2 Guys Talking Baseball
Mixed Bag of Nuts
Discover the life and legacy of baseball legend Gil Hodges in our latest episode of Two Guys Talking Baseball. We celebrate his extraordinary journey, from his early days in Indiana and heroic World War II service to his remarkable career with the Brooklyn Dodgers and his managerial triumph with the 1969 Mets. Join us for our first-ever guest interview as we reflect on Hodges' recent induction into the Hall of Fame and the retirement of his number 14 by the Dodgers, ensuring his place in baseball history.
Feel the excitement of opening week in the Appalachian League as hosts Dallas Danger and Brian Logan share their plans to visit iconic ballparks, including Johnson City, Kingsport, and Princeton, West Virginia. Get ready for our live recording at the Princeton WhistlePigs game, where we'll chat with fans and soak in the atmosphere. Don't miss our "Who You Reppin'" segment, where Brian sports his Indianapolis Clowns Hank Aaron Negro League shirt and a Chicago Cubs hat, sparking a fun debate on baseball apparel and team pride.
From bizarre altercations and impressive Little League plays to NCAA records and the elusive 600 home-run milestone, this episode is packed with intriguing baseball stories. Listen to an engaging conversation with a fan who has visited all 30 Major League ballparks, and get our insights on players like Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, and Aaron Judge on their journey to 600 home runs. Tune in for a celebration of baseball's rich history, thrilling present, and the legends who make the game unforgettable.
Discover the life and legacy of baseball legend Gil Hodges in our latest episode of Two Guys Talking Baseball. We celebrate his extraordinary journey, from his early days in Indiana and heroic World War II service to his remarkable career with the Brooklyn Dodgers and his managerial triumph with the 1969 Mets. Join us for our first-ever guest interview as we reflect on Hodges' recent induction into the Hall of Fame and the retirement of his number 14 by the Dodgers, ensuring his place in baseball history.
Feel the excitement of opening week in the Appalachian League as hosts Dallas Danger and Brian Logan share their plans to visit iconic ballparks, including Johnson City, Kingsport, and Princeton, West Virginia. Get ready for our live recording at the Princeton WhistlePigs game, where we'll chat with fans and soak in the atmosphere. Don't miss our "Who You Reppin'" segment, where Brian sports his Indianapolis Clowns Hank Aaron Negro League shirt and a Chicago Cubs hat, sparking a fun debate on baseball apparel and team pride.
From bizarre altercations and impressive Little League plays to NCAA records and the elusive 600 home-run milestone, this episode is packed with intriguing baseball stories. Listen to an engaging conversation with a fan who has visited all 30 Major League ballparks, and get our insights on players like Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, and Aaron Judge on their journey to 600 home runs. Tune in for a celebration of baseball's rich history, thrilling present, and the legends who make the game unforgettable.
Hello everyone, Welcome inside the Three Crows Studios here in beautiful Dandridge, Tennessee. We are happy to welcome you to this week's edition of Two Guys Talking Baseball. My name is Dallas Danger and I'm joined as always by my good friend, Brian Logan. Brian, how are you this week?
Speaker 2:I'm fantastic, what a great week we had.
Speaker 1:Yeah you say that every week, but it's always true. I mean it this week, I mean it this time. I'm really excited because this week is uh opening week for the appalachian league, which means a lot more games for me close to home. I'm uh currently plotting. I'm definitely going to be in Johnson City on opening night, we are definitely going to be in Princeton on Saturday, but I've got my eyes on Kingsport Friday, because if I can do three different Appy League ballparks the first three days of the season, I'll be as happy as a pig in shit, as we say down here in the South.
Speaker 2:That's pretty darn happy. I happen to know a few pigs and I happen to know that when they're in shit they're happy as they can be.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, this Saturday, june the 4th, is the date we are going to be visiting the Princeton Whistle Pigs. They're in Princeton, West Virginia. We're going to be visiting the Princeton Whistlepigs. There in Princeton, west Virginia, we're going to be recording our next episode of the podcast there. We're going to be talking all about baseball in Princeton, we're going to have some fun interviews and, brian, we're going to get to enjoy a game in a place that we've spent a lot of time but never at the ballpark.
Speaker 2:I am so excited for this. First of all, I need to be at the ballpark. I am so excited for this. First of all, I need to be at the ballpark. I have had a rough week. It has just been really, really just trying upon my soul this week.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I can't wait to go to the ballpark. I can't wait to see all the people there and sit down and talk We've been talking about talking with the staff that's a lot of talking about talking about Right and can't wait to watch the game and just experience the whole thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's going to be a great time. So if you're anywhere around Princeton or you want to make the trip in from wherever you are, come join us. We're going to be kind of doing the the. The majority of our work for the day is going to be done prior to the game so that we can kind of just hang out and enjoy the game and mingle with people. Hopefully, you get the opportunity to talk about the podcast with some great baseball fans there in Princeton. So, yeah, come on and join us and we will not be hard to find, we will be easy to track down and you can watch a game with us and enjoy some of our banter that most people probably won't even understand because we speak about 85% in inside jokes.
Speaker 2:Well, of course they won't get it, but we will. Yeah, it'll be great and that's the important thing. But you know, come on up and say, hey, you're the two guys, and we'll be like, yeah, we're talking baseball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that, I like that a lot. That's this Saturday, june the 4th, princeton, west Virginia. The Princeton Whistlepigs are going to be hosting us. They've been really great to set all this up with, so we're looking forward to supporting them and, uh, uh, yeah, enjoying, enjoying a game. So with that, let's get into one of our favorite segments that we do each and every week. It's called who you repping and this is a segment every week where, especially if you're watching us on youtube on our the video version of Two Guys Talking Baseball, you can see what we're referring to, see who we're repping. We like to bring our A game with our hats and shirts and jerseys and whatnot, our apparel, our attire. So, brian, let's get into it this week who you repping?
Speaker 2:I am repping the Indianapolis Clowns my Hank Aaron Negro League shirt, which is, by the way, one of the most comfortable shirts I own.
Speaker 1:It looks comfy.
Speaker 2:It is so soft and it just is form-fitting and it just makes me want to touch myself. Can we say that on air?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you just did. Oh, okay, and I'm also rocking.
Speaker 2:The alternative Chicago Cubs batting practice hat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, always getting the Cubs in there, gotta, gotta get the Cubs in there. I've been proud, though. You've been diversifying. You even had a Dodger hat on at one point, which I love, obviously.
Speaker 2:I now own two Dodgers hats yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you, I'm moving on up. What's it like to rep a winner every now and then?
Speaker 2:Well, it felt good.
Speaker 1:It felt real good.
Speaker 2:You know, I do have the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series hat that will break out at some point.
Speaker 1:For sure.
Speaker 2:So that felt really good, but it was a little nostalgic with the Dodgers. It felt good to have a different team on and back a winner. Not that I'm putting down my Cubs, because I love my boys, but variety is the spice of life.
Speaker 1:I've heard that. I've heard that you in 2016 and me in 2020 were very similar because when our teams finally won one, we bought everything that said World Series champions teams finally won one.
