Latest / Foul Territory / Karl Ravech reflects on his iconic baseball broadcasting career

Transcript

Karl Ravech reflects on his iconic baseball broadcasting career · Foul Territory

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's talk about Williamsport.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: We have more from the Little League World Series coverage
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: presented by New York Life, the official financial guidance partner
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: of Little League Baseball. And that's where you can hear,
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: of course, Carl Ravitch up there. He called the Little
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: League Classic, too, for ESPN. And you can hear him
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: on Dirt from the Dugout. I got a lot of
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: promoting to do, Carl, before I get to you, because
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Dirt from the Dugout is just an incredible show. You
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: guys have been off to a huge, huge roaring start
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: with all the great guests that you have. And I
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: think it'll be something that people can look back to
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: over months and months to listen back to the Theo
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Epstein episode, etc.
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: How are you doing?
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: How's it going up there?
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's going really well. Thanks very much. Appreciate that.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: I think we're coming out of the little league break
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: with Dave Roberts, which is another really good guest when
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: you have the manager of the Dodgers and a multiple
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: world series champion. So yeah, I mean, dirt from the
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: dugout fits right in with what we're doing here at
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: the little league world series, which is talking about youth
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: sports and kind of putting an eye on the way
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: things have been operating in the youth sports world. Another
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: great little league world series. I know I've made no
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: secret about it, being fortunate enough to cover Little League
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: and College World Series and certainly the Major League World
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: Series for forever. There is a joy about it. There's
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: a fun about it. It is truly a world event,
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: which makes it unique. And every year the stories are different.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: And I know most people focus on what Kinley Rasmus,
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: who is obviously the daughter of Corey Rasmus and the
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: niece of Colby Rasmus. So there's a lot of You know,
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: great tutelage growing up when you got major leaguers all
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: over the place. Brother-in-law of the family named Jeff Mathis,
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: who played for forever. But she's been the story the
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: same way 12 years ago. Monet Davis was the story.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: And Louis Lappy. Like, I can name most kids that
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: people don't even know of. But up here, they're the
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: big deal. So it's been a fun event, Ryan. Thank
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: you very much. Kratzy and AJ, how are you guys doing? Good.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Carl, I just want to know, do they not have
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: a driver for you? Can we knock it? Are you
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: driving your own car?
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: I'm not driving, actually. I'm parked. I'm outside of a
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Planet Fitness. I mean, I'll pull the curtain back for you.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: I just had meniscus surgery on my knee. So after
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: a game we had at 9 a.m. because of weather,
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: which hasn't yet shown up. Now, we went at 9 a.m.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: after finishing last night at 9.30. So we've already played
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: our two games today. And now I'm here to kind
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: of work on strengthening and getting flexibility and all that
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: stuff in my knee. So I just rolled out to
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: the lot to talk to you guys. Perfect.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: We appreciate it. So, Carl, the Little League World Series,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: I say this every time, is on every clubhouse in
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: every big league stadium when it's on. I mean, everyone's
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: watching it. Everyone's tuned in. The Rasmus girl, obviously, Kinley,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: has been a huge story. What are the other huge
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: stories in this? Japan, I saw, lost or got no hit.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: and they came back and won their next two games.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: They're still alive. Is that the biggest story, the Curacao team?
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: What's the biggest story besides Kinley Rasmus?
