Speaker 1: You. I am now listening to soft core History.
Speaker 2: What is up? Welcome back to Softcore History. I am
your host for the week, Rob Fox, joined as always
by Dan Chester.
Speaker 1: It is that weird in between time Christmas, New Year's.
Nobody knows what day it is, nobody knows what they're
supposed to be doing. It's the best time of the year.
Oh it's great.
Speaker 2: I aspire to live my entire life like that.
Speaker 1: You're in the in between. This is purgatory in real life,
it's wonderful. Nobody's really working.
Speaker 2: It's what I imagine like a celebrity schedule is like
or unemployed. Well, yeah, either either.
Speaker 1: I've been living this for six months now.
Speaker 2: I chose the glass half full example, but uh yeah,
I guess either way.
Speaker 1: My life doesn't change much. This is what I go
through every day.
Speaker 2: It's just like it's like the taking a dump part
of the year where it's like, if I'm on the toilet,
no one can bother me.
Speaker 1: So you're just scrolling your phone for a week. Yeah,
on the toilet. Yeah, that's a representation of what this is.
Speaker 2: And it's I love it. It's my favorite part of
the year by far, Like Christmas, Eve to New Year's Day.
Speaker 1: You can be a total piece of shit.
Speaker 2: Oh it's wonderful, but especially those middle you know, the
twenty six, twenty eighth, those.
Speaker 1: Days nothing's expected of you.
Speaker 2: Nothing, You are not meant to be a good citizen.
Speaker 1: Plus your kids already have the toys. They're off in
their rooms. Yeah, they're doing whatever, doing their own thing.
You can get a couple of naps in, maybe throwing
a bowl game.
Speaker 2: Oh boy, falling asleep in front of a bowl game, that's.
Speaker 1: What this is for. Man, we can't get rid of
bowl games. It's valuable nap time.
Speaker 2: It really is. It's the background noise that just lulls
me to sleep every time.
Speaker 1: Plenty of leftovers from your Christmas dinner, whether you're doing
the Seven fishes, you make another turkey, maybe do some
Chinese takeout.
Speaker 2: We're pre recording, even though we might not have needed
to all along.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I guess you might not go to Saint Louis.
Speaker 2: Because all of my children are fucking ill with hand,
foot in mouth.
Speaker 1: Apparently kids are a cesspool disease.
Speaker 2: And if I can peel back the curtain of my
marriage for a minute. My wife texted me and was
like I'm pretty sure I have it. I have diarrhea,
and I have to drive home with diarrhea. I was like,
pretty sweet, cool, sounds fun. It's a cool marriage you
guys have, Yeah, being so open. Yeah, well, it's mostly
just for her to be like, look at how hard
I have it. When I get home, you will be
doing everything.
Speaker 1: See. This is actually that week between Christmas and New
Year's as hell for you. Yeah, well you don't get
to go to your sanctuary of work.
Speaker 2: Yeah seriously, Well, once they have the toys, that'll be fine.
And when she clocks out, when she's like, I'm sick,
I got a clock out, I'm just like, all right,
well I'm only half clocking in. So that's when the
screen time really hit so fucking.
Speaker 1: Peak.
Speaker 2: It's what she's like, just sick, and I'm like, dude.
Speaker 1: Fuck this anyway, this is a history show.
Speaker 2: Well come man, Yeah, we have a fun one today.
We have a fun, fun topic today. I've seen this
guy before, but I've never done an episode on him.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: Today we are talking about mo Burg.
Speaker 1: Damn it, dude, that's what I picked for the Patreon episode?
Is it really? No? Oh? Fuck, I'm just waiting for
the one day where it happens to it's a miracle
than like five years we haven't.
Speaker 2: Done that, I know.
Speaker 1: So we'll record sometimes multiple episodes in the same day
not knowing the other person's topic. If you're new to
the show this format, somebody brings a topic and we react, Yeah,
and we're just waiting for that one day where we
pick the same topic.
Speaker 2: And it's more so because we're I feel like, very
similar in taste that we would think so that we
would pick.
Speaker 1: No, that's kind of why we do what we do,
where we besides not putting all the work on one person,
the different taste and different variety of topics for each individual,
especially when Jake was here, Yeah, it was uniquely their topic. Yeah,
we don't really cross over.
Speaker 2: Jake was the most unique of the three of us.
There was a very specific Jake episode.
Speaker 1: He did a lot of cults.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he did a lot of cults. Walk conspiracies
leaned into that.
Speaker 1: I tried to take over that kind of baton.
Speaker 2: Little bit here and there, Guitou and the other guys.
But yeah, Mo Burg right up my alley. We're talking
baseball and we're talking World War two today. Hell yeah,
So Berg was born to Bernard Berg. He was a
pharmacist and an immigrant from Ukraine, and his mom was Roseberg.
She was a homemaker there a bout Jewish, lived in
Harlem in New York, just a few blocks. He was
born from the Polo Grounds, where the famous baseball stadium
that is long gone at this point, but that's where
if you don't know what the Polo Grounds is, Willie
May's famous catch catch Polo Grounds, if you're wondering why
it's such an incredible catch to center.
Speaker 1: Field was like seven hundred feet or something stupid like that,
because it was like a racing track, super short, Yeah, porches,
but then if you went deep center, no chance.
Speaker 2: None, none. So Berg his dad bought a pharmacy in
West Newark and the family moved there. Berg family moved
again into a nicer section in Newark called Roseville, and
I think his dad wanted to move there essentially because
there's good schools, middle class residents. And this part was
a little interesting, but it actually makes sense to me,
and not in a horrible way. There weren't a lot
of Jews in that area of the town, and I
think he just really wanted to be like, not like
you wanted to assimilate and just be like an America essentially,
not be like, oh, I'm I'm living in the Ukrainian
part town of the Jewish part town, like I just
want to be mixed in with everyone else.
Speaker 1: He wanted to become an American. Yeah, yeah, so I'm
glad you had to throw that in. Maybe we can
cash in on some of that anti jew seo that's
been going around.
Speaker 2: Oh boy, it's hot, Oh it's hot. So Berg started
playing baseball when he was seven years old. He played
for the Roseville Methodist Episcopal Church baseball team, but.
Speaker 1: He deh playing cyo ball. Yeah, well kinda. Yeah. He
went under the pseudonym.
Speaker 2: He didn't play as his name mo Burg because he's Jewish,
so he told him his name was Runt Wolf.
Speaker 1: It's a solid alias.
Speaker 2: It seems like he was gassing himself up, like put
the young wolf in.
Speaker 1: But not when it's runt Yeah, I know it's a
tiny wolf, yeah, runt Wolf. Was he a small man? No?
Not really? I mean or was it like on bou shrimp. Yeah,
maybe that's what it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but no, he was pretty normal I think size
and everything because he would I was spoilerler he would
go on to play Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1: The Church wasn't involved in the league.
Speaker 2: No, no, okay, so at nineteen eighteen.
Speaker 1: No have you seen though, like college football teams or
a lot of baseball teams, they put up graphics with
their craziest opponents.
Speaker 2: Oh, my high school CBC Christian Brothers College High School
in Saint Louis, we have played Notre.
Speaker 1: Dame, didn't you guys also qualify for like a bronze
medal in the Olympics.
Speaker 2: We won the silver medal in the nineteen oh four
Olympics in soccer.
Speaker 1: That's sweet. Yeah. A bunch of plumbers, like literal plumbers.
Their union played yeah Indiana.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so my high school has.
Speaker 1: Actually nineteen oh seven, my high school's played Notre Dame
in football and won a silver medal in the Olympics.
