Welcome to the Complete Game Podcast, where we're all about baseball with Ethan Dungan, owner of Glovehound Baseball glove repair shop. Rick Finley, founder of MDNI Baseball Academy and the creator of George Foster Baseball.

The MVP himself, Reds hall of Famer George Foster.

I'm your host, Greg Dungan.

Now let's talk baseball.

Baseball. Apple pie Chevrolet.

Hey, fellas. So welcome to episode 12. Did you think we'd make.

I'm not gonna cry, man, that's fast.

That's 12. Three months goes by fast, doesn't it?

It does.

It was fun.

We had a good time with this.

And one guy kept canceling, but it's.

All, oh, yes, man, they don't know what day this is. It's Wednesday.

It's, it's cool, though. We've had a good, had a good time, had a good, good. Yeah, good run making these, these 12 episodes. And so for, for those of you who are, who are tuning in, this is going to be the last episode of the first half of the season, and we're going to take a few months off to play baseball. We've got lots of stuff going on. We got tournaments to play and teams to coach, and Ethan's got a baby coming and we got all kind of crazy stuff going on. So we're going to take a couple.

Months off here and then we'll be.

Back in September, October, November, with 12 more episodes. So stay tuned. Follow it. Oh, there you go. Follow it on completegamepodcast.com if you want to sign up for the mailing list there. We'll let you know when we go live again. And we're going to be posting some stuff on social media and some other extra, you know, content in between and things like that to keep you engaged. But we'll be back in the fall and looking forward to doing that. But today we're going to talk about how to watch a baseball game. One thing that I have learned in the last three months is how to watch baseball entirely differently than I did before just by hanging out with these guys. I have. It has changed the way I see the game when I watch it. And so we're going to talk about that. We're going to focus on watching it at the ballpark today, not watching it on television, because you can see so much more when you go to the ballpark. And we, we hope that we can inspire y' all to go out and get some tickets and go, go watch the ball game. And even if you don't go to a, an MLB game, go to A minor league game, go to a college game, go to a high school game, go to Little league games. Colorado Rockies, go check some of that out.

Dayton Dragons.

If you happen to be able to get tickets to the tour when these 4 and 24, when the Savannah Bananas come to town, that would be, oh.

I want to play. I want to play that game.

I was watching one of those the other night. They were playing the party animals and.

Oh, my goodness, several times.

But those guys are athletic.

Oh, my goodness.

Even the umpire.

Some of those tricks. You see, it was crazy. A lot of dancing going on. It looked like it'd be a lot of fun to go see. So, anyway, go see some baseball. This year. We're going to start off. I've messed up all the. All the segments today, so we're going to go back to featured faves, and we're going to talk about some of our favorite things. So one of the things we're going to talk about here right off the bat is what is your favorite ballpark food? And the person I know at this table who likes to eat more than anybody else is this kid. Right. So, Ethan, why don't you start us off. What is your favorite ballpark food? I think I know what it is.

This is. This is the easiest question of all. Of all. This is 100% no doubter. For me, it is nachos, not.

Yeah, same with me.

That's mine.

It doesn't have to be just baseball at. I. I will eat the little round chips and the fake cheese.

Yeah.

Anywhere, any place, anytime. I love it. Yeah. It doesn't matter. Football game, it doesn't matter. Marching band, it doesn't matter. If there's a concession stand and they have nachos, that's what I'm gonna order.

You didn't care about getting a seat. I want my knots.

I want my nachos. And then especially if they come with the jalapenos on the side.

Now, I don't even mess with that.

So then when we went to. My wife and I went to a game, a Reds game last year, and I got the helmet nachos, and they were. They came loaded with all kinds of stuff. And then I love nachos so much that I took that helmet, that big classic helmet home and I made helmet nachos at my house.

Oh.

And watch them.

Ate them on my nacho nacho cheese.

So, yes, my favorite, bar none, nachos.

Okay.

Okay, George, you've been in so many different ballparks over the year. What is your favorite Ballpark food.

But I was playing. I couldn't eat. I was playing. But the last time were two stories, one. So Jack Billingham's in the bullpen. He wasn't. Yeah, he wasn't starting that day. So he ordered. Had the clubhouse guy to make him a sandwich. And then as the clubhouse guy's going to the bullpen to take the sandwich. Sparky said, what? Where are you going with this sandwich? Well, Jack Billingham asked for a sandwich, so Sparky got it and rolled it up, balled it up. So now take it to him. But, yeah, because you don't. Not allowed to really. You can sneak and eat, but you're not allowed to be eating during the game. But when I wasn't playing much, Dodger Stadium was my favorite because I love their peanuts.

Okay.

And so in the bullpen, there was a. It's connected to the concession stand, and there was a little opening there, and the kid was wanting a baseball. So I traded a baseball for a bag of peanuts. So I thought that was a great bargain at the time. So I love it in the bullpen. Spark said, you got to pinch it. You got to pinch run. No, but I want to stay here at least. I just. I left it at peanuts. I didn't ask for a drink or what do you call the snow cones? Slushies. I didn't want to get an upset stomach before. During the game, but peanuts. But Dodger Stadium and Riverfront had the best peanuts. I actually ordered a big box of peanuts for me, and then I shared it with the ground crew. But the peanuts, they were the best.

Yeah, yeah, Peanuts. I always remember the peanuts at Riverfront. They were fun. That was always a highlight.

Do you remember peanut jam?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I like. You know, some of these guys are very accurate. You know, they want peanuts and they throw them up in the stands. But I said, how do you get your money back? I mean, how do you get your money? So they had to pass the money. It's like in the church.

They pass it down.

But the guy, he passed $5, but by the time he got to the vendor is what I'll never forget.

We went to a game when I was. I was a kid, and there was this guy who was. Who would walk up and down, and his call was very. You could always tell it was him because he'd be like, roosted, salted, and then he would say. And you could always tell when he was anywhere near you because he would say it over and over again. And they made you just want Those peanuts.

Yes.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

That was cool. Rick, what about you, buddy? What's your favorite ballpark food?

Well, besides nachos. Hot dog. A good hot dog, man.

Foot long.

Foot long. Yeah. Good hot dog.

Did you have mustard on it?

You know, it must relish. Relish.

You know, mayonnaise.

Just. Just those two condiments, man. A good hot dog. Ballpark franks, man, that's.

I love a good hot dog as well. I tell my wife, I've said, I'm so glad that I married you, because otherwise I would probably eat a hot dog for dinner every single night.

