Speaker 4: join the organization and continue to partner with him in
Speaker 4: his development. We think he'll come into spring training with
Speaker 4: a chance to compete for a spot on the pitching staff,
Speaker 4: could be in the rotation, could be in the pen,
Speaker 4: and then hopefully impact us out of the gate next year.
Speaker 4: But if he doesn't make the team, we're confident that
Speaker 4: he can help us win some games in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: And beyond, and obviously if you have to do what's
Speaker 2: right for the ball club with this trade. There was
Speaker 2: a family dynamic though with the Nailor brothers. A great
Speaker 2: story and does that impact in any way maybe how
Speaker 2: you look at the trade, but at least how you
Speaker 2: handle it in terms of notifying different people and things
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, obviously, with bo Bo and Josh being brothers playing
Speaker 4: on the same major league team, it's awesome, obviously a
Speaker 4: dream come true for them and pretty fun to be
Speaker 4: a part of and see what they were able to
Speaker 4: achieve to get other in those games and innings where
Speaker 4: they hit the same hit home runs in the same
Speaker 4: innings and some of those cool moments along the way
Speaker 4: certainly add to that, and you know, we're mindful of that.
Speaker 4: At the same time, I know Bo was an incredible professional,
Speaker 4: a great teammate, a great worker, and he'll be able
Speaker 4: to move forward productively even with Josh in a different organization.
Speaker 2: Chris Antonetti joining us, the Guardian's president of Baseball Operations, pitching,
Speaker 2: you added some arms, brought one back, a big one
Speaker 2: that hopefully will help at some point in Shane Bieber.
Speaker 2: But Luis Ortiz, what did you see in him that
Speaker 2: that made him a target as part of that the
Speaker 2: evolving trade of andre C Menez.
Speaker 4: There are a lot of things to like with Luis Ortiz.
Speaker 4: He was a former top one hundred prospect in the industry.
Speaker 4: His transition to the major leagues wasn't very smooth, where
Speaker 4: he bounced around a little bit between the bullpen and rotation.
Speaker 4: Had had some struggles to start the year, but we
Speaker 4: feel like you really found his stride in the second half,
Speaker 4: and we think he's got a chance and pitch really
Speaker 4: effectively in the starting role, And we think he's got
Speaker 4: a chance to be a really effective starter for us.
Speaker 4: He's got four high quality pitches. He's got a great
Speaker 4: eleven sits in the mid to high nineties with his fastball.
Speaker 4: He's got a four seam or a two seam, or
Speaker 4: a cutter or a slider. So we're excited to work
Speaker 4: with him to continue to help him grow and develop
Speaker 4: as a major league pitcher. But it's exciting to think
Speaker 4: about what he can continue to develop and become.
Speaker 2: And with Shane Bieber, Number one, were you surprised, just
Speaker 2: based on some of the reports of other offers that
Speaker 2: he had, that he did agree to come back, and
Speaker 2: maybe what does that say about the system in place
Speaker 2: here from a pitching standpoint.
Speaker 4: We were really hopeful at the end of the year
Speaker 4: that we could find some way to align with Shane.
Speaker 4: But as we know, when players go to free agency,
Speaker 4: it can be very difficult to have that continuity and
Speaker 4: for players to make the choice to come back. But
Speaker 4: in Shane's case, I think he placed a premium on
Speaker 4: remaining with an organization that he's known from the time
Speaker 4: he's drafted, the pitching team that's in place here that
Speaker 4: supported his growth and development, and then as important, the
Speaker 4: medical group that is regarded as one of, if not
Speaker 4: the best in baseball. And I think Change rejoining the organization,
Speaker 4: I think is a testament to those things. And we
Speaker 4: are thrilled that Change made that choice because we've all
Speaker 4: seen what Chain's capable of doing when he's healthy, and
Speaker 4: we think he's got a chance to get back on
Speaker 4: the mound in a major league setting in the second
Speaker 4: half of the season and help propel US forward.