So if you ever made that joke, you know, ironmen
and plumbers.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's not firemen and plumbers. Sometimes it's children, sometimes
actual kids. Yeah, many times in fact, it's children. Like
that is such a weird thing too, because they would
play like a children in one game and then like
grizzled men.
Speaker 1: In like the very next inmates.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it also inmates from I'm not wearing my hat today,
but the Wyoming State Penitentiary played a high school. Yeah,
multiple times.
Speaker 1: I think worked them too.
Speaker 2: Oh they beat the shit out of them. Yeah, hard men.
Speaker 1: And then some of them got executed like months and
years later.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So at the age of sixteen nineteen eighteen, Berg
graduates from Baronser High School. He was kind of an
outsider there a little bit, just because he was like
the only Jewish person. Most people were Italian Catholics or Protestants.
But during his senior year, he was selected for what
would be considered the All City team. It was the
nine man quote dream team that the Newark Star Eagle
chose for public and private high school baseball players. He
was a third baseman, starting third basement on the All
City team. How was his glove really good?
Speaker 1: Okay?
Speaker 2: Actually so he would he would eventually convert to catcher,
and he was were baseball gloves like back then in
nineteen eighteen, like an oven.
Speaker 1: Mit, everything had to hurt.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, Well, the only thing that's nice is they're
not really squaring it up as well.
Speaker 1: No, ball is probably a little softer maybe not actually, no,
because it's the dead ball era. Maybe harder. Yeah it's
a rock okay, so yeah, but it is the dead
ball era, So they're not it's not bouncing off the
back quite. They're not juiced for Aaron Judge to take
imaginary record or hot take.
Speaker 2: People think they juiced Albert pool Holes balls in his
last year too, so we could get to seven hundred.
Speaker 1: We're not going to take any Albert pool Holes slander
just because you hate the Cardinals. I don't like the
Cardinals either. Bro pool Holes is maybe one of the
best players to ever live.
Speaker 2: I don't hate pool Holes. His ten year stretch to
start his career was probably the best ten years of
any clean player.
Speaker 1: It's better than Trout.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, for those ten years. Well, Trout makes up
for it defensively, because pool Holes is a non important
defensive position. Dude, first base is very important, scooping, it's
not the same as center field.
Speaker 1: First base is very important. Is most players are to.
Speaker 2: First base, which is not as important as.
Speaker 1: Get out of my face, you stupid dad a boy,
all right, I'm an eye test guy only.
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, that's why Willie May has played first base.
Speaker 1: God damn it, dude, it doesn't matter. Most players are
the first base It's very important to have a good
for defensive first baseman. I don't disagree, but to bail
like a bunch of like bad throws out.
Speaker 2: Dog, It's not that hard. Bryce Harper just walked over
there and started playing it.
Speaker 1: Because Bryce Harper is an elite athlete.
Speaker 2: There's a whole plot point to Moneyball where they're just like, yeah, yeah,
you Scott hadiberg Yehobo, go play first base. He's like,
I'm not a first base Like, it doesn't matter, doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: Whatever you say, whatever fucking fantasy you want to live in.
Speaker 2: All right. Burg after graduating from Beharnger enrolls at NYU,
spends two semesters there playing baseball and basketball. So he
is a D one two sport athlete.
Speaker 1: That's it. Everyone then played like nine sports.
Speaker 2: I don't think he was interested in football.
Speaker 1: No track.
Speaker 2: He definitely was not a track I mean, maybe he
could a shot put or something, but he wasn't a
runner for sure. A cross maybe, But in nineteen nineteen,
Burg transferred to Princeton University and for the rest of
his life never brought up going to NYU again. He
was like, now, I went to Prinson. Yeah, yeah, I'm
a prince man. I went to prison, Like would you
I thought freshman year, No, I went to prison.
Speaker 1: I mean Princeton then, do was more established I suppose
in sports very much?
Speaker 2: So oh yeah, I don't even think it was from
a sports perspective that he was like that. But yes,
they were winning national national titles. Yeah, like in everything.
They're football, for sure, but I'm sure they're winning base
whatever the baseball championship was and whatever else. I don't
even know if basketball was happening yet. I guess it was.
But Naysmith he like, literally, he's coaching at KU at
that point. So Berg was, among other things being a
great athlete and stuff like that, also insanely intelligent. He
graduated magna cumlade with a BA in Modern Languages.
Speaker 1: But if you want to know something funny, what my
dad went to my college graduation, and I guess told
my mom, like, man, that's a really big family. They
just keep saying that word over and over again. That
family name not college educated obviously, but he's like, man,
that what is it? The Magnukamade family? That was good lord,
they're fucking massive.
Speaker 2: Here, Italian's all over the Discovery, So shouts.
Speaker 1: To the old man waterman Dan. I love that.
Speaker 2: He studied seven languages, and he could speak even more
languages than this, I believe. But he studied Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, German,
and Sanskrit useless, and I believe he also ended up
learning Japanese as well. But I'll get to that. So
because he served, no, we'll get to it. We'll get
to it. So even though he was at Princeton and
he was an athlete and a good student, he was
kind of always on the outside of the social scene
because he was not rich to have a middle class pharmacist,
and he was Jewish, so he kind of didn't didn't
quite become super popular there, I guess. But he played
first base at Princeton on an undefeated Princeton team, and
then sophomore year they moved him to short. He wasn't
a good hitter, wasn't a good base runner. But defense,
first defense.
Speaker 1: First guy at short said, not a good hitter, useless,
he's a def he was not, you know, he wasn't
a bat. Put him at second. Then you can have a.
Speaker 2: Short stop hitting oak, hitting under three hundred.
Speaker 1: I don't like that. I need my shortstop to get
on bass.
Speaker 2: You need your shortstop to make plays.
Speaker 1: Defensively, Yeah, he's gotta be the honestly best defender, probably
on the team, easily, most athletic at least, But I
would like my fucking shortstop to just Yeah. Yeah, everybody
was weak, went through the hole, and they and steal
some basses.
Speaker 2: I agree with that.
Speaker 1: He doesn't have to be a power guy.
Speaker 2: No, you don't prefer power. You don't need a rod. No, there,
Trey Turner is fine.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Tray Turner is perfect. Yeah you're talking about that.
Sounded like quite backhanded compliment.
Speaker 2: No, peak, Trey Turner helped win me a fantasy baseball league. Whatever.
Trey Turner in his prime, well past, tell.
Speaker 1: Me more about your fantasy baseball team.
Speaker 2: I'm just saying, Trey Turner puts up numbers. He does
everything you want. He gets on base, he steals bases,
he hits home runs, great glove, great glove, the best
slider in the game. Yeah, I mean, my god. But
even though he didn't, he wasn't much of a bat
at first. Berg did grow into it. He hit three
thirty seven his senior year when he was captain of
the team and he hit six' eleven Against princeton's arch
Rivals Harvard.
Speaker 1: Yale, okay so when it, Mattered, yeah he was a clutch.
Speaker 2: Hitter.
Speaker 1: Yeah and because this is THE Ivy league we're talking,
about when they were playing, teams probably Not harvard And
yale because they might have picked up on, this but
when they were playing other, teams maybe When rutgers came to, town
they would him and the second basement would communicate plays
to each other In. Latin, why just so they wouldn't
get their fucking signs. Stolen. YEAH i guess it's a
little try.
Speaker 2: Hard for. Me It's princeton in nineteen nineteen or, whatever.
Speaker 1: Whatever it's still a little much fair. Enough but if
you go To Catholic mass and you're on the other,
team you probably know what they're saying.
Speaker 2: You, yeah if there's A catholic on, base he's gonna
pick it.