It's so easy and it's so good. Janice is not a big fan of the hot dog.

No, she's not the.

Really?

Yeah. Not her favorite, but.

But growing up, not at the ballpark. Sauerkraut. So he had the. Had the hot dogs in the sauerkraut. So we had sauerkraut like three times a day. So after a while, like, I want something else. Make me some nachos or something. No, but sauerkraut, the sauerkra get your heartburn. It did, but it feels the only one that vinegar in it. Yeah.

So my favorite ballpark food. It all centers at Riverfront in the. The thing that I coveted more than anything else at Riverfront. I like the peanuts. I like the hot dog. It was the ice cream sundae in the batting helmet.

That was Sunday.

Yeah. You could go and order and you could get a hot fudge sundae.

Okay.

And they would serve it to you in this little plastic batting helmet and you eat it out of batting helmet. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world. And I used to like, totally hold out to get the. The ice cream sundae with the batting helmet. That was just my favorite.

You want the ice cream or the batting helmet?

Both. Yes, but the batting helmet was like this.

Yeah.

Yes.

And you would just eat. It was a little cup. But I loved that. And that. That. That's my. That's baseball. Now when you start talking football, like that's. I've been to. To the holy land to see the packers play a couple of times. And. And that's where you eat the brat.

Yeah, it is amazing.

Yeah, it is amazing. And I will. I will often opt for the brat over the hot dog if I'm feeling. If I'm feeling spendy that day. But yeah, I do. I do like that. Remember, there was one spot in. When you were little, we would go to the Reds game, and there was one spot you had to walk all the way around. But you get like $50 hot dogs.

Yes.

We would walk all the way around the dumb thing and go down and then find it. It was like down near the kids area.

$50 hot dogs and you could get cheap hot dogs.

We go down there and pound of hot dogs. Those was always fun, but some of.

The ballpark wasn't really fair.

It.

It had the kids menu and I really wanted that. You know, you get the chicken fingers. You're like, yeah, I'm getting this for my kid.

One year we went for Mother's Day. This was, this was epic. We went down and we decided. We took Leslie and we were going to go down for the. And so Ethan and, and Madison, Leslie and I, we all went down for the game and it was raining and so we thought, well, let's go. They had a, they said, well, they got a brunch up in the. Whatever the restaurant was. That's out over. Out over down the first base line up there. Nice restaurant up there that you can kind of see. That's big.

Sometimes it's enclosed in glass, but sometimes.

They open it up anyway.

They told us to go up there and they had a brunch and so we went up there and we all went in. We had brunch and whatever they. But it was going to be forever to get in. And so we were like, well, it's raining outside. Might as well just wait. And so we're waiting and we're on the list. And then this, this lady came in behind us and she starts harassing the hostess, like, absolutely entitled. I wanted my seat should be right and she just giving it to her, just like letting her have it. And I felt so badly for this girl. And. And afterwards this lady stomps away, you know, and afterwards I went, I said, if, if she's that mad, you could give her our spot. We'll. We'll wait for something else. She's like, no, no, you're fine. It wasn't five minutes later the, the, the manager comes over and he goes like this. And we went in and they took us down the tier and had us sitting right by the window. We got her seats.

Was it on first base side?

Yeah, it was on first base side. And we were, we were right up, right on the line, man. And we watched. And that was the day of.

Say, that was not just any baseball game. No, that was the day that Joey Voto hit three home runs with one of them being a walk off grand slam against the Nationals. That was.

Oh yeah, that was an amazing straightaway center.

Yep. So every time I, I see a replay of that, I'm like, oh, that's pretty cool. I was.

And we sat right there at this fancy table right against the glass and watched the whole thing.

Sometimes it's good to be nice.

Yeah, it was a good Mother's Day. All right, so where is your favorite place to sit, Ethan, when you go to a baseball game?

Man, I.

After the nachos.

Especially with the jalapenos.

Oh, man, I usually bubbly. I usually like to be as, as behind home plate as possible. There was a game that you and I went to and we got some really nice. Was it dime.

We got scout seats.

Yes, that was, that was really cool. Um, but this last just a couple months ago, we went on. It was game two of the season and we were behind home plate but up in like the middle tier. And that was really cool. I thought we were going to be too high, but you really had a great view of everything and you can't see the pitches move quite as much when you're that far away. But that was really cool to be able since, since, you know, doing the show and having a better appreciation for the movement of, of the players not involved in the play, it was cool to be able to see everything going on. So I really enjoyed that. I think, I think I like that better than being down the line because you get a better feel for how far the ball is going and that kind of thing.

What about you, George? Where do you like to sit when you take in a baseball game?

It depends on the batter. If it's a right handed batter, I want to be between home plate and first base. If it's left handed, between home, home plate and third, because I want to see the mechanics, seeing how they're. Yeah, there's their footwork happening or mechanics. So that, that helps me to really watch and see the difference in their, their stances and, and their mechanics. And the other one is being straight away and out, out in the outfield. So I can see every not only the fielders, but seeing once again the approach by, by the battery. So those three aspects, I didn't, I didn't like being behind home plate. The diamond seats, you know, those are plus seats, but they don't have a screen above and those foul balls are coming. So I have a fear, not only the balls coming at me, but trying to catch it and miss it. And they're like, didn't that guy used to play? That happened in one, in the, in a game room. With my team. I had gone to the ladies room, I had gone to the restroom and a foul ball came and I tried to catch a bare hand and it hit my hand and it dropped. It's like everybody was silent. Oh, did he really do that? Is he the manager of the team? And he dropped that foul ball.

Oh my gosh.

But yeah, the diamond seats. I like the fact that you get everything free. Free parking.

Well, sure do.

And you get. Cause I had taken a friend there. I said, get it. Get whatever you want. Then he said, you sure? Said, yeah, it's on me. Get everything you want.

What about you, Rick? Where do you like to sit?

Well, lately, my wife, her company and my daughter's company, they had the scout seats. Sonia's company, they have scout seats. So I've been there several times. Or on the side too. So those are pretty nice seats.

And then it's great when it's. It's real hot or it's raining. Because you're undercover.

Yes. And then lately, about a couple of weeks ago, my daughter Nikki, her. Her company, she doesn't even watch baseball, but she gave me tickets and with some other people and we were on that first base side and they had, you know, all the food and everything in there and you know, so that was nice. So. And that was pretty easy to see. You can write off the first basis. Not on the line is on the line, but up a little bit in the. What's they call it, some kind of nice. It's a nice enclosed, you can indoor.