Speaker 2:We bought everything that said World Series champions. Oh, without a doubt. I bought somewhere out in the other room. I've got the flag, the golden World Series champions flag. It's gargantuan.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was going to hang it, but it's too big to hang. Yeah so it's sitting in there somewhere. We may bring it into the studio at some point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I got it all shirts, hats, jerseys, uh a poster, uh a pennant, uh the little paperweight, uh world series trophy for my desk at home. Yeah, yeah, so, uh, so, yeah. So, as far as who I'm repping this week, my t-shirt is another baseball ism. I know I've worn some some of their stuff on the show before, but this is actually a collaboration they did with usa baseball. I just uh always good to represent, uh the organization that fields our national teams and, uh, all the guys and gals uh that that take the field for the Stars and Stripes. But yeah, when I first saw this shirt the Statue of Liberty holding the bat with the eye black I thought, man, that's really cool. So this is also one of the more comfortable shirts I own. I know I said that the last time I wore baseball isn't, but it's true, they make really really nice stuff, really comfortable. So check them out for all of your baseball wear needs. And my hat I went brooklyn dodgers this week little throwback, but that's relevant to something we're going to be talking about today. So I think that's a good little segue into the lineup for this week. And leading off is exactly what I was referencing feeling Gil.
Speaker 1:Last week we talked about Fergie Jenkins getting his statue at Wrigley Field. This week we're going to be talking about Gil Hodges, because he is going to have his number retired by the Dodgers and we'll talk about why that's such a special thing, for the obvious reasons and then maybe the less obvious reasons. Then we're going to get some quick hits. We've got some interesting developments in the curse of the National League Player of the Week as well. We're going to be talking about there. Then our lucky day we were fortunate enough to do our first guest interview in the history the brief history, I guess of our podcast, and we'll tell you all about our great guest and why we chose him to be the first ever guest on the podcast. And our cleanup hitter this week Chicks Dig the Long Ball.
Speaker 1:We're going to be talking all about home run milestones. Who is chasing them now, who has the potential to be chasing them later in their career? More crunch in the numbers. We did something similar with 3 000 hits, um, when miguel cabrera of the tigers got that milestone mark. And now we're going to be talking about, uh, an even more difficult feat than 3 000 hits, uh, with our cleanup hitter today, but without further ado, let's kick things off.
Speaker 1:So, as I just mentioned, gil Hodges, one of the great boys of summer of the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers was in December was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He'll be inducted later this year and this Saturday, while we're in Princeton enjoying the Whistlepigs game, the Dodgers will be officially retiring his number 14, which is a huge deal. The Dodgers are very, very, very strict about retired numbers. He will be only the 11th person ever to have their number retired by the Dodgers, and one of the things that is sort of a prerequisite nowadays is if you're not in the Hall of Fame, the Dodgers are not going to retire your number. It's just something that they believe pretty firmly in that. But no surprise, now that Gil is joining the rest of the boys of summer in the Hall of Fame, he'll be joining the rest of them in having his number retired. So that's going to be a special day, and it's going to be made even more special by the fact that the New York Mets will be in town at Dodger Stadium, and that's the other team that Gil is really known for being associated with and another fan base that he's beloved amongst. So really, really cool day on Saturday.
Speaker 1:But just a little bit of background on Mr Gil Hodges. He was born April 4th 1924 in Princeton Indiana, was the son of a coal miner, so, as many ballplayers were in Gil's day, just a blue collar midwestern boy, um, plain and simple, uh was a, was a multiple sport star in high school and actually you know this was before the draft brian and he. He actually turned down a contract in 1941. After high school, uh, he had an offer from the Detroit Tigers. He opted instead to attend St Joseph's College and play there. He was a multiple sport letterman there as well and we'll, you know, as we go through sort of the life of Gil Hodges, we'll see some similarities to Fergie Jenkins in that there's a lot of things that could have gone differently and changed the entire course of history for Gil Hodges.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean, again, it's another case of right place, right time History. How do I want to say this being inevitable? Yeah, you know, if one thing could have would have went wrong, then history would have been changed. So that's amazing and I love those type of stories, as I've said in past weeks that any little thing could have derailed the train, but it didn't and we now have history.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and some people might think, well, why would he turn down a contract offer? Well, you've got to think. I mean, in the 40s ballplayers weren't making the massive money that they can potentially make now. I mean, honestly, in 1941, going to college, um, there was really no way to project how well you, you could do. You know, obviously you'd have belief in yourself, you'd have the support of your family and friends, but, uh, there weren't these, um, you know, there, these. Nowadays we have all this technology and all these these analytics and you know science, really that you know, nowadays we have all this technology and all these analytics and you know science, really that projects, you know prospects, before they even get drafted or get to professional baseball. That didn't exist back then. So, honestly, for Gil Hodges, I mean, I think he made the right call initially by going to college and turning down that first contract offer.
Speaker 2:Well, back in the day you know, amateur athletics was way more respected than professionals. It was almost in certain sports, certain areas it was looked down upon. If you were getting paid Somehow, they believed that you loved the sport more if you were just an amateur. So losing your amateur status was kind of a big deal in some cases.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So instead of signing with the Tigers, gil kicked the can down the road a couple of years, but in 1943 he did end up signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers and in the 43 season he played one game for the team and then and this is another thing that you know we're talking about a lot could have gone very differently for Gil Hodges and we wouldn't even probably be talking about him on the podcast today, because after that one game in 1943, gil Hodges uh entered the marines during world war ii and he served in combat um and even received a bronze star medal for uh heroism under fire. So you know we were talking before we hit record today. You know that was an ugly deadly war and for him to play one game and then go into combat, he could have ended up being a moonlight graham type of personality. You know, or legend. You know or legend. You know because. Because the fact that he made it out of World War II alive for lack of a better term was a miracle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, I mean just. I mean, right there we're talking. You know one, one bullet going a different way, or you know one grenade, or or not even that, maybe just some kind of disease or something that you can pick up in combat, and we would be not even having this conversation right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or it would be a very different conversation entirely. I mean, we would be talking about a guy who again played one game in the major leagues and very few people would know his name through baseball, but instead he was fortunate enough to make it out of World War II. He was discharged in 1946 and that's when he returned to the Dodger organization and then the following year, 1947, after playing a year in Newport News in the minor leagues, he was called up to the Dodgers and that's interesting just because that was the same season that they called up Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier. So they were kind of breaking into the major leagues. Very different paths, obviously. He's very different paths obviously. But you know, he comes up and that's sort of like the start of the groundswell for that great Dodger team that just a couple, few years later would really start dominating the National League.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean you. You got these two great players, two great legends that are just starting out together and they're forming the grassroots of what we would come to know as legendary. I mean, I know I keep using that word, but I mean it's apropos, I mean that's what it was. They were legendary, they are legendary, they're still. They were legendary, they are legendary, they're still. And they were just getting started. And man, what a team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that boys of summer team to me and again very biased and that's okay. Maybe the greatest team ever put together.
Speaker 1:Without a doubt, I mean, when you look at gill and jackie, in addition to duke snyder, don newcomb, roy campanella, sandy kofax I mean the list of, just you know again, legendary names, uh, it knows no bounds with that, with that squad, um, and and again, I think it's uh very fitting now that gill is going to get in the hall of fame, because he's kind of the last domino to fall, uh, as far as the boys of summer there and getting his number retired, just you know, obviously I'm very connected to uh, the dodger fan base online and the way that it's viewed from a Dodger fan standpoint is he's taking his rightful place with the rest of that squad. I mean, you know they're all there except him and just the. I mean it's baffling that it took this long and he had to go through so much and so many different processes to get into the Hall of Fame. I mean it really is mind-blowing. That's neither here nor there, but you know it's very cool to see.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I mean it was a long time coming and he was the missing piece and he needs to be there.
Speaker 1:I mean and I'm glad that this is happening the last few years is that you know, the thought process with the voters, the writers that voted on the Hall of Fame was that Gil wasn't quite good enough on his own as a player to be elected and he wasn't quite good enough just as a manager. We'll get into his managerial career later, but when you combine those together, his baseball life is beyond Hall of Fame worthy. I mean, this is a guy that belongs in Cooperstown. I'm the type of person that views the Hall of Fame as a museum that tells the story of baseball, and Gil Hodges is a big part of the story of baseball, and Gil Hodges is a big part of the story of baseball.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, and you're talking about the baseball life. I mean, you know it's a detriment that it has to be a player or manager and you have to put the two together. There really should be the whole course of a life for players to get recognized for.
