WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.879
Recording in progress to talk the New Baseball Bible with Arrow.
2
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.839
I knew you'd be on this tour. I just knew
3
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:10.400
it because because I got a signed to it, I
4
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:15.560
didn't ask, you know. Yeah, so you give me a
5
00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.879
baseball tour any day, free geez. The Mets got a
6
00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:21.079
new guide. I saw something yesterday about the Mets getting
7
00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.719
a new player. Yeah. His name is Juan Soda. That's it.
8
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:27.719
That's it, that's it. Yeah, one of the best players
9
00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:28.199
in the game.
10
00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:29.039
Uh.
11
00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:32.719
Anyway, and f about the Mets. Here's Dan. You'll have
12
00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.320
Jill forty. You see how we are Dan, the way
13
00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:37.719
that we can jump into a baseball conversation, this is
14
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:39.399
this is Americana right here.
15
00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.240
Yeah. Well, we got to tell Michael that the Mets
16
00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.320
now have the second best right fielder l.
17
00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.240
Least, see Michael. I mean, there's hope for those Mets yet,
18
00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:48.759
isn't there.
19
00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:51.719
Have you hear somebody named Ronald l'una junior?
20
00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:58.399
No, No, I sure haven't. I mean, so what, that's
21
00:00:58.439 --> 00:00:59.840
got to be a great thing for those guys.
22
00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.000
Now, he'll be back in about a month. He's injured,
23
00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.799
he's rehabbing a tourn acl but he'll be back.
24
00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:11.359
Wow. Hey, I love that photograph behind you. That's oh
25
00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:14.040
my god, that's Hank Aaron and Jimmy Carter. That is
26
00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:15.799
amazing history right there.
27
00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.879
Well beyond that arrow, the guy behind Aaron behind his
28
00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:20.799
right shoulder, that's.
29
00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:25.640
Me five, the real star of the show then.
30
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.959
I was taking in nineteen seventy three. What people don't
31
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.239
remember is when Aaron was chasing Baby's record, there was
32
00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.959
a game that was rained out, and during that reignout,
33
00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.079
I went into the clubhouse to talk to Hank Aaron.
34
00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.079
I was there and Jimmy Carter came in. The Governor
35
00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.159
Delaware is a guy in the middle. There has the
36
00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.000
Governor Delaware at the time, tibbets and that's me. And
37
00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:49.680
Aaron said, excuse me, I got to talk to the
38
00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.680
governor Governor Jimmy Carter at the time. Wow, And I
39
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.599
said sure, And then the interview resume Carter left in
40
00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:57.040
the interview re zone. Wow.
41
00:01:57.439 --> 00:01:59.439
Don't you love moments like that. It's like being in
42
00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:01.359
the right place at the right time, but it's meant
43
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.000
to be because you're going to change the future going forward.
44
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.000
Absolutely. I'm so glad I live in New Jersey and
45
00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:09.960
I went down there to see Aaron break the record.
46
00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.280
Unfortunately he fell one short. Finished that year was seven thirteen,
47
00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.960
and spent the whole winter wondering whether he'd ever tie
48
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.800
or break babyoths record because he had all kinds of
49
00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:20.840
death threats.
50
00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:25.240
See, those are the things that we don't know in baseball,
51
00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:27.840
and which is why your book, The New Baseball Bible,
52
00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.120
is just unbelievable with so many facts and figures.
53
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.759
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. But the book,
54
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.039
by the way, is almost five hundred pages long and
55
00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:39.319
has a lot of Coller illustrations in it.
56
00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.080
Wow wow to put it all together, though, I would
57
00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.400
love to be on your research team because I am
58
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.319
such a pig when it comes to that kind of stuff.
59
00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.800
I love digging in and getting those roots in there.
60
00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.520
Me too, Me too. And I don't follow any other sport.
61
00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.960
I've never even seen the Super Bowl. I baseball all
62
00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:56.120
year round.
63
00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:57.639
How do you stay that way? Dude?
64
00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:01.680
It is pretty easy because there's a lot of baseball
65
00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.919
stuff to read and digest. I put out a newsletter
66
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.199
on weekends. It's called Here's the Pitch that's put out
67
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.879
by the Internet Baseball Writers' Association of America. I'm the
68
00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.840
weekend editor. I do Friday and Saturday editions. And there's
69
00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:16.520
also a book to put out this year called Here's
70
00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:20.599
the Pitch twenty twenty five, and that book has thirty
71
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.000
five essays by fifteen different writers, including me.
72
00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.719
Do you see yourself as being one of baseball's educators
73
00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:27.879
or historians?
74
00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:33.039
Both? More so historians more so historians because I've been
75
00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:35.680
around covering baseball since nineteen sixty nine.
76
00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.919
Wow, So okay, we were talking about handcaron in the
77
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.759
very beginning. We can't leave this out because there's a
78
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.680
silent period in baseball that comes with the name Mark McGuire,
79
00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:50.400
Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. Will they ever be recognized
80
00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.080
as the superstars that they really were during that time period?
81
00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:53.919
Or was it cheating?
82
00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.280
It was cheating, But they're already recognized. They're in the
83
00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.039
Baseball Hall of Fame Hall of Fame rooms full of
84
00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:04.479
feats and special achievements. They have the list of top
85
00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:08.159
home run hitters. Those names are all there, but they
86
00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.400
will never get a plaque, and they shouldn't get a plaque.
87
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:11.599
They cheated, right right?
88
00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:14.159
Well, I noticed that in my baseball card collection because
89
00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.279
my my rookie card of Mark McGuire, isn't worth anything.
90
00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.600
Well, it should be worth something at least in sing
91
00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:21.800
Louis right?
92
00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.680
Do you have fun doing all this research? Because it
93
00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.199
just really this book is something where you don't start
94
00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.360
at page one, You start wherever you have an interest
95
00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:32.399
and then dive into it.
96
00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.040
That's exactly the whole point. I'm so glad you said that, Arrow,
97
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.279
because this book is not only a coffee table book
98
00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:41.879
but also at bathroom book. You could pick it up
99
00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.519
and read it backwards and still find something on every
100
00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:45.920
page that's going to make you say, do you guy,
101
00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:46.480
adn't know that?