Oh yeah. Where you can go in and get food.

You come back in and actually you can sit and still watch it indoors. You see everybody sitting lined up and everything. Or you can go to your seat and sit right off of first date.

Something or other club or something. I bet you it's amazing.

So my. My daughter's company there.

So when's the last time you bought a ticket?

Do you go last year?

I think we go around asking, do you have a ticket? I really want to go to games.

When's the last time you bought a ticket?

Yeah, now why you want Mr.

Freeze for me? When was the last time you bought a ticket?

Yeah, we'll tell you this. Last year, I believe I did. We bought it and we were in left field.

You said you right?

Yeah, I think I bought it or it was given to us. But we were on the first time ever on the left field foul pole line right there. Home in the outfield right next to the line. And there's the TV cameras right there too. And it was hot, man. We were there two minutes. We sat.

We.

But it was a great seat because if there's a home run, all you had to do or a foul ball, whatever yours you're near, you could have.

Slid down the pole. You're a fireman.

We could have.

So my. My favorite place to sit. Okay. So there's two different things here. So first of all, my favorite place to sit in the whole world doesn't exist anymore. And that was in the green seats at Riverfront.

Oh yeah.

We were always shoot for two in the green. That's where. That's where we went. They weren't necessarily the best seats. They were the economy seats. So they were the seats that. That the adults in my life had when we went. But those I remember so fondly because that's where we always sat was always two in the green. Every once in a while you could get them in the blue right above the dugout.

Yes.

And that was. You could go down above the dugout and that was really cool. And then you could have a shot at maybe get somebody sign something or, you know, whatever. But it was always two in the green seats. And I loved the green seats. We were usually down one line or another. Wasn't a big fan of sitting the outfield. The. And I don't like being up too high. Like red seats. Red seats were a little too much.

Yes.

My dad used to have season tickets to the Bengals and he had them in the red seats. Now the football up high is not. Is not. Not bad because you can kind of see everything going whatever.

Yeah.

But the baseball up high. I don't care. For now.

It's not like being at a game.

Yeah.

It's a game over. Why are people leaving?

Yeah. So then when you switch and go to Great America. Now I'm convinced there is no bad seat in Great America.

There isn't.

That place has great views just about anywhere you are.

No bad See. But dangerous seats. People that watching and get hit in the head.

I do prefer the scout seats right behind home. I love watching a game behind on Blade. And the way we got those was always, you know, there's a. There's a week. Usually it's a weeknight game. Giving away my secrets. Here there's. If it's a weeknight game and you wait until about three hours, two hours right before the game and you go on to like one of these ticket sites and you see what's there. A lot of times you can nab those seats up for a Good value. And I mean, they're still expensive, but they're not nearly what they would be if you were, you know, buying them weeks out. And you can, you can nab those seats up. And we've done that I don't know how many times. I'll be like, dude, let's go to a ball game. It's like, okay. And I get on it like, oh, great, we got two seats. Let's go. And then, you know, you go get your hot dog, you walk right out into it. So that's probably my favorite place at Great American to watch a game is in the scout seats.

Those are cool, but I forgot. How could I forget that? The, the most popular seat is in the owner suite. That was free food and great up get a chance to meet the front office individuals. So right there, that's. It was great. But still I had. I'm watching the game and I had to be cordial because people want to talk to me. I want to watch the game. But the other part, I get to see the replay. So that's one thing that stands out, watching the game there compared to being at home. You can watch the replay. So how did. What happened there? But, yeah, but I, I just, I just. And also I watch the outfielders, seeing if they're backing up, backing up third or backing up first. A lot of those guys just standing there, oh, I'll wait till the balls hit me. But yeah, I had fun. It was a. I guess I felt great being able to back up third base, showing that I'm in shape. Back up third base. And, and just being in a. There. There's always a place you need to be as, as a, as a. As a player. And all those guys, some of them don't know, but, but I knew where to go, and I was excited to be able to get there.

Now, of all the guys sitting at the table, there's only one of us who may have actually ever been to the broadcast booth. Have you ever been in the broadcast booth, George?

I have, yeah.

What, what kind of view do they have? I'm always curious.

They have a good view, but it's dangerous because some of them don't have that window there and the walls. Most of those guys didn't play baseball. They try and get hit in the head or something, but they feel good about, wow, this is how it feels to get hit with a baseball.

So you finished the season last year exhausted from all the travel and the tournaments, and you tossed your gear in a bag where it's been sitting all winter. Now you're ready for another year. But your favorite glove that fits just right is an error waiting to happen.

The leather is dry, the laces are.

Brittle, and this year you're on a new team with new colors. And it sure would be cool if you it matched well. Wouldn't it be great if you had a glove guy who could help you out with that? You do. His name is Ethan, and he owns Glovehound baseball glove repair shop in Fairfield, Ohio. Just contact him@glovehound.com and upload pictures of your glove.

He'll give you a call back to.

Talk it over, and then you can send it in for a repair. Relays, recondition, whatever you need. If you're in the area, you can even just stop by the shop. That way you don't have to bother with shipping. And a lot of times, he can even fix it while you wait. Rawlings, Wilson, Mizuno, All Star, Nakona. He's seen them all, and he's helped players at all levels, from beginners to pros. Last year, he worked on a glove that Jose Trevino used in the World Series. And he can help you, too. You can find Glovehound on Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and on the web@glovehound.com you're only going to get busier. So reach out today and give your glove the love it deserves at Glovehound.

All right, so the next question is this. Okay. Who took you to games? Who took you to your first games as a kid?

Yeah, that was. That was definitely mom and dad. I. I only went.

Left you there for three hours.

Well, you were always a good student. We get that. We get the.

Oh, yeah, those were never great.

They were terrible seats.

But they were free tickets. Free tickets. And, you know, sometimes late in the game, especially if the Reds weren't playing so hot, which was rather often in my youth, you could kind of sneak down and find some better seats late in the game. But yeah, always it was always a family affair, and I always enjoyed that. There was. There was one time I got to go on a. On a school night. I remember we were playing the Giants. Jeff Samarja was pitching. But. But yeah, it was usually always a family affair. Always. Always a good time.

We had a good time at the ballpark. How about you, George? Who took you to games when you were a kid?

At the time, it. It's called a YMCA now, but it's called the Teen Post. When I was growing up, so the Teen Post would take guy or take the kids to the ballpark. And so that's, I think that was the first time going to. I went to watch Dodgers in the Pirates play.