Speaker 1:And I think that was a factor with Gil finally getting elected. I mean it has to be right. I mean, you know, he just put together such an interesting baseball life that it's hard for me, it's hard to deny him the hall of fame, and I'm glad for sure that he's finally getting in. So you know, we talked about Gil getting back to thegers, uh, the major league club in 47. Um, it was shortly after that that the dodgers brought roy campanella in, another, another great player from the negro leagues that that crossed the line and got to the majors, and so that, um, at the time gil hodges was primarily playing catcher, which I don't know how many people are aware of that, but he.
Speaker 1:He initially was a catcher and when campanella comes along he moves to first base and in his uh 1948 rookie season it was officially his rookie year. Gil hit 11 home runs and 70 rbis, so pretty good you know pretty outstanding yeah, pretty, pretty good for a first, uh, first kind of full year.
Speaker 1:Um, just moving through here, um august 31st night excuse me, august 31st 1950 gill became only the second player to hit four home runs in a nine-inning game. Lou Gehrig was the first, and that's something that's been done, you know, a few times since then, but you know.
Speaker 2:Not that often, though.
Speaker 1:No, not a ton. Not a ton, and especially not in 1950. No, his home run accomplishments pile up some more. 1951, he became the first Dodger ever to hit 40 home runs in a season. Um, I think the record previous to that was 35 in a season for a dodger, babe herman, if I'm not mistaken. Um, but don't quote me, I didn't put that in the notes. Then. 1955 is kind of when the Boys of Summer becomes what it was, because that was the year that Gil and Jackie and Campy and all these other great names that we've mentioned won the first World Series in franchise history. It would be the only one they were able to capture, excuse me, while being based in Brooklyn, but you know just such a moment. You know they had played the Yankees in the World Series, I think at that point, five times, and come up short every time.
Speaker 2:And it finally just came together for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 2:It was again we keep using the term long time coming, but it just came together and clicked for those guys and, like we said, greatest team of all time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just a really, really big moment. But you know, for Brooklyn it was huge because they were, they were Brooklyn's team and then they're, you know one that's.
Speaker 1:I think that's. One of my favorite moments in the Ken Burns baseball documentary series is when they talk about that, that first uh, brooklyn, uh World Series, that first Dodger World Series and some of the voices that they have that were so connected to that team and some of the memories of that World Series and what it meant to Brooklyn, and just what a great story it was because they were always the underdog against the Yankees. Right, what a great story it was because they were, they were always the underdog against the Yankees. You know, and, and, and really rightfully so, because you know we're giving a lot of credit to the Dodgers but at the same time, those, you know, those Yankees teams were, were remarkable.
Speaker 2:I mean really just daunting lineups, great pitching, you know um, and some would say that those were the greatest teams yeah, that's one of the great things about baseball is it's very factual, it's very statistic-oriented, but it's also very emotional. So you can say you know, these guys were the greatest team ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, and to that person it is, and they can tell you a hundred different ways on why it was. And then the next person's like no, they weren't they. You know this team was. And that's the beauty of the sport.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. Is that? As much as we view the game statistically and by the numbers, and you know this compared to, you know, this player from this era compared to this player from this era, it's still all subjective, Right? My opinion on who the greatest team of all time is versus somebody else's is very different and both equally valid. Like you said, it's really just up to each individual to make that distinction or not.
Speaker 1:So obviously, shortly after that World Series win, the Dodgers moved west to LA. Gil stayed with the Dodgers through the move to California until 1961 when he was taken by the Mets in the expansion draft and this was sort of, you know, this was his return to New York where he was beloved. You know, he was a guy who was never, even when he struggled, was never booed or given up on by the Brooklyn fans. So him returning to New York, you know, and for a new team that was coming, you know, in the Mets, it was a big deal, you know, and you know I'm sure a lot of people were happy to see him be moving back to New York with the Mets and he actually hit the first home run in the history of the Mets. So that's another great home run distinction for Gil.
Speaker 2:I mean, this guy was doing everything.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, he was fantastic. You know, the only guy who had more home runs in RBIs than him in the decade of the fifties was his teammate, duke Snyder. Right, you know? And, and it's so funny, when you read about Gil it's like, oh well, he was the. He was the Dodgers all time home run leader until two years later when Duke got it. Or, you know, he, he had the most home runs in major league history by a right-handed batter until a couple years later duke snyder got it. You know, like duke was right on his heels and then surpassed him, obviously. But you know, um, just one of the great players of the time.
Speaker 1:And in may of 1963 gill was traded to the washington senators. But he was traded with the understanding that he was going to retire from playing and become the Senators manager. Then, five years later, in 68, was when he went back to the Mets as their manager and I mentioned earlier. You know, he's obviously beloved by Dodger fans, but he's also very beloved by the Mets fan base because of what he was able to do there as a manager. So July 30, 1969. This is my favorite one, this is my favorite statistic. This is crazy. So July 30, 1969, he's managing the Mets. It's the second game of a doubleheader and Cleon Jones, star left fielder, is not hustling on defense, probably tired from playing two games in a day. Well, gil Hodges decides he's going to pull cleon jones out of the game and he walks out of the dugout all the way to left field to physically remove cleon jones from the game.
Speaker 1:And I mean what a statement if you're another player in that dugout or on the field and you see that I mean, if there was ever any doubt who the boss was, that cleared it up right then and there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, can you imagine you're sitting there and you're on the bench and you're just hoping to get in the game and the manager's going off and he's saying whatever he's saying and he just decides to call time and he walks out onto the field past the mound, past second base, keeps on going. You're looking like, holy shit, where is he going? And he goes out there and he grabs the fielder and he sends him back to the deck. You've got to be sitting there thinking, going man, I don't know if I want in the game or not. I mean, am I truly ready here? I mean, but what a great way for him to do that. I love that. I love that moxie man. I love that he's willing to go out there and grab him and just say you're not playing good enough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. I don't care who you are, I don't care how big of a star you think you are. If you're not going to hustle out here and you're not going to give us your all, then you're coming out of the game and I'm going to come out here and make sure you get out of the game.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah. We're not going to send some yahoo out here to do it Right. We're not going to send some secondary coach, we're going to do it ourselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and not just signal and say or send the other player Right, right. Remarkable stuff. And obviously it paid off because 1969, that was the miracle. Mets, the heavy underdogs. They became the first expansion franchise to ever win the World Series. They were also the first team to win a World Series after finishing the previous season at least 15 games under
Speaker 1:.500. So obviously a wildly celebrated team. Those 69 mets. Um, you know, I love hearing people who uh, grew up around that time talking about those early met teams and how, even though they weren't that good, uh, they loved going to see them play and they loved the personalities of the players and the coaches and everybody. So still to this day, one of the more talked-about World Series runs the 1969 Mets for sure, and that's why he's so celebrated by the Mets. And they retired his number 14 in 1973, so they were way ahead of the times. On celebrating Gil Hodges. But unfortunately Gil met an early demise, easter Sunday 1972. After playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach, florida, with some of the other coaches from the Mets, he collapsed suddenly, was rushed to the hospital and died within 20 minutes of his arrival from a heart attack. I want to say he was 47 at the time. You know very, very young to die so suddenly.
Speaker 2:That's my age Right. Think of this. I mean I've done a lot in my life and I'm not putting myself over it, but I've done a little bit more than the average bear and it is nothing. Nothing compared to what Gil did in his life and just took time to fight a war.