102
00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.839
Don't you think? It also serves as an educational tool
103
00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.279
for I mean, if you're a strong Mets fan and
104
00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:54.040
you just want to go over there and page into
105
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.839
something with you know, Seattle or even San Francisco. It
106
00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:01.360
gives fans a full picture of the entire experience of baseball.
107
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.759
Yes it does. And there's a long index in the
108
00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:06.920
back and that took a long time to put together.
109
00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:10.839
And it also lists the names of every home park,
110
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:15.319
every spring training park, the list of league leaders for
111
00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.199
single season, league leaders career wise, and by the way,
112
00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.040
all the Negro League leaders are included. In my book.
113
00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.759
Wow. So you also put focus on the umpires.
114
00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:27.199
Wow.
115
00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:30.079
This shocked me because it's like, we don't know who
116
00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:30.920
those people are.
117
00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:34.399
There's a lot in this book that people don't know about.
118
00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.160
It's really one stop shopping for the baseball fan. I've
119
00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:42.000
got stuff on peanut vendors, scouts, organists, you name it, groundskeepers,
120
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:45.199
everything about baseball that you were afraid to ask. What's
121
00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:45.959
on this book?
122
00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:48.519
So did you ever do anything like that at a
123
00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:50.959
baseball game? Where did you ever sell peanuts or hot dogs?
124
00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.519
Because I mean to me that that would be a
125
00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:54.839
fun opportunity to really get into the game.
126
00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.759
I had more fun by eating peanuts and hotey.
127
00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.800
Yes, my favorite place to eat those hot dogs was
128
00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:07.160
at Wrigley Field watching Sammy Sosa. Where is your favorite
129
00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:08.680
place to eat those dogs? In Peanuts?
130
00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.800
I would we say Corsefield. I like, really in Fenway
131
00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.920
because I love baseball history. But Corsefield is very photogenic,
132
00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:19.560
and so is PNC Park and Pittsburgh. But in Cours
133
00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.639
you can see the rocky mountains with the snow on
134
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:23.319
the top from the ballpark.
135
00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.000
Oh now, let's talk about those baseball fields. Do you
136
00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.720
ever make it to the minor league, such as for
137
00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.800
the for the Charlotte Knights, because our baseball field is
138
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.639
unbelievable in the center of town where that's with those
139
00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:35.680
skyscrapers above.
140
00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:38.680
I've been to Charlotte and I have not been to
141
00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:40.519
the ballpark, so that's something I've got to get to.
142
00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:42.680
Oh my god, will you ever do a book on
143
00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:44.839
the minor leagues? Because it seems like this is the
144
00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:47.079
beginning grounds of so many famous people, but at the
145
00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.839
same time it also serves as the resting place for
146
00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:51.680
those that just need to relearn the game.
147
00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.199
Well, there is a chapter on the minor leagues and
148
00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.000
minor league history in the New Baseball Bible. Nothing is overlooked.
149
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.000
Wow, how did you What was the time period that
150
00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:03.759
you put into this, because I mean, this is something
151
00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:05.519
that just doesn't happen in a couple of months or
152
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:06.360
even two years.
153
00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.439
It was many, many years. The genesis of this book
154
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.000
was a book called The Baseball Catalog that came out
155
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.040
in nineteen eighty and was a book of the Month
156
00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.399
Cup alternate. The book now is almost five hundred period
157
00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:23.519
is long, oversized, illustrated, a very unorthodox yuy of baseball.
158
00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.079
But everything you can think of about baseball is in
159
00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:26.439
the book.
160
00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:28.680
Did you think about baseball cards while you were putting
161
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:30.639
this together? Because, I mean it really does come together
162
00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:32.560
like the backside of a baseball card.
163
00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.079
Thank you. That was the idea. And of course I
164
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.839
have my own card collection, and yes there's information of
165
00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.800
baseball cards, how they started, who is the father of
166
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.920
baseball card collecting and all that go there?
167
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.120
God, So why is it that we don't see as
168
00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.720
many baseball card shows like we used to? Is it
169
00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.240
because people don't trust them? What's going on with our
170
00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:53.399
love for baseball cards?
171
00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.040
The price, I think, Okay, the price has just gone
172
00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:58.639
out of sight. I mean some of these cards are
173
00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.759
ridiculously expensive.
174
00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:02.079
Yeah, yeah, I agree with you on that one. Yeah,
175
00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.800
because you get into a show and you can't the
176
00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:06.120
wheeling and dealing isn't part of the game anymore.
177
00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.000
I used to buy a pack for a nickel arrow.
178
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.240
Oh my god. So, so how did you format the
179
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.199
book to find incredible balance? Because this book is not.
180
00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.319
It's not, you know, one side is lopsided compared to
181
00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:22.240
the other side. It is well balanced all the way
182
00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:22.600
through it.
183
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.879
Thanks so much. I appreciate that it has twenty five chapters.
184
00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.120
What I did was I first wrote down every topic
185
00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:31.839
I wanted to cover, which was just about everything in baseball,
186
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.039
and I kept adding and adding and adding. And that's
187
00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.559
why this book is almost five hundred pages long, and
188
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.480
it could be a thousand pages long if I put
189
00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.159
in everything. I wound up on the cutting room force
190
00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:42.759
on speaking.
191
00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.720
Please don't move. We've got more Dan Schlosberg coming up next. Hey,
192
00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.519
thanks for coming back to my conversation with Dan Schlosberg.
193
00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:54.519
So last week I was blessed with the opportunity to
194
00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.879
talk with Nancy Finley of the Oakland A's, and she
195
00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.840
said that they really wanted to play with yellow baseballs.
196
00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.120
Would would that have changed the game if they would
197
00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:04.200
have done yellow baseballs?
198
00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:07.840
I think it would. I think In fact, Charlie Filming,
199
00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:10.200
I think, actually did try orange baseballs and that didn't
200
00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:13.000
work out too well either. He was a big advocate
201
00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:15.679
of color in baseball. In fact, all the colored uniforms
202
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.120
we have today are because Charlie Filing is such a
203
00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.720
great innovator and he should be in the Baseball Hall Fame.