Okay.

And I remember they, they. I think Willie Davies got a base hit and, and Clemente was so upset, he threw the ball. I said, wow, this guy has a great arm. He threw the ball in the parking lot. And then that's when I hear sirens going off because it hit somebody's car. But I said, this guy has a great, great arm. But ironically, Clemente was in the Dodger organization then. They didn't protect him, so he ended up going to the, to the Pirates. But I love watching the Dodgers. Willie Maury Wills, Willie Davis. We call Willie Davis a three dog. Those guys could run.

So. Yeah, because when you were so, so our, our baseball universe was Cincinnati when we were kids. So yours would have been Dodger Stadium. Right? Okay.

California.

You were a Dodgers. Dodgers fan growing up.

I just loved going to the game because it was free. You know, I love going to watch the game and, and just getting a chance to see, see the game. I mean, I love watch listening on tv, listen on radio. Because Vince Gully.

Yeah. You know, you don't get better than Vince Gully.

Vince Gulley and Jerry Doggett. So then when I started playing, I got a chance to meet those guys. So it's like a dream come true. Other than in, other than meeting Willie Mays. But I called him the golden voice of baseball. Vince Kelly and Jerry Doggett.

Yep, those guys were great. What about you, Rick? Who took you to the games when you were a kid?

My dad, of course, and then my grandma Jenny. She loved baseball.

Jenny.

Yeah, my grandma Jenny, man. She loves, she loved baseball and we had a Aunt Daisy. And Daisy, she loved baseball, man. So those three people.

Yeah, I remember the, the two main people who took me to baseball when I was a kid was my dad and my Aunt Linda. She was, she was awesome. We went lots of different places. I've talked about her before and we went and took in, in games together and that was a lot of fun. She was, she was the reason why I was a Johnny Bench fan, because she was Johnny Bench fan. And that's where I first started, you know, learning about him and whatever. And then when I got interested in catching, I was like, you know that. Yeah, this is it, this is it. You know, that's cool. But those were, those were great days. I, I always remember going to the ballpark because we lived north of Dayton, so it was a whole day. Like you had to get up in the morning you, you drove all the way to Cincinnati, you know, and then a lot of times she would take us someplace cool. Like we'd go through the 580 gift shop for a while or we'd go, you know, it's like a tour, Reds hall of Fame. So, you know, we'd see something cool down while we were down there and then we would take in the game. And then by the time it's over, you're driving home. I mean, it's a whole day thing and man, I just could not think of a better day. It was one of my favorite things.

It's usually better a great weekend because most of the time the, the fans come and stay a whole weekend and long before Ethan's time, they had the sheriff and Gibson. That was the place that people would go.

Yeah.

And there were, there were lines around the block just to get in.

Yeah.

And so I learned, I learned that not to get on a floor higher than the fourth floor because I would never get on the elevator. So at least I can take the stairs. But one time, mistakenly I think I was on like the 10th floor. So I got in shape going up and down the stairs.

Yeah, one of the, one of the fun things she, my aunt Linda, she had, she would take binoculars and so that was always fun is, you know, you're getting squirrelies. A kid, she's like, here, use these, man. I'm looking at everybody. I'm looking at the game. We were taking care of everything. She had this one cool set of binoculars that also had a camera in it. It was really cool. So like you'd be looking and if you wanted to, you could snap a photo. It was, it was the coolest thing. But yeah, we, we used to take the binoculars and what. And sometimes she'd taken and listen to Marty and Joe.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And that was always do that.

We, we always preferred anytime you could hear Marty and Joe over top of anything else. I mean, it was just cool.

It wasn't baseball without listening to them.

That's the other thing is, is the prep, the, the things at the ballpark that were such a preference. Like I prefer the organ player at the ballpark. I am so glad that they do that now over like pre recorded music. I'm much, much a bigger fan of some guy up there just playing the stuff and doing the thing. And that's so much more fun than, than a bunch of pre recorded music. And then they would, you know, we would always wait until they'd play the charge. We'll charge it was just. This is fun. It was a great, great day. I, I.

A great day.

Always remember that very fondly. Those were, those are great days. Okay, so who taught you how to watch a games? Who taught you what you were looking at?

That's a, that's a good one.

For me, it was the same thing. It was going with dad and.

I.

Don'T know, it just naturally. Yeah.

I mean, just naturally just would, just.

Was learning the game and.

Yeah.

You know, when you can tell a kid, you know all you want how it works, but when, and watching it on tv, you can kind of get an idea for it. But when you're at the ballpark, you can point out so many different things. So him being able to point out, you know, what the catcher is doing, where he's going, why he's going there, and that kind of thing. And then also just learning about keeping score and, and that kind of thing. So. Yeah, definitely, definitely dad on that one.

What about you, George?

Well, keeping score, that's, that's a plus. I would have, I would encourage parents when they take their kids to the ballpark, have them to keep score so they can really get involved in the game. I remember back, I was, my daughter at the time, she's probably like 30, and she said, dad, I want to learn how to keep score. And I said, that is, that's great because I didn't really know that she was really into the game as much just to keep score. And I said, okay, I hope I know how to keep score.

Yes.

So I don't want some strange play to come up and I don't know how to score this, but I think the director of the team poll say would tell the kids, you know, we're here to have fun, but also to learn. Now find out which player. Look at your position. Okay, that guy's playing left field. See what he's doing. So focus on what position you have and then follow that guy. So now you can learn from that. And I mean, this is the major league, the highest level. So this is what they're doing. So find out what they're doing. So I guess the team post director, that's cool.

What about you?

For me, it's just naturally, you know, just pre game inborn and, and just, just naturally just following the game.

He came out.

But I used to always liked how the, how people, how they kept score and then still watched the game and stuff. So it was pretty unique to see people that were, and you looked at their, at their score. I'm like man, you did pretty good. You know, how organized they were and stuff, how they understood, especially women.

Yeah, my mom. Mom kept score. Yes. Yeah, I got to go back and look at the scores. Maybe I can change a few hits.

But yeah, yeah, especially women. And, and so my mother in law, she used to have a softball team and we talked a lot about watching the game. I used to watch the game with her. And so I probably. That's why I stayed in the family so long.

I like that, Rick.

Yeah, we talked baseball. She was a Dodgers fan. My grandmother was a Dodgers fan too. And you know, so watching the game taught you how to watch the game, talk about the game and different players and plays and you know.

