Card Mensches E40 "Who did it?"

SPEAKER 1: Hey, I'm Black and I'm John Newman. Welcome to Car Mats.

SPEAKER 2: Experience quality consistency and the quickest turnaround times in the grading industry, we are proud to partner with SGC grading. Check them out at www dot go SGC.com.

SPEAKER 1: Hey, I'm Danny Black and I'm John Newman. Welcome to car matches.

SPEAKER 3: Well, I took a running start there to get started. How are you doing tonight? My friend.

SPEAKER 4: Good. It's, an episode of who done it?

SPEAKER 3: It is, it is Card Mensches episode 40 it's who done it? And guess who done it? I did it.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, the double intro night apparently as rumor just pointed out.

SPEAKER 3: I'm fessing up.

SPEAKER 5: Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER 3: How's your hobby week then? I feel like I feel like we haven't, it's been two weeks. It's been too long.

SPEAKER 4: That episode 40 man. That's crazy. When you think about that. These shows are every other week, like 40 episodes and once a week is almost a year. This is almost like two years. 5252 episodes will be two years if, if my math is, is right. But, yeah, we're gonna have a little fun today and, and there's gonna be card stuff in here as well. So, it's not all, just personal, stuff.

SPEAKER 3: I don't think anybody knows what we've done yet.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, there's a few things in here. I know. I'm a pretty open book but there's a few things in here that I've never revealed before today. So there's a little tease.

SPEAKER 3: Oh, I see. John is like a candle in the wind tonight.

SPEAKER 5: Yes, I went.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I went to the farewell tour last year at the carrier dome. So they said farewell.

SPEAKER 3: They said farewell John.

SPEAKER 5: Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: That's Mr Surgeon.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, that was a great show.

SPEAKER 3: I saw him and Billy Joel together when they toured together.

SPEAKER 4: I've seen that. Yeah, I've seen that show.

SPEAKER 3: That was cool.

SPEAKER 4: That wasn't great. I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER 3: I was fantastic.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, that wasn't my favorite Billy Joel show. But I will say this, the Elton John alone was better than the duel with, with, with Billy. It's tough when you get two big names trying to share the same show. It's not always easy to, to pull up yet.

SPEAKER 3: Here we are doing it for episode 40. So let's explain what we're doing tonight. Tonight we're playing a game of who done it and who done it means that we're gonna put a topic on the screen and it's a fun fact. It's a fun fact. Like you would find on the back of a baseball card and the idea is on the fun fact. Is it a fun fact about John? Is it a fun fact about me or is it a fun fact from a real baseball card?

SPEAKER 3: Most importantly, I definitely want you guys to comment and throw in your own favorite backup baseball card stories from real baseball cards. So if you can throw out the card and throw out what the fun fact is. Definitely I'm reading Ruben. Definitely throw it in the chat room. I love the back of baseball card. Fun facts. That's what prompted tonight.

SPEAKER 4: I like Ruben but the comment like, listen, I don't think.

SPEAKER 5: Anyone talking a little anti Billy there.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I'm listen, Billy Joel is no, like I, I understand he's not like Mr America, like like looks wise, but talent wise, the guy is an exceptional musician and songwriter. So you wanna call him ugly but a great songwriter and musician. I, I'Ll sign up for that but not little talent, man. There's no way.

SPEAKER 3: I love fun facts. So do I, so let's give it, let's get started with one and I and I, and I put one at the beginning to, to try to kind of give us an idea of what we're up against tonight. So to give it and once again, I'm gonna give a fun fact. You gotta guess if this is a Danny fact, a John fact or the back of a baseball card fact. Here's the first one we're gonna use.

SPEAKER 3: So the member of a high school ski team, does that sound like one of us or the back of a baseball card? And everything's been phrased in a way to try to try to keep it equal.

SPEAKER 3: We're off to a flying start here. I gotta tell you.

SPEAKER 4: Much like I, I am out of the gates.

SPEAKER 3: That's Ruben's guess.

SPEAKER 3: And I'm gonna, I'm gonna pull up a little.

SPEAKER 4: Well, listen, I, I, I'm not saying it's me or it isn't me. But I went, I did go to high school in Syracuse, New York. I know I'm from New York City and then I went back to New York City after high school, Warren said Warren picked me.

SPEAKER 3: Back a card from vintage goods.

SPEAKER 4: Well, somebody's right because we got all three picked.

SPEAKER 3: In the winner back of card, Mark Ciardi on the, it is a nine, excuse me, an 88 tops back of the card. He was a member of the 1979 Piscataway High School ski club.

SPEAKER 4: So you gotta get one of them jackets. Piscataway High School ski t.

SPEAKER 3: So that, that's how you play. So we're gonna throw it out there. Some of these are a little personal, are more fun.

SPEAKER 4: I, I love Warren. I appreciate that. He thinks highly of me, but you do not want me on a, on a, on a mountain skiing. I'm gonna kill myself or take other people with me. So, no, it wasn't me. Never. I'm not only was I not on the high school ski team. I've never even went one time.

SPEAKER 3: I I hurt my knee when I was younger. I've never been skiing either.

SPEAKER 4: So there you go.

SPEAKER 3: There you go. All right. Next one.

SPEAKER 3: Now the question is here.

SPEAKER 4: Too shy to ask to go to the restroom as a child.

SPEAKER 3: Warren says, laugh his ass off.

SPEAKER 4: John The Vintage Has Daddy.

SPEAKER 5: Vintage has Danny. Oh, we got.

SPEAKER 4: Two dandy one.

SPEAKER 3: I think you've got two guesses in here.

SPEAKER 4: Is he did he hedge his bets.

SPEAKER 3: Nobody's guessing the back of a baseball card on this one. Wow. I'm getting a lot of GS here. I've never been called guy before.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I don't think you'd see less. I think we can eliminate the back of a baseball card. I don't think that one would be and I don't think that the subject would want it to be if it, even if it was the case.

SPEAKER 3: Warren says I answered that almost too fast. All right. And the winner, John.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, man. I was I was a shy kid. I've people don't believe me when I tell them that now because they, they see this version. I was a super shy kid man. I'd as a young child, I'd hide behind my grandparents if like if I was introduced to someone and I was scared to ask the teacher to go to the restroom.

SPEAKER 4: Thankfully, I lived across the street from the school PS 132 in Brooklyn, New York. So when I was picked up from school, I literally made a beeline across the street, ran into my house and for holding it all day. That's a true story. You know, I'm listen, I'm an open book for the most part. I had one accident in school in kindergarten waiting in line to go to the, the lunch room and it was embarrassing.