Speaker 1:Yeah right Just took a few years off from all these great accomplishments to go be in combat in World War II.
Speaker 2:I mean you think he woke up in the morning and knew how great he was. I mean, how do you not right?
Speaker 1:Gosh, that's so tough to say because, to me, in order to be great, you have to balance that Right. You've got to know, but you can't dwell on it. You have to sort of put the blinders on and just keep working at it, Because that's what makes greatness is talent, and just keep working at it. You know, because that's what makes greatness is, you know talent and you know, just given ability, mixed with hard work and honing in on that.
Speaker 2:I mean, he probably woke up that day and was like you know, I'm going to go to the golf course and I'm going to hit an 86. And probably went out and hit an 83 and then dropped dead.
Speaker 1:Well, here's what I know he died at 47. You are currently 47. There is no chance that. There's no chance that you're a better golfer than he was.
Speaker 2:Oh, none, none. My 33 handicap is I mean, I got a better chance of being a better baseball player and I have no chance of that.
Speaker 1:Right right Than being a better golfer. You know I mean gosh.
Speaker 2:I love playing golf, but man, I really stink at it. I mean gosh.
Speaker 1:I love playing golf but, man, I really stink at it. So, just wrapping up, you know the talk on Gil Hodges. He was an eight-time All-Star. He won the first three gold gloves when that award first came along. He won the first three. The Mets inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 1982, and, as I mentioned before, he was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame this past December. He'll be officially inducted later this year and this Saturday, june the 4th, the Dodgers will be retiring his number 14, making him only the 11th person in team history to receive that honor. So you know, yeah, just a life that ended at a young age, but, man, he squeezed a lot out of 47 years.
Speaker 2:A lot. I mean, okay, so we're talking about marquee teams in the game of baseball. We're talking about the Dodgers, the Miracle Mets. So we're talking that these are icons, when you say baseball as a whole, that are used to advertise for lack of a better word what the sport is all about. And he happens to be a part of both of them. Yeah, so that I mean he's the marquee name, you know he's, he's the guy in there that's stirring the drink and, uh, I mean what a, what a legacy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what a celebration Saturday is going to be, because, again, the fact that it took this long, the fact that it it took, you know, multiple veteran committee votes and all these years for him to to take that rightful place in cooperstown, um is, is just mind-blowing. But uh, I'm glad that we finally righted the ship and he's going to be right where he belongs and all of my Gil Hodges memorabilia will increase in value.
Speaker 2:Well, you know I was going to vote but Tracy and Tiffany lost my ballot. Oh okay, they filed it in the wrong place and I didn't get to vote. I mean I would have voted, right right, but I didn't get the opportunity. I mean I would have voted, but I didn't get the opportunity. I've got to work on their clerical skills.
Speaker 1:I'm going to have to check in on the validity of what you're saying here. I've still yet to meet either of these people you speak of every week.
Speaker 2:Well, they're so busy doing so many things, checking facts and facting checks, and you know they're doing a lot of stuff and you know just busy, busy, busy. But I couldn't do it here at Three Crows without Tiffany and Tracy.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, I'll just have to take your word for it, but we're going to move on. Brian, we've got some quick hits this week. Are you ready to rapid fire? Some short form topics here for our great listeners and viewers.
Speaker 2:I am. It was billed as quick and it was billed as hits.
Speaker 1:We'll see if it's either.
Speaker 2:It was neither nor or either or.
Speaker 1:We're just checking facts and facting checks.
Speaker 2:That's all we're doing Okay.
Speaker 1:First on the docket, tommy Pham and Jock Peterson getting to a little scrum during batting practice last week. You know, tommy Pham now with the Reds, jock Peterson with the Giants it got physical. Pham ends up slapping Jock Peterson, the Giants it got physical. Fam ends up slapping Jock Peterson. This all sort of you know the facts were kind of coming at us. You know, over the next couple of days it turns out this is over a fantasy football league, ridiculous. Well, yeah, we'll get to that in a second.
Speaker 1:So Tommy Fam claims that Jock Peterson was doing some shady things that were within the rules of the league, but Pham sort of challenged the rules, claims that there was a big buy-in to this league and Jock Peterson was toiling in Tommy Pham's money and that's you know, according to Tommy Pham. That's something you just don't do. Don't be messing with my money. We learned later that Jock Peterson was also in the group chat for the Fantasy League talking mad shit about the Padres, who is the team Tommy Pham was playing for at the time. So you know, I don't know this, brian, I know you don't play fantasy football, it's not really your scene, but how fucking ridiculous is this whole situation?
Speaker 2:I mean I want more physical baseball, but this is off the hook. I mean this is ridiculous. I mean these guys are gonna go out there and get hurt and miss out on their contracts possibly. I mean he could have put an eye out. I mean what would have happened to his batting average if he was up there with one eye like Popeye?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know, this is crazy. I mean, you know, I love Jock Peterson, even though he's with the Giants now. I love Jock Peterson, one of my favorite dodgers during his time there. Uh, just a super likable guy and about as chill a human being is that exists. I mean, hard to get a rise out of him, never seem mad or even like fired up in an aggressive way. Um, oh, I bet he's fired up now but that's just it.
Speaker 1:As they interviewed him after it happened and he kind of almost looked shocked, like he was like I don't know what just happened- like well, getting bitch slapped, uh, that tends to make you have kind of a duh yeah a little bit, a little bit.
Speaker 1:This is just outrageous. I'm glad that they disciplined tommy fam. He got suspended three games and he deserved that, if not more, because this is just outrageous. I'm glad that they disciplined tommy fam. He got suspended three games and he deserved that, if not more, because this is outrageous. I mean this is just downright silly, I mean, and it's been nothing but a joke.
Speaker 2:I mean nobody is covering this story seriously or with any you know I'm saying we're not covering the story seriously because I think here's what I think we should have done. We should have took them out there to the bullpen. Everybody should have gotten a big circle and let them Duke it out and the winner gets to keep all the money from the fantasy league and the other guy gets to leave and never play baseball again. Two men enter, one man leaves.
Speaker 1:All right, well that's that on on that topic. I suppose so, brian. We recently saw a video from a Little League game or a Youth League game where a sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a triple play. This was crazy to see, properly executed, the bunt is indefensible.
Speaker 1:well, this one was very defensible because extremely defensive so the the bunt goes up in the air, just sort of to the side of the pitcher's mound. Uh, there there are runners on first and second. The pitcher dives to make the catch. Everybody freezes because they can't believe what's just happened. And as soon as everybody wakes up, the pitcher goes to second for the second out, and then they throw to first and get the third out. I mean this is one of the craziest things I've seen. I mean it's one of those things that just proves that you can watch baseball every day of your life and you're going to see something you've never seen before, every single day.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, I mean we, we do that. Um, what I liked about the video was is the delay in the crowd reaction and you could hear like one mom go, is that legal?
Speaker 1:Is that legal?
Speaker 2:And then there was the delay and then. Then they all cheered yeah and uh, the delay. And then they all cheered yeah, and so they caught everybody asleep.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that was just it. It was like the kids on the field kind of froze, because they're like what do I do? It almost looked like the runners on base weren't sure if it was caught or if it hit the ground first. It just, I mean, for the team on offense it was a total breakdown Poor execution on the bunt, poor base running, poor coaching, because they're leaving the kids out there hanging because I mean, maybe they didn't know, maybe they were unclear on what was going on. I mean, just, you know, you go from having a couple guys on base and an opportunity to move them over and it turns into a triple play and the momentum swing just goes in the total opposite direction. Gil would have fired the entire team. He would have marched out on that field and drug them all back into the dugout.