Speaker 1: Up, Yeah so quite a hole in their. Logic On
june twenty, sixth nineteen twenty, Three princeton Played yale At
Yankee stadium for The championship of The Big, three WHICH
i believe is just damn. Dude Ice Cube time. Traveling,
yeah that was his first. League he brought it.
Speaker 2: Back it, was you, know just a championship Between, Princeton,
yale And. Harvard just who kind of wins this season.
Series yale did Beat princeton five to. One But berg
had a good. Day he had two, hits he was
two for, four had a single in a, double and
he made a couple dazzling plays at.
Speaker 1: Shortstop do we have any? Footage, no absolutely. NOT i
don't even know if we have a. Drawing it'd be
very funny if we had footage of that and Not
wilt's one hundred point in?
Speaker 2: It Would they probably cared more about that than basketball
the forty years, later like AN Ivy league baseball.
Speaker 1: Game there's so many colleges that are now irrelevant that
were everything back.
Speaker 2: Then everything, well just the Whole East, coast The northeast of. Sports,
yeah for college. Sports rutgers, First Natty rutgers.
Speaker 1: Football always remember eighteen sixty.
Speaker 2: Nine, Yep, so since this game was At Yankee stadium
and it was between two big, schools The New York
giants and The Brooklyn robbins aka The Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: Dodgers just stuck with The robins it's. Nice it's. PLEASANT
i don't hate.
Speaker 2: It they were there kind of.
Speaker 1: Scouting, actually Every Major League baseball team should be named
after a.
Speaker 2: BIRD i like the. Bird give me thirty different. BIRDS
i like the bird. Teams we should have a bird. League, okay,
YEAH i.
Speaker 1: Could we could do. It there's thirty different types.
Speaker 2: Birds he got, hawks, Falcons, orioles. Orioles, yeah picking names
that aren't in THE mr right? Now, yeah Blue. Jays
how many bird teams? Are?
Speaker 1: Are like Five, cardinals Blue Jays? Orioles oh, shit just.
Three i've only recently picked up baseball again.
Speaker 2: Again but you grew up in. Baseball not like the
teams have changed that.
Speaker 1: Much just The. Nationals, Really, yeah it's the last time
you paid attention or rep did The?
Speaker 2: Expos, yeah, WHICH i don't know why they want to
put a team back In montreal like you and me
as people that grew up WATCHING Nl east, teams like
remember that that stadium was empty. CONSTANTLY i don't.
Speaker 1: Know have you seen The expo? Documentary, NO i didn't watch. It.
Now they used to care when they were, good when
they were. Stacked in, fact the year that they had the,
strike they probably would have won The World.
Speaker 2: Series, oh The braids would have come back and won that.
Division they were never gonna make the.
Speaker 1: Play expos were gonna win The World.
Speaker 2: SERIES i think they Had randy And pedro on the staff. Too,
YEAH i think very Young, vlad BUT i think they Head.
Lad they Had Larry walker, also or no they, didn't they.
DIDN'T i just remember it was a stacked.
Speaker 1: Team, YEA i was good. Duck, Yeah i'll watch it
at some.
Speaker 2: Point so these teams wanted to get A jewish guy
on their, team, okay because they wanted to appeal to
The it was representation, matters, basically like there's a Huge
jewish population In New. York to sell tickets and to
get more interests from The jewish. POPULATION dei back, then
they wanted to get A jewish player on the. Team, yeah, literally,
Yes so they expressed interest In, berg who had a
good game and his senior year was captain and he
did become a good college. Player so The giants were really,
interested but they already were stacked at. Shortstop The robins
aka The dodgers weren't very good and they were not
stacked at. Shortstop so they Offered berg a contract and
he signed for five thousand, dollars which is ninety two grand.
Today And berg played his first game for The robins
a month, later On june twenty, seventh nineteen twenty. Three
he was in the.
Speaker 1: Bigs, YEAH i don't think there was much of a
process to work your way. Up. NO i was, like all,
right are you better than the guy that also does
a shift as a.
Speaker 2: Milkman this is around the time, too when farm, systems
the farm system is being. Developed Branch rickey's with The
cardinals at this, point and he's the first person to
do minor.
Speaker 1: League you, also financially just can't only be a minor
league baseball, player certainly not back. Then, no.
Speaker 2: So he takes, this what do you?
Speaker 1: Do what is a child's?
Speaker 2: Game, yeah gro, sir get back get to the.
Speaker 1: Mills, yeah get back in the, mill you, Child Peter,
pan go back to the. Mines so his first game
is against The. Phillies we've been around for a long. Time.
Speaker 2: Yeah he came in at the start of the, set
uh subbing in a shortstop and The dodgers were already The,
Robins dodgers, Whatever they're up thirteen to. Four Uh berg
had five plays at short caught a line drive to
start a game ending double. Play he was one for,
two scored a. Run nice little start to the. Career
they win or, lose they.
Speaker 1: WON i think you intentionally added that that note to
take a shot at. Name seems like it seems like
you just really wanted to needle me With, Oh phillies.
Speaker 2: Lost, yeah The phillies lost a random game in nineteen twenty.
Three eat.
Speaker 1: It i'm so. Upset eat, it. BITCH i think we
do have the most losses in professional sports. History.
Speaker 2: YEAH i, mean you, know he's been around for over
one hundred years and they play one hundred and phil
happened games a year For.
Speaker 1: Yeah i'm also just going to Claim Oakland athletic or
whatever they, are The. Athletics they're just a team without a.
City they're. Championships Take, phillies they're The.
Speaker 2: PHILADELPHIA'S i claimed The Atlanta hawks for, say they won
a championship At Saint, Loui so count.
Speaker 1: It, yeah if it happened in my, city it counts
in my.
Speaker 2: City so for the, Season berg wasn't, great, though he
hit one eighty seven and made twenty one errors in
forty seven. Games after the season was, over he went
abroad To paris and hung out, there and for whatever,
reason just because he was a, GENIUS i, guess took
thirty two different classes at The, sorbonne which is like,
There harvard or.
Speaker 1: WHATEVER i couldn't tell you what that.
Speaker 2: Is it's a very prestigious.
Speaker 1: UNIVERSITY i am acting like my father when he went
to my. Graduation you just said. SOMETHING i have no
idea what it.
Speaker 2: Was thought it was ice. Cream, oh a little sorbon Little.
Speaker 1: Sorbonne, yeah it really cleanses the.
Speaker 2: Palate, yeah, Oh i'd love A sorbonne after a bag,
at just a nice pool of cool Sorbond after spring
training rolls around the next year and they're, like, hey
did you train this off Season and he was like,
NAH i was In paris going to. School and they were, like,
yeah we can tell.
Speaker 1: You come back. Fat he just came back, shitty like
he hadn't swung a bat since his last, game just
a ton of bag. Gets.
Speaker 2: Yeah so they're, like, okay well you are getting demoted
to The Minneapolis millers And berg is, like, dude fuck
this and back to The.
Speaker 1: Mills.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah he's about to quit. Baseball but by Mid,
april he just sucks it up and reports for duty or.
Whatever he crushes in the minor, leagues hits three point,
thirty but kind of slumps and gets put back on the.
Bench he was lent to The toledo Mud hens and
became the starting shortstop there when they're current starting shortstops another, Bird,
yeah Mud. Hens, yeah see that'd be so. Easy, yeah
the Mud hens needed a shortstop because their starter. Rabbit
hellgeth was he refused to pay a ten dollars fine
for poor play back when they used to find people
for playing like, shit bring that back, Right, yeah, dude
you've gone to, like oh for Fifteen, YEAH i think
they do do, that like unofficially, still like if you
make like a base running, error you'll get fined by
like the players will be like, you it's one hundred.