SPEAKER 4: And, here we are, you know, I was five years old and I'm 51. So 46 years later, I remember that day as if it happened yesterday. Thankfully I got over that shyness, as a younger, you know, adult and, you know, here we are today and there's probably a few people, Danny, wishing I was more shy. But I'm not so anymore.

SPEAKER 3: One you can't get in trouble with anybody in this room.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. No, no one's gonna take anything for. Listen, I just told you I peed in the kindergarten class. I don't know. You know what else there is after that. That's, you know, all right, we had a feeling that we had a feeling that one would throw people off, which is why, why it made it, I don't, it's, I gotta work on my, on my reputation clearly.

SPEAKER 3: All right, face, John Franco. Major leagues. Did it make the back of a baseball card? I played high school all star baseball. I played at a league above high school. We traveled around. I played some, played, some older players. Jah, an accomplished youth player.

SPEAKER 4: I'm still playing softball. It wasn't, I didn't face but.

SPEAKER 3: Not as, not as much.

SPEAKER 4: And maybe it's just a guy named John Franco. Maybe not.

SPEAKER 3: The John Ruben says back of a card.

SPEAKER 3: Any other guesses, Danny? I think that wouldn't be on the back of a car.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, because John Franco faced a lot of batters and a lot of people faced John Franco.

SPEAKER 3: Warren says back of a card.

SPEAKER 3: Welcome. Hodges. Welcome. Welcome.

SPEAKER 3: All right, should we reveal it? You wanna tell the story?

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I'Ll, I'Ll do the Cliff notes version. This is me. This is Brooklyn Jofranco is from Brooklyn like me and I was probably 15 at the time. 1415 playing pickup ball in the park with about seven friends of mine.

SPEAKER 4: A car pulls up along the curb and out steps, John Franco and I recognized him ins instantly being a Brooklyn native about half of us, I think did half of the kids, another gentleman gets out of the car with him and he says, hey guys, you might, you know, I could throw you some batting practice and the three or four of us that knew who he was were like, holy crap.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. And the other three are like, who is this guy that we fill those guys in kind on the download like John Franco, you know, reliever for the Mets. So he threw some bad. Well, we, the first thing we said was like, who's gonna catch, you know, who's gonna catch you?

SPEAKER 3: So just to be here, you just want to clarify that. You're not as old as John Franco.

SPEAKER 4: No, he's, he's older than me. Probably by 12 years, I'm guessing without officially knowing.

SPEAKER 3: That's why, that's why they're telling the, the, the little kid story. I know. Yeah.

SPEAKER 4: So we, we had, you know, we said, who's gonna catch it? And the guy that got out of the car with him whose name escapes me, you could be looked up was his catcher at Saint John's where he played his college ball. So he, he was hanging out with his, his buddy who was his catcher at college, baseball and he had some, just minimal gear in the trunk.

SPEAKER 4: So they ran and got, he ran and got that, put it on and it was just throwing batting practice, you know, like your coach would, and when it was my turn to bat, I said to him, I said, Mr Franco, I know I'm gonna swing and miss sometimes, but can you kind of throw like not batting practice?

SPEAKER 4: He goes if you want to and he did and I, I swung and missed some and I hit some pretty good too. So I was not a bad ball player. So yes, that was my, I got the bat against John Franco. You know, moment, which is, which is pretty cool. I, I'm surprised where I did talk about that on the show, I believe once.

SPEAKER 3: So yeah, not everybody pays. It takes, takes.

SPEAKER 4: Pretty cool man.

SPEAKER 3: Very cool. All right, this is one of my favorite ones. I'm gonna put up two back to back and you can pretty much tell these aren't off of baseball cards. So I I'Ll, I'Ll tell you right now, you gotta decide which one sounds like one of us and which one sounds like the other one of us.

SPEAKER 3: The first one is, one of us drank hot sauce from 100 wings and this was drained into a cup for a $40 bet. And one of us participated in a wing eating contest for charity.

SPEAKER 4: I take either one of these man. These are, I can't go wrong. These are both right up my alley.

SPEAKER 3: There you go.

SPEAKER 4: That's all I'Ll.

SPEAKER 3: Say Cliff Morello was Franco's catcher.

SPEAKER 4: There you go. That's who it was then because that he, he said his name. I, I think he just said this is my buddy, Cliff.

SPEAKER 3: So John on the bet, Ruben says Danny on the bed and the, and the charity to John just like with the real person stand up we should almost do. This is Orlando says John took the bet wings. Danny John hot sauce. This is pretty much split even. I'm, I'm a little surprised.

SPEAKER 3: Do you, what do you Ruben says he went with the hot sauce? Because I described it in detail like you were there. Yep.

SPEAKER 3: Do you wanna tell your story first or shall I tell my?

SPEAKER 5: Yeah, it's.

SPEAKER 4: It's real quick. So, this is not recent. I've played softball since my hardball career, ended and so we were sponsored by a bar. So after the game, we go to the bar and, and get a couple of free pitchers and order some food. And so there's probably eight of eight of us and we ordered a tray of 100 hot wings.

SPEAKER 4: All right. So they brought out this tray of 100 hot weeks. We each had plates and we just, you know, ate our share of wings and those 100 wings were gone and we had like a, we had another tray for all the bones and all that was left was that original tray and all the sauce, the hot sauce was on the bottom and everyone knows I like spicy and hot stuff.

SPEAKER 4: And one of my teammates says, new, we know one of my teammates said Newman, how much to drink what's left like the, the drippings of the, of the, the 100 wings. And I'm like, how much you want to pay me? And they're like 40 bucks.

SPEAKER 4: I'm like poured in a, poured in the glass. So they literally lifted the tray, poured it in their glass. It was a full but of glass like that. And I just housed that thing and I was 40 bucks richer. I paid for it later. Truth, you know, to, to, to put the bow tie on the store, but I had no more.

SPEAKER 3: To try to ask which is the important thing.

SPEAKER 4: So I had 40 bucks and, I love hot sauce, man. What have I done that? Under normal conditions? No, but for 40 bucks, I did it that day. So now it leaves you with the charity.

SPEAKER 3: Well, how much money would it take you now to do that?

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Probably a little, probably more. I'm a little older and smarter. I like to think, you know, that was my younger and dumber. Like, all right. Put up, put your money where your mouth is days, you know. And, I don't even think I did it for the 40 bucks. Daddy. I think I just did it almost like it's almost like a dare. There's just money attached to the dare.

SPEAKER 3: So, I got two boys and I'Ll, and I'Ll say boys are stupid and get older. Nothing really changes.

SPEAKER 4: Could I do it? Could I do it today? I, because I still, I had hot wings for lunch today. I can do it in hot sauce. No. 10 of them. Well, the sauce was hot on, on the wings and there was sauce in the, you know, the, the to go container it was in, I didn't drink it but it was, it was in there.

