Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Hi, everyone, Welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen House along
Speaker 2: with you from Progressive Field this week as we join
Speaker 2: you from downtown Cleveland. Guardians opening up post All Star
Speaker 2: Break play with a nice long home stand against the
Speaker 2: Athletics and then the Baltimore Orioles at the start of
Speaker 2: next week. Coming up on our show this week, we
Speaker 2: will hear from Paul Gillespie that will fill us in
Speaker 2: on the Guardians amateur draft completed last weekend. He's the
Speaker 2: senior vice president of Scouting for the Guardians. We'll also
Speaker 2: visit with Sandy Alamar Junior some All Star memories and
Speaker 2: he certainly had one of the great games in franchise
Speaker 2: history as an All Star back in nineteen ninety seven.
Speaker 2: And it's another edition of at the Ballpark with Senior
Speaker 2: Vice President Bob Dbiascio that's coming up a little bit
Speaker 2: later on in our show. But first our weekend review
Speaker 2: and a short week it was as the Guardians got
Speaker 2: back to play post All Star Break with a Friday
Speaker 2: night or at home against the Athletics, and what a
Speaker 2: start for the Guardians as they got the scoring started
Speaker 2: in the second inning with a memorable moment for young
Speaker 2: Jonathan Rodriguez.
Speaker 3: Then two to two hit in the air deep left
Speaker 3: center field. It's got a chance. It is gone to
Speaker 3: the bleachers. Jonathan ron Regez has taken one out of
Speaker 3: here to the bleachers and left center. It's his first
Speaker 3: home run in the big leagues. And Jonathan ron Regez
Speaker 3: has given Cleveland a one nothing lead here. In the second,
Speaker 3: ron Regez and played in thirteen games last year with
Speaker 3: Cleveland and didn't go deep, and that's number one in
Speaker 3: his young major league career.
Speaker 2: In the third, Brian Rochio got a board with a
Speaker 2: one out double, bringing on hell Martinez to the plate.
Speaker 3: The one and it swung on wind drive into left center.
Speaker 3: That's of a hit, stumbling hitting third as Rokio, he'll
Speaker 3: still be wave Coleman's score without a throw to nothing.
Speaker 3: Cleveland on an RBI single to left center by on
Speaker 3: hell Martinez is thirty fifth run banded in. He had
Speaker 3: eight last week and he gets a big one there
Speaker 3: and Cleveland with a to nothing lead.
Speaker 2: Here in the third. And then David Fry was up
Speaker 2: next runner at first, one down, Cleveland up to nothing
Speaker 2: in the third.
Speaker 4: The pitch and it.
Speaker 3: Swung out a trill to deep left field hallway.
Speaker 5: Back and go.
Speaker 4: David Fry.
Speaker 2: It's his sport.
Speaker 3: And Cleveland has jumped all over JP sears for four
Speaker 3: runs here in the first three innings.
Speaker 4: And what a sight to see David.
Speaker 3: Fry go deep, just his fourth home run, giving him
Speaker 3: seven rby eyes and Cleveland now with a four nothing lead.
Speaker 2: So the Guardians needing just a triple to hit for
Speaker 2: the cycle as a team in that inning. And it
Speaker 2: was Jose Ramirez who took care of that.
Speaker 3: The pitch swung on a bloopert that's carrying the deep
Speaker 3: left center and it's off the wall. Ramirez hit that
Speaker 3: on the front football bottle.
Speaker 1: You'll go to.
Speaker 4: Third relay through not a time.
Speaker 3: Jose Ramirez in feet first sliding. We'll see how it
Speaker 3: has scored. That looked like a blooper when it left
Speaker 3: the band. He was swinging off his front foot with
Speaker 3: one hand and it carried to the wall and left center.
Speaker 3: And Cleveland has indeed hint for the cycle here in
Speaker 3: the third as Ramirez is given credit for a triple. Well,
Speaker 3: I'll tell you one thing, Oakland in the outfield has
Speaker 3: not been very good this ending. Carlos Santana brought Ramirez
Speaker 3: home with a sackfly that made it a four run
Speaker 3: third inning and a five nothing Guardians lead. And they
Speaker 3: were back at it in the fourth, two men on
Speaker 3: and the hot hitting Brian Rochio at the plate. Here's
Speaker 3: the pitch and it's swung on and drilled near the
Speaker 3: gap left center that walls way back, and that ball
Speaker 3: bangs off the wall on his way home, scoring is Wilson.
Speaker 2: Right behind him is Nailer.
Speaker 3: There's no crow into second with a two run double
Speaker 3: is Rochio and the Guardians now leaded seven nothing. But
Speaker 3: Brian Rochio has been a different player since returning from
Speaker 3: Triple A Columbus good, shorter swing serving him well, and
Speaker 3: that time he cranks went off the wall for a
Speaker 3: double his ninth but now with fourteen runs batted in.
