Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / Honoring 2009 Yanks Brings Me Back To That Special Year
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett. All right, Well, if you
- 0:06Speaker 1: told me on May twenty second, after I was riving
- 0:10Speaker 1: in pain from a gallstone that had passed through my system,
- 0:15Speaker 1: that Michael Rubin, the CEO of Fanatics on Fanatics Friday,
- 0:19Speaker 1: would repost repost this podcast and the recaps I was
- 0:25Speaker 1: doing from Fanatics Fest, I would have said, I'm going
- 0:29Speaker 1: back to sleep. I'm too tech because I just passed
- 0:31Speaker 1: the gallstone. In all seriousness, thank you Michael Rubin for
- 0:35Speaker 1: posting our show. One look up with Alex Garrett to
- 0:40Speaker 1: your people, and you're the CEO of Fanatics. I mean,
- 0:43Speaker 1: this is just so cool and getting the meeting for
- 0:45Speaker 1: a minute and he said just keep applying to Fanatics
- 0:47Speaker 1: and whatnot. It was great. It was great. But I
- 0:53Speaker 1: have some more flashback moments that this week is bringing up.
- 1:00Speaker 1: I mean, it's gonna be the fifteen year anniversary commemoration
- 1:05Speaker 1: of the Yankees World Series of two thousand and nine,
- 1:09Speaker 1: and it correlates with the fifteen year anniversary of starting
- 1:13Speaker 1: Queen's College and graduating the Henry Viscarti School. For me,
- 1:19Speaker 1: I mean, this is some personal shit. This was a
- 1:23Speaker 1: year two thousand and nine, a year of transition from
- 1:28Speaker 1: high school to college, from the old stadiums of Yankee
- 1:32Speaker 1: and Shay to City Field and Yankee Stadium, the one
- 1:35Speaker 1: that you know, they say George Simeron I built. It
- 1:40Speaker 1: was a year of transitioning from one stage of life
- 1:44Speaker 1: to the next. I mean, the old Yankee Stadium and
- 1:47Speaker 1: Chase Stadium were an era where our childhoods now we
- 1:52Speaker 1: all had to move across the street to a new ballpark,
- 1:56Speaker 1: a new layout, and of course the Yanks and Mets
- 2:00Speaker 1: couldn't even open up till later in the year because
- 2:02Speaker 1: they were still working on both City Field and a
- 2:06Speaker 1: Yankee Stadium. But that being said, that being said, I
- 2:16Speaker 1: just am reminiscent today because this weekend honor is fifteen
- 2:21Speaker 1: years since just this whole thing started. For me. We
- 2:30Speaker 1: got to see mister Signburner on opening day of two
- 2:33Speaker 1: thousand and nine thanks to Ben and Rob Gomez, and
- 2:40Speaker 1: that was special. We couldn't take a picture, but it
- 2:42Speaker 1: was special to get to see him one more time.
- 2:47Speaker 1: We noticed that the medal that I had given George
- 2:50Speaker 1: Saverner for winy eight hundred meters was actually brought across
- 2:54Speaker 1: the street from the old Stadium to the new stadium
- 2:57Speaker 1: knows that right off the bat, and how special is
- 2:59Speaker 1: that along with the bullhorns that were in the old
- 3:03Speaker 1: Inkes owner suite that mister Simon are personally hung up
- 3:10Speaker 1: on the bullhorns in the old stadium and playing wise,
- 3:18Speaker 1: I mean, it was a great time to follow this team.
- 3:21Speaker 1: Things really heated up after the Luis Casillo pop fly drops.
- 3:26Speaker 1: Sorry met fans have to say it, or to shaff
- 3:28Speaker 1: scored all the way from first that was amazing on
- 3:31Speaker 1: an a Rod pop up where he slammed the bat,
- 3:34Speaker 1: but all of a sudden Casillo drops it and the
- 3:35Speaker 1: Yanks don't look back from there. It was a year
- 3:39Speaker 1: where as I think about it, if David Robertson doesn't
- 3:46Speaker 1: shut the door on the Twins with bases loaded and
- 3:48Speaker 1: nobody out, I don't know what happens in that postseason,
- 3:52Speaker 1: but it was almost like his arm and the baseball
- 3:55Speaker 1: gods were in line that night, and the Yanks will
- 3:57Speaker 1: of course win it. In extras, I think that was
- 3:59Speaker 1: a night to share a homer. Of course, a Rod
- 4:01Speaker 1: in Game three of the Aods hitting a major homer
- 4:04Speaker 1: to put the Yanks on top for good. And then
- 4:06Speaker 1: of course in the AOCS. We all know the wild
- 4:09Speaker 1: throat by the Angels that got past their basement. Yanks
- 4:13Speaker 1: win it, go to the A to the World Series.