204
00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:23.679
By the way, well, that new dude from the Mets
205
00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.799
was sporting a different uniform yesterday within the picture I saw,
206
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.320
I thought, oh my god, I've never seen such vibrant
207
00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.360
colors on a player.
208
00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.600
Teams have many alternate uniforms and they wear them so
209
00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.480
that they could sell more jerseys in their stores.
210
00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.519
Now, because I'm not associated with Major League Baseball here
211
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:43.320
and in Charlotte we've got we've got a Triple A team.
212
00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:46.879
Our team tends to change their uniforms a lot for
213
00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:50.120
different nonprofit organizations. Is that also happening in the major
214
00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:51.000
leagues of baseball?
215
00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.120
Very much so? Really, one year, the Pirates I think,
216
00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.440
had nine different uniforms, a gold top and black bottom,
217
00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.720
or a white top and a strike bottom. I mean,
218
00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.759
everything was different.
219
00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.600
How do you see the All Star Game? Is it
220
00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:06.679
really that one thing that fans want to see or
221
00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.440
is it just a welcome break for the players.
222
00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.360
It's primarily a welcome break for the players. I think
223
00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.919
the fans are more interested in the home run derby, which,
224
00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:16.919
by the way, I digest and I wish they would
225
00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.759
do away with it. But it's a revenue grab for baseball,
226
00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:21.600
so that's why they keep it. And I do not
227
00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:24.559
like the fans voting for the All Stars. They should
228
00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:26.840
not do that should just be media and broad canters
229
00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:30.240
or players, coaches and managers, but not fans. They don't
230
00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:31.159
know enough about the game.
231
00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.000
Ooh that those are tough words, because you know there
232
00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:35.480
are a lot of fans that are going to say, yes,
233
00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.559
I do, yes, I do.
234
00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:41.240
Well they think they do, but look at the history.
235
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.080
They've elected players who are retired players. I mean, Davy
236
00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.720
Holks is once elected with their batting avery to one
237
00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.559
sixty nine. He was elected the National League starting second basement.
238
00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.000
Reggie Jackson was sitting one to ninety nine when he
239
00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:57.120
was elected. These guys shouldn't be there. You shouldn't vote
240
00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.039
for your favorite players. You should vote for the most
241
00:10:59.039 --> 00:10:59.960
deserving players.
242
00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:02.720
Good point. But I did not know that about Reggie
243
00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.159
Jackson because in my book he's batman. I mean, how
244
00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.360
Reggie Jackson only had a hitting average of one ninety nine.
245
00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:09.919
At the All Star Game?
246
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.919
Yes, oh my god, I just I've always up.
247
00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.519
One sixty nine. One sixty nine. Pictures can beat better
248
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.200
than that? Wow?
249
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.159
What's your love for Mike Piazza?
250
00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:23.600
Do you have it? No? No, he was a great hitter. Yeah, good, No,
251
00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:28.080
he was a great hitter as a catcher. Defensively not much.
252
00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.559
He was obviously the main guy in the mens for
253
00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:36.159
seven years or whatever that he was there. But you know,
254
00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:37.559
he's in the Hall of Fame. He deserve to be
255
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:38.919
in the Hall of Fame. But I've got a great
256
00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:43.480
Mike Piazza story i can share with please do There's
257
00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.919
a thing called the round table the Baseball Hall of Fame,
258
00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.399
which involved the Hall of famers sitting on chair at
259
00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.159
trouble day field and the media gets to sit unfolding
260
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.559
chairs in front of them. So when Mike finished and
261
00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:57.200
he came down the stairs and walked up to him
262
00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.960
and said, Mike, this was depart minster you never had,
263
00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:01.440
he just laughed.
264
00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.120
So a couple of weeks ago, a person of power
265
00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:09.519
said that they were going to try to get up
266
00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.639
mister Pete Rose into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Does
267
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:13.320
he need to be there?
268
00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:16.600
No, he definitely needs to be kept out of the
269
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.799
Hall of Fame. Okay did she got about it for
270
00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:19.559
twenty five years?
271
00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.440
Enough said yeah, yeah, I had the opportunity to meet him.
272
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.360
He chose not to show up, and I went, of course,
273
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.480
that's exactly what he would do that. I just expected
274
00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:27.200
him to do that.
275
00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:29.559
Not surprised.
276
00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:33.320
Yeah, yeah, Yogi Bearra. My God in Heaven to sit
277
00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:35.399
down with that guy was a blessing. Did you ever
278
00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:36.799
get to meet him?
279
00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.279
Several times? Yes? In fact, I was at the Yogi
280
00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.759
bar Museum two days ago for Saber Day, New Jersey
281
00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.519
Saber Day, and Lindsay Barra was there. She just did
282
00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:47.720
the documentary on her grandfather. Was terrific.
283
00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.840
Yeah. Don't you love the way that baseball connects all
284
00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:52.320
generations into one?
285
00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:57.559
I do, and that's because everybody can understand it. Everybody
286
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.840
can be a fan. It doesn't matter how how young
287
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.720
you are, what size you are. Anybody could play. Freddy
288
00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.279
Pottak was five foot four. Yeah, you know, anybody can play.
289
00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.879
What about the play by play announcers? I believe because
290
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.120
I love listening to a baseball game on the radio.
291
00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.120
I think it does so much more to my imagination
292
00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:16.320
than physically watching it.
293
00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.519
Oh, definitely. There was one announcer here in New York
294
00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.960
named Lys Kyer. He passed away, unfortunately, but he would
295
00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.120
do recreations on New York Giants games after they became
296
00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:30.080
the San Francisco Giants. And he was the only radio
297
00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.840
guy that I remember where you had to sit and
298
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.440
just listen to his broadcast. It was so captivating, it
299
00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:37.519
was so fabulous.
300
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.080
Don't you think that shows like even Brockenmeyer gave baseball
301
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:43.480
play by play announcers the opportunity, you know, to give
302
00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.679
us that real feel of what they might be going
303
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.000
through behind that microphone.