Speaker 2:He would have raised the hand of the umpire, rang the bell and it would have been over.
Speaker 1:All right. So next up, tommy white of nc state sets the all-time ncaa freshman home run record with his 27th home run during the acc tournament, breaks a 30 year old record and nc state is in the big dance and he's got a shot at JD Drew's all-time NCAA home run record of 31. He needs four home runs through the course of the NCAA tournament. Brian, you think he can do it.
Speaker 2:I absolutely do. I think this guy can do it. I think that he's got what it takes to keep this up. I think this record's heading his direction.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's definitely a good possibility because he's proven he can hit three home runs in a game in the ACC tournament. This guy came out of the gate as a freshman this year, first series of the year, just hitting bombs. It's all he's done all year. It's really impressive. Nc State's a pretty good ball club. Um, they, they've got a great program and, uh, they have the potential to go a long way in the NCAA tournament. So I think, uh, he's got a very good shot at getting to 31 and it's I mean, that's another record, that's been record that's held up for a long time that he could be just hitting to the wayside 24-7, 31.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now we're going to check in on the curse of the National League Player of the Week.
Speaker 2:Dun, dun dun. I'm a little pissed off about this this week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so we'll get to that. So this week's Player of the Week was a pitcher, a starting pitcher for the Marlins, sandy Alcantara. He pitched once this week which is kind of where we're taking issue and he was incredible. He was Player of the week worthy again. Eight innings pitched, only gave up four hits, one earned run, didn't walk anybody, struck out 14, but it's one game in a week. Compared to these hitters, these position players we've been talking about that are playing six, maybe seven times in a week. I don't know, brian, I don't think that this one game for Alcantara means the curse is broken.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't either, and I think it has to do with opportunity to be out there. First of all, the player of the week they should have pitcher of the week and player of the week. That's where I'm holding umbrage to these facts is because the players come out there, they've got six, seven games, you know, four at the at the minimum, you know, and that's a slow week. Um, you're going to see if, how their play and how they they hold up, but this picture is just going to come in one time maybe, maybe not even get around, depending on the way it works with the rotation. So I think we're going to have to extend this. Can we extend it? Yes, we can. We have the technology. I think we'll extend it and keep an eye on him and see how he does in the next couple outings.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree. I don't think that we can say for sure that the curse is broken yet. Just because you know, and if you think back, before we really got going with this theory of the curse, willie adamas wins the player of the week and then it was. It was like two weeks later he hits the il, which held the curse intact, in our opinion, which is the only one that matters, because we're the only ones talking about this- Exactly, this is our gig and our thing, so it's our shirt and we'll promo it the way we want to promo it.
Speaker 1:That's right. More on shirts in a minute, but first we know who our next player of the week is, and this is interesting because it's Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets. Now, this is interesting for a couple reasons. Number one I'm getting that Bryce Harper feeling like I did a couple weeks ago. We could be numbered, this curse could be numbered.
Speaker 1:It could be, it could be over it could be numbered, it could be, it could be over, it could be done. It's especially interesting for me personally because, as we're recording, starting tomorrow, the Mets and Francisco Lindor are at Dodger Stadium for four. So I really hope the curse is intact, because I'm not looking forward to the Dodgers playing the Mets.
Speaker 2:Well, isn't it funny how that works out. I mean, how poetic that is that we're talking about this story and he gets Player of the Week and they happen to be at your ballpark. I mean the story I think you said this a couple weeks ago the stories that baseball writes is just amazing. But yeah, we're going to have to see what Truffles does this week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's going to be interesting. We're going to keep an eye on that, as well as Sandy Alcantara, because we're just, you know, I don't know. I think the curse is still intact until we get a little bit more of a sample size on Alcantara, because, again, he's a pitcher. He's only pitched once since getting the weekly honor, yeah, I think. So there's a lot of moving parts now with the curse, but if you believe in the NL Player of the Week, curse boy, brian, do we have a T-shirt for you?
Speaker 2:Available now in our store. We have. Beware of the NL Player of the Week curse t-shirt. The official only place you can get it in the entire universe, not the world, not the United States the entire universe.
Speaker 1:We got them if you want them 2gtbstorecom and Brian, we actually have started to receive some of our test products. We're using a print-on-demand service, so this is not stuff we have in hand that gets shipped. It's actually made to order when you order it, 2gtbstorecom. So we decided to get our hands on some of the products that we are offering, just to make sure that the quality is up to our liking and our standard and man, so far this has been great. I mean, the stuff got here quick, especially for print on demand.
Speaker 2:The shipping was amazing. It two days on the puppy stuff and four days by the time it gets here tomorrow. Four days on the t-shirts and regular clothing from the store. I mean that's amazing. Amazon can't get it here that quick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's really remarkable, and we were very happy with the quality on the stuff we've gotten so far too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, rex got the puppy jersey and the bandana with the collar and he loves both of them, them and he looks very handsome in them and the quality on the puppy jersey is just great. It just it looks amazing. We'll have to. I think I'll put him up on the face, if I can get him to sit still. I'll take a picture of him in his little jersey and with his bandana and I'll put it up on the Facebook.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, because I was very impressed. I was uh, you know the the quality of the PR, of the printing, uh and the like, the embroidering on the little sweater, the uh puppy Jersey, as you're calling it uh, very high quality, very good stuff. We're very pleased. So, um yeah, we're just uh happy as can be that we're offering uh quality products, products to you great folks, and it's the best way to support us directly from a financial standpoint. So, yeah, 2gtbstorecom t-shirts, jerseys, puppy wear, phone cases. We got a Bluetooth speaker. We really tried to set up a store that had something for everybody. So if you love what we're doing here, you want to support us, you go to 2gtbstorecom. It's free to take a look, folks, but I'm pretty sure you're going to find something that you're going to like and want to buy, and we know that some of our listeners out there like to listen on the Bluetooth speaker.
Speaker 2:Listeners out there like to listen on the Bluetooth speaker and the Bluetooth that we're offering is incredible. It has the logo on it. I understand the sound is pretty good on there too, and I'm not downplaying it as pretty good. I mean it's an awesome sounding piece of equipment, but I don't want to toot our own horn Toot, toot, toot. But you know, if you like listening to Bluetooth out there that's the way you like to go instead of the cell phone then you might want to look into that product. We've had people buying the jerseys already.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we've been very happy to see the response and we hope that you will at least head over to 2gtbstorecom and take a look, and if you place an order, we appreciate that.
Speaker 2:We absolutely appreciate you supporting us.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, we, we, we appreciate your, your listens, your downloads, your views on YouTube, um, and definitely, uh, everybody who has already purchased something from uh, from our store website. We, we definitely appreciate that as well. We've been, um, we've been a little overwhelmed at how quickly we've gotten a response out of what we're doing. We thought it would take some time to get people listening and interested, but we're very pleased that you guys are with us and enjoying what we're doing. Enough to throw us a few bucks on the jerseys and T-shirts and things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and thank you guys for listening to us. We did this because we thought it would be fun and we were already talking about it and we're just overwhelmed with the response of the listeners out there. So thank each and every one of you guys for tuning in and listening, and listening each week, so we really appreciate you guys Definitely 100%.
Speaker 1:Echo that. One more time 2GTBStorecom. All right. So we did something a little different this week.