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: I would say it's, if you're really going to go
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: kind of nuts and bolts on the event itself, it's
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: probably the parody that we've seen. We've seen some historically
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: great teams. There was a team from California in 2009
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: that had some giants on it, and they destroyed everybody else.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: A few years ago, Maine-Enwell, a tiny town in upstate
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: New York, won the whole thing. they became a story.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, the beauty of the little league world series
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: is every year, you know, there are new stories and it's,
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: it's binge viewing for people, whether it's major league clubhouses
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: or people's homes with grandparents or parents or kids or teenagers,
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: this doesn't really matter, but you've got to watch it 10,
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: 11 days in a row. And by the end of it,
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: all the work that we do in the beginning to
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: start to learn names and learn players, you, you know,
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: them all like you, you know that a kid named
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Boone Treadway is going to play short. Now you may
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: not know that, but after being here for a week
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: and a half, you start to know that. And he's
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: going to be a central figure in all this. There's,
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: there's kids that look like they're going to end up
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: playing high school ball and maybe college ball. And who knows,
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: maybe they're the next Cody Bellinger and make it to
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: the major leagues from the little league world series. There's
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: a kid named Cooper Tisson who plays with Troy to
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: Lewicki's son through a no hitter, hit a home run. He,
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: He pulled an Otani in his game for Iowa and
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: they lost today. So they're going home. I think to
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: your point, AJ, you know, the stories change every year.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: You kind of have to invest in the event. But
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: what was really neat was when you have Chris Sale
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: being asked by a kid like Cooper Tisson during the
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: Sunday night game. And they're all coming to Williamsport, the
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: major leaguers from Milwaukee and Atlanta and sitting up in
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: the booth that we sit at and looking out and
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: whether it's Ronald Acuna or Matt Olson or Chris Sale
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: or Jacob Mizorowski, like their level of awe, because very
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: few of them made it here, their level of awe
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: at the facility, the place, which I find to be
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: magical in a lot of ways. And then the abilities
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: of these kids. I don't know if you remember your
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: level of play at 11 or 12 years old, but
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: most of the time when you watch a kid like
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: Tissen Pitch or anybody else up here that's an ace,
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: they sit there and say, like even Mizorowski, like, nope,
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: I wasn't, I didn't throw that hard. I didn't have
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: those mechanics when I was 12 years old. So the
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: biggest story always is, and I'm delighted about it, is the,
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: I think, improvement, the growth in kids playing baseball, boys
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: and girls, whatever it takes to get them on a field.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: And the fact that it's worldwide, and we have kids
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: from Nicaragua and South Korea, and as you said, Curaçao,
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: You know, Ozzie Albee served the national anthem for Curacao
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: and had tears in his eyes. So the quality of play,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: the depth, the idea that it's worldwide, that Little League
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: is growing, anything to get kids on a field and
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: playing with teammates and learning about different cultures, learning about sportsmanship.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: You know, as you know, I could go on and
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: on about, I think, what are the values of youth
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: baseball and in particular Little League through age 12.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: One of the things that I wasn't very good at
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: was playing Major League Baseball. One of the things that
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: I'm really good at is sweating. Even now, when I'm
• 6:25
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• 7:12
  Speaker 2: any disease.
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: Can you give us a, maybe not a breakdown, but
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: just a comparison between Monet Davis, what she meant to
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: Little League, to now? Kenley Rasmus because now Monet Davis
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: is a lot older. We just saw her make a
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: great play in an all-star game and center field. But
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: in my area in Pennsylvania, Monet Davis has been everywhere.
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: And I mean, there's girls that talk about her. There's
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: boys that talk about where is that with Kenley now,
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: not just being the next Monet Davis, her being the
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: next Kenley Rasmus.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: So I think, you know, women's sports is obviously, um,
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: growing in popularity, rightfully so. Um, These, whether they're girls
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: or women in college or WNBA players, have tapped into
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: a vein that prior to this recent maybe 10 years,
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: you know, wasn't really tapped into. I think now they've
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: become much more of an accepted sport. Their ratings are really,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: really good. I think the challenge for somebody like Kenley
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: Rasmus is there was a Monet Davis. And there had
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: been other women that had played girls at the Little
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: League World Series. Nobody had ever done or achieved or
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: accomplished what Monet Davis did. So she was the first
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: to throw shutouts, to beat guys routinely on the mound.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: You know, that's new territory, clearly. So the challenge, similarly,
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: for somebody like Caitlin Clark, who follows, whether it's Diana
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: Taurasi or Rebecca Lobo, you've already had a ball raised
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: by girls or women. It's very difficult to sort of
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: reestablish this connection. It's almost a reminder as opposed to
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: reestablishing something. It's a reminder that. that there has been
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: a Monique Davis. It is a reminder that a girl
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: like Kinley Rasmus is as good as 95% of the
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: boys that were on the field here this year at
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: the Little League World Series. But it's not new, it's
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: not novel. It's, oh yeah, we did see that act
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: and this one may be better. You know, I'm not
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: sure that there's a reason to compare them other than
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: that they both were on the mound as good as
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: nearly every other pitcher that was here. Rasmus pitched as
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: well as anybody else here. And I mean that in a,
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: didn't overpower you with 70 mile an hour fastballs. She pitched,
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: she pitched shutouts. She was phenomenal. She, she was sort
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: of Greg Maddox, you know, at his prime, she just
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: moved the ball up and down and she's got all
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: sorts of incredible tutors and teachers who are helping her
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: do that. So I think that's the answer. I think
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: Rasmus overall is a better player. She hit the ball
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: better than Monet. but again Monet was the real trailblazer
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: in showing everybody that a girl can be as good
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: as a boy at the highest level of amateur youth
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: baseball Rasmus was a reminder like well we've seen it
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: before and this girl is spectacular You've had.