Speaker 3: Thea's got on the board in the fifth with a
Speaker 3: solo home run from All star Brent Rooker, but the
Speaker 3: Guardians got that run right back in the bottom of
Speaker 3: the inning a double from Jose Ramirez and then Nolan
Speaker 3: Jones delivered. Here's his pitch and Jones lines it left side,
Speaker 3: base it on through in the left headed for third.
Speaker 3: Being waved around is Ramirez. Here's the throw, it's cut off.
Speaker 3: Ramirez scores on to second is Jones. He's in safely,
Speaker 3: and the head parade continues for the Guardians. It is
Speaker 3: now eight to one Cleveland. Well, Ramire has had to
Speaker 3: freeze on that line shot near the shortstop, but once
Speaker 3: it got through, boy, he fired it up and got
Speaker 3: rolling around third and was able to make it. As
Speaker 3: the throw was cut off, they had to play at second,
Speaker 3: but Jones got in there safely, so an RBI single
Speaker 3: for Jones, now at twenty four driven in on the year.
Speaker 3: The A's made things closer with a run in the sixth,
Speaker 3: another in the seventh, but overall it was another impressive
Speaker 3: performance by starter Slaid Seconi, pitching deep into this one.
Speaker 3: The pitch swung on another week, ground balled to short
Speaker 3: charge by Rochio, Gloves throws over, ending over, and an
Speaker 3: eleven pitch inning first Seconi. That's when he's averaged tonight
Speaker 3: eleven pitches per inning. He's thrown ninety pitches in what
Speaker 3: is now a career best eighth innings.
Speaker 2: Seconi was back out there to start the ninth inning,
Speaker 2: but the Athletics wouldn't go quietly. They scored three runs
Speaker 2: in the top half of the ninth to make it
Speaker 2: an eight to six game, and if annual Class was
Speaker 2: called upon to finish the job.
Speaker 3: Outfield, playing Urshella as much of a pull hitter as
Speaker 3: you would play any left handed hitter, way around toward
Speaker 3: right for the right handed batter, the pitch, get him swinging,
Speaker 3: bowl game chase the low slider, and claus A comes
Speaker 3: in to get the same. A brilliant effort by Slade Saconi,
Speaker 3: an oppressive offensive output, and the surging Guardians have now
Speaker 3: made it seven wins in their last eight games. Tonight,
Speaker 3: the final score eight to six Cleveland, so.
Speaker 2: A nice win for the Guardians to open up play
Speaker 2: post All Star Break as they continued to keep those
Speaker 2: postseason hopes alive. Stay with us, We'll take a time
Speaker 2: out and come back and talk draft with Paul Gillespie.
Speaker 2: That's next time and Cleveland Clinnic Guardians Radio on Edword.
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Speaker 2: Jim Rows announced back with You on Guardians Weekly from
Speaker 2: downtown Cleveland and Progressive Field. Earlier this week. It was
Speaker 2: the annual amateur draft throughout Major League Baseball. Paul Gillespie
Speaker 2: is the Guardians Senior vice president of Scouting, and the
Speaker 2: two day draft completed earlier this week, allowing the Guardians
Speaker 2: to add twenty two new players to the system, and
Speaker 2: Paul says it was certainly a busy time for the staff,
Speaker 2: but also very exciting to add new talent into the system.
Speaker 7: Yeah, thanks Aby, and thanks for having me. Yeah, definitely
Speaker 7: a whirlwind. We were able to select twenty two players
Speaker 7: in this past draft. A two day draft is something
Speaker 7: that it's new for us to navigate and work through.
Speaker 7: But I think we did a good job. I think
Speaker 7: our scouting staff, our front off of staff, our player
Speaker 7: development folks, everybody worked really hard together to pull off
Speaker 7: a really successful draft. And we're excited about the players
Speaker 7: that we were able to select on Sunday and Monday.
Speaker 2: And your first pick was the twenty seventh overall, an
Speaker 2: outfielder from Texas A and M. Jace Laviolette. Tell us
Speaker 2: a little bit about him, because it seems like it
Speaker 2: was a little bit different selection from some one of
Speaker 2: the hitters that you've taken in the higher rounds in
Speaker 2: recent years who had good contact and mixed in some
Speaker 2: power there. But it looks like lav Ltte has that
Speaker 2: really good power potential. And what did you see in
Speaker 2: him that led him to be a first round pick?
Speaker 7: Yeah, No, Jason is a physical, athletic, left hand hitting
Speaker 7: outfielder from text A and M. He stands out for
Speaker 7: his patients and power profile. He's got a really strong
Speaker 7: track record of success in college. You know, in his
Speaker 7: three year career, I think he had sixty sixty eight
Speaker 7: or sixty nine home runs, just a really exciting package
Speaker 7: of athleticism, size, we think he's going to stay in
Speaker 7: certain field, excellent teammate, excellent drive to succeed. We're super
Speaker 7: excited about bringing him into the organization.