SPEAKER 3: I forget what year somebody can look it up. That John John Candy passed away the comedian. And so in honor of John Candy, we, raised money for health care for, for those less fortunate. And we raised money by getting sponsored with a local wing shop.

SPEAKER 3: And we rented out the place and we had a wing eating contest and iii I did not win ultimately, but I, I did participate and raise some money. And if it was for a good cause and I will say I was just, it was no fun the next day either. I, I ate a healthy amount.

SPEAKER 4: Was it time like you had like 20 minutes to eat? It? Was it like that?

SPEAKER 3: That's exactly what it was. I think we had half an hour or, or something?

SPEAKER 4: I wish I would, I wish I knew you. Then I would have, I would have entered and, and been one of the favorites. I'm not gonna claim Victor. The rest, the rest have been a contender.

SPEAKER 3: The restaurant gave away a gift card to the winner. It was a real prize.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. There you go. I might have won that.

SPEAKER 3: Here we go. Just mix it with crown, crown. Candy and we're all good. Crown Canadian.

SPEAKER 5: What is that?

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Yeah, I think that's right. I think Crown, Crown Royal. But, yeah, I'm, I'm drinking that tonight with some Black cherry soda. So we're, we're, we're good.

SPEAKER 3: All right. Ready for the next one.

SPEAKER 4: A real wing thing. Ok.

SPEAKER 4: I'm right on it. I don't know if anyone else is ready but.

SPEAKER 3: Two sons, Brian and Brett, now we've both talked about our families.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: We both, have male offspring.

SPEAKER 4: It's true. Offspring. What are we like in the safari? We're like drug by animals.

SPEAKER 3: All right. So is this baseball card fact, John fact or Danny fact, Warren?

SPEAKER 3: Is this John?

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, but I like that.

SPEAKER 3: Orlando's guessing me.

SPEAKER 3: Warren's just embarrassed. Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: Right. I'm Danny, not Brian, but thank you.

SPEAKER 3: This is the back of, 87 tops, Floyd Banister. Floyd Banister wears uniform number 19 with the white sox. His number is a Collegian at Arizona State University. He and his wife are parents of two sons, Brian and Brett. So actually, Floyd Banister is the answer. And who, who would, that's why I love fun. Back in the back of baseball cards.

SPEAKER 4: I, I'm surprised I got a couple of at least one vote. I have one son. His name is Jordan and he's 24. So, you know, when someone guessed me, I'm like, oh, man, what? I must have blacked out that night.

SPEAKER 3: Well, let's be fair. You have one you know about?

SPEAKER 3: All right.

SPEAKER 4: That, that sounds like you do crazy stuff.

SPEAKER 3: That's right. And, and my, I do, I do have two boys twins. I talk about them all the time. Zach and Connor. And the only reason I, I'Ll say their names is if you go to a card show, you'll see, you'll meet Connor without a doubt. So, ok, this is one of my favorite ones of the night.

SPEAKER 3: Born at home, not in a hospital. Is this from the back of a baseball card or is this from John's life or is this from my life?

SPEAKER 3: And I think this is great because you gotta take into consideration a lot of factors here.

SPEAKER 3: Back of a car.

SPEAKER 3: All right, I'm trying back of the card stand years. Oh, even he named the player doesn't say it on the back of the card.

SPEAKER 4: Like Ruben said, not only am I gonna guess back a card but tell you whose card it was?

SPEAKER 4: Orlando said you.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, John, it just fits lol I don't know what it means to fit that you're born in that.

SPEAKER 5: I'm not a.

SPEAKER 4: Hospital if it's true. We don't even like no one knows if it's true or not.

SPEAKER 3: Hello. Hello.

SPEAKER 3: If I win all credit goes to Ruben, what's up Jason?

SPEAKER 3: I like twit John had to go to a hospital, believe it or not.

SPEAKER 4: I was not a big baby. I think I was £6. 8 ounces don't quote me but somewhere in that vicinity which I don't believe is a big baby. No, I am a big but I wasn't a big baby as a baby.

SPEAKER 3: Ruben says I'm sure it was John's. John was a £12 baby and his mother wanted him out in hospital.

SPEAKER 4: 6 £6. It would make sense. I get the, I get it. I I see the correlation if I'm playing, you know, nor as a normal size baby who then got mutant size later.

SPEAKER 3: See, I think this is the back of a baseball card. If I'm playing at home, I know the answer obviously. But this is the stuff, the fun facts that I love. But you wanna share the real answer here, John.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, this is me. I was born in a house in Brooklyn. My dad was at work. My mother literally had me at home. This is obviously before cell phone days my dad came from, came home from work, walks in the house and there's my mom holded baby John Newman. Probably didn't have a name yet officially.

SPEAKER 4: And then I was taken with my mom to someone from New York City might recognize the this hospital name my mom and hospital in, in Brooklyn. So I was born at home and yeah, I I said that wrong. I'm still in existence. My mom and, and, you know, got my, the co cord cut there but was born at, at home. So, pretty funny. I don't know. I say funny but pretty, pretty unique kind of story when, when, when it comes up.

SPEAKER 3: All right, here's one and I was surprised, well, I guess I shouldn't say that. Should I, Warren is gonna take his bow for, for his win.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, that's a tough, like, I get the rationale like John had to be a big baby. That's not possible. I get it.

SPEAKER 3: No, it makes, it makes sense that it would be you. Nobody thought I was born at home.

SPEAKER 3: Ok. Good. Get Rocky. Colavito. Definitely a nickname. Rocky.

SPEAKER 4: I'm just gonna throw in here that I, as a younger kid I was, I guess you call it an amateur boxer.

SPEAKER 3: Yep.

SPEAKER 3: I think you're being generous.

SPEAKER 3: All right. If that's the only, that's the only guest you wanna tell about your amateur boxing career.

SPEAKER 4: It was very short lived. It was really by accident. My stepbro would he built this ring in the backyard? You know, this makeshift ring and that wasn't actually too bad for being amateur put together. And my dad was an amateur boxer and he taught me how to box.

SPEAKER 4: My step brother was not a boxer, but liked to watch me box. So he would go and tell other kids my age that I said this and that about them and then they'd show up and I would tell them, like, I didn't say that my brother just wants to see us fight.

SPEAKER 4: I'm telling you, I didn't say it sometimes that worked and they'd be like, ok, my, you know, whatever and other times they're like, no, I don't believe you. Why don't, why don't you put your money where your mouth is? And then that ring was used.

SPEAKER 4: But, that's not me. I, I never had it. I had a dog named Rocky, at the time, a little Black pug back in the day. His name was Rocky, not Meta.