Speaker 1: Dollars you have like a swear.
Speaker 2: Jar, yeah it's The, yeah they do a lot of
teams to do poor.
Speaker 1: Play jar just. Throwating, yeah this little thing at the
end of the. Season and, YEAH i guess the best
player statistically at the one end of the year gets
all the. Money, yeah that would be awesome that every
team that's the. Bonus every team should do that quarterback,
play you throw an interception thousand. DOLLARS i, mean you
can't make them scared to throw it for every touchdown you,
know five thousand dollars bonus or every interception we dock fifteen, thousand,
okay and it could.
Speaker 2: Bounce that would be funny if they had in, contracts
like because you, know you hit a certain, number you get, bonuses,
Right like you throw twenty touchdowns or hit twenty home,
runs you get a. Bonus, yeah it'd be funny if
they were, like, yeah twenty, interceptions.
Speaker 1: You get a d. Bonus you actually.
Speaker 2: Pay you're, penalized, yeah for throwing that many.
Speaker 1: Played for free this year you're in the. Hole you
gotta resign our contract just to you almost like three
years of. Labor.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah so he plays because the other guy's, Like
i'm not paying this fucking. FINE a major league scout
was there for The dodgers to see if he had
gotten any, better but they were, like, yeah, no all all,
glove no. Bat but by nineteen twenty, Five berg starting
to show promise as a hitter again in the minor,
leagues and The Chicago White sox exercised an option on
him and picked him up for six, grand and he
went to The White. Sox, well you're twenty, six, okay
nineteen twenty six.
Speaker 1: A franchise in, turmoil even though it's been like almost a,
decade but probably still but still probably feeling the. Ramifications
The White sox have a pretty grim. History it's not
a good. Organization this is an old. Organization, listen we're
gonna talk about him uh on My patreon episode for
a little.
Speaker 2: Bit The White Sox, yeah hell. Yeah So berg is, like,
Yeah i'll play for, you But i'm not going to
spring training Cause i'm going To Columbia law. School and
The White sox are, Like god damn, It so they
have to sign another dude uh to play shortstop while
he's at law, school And berg only plays in forty one.
Games he goes back To columbia the following, year and
The White sox Owner Charles kamiski is, LIKE i will
give you more, Money.
Speaker 1: Kimiski, Park, YEAH i will give you.
Speaker 2: More money if you just skip law school for the
love Of, god And berg is, like, Nah i'm gonna
be late for the nineteen twenty seven season going back
to law. School, finally one of his professors is, like
oh my, God i'll talk to the dean and we'll
make something work out where.
Speaker 1: You get an extra. Degree.
Speaker 2: Yeah they're, like, well you can take extra classes in
the fall after the season's. Over go play, baseball you, Moron.
Speaker 1: Yeah please just take classes when we don't have a. Season. Yeah,
Reasonably like a professor steps, in it's, like what are you?
Speaker 2: Doing just go, play? Idiot, yeah so he goes to.
Speaker 1: Play they paid off the, professor that's what it. Was.
Speaker 2: Yeah comisky's just like calls. Him he's, like, LOOK i
NEED i need you to get this out Of. Alield
so he's mostly still backing.
Speaker 1: Up we had an athlete recently that has kind of
flirted with outside occupations other than. SPORTS i remember When
Josh brosen got. Drafted he was, Like i'm more interested
in like becoming a.
Speaker 2: Doctor, yeah so not counting like podcasting or anything like.
Speaker 1: That, yeah let's not count. Podcasts and that's something you
can do while you. Play, yeah as is evident for
every other player having a.
Speaker 2: PODCAST i think there was wasn't there A Florida state
player who like a cornerback who was really good who
but he was A rhodes. Scholar he wanted to become a.
Speaker 1: Doctor probably that sounds.
Speaker 2: RIGHT i think.
Speaker 1: That i'm just trying to think of, like name, brands name.
VALUE i can't.
Speaker 2: Think of anyone that, Big, okay because why would. You
there's no doctor on earth that makes as much money as.
Speaker 1: As Andrew luck just quit football.
Speaker 2: Early, yeah but he still works in.
Speaker 1: Football he's A gm yeah For. Stanford BUT i think
he was trying to do other stuff before that and
then football always. Comes. Colin, yeah he.
Speaker 2: Just didn't want to be in pain.
Speaker 1: Anymore, yeah no, pain no brain. Injuries got out.
Speaker 2: EARLY i respect it to.
Speaker 1: A, degree or you could just be Like Philip rivers
getting back out. There it for slinging.
Speaker 2: IT i think he's in great, shape though he's chasing
ten kids.
Speaker 1: Around they were all in the press. Bus oh my.
Speaker 2: God they needed to need two sweets for that. Family it's. Insane.
Yeah so In august The White, sox their entire catching
core gets, hurt all three of. Them they have no,
like even their emergence catcher, out so they're, like, fuck
who do we? Use and they end up going With.
Burke they Moved berg to. Catcher he did a good
job filling in and, uh catcher?
Speaker 1: Sucked what playing? It? YEAH i played catcher growing up
my like entire. Youth it's the worst.
Speaker 2: Position oh, yeah you get.
Speaker 1: Abused everyone like blames you for things.
Speaker 2: Too what do you get blamed for not framing up
with strike in fourth?
Speaker 1: Grade? Essentially, yeah it's, like, dude you got to get
a better. FRAME i don't, know, man it's a bad.
Speaker 2: Pitch, yeah why do you want me to frame?
Speaker 1: That that would like stopping pitches when it's you, know
fucking twelve year old's thrown in the. Dirt.
Speaker 2: Yeah, also, like how do you frame a ball that's
going forty miles an? Hour the umpire can see it
the entire. Time it's a fair.
Speaker 1: Point, yeah it's.
Speaker 2: Not it's not like a ninety five hour fastball where
it's LIKE i kind of saw.
Speaker 1: It made an entire meal between, yeah the release and
me catching.
Speaker 2: IT i clocked that thing the whole. Way So berg fills.
In but The White socks are, like all, right well
we need a real. Catcher so, they, uh we're gonna
get The phillies Catcher Frank, bruggy and he was gonna
catch for them against The New York. Yankees but The
White sox pitcher who was going for that, Day Ted,
lyons was, Like i'm not pitching to. Him and they
were like why and they were like he was, Like,
ted the pitcher was, like he's too. Fat i'm not
pitching that fat.
Speaker 1: Fuck the guy was too fat to be a, catcher.
Speaker 2: According to the. Pitcher he was, Like i'm. Not he's
not gonna be my battery, mate that fat.
Speaker 1: Fuck, yeah but he's gonna use his body to stop more.
Speaker 2: Balls he didn't want. It he was, Like i'm not
throwing to. Fatty.
Speaker 1: Okay so in holding your teammates, ACCOUNTABLE i suppose.
Speaker 2: Yeah so they're, like, well, okay who do you want to? Catch?
Dude who do you want to be the?
Speaker 1: Catcher he was Like, burke But, BERGIN i just think
like a bigger target would be nice visually to pitch.
Speaker 2: Too apparently not for this. Guy and this is what's
really weird about it, too that he didn't want the fat.
Speaker 1: Guy catchers were like notoriously fat for like fifty years
in baseball. History that is the like, stereotype, right the
sloppy fat guy is the. Catcher, YEAH i mean Even
john C riley's a.
Speaker 2: Catcher that's the first one that came to mind in
for the love of the. Game for the love of the,
game obviously you Have saan, lot the fat. Kids the
catcher being a, catcher you should be. Fat, yeah that
was a fat child playing. Catcher this is why it's
especially odd this Pitcher. Lions he's a. Knuckleballer the ball's going. Everywhere,
again you need to use that boy to shield. It,
yeah block the.