304
00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.879
Oh yeah, oh yeah, for sure. And by the way,
305
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.519
I loved Ernie Harwell too later. Ernie Harrowell was a
306
00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:55.919
great announcer and a great gentleman. I knew him quite
307
00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:56.639
well personally.
308
00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.960
So what is your feeling about this pitching time claw?
309
00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.559
It's fine. It speeds up the game. It saves about
310
00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:05.200
a half hour per game, and that's great.
311
00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:08.039
Well, I still believe that baseball should change one more thing,
312
00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:09.720
and that is when they hit the ball, they can
313
00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.639
either run to third or first. I just think that
314
00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.320
would really make it a great game. Or you know,
315
00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.200
it's probably gonna have to start with what is it,
316
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.480
the Banana League or whatever it is, those guys that
317
00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.559
are dressed up all in yellow Savannah banana.
318
00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.559
Yeah's ye, it's good for them, it's not good for
319
00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.799
professional baseball the major leagues. And the other thing that's
320
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:30.840
not good is that an extra runner in the tenth
321
00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.559
inning that is totally unfair, makes baseball seem like a
322
00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:34.600
Sunday beer league.
323
00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:38.440
Oh okay, now, since we're going in that route, let's
324
00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.879
talk about when when it's dog day at the baseball field.
325
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:42.440
Do you think the dogs need to be there?
326
00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.679
I think it's great. They're definitely not barking up the
327
00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:47.240
wrong trade.
328
00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:53.279
Yes, you are so quick. Oh my god. So what
329
00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.639
have you learned personally from the game of baseball? Because
330
00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.200
it really is a game of science.
331
00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:02.960
That's true. It's also a game of fun. And what
332
00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.720
I learned is that baseball players I know many, many
333
00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.840
hundreds of baseball players. What I learned is that baseball
334
00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:11.840
players are like anybody from any walk of life. Most
335
00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.200
of them are very nice and polite. If you're nice
336
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.039
to them, they'll be nice to you. There are a
337
00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.399
few bad apples, but that's in any walk of life.
338
00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.840
We really don't get to know who they are after
339
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.360
they've been on that field. I mean, are they mechanics?
340
00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.120
Do they go on to become plumbers? Do they are
341
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.240
they business owners? What happens to the old baseball players?
342
00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:31.840
Well, I can tell you what happened to Hank Aaron.
343
00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:34.679
Hank Aaron went on to be a car dealership owner,
344
00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:40.559
a restaurant franchise owner, and a great philanthropist, So you
345
00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.639
never know what someone's going to do. Hank Aaron I
346
00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.879
did a book last year called Hormon King Hank. You
347
00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.960
know all about Hank Aaron. The Remarkable record of Hank Aaron,
348
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.240
it was called And he did all these things after
349
00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.759
he retired, he never made more than to get this arrow.
350
00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.240
His top salary in baseball two hundred forty thousand dollars
351
00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.840
a year. The minimum salary today is seven hundred and
352
00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.440
eighty thousand dollars a year.
353
00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:10.080
Are they playing it for the love of the game
354
00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:11.559
or the dollar of the game.
355
00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:14.840
A lot of guys are playing for the dollar of
356
00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:16.279
the game because they're not good enough to stay in
357
00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:19.320
the major leagues. In fact, if they had the old
358
00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.720
sixteen team network that I grew up with, many players
359
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.080
would not be in a major leagues. They be in
360
00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.559
the minors or not even in baseball.
361
00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.879
Nancy Finley told me she thought that Charlotte needed a
362
00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.720
professional team. Do you think that we're ready for a
363
00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:32.639
team like that? You're your experience.
364
00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.120
I do, and I know, Nancy, I've been to Charlotte. Yes,
365
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.200
I do, and it would be a great regional competitor
366
00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.039
for the Atlanta race.
367
00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:44.759
Oh god, we're already competing against Atlanta with football and basketball. Dude.
368
00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:52.840
Come on, So when you release a book like this,
369
00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:54.679
are you on speaking to her? And are you going
370
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.759
to be going from field to field to field? Because
371
00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:01.519
I dang, I bet people want to meet you.
372
00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.279
Do a lot of libraries and men's clubs and all
373
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:05.599
kinds of things. So I do whatever I can and
374
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.799
speak wherever I can. I'm gonna be speaking at the
375
00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:11.720
Yogi Berry Museum and Baseball Card Store, so lots of
376
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:12.440
things coming up.
377
00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:14.799
You know, I just noticed your baseball cap. That's an
378
00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.960
Atlanta Braves hat.
379
00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:20.599
It is, but it only was used this spring training.
380
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:22.119
It's a brand new hat. I just got it.
381
00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.799
Really, So now why the color black? I've never seen
382
00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.319
a Braves hat that's black.
383
00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.599
Has to match my shirt? It's actually it's actually gray.
384
00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:33.440
It's a great hat with a black bill.
385
00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.119
Oh my god. Where can people go to find out
386
00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:37.799
more about you?
387
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.759
My website Dan Slosburg dot net, or go on to
388
00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.680
Amazon dot com and look up the book The New
389
00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:45.480
Baseball Bible.
390
00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.240
Well, and and listeners and fans of baseball need to
391
00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:51.319
understand that the book cover itself, Dan, Oh my god,
392
00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.720
It's like it's like I threw all my baseball cards
393
00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:55.799
out on the floor and I'm gonna pick my favorite one.
394
00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.799
Pretty much got Seo Tani there, and Bob Feller and
395
00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.359
Josh Gibson and a picture that I took of Hank
396
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.119
Earn and Eddie Matthews, the best baseball home run hitting
397
00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:08.039
tandem of all time.
398
00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:09.759
Are you going to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
399
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.680
I would write to Nobody asked me.
400
00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:16.599
Well, please come back to this show anytime in the future.
401
00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:18.279
The door is always going to be open for you.
402
00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.599
Thanks. Errol enjoyed it.
403
00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:21.920
Will you be brilliant today?