SPEAKER 3: And I just put it in the chat that's still on the back of the 1974 Mike Tyson card. Ironically enough, the former player that I had not heard of.

SPEAKER 4: I know who I remember him. Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: Ok. Well, he was from Rocky Mountain, North Carolina.

SPEAKER 4: So, which is funny. His name is Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson. Well, I guess he is the Mike Tyson. Just not the Mike Tyson. Most people are familiar with.

SPEAKER 3: Not the one you would expect to be called.

SPEAKER 4: And his nickname was right. Well, come on, man. Who, how do you make this stuff up?

SPEAKER 3: You can't, that, that, that's why I was, I was sure everybody was gonna guess you on that one. No, not one person on here thought my name was Rocky. You all thought I cried because I couldn't pee. But you didn't think my name was Rocky.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah.

SPEAKER 4: Are, are you sorry, you came up with this catch up.

SPEAKER 5: I, I don't, I don't think I'm working this anymore.

SPEAKER 3: Ok. Move on to, to, to, to the next one.

SPEAKER 3: Play competitive tennis as a kid.

SPEAKER 3: There you go. You look just like Andre Agassi.

SPEAKER 4: I'm a John McEnroe guy.

SPEAKER 3: Are you?

SPEAKER 4: Seriously? You can't be serious.

SPEAKER 3: I like mcenroe.

SPEAKER 4: Love Johnny Mac.

SPEAKER 3: Orlando's guessing me, Warren's guessing me.

SPEAKER 3: My nickname was definitely not the font Henry Wakely.

SPEAKER 4: Your nickname was baby Henry. All right.

SPEAKER 3: Back of card. It's definitely a back of card type of step.

SPEAKER 3: D he definitely has Dennis five.

SPEAKER 3: John is Bourbon time.

SPEAKER 4: I'm, I'm already doing it. I'm away Eddie. But thank you for reminding me just in case why.

SPEAKER 3: All right, I played us t a competitive tennis when I was a child. I played until I got my ass kicked six love six love by the number one seeded player. And his coach told him that he had to go to practice because his match against me did not even count as practice for the day. And then, and then I immediately quit competitive tennis. So I did play tennis tournament tennis as a kid.

SPEAKER 4: So while you were hitting tennis balls, I was boxing people in a makeshift ring in my backyard and here we are here. We are all these years later. Who would have sucked it?

SPEAKER 3: Danny doesn't seem like a really competitive sports person. Tennis does fit.

SPEAKER 3: I'm getting killed.

SPEAKER 4: What is the, what is it the roast after Tom Brady's?

SPEAKER 3: I'm telling you. Oh, wow, Orlando. I hope you're not being sarcastic. My ego can't take anymore.

SPEAKER 3: That's too funny.

SPEAKER 3: All right, let's move on. I'm gonna keep this interesting and I phrased this very specifically at spring training. Ron Guidry. No hitter. So it was a player that was that or John or me?

SPEAKER 3: Wow, Danny seems like a back of the Cougar kid. I'Ll put it up, I'Ll take it. Not true at all.

SPEAKER 3: So you have to have real confidence to put that up there.

SPEAKER 3: John on the Ron Guidry no hitter.

SPEAKER 3: Well, here I'm gonna put up another one.

SPEAKER 5: So one of us, I've never been to never been to spring training.

SPEAKER 3: It wouldn't be a baseball player, I guess it could be, but it's not. So never has been to spring training is one of us at spring training. Either a player or one of us saw Ron Guitry throw a no hitter saying Danny, it's just same year. He went to his first game in 83. He's confident. All booger kids don't think that they're booger kids. Wow. It's like Keating.

SPEAKER 3: Got a new new handle. What's up, Jeremy? Hey, Jeremy, Danny's never been, Danny. Yeah, Danny has never been to spring training. Danny has family all over Florida, Orlando, you and I have talked about this. And the Orioles used to be right down in Lauderdale and now they're in Sarasota. My brother's been, my father's been, all my friends have been.

SPEAKER 3: But I've never been John. However you have been to where spring training and what happened when you went with Ron Guidry.

SPEAKER 4: So I saw Ruben pick the year 1983. That's the year this happened. So it was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the Yankees spring training was in 1983. Ron Guidry started the game. Now back in the much like today's spring training starting pitchers would go three innings. The next guy comes in pitches a inning, two innings. You use about 4 to 56 pitchers right to, to complete the nine inning game.

SPEAKER 4: Well, Ron Gid throws three innings. He was just lights out like just striking out was versus the Pirates. I remember even the teams, it was Yankees versus Pirates. He was lights out, didn't give up a hit, obviously. And here he comes out for the fourth inning cruises through that. His pitch count was very low, very economical.

SPEAKER 4: He comes out in the fifth inning and even as an 11 year old kid at the time, I was in, in Florida, visiting, my, my family, I wound up moving there for a couple of years, which is where the whole vitech stuff comes in. But, he kept coming out and even me as 11 year old kid knew this was sort of odd.

SPEAKER 4: Like, normally they pull you like it's spring training. No one cares about a spring training, no hitter and he just kept coming out. So, I don't know what happened in the dugout was he like refusing to come out until he gave up a hit? Well, he never gave up a hit. He kept coming out.

SPEAKER 4: He comes out in the top of the ninth inning, strikes out the first guy and the next two guys ground out. It wasn't like a big, you know, like you see a no hitter now and they jump in the catcher's arm and the whole team. But there was a little, you know, people came to the mound and shook hands.

SPEAKER 4: It was on the scoreboard, you know, 000 for the Pirates. And I, I don't have an explanation for it as an 11 year old kid who witnessed it but Ron G through a nine inning spring training no hitter. I don't know why he stayed in the game. Maybe he just told the manager like, I'Ll come out skip when I give up my first hit.

SPEAKER 5: He was pretty.

SPEAKER 3: Established by then. I mean, he.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, he, he again, his pitch count was very economical. Wasn't, he didn't, you know, I, I think he did walk a guy otherwise it'd be a perfect game. But maybe one guy but no, obviously no hits. And so he definitely was under 100 pitches, for sure if you ask me. But, you know, pretty rare. I don't know, I don't know if it's the only one ever in spring.

SPEAKER 4: Well, I'm sure there's been spring training, no hitters, but, like, combined with three or four pitchers, but I've never seen someone just keep coming out and, and pitching the whole game. So it would never happen today. Yeah, it definitely stuck with me because it was such an oddity. Even, even for 11 year old kid who did isn't as knowledgeable as I am. Today when it comes to baseball stuff.

SPEAKER 3: Gr Guidry could shove Louisiana Lightning.