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: An incredible journey doing these games and obviously big league games.
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: When you're at the Little League World Series and, you know,
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: maybe your last year doing it, what is the team
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: that you look back on and go, that is the
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: best team or that was the best moment through these years?
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: Excuse me. Yeah, I would say that, you know, when
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: you come here for the first time and my first
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: time was back in 2006, you know, you've never been
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: exposed to to international Little League until you come here.
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: And then you start to realize, gratefully, that baseball is
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: a universal language. And just because you're from Japan, you're
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: from South Korea, wherever you're from, you understand what the
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: heck we're doing. We're playing baseball. There is a way
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: to communicate about the game. But when you've never seen it,
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: and then you go on the field and you see
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: some of these kids, as you're watching there from Japan,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: make plays defensively, you're reminded that while it's a universal
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: language and everybody can communicate on the same level, it
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: doesn't mean that they practice the same way. It doesn't
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: mean that they prepare the same way. It means that
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: there's a bat, a ball and a glove and a
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: field and four bases, and there's a walk and a
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: strikeout and homers, et cetera. But when you watch the
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: kids from Japan take infield, when you watch the discipline
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: of those kids, when you see what we just saw there,
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: like a team from Canada, who was, when I started coaching, Oh,
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: and two and we're gone. Like we're going back to Canada.
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: Now they made it all the way to a Thursday game.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: Like they're that good. The most rewarding part of this,
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: and I'm not avoiding the question. It's more of the
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: development of, of, of little league baseball. Australia has gotten
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: much better. That's ultimately the goal is to grow the
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: game here. But I would say that the thing I
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: will take away from it is to remind people as
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: good as we think we are in this country, There
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: are teams in Japan and South Korea. You guys know it.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: You've played against them all the time. Otani may be
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: the best player we've seen ever at the major league level.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: He's not from Nebraska. He's not from Iowa. So at
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: this youth level to see those kids do what they
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: do with the precision and the power they have this year, Crassie,
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: there there's been one team, I think that hits six
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: home runs. That's Japan. No, no one else has more
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: than two or three. So they're sort of a preeminent power.
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: And that's really what I'll take after all, all the
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: years here, along with the joy and, and what little
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: league to me is all about, you know, the fun,
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: the joy, the smiles, the laughter, the ability to flush
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: a loss or an error that that's, that's what it's
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: all about.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Carl, I love what you just said, because we used
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: to always say, you know, you're talking to your kids
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: about things, you know what, 12 year old kids, they're
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: not going to remember this game 45 minutes after we,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: As parents, we go, oh, a kid went 0-4. These kids,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: if you don't bring it up, 30 minutes after the game,
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: they're talking about Xbox and PlayStation and ice cream and pizza.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: They don't care that they went 0-4 and punched out
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: three times. They made the error. It doesn't matter because
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: they're kids, right? And they move along. And I think
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: that's one of the best parts about Little League and
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: baseball at that age. When you start getting into high
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: school and it gets a little more serious, there's bigger implications.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: But what I want to know from you, Carlos, how
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: important is it that we keep doing the little league
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: classic with major league players. You saw the reaction to
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: Miz walking around Acuna walking around, right? These guys get
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: a chance to be rewarded, not only for making it
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: to Williamsport, but then they get to see their heroes
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: up close and personal. And for the players, they get
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: to see these kids that are so awesome.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Now, again, I apologize. I'm doing literally games every
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: night and I didn't check the box scores. How have
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: the Braves done the last couple of days? You guys
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: know the Braves winning. They play in the Dodgers. I'm
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: in Atlanta. Is that who they're playing? Yes.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Carl, I'm in Atlanta for the game tonight for Fox.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: So they've won the first two against the Dodgers.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Okay. So the answer to that question, I think, lies twofold.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: As Eduardo Perez made the point, the Braves were scuffling
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: when they got here. And I think for the adults
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: in the room, meaning the Braves and the Brewers, there's
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: a lot of positives that can come from hanging around kids.