Speaker 1: Ball you get a smaller, body that's gonna be more pass.
Speaker 2: Balls so In berg's first game as a starting, catcher
did he have like twelve pass? Balls he's catching a.
Knuckleballer and, NOW i don't know if you caught WHAT
i said. Earlier it's nineteen twenty eight and they're playing The.
Yankees murder shill, Yep Ruth gert the whole fucking T
they beat The yankees six to.
Speaker 1: Three, wow it's all because of the game he called
as a Catch, yep they Held ruth hitless and wouldn't
make it in today's. Game, YEAH i guess.
Speaker 2: Not, No i'm.
Speaker 1: Kidding Uh And.
Speaker 2: Berg apparently made the defensive highlight of the game when
he caught a bad. THROW i don't know if it
was like up the line or whatever from the, outfield
spun and, tugged tagged Out Joe duggan at the, Plate
Her dugan at the, plate and, yeah he caught eight
more times and, uh finally to prepare for the next.
Season berg took it seriously and actually. Prepared do you
know how he trained in the.
Speaker 1: OFFSEASON i imagine it wasn't? Weightlifting, no, No So i'm
trying to think of something physical but. Fun it was
he doing like a tight rope?
Speaker 2: Walking, no, no he was a lumberjack even better in
The Adirondack.
Speaker 1: MOUNTAINS i guess he didn't want to practice law.
Speaker 2: ANYMORE i you, KNOW i don't know like this, guy
it becomes a theme later in, life like he can
never decide what to.
Speaker 1: DO i can relate with.
Speaker 2: That, yeah he just can't pick a.
Speaker 1: Lane so many people in college were that.
Speaker 2: Way you have enough credit hours to, graduate but not
enough credit hours in any like specific to. Graduate, yeah
like you've got two hundred credit hours but not enough
in any lane to get, out.
Speaker 1: And then they just give you inner disciplinary studies.
Speaker 2: Have put even the college at that point like please.
Speaker 1: LEAVE i wonder if on resumes people see that and
they're like oh, this this kid has no idea what he's.
Speaker 2: Doing, YEAH i mean THEY i feel LIKE i never
even put my major on a.
Speaker 1: Resume you didn't put YOUR. Gpa, no, NO i never did.
Speaker 2: Either.
Speaker 1: No, ABSOLUTELY i certainly don't put my fucking education on
my resume at. All NOW i literally just PUT Ba.
Missouri it might, just, yeah be like one line.
Speaker 2: Just in case somebody hiring went.
Speaker 1: There nobody ever checks for like transcripts or Legitimate.
Speaker 2: Oh you could FUCKING i could Put harvard on.
Speaker 1: There. NOW i know you don't have to pay for college.
Kids you can just say you Went wait till you're thirty,
one and then you could just start, saying, yeah you went. There,
no you can literally do it when you're fucking twenty.
Two that's. True they might, you but you're more likely
to be asked at that, age unless you're like just
applying for marketing or some dumb. SHIT i worked FOR
nbc And Golf. Channel they didn't ask for, anything no,
proof that's. Fair it was, like all, right we just
take your word for.
Speaker 2: It, yeah why would you? Lie why would?
Speaker 1: You? SO i think the move is to move to
a college, town hang out and maybe, work, right like
make a little money just doing a bullshit. Job do
hang out with your, boys have a good, time do
all the college. Stuff maybe even join a fraternity on,
below just, unofficially be like one of those unofficial. Ringer
jake said, that you, guys they had a bunch of
like community college kids in their. House we had a,
couple uh not for our specific, fraternity but we knew
fraterniteys that would pledge kids From. Valencia yeah AT ucf and,
yeah same. Thing but, honestly don't even need to go
to community. College just hang, out work, job work forty
hours a, week, party have a good. Time then when
you're twenty, two apply for real jobs and just say you. Graduated,
yeah save yourself a bunch of.
Speaker 2: Money it's not the worst. Idea it's. Not it's not
the worst.
Speaker 1: Idea just. LIE i, mean people lie about their credentials
all the.
Speaker 2: Time but the one thing you can't miss out on is.
Speaker 1: The, experience the college. Experience yeah, yeah, yeah classes taught me, nothing,
really very. Few any technical KNOWLEDGE i have with, cameras,
audio everything is all self. Taught this is all just
trial and error or.
Speaker 3: YouTube but you learned the, theory the. Philosophy sure it
was a total, waste BUT i had a good. Time,
yeah AND i got to play inter real sports, party
go to.
Speaker 2: Socials it's really just like a container where you can grow.
Speaker 1: Up now it's on the. Consequences.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah it's a little play pen where you can
fall down get like kind of, hurt but not. Really.
Yeah so by the end of the next, Season berg
was the starting catcher for The White sox and he
was really. Good he Was he led THE al in
caught stealing percentage with third in THE al and double
plays by a catcher and was fifth in The American
league and assists by a.
Speaker 1: Catcher we was just talking about a goddamn baseball player
on this. Episode there's gotta be some type of like
left turn.
Speaker 2: Here, yep there.
Speaker 1: Is but you're getting like really in the weeds with his.
Speaker 2: Career so he he he does great and he becomes
a really really, solid uh defensive. Catcher like he becomes,
LIKE i don't, Know I'm alina.
Speaker 1: Brother he got neck tats, TOO i.
Speaker 2: Wish during The, winner he takes a job at A
Wall street law. Firm then he goes to The. Indians
he kind of his career falters in The indians kind
of let him. Go he keeps playing for a while
and he gets invited to tour do A mlb tour In,
japan AN Mlb All Star tour because they needed to
catch it in nineteen thirty. Four people that went Included Babe,
ruth lu Gerrig Jimmy, Fox Lefty, gomez and they're going
to play against The Japanese All Star team. Whatever on
nineteen thirty, four while the rest of the team was,
Playing berg went To Saint Luke's hospital Into sukiji and
said he was going to visit the daughter of The
american ambassador who was in the. Hospital but he got
there and immediately went to the roof of the, hospital
which was one of the tallest buildings In, tokyo and
filmed the entire port with his movie camera in nineteen thirty, four.
Speaker 1: It's a cinema file. Himself or.
Speaker 2: He knows that war is. Coming, oh he's always spying
on The. Japanese, yeah it's nineteen thirty. Four The japanese
are balls deep In china. Already, yeah they're Bucking, yeah The.
Empire we have The philippines right. There he's a smart.
GUY i think he knows that war is, imminent and he's,
like you, know this is pre. Satellites can't he get
hired by THE us?
Speaker 1: Government will happen? Well or is he just doing this
this as a citizen of the.
Speaker 2: World this he's doing. Freelance but when The japanese do
Hit Pearl, harbor and but you also.
Speaker 1: Get the sweet trip To, Japan, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
we you, know don't have any beef with them at that.
Point you have a good time.
Speaker 2: Of open, beef but we know that beef is, broiler
there's simmer.
Speaker 1: Intention.
Speaker 2: Yeah So japan Hits Pearl Harbor december, seventh nineteen forty,
one and, hey that'll live in.
Speaker 1: Infamy berg accepts a position With Nelson Rocker's office of
THE i thought you're gonna say the Milk.
Speaker 2: Boys, no, no. No he accepts a position With rockefeller
in The office of The coordinator Of Inter American. Affairs
so he immediately once he's, working it's he's in intelligence
at this. Point so he immediately gives them his footage
Of Tokyo, bay turns it over so now.
Speaker 1: They so was he kind of positioning himself for, this
like he was all about becoming a.