SPEAKER 4: He was lefty. He was, he's hard throwing through a heavy fastball. And, yeah, it was a kind of a weird day, a weird day.

SPEAKER 3: That's cool though.

SPEAKER 3: I gotta get to spring training even if it's not for a no hitter. Yeah.

SPEAKER 4: Well, now you're not going to see a guy like that, doesn't.

SPEAKER 3: You'll never see it.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, the, there's two, they just use a plethora of pitchers to get them work done. So I don't, I'd love to know, I, I'm, I'm gonna have to research this. I'd love to know the back story of how he's got to stay in the game.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, I, I, who was the manager?

SPEAKER 4: You'd have to look it up.

SPEAKER 3: I'm trying to remember who's, I don't know if it was one of Billy's trips or not.

SPEAKER 4: I don't think Billy Martin was a manager in 83. Someone looked at someone looked that up.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah. Right. Ok. You're ready to move to the next one.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I am. I don't know.

SPEAKER 3: Definitely could be John.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, we both were in Florida at different points and could be me and certainly could be a car.

SPEAKER 3: Could be a player.

SPEAKER 3: Vinci says Billy Martin.

SPEAKER 4: It was Martin.

SPEAKER 3: And guessing me on the first Marlon series, Orlando. I wonder if you were down there then Billy Martin.

SPEAKER 4: I don't know how he pulled that off. Billy Martin, pretty stubborn guy. Maybe Billy Martin was mad at him. Maybe it was the reverse of what we're thinking. Maybe Guidry wanted to come out and he was in Martin doghouse.

SPEAKER 4: He's like no go keep pitching. You got a no hitter just, just threw him out there. You know, I'd love to know the back story there. I, I, to this day, you know, 41 years later don't under, I don't know what that was about.

SPEAKER 3: Oh, Mookie coming in strong five and four split now.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Was that a different one?

SPEAKER 3: I don't know, Danny. Were you working for them?

SPEAKER 3: No, I did not work for the Marlins.

SPEAKER 3: We all missed him. Mookie.

SPEAKER 3: This was me, however, I have family in Miami. I was lucky enough to get tickets and go to that series. Very weird back then the Florida Marlins and the old ugly teal uniforms, but I still still got some of the gear packed away. And those were some crazy teams. That was Charlie Huff if, if, if you don't remember, it was one of the starters on the team. I think it was Preston Wilson, former Met, former Met the expansion draft.

SPEAKER 4: I think he was, or he was high pick in the expansion, former, Met.

SPEAKER 3: Yep. So, anyway, so, yes, I was at the first Marlins series. Yeah, it was quite, it was Joe Robbie back then. Well, if I, I believe Danny had to be a sophomore in college during that series. I'm not sure what year was that?

SPEAKER 4: They had a Piazza deal. Piazza was like in Miami for like 15 minutes.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah. Just long enough to change plans. Yep. Joe Robbie.

SPEAKER 3: Exactly. Charlie Huff was the best pitcher we had. Absolutely. And he was old then. He, he was about 100 and 40 something. 93. Ok.

SPEAKER 3: I was not a sophomore in college.

SPEAKER 4: No, I could have been I was 21 but it wasn't me.

SPEAKER 3: All right, so Little Marlin's love there.

SPEAKER 3: Let's get a quick one out of the way. I Met Charlie Huff once. That's cool. I wonder if he was a nice guy.

SPEAKER 3: Here's a quick one. Bang this one out quickly.

SPEAKER 3: This sounds like.

SPEAKER 4: This is definitely not a back of a baseball card. So it's one of us.

SPEAKER 3: I think we have the answer. It was John.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I probably stole it. So, so told this story on more than one occasion on, on my show. I mean, yeah, so he came to Syracuse on a rehab assignment with the Columbus Clippers who at the time he was with the Yankees. So I went to the game in Syracuse. I waited for him after the game, I had a ball. I waited, I was probably 1516.

SPEAKER 4: I waited for him after the game. He didn't come out right away, like waited, delayed everyone left. I was the last kid there, with my dad and he and my dad's like, come on, he's not coming out, let's go, you know, and I said, no, I got it. So he comes out but he like runs onto the bus like to not sign and all he runs on the bus.

SPEAKER 4: So I, you know, we go to the car and I'm like, follow the bus, I'Ll catch him at the hotel. So we followed the bus to the Comfort Inn, which, which is funny, it's not the Comfort Inn, but it's a hotel that I could see from my window. Now, I didn't, I didn't live here then, but it's right over here. It's the Ramada now, but it was the comfort and then, we follow the bus, I get out and, you know, the players are getting out.

SPEAKER 4: I'm, I'm really not interested in the rest of the, I just wanna meet and, and have Deion Sanders sign this baseball and, again, he doesn't come off right away. It's like he's, you know, just delays, but then he comes off.

SPEAKER 4: So it's just him, everyone's already went into the comfort in and I'm like, right there and now there's no gate or no, you know, barriers and I'm like, Dion, you know, can you sign one? And he waves like he's now he's in front of me, but he waves me to like, follow him into this hotel. So I'm following him in, I'm probably like four or 5 ft behind him and I'm still, and I'm like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER 4: Like we just sign the ball, you know, like, and then I won't bug you. And so he, wes me in the elevator door opens, he gets in, he wes me in the elevator, I get it. So here I'm on the elevator with the A and he says to me, I'Ll sign your ball kid. You gotta answer one question for me. And I'm like, sure Dan, what is it?

SPEAKER 4: And this was a time period when him and Bo Jackson were going back and forth in the media about who was the best, you know, multi sport athlete, you know, bo commercials. Dion had endorsements and obviously I kind of thought Bo but I'm not, you know, I'm not an elevator. It's just me and DEA, like, he could probably make me disappear.

SPEAKER 4: At this point if, so he says to me, who's, who's the better, two sport athlete, me or Bo Jackson? So there was a little bit of a pause and I'm like, ah, the, the you Dion. So he takes the ball. Meanwhile, the elevator is going up to like the third floor. He signs it on the sweet spot. His ass is a dollar sign.

SPEAKER 4: So it's Dion Sanders and the door opens, he's gonna get out to go to his room and he's like, hey kid, you know, you gotta go back down but have a good day. So I went back down with my Dion Sanders autograph. Well, which is, I should have took it out, but it's, I still have it, you know, 37 years, later. It's in this case right, right here somewhere. So, there you go, Deion Sanders and me on an elevator.

SPEAKER 3: All right. I'm glad we knocked that one out quickly.

SPEAKER 4: When we, when I saw that one, I'm like, I think a few people are gonna get that because I, I've told that story when it was a lay up. Yeah, that was sort of if we had a lay up tonight. I think that was the one.