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: As you just touched on, oftentimes it's the parents who
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: are driven crazy by the kids because the kids aren't
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: as pissed off as the parents are that we lost
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: the game. And the kids aren't, you know, really upset
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: that I went 0 for 3, but dad and mom
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: might be Rip City. In the case of the Braves,
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: this may have been the ultimate reset. You come, you're
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: surrounded by kids. Nobody's upset. Everybody's laughing. You're looking at
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: kids sliding down hills. Those that are in the family
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: are watching, but some of them are eating ice cream. Like, really? Like,
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: this is a county fair and baseball. We're not stressing
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: the details. I think the Atlanta Braves, and I know
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: Ronald Acuna was a pig in slop. I mean, his
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: smile was unbelievable. And he sat there knowing the way
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: that he grew up, knowing on some of the fields
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: that he played. And he's looking out at this thing
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: that looks like it looks like it's like the Augusta
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: of Little League fields. And he was so happy and
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: so relaxed. And if you remember that Sunday night game,
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: stole a base, got up, raised his hands like a
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: Little Leaguer would. It's a reminder of why the hell
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: we all started to be involved with this game, why
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: we played it. So the answer to your question on
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: the first level, it is critical for the teams that
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: come here to embrace it, to enjoy it, to maybe
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: take something from it, which I think the Braves did.
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: And subsequently, you cannot have a better environment for the
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: Little Leaguers. It is the bonus baby for getting here.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: We get to mingle with Mizorowski and Acuna and Sale
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: and Olsen and and Yelich. Like, we actually get to
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: ride on a bus and ask questions. Heck, I think
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: one of the kids asked Acuna for his gold necklace,
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: and Ronald, I think, said, I'll see you after the game.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: You know, that's probably a $ 200, 000 necklace. I don't think
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: he gave it to him, but the idea that you're
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: talking to people you idolize and never get that close
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: and that the major leaguers can benefit from it, I'm
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: delighted it's continuing next year with the Blue Jays and
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: the Cubs. I think, personally, it's the best opportunity event
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: that they do non-traditional. I know they do a lot
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: of them, and the Field of Dreams is great, and
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: the other games they've played. I've been to military bases.
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: I've been to Korea with Major League Baseball. The Little
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: League Classic checks every single box and serves purposes for
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: everybody that watches and everybody that participates. Bella.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: Bella.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: Bella.
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  Speaker 1: Where?
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: I don't know where Bella is, but I know how
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: to take care of my pup.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: Kratz, while you find Bella, today's episode is sponsored by
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  Speaker 2: not an insurer and is not engaged in the business
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  Speaker 2: of insurance.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: Carl, before we let you go, I just have to
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: say this as somebody that has been around baseball obviously
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: a long time. uh, you know, thank you. I just
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: want to say thank you. There's really nothing else that
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: I can say to you. Um, growing up watching baseball tonight,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: every night, and then getting to be on baseball tonight
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: as a player, when you got to hear Carl Ravitch say, Hey,
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: AJ Persinski hit a home run, right. Or things like that.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: It meant, it meant the world to us as players.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: So I don't know what the future holds for you.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know what's going to happen with you, but
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the way you've handled all this, it's gone down. I
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: just want to say thank you because I, It's pretty
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: awesome that you are still a part of it. You
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: still love the game this much. You still love the
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: kids this much. And the fact that you're there doing
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: what you're doing with the situation that's going on, I
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: just want to say thank you. And I'm humbled that
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: you're a part of our network, and I'm honored that
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: you're a part of our network. So, Carl, from me
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: to you, from my kids, from my family, thank you
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: for everything you've done for the game of baseball.
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: Thank you, AJ. That does mean a lot. I mean,
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: as I've said here, you know, when you do a
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: Baseball Tonight show– as you guys know, you're in a box.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're in a studio and you have three
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: camera people and you have a researcher and I got,
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: you know, John Kroc or Harold Reynolds or Peter Gammons
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: or Dave Campbell or any number of 100 plus analysts
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: I've sat next to. You don't know the connection that
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: over 25 years of baseball tonight, you're forming with the
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: audience and then with the players. And I am honest
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: to God, humble to hear a player say that I
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: was humbled to hear Chris Sayles say that. And obviously,
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: you know, Garrett Mitchell sort of got it rolling and
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: subsequently general managers and others have reached out and said,
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: thank you. And again, I appreciate that. I was doing
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: a job. It was a job that, and it is
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: a job that I love to do. I don't know
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: what happens next, but I know this, that I love
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: the game. I love the kids. And I've had a
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: great amount of respect for what you guys do And
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: I hope it's come across. And based on the feedback
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: I get from somebody like you and others, I have
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: the utmost respect for playing and succeeding at the hardest
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: game there is in the world to play. So thank you.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: That means a lot. All of the nice things that
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: have been said mean a great deal. But I did
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: it because I love it and I want to continue
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: to do it. And I'm grateful for Fowl Territory for
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: having me. dirt from the dugout on. And of course
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: our platform to parent dugout, I think we can continue
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: to make differences in this game and, and succeeded in
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: doing that apparently on some small level, doing it for
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: 33 years. And then the next chapter will involve continuing
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: to try to make sure this game grows and grows
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: in the right way. So thank you very much. I've
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: been touched and I never expected this. Never. Yeah.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: It means a lot, right. To, to all, facets of
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: the sport, right? Players, fans, you know, people that work
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: in the sport. So, I mean, my last note on
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: this too, Carl, just to chime in from the fan
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: broadcaster side is one of my favorite phrases in baseball
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: is soundtrack of the summer. That's what people will say,
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: you know, whether they listen on the radio TV to me,
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: that was, you know, you on baseball tonight and at
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: the games and everything else over the years. So it's
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: just like, whether you're dialed in and watching every moment
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: or it's just sitting there on, Right. It's like it's
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: part of your summer experience where you might be hanging
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: out in the backyard with someone and it's.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Just it's on baseball tonight.