Well, and that's, you know, Ethan talked about learning things that I would have taught him. Well, those are things my dad taught me. And, and the people that I went, yes, my aunt Linda, my mom, both were very good at keeping score. My mom kept score for the church softball team for years. She was very good at keeping score. And so everybody. My dad would keep score if we went to a game. It's just something we always learned to do. So teaching me to keep score also kept a squirrely kid with something to do. So that was good.

Yeah.

And, and so we would, we would do, do that. But at the same time, my dad was really good at explaining to me why things happened. And so I'd be like, well, so why did that happen? Or why did that happen? Or he would say, okay, so now that was an error on this guy and that he got charged with an error because of this.

Right.

You know, or, or that was. Or this pitcher is now, now the winner. Or this guy now got the save. Or this guy, you know, and that can be which pitcher wins and which pitcher gets saved. Be very confused.

It is challenging. Yes, that is challenging.

But to explain, okay, well, this is why this rule that came into play here, and that's why that guy was safe, or that's why that guy was out. That's why, you know, and so I was very inquisitive child and he was always willing to explain things to me as it went. And that was really cool because now you weren't just sitting there in the hot sun bacon. Right. For more popcorn.

Game over.

Yeah, you're just doing some. And Ethan had the. He. He asked more questions than any child I have ever known in my life.

More than you.

Oh my gosh. When he was probably three years old.

Why is the ball around?

Oh, he used to ask me questions.

Hey, dad, how Many stitches on the ball.

Hey, dad, guess what? Hey, dad.

Hey, dad.

All the time. And so we got to the point where I would limit him. I'd say you get three questions today. That's it. And so he would be like, dad, yes. Okay. And he would, like, try and figure out how to, how to ask me something without a big part.

Two.

Yeah, yeah. Because he didn't want to blow all his questions in one shot. So, yeah, he asked a lot of questions. That's why he got a lot of answers. But yeah, I think it's that. That relationship you have with the adults in your life that pass that down to you, that's one of the reasons why baseball is so special. I think it is past time. It's something that's passed down from person to person.

It forces you to think, it forces you to use your mind, and it forces you strategize, strategize thinking two and three steps ahead of the game. And I think that's what's missing in how to teach the game to this new generation of, you know, because no matter what generation, baseball is still played the same. You still need outs, you still need to throw strikes.

Those rules don't change.

Yeah, they don't change.

I think also the advent of video games has changed a lot of things because these, your generation, you guys learned a lot of things by playing video games.

Yeah, I learned a lot of mlb. Yeah. Yeah. And we didn't have video games at our house. But. But when I went.

There's a reason for that.

But when I went to friend. When I went to friends houses, you know, obviously we play. And then once I got to high school and I, you know, bought my own thing and whatever, but my best friend, he had MLB 2K11. I don't know why that's the one he had. So that's what we played. I played so much MLB 2K11. So learning, learning different players and that kind of thing and then learning how to. That was really helpful with pitch sequencing, to be honest, because you. In a game, you know how the ball's supposed to move and you know, in real life, you can't always make it move the same every way. But trying to. Trying to set them up and then. And have some intention with why you're choosing what pitches.

Right.

I. I don't know. I think it was very advantageous for. For me learning the game. You. The other thing about playing a video game is when you have an option, you want to use it. Like the whole, why did you do it? Well, because I could. So, like, if you can steal a base, you want to. So you're always trying to steal. You're always bunting, even if it doesn't call for it, just because you can, you know, so learning some. Some strategy there, you know, seeing if you can make your guy take off for second and have the guy from third run home and try to, you know, get in a pick, you know, all that kind of stuff. And now I've heard a lot of. It's kind of traveling up and a lot of simulation and that kind of stuff is happening at the major league collegiate level, and they're starting to use that to learn the game, which is interesting.

Yes, they are. But what, what we're all talking about, these are things that should help kids today and I think be more engaged. Yes. Be engaged, be more creative. I, you know, when my, my teams was coming up, I'll let my catcher call again.

Yeah.

You know, help them think, help them fail, help them grow through the failure. Help them understand that, hey, man, you owe to. Why you throwing that right here? You know, but through failure, they'll learn. So. And I always ask kids today, you know, they play MLB, the game and stuff like that, from 2011 to now, the graphics, I'm sure, has changed.

Yeah, not as much as it was. It really wasn't bad for 2011. But I like what you're saying about creativity, because if you're playing the video game, you make every decision, but when you're out on the field, if the coach makes every decision, you know, it is kind of suppressing that.

This is why, like that, that's. This is why I talked to a lot of coaches, and they said a lot of kids don't know the game. They know the game, but they're not getting a lot of leeway to. To fail. You know what I'm saying? Because everybody's trying to control everything and.

Even become so robotic.

Yes.

They.

They. They don't think so. This is probably why a lot of kids don't talk the game. I grew up. We talk the game. You know, we can. It's all like being on a basketball court. You know, you hear language, you hear this and that, but we talk the game. And then when we went to play the game out and you know, in baseball, you know, it helped us think two and three steps ahead of the game without we able to react.

Yeah.

You know, there's certain things I learned that I want that play to happen so I can do it during the game.

Yes.

So I'm playing left field. The ball hit down the line. Some guys go in differently. So I'm watching Willie Mays, you know, he's going to go in backhanded and then step, step behind and crow hop and throw to whatever base.

Right.

But other guys, they don't. Or down the right field line. I catch it. And yes, but, but the guy's round in first base thinking that, okay, he has second automatic, but I'm in a position to make that throw.

Right.

So. But being able to utilize that in the game situation, that's exciting because I, I saw that. I saw Willie Mays do it. I saw.

Yeah.

Bobby Bonds or somebody else would do it.

Yeah. And a quick mention too, last week when you guys did the, did the clinic. We, we all came together and these guys put on a clinic last Wednesday for a local team and shout out to coach Jimmy and the team, you guys, Coach Jimmy. Listening.

Jimmy. Jimmy.

The kids. These kids were going from station to station and they went over and they were talking about outfielding and George was working with them on outfielding. And then they moved on to another station. They were standing. I went over and I was talking to him. I said, let me ask you a question. I said, have you ever thought that much about outfielding in your life? And they're like, no. Like, you can see the steam coming out their ears. Like they had no idea there was that much to talk about when it came down.

Let's think about, you know, the bad fielders go in the outfield. You know, they're the last line of defense.

Yeah. But I'll tell you what, you talk about a great bunch of kids.

Yes.