SPEAKER 3: Well, this, this one I found entertaining attended the Red Wings Stanley Cup clinching game. Don't have a year on this, but this is all the back of a baseball card or it's from John or it's from me back a card.

SPEAKER 3: You're a big hockey fan, actually.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, I'm a huge, I love the New York Rangers. I'm, I'm very, I'm still disappointed from.

SPEAKER 3: I thought you were chalk on this one and I live in Baltimore where there's no hockey team.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: But I want to see the Washington Capitals play in the Stanley Cup finals when I was younger. And, the Detroit Red Wings clinched on Washington to ice. So I've, yeah. No, it was, it was, the Red Wings, against the cap, against the caps. And I wouldn't go to Pittsburgh John and an octopus.

SPEAKER 4: J like, let you, you, you deep fry that with some breading. I like octopus.

SPEAKER 3: Well, now you can put Old Bay on it.

SPEAKER 4: Oh, I'm, now I'm hungry again and I ate dinner already.

SPEAKER 5: So that's a good one.

SPEAKER 4: So Old Bay octopus.

SPEAKER 3: All right. This, this, this one, if you know us, this one should be an easy one.

SPEAKER 3: So, on the back of a baseball card, is there a player who enjoys listening to hard rock music? Do I enjoy listening to hard rock music or does John enjoy listening to hard rock music?

SPEAKER 3: Not a lot of booger eaters, listen to hard rock music.

SPEAKER 3: Danny. Danny. Wow. I give up.

SPEAKER 4: What's throwing, what's throwing this up my Elton John shirt.

SPEAKER 3: John's a Billy Joel guy.

SPEAKER 4: I like a lot of different types of music though. He's Billy Joel guy.

SPEAKER 3: Ah, John, he rocks out to kiss Zeppelin.

SPEAKER 4: Kisses from Brooklyn, New York. I gotta throw that in my hometown kisses from Brooklyn, New York. They're not my favorite band, but I'm, I'm fond of them.

SPEAKER 3: All right. And just because I wanna quote this correctly, this is Zane Smith is 87 tops card. So this is Zane Smith. Zane enjoys listening to hard rock music. That is the entire fun fact on the back of the card. So former pitcher, Braves and some other tyrants.

SPEAKER 4: But why like is that the most interesting thing they could come up with for Zain Smith? Like I feel bad that that's not that he's a hard rock fan. Heck I am too, but you know, I don't, I know I'm a more of a Gene Simmons and I won't wear those platform shoes. There. It is. You actually have the card.

SPEAKER 3: I actually have a picture on my phone by the end.

SPEAKER 4: This could have been me because I do like hard rock music but it, it, you got it from, you know, yeah, he did.

SPEAKER 3: This is a fun.

SPEAKER 4: This is a, that's probably why I know him so well that he just played the best against wasn't a great pitcher but was a great pitcher whenever the you could say he was the Chipper Jones of pitchers. Yeah, I guess there you go.

SPEAKER 3: I just like picking on the Mets. Really.

SPEAKER 3: Well, it's.

SPEAKER 4: Easy to do right now.

SPEAKER 5: It's been easy to do.

SPEAKER 3: For 30 years.

SPEAKER 4: No, we have a couple of World Series, you know, appearances and win in there real quick.

SPEAKER 3: Fun fact, John was the fourth beastie boy until he got kicked out because he did not obtain the west.

SPEAKER 4: I do, I do joke that I was the fourth beastie boy.

SPEAKER 3: All right, worked at a pizza shop in high school shop was burned by an arsonist. Is that the fun fact on the back of a baseball card? Is that something that happened in my life or something that happened to John in his life, John the early there we got d appreciate it. Have you Jay when you think of arson? I want you to think of me, Ruben Dale Arson totally seems like a bit.

SPEAKER 4: Is that I think he watched The Wire too much.

SPEAKER 3: You gotta finish that.

SPEAKER 5: By the way.

SPEAKER 4: I know I can. What is it that I, I probably don't get it. Is it like Netflix HBO Max? Now, our HBO deal is over. So, is it on YouTube? I'm sure I, I have to watch on YouTube as John's never seen The Wire.

SPEAKER 3: This is so, John would have gone in to save the Sicilian.

SPEAKER 4: I have my favorite pizza. I'm more of an original you know, thin, thin crust, guy. But listen, if you see me there, there isn't much pizza. I've Met that. I, I don't like so Sicilian is fine too.

SPEAKER 5: All right.

SPEAKER 4: My parents are, my parents are from, my mother's family is from Sicily.

SPEAKER 5: Do you wanna tell the story?

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. So, you know, after I went to high school here in Syracuse, but a, after high school was over, I go to, back to New York City and work for a couple of months and, and, and, and live there and then come back when, when school started again. So I worked in a pizzeria. I won't mention the name. It does, obviously it doesn't exist now.

SPEAKER 4: Anyway, it was owned by a guy just to ask for a well done. Yeah, it was owned by a guy a legitimate Italian guy from Italy spoke very broken English, very hard to understand unless you spoke either a little Italian or really concentrated on what he was saying. But II I worked for him and, and got the gig. No, it was not a famous place.

SPEAKER 4: It was one, not a franchise, just this guy owned it. And he called me up one day, he called me up one day and he said, John, you, you have to model off. I'm like, what do you mean? And I won't say his name. I'm on the schedule for tomorrow. He goes, no, you have day off. Don't come in. So I'm, I didn't under, you know, I didn't say why, what was going on.

SPEAKER 4: So the next day my friend calls me up on the phone. Hey, don't you work at? So such and such pizzeria, I'm like, yeah, he goes, hey, I just drove by it. It's like going up in flames. I'm like, what? I don't mean to laugh. No. So I, it was walking distance from my house. So I started walking that way and then, you know, they had the police, the tape up and it was on fire.

SPEAKER 4: And, I'Ll make this story as short as I can. The next week, two guys in suits were at my door, you know, asked my name and if I had been an employee at this pizzeria, I said, yes, they were FBI agents. They took me in their car to their headquarters or their building and, I had to answer some questions and, you know, one of them was by contact in the days leading up to, you know, the, the fire.

SPEAKER 4: And I, I told him like the day before so and so called me, told me, don't come to work the next day. Didn't say why I asked like, what's going on, said, no, you have day off.

SPEAKER 4: And, really, it was only a 20 minute interview because I didn't have a lot of informa, you know, they asked me some background of the owner, you know what I knew about him. So the, the, the wrap up the story was he wanted to go, his family was still in Italy and he was homesick and he wanted to go home. I guess he had tried to sell the pizzeria with no luck unbeknownst to me and wanted to go back to Italy.