Speaker 2: Chris Antonetti joining US President of Baseball Operations, You mentioned
Speaker 2: the pitching group, and just to kind of wrap things up,
Speaker 2: some additions to the coaching staff and some tweaks to
Speaker 2: the coaching staff and and that pitching group at the
Speaker 2: major league level, you added a bullpen coach and Brad
Speaker 2: Goldberg moves into the dugout. What does that do for
Speaker 2: continuing to move it forward and get the most out
Speaker 2: of your arms that you can.
Speaker 4: I think our whole goal was used to try to
Speaker 4: find the best and create the best environment, provide the
Speaker 4: best resources, the best coaching for our players to grow
Speaker 4: and develop and get better. And we're elated to be
Speaker 4: able to add Caleb Bulongshore, who is really well regarded
Speaker 4: in our minor leagues, has had an impact on a
Speaker 4: number of the players that have moved through our minor
Speaker 4: leagues into the major league level, and so he will
Speaker 4: now join the group of Carl and Brad Goldberg and
Speaker 4: Joe Torres to hopefully support our players and them getting better.
Speaker 4: They all have slightly different skills and experiences, but together
Speaker 4: we think they form an incredible team.
Speaker 2: And on the hitting side, Grant Fak name hitting instructor,
Speaker 2: the head hitting coach for the hitting group. What does
Speaker 2: he bring as someone who's been in the organization as.
Speaker 4: Well, Yeah, Grant has been has made a massive impact.
Speaker 4: Again in his time with us, He's done a lot
Speaker 4: of work out of our Arizona complex, So not only
Speaker 4: has he impacted a lot of minor league players along
Speaker 4: the way, but as many of our major league players
Speaker 4: go to Arizona for their offseason training and spring training,
Speaker 4: Grant has often been the point person helping them execute
Speaker 4: those plans, and he's done an extraordinary job with that.
Speaker 4: He's a great commuter, communicator, understands a swing exceptionally well,
Speaker 4: and so we feel like adding him to the major
Speaker 4: league group and partnering him with the coaches that were
Speaker 4: already in place gives us a really strong hitting team
Speaker 4: there as well.
Speaker 2: So an extremely busy offseason so far, certainly on the
Speaker 2: transaction front. As the new year develops, Now, how much
Speaker 2: more is out there that you're looking to tweak and
Speaker 2: do some things to help improve this club.
Speaker 4: That will means to be seen, Rosie, The answer is,
Speaker 4: I'm not quite sure. We'll continue to be engaged on
Speaker 4: opportunities to add to our group if the right opportunities
Speaker 4: are there. If not, and this is the group we
Speaker 4: go with in spring training, I feel like we are
Speaker 4: better positioned to succeed now than we were at the
Speaker 4: start of the off season.
Speaker 2: Well, Chris, as always, thanks so much for coming by,
Speaker 2: and we'll look forward to seeing in spring training real soon.
Speaker 4: My pleasure, Rosie, look forward to Seenian good year in
Speaker 4: a few weeks.
Speaker 2: As President of Baseball Operations. Chris and today and we
Speaker 2: certainly thank him for his time this week, as he
Speaker 2: kind of sets the scene heading into twenty twenty five
Speaker 2: with a month ago until spring training. Our first radio
Speaker 2: broadcast will be February the twenty second, Guardians and Reds
Speaker 2: from Goodyear and on the car as he has been
Speaker 2: for thirty five straight years, it will be Tom Hamilton
Speaker 2: joining me in the broadcast booth as the voice of
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Guardians. Hammy has been in that role for
Speaker 2: a long long time now, and this offseason was recognized
Speaker 2: for his great contributions to this ball club and his
Speaker 2: great calls and everything that goes along with being the
Speaker 2: lead play by play voice of a franchise. He was
Speaker 2: elected to Cooper's Town's Hall of Fame, the Ford Frick
Speaker 2: Award winner for twenty twenty five. And when we come back,
Speaker 2: we'll talk to Hammy has some great stories about his
Speaker 2: early years with Cleveland and some good stuff about the
Speaker 2: morning that the announcement was made to So stay with us.