404
00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.200
Okay, thank you you too,
1
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.879
Recording in progress to talk the New Baseball Bible with Arrow.
2
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.839
I knew you'd be on this tour. I just knew
3
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:10.400
it because because I got a signed to it, I
4
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:15.560
didn't ask, you know. Yeah, so you give me a
5
00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.879
baseball tour any day, free geez. The Mets got a
6
00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:21.079
new guide. I saw something yesterday about the Mets getting
7
00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.719
a new player. Yeah. His name is Juan Soda. That's it.
8
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:27.719
That's it, that's it. Yeah, one of the best players
9
00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:28.199
in the game.
10
00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:29.039
Uh.
11
00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:32.719
Anyway, and f about the Mets. Here's Dan. You'll have
12
00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.320
Jill forty. You see how we are Dan, the way
13
00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:37.719
that we can jump into a baseball conversation, this is
14
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:39.399
this is Americana right here.
15
00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.240
Yeah. Well, we got to tell Michael that the Mets
16
00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.320
now have the second best right fielder l.
17
00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.240
Least, see Michael. I mean, there's hope for those Mets yet,
18
00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:48.759
isn't there.
19
00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:51.719
Have you hear somebody named Ronald l'una junior?
20
00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:58.399
No, No, I sure haven't. I mean, so what, that's
21
00:00:58.439 --> 00:00:59.840
got to be a great thing for those guys.
22
00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.000
Now, he'll be back in about a month. He's injured,
23
00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.799
he's rehabbing a tourn acl but he'll be back.
24
00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:11.359
Wow. Hey, I love that photograph behind you. That's oh
25
00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:14.040
my god, that's Hank Aaron and Jimmy Carter. That is
26
00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:15.799
amazing history right there.
27
00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.879
Well beyond that arrow, the guy behind Aaron behind his
28
00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:20.799
right shoulder, that's.
29
00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:25.640
Me five, the real star of the show then.
30
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.959
I was taking in nineteen seventy three. What people don't
31
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.239
remember is when Aaron was chasing Baby's record, there was
32
00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.959
a game that was rained out, and during that reignout,
33
00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.079
I went into the clubhouse to talk to Hank Aaron.
34
00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.079
I was there and Jimmy Carter came in. The Governor
35
00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.159
Delaware is a guy in the middle. There has the
36
00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.000
Governor Delaware at the time, tibbets and that's me. And
37
00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:49.680
Aaron said, excuse me, I got to talk to the
38
00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.680
governor Governor Jimmy Carter at the time. Wow, And I
39
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.599
said sure, And then the interview resume Carter left in
40
00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:57.040
the interview re zone. Wow.
41
00:01:57.439 --> 00:01:59.439
Don't you love moments like that. It's like being in
42
00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:01.359
the right place at the right time, but it's meant
43
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.000
to be because you're going to change the future going forward.
44
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.000
Absolutely. I'm so glad I live in New Jersey and
45
00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:09.960
I went down there to see Aaron break the record.
46
00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.280
Unfortunately he fell one short. Finished that year was seven thirteen,
47
00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.960
and spent the whole winter wondering whether he'd ever tie
48
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.800
or break babyoths record because he had all kinds of
49
00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:20.840
death threats.
50
00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:25.240
See, those are the things that we don't know in baseball,
51
00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:27.840
and which is why your book, The New Baseball Bible,
52
00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.120
is just unbelievable with so many facts and figures.
53
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.759
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. But the book,
54
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.039
by the way, is almost five hundred pages long and
55
00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:39.319
has a lot of Coller illustrations in it.
56
00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.080
Wow wow to put it all together, though, I would
57
00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.400
love to be on your research team because I am
58
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.319
such a pig when it comes to that kind of stuff.
59
00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.800
I love digging in and getting those roots in there.
60
00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.520
Me too, Me too. And I don't follow any other sport.
61
00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.960
I've never even seen the Super Bowl. I baseball all
62
00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:56.120
year round.
63
00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:57.639
How do you stay that way? Dude?
64
00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:01.680
It is pretty easy because there's a lot of baseball
65
00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.919
stuff to read and digest. I put out a newsletter
66
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.199
on weekends. It's called Here's the Pitch that's put out
67
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.879
by the Internet Baseball Writers' Association of America. I'm the
68
00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.840
weekend editor. I do Friday and Saturday editions. And there's
69
00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:16.520
also a book to put out this year called Here's
70
00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:20.599
the Pitch twenty twenty five, and that book has thirty
71
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.000
five essays by fifteen different writers, including me.
72
00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.719
Do you see yourself as being one of baseball's educators
73
00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:27.879
or historians?
74
00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:33.039
Both? More so historians more so historians because I've been
75
00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:35.680
around covering baseball since nineteen sixty nine.
76
00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.919
Wow, So okay, we were talking about handcaron in the
77
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.759
very beginning. We can't leave this out because there's a
78
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.680
silent period in baseball that comes with the name Mark McGuire,
79
00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:50.400
Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. Will they ever be recognized
80
00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.080
as the superstars that they really were during that time period?
81
00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:53.919
Or was it cheating?
82
00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.280
It was cheating, But they're already recognized. They're in the
83
00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.039
Baseball Hall of Fame Hall of Fame rooms full of
84
00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:04.479
feats and special achievements. They have the list of top
85
00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:08.159
home run hitters. Those names are all there, but they
86
00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.400
will never get a plaque, and they shouldn't get a plaque.
87
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:11.599
They cheated, right right?
88
00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:14.159
Well, I noticed that in my baseball card collection because
89
00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.279
my my rookie card of Mark McGuire, isn't worth anything.
90
00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.600
Well, it should be worth something at least in sing
91
00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:21.800
Louis right?
92
00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.680
Do you have fun doing all this research? Because it
93
00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.199
just really this book is something where you don't start
94
00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.360
at page one, You start wherever you have an interest
95
00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:32.399
and then dive into it.
96
00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.040
That's exactly the whole point. I'm so glad you said that, Arrow,
97
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.279
because this book is not only a coffee table book
98
00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:41.879
but also at bathroom book. You could pick it up
99
00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.519
and read it backwards and still find something on every
100
00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:45.920
page that's going to make you say, do you guy,
101
00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:46.480
adn't know that?