Speaker 2: And then with your second pick, sixty fourth overall. And
Speaker 2: I remember before the draft started we talked so much
Speaker 2: about the amount of picks within the first one hundred
Speaker 2: or so selections, and with the sixty fourth overall, the
Speaker 2: shortstop out of Tennessee a great program, Dean Curly. And
Speaker 2: what can you tell us about Curly in terms of
Speaker 2: where he was selected and why?
Speaker 7: Yeah? No, Dean in a lot of ways similar to Jay's,
Speaker 7: just a track record of success. And Dean he was
Speaker 7: the starting shortstop at University of Tennessee when they won
Speaker 7: the national championship back in twenty twenty four. But he's
Speaker 7: a large framed athletic, right handed hitting infielder. He's had
Speaker 7: a well rounded offensive profile, really controls the strike zone,
Speaker 7: doesn't swing in this much. But he also has a
Speaker 7: really nice blend of hit and power potential. So he's
Speaker 7: moved around the diamond a lot. He has experienced in
Speaker 7: a lot of different positions, and of course you know,
Speaker 7: he's demonstrated just being a winning player, you know, given
Speaker 7: his position on the national championship team. So super excited
Speaker 7: about Dean and really looking forward to bring him to
Speaker 7: the organization. He's quite the player.
Speaker 2: And just two picks behind him an outfielder from Arizona
Speaker 2: Aaron Walton. Again, another player from a high profile program.
Speaker 2: And how much does that matter when when you're looking
Speaker 2: at what guys could bring once they get into pro ball.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think it's a good question. I mean, he Walton,
Speaker 7: he was he actually transferred from Sanford before he was
Speaker 7: at University of Arizona. But when you see a guy
Speaker 7: do that and he has really strong offensive production at
Speaker 7: a place like University of Arizona in a big conference
Speaker 7: like that, it's definitely encouraging. He's a center field We
Speaker 7: think he is a really good defender out there, but
Speaker 7: he's also showed promising bad potential and as well as
Speaker 7: power potential. So he's athletic, he's physical, he's tooled, he
Speaker 7: has power, and he's he's a guy that we're really
Speaker 7: excited about. Has some football in his background. He was
Speaker 7: an excellent wide receiver in high school. So another another player, athleticism,
Speaker 7: tool speed, and we're really looking forward to bringing him
Speaker 7: in the organization too.
Speaker 2: Paul Gillespie's joining us. We're talking the just completed draft
Speaker 2: earlier this week with the senior vice president of scouting
Speaker 2: for the Guardians, and Paul, let's look at at the
Speaker 2: seventieth overall pick, and man, you guys are busy in
Speaker 2: a short period of time with a lot of picks
Speaker 2: back to back to back, it seems. But you went
Speaker 2: to high school pitcher Will Hines from a spot that
Speaker 2: you've had some success before up in Mississauga, Ontario, And
Speaker 2: and what do you see in him? And and why
Speaker 2: has that been a spot that's that's yielded some major
Speaker 2: league talent in the past for Cleveland.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Will is a really exciting, young, projectible randed pitcher.
Speaker 7: To your point, he's Canadian. Things about him that stand out,
Speaker 7: I mean, excellent physical projection, he has exciting spin capacity
Speaker 7: this fastball, and he comes from an athletic background as well.
Speaker 7: Both of his parents were athletes. So when you put
Speaker 7: all those things together, delivery, arm action, physical projection, but
Speaker 7: also sing showing some president spin capacity and the ability
Speaker 7: to manipulate the baseball. Now, I think that gives him
Speaker 7: a lot of potential out of upside to be a
Speaker 7: starter in the future, especially when the later on the
Speaker 7: things that he can do in terms of just filling
Speaker 7: the owe with strikes.
Speaker 2: And our last pick that the Guardians had in Day
Speaker 2: one of the draft one and one overall an outfielder
Speaker 2: from again a big time program, Oklahoma State, Nolan Schubart.
Speaker 2: And again it looks like you loaded up on some
Speaker 2: big guys and tell us about Shoe Barton and what
Speaker 2: he could potentially do.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Schueboard is a guy that we've been following for
Speaker 7: quite some time. He's born in Detroit and he was
Speaker 7: high school teammates with with Alex Mooney, who we drafted
Speaker 7: a couple of years ago. So Schubard is six foot five,
Speaker 7: two hundred and thirty pounds, left handing outfielder at Oklahoma
Speaker 7: State University. Things are saying about him are in a
Speaker 7: lot of ways similar to Jace, just stand out, ability
Speaker 7: to get on base, control the strike zone. He's got
Speaker 7: high walk rates over his career, but also big time
Speaker 7: power potential as a three year starter at Oklahoma State.