Speaker 2: More to come as we continue with Guardians Weekly on
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Net. Hang on, folks, this
Speaker 2: baby isn't over yet. Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, our
Speaker 2: first show of the new year, as we look forward
Speaker 2: to a new season coming up soon. And really one
Speaker 2: of the best developments in the offseason. Just a tremendous
Speaker 2: honor for my good friend and broadcast partner. Tom Hamilton
Speaker 2: will be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame as this
Speaker 2: year's Fort Frick Award winner this coming July and Cooper's
Speaker 2: Town and Hammy joins us now as part of the show.
Speaker 2: And Tom, first off, congratulations. I imagine it has been
Speaker 2: a whirlwind here the last month or so.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it has been. Thank you, Rosie. I appreciate the
Speaker 1: kind words. And you're a part of it too, because
Speaker 1: these things don't happen unless you have great partners, and
Speaker 1: you've been a great partner and a great friend. And yeah,
Speaker 1: it's We're very grateful. It still seems pretty surreal. But
Speaker 1: had a chance today to talk to jokistigleone from the
Speaker 1: former Red Sox broadcaster who went into Cooperstown last July.
Speaker 1: So kind of fun to pick his brain, and then
Speaker 1: it kind of seems like it's more of a reality
Speaker 1: when he starts telling you, Okay, you better prepare the speech,
Speaker 1: you better start thinking about where to put people in
Speaker 1: Cooper's down. So yeah, it, like I say, we're very grateful.
Speaker 1: And we just we know how how much we've been blessed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems when when something like this happens for someone,
Speaker 2: they hear from people they haven't heard from in a
Speaker 2: long time with well wishes. Anyone that surprised you, or
Speaker 2: maybe you hadn't heard from in a long time from
Speaker 2: maybe when you're growing up, or even within the game
Speaker 2: that that surprised you.
Speaker 1: Well, Yeah, like former teammate of mine, Johnny Bench called
Speaker 1: and you know we hadn't we hadn't talked in years.
Speaker 1: But I think Rosie, that was the one that floored
Speaker 1: me the most because I got the call on December
Speaker 1: eleventh at about eleven forty in the morning from the
Speaker 1: president of the Baseball Hall of Fame telling us that,
Speaker 1: you know, we were going in and you know, then
Speaker 1: the rest of that day obviously spent time with you
Speaker 1: and Curtis and had a great time with you guys
Speaker 1: at the house and you know, you got it ended
Speaker 1: up being about five hundred text messages, which you're so
Speaker 1: you know, appreciative and grateful of the people that took
Speaker 1: the time to reach out to you. And you got
Speaker 1: a number of phone calls, and that one certainly came
Speaker 1: out of the blue. I think I met Johnny Bench
Speaker 1: when he was doing the CBS Game of the Week
Speaker 1: on a race when we're at the old Stadium, so
Speaker 1: it would have been sometime in the early nineties. I
Speaker 1: know he doesn't remember it. I sure do, but I've
Speaker 1: never had any dealings with him in my life. And
Speaker 1: for him to make that kind of a call and
Speaker 1: that kind of a gesture, and it still is to
Speaker 1: me just an incredible, thoughtful gesture on his part, because
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, look, it's an unbelievable honor,
Speaker 1: but the Hall of Fame is still about the players.
Speaker 1: I'm not a player, but for a guy that's still
Speaker 1: considered the best catcher to ever play the game to
Speaker 1: take that kind of time and talk to you and
Speaker 1: congratulate you and offer some advice about that upcoming weekend,
Speaker 1: that was incredible. And you heard from a number of people.