- 4:17Speaker 1: Then the World Series, things looked a little bleaked, didn't they.
- 4:21Speaker 1: Cliff Lee in the Phillies making mincemet of that offense,
- 4:24Speaker 1: the Yankee offense in Game one, and then all of
- 4:27Speaker 1: a sudden, I think they were either tied it one
- 4:30Speaker 1: or going down to oh to Philly, and things changed,
- 4:34Speaker 1: Andy Pettitt, a bloop single to center, a Rod a
- 4:37Speaker 1: home run off the camera in center field, in right center.
- 4:41Speaker 1: I mean, these moments change everything. And then Matsui back
- 4:45Speaker 1: home against Pedro doing he did best, getting his baits hits.
- 4:49Speaker 1: He won the series MVP, and then of course the
- 4:55Speaker 1: Yanks ground ball Mario and to his Sharon, the Yanks
- 4:59Speaker 1: win the World Series. I mean that excitement in the
- 5:05Speaker 1: building that night. We want that again at Yanks cnement.
- 5:09Speaker 1: I think we feel it again when Soho Soho, when
- 5:13Speaker 1: Soto and a judge go back to back, belly to belly,
- 5:18Speaker 1: or when the Yanks have a major win, and when
- 5:24Speaker 1: you have the captain at forty eight Homers on his
- 5:26Speaker 1: way to another home run, Chase We'll have to see
- 5:29Speaker 1: how the rest of the year plays out here, but
- 5:31Speaker 1: it's kind of exciting, kind of exciting. But this weekend
- 5:39Speaker 1: also makes me reflect. See, two thousand and nine was
- 5:44Speaker 1: a special year because that means fifteen years ago we
- 5:48Speaker 1: started this journey online radio podcasting now on terrestrial via
- 5:53Speaker 1: being engineer for Arthur ay Dalla Jo Episcopo, Kevin mccallott,
- 5:57Speaker 1: Times on Name nine. Some of the answer the one
- 6:01Speaker 1: that got brand has moved around, but it started as
- 6:06Speaker 1: the Sports Hour with Alex Garrett on October fifteenth, two
- 6:11Speaker 1: thousand and nine. And if I'm not mistaken, the Yankees
- 6:16Speaker 1: won the World Series in two thousand and nine because
- 6:23Speaker 1: my show was on a Thursday, the Yankees I thought
- 6:33Speaker 1: had won it on a Wednesday night because I remember
- 6:40Speaker 1: coming on the air the next day and talking about
- 6:44Speaker 1: being at the game in two thousand and nine. I mean,
- 6:48Speaker 1: this is history right here, because not only was I
- 6:56Speaker 1: freshman and a freshman on the college radio station, but
- 7:00Speaker 1: now I'm reporting. Now I'm reporting on the World Series
- 7:06Speaker 1: win the prior night, and that was basically my Sports
- 7:17Speaker 1: Hour career kicked off. Was following the playoffs, was texting
- 7:22Speaker 1: friends from the stadium suite, from the sweets of the
- 7:27Speaker 1: stadium in general, and being immersed in it that first
- 7:33Speaker 1: semester of college the Yanks from the World Series. That's
- 7:37Speaker 1: what I'll also remember most about it. And I remember
- 7:41Speaker 1: how my dad was always with me at Queen's College
- 7:45Speaker 1: and always going to those games with me back in
- 7:48Speaker 1: the day, and it just with him not here. I'm
- 7:52Speaker 1: gonna miss him tomorrow at Old Timer's Day when they
- 7:54Speaker 1: honor the team from two thousand and nine. But I'll
- 7:58Speaker 1: also miss him because I can't how fifteen years has
- 8:01Speaker 1: changed things. I thought in two thousand and nine, fifteen
- 8:07Speaker 1: years ago, he'd be here, strong and so being Pops,
- 8:11Speaker 1: you know, But now he's being Pops from above and
- 8:16Speaker 1: I can hear him, I can feel him. I know
- 8:18Speaker 1: his spirit's guiding me through the rest of life here.