102
00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.839
Don't you think? It also serves as an educational tool
103
00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.279
for I mean, if you're a strong Mets fan and
104
00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:54.040
you just want to go over there and page into
105
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.839
something with you know, Seattle or even San Francisco. It
106
00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:01.360
gives fans a full picture of the entire experience of baseball.
107
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.759
Yes it does. And there's a long index in the
108
00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:06.920
back and that took a long time to put together.
109
00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:10.839
And it also lists the names of every home park,
110
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:15.319
every spring training park, the list of league leaders for
111
00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.199
single season, league leaders career wise, and by the way,
112
00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.040
all the Negro League leaders are included. In my book.
113
00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.759
Wow. So you also put focus on the umpires.
114
00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:27.199
Wow.
115
00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:30.079
This shocked me because it's like, we don't know who
116
00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:30.920
those people are.
117
00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:34.399
There's a lot in this book that people don't know about.
118
00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.160
It's really one stop shopping for the baseball fan. I've
119
00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:42.000
got stuff on peanut vendors, scouts, organists, you name it, groundskeepers,
120
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:45.199
everything about baseball that you were afraid to ask. What's
121
00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:45.959
on this book?
122
00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:48.519
So did you ever do anything like that at a
123
00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:50.959
baseball game? Where did you ever sell peanuts or hot dogs?
124
00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.519
Because I mean to me that that would be a
125
00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:54.839
fun opportunity to really get into the game.
126
00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.759
I had more fun by eating peanuts and hotey.
127
00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.800
Yes, my favorite place to eat those hot dogs was
128
00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:07.160
at Wrigley Field watching Sammy Sosa. Where is your favorite
129
00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:08.680
place to eat those dogs? In Peanuts?
130
00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.800
I would we say Corsefield. I like, really in Fenway
131
00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.920
because I love baseball history. But Corsefield is very photogenic,
132
00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:19.560
and so is PNC Park and Pittsburgh. But in Cours
133
00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.639
you can see the rocky mountains with the snow on
134
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:23.319
the top from the ballpark.
135
00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.000
Oh now, let's talk about those baseball fields. Do you
136
00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.720
ever make it to the minor league, such as for
137
00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.800
the for the Charlotte Knights, because our baseball field is
138
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.639
unbelievable in the center of town where that's with those
139
00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:35.680
skyscrapers above.
140
00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:38.680
I've been to Charlotte and I have not been to
141
00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:40.519
the ballpark, so that's something I've got to get to.
142
00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:42.680
Oh my god, will you ever do a book on
143
00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:44.839
the minor leagues? Because it seems like this is the
144
00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:47.079
beginning grounds of so many famous people, but at the
145
00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.839
same time it also serves as the resting place for
146
00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:51.680
those that just need to relearn the game.
147
00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.199
Well, there is a chapter on the minor leagues and
148
00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.000
minor league history in the New Baseball Bible. Nothing is overlooked.
149
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.000
Wow, how did you What was the time period that
150
00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:03.759
you put into this, because I mean, this is something
151
00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:05.519
that just doesn't happen in a couple of months or
152
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:06.360
even two years.
153
00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.439
It was many, many years. The genesis of this book
154
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.000
was a book called The Baseball Catalog that came out
155
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.040
in nineteen eighty and was a book of the Month
156
00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.399
Cup alternate. The book now is almost five hundred period
157
00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:23.519
is long, oversized, illustrated, a very unorthodox yuy of baseball.
158
00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.079
But everything you can think of about baseball is in
159
00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:26.439
the book.
160
00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:28.680
Did you think about baseball cards while you were putting
161
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:30.639
this together? Because, I mean it really does come together
162
00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:32.560
like the backside of a baseball card.
163
00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.079
Thank you. That was the idea. And of course I
164
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.839
have my own card collection, and yes there's information of
165
00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.800
baseball cards, how they started, who is the father of
166
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.920
baseball card collecting and all that go there?
167
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.120
God, So why is it that we don't see as
168
00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.720
many baseball card shows like we used to? Is it
169
00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.240
because people don't trust them? What's going on with our
170
00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:53.399
love for baseball cards?
171
00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.040
The price, I think, Okay, the price has just gone
172
00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:58.639
out of sight. I mean some of these cards are
173
00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.759
ridiculously expensive.
174
00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:02.079
Yeah, yeah, I agree with you on that one. Yeah,
175
00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.800
because you get into a show and you can't the
176
00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:06.120
wheeling and dealing isn't part of the game anymore.
177
00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.000
I used to buy a pack for a nickel arrow.
178
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.240
Oh my god. So, so how did you format the
179
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.199
book to find incredible balance? Because this book is not.
180
00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.319
It's not, you know, one side is lopsided compared to
181
00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:22.240
the other side. It is well balanced all the way
182
00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:22.600
through it.
183
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.879
Thanks so much. I appreciate that it has twenty five chapters.
184
00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.120
What I did was I first wrote down every topic
185
00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:31.839
I wanted to cover, which was just about everything in baseball,
186
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.039
and I kept adding and adding and adding. And that's
187
00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.559
why this book is almost five hundred pages long, and
188
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.480
it could be a thousand pages long if I put
189
00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.159
in everything. I wound up on the cutting room force
190
00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:42.759
on speaking.
191
00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.720
Please don't move. We've got more Dan Schlosberg coming up next. Hey,
192
00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.519
thanks for coming back to my conversation with Dan Schlosberg.
193
00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:54.519
So last week I was blessed with the opportunity to
194
00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.879
talk with Nancy Finley of the Oakland A's, and she
195
00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.840
said that they really wanted to play with yellow baseballs.
196
00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.120
Would would that have changed the game if they would
197
00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:04.200
have done yellow baseballs?
198
00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:07.840
I think it would. I think In fact, Charlie Filming,
199
00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:10.200
I think, actually did try orange baseballs and that didn't
200
00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:13.000
work out too well either. He was a big advocate
201
00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:15.679
of color in baseball. In fact, all the colored uniforms
202
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.120
we have today are because Charlie Filing is such a
203
00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.720
great innovator and he should be in the Baseball Hall Fame.