Speaker 1: I sure don't want to slight anybody, but Jim Kott,
Speaker 1: who's a Hall of Famer and was a great broadcaster
Speaker 1: called from Florida, Tony Kubeck, who so many of us
Speaker 1: grew up watching the NBC Game of the Week. If
Speaker 1: you're as old as I am and was a tremendous
Speaker 1: player on those great Yankee teams with Maris Mantle, Whitey
Speaker 1: Ford and on a shortstop on that team for Tony
Speaker 1: Kuback to call. Those were certainly among the many that
Speaker 1: meant a lot to me, but probably the most unexpected,
Speaker 1: I guess you could.
Speaker 2: Say, just amazing. And I chose you to what a
Speaker 2: fraternity it is, the people who are in it and
Speaker 2: what they think of who is to come this summer.
Speaker 2: Tom take us for fans who maybe would never know
Speaker 2: what that's like. What was that morning like before you
Speaker 2: got that phone call from Cooperstown Having been a candidate before,
Speaker 2: so you had been through it before. But what is
Speaker 2: that morning like for you as you anticipate it happening
Speaker 2: or not happening, and trying to get through that day?
Speaker 1: In all sincerity, Rose, see, I did not anticipate it happening.
Speaker 1: And to your point, you know I have been nominated
Speaker 1: three other times, and you know, Hawk Harrelson went in
Speaker 1: one of the years, Pat Hughes went in one of
Speaker 1: the years, and Joe Costiglione went in one of the
Speaker 1: years that I was nominated. And when they call you
Speaker 1: to tell you you're one of the ten nominees, and
Speaker 1: that happened in the late summer months. They just tell you, look,
Speaker 1: you know, on this day we're going to make the announcement.
Speaker 1: This year, it happened to be December eleventh, And can
Speaker 1: you make sure you are available to take a phone
Speaker 1: call the morning of December eleventh if you're the person
Speaker 1: that got voted in. If you are, we will call you.
Speaker 1: If you're one of the nine that didn't get in,
Speaker 1: we will not call you. So I've been pretty used
Speaker 1: to the phone not ringing. So it's just one of
Speaker 1: those things. I know people probably may not believe it,
Speaker 1: but I didn't really sit around that morning and think
Speaker 1: of it, or you know, I knew it obviously was
Speaker 1: happening that day. Do you have a chance, Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: you had a ten percent chance. But your life isn't
Speaker 1: going to be better or worse. I mean, if it is,
Speaker 1: then I think you've got a pretty shallow life. It's
Speaker 1: an incredible honor, but at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: your family and all of that is still your utmost
Speaker 1: you know, regard. And so we just my wife and
Speaker 1: I went about our normal day and about eleven o'clock
Speaker 1: she had said to me, Hey, I've got lunch with
Speaker 1: a friend at noon, Do you mind if I get ready?
Speaker 1: I go, oh my gosh, yeah, we're If we were
Speaker 1: going in, we would have got the call by now.
Speaker 1: So she got ready for lunch, and I kept myself
Speaker 1: busy with other things that I was doing and had
Speaker 1: a bunch of things to get done with the holidays
Speaker 1: around the corner, and hadn't really given it much thought.
Speaker 1: Once to get to eleven o'clock, you were pretty much
Speaker 1: assuming that, yeah, I'm not getting the caller. I would
Speaker 1: have heard by now. And so when I get the
Speaker 1: call at eleven forty, I don't think I could have
Speaker 1: been more flabbergasted or shocked, just because again I thought
Speaker 1: I would have heard by them. And then from that
Speaker 1: point on, everything's a blur. It's just very surreal.
Speaker 2: So you get this great news and we're joined by
Speaker 2: Tom Hamilton heading to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown
Speaker 2: this summer, and you think of it in those terms, Hammy,
Speaker 2: but take us back. I love when you tell the
Speaker 2: story about your first spring training ride with your first partner,
Speaker 2: the great legendary Herb Score. Tell us about that, and
Speaker 2: would you have ever thought you'd get to this point,
Speaker 2: Oh my god, Well, as that day is unfolding.