They were some really good coaches and some fantastic parents. It was. Yeah, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing more of those with you guys. That was, that was, that was fun.

And afterwards, I get a lot of texts and, and even I went to their opening day on Saturday that I posted. It was, it was packed. You had to park two and three blocks away.

Oh, my God.

That's how, that's how packed it was.

That's fantastic.

Have ballet. I'm not going to.

I had parents say they had to park in. Friends parking in a driveway.

Yeah.

Call them up. Hey, can we park in your truck to the game is over.

It's like, yeah, come talk about a couple episodes ago. We were making the case for rec ball. Man, that's. That's good to see happening. Oh, man, that's good to see happen. That's awesome.

That's great to hear.

That's awesome.

It was so.

Okay, next question is, what is something that you look forward to when you go to the ball game?

For me, this was. You get to see athletes in person. You can watch. You can watch all the highlights you want, but until you're in person, you can't appreciate it. So the first thing, the first one I remember specifically is getting to watch Billy Hamilton run. Because you see him run on tv, but you see the pitcher throw it and then you see the last, you know, five steps of him, and then the catcher makes attack. But seeing him run in person was unreal. That guy was so fast.

Run, Billy.

And then last year, getting to see Ellie De La Cruz. He is so much taller than you think he is. Yeah, like. Like he looks tall on tv, but then you see him in person and it's like, holy crap. And getting to watch him run, too, is. Is just incredible.

I know Ellie is tall, but I was standing next to Aaron Judge, like, wow.

Oh, my goodness.

This guy.

He's tall and thick, isn't he?

Oh, yeah, he's a big guy.

And then the game that we went to this year, Matt Chapman was playing.

Third base, and I like the way he.

Getting to watch him play was. Was really cool. And then, and then last but not least was in that game against The Giants, Matt McClain and Ellie de la Cruz turned, I think three double plays. So watching, Watching them turn the double plays was, oh, it was incredible. And it was a different way they did it every single time. And it was just, just. It was flawless. It was so, so cool to watch. And then. And then this another thing was watching everybody move as a unit. You know, they say, they say, like, chess game. Well, they say it has like.

Like the team.

The team has one. One breath or one rhythm, you know? That's exactly what I mean. It was. Nobody was, like, looking around. Everybody just knew exactly where to go.

Are they going to be?

Yeah, the. I can remember trying to learn outfield cutoffs in high school, and it was so choppy and unnatural them. It was like the first baseman's just falling in line, you know?

Yeah.

Like it's nothing. Third baseman's falling in line, shortstops already there at third. Like, it was just so, so cool to watch. So fluid.

Yeah.

Muscle memory.

Yeah, muscle memory.

What about you, George? What do you look forward to when.

You go to the ball game one day? I look forward to getting there early and watch batting practice.

Thank you.

There you go.

You don't get a chance to see a Guy maybe swinging bat much during the game, but watching batting practice. I remember when I lived in Connecticut and had retired, I would go go watch the Mets, watch him take batting practice. Did I go home and watch the game so because there was a certain guy I wanted to watch go. He's gonna get about 20, 25 swing, so I get a chance to see that. And. But if you watch it on tv, the guy may get like, say four, four or five swings, but taking batting practice and, and actually being down on the field, being able to watch him take batting practice. So that's a fun part for me.

Yeah.

What about you, Rick?

Same with me, too. So when I took my, my boys, especially Ricky, since he played baseball the longest, taught him how batting practice is done. First round, everybody goes right side. Bam, bam, bam. Second round, Then bunt or Elon drives. Second round, boom, back up the middle. You see everybody. That third round, everybody. Then you see the guys cranking. They, they teeing off. So just really showing their. The hitting dynamics. But Right. How the approach to hitting is, you know, and so that, that's, that's always fun. And then just in between innings, just how fluid everybody takes infield or ground ball work or how they throw.

Yeah. There's no balls going on, right?

Yeah, there's no.

Yeah, just ground ball work and stuff like that. So.

But that was fun, too. But they don't take infield now. But I love watching infield. But not only the, the infield per se, but the fungal hitter.

Yeah.

Oh, and how, how accurate he is.

Yeah. Oh, man.

And yeah, that was, that was fun. Watch it. Watching that. But back to watching the game now as a spectator watching batting practice. I did the same thing when I played, but that's for strategy. So in batting practice, the guy's going to show you his true, true swing. So if he's hitting line drive. So they say this guy's a pull hitter. I say, does he pull in the air, pull on the ground? It makes a big difference where you're going to play. So now when the game starts, I already know, I laugh at these guys. Every, every inning they had to look at this card where to play somebody.

Yeah.

And they're saying, these guys supposed to be bigger, stronger, faster, but I don't know about smarter because. But we would, before a game, the first game of that series, would look at the card and tell us where the guy should play. Say, but that's. You got to change as. Get more strikes on him.

Right.

So we memorize that. But these guys, ah, we don't have to memorize this. I'll just look at the card. So, but, but it's, it's a little different now than before. Like we use the word robotic. So they're more robotic. Yes, but taking batting practice and watching batting practice and watching infield play.

There you go. My thing I look forward to, I look forward to trying to guess the.

Game call from the catcher.

So my thing was I'm watching, I'm watching the catcher like crazy and I'm trying to, I'm trying to guess what pitch he's going to call.

Yes.

And then you watch him, they're shaking it off and they're back in there trying to figure out, you know, whatever. And then you see the pitch and you're like, okay. And it can be really challenging in person because there's no little thing that pops up on the screen and tells you what that pitch was. And so, you know, when you're a kid, you basically know, all right, that came in really fast, that was a curveball. And anything else just moved.

You know, Pitch recognition.

Yeah. Learning to do. But, and then being behind as, as a grown up, I was, I've been able to get those seats behind play and I love watching the ball move in. They used to, when you would see it on television, remember they used to show the behind the umpire camera more often. Now they don't ever show that hardly at all, but they used to show it more regularly and you could see the ball move when they would throw it. I always, it was, it's deceptive when you're behind the pitcher all the time looking at that camera, right. And he throws. And a lot of times it looks like it moves like this across the plate when it's really cooling from, you know, up to down. And so when you're in there and you're watching it move, you're like, holy crap, that thing really moves.

I definitely like to play the pitch guessing game when I'm watching on tv. But one, one thing I would say.

When you watch it on tv, especially Greg Maddox.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Goodness.