Speaker 2: And we don't gloss over the remaining rounds that were
Speaker 2: part of Day two, but just time constraints. We don't
Speaker 2: have time to get into everybody. But it does seem
Speaker 2: like quite a few college drafted players from major programs,
Speaker 2: and you kind of touched on it before, on the
Speaker 2: importance of that in today's game, it seems like players
Speaker 2: are making that move toward the major leagues a little
Speaker 2: bit quicker. I know that the roster sizes are smaller
Speaker 2: on what you can carry in the minor leagues. Does
Speaker 2: that come into play at all when when you look
Speaker 2: at that the experience that they have in college and
Speaker 2: maybe closer to the major leagues, Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 7: I mean, the the colleges in the in the these
Speaker 7: big conferences are so competitive these days, and the competition
Speaker 7: is really high. So when you have these guys that
Speaker 7: go out and the perform and they hit and they
Speaker 7: have a track record of success against some of the
Speaker 7: best competition, it is certainly encouraging and certainly certainly factors
Speaker 7: into what we do and what we look for. I mean,
Speaker 7: you look at a guy in the fourth round, Luke
Speaker 7: Hill from Ole, miss another guy just strong offensive performance,
Speaker 7: track record in the in the SEC, A lot of
Speaker 7: contact and again the ability to to move around the Diamond.
Speaker 7: I think we talk about Luke, he's a he's a
Speaker 7: baseball player, right, professional hitting approach, great back, thetball skills
Speaker 7: and those types of things. So those are things that
Speaker 7: that stand out. I mean, you over to to Vanderd
Speaker 7: University with Roley Nelson. He's another well rounded offensive profile,
Speaker 7: and his skills are kind of driven by having the
Speaker 7: elite ability to get on base in a big conference.
Speaker 7: So I think to your point, when you have those
Speaker 7: types of profiles that demonstrate the ability to get on base,
Speaker 7: make consistent contact, and make quality contact when they're making
Speaker 7: that contact, I think those are the things that we
Speaker 7: look for and those are the things that will vode
Speaker 7: well for these kids when they go out and start
Speaker 7: competing in professional baseball.
Speaker 2: An exciting time to be sure, for both the organization
Speaker 2: and the kids. Paul, thanks so much for coming by.
Speaker 2: I always appreciate it. Congratulations on another draft in the books,
Speaker 2: and we'll follow these players then see how quickly they
Speaker 2: may get to Cleveland.
Speaker 7: Oh, thank you, Rosie, you're the man. Thank you so
Speaker 7: much for having me and I always enjoy our time together.
Speaker 2: That is Senior vice President of Scouting, Paul Gillespie. Another
Speaker 2: draft in the books for the Guardians. Stay with us
Speaker 2: when we come back. We'll hear from Sandy Alamar some
Speaker 2: All Star Game memories after this time out on the
Speaker 2: Cleveland Clinic. Guardians Radio Network. Welcome back as Guardians Weekly
Speaker 2: from Progressive Field and downtown Cleveland. Jim Rosenhouse along with
Speaker 2: you this weekend. Sandy Alamar certainly is top of mind
Speaker 2: when you talk great moments in Major League Baseball's All
Speaker 2: Star Game. The All Star Game completed earlier this week
Speaker 2: in Atlanta. Stephen Kuan with a big base hit in
Speaker 2: the ninth inning and that tied the game, only to
Speaker 2: see the National League win it in the new tiebreaker format,
Speaker 2: a home run derby that went to the National League.
Speaker 2: But Sandy Alomar back in nineteen ninety seven, the game
Speaker 2: played right here at then Jacob's Field, and he hit
Speaker 2: the game winning home run, not in the ninth inning
Speaker 2: but earlier than that. But it was his home run
Speaker 2: that broke a one to one tie and propelled the
Speaker 2: American League to the win. And he says, every year
Speaker 2: the All Star Break brings back great memories of that
Speaker 2: big home run at Jacob's Field.
Speaker 8: Oh absolutely, because they keep replaying that memory that home
Speaker 8: or every time we get close to the All Star
Speaker 8: Game and people just talk about it. It was an
Speaker 8: incredible moment for the video of Cleveland.
Speaker 4: In my family and we.
Speaker 2: Were talking earlier. You're having a great season, but the
Speaker 2: All Star selections being what they are, you were not
Speaker 2: the starting catchers. So explain how you've found out that
Speaker 2: you'd be playing in the game number one, and then
Speaker 2: how the day went before you actually had a chance
Speaker 2: to make a great memory for Cleveland.
Speaker 4: You know, I was very grateful.