Speaker 1: No, I think all of us, and I know you
Speaker 1: were in the same boat when any of us are
Speaker 1: in the minor leagues and we're coming up or trying
Speaker 1: to in our minds, you know, have the impossible dream
Speaker 1: become a reality. That phone call is as great as
Speaker 1: the phone call was from Cooper's town. No phone call
Speaker 1: will ever beat the phone call that I got in
Speaker 1: January nineteen ninety saying we've chosen you to be Herb's
Speaker 1: new partner. Will you accept the job? And so then
Speaker 1: that year there was a strike, a lockout. I mean,
Speaker 1: it seemed like it was going on every other year.
Speaker 1: So spring training was delayed, so everything was at a
Speaker 1: rushed pace. You were going to a much shorter spring
Speaker 1: training because they were going to start the season a
Speaker 1: week later than expected. And back in those days, we
Speaker 1: were the only team in Tucson, and anytime we had
Speaker 1: a road game that meant at least a two hour
Speaker 1: drive to Phoenix. So yeah, I don't think I could
Speaker 1: have been more nervous. I didn't know Herb. We hadn't
Speaker 1: spent much time together because spring training had been so abbreviated.
Speaker 1: We were moving from Columbus, had no idea when we
Speaker 1: were even going to go to spring training, just because
Speaker 1: of what was going on, you know, with the players
Speaker 1: Association and with ownership. So it was a long drive
Speaker 1: to Scottsdale. We played the San Francisco Giants. I got
Speaker 1: one of the kindest gestures in my life from a
Speaker 1: great broadcaster who has since left us, Hank Greenwald, who
Speaker 1: had done Major League baseball for decades and was a
Speaker 1: really good Major League play by play guy whom I own.
Speaker 1: I didn't know, but I knew who he was, and
Speaker 1: I went up introduced myself to him before the ballgame,
Speaker 1: and he put his arm around me and said, Hey,
Speaker 1: I want you to go out today and just have
Speaker 1: a good time. You earned this job. You're going to
Speaker 1: do a great job. He goes, you just don't do
Speaker 1: anything different than you did that got you here, and
Speaker 1: you're going to be just fine. And I can't tell
Speaker 1: you how much that settled my nerves that day, the
Speaker 1: first time I ever met Hank Greenwald, and he took
Speaker 1: the time to extend those words to me, and it
Speaker 1: was an incredible act of kindness on his part. Then
Speaker 1: Herb and I do the game is about. Oh, it
Speaker 1: was ungodly hot that day in Scottsdale's in the nineties.
Speaker 1: I'm wrung out after the game because of nerves and
Speaker 1: everything else. I also know that once I give back
Speaker 1: into the car with Herb, we have another two hours
Speaker 1: and twenty minutes of every song Frank Sinatra had ever sung,
Speaker 1: which was if you were going to listen to music
Speaker 1: with Herb. One he controlled what you listened to. And secondly,
Speaker 1: there was only one person you were listening to, So
Speaker 1: I pretty much knew every song by heart that Frank
Speaker 1: Sinatra ever recorded by the time spring training was over.
Speaker 1: But that day Herb said, you know what, this was
Speaker 1: a really good first start, really enjoyed it. Why don't
Speaker 1: you go and take the equipment to the car. I'll
Speaker 1: go get us a couple of beers and we'll have
Speaker 1: a beer on that picnic table over there, just kind
Speaker 1: of relaxed a little bit, then get in the car
Speaker 1: and head south to Tucson. Now I'm from Wisconsin, so
Speaker 1: basically in Wisconsin you go from milk to beer. At
Speaker 1: least that used to be the case back in the day,
Speaker 1: And so I can't believe he's doing this and comes
Speaker 1: back to the car empty handed, and I go Herb.