204
00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:23.679
By the way, well, that new dude from the Mets
205
00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.799
was sporting a different uniform yesterday within the picture I saw,
206
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.320
I thought, oh my god, I've never seen such vibrant
207
00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.360
colors on a player.
208
00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.600
Teams have many alternate uniforms and they wear them so
209
00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.480
that they could sell more jerseys in their stores.
210
00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.519
Now, because I'm not associated with Major League Baseball here
211
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:43.320
and in Charlotte we've got we've got a Triple A team.
212
00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:46.879
Our team tends to change their uniforms a lot for
213
00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:50.120
different nonprofit organizations. Is that also happening in the major
214
00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:51.000
leagues of baseball?
215
00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.120
Very much so? Really, one year, the Pirates I think,
216
00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.440
had nine different uniforms, a gold top and black bottom,
217
00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.720
or a white top and a strike bottom. I mean,
218
00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.759
everything was different.
219
00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.600
How do you see the All Star Game? Is it
220
00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:06.679
really that one thing that fans want to see or
221
00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.440
is it just a welcome break for the players.
222
00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.360
It's primarily a welcome break for the players. I think
223
00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.919
the fans are more interested in the home run derby, which,
224
00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:16.919
by the way, I digest and I wish they would
225
00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.759
do away with it. But it's a revenue grab for baseball,
226
00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:21.600
so that's why they keep it. And I do not
227
00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:24.559
like the fans voting for the All Stars. They should
228
00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:26.840
not do that should just be media and broad canters
229
00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:30.240
or players, coaches and managers, but not fans. They don't
230
00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:31.159
know enough about the game.
231
00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.000
Ooh that those are tough words, because you know there
232
00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:35.480
are a lot of fans that are going to say, yes,
233
00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.559
I do, yes, I do.
234
00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:41.240
Well they think they do, but look at the history.
235
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.080
They've elected players who are retired players. I mean, Davy
236
00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.720
Holks is once elected with their batting avery to one
237
00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.559
sixty nine. He was elected the National League starting second basement.
238
00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.000
Reggie Jackson was sitting one to ninety nine when he
239
00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:57.120
was elected. These guys shouldn't be there. You shouldn't vote
240
00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.039
for your favorite players. You should vote for the most
241
00:10:59.039 --> 00:10:59.960
deserving players.
242
00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:02.720
Good point. But I did not know that about Reggie
243
00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.159
Jackson because in my book he's batman. I mean, how
244
00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.360
Reggie Jackson only had a hitting average of one ninety nine.
245
00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:09.919
At the All Star Game?
246
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.919
Yes, oh my god, I just I've always up.
247
00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.519
One sixty nine. One sixty nine. Pictures can beat better
248
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:17.200
than that? Wow?
249
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.159
What's your love for Mike Piazza?
250
00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:23.600
Do you have it? No? No, he was a great hitter. Yeah, good, No,
251
00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:28.080
he was a great hitter as a catcher. Defensively not much.
252
00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.559
He was obviously the main guy in the mens for
253
00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:36.159
seven years or whatever that he was there. But you know,
254
00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:37.559
he's in the Hall of Fame. He deserve to be
255
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:38.919
in the Hall of Fame. But I've got a great
256
00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:43.480
Mike Piazza story i can share with please do There's
257
00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.919
a thing called the round table the Baseball Hall of Fame,
258
00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.399
which involved the Hall of famers sitting on chair at
259
00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.159
trouble day field and the media gets to sit unfolding
260
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.559
chairs in front of them. So when Mike finished and
261
00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:57.200
he came down the stairs and walked up to him
262
00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.960
and said, Mike, this was depart minster you never had,
263
00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:01.440
he just laughed.
264
00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.120
So a couple of weeks ago, a person of power
265
00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:09.519
said that they were going to try to get up
266
00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.639
mister Pete Rose into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Does
267
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:13.320
he need to be there?
268
00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:16.600
No, he definitely needs to be kept out of the
269
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.799
Hall of Fame. Okay did she got about it for
270
00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:19.559
twenty five years?
271
00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.440
Enough said yeah, yeah, I had the opportunity to meet him.
272
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.360
He chose not to show up, and I went, of course,
273
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.480
that's exactly what he would do that. I just expected
274
00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:27.200
him to do that.
275
00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:29.559
Not surprised.
276
00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:33.320
Yeah, yeah, Yogi Bearra. My God in Heaven to sit
277
00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:35.399
down with that guy was a blessing. Did you ever
278
00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:36.799
get to meet him?
279
00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.279
Several times? Yes? In fact, I was at the Yogi
280
00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.759
bar Museum two days ago for Saber Day, New Jersey
281
00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.519
Saber Day, and Lindsay Barra was there. She just did
282
00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:47.720
the documentary on her grandfather. Was terrific.
283
00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.840
Yeah. Don't you love the way that baseball connects all
284
00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:52.320
generations into one?
285
00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:57.559
I do, and that's because everybody can understand it. Everybody
286
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.840
can be a fan. It doesn't matter how how young
287
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.720
you are, what size you are. Anybody could play. Freddy
288
00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.279
Pottak was five foot four. Yeah, you know, anybody can play.
289
00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.879
What about the play by play announcers? I believe because
290
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.120
I love listening to a baseball game on the radio.
291
00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.120
I think it does so much more to my imagination
292
00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:16.320
than physically watching it.
293
00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.519
Oh, definitely. There was one announcer here in New York
294
00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.960
named Lys Kyer. He passed away, unfortunately, but he would
295
00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.120
do recreations on New York Giants games after they became
296
00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:30.080
the San Francisco Giants. And he was the only radio
297
00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.840
guy that I remember where you had to sit and
298
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.440
just listen to his broadcast. It was so captivating, it
299
00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:37.519
was so fabulous.
300
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.080
Don't you think that shows like even Brockenmeyer gave baseball
301
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:43.480
play by play announcers the opportunity, you know, to give
302
00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.679
us that real feel of what they might be going
303
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.000
through behind that microphone.