Speaker 8: It was very grifful that Joe Torrey picked me as
Speaker 8: a reserve catcher. I knew I was having a fantastic
Speaker 8: year going into the All Star Game. I had a
Speaker 8: thirty game hitting streak. But I also knew that Plaus Rodriguez,
Speaker 8: the most popular catcher in baseball, he was gonna get
Speaker 8: it vosed. We were in the same league, and you know,
Speaker 8: I knew that he was going to be a starting catcher.
Speaker 8: I just have to go out there do my job
Speaker 8: and hopefully continue my streak and continue playing good baseball,
Speaker 8: and hopefully I had a chance to be selected by
Speaker 8: the manager, which he happens.
Speaker 2: So obviously, close game and you're facing Sean Estes of
Speaker 2: the Giants, and at that point in time, you're you're
Speaker 2: not seeing many National League guys that often had you
Speaker 2: faced him before, had any type of red on him
Speaker 2: on on what to expect.
Speaker 4: None at all.
Speaker 8: I uh, I know he had a big, big breaking ball,
Speaker 8: and the whole point about you normally you you're only
Speaker 8: gonna get one a bad, was a reserve one or
Speaker 8: maybe even two a bad. But getting in that bad
Speaker 8: at the key moment is even more difficult.
Speaker 4: Everybody in the in the rotation is is good. I
Speaker 4: knew that.
Speaker 8: Uh, you know, you go through the pitchers in case
Speaker 8: you have to face this guy and that guy.
Speaker 4: The one guy I was going through the before is
Speaker 4: Petro Martinez. Then I go.
Speaker 8: I went through Estes a little bit, but I was
Speaker 8: trying to pick the most difficult guys that I felt
Speaker 8: like right handers.
Speaker 4: I said, let me prepare for this guy.
Speaker 8: I kept going down there to the cage and hit
Speaker 8: some swings from the thirtyting. I was like kind of like, oh,
Speaker 8: I gotta get ready early, which I didn't even know
Speaker 8: what it was gonna go in. But he just happened
Speaker 8: to be Sean. I knew he threw a big, big
Speaker 8: breaking ball and a changeup. I didn't think he has
Speaker 8: an overpowering fastball, but he had a nasty curveball.
Speaker 2: So you hit the home run, and obviously it's a
Speaker 2: big deal. It's in Cleveland place gost bananas. Uh, you
Speaker 2: get back to the dugout and what was it like
Speaker 2: for you? Saying teammate but also family in the dugout.
Speaker 4: He was amazing.
Speaker 8: He was amazing that the reaction of the players when
Speaker 8: I hit the home run, they were all like happy
Speaker 8: that I had the chance to be playing in my
Speaker 8: own ballpark and delivering like that. They were so excited
Speaker 8: that they were rooting for me to do something to
Speaker 8: have the team win.
Speaker 4: And he happened.
Speaker 8: And my son was in the stands and he was
Speaker 8: just like calling out homers and stuff like that.
Speaker 4: I didn't know.
Speaker 8: He told me this afterwards, but he was a little
Speaker 8: kid and he was like, my dad's going yard and
Speaker 8: stuff like that.
Speaker 4: And I was down in the count. The essays threw
Speaker 4: me too, breaking both that band.
Speaker 8: I was so anxious that I had to set myself
Speaker 8: back and start breathing.
Speaker 4: It's like, come on, man, you like this is just
Speaker 4: another game.
Speaker 8: And I kind of like took the deep breass, sat back,
Speaker 8: and then he threw me. I thought it was a fastball,
Speaker 8: but he was a change up. But I saw it
Speaker 8: very well and I was able to connect in front
Speaker 8: of hit it out. But that was an incredible moment,
Speaker 8: watching the whole dog out coming out to celebrate with me.
Speaker 2: You win the MVP naturally. Fast forward to twenty nineteen
Speaker 2: games in Cleveland again and there's another MVP. Shane Bieber
Speaker 2: wins the Most Valuable Player. Could you kind of understand
Speaker 2: what he was going through even though it's a completely
Speaker 2: different position and what he did was different.
Speaker 8: Yes, myself and Gene Tomy, we were the Grand Marshal
Speaker 8: of that All Star game, so we were watching the
Speaker 8: game from the suite one of the sweets, and one
Speaker 8: of the things we were talking about, would he be amazing?
Speaker 8: He's one of our guys. Frankie, I think Frankie was
Speaker 8: in that game. Win the MVP at the ballpart again,
Speaker 8: that would have been like a day job, who Cleveland
Speaker 8: Mojo for an All Star game. He just happened to
Speaker 8: be Shane Bieber as the pitcher, which is a little
Speaker 8: bit more difficult for the picture to win the MVP
Speaker 8: because you have to do something remarkable.