Speaker 2: SPY i think he shot that stuff because he thought
it would be useful, eventually or he shot.
Speaker 1: It as a hobby and then was, like, oh this
is actually.
Speaker 2: Interesting, yeah it could be either work because he's a weird.
Speaker 1: Guy they're up to, something he's.
Speaker 2: Yeah so he becomes an intelligence agent and his first
job is to go to The caribbean In South america
to under the auspice of monitoring the health and fitness
Of american troops that were stationed, There but really he
was there to suss out just how uh how much
The South americans liked The nazis and how much The
nazis were entrenched In South. America he comes back and he's,
like we're. Good they're not gonna get over. There we're,
fine and they're not really into. Him then he joins THE,
oss which is the precursor to THE cia in Their
Special operations. Branch he runs The Yugoslavia desk for THE,
oss organizing guerrilla warfare And, yugoslavia making sure they get, weapons,
shipments all this type of, stuff.
Speaker 1: Maybe causing problems down the. Line do you have In?
YUGOSLAVIA a little?
Speaker 2: Later you, know who knows What moburg.
Speaker 1: Did he's single handedly responsible for everything that happened in The.
Speaker 2: Balkans, yeah, yeah and he. Helped he helped like recruit
and Prepare Slavak americans to get dropped in and help
lead resistance efforts In.
Speaker 1: Yugoslavia want to blame The bosnian genocide on this guy
on Mo? Burg, yeah a glove first catcher for the
white sox mm hmm, okay like his, actions the butterfly
effect ends up being the reason why The serbs just
go in and try to wipe.
Speaker 2: Everything but Without, berg maybe we don't have a joke
and A. Djokovic two goats lost. Forever They're, serbs though they're, Fine,
like maybe they don't get as, POWERFUL i, Guess.
Speaker 1: Yeah there would have been A bosnian. Equal yeah that
got wiped out otherwise.
Speaker 2: Exactly, yeah they never made it out of the out
of their own country's. League so in forty three he's,
Like i'm tired of being a desk. JOCKEY i want
to do something. Real so he's assigned To Project, larsen which.
Speaker 1: He.
Speaker 2: Is the mission is to Kidnap italian rocket and missile
specialists and bring them to THE. Us why do we Want?
Speaker 1: Italians there was a couple guys WHO i guess were
okay at? It, Uh and they All italian rocket.
Speaker 2: Specialists, yeah there was one guy in. Particular how's their space? Program?
Look they were it doesn't exist because we stole. Them,
YEAH i guess, so, yeah we got it off the.
Ground the other reason they wanted.
Speaker 1: Them, look we took The nazi. Scientist that makes, sense
but we don't want The. Italians The italians are lazy as.
Speaker 2: Fuck, well we guess you got to cover all your,
bases all, right even if they're. Useless you'd rather find that,
out and then you're just.
Speaker 1: Kind of let them go in your, COUNTRY i.
Speaker 2: Suppose, yeah then let The soviets take them in case
they're not.
Speaker 1: Used you cass a whide, net all. Right, so but
of like the axis, powers The italians just.
Speaker 2: Yeah, useless absolutely. Useless they also wanted to like essentially
Interview italian physicists to figure out how close The germans
And heisenberg were to a.
Speaker 1: Bomb, well Z oppenheimer taught us he was saying aboutage in.
Speaker 2: Himself heisenberg, was, yeah but they didn't. Know we didn't know,
This it's. Fair so we needed to get as much
info we could about the. BOMB i actually don't even
know if that's.
Speaker 1: Legitimate it's a good movie point, Though, yeah a little
plot point.
Speaker 2: There in forty, Four berg heads For. Europe he's mostly
there to interview physicists and try to convince several to
Leave europe and work in The United, states possibly on
The Manhattan. Project In, november THE oss gets word That
heisenberg is going To, Zurich switzerland to give a. Lecture
they Get burg a ticket to the.
Speaker 1: Lecture zurch doesn't really get talked about enough as like
an elite, city beautiful. Country. Switzerland, yeah, heard it's.
Speaker 2: AMAZING i feel like it's one of those countries, though
where you, know most times you, travel even when you
go to Like New zealand or, something, like your money goes.
Speaker 1: Further, yeah but you go To switzerland and it goes. Nowhere.
Yeah it's, like uh, yeah all the banks are, here bud,
yeah dollar here. Strong.
Speaker 2: Yeah that coffee is Fifty american. Shit, fuck god damn.
It these mountains beautiful fuck fuck.
Speaker 1: Fuck it must be how Like australians Or canadians feel
when they come over here with their.
Speaker 2: MONEY i, mean that's how They're they're all pissing their
pants About World cup. Prices it's, like, yeah, dude you live.
It it's being held in a, humongous rich country that's
easy to get.
Speaker 1: To mm. Hm World cup though it's between three. Countries,
yeah so maybe they're going To. MEXICO i would, say
if you want a, discount go To, mexico. ASSHOLE i
don't know what to tell you. Pay So, yeah what's
crazy too is that's these prices and they're all being
held in humongous.
Speaker 2: Stadiums we have the.
Speaker 1: INFRASTRUCTURE i don't know why we should just host Everythingle,
one THE, Us, japan Anybody england that already has these
like stadiums that are pre, made they should host Every,
olympics Every World, cup because then you put them in
these other countries and they have to spend billions of
dollars in infrastructure that they end up ever use.
Speaker 2: In, yeah guitar using. Slaves brazil just lets a thousand
people starve a day or something.
Speaker 1: Like it's it's. Insane, YEAH i, mean if you those
are some of my favorite. Photos though we wouldn't have
those photos if it wasn't for Like brazil building this
world class stadium that they leave empty for the next.
Speaker 2: Decade oh they it just it looks, like, uh it returned,
legend it returns to the. Jungle it. Does, yeah those
are sweet. Photos like as soon as soon as it's,
over the jungle just eats. It so he goes To
zurich and he his whole point at that lecture is
he needs to sit, there listen To heisenberg and see
how close The germans are to a. Bomb Now berg
is an incredibly intelligent, man so, like if you pick
up on, anything you, know if you think that The
germans are getting close to a bomb from what you
hear From heisenberg on this, lecture here's a gun and
you're gonna shoot.
Speaker 1: Him, okay so he's gonna be an. Assassin.
Speaker 2: Yeah they were, like if you Think, heisenberg If heisenberg
drops even the weirdest blink when he talks about the,
bomb get him alone and put a bullet in his fucking. Head.
Okay So berg attends the lecture and he listens to
What heisenberg says.
Speaker 1: And he realizes he has nothing, yep and he doesn't
kill him or that was a little self preservation on his.
Speaker 2: PART i kind of wondered that, Too because he.
Speaker 1: Kills, heisenberg he's gonna die.
Speaker 2: Too, well they're In, switzerland so he'll just get.
Speaker 1: Arrested you gotta Imagine. Heisenberg he probably has didn't come.
Alone some, guards, yeah some. Protection, yeah so he takes that.
Shot he's getting taken.
Speaker 2: Out, yeah there's a very good. Chance berg is then
sent To italy to Persuade Antonio, feri who was the
head of the supersonic research program For, italy to come
to The United states and work on supersonic. Aircraft this
is on direct orders FROM. Fdr, okay he gets, Him
he TURNS fa brings him to THE us to work
on our supersonic.
Speaker 1: Planes turn And ferry has multiple.
Speaker 2: Meanings, yeah yeah it. Does but he turned them too
into a patriot because, really what's the? Pitch? Though the
pitch is, like do you want to live In? Russia
we're here because The russians aren't gonna, ask.
Speaker 1: So do you think that's the same question they had To.
SNOWDEN i, mean it's just it just seems Like operation Paper.