Speaker 1: They were all out, hon he goes, Yep, all they
Speaker 1: had was Miller lt. Let's go. So in Herb's mind,
Speaker 1: that was not beer and he wasn't going to get
Speaker 1: two beers if it was Miller lite, and we were
Speaker 1: going to go back to Tucson. So that was my
Speaker 1: introduction to Herb and he was just a phenomenal person
Speaker 1: to me, and I was so fortunate to start my
Speaker 1: career with him and work the final eight years of
Speaker 1: his legendary career.
Speaker 2: I always find it interesting. I think what people appreciate
Speaker 2: from your broadcast time is just the stories you relate
Speaker 2: from talking to players and the relationships that you have
Speaker 2: built up with managers. Early on, it sounded like guys
Speaker 2: like Bud Black and among others, were the just great
Speaker 2: players to help you get comfortable in the game. What
Speaker 2: did they mean to you and how did they help
Speaker 2: you settle in?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 1: Again, as you know, when you get here, you think
Speaker 1: you're ready, you think you've earned the spot, but there's
Speaker 1: always a lot of self doubt, and or at least
Speaker 1: there was in my case. I mean, this's a whole
Speaker 1: different level. Again, you won the lottery. You have, in essence,
Speaker 1: had a miracle happen in your life, is the way
Speaker 1: I looked at it. To get that job, and so
Speaker 1: you have no idea what you're going to be dealing
Speaker 1: with with major league players. Do they give a who
Speaker 1: you are? How are they going to treat you? And
Speaker 1: you know, back then I was obviously much younger, So
Speaker 1: you know, in a lot of cases with a lot
Speaker 1: of the players, you were in similar age bracket, you know,
Speaker 1: give or take a couple of years here and there,
Speaker 1: so you had a lot more in common with them
Speaker 1: because of that. The game was also different then. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the money was good, but it's not the astronomical money
Speaker 1: that you see now. And our pitching staff had Buddy Black,
Speaker 1: Tom Candiotti, Greg Swindell, and John Ferrell. And you're not
Speaker 1: going to be around four better people than those four pitchers.
Speaker 1: And they're all friends to this day thirty five years later.
Speaker 1: You know, that's the first pitching staff I was exposed to.
Speaker 1: And then eventually Charlie Naggy was coming up from the
Speaker 1: minor leagues. You know, Sandy Alomar was the Rookie of
Speaker 1: the Year unanimous in nineteen ninety. My first year, and
Speaker 1: so those are would have now become lifelong friendships and
Speaker 1: relationships with those guys, even though you may not have
Speaker 1: that much to do with them now that everyone's moved on,
Speaker 1: but they were just they were a special group. I
Speaker 1: think it was because of Cleveland. Nobody really was looking
Speaker 1: forward to being a Cleveland Indian in those days because
Speaker 1: the club never was very good. They were playing in
Speaker 1: the worst facility in all of sports from a baseball standpoint,
Speaker 1: and you know, the club never had much money. There
Speaker 1: never seemed to be any direction. Little did we know
Speaker 1: that that was all changing, because the greatest thing, you know,
Speaker 1: the Jacob's brothers ever did was after buying the club,
Speaker 1: higher Hank Peters from the Baltimore Orioles to come up
Speaker 1: with a plan and get this thing turned around. And
Speaker 1: everything changed when the Jacobs brothers bought the ball club,
Speaker 1: hired Hank Peters, and then he brought to town Danny
Speaker 1: O'Dowd and John Hart and the rest is hit history.
Speaker 1: But you know, it was kind of us against everybody
Speaker 1: else back in those days. And then of course in
Speaker 1: the mid nineties, Cleveland became the big bat bully and
Speaker 1: they were dominating people. But I just think there was
Speaker 1: a bond there that you know was unique. Maybe I
Speaker 1: didn't realize it at the time, but looking back at
Speaker 1: it now, I sure do.