Speaker 1:I was on Twitter, as I am a lot, and I happened to see a post that got around baseball Twitter a little bit, and it was a gentleman by the name of Dave Elbrecht who saw a game in Arizona at the Diamondbacks ballpark, and that was his 30th Major League ballpark, which is a big milestone, a big accomplishment. And I decided to reach out to Dave and he was gracious enough, um to uh come do an interview with us so we could talk to him about that and some of the other interesting uh experiences he's had, um traveling and adventuring to ballparks. So, uh, we, we actually prerecorded that interview and, um, yeah, I and yeah, I think you folks are really going to like it and enjoy what Dave had to say. So, without further ado, let's go to that interview now. We are very happy to, for the first time here on 2GTV, have a special guest with us. This is a gentleman who just recently attended a game at what was his 30th Major League Baseball ballpark and we are happy to welcome to the show Dave Elbrecht.
Speaker 1:Dave, how are you doing?
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm great Thanks for having me, guys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for being here. So I guess first off, for our listeners and viewers, just give a brief introduction, a little bit about yourself, and then sort of like what your connection to baseball is like. What got you into the game, um, you know, initially, or at least started you on the path to being as much of a fan as you are today- well, I was, uh, born and raised in cleveland.
Speaker 3:I started my first year playing T-ball was probably summer of 93, which was right before things just blew up in town. New ballpark, just a great team with a bunch of huge personalities, and how can you not fall in love with something like that?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that you know Jacobs Field was one of those first ballparks in the 90s that kind of set a trend that would last really until the most recent parks that were built the return to downtown and being right in the thick of everything in a city with your Major League ballpark. So I'm sure that was a really cool place to see in its early days for sure.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, it was just brand new. I went to a couple of games at the old stadium with these busted wooden seats and kids taking a bunch of the empty seats in the upper deck and spelling out four-letter words, just completely. Night and day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can only imagine so from there, when did it become like a goal or a possibility? Hey, I could see a game at all 30 parks. I mean, I could see every team in their home ballpark. When did that sort of materialize as something you were attempting to do?
Speaker 3:So ballpark two came. Pretty shortly after that. We were going on a family vacation to chicago, and while I'm watching these indians games at night, I'm also watching this crazy white-haired guy out of chicago calling games in the afternoon. On w I said, hey, can we go to a Cubs game? That was ballpark too, and pretty much every family vacation from that point included at least one game. So I get to high school midway through college I've been to about 10 parks and I'm thinking let's try and see them all.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, you know you get in a role there and you've got to collect them all. Right, it's like baseball cards. You've got to have every one of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and worth noting that Brian is a diehard Cubs fan because of WGN. He grew up in an area in West Virginia where there wasn't really a home team, so that was a similar experience for him, just not in a major league market. So yeah, man, that's very cool. And for Wrigley to be number two on your list, I mean that's, that's special, right there yeah, it was.
Speaker 3:Uh. On top of that, I went to college in northwest Indiana and we ended up at two or three Cubs games every school year. So I've been to Wrigley probably second most. So I've been to Wrigley probably second most.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow. See, the Cubs are my favorite team and I've seen the Cubs play many times, but I've yet to go to Wrigley. That's one of the trips that we're going to be taking soon, and, man, so I'm already jealous. If the 30 ballparks weren't enough, the second most is Wrigley.
Speaker 1:So that's cool. So, dave, I know that in addition to all the the major league parks you've been to, you've you've done some other interesting things. I I gotta be honest with you, so for the listeners and the viewers, I found Dave on Twitter. Um, his post about seeing the 30th Major League Park went lightly viral on baseball Twitter and I try to stay pretty connected with that, and I saw in the reply someone had asked you about your favorite park or your favorite experience, and you said, no question, it was Havana, cuba, and there's a story involving a cab driver here that I got to hear as much about this, this trip to Cuba, as as you can give me.
Speaker 3:So about five years ago, cuba was, at the time, open up for us travel. Uh, what you needed was some sort of an educational or family reason to go. So the cruise was the easiest way because all of the shore excursions were defined as educational. Our tour ends and we end up back on the ship thinking, well, what are we going to do tonight? And there was an industrialist game. Now these are the Cuban Yankees. They play at this old. Everything that I said about municipal stadium is exactly what their ballpark is, right Like. I got to see this. So we hop a cab, take us a mile, two miles away from the port over to the ballpark, and we agree with this cabbie. We're leaving the ballpark at 930, 10 o'clock, whatever time it is, come pick us up.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll be there. Sure thing. So we go to the game. Crazy atmosphere. I think a ticket to get in was $1.50, $2. I was behind home plate 10 rows back. Midway through the game the power goes out, get back on and about the seventh inning, it's time to go Pitch black Havana, not in a tourist area and there is no cab to be found.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:Oh man. Thankfully we found a police officer who hailed us a cab and got us back to the port yeah, cuba's not a place you want to be stuck.
Speaker 1:uh, to try to find your own way out.
Speaker 3:Absolutely not.
Speaker 1:But that's so cool. You know you, you hear a lot about those, the, the atmosphere that you, that you were referencing, in Cuba and and, uh, I'm sure that was that was quite uh an experience to to see and hear and feel live. So that's, that's very cool and good on you for for, I mean frankly, for having the balls to say, okay, we're, we're going to do this and we're going to take the slight risk of, you know, make it. You know, uh, uh, making it back to the, to the, the cruise ship, um, so, yeah, so do you? Do you know your total number of ballparks when you count everything minor league, spring training, all that? Do you know your number? 85, 85, wow, that that is something to strive for, folks. I mean, I'm I'm nowhere near that. I feel like I go to as many games as I can every year and I haven't seen nearly that many parks. So that's really cool, and I'm sure you've got tons of more stories. Brian, I think you had a question.
Speaker 2:I do. So you made it to every ballpark and of course you had to eat. Where was the best hot dog?
Speaker 3:Best hot dog. Jeez, I can tell you where some of the worst were. Okay, where's the worst hot?
Speaker 1:dog. Yeah, let's hear that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's good too. We've got dollar dogs in Cleveland on Friday nights and especially where my seats are in the ballpark. We do not get the freshest of them, but they're a buck, so you take what you can get. I'm sure you're looking for the Dodger dog.
Speaker 1:I'm looking for the Dodger dog as a question. Well, he is. I'm looking for the.
Speaker 3:Dodger dog? For sure, I definitely had one. It was good. There's such a thing as a really bad hot dog. Did you try the?
Speaker 2:two-foot one at Atlanta.
Speaker 3:No, I didn't. Probably the most unique local hot dog is the Chicago-style dog with the pickle and the sliced tomato on a poppy seed roll.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, very cool, very cool. So, now that you've kind of checked this milestone off, I mean, what's kind of left on your bucket list, so to speak? What's your next thing? You're kind of focusing on, like you know, I've done this, this and this, but I really want to see this, or do you know? Blank.
Speaker 3:I definitely want to get to Omaha for the College World Series. I definitely want to get to Omaha for the College World Series. I've been to a couple of games in Puerto Rico after being in Cuba and I want to get back to Dominican Republic, back to Puerto Rico. It's just such a joyous party atmosphere at these games, Much closer to a hockey crowd or a college football crowd than what you expect stateside.
Speaker 2:Now, I lived in Puerto Rico for six months and I got to see a lot of the baseball fields there. I was a pro wrestler and we wrestled in the stadiums. I didn't get to see the games, but I know the crowds that you're talking about down there. They're just on fire, so that's a good choice yeah well, cool, dave, that's awesome man.
Speaker 1:so, uh, congratulations, uh are in order. You know that I mean the 30 Major League Parks is something a lot of people strive for and make a point to do, so definitely kudos on that accomplishment and hopefully you'll be able to get out to Omaha soon. Before we let you go, dave, we'd like to give you a chance to plug your Twitter or anything else you'd like to promote here on the show.