Clip it would just be the easiest sales pitch of all.
Speaker 2: Time like have you seen pictures Of? America have you
seen pictures of The Soviet? Union you're gonna go to
one of those two, places which would.
Speaker 1: You prefer Classic western. Propaganda, Yeah i'm Saying Joseph stalm
was a bad.
Speaker 2: MAN i don't. Believe then they just get to The Soviet,
Union they're, like oh, god everything was actually. Correct oh
fuck fuck.
Speaker 1: Fuck recently, though there's a lot of fun people on
the left that are like really into communism that just
pump Up Joey, Yeah i'm, sure and pump up The Soviet.
Speaker 2: Union, yeah it's. All it's all just because they were
part Of World war, Two, like so you we were
awesome and.
Speaker 1: Tough. Listen they played a vital role and helped us
win the. War but they are not the reason we
won the. War, no they just threw. Bodies they just
Threw BUT i will Remember stalingrad for THE i, will you,
know tip my cap for their contribution for basically like
for just being a meat. Grinder, yeah like they just
distracted The.
Speaker 2: Germans essentially classic.
Speaker 1: Mistake ALTHOUGH i don't think they're Gonna, yeah Like i've
said many, times and they're not gonna do to The
germans what they did if we're not a giving them
stuff and we're not being more importantly destroying every Fucking
german factory on the face of the. Earth, yeah so you're.
Welcome hitler might have succeeded Invading russia in the, Winter, yeah.
Speaker 2: If they could still make enough.
Speaker 1: Tanks turns out we cut that supply. Line.
Speaker 2: Yep so after he Gets After berg Gets fairy to
immigrate to The United, States roosevelt, COMMENTED i see that
mo bug is still catching very.
Speaker 1: WELL i don't know if there's many people that have
transitioned from shortstop to catcher.
Speaker 2: More than you would. Think, ACTUALLY i think.
Speaker 1: It's like once your knees, go, yeah we're gonna put
you in a position where your knees are gonna get.
Speaker 2: Worse, well it's more of the type of. THING a
lot of dudes with like big arms at, shortstop but
maybe like not great. Range if they don't if they
can't move to, third they'll like move him to catcher
or first. Gotcha but at first base is obviously a
wast of the.
Speaker 1: Arm it's just another shot at first.
Speaker 2: Base Bryce harper literally plays first base because he can't fucking. Throw,
yeah but he can. Scoop i'm just saying that you
don't throw the ball out at first.
Speaker 1: Base it just seems like you're trying to take as
many Shots Bryce harper as. Possible i'm, Not i'm, not
And i'm just not gonna stand for. It all.
Speaker 2: RIGHT i Think Bryce harper is a very fine, player very,
fine very fine, sure certainly top ten of his. Era
just just go on BEFORE i punch.
Speaker 1: You in nineteen fifty, one after The, War berg begged
THE cia to let him go.
Speaker 2: To israel to work. There oh, no but they denied his.
Request in fifty, two he was hired by THE cia
to Use World WAR ii contacts to get information on
The soviet atomic bomb, project.
Speaker 1: Where he was denied By.
Speaker 2: Israel, no he's noted by THE, us like we're not sending.
Speaker 1: Either, okay so maybe he was trying to work on
behalf Of.
Speaker 2: Israel, Yeah so but he does get he does get
hired to go spy on The soviets and they give
him ten grand plus, expenses And berg just it's like
spring training all over. Again he just doesn't come back kind.
Of he doesn't like go to The. Soviets he just
goes To europe and does. Nothing.
Speaker 1: Does he go on like a nice little vacation.
Speaker 2: Basically and THE cia officer who was like in charge of,
him was, like, yeah he's real, flaky And i'm Sure
Charles kamiski was, like, YEAH i fucking, KNOW i could
have told you that.
Speaker 1: He goes to the beat of his own. Drum.
Speaker 2: Yeah for the next twenty, Years berg had no real, job,
dude much.
Speaker 1: Respect did he just kind of like figure out loopholes
in his time and intelligence to fund his.
Speaker 2: Retirement, nope he just lived off friends and family who
go to couch the couch, yep who put up with
him because he was charming and. Smart it's not like
he made a ton of money in baseball, Then, No
i'm not live off of. Him, no not general generational
wealth or.
Speaker 1: Anything he lived with his Brother samuel for seventeen, years
never got.
Speaker 2: Married samuel said that he was just like moody and
bored after the. War like he'd been a professional baseball
player and a spy In World war. Two life was
kind of just dull as shit at this.
Speaker 1: Point, YEAH i mean the highest of high's most intense
adrenaline pump in situations you get yourself in and he's.
Speaker 2: Literally catching a knuckleballer While Babe ruth And luke garrig
are at the. Plate he's sent To switzerland to murder
a guy working on the atomic.
Speaker 1: Bomb he's spying on both enemies and technically. Allies what
do you there's.
Speaker 2: Nothing you have literally, peaked there's no there's nothing else to. Do,
see he just spends the rest of his life essentially
like reading. Books his family's, like will you get a,
job and he's just like reading.
Speaker 1: BOOKS i mean that's, why like so many veterans and
a lot of former professional, athletes they kind of get
into this quarter, life midlife crisis once their career is
over because they've been in these like high pressure situations
and now life is just so. Dull they're not working
towards any like immediate goal and, yeah the adrenaline will
never be the.
Speaker 2: Same they're not on a team. Anymore, yeah that really
removes a.
Speaker 1: Lot but granted he's, intelligence he's probably alone a.
Speaker 2: Lot, yeah, yeah, yeah AND i think he is kind
of a lot like he likes being alone a little
bit from WHAT i could. Tell he did receive a
couple votes for The hall Of. Fame didn't get, in
but receive, votes and some people at one point were
like they criticized him for wasting his intellectual talent on
baseball because he was so. Smart he had a law
degree and all this.
Speaker 1: Other, stuff and his law professor pushed him into.
Speaker 2: Baseball, yeah but he did pass the bar and he
did get his law degree as, Well so he has
a law. Degree he is a magnecumlata at Fucking princeton
and an ex baseball player in X by and he's just,
LIKE i don't want to. Work this is.
Speaker 1: Pointless got to put the law degree into practice at some?
Point does he not at least try to take one?
Speaker 2: Case? Nope. Nope and when he was criticized wasting his
intelligence on, baseball he, Replied i'd rather be a ballplayer
than a justice of THE. U. S Supreme.
Speaker 1: Court ain't that the damn?
Speaker 2: TRUTH i couldn't agree. More at one, point he had
received a lot of requests to write his memoirs because
he had lived a very interesting, life but he turned them.
Down he almost started to work on them in nineteen,
sixty but he quit because they had hired like a co,
writer you know WHAT i, mean to do it with
him to write the. Book and the co writer got
really disappointed when he showed up because for some, reason
he thought he was writing the memoirs Of Moe howard
From The Three Stooges.
Speaker 1: Classic, mistake it gets classic mix. Up, yeah he gets
there and he's, like, oh you're not a Three stooge
student had like a way more interest in. Life, No
so this co writer like shows up all giddy and he's, like,
oh who are?
Speaker 2: You And Mo burg is, like fuck this, Justice i'm
not writing. Shit that just.
Speaker 1: Yeah if the guy's not doing like his homework on
who he's brighten, On.
Speaker 2: Yeah this guy was sent to him to do it.
Speaker 1: Right it'd be like if we got invited on another
podcast to talk about ourselves and they're, like who are?
Speaker 2: You oh you're not hardcore.
Speaker 1: History yeah you're Not Dan. Carlin, yeah uh, yeah sorry
fucking about. THAT i guess you're a history podcaster Named. Dan,
yeah just figured dude Be. Carlin So berg Died.