Speaker 4: He struck out the side. That was very impressive.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a great time of year, All Star Game,
Speaker 2: and Sandy, you will always be a big part of
Speaker 2: Cleveland history and the All Star Game. Thanks for coming by, Sharon.
Speaker 4: Some memory, Well, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2: That is nineteen ninety seven All Star Game Most Valuable
Speaker 2: Player Sandy Alamar. Some great memories for him. Stay with us.
Speaker 2: We'll have our final segment after this time out on
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 9: As a fan, you know all the important sports cliches.
Speaker 9: And when you save money by bundling your home and
Speaker 9: auto with Progressive, you can get out there and give
Speaker 9: it one hundred and ten percent, even though that's mathematically impossible.
Speaker 9: And remember failure is not an option. Well it's always
Speaker 9: an option, just not a good one. But you're not
Speaker 9: worried because you've got ice in your veins. You're on fire.
Speaker 9: How can both of those things be true at the
Speaker 9: same time. Well, that's between you and your doctor. So
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Speaker 3: Now the three one swum pulling the whole base set
Speaker 3: in the right, that'll score Mark Tina's the White Sox
Speaker 3: pitched to Kwan and he knocks in a huge run
Speaker 3: with a two out RBI single to right. Kwan with
Speaker 3: the last two RBIs for Cleveland, giving him thirty one
Speaker 3: on the year. Yeah, outside of Jose Ramirez, nobody is
Speaker 3: more clutch for Cleveland than Stephen Quad.
Speaker 4: Are you ready enough? Get up and count it down?
Speaker 4: Sometimes sometime we should make it out.
Speaker 5: Whoa who to his family from the East to the west.
Speaker 5: Six somebody still with the sun sand Stock, You're right,
Speaker 5: we'll beat me long singing Ohio songs. Let him hear
Speaker 5: and let them feel and.
Speaker 4: Make him for the strong.
Speaker 5: Who We got to cover us numbers conan TuS in
Speaker 5: this town knockers down, people love beside.
Speaker 4: Who we are. We are Cream.
Speaker 2: We're back in Progressive Field, Downtown Cleveland. Guardians Weekly. Jim
Speaker 2: ros in house along with you this weekend and as
Speaker 2: we wrap up our show this week, let's check in
Speaker 2: with Guardians Senior Vice President Bobby Biassio for another edition
Speaker 2: At the Ballpark, the perfectly manicured field.
Speaker 1: It's the unmistakable aroma of a ballpark, hot talk and
Speaker 1: the electricity celebrating another victory. This is at the Ballpark
Speaker 1: with Bobby Dee.
Speaker 10: The ballpark is home to many stories, many memorable moments,
Speaker 10: and colorful personalities. Joining me on this segment of At
Speaker 10: the Ballpark is a man who wore a Cleveland uniform
Speaker 10: for more than twenty years as a player, coach and manager,
Speaker 10: mister Mike Hargrove. We are near the All Star Game,
Speaker 10: so I thought we would talk All Star Games with Grover,
Speaker 10: who appeared in one as a player and managed two
Speaker 10: American League All Star teams. Grover, any idea how many
Speaker 10: men have both played in an All Star Game and
Speaker 10: man an All Star team in the American League.
Speaker 11: No, I really don't. I never even wondered about that
Speaker 11: until you brought it up, and I was trying to think,
Speaker 11: and I can't think. I mean, I'm sure there's been others,
Speaker 11: but no, I hadn't really ever thought about that.
Speaker 10: Oddly, when I looked it up, there were sixteen, and
Speaker 10: I thought that was a pretty large number. Although then
Speaker 10: I thought, well, we're nine almost ninety years of All
Speaker 10: Star Games and only sixteen guys have had the opportunity
Speaker 10: to play and manage. That's a pretty cool thing.
Speaker 11: And so players make us look pretty good.
Speaker 10: Yeah, let's talk about you as a player. You followed
Speaker 10: up Rookie of the Year nineteen seventy four with the
Speaker 10: Texas Rangers. You hit three twenty or something.
Speaker 4: Like that, three twenty three. Yeah, to take a point, Yeah,
Speaker 4: you follow that up.
Speaker 10: Here with an All Star season where you hit over
Speaker 10: three hundred as well. When you walked into the clubhouse
Speaker 10: your very first time you played at Milwaukee County Stadium,
Speaker 10: just wondering how the excitement and was there a special
Speaker 10: player in that clubhouse that you had to go up
Speaker 10: or you were afraid to go up to it and
Speaker 10: say hello.
Speaker 7: To you know.
Speaker 11: I remember walking in the clubhouse and being just afraid
Speaker 11: to walk into that clubhouse with the guys that were
Speaker 11: established and I mean Hank Aaron was on that team.
Speaker 4: But I did walk in.