It's always over the pitcher's right shoulder. Even if he's left handed, it's still the right shoulder. And so I've obviously, I've watched Nicola Dolo pitch on TV and it's like, okay, cool. It's Nick Ladolo, you know, he's left hand, whatever. I saw him in game and that his motion looks so much different because I was, I was up and behind the plate. I could see the motion from the other side. And so sometimes when you watch lefties throw on tv, it doesn't look like it moves much. And I know whenever, whenever pitching ninja will show his, will call out lefties for pitches. That moved a lot. He's, sometimes he's like, no, I know it doesn't look like it, but it actually moved this much. You just can't see it. So getting to see lefties in person is definitely a different.

Yeah. And when you're a little kid and you're watching it and you see how hard that ball comes in.

Yeah.

And you see how much it moves you, you are immediately realizing this game is a completely different level that I have never seen before. And it was, it was really cool. The other thing was, and this is a goofy thing, but being a musician, I, I, it's a lot of what has to do in life. A lot of the memorable things in life for me are what you hear. And I miss the days when they used to call the player's name and repeat their last name. They used to do all the time. Johnny Bench. Yeah, Bench. You know, I mean, they would always say they don't do it anymore and that this was before the days of walk up music and all that nonsense. They just call their name and repeat their last name. And you were like, yes, that's what.

We'Re doing Dodger stuff a lot. And of course, Yankee stayed and did.

That a lot because whenever we would play in the backyard, if we were pretending to be the announcer, we would always do that. You know, you'd always call the person's last name twice.

Derek. Jada. Jada.

Yeah, it was always, always one of those fun things. So, yeah. Trying to, trying to outguess the pitcher and, and trying to, to figure out how the catcher was calling the game. That was probably one.

Another thing I looked at is predicting the play.

Yeah.

So a guy just hit the ball to second base. And so now we're going to say, okay, this guy's going to make an out, but will he pop it up? Will he hit a ground ball? So it just, it really keeps you into the game. But I think the main thing is seeing if the guy's going to make the adjustment.

Right.

So he just got jammed. So now is he going to make an adjustment or has go order more.

Bats or when we were at Riverfront, if you were down, if you're down first base line, the big thing was trying to guess if he was going to steal. Like when's he going to go right. When's he going to go, is it? And you know, they throw back over and that was when you could throw over as many times as you want. So sometimes that would really turn into a little battle there for a while and then, you know, you, okay, he's going to go, he's going to go. And then he goes, you know, I.

Was like, I think, I don't think I know. That would have helped us in the, in the World Series against 72 World Series against Oakland. So Blue Moon Odom, that was. He kept throwing over the first, on over the first and he finally picked Morgan off or he got thrown out of second. But now you're limited to what, three throws, so. But would have been our advantage, but they took advantage of the fact that it kept throwing, kept throwing and they were patient and it wore us down.

That's cool. Our last question in this section is what do you pay close attention to when you're. When you're watching a game at the ballpark and we've talked about this a little bit in this thing, but something that, that you're keying in on. Like you say, okay, if this happens, that I know this game is headed in this direction or that direction, like, what is it the thing that you really pay closest attention to.

Now? I pay more attention to defensive positioning and people who are not involved in the play. But that's mainly because of this podcast and the appreciation I have for that now. Before it was, I had a. I'm going to look where the ball is every single time. But I would say in previous games, it's just watching, watching the fluidity of a fielder, field the ball. I don't know that was. It's just because, because you, you're. When you're in the stands, you're not as keyed in on pitcher, batter. And so you're watching more to me, you're watching more defense.

Yeah, right, you are.

And so watching, watching just how natural, you know, no, they're not thinking about their.

It just happens. That's why I said thinking two and three steps ahead of okay, ball hit the left field, we got a man on second base. Okay, boom. I know where I'm going to be at.

And then the other thing I would say is watching the flight of the ball. There's nothing like seeing that in person. You don't realize how that or how high some of those pop ups get hit. I mean, when you're in the second deck and you see it come up to eye level and, and you're like, man, if I was on that field. I don't know if I could catch that fly ball. But yeah, watching the fly to the ball is. Is always impressive as well.

Anything else stick out is something you really pay attention to.

Well, two things stick out. One, like Ethan was talking about, I like to see if they. The outfielders more so make the adjustment according to how many strikes the batter has or if the guy, a right hander is fouling everything, he's late on the ball. Will they move towards right field or stay straight away? And more times than none, they just stay in the same place. And then if they was to move a couple of steps, they had a chance to catch the ball that was hit to them. And the other one is the, the route, the route that they're taking. And right away you're knowing that, okay, left hand hit the ball more times than done is going to hook towards the left field line and officer with the right hander. But I see a ball hit the right field and the right field is going towards center. And then now he has to re. Regroup. Fraley did. He made that adjustment. He ended up making a catch. But I see these guys, they don't know the correct routing on there. And then we talked about the spin play. You gotta be spinning as you catch the ball, not catch it and then spin. So they don't. They gotta go to ballroom dancing, I guess to learn coordination. Their coordination. Their coordination. But baseball about choreography, the movement out there that I would maybe focus on and say if it is a Dela Cruz or a guy who's a great outfielder seeing this movement, why does he get a good jump on the ball? If he had the crossover step, he had the drop step. So mechanics, mechanically I really would focus on.

I agree. What I would do is that even. And I'm just talking about my own, My own son since he played outfield and infield.

What's his name?

I think it's Ricky. What I would do is the things that I see in a game, we'll go and work with it at home in practice. So he had always hit a lot of fly balls and different angles and different routes and things like that. Because it's going to happen in the game. So the more times you, you do that, those movements become natural to them. Yeah, okay. They react to it and things. And then just like infield, same thing. A lot of ground balls. My nephew the other day made a play. He plays 13U and I haven't seen a play like that in a long time. He went in a hole barehanded it and threw the kid out in the hole. Yeah, we got it on video.

Did you teach him that?

Huh?

Did you teach him that?

Well, the last person I seen out of my family make that play was my son, Ricky. Seriously. And I was like, man. And I was like, well, it gave me goosebumps. I'm like, man, that play is nice. So I. You can hear the. The audio people said, man, I wouldn't have did that with my. But again, those instincts, those natural instincts and things that happen, they. You don't think they have. Because you do. You practice it so much. It just happens, you know, you don't think about it.

Well, positioning. You've been in the right place to be able to make that.

Just like again, when George was saying about going in the corner and making that. That reverse throw to the infield, man, and all in one motion, man, that's. That's a beautiful play when it's done.

That's styling.

Yeah, that's beautiful play.