Speaker 3:I'm on Twitter mostly talking about baseball and college basketball. Try and keep it light and fun. D-a-v-e-l-b 8-7. That's probably about it. D-a-v-e-l-b-8-7. That's probably about it, Okay right, that's great.
Speaker 1:Right on, man. I know we've got you on the show account, so anything we see that's a good take or an entertaining tweet, we'll definitely retweet out to the masses. But congratulations are also in order, dave. You have survived as the first guest ever on.
Speaker 3:Two Guys Talking Baseball Sounds good. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, dave, thanks so much for being here.
Speaker 3:No-transcript good deal all right.
Speaker 1:So, uh, yeah, that we we really enjoyed talking to Dave and uh getting to know him a little bit and uh, hopefully, you all follow him on Twitter and keep up with his uh you know his adventures and his travels. Uh, moving forward, he, he's done a lot as far as uh the different places he's been able to go to see games, but he's always got more, as you heard, that he's wanting to do and see. And, brian, I think it went well having a guest on for the first time.
Speaker 2:Oh, I loved having him with us and I love his accomplishment. I appreciate it so much that he got to do that. But I'm also jealous, um, you know, and um man, to get to go to every park.
Speaker 1:That's something we we got to try that one of these days yeah, well, we're, we're gonna, we're gonna do, we're gonna do as much damage as we can, um for sure. But uh, yeah, that's, that's not an easy task. I, I mean it's. You know, I've heard of people, excuse me attempting to do it in one season and, how you know, demanding that is not just from a you know scheduling standpoint, but financially, I mean, it's really an undertaking, you know, to do it at all. So kudos again to Daveave and, uh, we really enjoyed our chat with him and hope you enjoyed it as well. But uh, it's time now to get into our cleanup.
Speaker 1:Hitter, as we call it, our main event of the week, and we are talking home runs, the long ball. So I was, um, you know, I've been trying to follow, even though he's not on the Dodgers anymore, and he was really only on the Dodgers for less than one season. Albert Pujols is chasing 700 home runs, which is remarkable, I mean, that list is minute and he's 17 home runs away, which I think for Albert is doable. But it's going to be close just because his numbers have dipped as he's gotten into his 40s and his career is sort of circling the drain. But he's already on a list of nine players all time to hit 600 home runs.
Speaker 1:So if you've been listening to us for a while, you heard on episode zero that I crunched some numbers after Miguel Cabrera got his 3000th hit, trying to project who might be next or somebody we are already familiar with that has a good shot of getting to 3,000 hits. So I tried to do the same thing for 600 home runs and I've got five players here that we're going to go through that. I wanted to see what sort of shot they might have, you know, based on you know, their current projections and how long they would have to play to do it. But but, brian, this is a much harder feat and you know the whole segment with 3 000 hits. We talked about how difficult it was and how you know there's so many great players that that are celebrated and hall of famers and first ballot hall of famers that never got to 3000 hits. You know that's a much longer list than 600 home runs. I mean nine players all time, that's not very many at all. This is a tough, tough thing to pull off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, and what I'm about to say, you're going to say well, yeah, I mean to get 3000 hits've got to just get a hit. That could be anywhere on the field. We're talking, this has to go longer. Yeah, this has to go further. So you're going to have to hit it harder. You're going to have to hit it with more exit velocity. You're going to have to hit it at a different angle, so this is way, way harder than just getting hits.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, um, I went down the active uh list, the the career home run list amongst active players, and I came up with five guys that I thought were interesting cases. Um. So I'm going to go down the list. I'm just going to kind of start at the top, um, you know, and move down. So the first name that I came to that I thought wow, that's kind of interesting was Giancarlo Stanton.
Speaker 1:He currently has 358 home runs and he's 32 years old. This is a guy that just crushes balls. I mean he hits the ball sometimes 120 miles an hour off the bat, which is just ludicrous. I mean that's 35 miles an hour faster than what's considered hard hit. I mean he just destroys baseballs and hits them a long way. So at his current pace he would need to play 923 more games, which would put him at about 41 years old. And I think you know and we said this a lot when we did this for 3,000 hits If he can stay healthy, I think he has the swing and his numbers as far as exit velocity are so high that even when he dips as he gets older, he's still going to be hitting a lot of home runs. I think Giancarlo Stanton has a very good shot at getting to 600.
Speaker 2:I think he does too. Now he's going to have to put a lot of effort into this, yeah, because he's going to have to basically double where he's at. But I think he's got a good shot at it because, you know, that's not a lot of games. I mean it's a lot of games, but it's not a lot of games, and he would be 41. I, I mean it's a lot of games, but it's not a lot of games, and he would be 41. I think that's doable.
Speaker 1:You know that's about. You know, albert Pujols now is 41, 42, right in that age range. So I think when you I mean as we go down this list you're going to see how impossible it gets for really good players to even have a shot at this. I think Giancarlo Stanton at least has a shot, yeah, and that's really saying something, as we will learn as we go down this list, right? So the next guy on the list is Mike Trout, who currently has 323 home runs, but he is only 30. So he would need, at his current pace, 1,144 games, which would put him at 40 years old Again. When we go down the list, that's going to start looking really good. And here's the thing we the this we had the same conversation about Mike Trout with 3000 hits. He's got to stay healthy. He's had some injury issues. He's got to clear that up. He's got to get, he's got to be on the field in the game. Um, but even at his current pace, he's only got to play till he's 40. I like his chances.
Speaker 2:I like his chances too. Um, I'd really like to see him do that. Um, yeah, you know I'm a big fan of his and, uh, he's on my team on my video game, I know you hate it when I mention that, but I'm going to get that in there.
Speaker 1:Hey, I don't hate it. Well, I don't care, we'll talk about that.
Speaker 2:later, before we leave, we'll talk about my game.
Speaker 1:Well, it's just for clarity. I don't hate it, I don't care, but I don't hate it, right right, you're not interested in living vicariously through what I'm living vicariously through.
Speaker 2:No no not at all. Well, then, I'm going to have to take you off of the newsletter then, Okay Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I'll have to get Tracy to take you off, okay Well. But yes, I think Mike can do this if he stays healthy, and that's the key to everything is staying healthy. But I think he's got a good shot at it 100%.
Speaker 1:I think you know he's touted as one of those guys, one of the greatest to ever do it, and I mean he's only 30. He's got a long way to go in theory and he's, you know, by the end of his career, we are we're going to be talking about him as 3,000 hits, five or 600 home runs. I mean he, we are we're going to be talking about him as 3 000 hits, five or six hundred home runs. I mean he's going to have those type of numbers. I really believe that, um, he's a special, special guy and when it's all said and done, we're going to look back and go, wow, we were really, really fortunate to get to see him you know, play um in our lifetime and we're going to get to see him play.
Speaker 1:Oh that's right, we're going to see him play live.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are. That's one of the reasons I'm excited about going there and seeing him and Ohtani.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. So be jealous folks. We're going to see the Angels play live next month and we're really looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:We might decide whether or not they're going to be my AL team between them and the Orioles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, whether or not they're going to be my AL team between them and the Orioles. Yeah, you've narrowed it down and I find that very interesting. Yeah, so we'll see how that plays out. All right, so this is where things start to get interesting. We've given Stanton and Trout at least an outside chance honestly a pretty decent chance at pulling this off, which is saying something, because, again, only nine guys ever have done this. We move to Bryce Harper, who Brian just loves. He currently has 277 home runs and is 29 years old. So at his current pace he would need to play 2,034 more games, which would put him at 46 years old. He'd have to play until he was 46 at his current pace.
Speaker 2:He may not even be playing next week. So I don't think he's going to make it.
Speaker 1:He can't stay healthy.