Speaker 11: There were fourteen million things we had to sign. Fact
Speaker 11: as it took about two days, about four hours a
Speaker 11: day signed all the balls and bats and helmets and stuff,
Speaker 11: and the one guy that had always been my idol.
Speaker 11: I'd always just it was amazing. It was Rod Crew
Speaker 11: and Rod kind of took me under his wing for
Speaker 11: those three days. He told me, when we were now
Speaker 11: taking batting brides around the cage, he said, Mike, he said,
Speaker 11: people can try to change you. He said, you're a
Speaker 11: big guy, you're a strong guy, but you're a line
Speaker 11: drive hitter and that's what's made you successful. There are
Speaker 11: going to be people that are going to want to
Speaker 11: change you, to make you more of a power hitter.
Speaker 11: He said, don't let them do that. And I succeeded
Speaker 11: let him do it. But I always remember that, Well.
Speaker 10: You brought him on as a coach in spring training
Speaker 10: with Kenny Lofton trying to teach Kenny how to slap
Speaker 10: the ball and move it around. I loved Rod carew Man.
Speaker 10: One of the things I love about him right now
Speaker 10: in today's game, he always has the comment that the
Speaker 10: players of today forget their two foul poles.
Speaker 11: Oh no, yeah, well, you know that's the game has changed.
Speaker 11: It's the decade of the era of the shift. You
Speaker 11: don't see many guys trying to defeat that thing. He
Speaker 11: just keep hitting into it.
Speaker 10: So I remember what you did. You pinch hit, pinch hit,
Speaker 10: and you faced Don Sutton on the mound. Do you
Speaker 10: remember what you did?
Speaker 11: Yeah, it is first pitch. First picture was right under
Speaker 11: my chin and my eyes were blinking so much. I
Speaker 11: never saw the pitch until by me and I think
Speaker 11: it was the next picture too. I hit a ball,
Speaker 11: fly ball to right field, to the track, hit it
Speaker 11: right off the end of the bat and just yeah,
Speaker 11: that was.
Speaker 10: My Yeah, if you look it up, it actually said
Speaker 10: deep center field because you moved the runner who was
Speaker 10: on second base over to third base. Greg Nattles, by
Speaker 10: the way, was the runner. So you had a productive
Speaker 10: out and you're.
Speaker 11: All start there. Was successful.
Speaker 10: As you said. Another guy who pinched it in that
Speaker 10: game was none other than Hank Aaron. So that had
Speaker 10: to be cool just being in the same clubhouse.
Speaker 4: With that, you know, Bobby, it was.
Speaker 11: It was just you know, my first experience around, you know,
Speaker 11: coming from Texas, up Texas fan and we've been going
Speaker 11: to a small school in Oklahoma and and just you know,
Speaker 11: being a twenty fifth round pick, being thrilled to death
Speaker 11: I just got drafted, and being a pick, and you know,
Speaker 11: these kind of things worked real well for me. But
Speaker 11: walking there's the first time in the atmosode. I had
Speaker 11: been around stars, me, a lot of stars, star singers,
Speaker 11: and you know, I remember sitting there. I was standing
Speaker 11: four foot away from Henry Kissinger. He was in the club,
Speaker 11: you know, he was in the stands, and Glenn Campbell
Speaker 11: was standing in the dugout he was doing. I was
Speaker 11: standing there looking out, just at the top step, looking
Speaker 11: at nobody else was out there with me, and looking
Speaker 11: at the things and just marveling at how wonderful it
Speaker 11: was exciting. And I looked down down and I saw
Speaker 11: the most beautiful pair of hand tooled boots I've ever
Speaker 11: seen in my life. And I'm a boot guy. And
Speaker 11: I looked up as Glenn Campbell and he goes, he says,
Speaker 11: how you doing, Mike. My heart stopped. First of all,
Speaker 11: he said alone. Second all you knew my name. But
Speaker 11: it was just that kind of a surreal experience. It
Speaker 11: just it was just here sharing. And Sharon was with
Speaker 11: me in Milwaukee. She flew in and two kids. There
Speaker 11: were hillbillies and got the robelbows with some neat people.
Speaker 10: Well that's the beauty of even today the All Star Game.
Speaker 10: Just you get wide eyed and your jaw drops when
Speaker 10: certain people come walking in that are both in the
Speaker 10: game and out of the game. It's what's so special
Speaker 10: about the All Star Game. And you have an opportunity
Speaker 10: to manage two All Star teams. And we're talking All
Speaker 10: Star Games with Mike Hargrove, who appeared in three All
Speaker 10: Star Games, one as a player and two as a manager.
Speaker 10: Your first one namee ninety six. It's in Philadelphia Veterans Stadium,
Speaker 10: Nationals win six.
Speaker 4: Oh.
Speaker 10: We have five representatives on that team, Albert Sandy, Kenny,
Speaker 10: Jose Mason, Charlie, Naggy. Tell us a little bit about
Speaker 10: that experience.