- 8:24Speaker 1: But I can't lie and say this weekend I'm gonna
- 8:28Speaker 1: be stone called. No, it's gonna be emotional because two
- 8:31Speaker 1: thousand and nine was such a pivotal year. Besides turning
- 8:36Speaker 1: twenty one, well actually that happened a few years later,
- 8:41Speaker 1: but besides going to college at seventeen, one of the
- 8:45Speaker 1: youngest ages you can be going to college because I
- 8:48Speaker 1: didn't turn eighteen until October of that year, and by
- 8:52Speaker 1: the way, that was my first year I voted in college.
- 8:55Speaker 1: I just think about that now, by eighteen in October twentieth,
- 9:06Speaker 1: getting the show five days before my birthday to round
- 9:09Speaker 1: out my teen, to round out age seventeen. Oh, there's
- 9:22Speaker 1: a lot to impact. And I'm hoping. I'm hoping to
- 9:25Speaker 1: have my podcast anniversary party, maybe even at times Tiger
- 9:30Speaker 1: Woods's Lounge or Pure seventeen if it's warm enough. I
- 9:35Speaker 1: don't know. Things got to be in the works here soon,
- 9:37Speaker 1: but I'd love to be able to take the show
- 9:41Speaker 1: live and in person on October fifteenth, and be with you,
- 9:45Speaker 1: the fans of the show, and and see who would
- 9:54Speaker 1: actually come by and swing by for our seventeenth for
- 9:58Speaker 1: our fifteenth anniversary. But now you talk about that two
- 10:02Speaker 1: thousand nine World Series team, you talk about that run,
- 10:05Speaker 1: you talk about what it meant to everybody in the
- 10:07Speaker 1: New Stadium, you talk about what it meant personally. I
- 10:11Speaker 1: don't think I'll be the only one feeling kind of
- 10:14Speaker 1: kind of emotional because that World Series team, no matter
- 10:18Speaker 1: who you were, where you were, what you were doing,
- 10:21Speaker 1: encapsulated the city and Brian Cashman, who I'm very thankful
- 10:27Speaker 1: to have on this couple of weeks ago. Talk about
- 10:30Speaker 1: today's team. Look at what he put together in two
- 10:32Speaker 1: thousand and nine. Look at what he put together in
- 10:36Speaker 1: two thousand and nine. He brought cc over, He brought
- 10:41Speaker 1: to Shara over Hell, he brought Swisher, he brought Burnette,
- 10:45Speaker 1: He brought the energy over to a team that already
- 10:48Speaker 1: had Jeter Pisada, Mariano a Rod. He added depth to
- 10:57Speaker 1: this team, excitement to this team with those offseason and
- 11:05Speaker 1: I remember very vividly Christmas presents underneath the Christmas tree
- 11:10Speaker 1: during the winter meetings for the Yankees. Remember Cec had
- 11:14Speaker 1: an incredible eight with the with the Guard, with the Indians,
- 11:20Speaker 1: even I got the Yankees a couple times as an Indian.
- 11:24Speaker 1: Then his first year with the Yankees, he comes over
- 11:27Speaker 1: and wins the World Series. Johnny Damon became a Yankee.
- 11:32Speaker 1: He wanted that year as well. I mean, I just
- 11:38Speaker 1: think of the talent that team had and the wins
- 11:44Speaker 1: that they were having. Melchie Cabrera I believe he was
- 11:49Speaker 1: on the nineteen Cano. I mean, what wasn't there to
- 11:59Speaker 1: like about the two thousand and nine Yankees team whose
- 12:08Speaker 1: record was one hundred and three wins and fifty nine losses.