SPEAKER 4: So he will, he set the fire to collect the insurance money so he could go back to Italy. No strings attached was a very poor criminal. He left a gas can, which was recovered at the scene with his fingerprints all over it. And then someone else, someone else report, someone else reported, someone else reported him like running out of the building.

SPEAKER 4: And then the fire starting, you know, 1020 30 seconds later. So very, not a, not a smart criminal. And was apprehended. He, he did go on the run, but they apprehended him and, I'm not sure how much time he got, but he was convicted of insurance fraud, arson, all that stuff that goes along with doing that. And I was out, I was out my summer job.

SPEAKER 3: So that's the moral of the story as John was at his summer job.

SPEAKER 4: And then listen, I get to say I was interviewed in an FBI building by two FBI agents and, they even told me like there's a chance because I told them like I live here in the summer. I'm here, I'm from Brooklyn originally, but now I'm, I reside in Syracuse. I come here in the summer. You know, I'm gonna, when, when school start and I gotta go back to Syracuse is there, you need it.

SPEAKER 4: Like, is this gonna, like, what else is gonna be? And they did tell me like, you may, depending on how this court case goes, you may have to testify to that phone call in the court, in the courtroom. And I'm like, you know, like, you know, I'm 1617 years old, I think, and, at the time and like, what wound up happening was he pled guilty to, to get whatever, I, I don't know what sentence but he got a, a lesser sentence for.

SPEAKER 4: So there was no trial. So I was off the hook as far as, as testifying, you know, when I tell people that story, they're like, were you nervous and this, you know, and I'm like, no, I really wasn't. I was nervous because I was kind of a shy kid still in that stage, but I wasn't nervous because I, I knew I didn't do anything wrong. You know what I mean? Like, right.

SPEAKER 3: So it's a good thing you listen, didn't, didn't go to work.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, he told me not to come in and I didn't, I didn't know why, I didn't know why until the next day when my friend called me said then that the, this place that's where you work, right? Yeah. Hey, it's a, it's a inferno right now.

SPEAKER 4: I just drove. I just went by, he didn't drive. He's like I just went by it. I could, it's up in flames and I didn't, I didn't know if he was pulling my leg. So I walked and I got a couple blocks away and I, you could see it. It was just, it was raging.

SPEAKER 3: That's, that's a classic story. I love that every time.

SPEAKER 4: Crazy, crazy stuff, man.

SPEAKER 3: What's crazy is we just flew through an hour there, my friend.

SPEAKER 4: Is that, do we got any more?

SPEAKER 3: I got, I got more. You wanna do one more?

SPEAKER 4: We pick a good one.

SPEAKER 3: Pick a good like I've been trying to pick bad ones.

SPEAKER 4: No, I mean, but if we're only doing one more, go out, let's go out. How about this one? Let's go out in a blaze of glory. How's that for innuendo? All right.

SPEAKER 3: This one because back of the baseball card, John or Danny?

SPEAKER 3: See. Do you know that Jeff Conine world class racquetball player?

SPEAKER 3: Oh no, it's back a card.

SPEAKER 3: Have you j back a card?

SPEAKER 3: Orlando Saint John Easy, John Candy from Splash. Great call. Ok, so back a baseball card, John Newman or Danny.

SPEAKER 4: I was too large. I was too large for racquetball. Is there like a weight limit? You gotta get out.

SPEAKER 3: Wow, Danny's a booger eater and John was too large. Who was spelled T.

SPEAKER 4: Oo, how, why could I have been large and in charge on a racquetball? Wow.

SPEAKER 3: Look who shows up.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Does he have inside information now?

SPEAKER 3: No, but it's past his bedtime.

SPEAKER 4: He don't go to school is over for that kid.

SPEAKER 3: It's still 10 o'clock.

SPEAKER 4: Are you sure that's not Brett?

SPEAKER 3: Yeah. Maybe my wife is using his, his account.

SPEAKER 3: All right. Well, this is my son's account. If that. I don't, I don't know if that's a hint.

SPEAKER 5: Hint. Who's his avatar?

SPEAKER 4: Who's his photo there? I can't see it.

SPEAKER 3: It's soccer. It's the E AFC, soccer.

SPEAKER 3: Oh, it is Connor.

SPEAKER 4: Where is it? Where is it?

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, I, I think because I gave them a lot of.

SPEAKER 4: Maybe he's playing the same game. We just literally.

SPEAKER 3: He thinks at the back of a car.

SPEAKER 3: All right. Well, I don't know if my son saying the back of a card gives it away.

SPEAKER 4: Well, it's not me because I was too large to play racquetball.

SPEAKER 4: I was, I was shunned. I wanted to play, I was like the Rudolph, the red nosed Reindeer of, of racquetball. I wanted to play with everyone else but they shunned me. They're like, you're too large. They, you're too large. Go play baseball hit against John Franco and give up Homers to Jason Varitek. Get out of here kid.

SPEAKER 3: Welcome son of a Mensch Connor. Official welcome. It is me. It's guys twin boys, 13 years old.

SPEAKER 4: I'm glad though. I gotta thank you Orlando for considering me as a, a racquetball tournament winner. It wasn't me, but I'm glad I, I didn't think enough of me.

SPEAKER 3: Isn't racquetball just tennis for people to have bad party?

SPEAKER 4: No, that's pickleball. That's pickleball and I play that now.

SPEAKER 3: So, Danny sending Connor to be made me laugh.

SPEAKER 3: Well, he should have been be Orlando. He should have been dead a while.

SPEAKER 4: Schools over with school's over.

SPEAKER 3: You can Connor, you can stay up.

SPEAKER 4: This is not on, this is not on our graphic. This was the one I should have thrown at you to put on there. I never, I don't know.

SPEAKER 3: Mookie's assuming this is me.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah. It, it is. It is me.

SPEAKER 4: Yes, I never had a bed time as a kid. Is that, is that probably, is that odd?

SPEAKER 3: No, you were born at home? Everything after that's where?

SPEAKER 4: No, but I was raised by my grandparents. But I never, I like, you know, kids like 10 o'clock. It's time for bed. I didn't have that but because I didn't have that, I, I went to bed at a normal time.

SPEAKER 3: It's Friday night. I'm letting him stay up, Connor. You can stay up. Let's let's crowdsource his bedtime, Connor. Connor, you can go to bed on whatever time gets the most votes.

SPEAKER 4: Oh, now you're in trouble.

SPEAKER 3: Man. I know guys be good to me now.

SPEAKER 4: You're true.

SPEAKER 3: I know whatever time gets the most votes.

SPEAKER 4: I did never had a bed time at, at growing up. And I think because of it, I actually went, I didn't fight it. You know, that's what happens is if you have a bed, like 10 o'clock lights out, then you always like, like try to get another hour.