Speaker 2:I mean 2,000 games from now. He's worried about Tuesday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it doesn't look good for Bryce Harper. I could envision him, you know, upping his games played per season and maybe getting to 500. I think that's doable for him.
Speaker 2:Possibly yes um, I don't know that he's got a shot at 600, I mean he could spend his whole career and, uh, all the time that he's not in the hospital laid up in the bed, and he could probably get to around 500 yeah, I could see that I could see him getting a 500, but 600, I don't know.
Speaker 1:He's going to have to really up his games played per season to get this done. So next up we have Mookie Betts, who I put on here number one because he's 29. So he's got a lot of baseball left in him but he's not really known as a home run hitter. But we're seeing this season a lot of power coming out of his swing. So Mookie is 29, like I said said, and he currently has 193 career home runs, which isn't a lot. So at his current pace he needs 2,153 more games or play until he's 48. Now that sounds like no shot at all, but this uptick in the power those I mean those numbers could change very quickly. He's on pace for 45 home runs this year, which he's never really had a season anywhere close to that from a power standpoint. So you know, I think mookie's a 3 000 hit guy. Um, I think he's going to up his home run numbers, but he's got a lot of work to do to get to 600. I mean a lot of work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I love Mookie. He's one of my favorite players, probably my favorite Dodgers right now, but he's not going to do it. He's playing until he's 48. No, I just don't see him playing that long.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think he's going to up his pace. I think he's going to improve the projection, but I don't know if he can improve it enough to get to 600. I mean, he only has 193.
Speaker 2:Now I mean I love that you put him on the list and he's on every list that we make and that's cool. People might say, oh well, you know, of course he's putting that on there, but I just Well, I mean, it's my show.
Speaker 1:I do what the fuck I want Exactly Die mad about it, I guess.
Speaker 2:I don't know Right, just like the player of the week. Curse.
Speaker 1:I mean we'll, we're, we're on that story, that's our beat. That is our beat, that is our beat absolutely oh yeah.
Speaker 2:But.
Speaker 1:But we love mookie though, and and here's the thing he doesn't have to hit till he's 48, you know right, he will still love him yeah, 100, and I think he's he's gonna go down as is one of the best players of this generation and of all time, because he does a lot of things. But 600 home runs, I don't think is going to be one. No, I don't either. Okay, so here's the last one, and this one I think is really fascinating, and that's Aaron Judge really fascinating. And that's Aaron Judge. So Judge currently has 176 home runs and is 30 years old, and you might say, well, there's no shot. But at his current pace he needs 1,423 games, which would make him 47 years old.
Speaker 1:But here's the thing about Aaron Judge His games played per season right now is really low. I mean, I was shocked at how low it was and I think that number is going to go up tremendously and he is just crushing right now and I think that's going to continue. He's in a contract year. He's about to get paid a really big contract. I know that the numbers right now don't suggest it, but I think he's got about as good a shot as anybody on this list. As long as he stays healthy, which again is the biggest thing for all these guys I think he can up that games played per season and continue to hit home. I mean, you know he's teammates with Stanton and he's doing some of the same stuff. I mean, he's just this big football player-sized guy that is just obliterating baseballs and it might be an outside shot, but I think he's got a shot.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm on the fence with this. I think if anybody could do it, it would be him.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think he will stay healthy, because he doesn't really do anything that keeps him not healthy, right, I mean, anything can happen and it's still an athletic endeavor and all that, but I think he gets to 500. I think he does that for sure. I don't know if he gets all the way there, but I did put down four stars because I think he's the one to watch.
Speaker 2:I think he's the one in all of this to see over the long term, to see if he can do it. And I think if anybody can do it, he can do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because, again, right now, the numbers are skewed a certain way because he's not played a lot of games per season and that's what all this is based off of, and again, I think that pace is going to go up. I mean, I think he's going to become a guy that's in there every day and, as long as he stays healthy, he's going, he's gonna leapfrog some of these other guys on this list, uh as far as the his career number, uh of home runs. So you know, interesting stuff. Hard to say one way or the other, though. I mean, again, this is such a daunting task that even trying to project this is a little crazy on our part.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, and I mean it's such a small field that's done in any way.
Speaker 1:So I mean none of these guys might get there. Yeah, I mean it's entirely possible that none of these guys even get close, if we're being honest. I mean, you know, nine players all time, that's it. I mean, that is just such a small, small group of players that have done it so far, and I'm going to read off those names here real, quick.
Speaker 2:We have more people on staff at Three Crows than have done that. Yeah, you keep telling people that.
Speaker 1:So Barry Bonds, hank Aaron, babe Ruth, alex Rodriguez, albert Pujols, willie Mays, ken Griffey Jr, jim Tomei, sammy Sosa, that's it. That's everybody that's ever hit 600 home runs in a career. Yeah, that's not a lot. No, not at all. I mean, and if you look at that list like it was Ruth, aaron and Mace forever yeah, that was it. I mean, that was everybody, you know.
Speaker 1:And then that era of guys that may or may not have had a little help hitting those home runs came along. Runs came along and and you know, uh, bonds, a rod, um, sosa, you know, um, I don't know, it's interesting, it's, it's an interesting list. Uh, I mean, mcguire didn't do it, mcguire, mcguire came up short. You know, you go down the list and and you know, mickey mantle didn't do it, um, you know, there's a lot of great hitters that didn't get to 600 home runs. Um, so it, you know, and, and 500, even 500, is more rare than 3 000 hits, because only 28 guys have hit 500 home runs. Right, so you know, these projections are tough, but I thought this was interesting. I wanted to take a look at it because I had a lot of fun doing the projections for 3,000 hits and I wanted to kind of revisit that, but with a different stat. And you know, and I start crunching these numbers and it's like, oh, bryce Harper has to play until he's 46. And it's like, okay, did I just waste my time on this?
Speaker 2:Well, maybe with Bryce you did, maybe, yeah, well, you know.
Speaker 1:I tried to look at guys that were towards the top of the active list, that still had some years to play. You know, because Nelson Cruz, he's not going to get there. You know because he's not going to get there, because he's not going to play that much longer, but he's at the top, towards the top of the active list. Miguel Cabrera, towards the top of the active list, not going to do it because he's about done. I don't know, man, it's another one of those interesting things that kind of there was a long time where not many guys had done it, then a rush of guys that did it and now it.
Speaker 2:we may never see another one. We may not. I mean we absolutely may not. I mean that's uh, that's what makes it so interesting and that's why we watch the game yeah, 100.
Speaker 1:Well, that about wraps things up as far as our topics this week. Brian, is there anything else you needed to get off your chest?
Speaker 2:Yes, my team on Nintendo Switch is not doing so well this year. Last year we made the wild card and we lost, and this year we are way, way the fuck under 500. I mean, we can't win to save our lives. And I've done everything, I've changed the almost the whole team, but uh, but we're there playing every game and every day, and you know, god willing, and we're just gonna take it one game at a time and see what happens.
Speaker 1:All right, well, that about does it for us this week. Folks, this sat, this Saturday, june the 4th just a reminder we will be at the Princeton Whistlepigs game hanging out having a good time. So if you're around and you want to come see a great ball game at a classic ballpark and you know, talk baseball with us that's where we'll be Saturday night, june the 4th. Other than that, 2gtbcom that has links to all of our social media outlets and all of the places where you can listen to the podcast, as well as a link to our YouTube if you want to watch the video version. 2gtbstorecom to buy your t-shirts, jerseys, hats, pet products, all the goodies over there to support us directly. Pet products, all the all the goodies over there to support us directly. And, uh, yeah, with that, until next week for brian logan I'm dallas danger. Happy baseball everybody. We'll see you at the field.