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I think there's a nostalgia factor that's hitting
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: for a lot of people, too, when this stuff pops up.
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: Also, I appreciate that.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Also, Carl, let me say this. Like when you get
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: first called up and you were like you do something cool,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: you're like, will I make top 10 on SportsCenter? will
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: I make web gems on baseball today? Right. So to
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: hear that, that was a huge deal because back then
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: there was no other channels. And if you were on,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: you were on baseball tonight, I mean, you were getting
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: calls and oh my gosh, I actually saw you on TV.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Like Carl Ravitch talked about you. Harold Reynolds talked about you, right?
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: Dave Campbell, those guys, that was what was so awesome
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: about it. And that's why I kind of like, we
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: kind of parallel when I came up, it was kind
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: of hitting big, right. And even a little bit before.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: So it was just incredible.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: So, again, I can't thank you enough. You're a part
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: of my life. Thank you. It's not lost on me.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: I know it's not lost on you guys. As you've
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: seen and we've all seen the media landscape change, like
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: ESPN has been a rocket ship. I was lucky enough
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: to be on it when it was– Climbing to the
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: moon and we were the only game in town. It's
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: quite obvious we're not the only game in town. I
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: think that's great for somebody who might be looking for
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: an opportunity. But we were the benefactor of being the
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: place where you tuned in in 98 for the home
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: run derby and we were the place, you know, in
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: 1996 when the Yankees started their run. Your game ended
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: in whatever market you were watching and you flipped over
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: to ESPN to see how the other teams were doing.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: In a lot of ways, it predates phones. It predates
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: the idea that you could just dial up a highlight
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: at your fingertips. Like all those things didn't exist. So
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: we have to understand we're in a different time and
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: a different world. And I guess for a 61-year-old like
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: I am, to be a part of nostalgia does make
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: you feel old, but that may very well be what's
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: going on with many people today. who watched. If you
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: started watching baseball tonight when you were 10 and I'm,
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: I'm let go. Now you're 43. Like you've been through
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: every level of school. You've had children and, and, and
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: maybe they've gone through college. So I appreciate that. I understand,
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: you know, the accumulators of the world. And for 33 years,
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: I was allowed into living rooms and other parts of
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: people's homes and now on tablets and phones. So again,
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: I'm grateful for it. That's not why I'm here to
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: do this, but it's certainly been a big and nice
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: surprise for me to do that.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: It does not go unnoticed and it hits home, you know,
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: during a time like this for everyone, right. From, you know,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: first when you remember hearing it and all the way
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: through now, all the years of the games and little league,
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: of course. So Carl, it means a lot. Thank you
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: so much for joining us. Great to catch up with
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: you and have.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Fun out there.
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: Good to be on. I'll see you guys soon. Thanks. Yes,
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: thank you.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: That's Carl Ravitch. A couple things.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: First of all, the segment brought to you by New
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: York Life. They know the importance of celebrating milestones. They're
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: giving you the opportunity to commemorate your first MLB game,
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: if that's for you, with a special lineup card certificate.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: Go take the kiddo to a game. You can also
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: enter to win a trip for two to a 2026
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: World Series game. Winners receive access to the field before
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: the game, which is sick. You watch batting practice, round trip, flight,
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  Speaker 2: and hotel accommodations included. Please see official rules for complete details.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: Visit mlb.com slash myfirstgamesweeps for more information. And one more
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: shout out at the finish line here for Mr. Ravitch
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: and his show, Dirt from the Dugout, along with Justin Musil.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: There's DeRosa on there, but there have been so many
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: other fantastic guests from, like he mentioned, Theo Epstein to
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: now coming up, Dave Roberts.
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: Go check it out.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: Those are timeless interviews that they're racking up. on their
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: YouTube channel and wherever you get your pods. Dusty Baker,
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: Dustin Pedroia, the list goes on.