- 12:16Speaker 1: And I'm just looking back now, Survelli was around Phil Coke,
- 12:26Speaker 1: Shelley Duncan, Jerry Harrison, who actually was a huge player
- 12:33Speaker 1: in the speediness and the speed that got them the
- 12:36Speaker 1: ALCS and World Series, Xavier Nighty, Andy Pettit was there,
- 12:40Speaker 1: Hori Posada, David Robertson. As I mentioned Loong, I mean,
- 12:52Speaker 1: this team was solid and stacked, and we do have
- 13:02Speaker 1: Brian Casman a thing for that. And Girardi was the
- 13:07Speaker 1: manager you wanted in that moment, and I'm so honored
- 13:09Speaker 1: to have gotten to get a picture with him at
- 13:11Speaker 1: the CGC Cards last week. Girardi was the manager he
- 13:15Speaker 1: wanted in nine because not only did he help close
- 13:25Speaker 1: the Old Same not only was he part of the
- 13:27Speaker 1: Old Same history with that RBI triple and those World
- 13:30Speaker 1: Series as catcher. Now he translated into winning as a manager.
- 13:37Speaker 1: And though I don't know what the future hold was
- 13:38Speaker 1: Aaron Boone, I would say Joe Girardi made a great
- 13:43Speaker 1: adjustment from player to become manager. And he managed a
- 13:48Speaker 1: couple of times before that, obviously with the Marlins, and
- 13:58Speaker 1: then he came over to the Yankees, and that signing
- 14:01Speaker 1: of him as manager was so clutch. And now Shelley
- 14:08Speaker 1: Duncan actually manages the triple at the rail Riders. Yeah,
- 14:13Speaker 1: the rail Riders, Graham Wilkesbury. So from graduating high school,
- 14:27Speaker 1: a place that I was in from kindergarten to twelfth grade,
- 14:31Speaker 1: to transition into college, settling in the Queen's College, all
- 14:34Speaker 1: of a sudden getting a radio show at WQMC Radio
- 14:38Speaker 1: and actually reporting every week on the World Series run.
- 14:43Speaker 1: That's a memory, that's a core memory right there. And
- 14:47Speaker 1: fifteen years later to have two Yankees joined my podcast
- 14:51Speaker 1: in a matter of months, in Nester Cortez and one
- 15:00Speaker 1: Woldo Carrera, dab Brian Cashman on my pod as well.
- 15:06Speaker 1: I mean some awesome conversations that, fifteen years later we
- 15:12Speaker 1: continue to have. And who do I have to start
- 15:15Speaker 1: out in the WMC radio world, Bruce Beck, Bob Wolf,
- 15:19Speaker 1: CJ Pop I believe joined at one point. I mean
- 15:22Speaker 1: the voices An Ligry and Liegory my first semester in college. Hey,
- 15:28Speaker 1: why don't you do any internship with me for a
- 15:30Speaker 1: week and I'll give you a press pass the radio
- 15:33Speaker 1: bullpen at the US Open That's how college started for
- 15:36Speaker 1: me being up there. I mean mark er Na fifteen
- 15:40Speaker 1: years ago, Doug Doyle I still work with today with
- 15:43Speaker 1: WBGO and other capacities. I mean, the connections continue. And
- 15:52Speaker 1: the other special part of that Yankees run is it
- 15:56Speaker 1: was we didn't know the time, but it would be
- 16:00Speaker 1: the last World Series George Steinberner would see. He was
- 16:10Speaker 1: alive for that one and No. Nine, because less than
- 16:13Speaker 1: six months later he lost. He passed away in eighty
- 16:21Speaker 1: and we miss him to this day. His spirit will
- 16:25Speaker 1: be felt tomorrow, his spirit felt every day. If you
- 16:27Speaker 1: if you look at that bleachers in right field and
- 16:29Speaker 1: see the boss and the picture of George Steimbern, he's there.
- 16:34Speaker 1: He's very much there, looking over our shoulder, looking over
- 16:39Speaker 1: to the Yankee shoulder even and his spirits with us.
- 16:46Speaker 1: But just think about that's the last time the Yankees
- 16:49Speaker 1: win the World Series for George Seimerner. It was almost
- 16:55Speaker 1: storybook for that whole Steinberner era. And tomorrow, when House
- 17:04Speaker 1: stein Brenner comes up to the field and gets announced,
- 17:08Speaker 1: I don't want to hear booze that man is working
- 17:12Speaker 1: hard to continue the Yankees legacy of George Summer. I
- 17:16Speaker 1: know we all get ticked off and say, well, what
- 17:18Speaker 1: if George was here? But the truth is the truth
- 17:22Speaker 1: is Ira Mike Vicaro the house doing what he can
- 17:26Speaker 1: to win. He wants to win, there's no doubt about it,
- 17:32Speaker 1: and he's leaning Briancast will make the moves in place.