304
00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.879
Oh yeah, oh yeah, for sure. And by the way,
305
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.519
I loved Ernie Harwell too later. Ernie Harrowell was a
306
00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:55.919
great announcer and a great gentleman. I knew him quite
307
00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:56.639
well personally.
308
00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.960
So what is your feeling about this pitching time claw?
309
00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.559
It's fine. It speeds up the game. It saves about
310
00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:05.200
a half hour per game, and that's great.
311
00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:08.039
Well, I still believe that baseball should change one more thing,
312
00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:09.720
and that is when they hit the ball, they can
313
00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.639
either run to third or first. I just think that
314
00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.320
would really make it a great game. Or you know,
315
00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.200
it's probably gonna have to start with what is it,
316
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.480
the Banana League or whatever it is, those guys that
317
00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.559
are dressed up all in yellow Savannah banana.
318
00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.559
Yeah's ye, it's good for them, it's not good for
319
00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.799
professional baseball the major leagues. And the other thing that's
320
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:30.840
not good is that an extra runner in the tenth
321
00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.559
inning that is totally unfair, makes baseball seem like a
322
00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:34.600
Sunday beer league.
323
00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:38.440
Oh okay, now, since we're going in that route, let's
324
00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.879
talk about when when it's dog day at the baseball field.
325
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:42.440
Do you think the dogs need to be there?
326
00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.679
I think it's great. They're definitely not barking up the
327
00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:47.240
wrong trade.
328
00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:53.279
Yes, you are so quick. Oh my god. So what
329
00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.639
have you learned personally from the game of baseball? Because
330
00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.200
it really is a game of science.
331
00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:02.960
That's true. It's also a game of fun. And what
332
00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.720
I learned is that baseball players I know many, many
333
00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.840
hundreds of baseball players. What I learned is that baseball
334
00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:11.840
players are like anybody from any walk of life. Most
335
00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.200
of them are very nice and polite. If you're nice
336
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.039
to them, they'll be nice to you. There are a
337
00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.399
few bad apples, but that's in any walk of life.
338
00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.840
We really don't get to know who they are after
339
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.360
they've been on that field. I mean, are they mechanics?
340
00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.120
Do they go on to become plumbers? Do they are
341
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.240
they business owners? What happens to the old baseball players?
342
00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:31.840
Well, I can tell you what happened to Hank Aaron.
343
00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:34.679
Hank Aaron went on to be a car dealership owner,
344
00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:40.559
a restaurant franchise owner, and a great philanthropist, So you
345
00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.639
never know what someone's going to do. Hank Aaron I
346
00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.879
did a book last year called Hormon King Hank. You
347
00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.960
know all about Hank Aaron. The Remarkable record of Hank Aaron,
348
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.240
it was called And he did all these things after
349
00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.759
he retired, he never made more than to get this arrow.
350
00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.240
His top salary in baseball two hundred forty thousand dollars
351
00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.840
a year. The minimum salary today is seven hundred and
352
00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.440
eighty thousand dollars a year.
353
00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:10.080
Are they playing it for the love of the game
354
00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:11.559
or the dollar of the game.
355
00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:14.840
A lot of guys are playing for the dollar of
356
00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:16.279
the game because they're not good enough to stay in
357
00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:19.320
the major leagues. In fact, if they had the old
358
00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.720
sixteen team network that I grew up with, many players
359
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.080
would not be in a major leagues. They be in
360
00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.559
the minors or not even in baseball.
361
00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.879
Nancy Finley told me she thought that Charlotte needed a
362
00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.720
professional team. Do you think that we're ready for a
363
00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:32.639
team like that? You're your experience.
364
00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.120
I do, and I know, Nancy, I've been to Charlotte. Yes,
365
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.200
I do, and it would be a great regional competitor
366
00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.039
for the Atlanta race.
367
00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:44.759
Oh god, we're already competing against Atlanta with football and basketball. Dude.
368
00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:52.840
Come on, So when you release a book like this,
369
00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:54.679
are you on speaking to her? And are you going
370
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.759
to be going from field to field to field? Because
371
00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:01.519
I dang, I bet people want to meet you.
372
00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.279
Do a lot of libraries and men's clubs and all
373
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:05.599
kinds of things. So I do whatever I can and
374
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.799
speak wherever I can. I'm gonna be speaking at the
375
00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:11.720
Yogi Berry Museum and Baseball Card Store, so lots of
376
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:12.440
things coming up.
377
00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:14.799
You know, I just noticed your baseball cap. That's an
378
00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.960
Atlanta Braves hat.
379
00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:20.599
It is, but it only was used this spring training.
380
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:22.119
It's a brand new hat. I just got it.
381
00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.799
Really, So now why the color black? I've never seen
382
00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.319
a Braves hat that's black.
383
00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.599
Has to match my shirt? It's actually it's actually gray.
384
00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:33.440
It's a great hat with a black bill.
385
00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.119
Oh my god. Where can people go to find out
386
00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:37.799
more about you?
387
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.759
My website Dan Slosburg dot net, or go on to
388
00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.680
Amazon dot com and look up the book The New
389
00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:45.480
Baseball Bible.
390
00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.240
Well, and and listeners and fans of baseball need to
391
00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:51.319
understand that the book cover itself, Dan, Oh my god,
392
00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.720
It's like it's like I threw all my baseball cards
393
00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:55.799
out on the floor and I'm gonna pick my favorite one.
394
00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.799
Pretty much got Seo Tani there, and Bob Feller and
395
00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.359
Josh Gibson and a picture that I took of Hank
396
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.119
Earn and Eddie Matthews, the best baseball home run hitting
397
00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:08.039
tandem of all time.
398
00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:09.759
Are you going to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
399
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.680
I would write to Nobody asked me.
400
00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:16.599
Well, please come back to this show anytime in the future.
401
00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:18.279
The door is always going to be open for you.
402
00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.599
Thanks. Errol enjoyed it.
403
00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:21.920
Will you be brilliant today?
404
00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.200
Okay, thank you you too,