Speaker 11: Well, Omar sal should have been in that game. It
Speaker 11: was just he was amazing. You know a lot of
Speaker 11: our teams, everybody knows, could have very easily been on
Speaker 11: that team. You've got kind of spread it around. I
Speaker 11: don't remember much about that game because I think we
Speaker 11: were out of it early and we're going. But the
Speaker 11: next year in Denver, I think it was the next
Speaker 11: year in Denver, two year ninety eight, yeah, eight in Denver.
Speaker 11: You know, we took a lot of guys, Charlie and
Speaker 11: Naggy and Viscale made it Omar did.
Speaker 10: There were six We had six representatives at Corsfield, the
Speaker 10: Sandy Bartolo, Cologne, Kenny Manny, Jimmy Omar.
Speaker 4: I mean pretty good.
Speaker 10: I know when we were there with them and trying
Speaker 10: to get pictures of six guys in those All Star uniforms.
Speaker 10: Again for a PR guy, your head spinning on some
Speaker 10: something like that. It's just so much fun to be
Speaker 10: a part of. But you get to lead that team.
Speaker 10: Anybody mad at you they weren't in the lineup, or
Speaker 10: you hit him fifth when they were a three hitter
Speaker 10: their whole life.
Speaker 4: But you know you need to be careful.
Speaker 11: You were playing in the National League where you know
Speaker 11: the pitcher's hitting, and so you know I would by
Speaker 11: the guy like Ray Durham. I went to Ray Durham
Speaker 11: before the game. I said, Ray, you're an All Star.
Speaker 11: You deserve to be here, and you deserve to play.
Speaker 11: The bad thing is, as you can play a lot
Speaker 11: of positions and I've got to keep somebody back in
Speaker 11: case we go extra innings, and you're that guy. And
Speaker 11: he was great, but he said, Mike, don't worry about it.
Speaker 4: It's great. I'll do what I have to do. And
Speaker 4: and we'll do that.
Speaker 11: The funny thing about that is I chose Charlie Naggy
Speaker 11: to start the game, and a pitcher that I won't name.
Speaker 11: He's in the Hall of Fame now got really ticked off,
Speaker 11: was really upset and refused to pitch. I was glad
Speaker 11: that he at least suited up, But you refuse to pitch,
Speaker 11: he said, I I won't pitch. It was kind of
Speaker 11: a bummer, but you know, it kind of was who
Speaker 11: the guy was. That's kind of the way he was.
Speaker 10: He shall remain nameless. Well, Grover, thanks for sharing your
Speaker 10: memories of your All Star Game appearances. And you know
Speaker 10: it's a special time in a player and manager's life
Speaker 10: to be on that center stage.
Speaker 4: But it really really is.
Speaker 11: There's so many things going in My kids, you know,
Speaker 11: they went to a lot of those games, like the
Speaker 11: Gala and things like that. They have off the field
Speaker 11: and just built a lot of time memories. I'll tell
Speaker 11: you a story if we've got time. The first to
Speaker 11: fill when in Philadelphia with the Gala and all the
Speaker 11: kids and we're all dressed up and Shelley, my youngest,
Speaker 11: is really young, she's probably six or seven years old,
Speaker 11: and Kenny Loften danced with her almost every dance night,
Speaker 11: and she was inhabited, oh so much so that she
Speaker 11: she told him that she was going to invite him
Speaker 11: to her wedding, and and if she didn't, you know,
Speaker 11: she's getting married. She sent him, send him importation, Sharon,
Speaker 11: you know, sent a letter to Katy with you him
Speaker 11: today said look, don't don't send the president.
Speaker 4: They just Shelley just is doing that.
Speaker 11: And then she got se him here about a week ago.
Speaker 4: He was in town.
Speaker 11: And it's just good memories and that's what it's all about.
Speaker 10: Well, here's hoping you enjoyed today's visit with Mike Hargrove.
Speaker 10: We look forward to sharing more at the Ballpark stories
Speaker 10: on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 2: That's at the Ballpark with Bobby d And that's this
Speaker 2: week's edition of Guardian's Weekly. Thanks as always to Brian
Speaker 2: Motsee for all of his help on our show. We'll
Speaker 2: join you next week. We'll be in Cooper'stown, the team
Speaker 2: will be in Kansas City, and we'll have another edition
Speaker 2: of Guardians Weekly for you then. Until then, this is
Speaker 2: Jim rosen House reminding you that you've been listening to
Speaker 2: Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 3: The bottom line, and this is why we talked about it.
Speaker 3: Enjoy the journey another summer of relevant baseball in Cleveland.
Speaker 3: Whatever happens in October, it's going to happen. Don't miss
Speaker 3: out on a great summer baseball.
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