SPEAKER 4: Can I, can I stay up to 11? Like, you know, you always push for more but because I didn't have one, I got tired. I'm like, I don't have a bed, I'm going to bed, reverse psychology and it worked on me.

SPEAKER 3: Here you go. Good card back for, for Newman John never had a bedtime and escaped the great people. Part of 1988. That's see, that's exactly.

SPEAKER 4: I think it was 88. That's 1130.

SPEAKER 3: Let him rage 1130.

SPEAKER 4: He's calling his friends up and you got, you do have a Rage.

SPEAKER 3: Orlando says midnight, Orlando, you're Lena now.

SPEAKER 4: So I didn't have a bedtime, but I, I probably went to bed between 10 and 11 pm without, without a bedtime.

SPEAKER 3: I just, how about heavy J in Orlando being the midnight crew?

SPEAKER 4: Well, I'm, that's me now. I'm calling, I stay up later as an older guy than I did as a younger kid.

SPEAKER 3: I think Connor says two votes for midnight, two for midnight.

SPEAKER 4: That sounds like a good hard rock band name. Two for midnight.

SPEAKER 3: If you were into hard rock music, that would be Zane Smith. Just remember Zane Smith likes hard rock music, man.

SPEAKER 4: He'd be, he'd be a fan of my new band. Two for midnight.

SPEAKER 3: Guys, that was, that was fun. Always nice to break it up a little bit. I know we want to get back to, we're gonna do the national league, a card of each team of each of each position or each team, right? All time, all kind of card of each team or all time.

SPEAKER 4: Favorite card.

SPEAKER 3: Best, favorite tomato, tomato. And we're gonna get back to that. If not on the next show, the one after that, the next show, I will be in Chantilly. So we'll see how much research gets done. But I, I know we're planning on doing that one next.

SPEAKER 4: A couple more. Hey, listen, man, we're, I think we're what, 47 days away from the national today, right? What, like three or four more of these? Five of these and, and then we're in the National, man.

SPEAKER 4: It's, it's crazy like, you know, when do you start thinking about the national? Like how close I know some people say, man, the minute the, the one's over, I'm counting down to the next one. But realistically, when do you start really getting a worker personally?

SPEAKER 3: Either or I know that sounds weird like for work there's logistics and stuff. I have to deal with personally, like a week before I, I'm like a kid. It's like getting weak that close where I don't feel like it's logistics anymore. I feel like I'm, I'm really there. I feel like it's, you know, otherwise I don't like the waiting.

SPEAKER 4: I'm gonna be honest with you under 50 days, once it gets under 50 days, which we are now that's under two months, you know. And so that's when I really do a couple of things, I really start thinking about it more and making plans and getting some of the logistics stuff done. I've talked about this on my show. I really stopped buying cards or at least cards of significant, you know, spending a lot of money.

SPEAKER 5: To that Orlando.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. And so, you know, so that this is the time when I'm starting to get and obviously the closer you get to it, it's like a crescendo, right? You get more, you get more wrapped up, ramped up.

SPEAKER 3: So, I'Ll let you read this one since I'm just taking Shrapnel here.

SPEAKER 4: John, after win tennis and racquetball championships and national doesn't do it. Well, if I ever win a pickle ball championship, I could be on a leaf card maybe or no Tops did I think Tops did a pickleball. That, that's not gonna happen.

SPEAKER 4: Well, you know, I'm doing my, I'm doing my countdown where I use players players in New Jersey. You know, 42 is coming. We're a few days away from 42 days away. So, I don't know who I'm gonna pick for that, but I'Ll figure it out. When the time comes, you're such a dork.

SPEAKER 3: I can't, you know, that's the booger eater people.

SPEAKER 4: I didn't like, no, I didn't do that, that I'm aware of but, just kidding, just everyone's probably done it one time.

SPEAKER 3: That's not where we're finishing this show.

SPEAKER 4: No.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, man. And here's the thing, what to me when it gets under 50 days. Yeah, it really starts to go. Like, it's 50 that is 40 then it's 30 then it's under a month away. You're under 30 days. So that time really starts to sneak up on you.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah, there's a, listen, I'm not gonna lie. There's a lot of one thing I noticed with pickleball all ages, like old people, young people, middle aged people, which I think I, I like to think I qualify, for that. But, yeah, it's fun. It's fun. I still love softball more. My one softball buddy plays more pickleball than softball now. I'm not there.

SPEAKER 5: I've never played pickleball.

SPEAKER 4: It's, it's fun. I, I love it. I, well, I would say I love it. I like it a lot where, like my friends love it and they've kind of moved away from softball.

SPEAKER 3: You're just in the front, you're in the friend zone with pickleball.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Like, I like to play. But if it, if you give me a choice, like, softball game or pickleball, I'm gonna pick softball. Maybe because I'm having a really good year or this year. And, but, you know, but baseball is my first love as a sport I played since I was five and it was, it was a sport I didn't want to play.

SPEAKER 4: And my grandpa, my grandfather was like the Todd Marinovich of TBA. Father. And so, but here I am all these years later, still playing, you know, with home plate, three bases and bats and gloves. So, you know what I will say this though, minutes ago, there's slow pitch up.

SPEAKER 4: I play in a, a regular league where any age and I do play in the senior league. We're gonna be 50 both very, very competitive and very good players still playing in, in both of those levels. So, yeah, you can embarrass yourself out there if you're not good, you know, no comments on that one.

SPEAKER 3: All right. Well, th this, this flew a lot faster than I think you expected.

SPEAKER 4: It did. It did, we flew right by you, you had your doubts. See, we don't use, here's the thing I play in, you know, Ruben's got a, I play in the senior league but we don't use senior league bats. We use regular, right? Like a S A and, triple, USA bat. So, you know that II, I like that because that's what I've been using for many, many moons now. So I don't have to learn to use a, a new bat that's on new.

SPEAKER 3: Bet we'll, we'll make those the final words of genius.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, Ruben says there's lots of pop in those senior bats, believe me. I think that's only if you call for row or, one of those commercials. I think that's how you get the pop back in your senior bats.

SPEAKER 4: There's a blue pill to get a little pop, I guess in your bet.

SPEAKER 3: Right. Exactly. All right. Fun episode. Remember Zane Smith?

SPEAKER 4: Who knew we were gonna talk about? Zain Smith? That's what you get with, with us. You don't know.

SPEAKER 3: You never know what Zain Smith. Zane Smith.

SPEAKER 4: Charlie Hoff Floyd Banister. Come on.

SPEAKER 3: Say good night John.

SPEAKER 4: Good night John.