Speaker 2: And in closing and you kind of touched on it
Speaker 2: a little bit, you get the one thing you can't
Speaker 2: control is the wins and losses, and you're there to
Speaker 2: broadcast the games. But when you were hired, you're right,
Speaker 2: the track record for Cleveland was not good for a
Speaker 2: long time. And now all of a sudden you have
Speaker 2: you fast forward and you've been a part of one
Speaker 2: of the great stretches, extended stretches in Cleveland history in
Speaker 2: terms of success and the World Series appearances. Could you
Speaker 2: have ever imagine when when you got that job, based
Speaker 2: on what it was when it started.
Speaker 1: No, And again, at that time, I didn't care if
Speaker 1: I was in Siberia, if it was in the major leagues.
Speaker 1: You know, there's no such thing as a bad major
Speaker 1: league job. Some are better than others. I didn't realize
Speaker 1: it at the time that I was landing a job
Speaker 1: that was as good as it's going to get. In
Speaker 1: our game, you can't work for better people than I
Speaker 1: have worked for in the Jacobs family and now the
Speaker 1: Dolan family. The people we've had in our front offices
Speaker 1: have been among the very best in the game of baseball.
Speaker 1: Over the last thirty five years, we've been in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I think it's fourteen times since nineteen ninety five. If
Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, in a twenty year period, I beg
Speaker 1: your pardon. In a thirty year period, been in the
Speaker 1: playoffs fourteen times. That's basically every other year you're in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. And you know, it all started back then,
Speaker 1: and people back then were despising the Indians still because
Speaker 1: they had traded their superstar Joe Carter, and I was like, well,
Speaker 1: here we go again. Well, Hank Peters knew they weren't
Speaker 1: going to be able to keep Joe Carter, and he
Speaker 1: made pretty good trade, getting Carlos by Erga, Chris James,
Speaker 1: and Sandy Alomar Junior, and then drafted Charlie Naggey and
Speaker 1: that was the beginning of what as you have mentioned,
Speaker 1: I mean, the last thirty years here, people in Cleveland
Speaker 1: have been among the most fortunate in all of baseball
Speaker 1: to have that consistent winning. And again, I think that's
Speaker 1: the other part that's made this job so great. We
Speaker 1: were able to raise four children in what we think
Speaker 1: is an incredible community, and the fans here have been
Speaker 1: so good to us. You know, you have no idea
Speaker 1: how your life is going to turn out, But my lord,
Speaker 1: have we been fortunate that we got hired and have
Speaker 1: been able to stay here in Cleveland.
Speaker 2: That is Tom Hamilton going into the Hall of Fame
Speaker 2: this summer as the Ford Frick Award winner in this summer.
Speaker 2: To what maybe if you get there? Still wait, I'm
Speaker 2: still waiting for that phone call that comes. I don't
Speaker 2: know how to tell you this, but we made a mistake.
Speaker 2: Well how about that. Have you started your speech yet? No,
Speaker 2: I'd wigh you wait till the night before, got some
Speaker 2: notes down on a napkin.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that'll go for big stay with us.
Speaker 2: Folks will have more after this on the Cleveland Clinic
Speaker 2: Guardians Radio.
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen House along with
Speaker 2: you as we bring you Baseball Talk on the radio
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Speaker 2: We air on WTAM, our flagship station in Cleveland each
Speaker 2: Saturday morning at seven. Check your local affiliate listings if
Speaker 2: your affiliate carries our show as well, and if you
Speaker 2: can't catch it on the radio, it does convert to
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Speaker 7: And that's going to do it for this week's show.
Speaker 7: We'll talk to you again next week. Thanks as always
Speaker 7: to Brian Motsei. Matzi's back for another year as well,
Speaker 7: and we're glad to have him. He puts together our
Speaker 7: show each and every week and does a great job
Speaker 7: on the game broadcast as well. Until next week, this
Speaker 7: is Jim Rosen House reminding you that you've been listening
Speaker 7: the Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio network.
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