- 17:35Speaker 1: And for anybody who's complaining about this team today, let
- 17:37Speaker 1: me remind you the twenty twenty four Yankees fifteen years
- 17:42Speaker 1: later have the best record in the American League. Okay,
- 17:48Speaker 1: and it's August twenty third, the best record in the
- 17:51Speaker 1: American League. And dare I say baseball almost And so
- 18:02Speaker 1: when you get your replica ring on Sunday afternoon and
- 18:06Speaker 1: you see hol Simon or tomorrow, remember Halse Steimer and
- 18:10Speaker 1: Brian Cashman have one of the best records in This
- 18:13Speaker 1: team have one of the best records in the league.
- 18:16Speaker 1: Seventy five wins. We are quicker to seventy five this
- 18:19Speaker 1: year than we were last year, and I think even
- 18:21Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. So something's working out. The Yanks
- 18:24Speaker 1: will have first place majority of the weekend, and they
- 18:27Speaker 1: win tonight, they'll have it through the weekend. So I know,
- 18:32Speaker 1: you pay a lot of money to go to see
- 18:33Speaker 1: these games. I know it's the Judge and Soto show.
- 18:36Speaker 1: I know we won all seven batters stepping up as
- 18:38Speaker 1: well around around those two. But the point here, folks,
- 18:45Speaker 1: is that the Yanks are in first place and that's
- 18:49Speaker 1: not by accident. They did a lot jazz Chistam's a
- 18:53Speaker 1: big actorism. I'm so glad he's back to night. But
- 18:55Speaker 1: Brian Cashman fifteen years later, twenty five plus years later,
- 18:59Speaker 1: is still working his tail off to get this team
- 19:02Speaker 1: where it's got to be. So I don't need to
- 19:05Speaker 1: hear booze tomorrow on Old Timer's Day for these guys,
- 19:09Speaker 1: especially because they have the first place lead over Baltimore
- 19:14Speaker 1: and that's not by accident. And may tomorrow be in
- 19:19Speaker 1: the spirit of George Steberner, May I enjoy it, in
- 19:22Speaker 1: the spirit of what it meant for me and my
- 19:24Speaker 1: dad to be there every game. And may we add
- 19:29Speaker 1: more voices to the one like a box Scaret podcast
- 19:33Speaker 1: this weekend in the spirit of starting that fifteen years
- 19:38Speaker 1: ago during the postseason run that the Yanks would go
- 19:42Speaker 1: on to win the World Series. The interconnectivity of this weekend,
- 19:46Speaker 1: the synchronicity of myself, father Vic would say, is unreal.
- 19:52Speaker 1: And last weekend I got to pump the fist of
- 19:55Speaker 1: c seats to Bathia at Fanatics Fest and got a
- 19:58Speaker 1: picture with Joe Girardi and see Jeter, and I've gotten
- 20:01Speaker 1: pictures with Mariano and Matt Suwey along the way. I'm
- 20:06Speaker 1: very honored to have all those photos and moments, and
- 20:12Speaker 1: I'm not very honored. Nearly fifteen years later, the Fanatics
- 20:15Speaker 1: CEO recognizes one leg up with Alex Garrett as my
- 20:19Speaker 1: mother had encouraged me to do, which is get to
- 20:21Speaker 1: know Michael Rubin. It's happening, Mom, And I'm still thankful
- 20:26Speaker 1: your encouragement every day. And I love you, and I
- 20:29Speaker 1: love Dad and Abby and everyone else. I miss Pops
- 20:36Speaker 1: this weekend big time. And if things work out hopefully, Gaby,
- 20:40Speaker 1: you'll be with me tomorrow up at the stadium for
- 20:43Speaker 1: Old Timers Day and then Replica Ring Day this Sunday.
- 20:47Speaker 1: We'll keep you posted on the Alex Garrett Podcast Network.