Speaker 2: May nineteen seventy two at the age of. Seventy he
in a fall at his sister's.
Speaker 1: House it, happens, man once you get to a certain,
age you take that. Tumble it's.
Speaker 2: Over it's, done just one. LITTLE a nurse at the
hospital said that his final words, were how did The
mets do?
Speaker 1: Today did they? Lose?
Speaker 2: Surprisingly they? Won, well The.
Speaker 1: Mets were? THEY i mean they became a team on the.
Speaker 2: Sixties, yeah they won The World series in sixty, nine but.
Speaker 1: As a franchise they became like The metropolitans and THIS
i think in sixty the expansion year with sixty so
they were The Miracle mets in sixty Nine Nolan ryan's only.
Ring but did they have like a a previous team
that became The. Mets they were an expansion, team all.
RIGHT i didn't know if they, like, why what the
fuck would he care about The mets just being A
New york.
Speaker 2: Team, YEAH i guess because His New york teams. LEFT
i don't, know all.
Speaker 1: Right, YEAH i thought that was odd. TOO i was,
like what's this connection in The?
Speaker 2: Mets, yeah when you asked about The White sox or, something, Right, LIKE.
Speaker 1: I don't, know if you play the majority of your career,
somewhere you would think they would become a fan of that. Team,
yeah they usually.
Speaker 2: Do, yeah you don't go back to your childhood, team.
Speaker 1: And especially when they didn't exist in your child.
Speaker 2: They, existed so, wait hold. On he died in nineteen seventy,
two so they had existed for twelve.
Speaker 1: Years, yeah it's like my dying words being how Did
AUSTIN fc? Do fuck IF i? Cared or like my
hat right? Now The Round Rock, express.
Speaker 2: How'd they express do? Today? Did he clearly has. Dementia
he's dying, soon it's. Over he's never asked about THE.
Mets once, before he was awarded The Presidential medal Of
freedom By Harry, truman but he declined to accept it
because they wouldn't because he worked for THE. Oss it
was kind of like a. Secret they were just, like
he gets The Presidential medal Of freedom for.
Speaker 1: Reasons, yeah it's like you're almost putting them on blast
out in the. Public, well they just.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't they wouldn't talk about the shit he worked.
Speaker 1: On, yeah so that would essentially just be them are
like exposing, Him, yeah like what's he getting this? For,
okay so he's.
Speaker 2: Intelligence, yeah but he wanted them to expose, him like
he wanted to be, like, no tell him WHAT i.
Did i'm.
Speaker 1: SWEET i mean that's why you get into it right right?
Right every FORMER cia guy now just has a podcast
or goes on a podcast and talks about all the
radshit they.
Speaker 2: Did talked about, everything.
Speaker 1: Same with like seals yea seals love to.
Speaker 2: Talk i'm just like on the highest security clearance.
Speaker 1: Missions everyone that was involved in the Bin Laden ray
just you, know can't shut their. Miles but they.
Speaker 2: PEAKED i don't blame. Them they're Mo. Burg they fucking.
Speaker 1: Peaked so you want, credit, NOW i get it one hundred.
Speaker 2: Percent after he, died his Sister ethel did request and
accept the award on his, behalf and she donated it
to The Baseball hall Of, fame where it sits. Today
Mo burg is the only baseball card on display AT cia.
Headquarters that's. Sweet what's his rookie card go? FOR i don't.
KNOW i would love to find A moburg.
Speaker 1: Card you can get us a Mo burg and it
doesn't even have to be a rookie. Card any year
card on the.
Speaker 2: Set, yeah, Actually i'll look for one after the.
Speaker 1: Game.
Speaker 2: Uh Casey, stangele the manager of The, yankees called him
quote the strangest man to ever play. BASEBALL i think
he was just.
Speaker 1: You, know we had different avenues and different Interest there's
plenty of guys like. That. Now, YEAH i don't necessarily
think that makes you. Interesting it's just, like oh, YEAH
i MEAN i play a child's. Game it's not everything.
Speaker 2: With my extremely adult. Brain but, yeah that's. Oh and
then also in twenty, eighteen a Movie No One saw
was made about, him Starring Paul.
Speaker 1: Rudd what's Called The catcher was a. Spy, Okay Paul
rudd Plays.
Speaker 2: Paul rudd Plays.
Speaker 1: Moburg, Yeah i'm gonna have to do watch a long for.
THAT i.
Speaker 2: Would i've never seen. It at it to the list and,
it's by the, way it's like a loaded cast. Too
it's Like Paul giamatti and like there's a bunch of
people in.
Speaker 1: It do you come out in? Theaters, yeah never heard of.
Speaker 2: It no one saw, it.
Speaker 1: But, yeah that is the story of Mo, burg The
catcher and The. Spy so The catcher in The. Rye, yeah, yeah.
Nice what'd you learn? Today all about this? Dude had
no idea who he. Was at, FIRST i thought it
was gonna be for some, REASON i forgot his, name
but the guy that chased the ambulances AND.
Speaker 2: I think that Was Rude, woodell But i'm not H, YEAH.
Speaker 1: I think his name was A. Rube so it was
a JAKE ebi. SAID i was a little. WIRRIED i was, like,
oh now Is.
Speaker 2: I'm repeat worried we had done this guy, before AND
i searched as much AS i could and uh couldn't find.
Speaker 1: It SO i was, like, okay and we've been doing this.
Show we're gonna go on year. Six, yeah in twenty twenty,
six so.
Speaker 2: Yeah holy, shit feels like just.
Speaker 1: YESTERDAY i, know maybe we'll blow up this.
Speaker 2: Year this is the. Year this is the.
Speaker 1: Year people will go back watch the archives be, like,
wow this is an entirely different. Show he kind Of,
yeah who's today's. Hitler i'm gonna go with, us even
wasting our time on The. ITALIANS.
Speaker 2: Fdr, YEAH fdr Is todave's.
Speaker 1: Hitler for trying to like Hire italian rocket. Scientists, yeah
we didn't need. Them they're pretty.
Speaker 2: USELESS i Think fairy was, useful IF i, recall BUT
i don't. Know a lot of it was a lot
of wanting to get to them was because we thought
they might have inside in phone what The germans were
doing and how close they were.
Speaker 1: To, shit and they probably. Didn't they were, like and
they tell us.
Speaker 2: Nothing we went into the laboratory and they threw spaghetti
at us and throw it to. Leave they laughed at.
Us they're probably late they were almost certainly they were.
Speaker 1: Late so The germans, like, no get the fuck, out
you leave now, LATE i don't fund you here you
a joke of for. People fun episode, though good, episode, Yeah.
Speaker 2: Berg, dope, dude we Might, YEAH i think we should
do watch long for The catcher was a. Spy let's
do it With.
Speaker 1: Paul check out the Patreon patreon dot Com Software History
lower tier two episodes every week that Drop wednesday And,
friday and then we have an upper tier where we
do an additional sports show and then bonus old content
sports show that covers like modern. Sports yeah, yeah, yeah
like things that are happening in real.
Speaker 2: Time make picks and stuff like. That.
Speaker 1: Yep and then, yeah additional content as, well some older
stuff that we're kind of digging out of the. Archives.
Yeah and then we're, yeah released some new stuff as.
Well check out our sketches and our video on YouTube
at Softcore history on.
Speaker 2: YouTube hell, yeah got some new ones coming. Out doing, Well,
yeah doing really. Well thank you for supporting, Them thank
you for supporting.
Speaker 1: Us, hello, guys see you later for damn just Rom Rob,
fox you just got a saucer