So I learned early on, my dad. My dad taught me that if you want to know what's going on in. In the baseball game, there are three people to watch. You watch the center field or the shortstop and the catcher. And those are the guys calling the shots on the field. Those are the guys that I'm watching. I'm watching the center fielder captain the outfield. I'm watching the shortstop captain the infield, and I'm watching the. The catcher. You look over everybody. And I was always, especially as a catcher, I was always interested in how to best lead a team. How can I be that leader for my team and be helpful? Not just a guy who's back there popping off about stuff, but actually helping the team. And so by watching those guys do what they do. If you've never done that at a game, it's fascinating to see all the communication that goes on during a game and the fact that they, you know, the outfielders are communicating with each other. The center fielder is the guy who calls who calls who, you know, whether he's got the ball or he doesn't have the ball or, you know, whatever's going on, or if you're converging on a play and it's one guy's job to call people off or say what he's got or whatever. You know, those are. Those are the. The captains to look at. And that's. That's what I always keyed in on. I used to. So if you watch the. The center field of the shortstop and the. And the catcher, then it's you get a good overall view of what's going on.

Yeah for us Benny Outfield like say we look at the or how the guy is swinging the bat and I watch Geronimo he's going to move left right so we don't want to have a big gap that's there and so but he would a lot of time gesture where I'm moving towards right field and and so Griff sometime played played center field but it was just fun because everything was flowing so well, so fluidly. So it made it fun and like you say watching the infielders so I watched Davey would move up the middle or move to his right and when I was playing center field a few times I did I watched the catcher sitting outside or sitting inside so it doesn't really matter a lot of time to pitch but I'm looking at he want that ball away so it helped me to get a one or two.

Steps jump Ethan is more than my podcast partner. He's my son and like every baseball parent, my first priority was his development as a player. Every year we'd start out with a new coach and a new team making new promises, only to end up playing the same old tournaments with little to no practice in between.

You know what I'm talking about.

That's why I'm so thankful that we found MDNI Academy. I first met Coach Rick over a decade ago when Ethan was just a kid, and I'll never forget the relief I felt watching his first lesson. I knew right then that no matter what team he played for, my son would have amazing, consistent instruction from someone who cared. Rick has trained baseball and softball players at the select, travel and even college levels, so I knew that Ethan could continue his excellence through training approach for his whole baseball career. He learned hitting, pitching, catching, fielding, and more all in one place. Most of all, he learned to love the greatest game in the world and how to play it with character and integrity. MDNI is a first class facility with plenty of tunnels for hitting and pitching instruction that open up into large areas for teaching fielding, baserunning, speed and agility. They even have a weight room for strength training. So if you you're wearing yourself out running all over town to multiple teachers or worse, you're counting on that new select coach to actually develop your child. You need to check out MDNI Academy today. Go to mdaiacademy.com and contact Coach Rick to learn how you can get all the baseball instruction you need from someone who cares about your favorite player as.

Much as you do.

@ MDNI Academy.

All right, so today we are going to launch into it.

Who's the hero?

Didn't work for this one. So we're calling it Fun Fan Facts. Today we're talking about trivia that has to do with ballparks and ballpark food and ballpark traditions. And I've got. I am loaded for bear.

You won one episode. And I wanted.

Yeah, I was gonna say that. This is what I was gonna say. Somebody's owing.02. I don't know who it's not.

Man, we got two for two. Man, I'm two for two.

All right.

Played his own game.

This will decide who is the season one world champion.

Don't give a bonus question that he doesn't win.

The world champion of the first half of season one. There you go. That sounds good. All right, so question number one. In a significant game from George's career.

Oh.

The president of the United States threw out two first pitches. One with his right hand and one with his left board. What was the game? And who was the president? Ford was the president.

I don't know what game was it opening day.

It was opening day.

It was not opening closing day. So was it World Series?

It was not a World Series.

You can't ask questions. So I. Do I get a half a point?

You get. Yeah, you get half a point for that. And we'll make this one worth. This will be this one worth two points. So George got one of the two. So one. Once again in a star game.

No, that's.

Yes.

You're not allowed to ask questions.

Well, so you guys split that one. It's one of these. Are you keeping?

You.

Why don't you keep.

I kind of gave them. Yeah, hold on.

No way. That. Keep our stuff score. Because you don't need to keep yours.

I kind of helped you guys with it by saying.

There you go.

There you go.

All right. This. This stadium, okay, was the very first domed stadium ever built in major League Baseball. It was the Astrodome. One for Rick.

No, one for Rick. It's a tie.

It's a die. Okay, here we go. Now, remember that follow up question. A product was installed there by necessity that has changed baseball forever. Absolutely. Artificial turf at the Astrodome, which is why to this day, we call it Astro Turf.

Oh.

Did you know that?

Yeah, that's exactly why. Okay. This ubiquitous, ubiquitous ballpark food was invented by an army veteran named Frank Liberty.

Hot dogs.

Nope.

French fries.

And it debuted at a Texas Rangers game in 1976. Today, this stadium staple is served at Sporting events all over the world. What is this famous food? And it is nachos.

This is fun Mexican.

Frank Liberto. Liberto invented nacho cheese. He invented a cheese sauce.

Would know that his family was.

Had a. Had a food business and he invented a. A sauce. A cheese sauce that could be served quickly at ballparks. And so it. It was there. And so they would serve it and with the jalapenos on the side at the Rangers game. And that's where nachos came.

Hey, in a minute it's going to be one one, one.

No, it's. It's three one one.

You're. You're tearing it up today.

Yeah.

All right, here we go. Originally opening in 1912, this major league ballpark was the. Has the shortest center field distance 190ft. It is the oldest MLB stadium that.

Is still in Wrigley Field. No. Is it Fenway?

It is Fenway.

There we go.

It is Fenway Park.

They didn't even know.

I got it.

Okay.

Three, two, one.

You said polo grabs for the shortest center.

I'm gonna save this one for later. No, this one is really.

Yeah, I'm gonna get that one.

This one's really tough.

Wait a minute. Put the mirror up so I can see. You should wear glasses.

Okay. So the longest game by time that fans ever had to endure was a contest between two American League teams in 1984. The that lasted 8 hours and 6 minutes spanning 25 innings and ended at.

Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox.

3:30 in the morning. Who were the teams? White Sox was one.

Was a Rangers.

Boston.

No, no, Rangers. White Sox. And the Oakland Orioles.

Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners. Let see.

No, not the Angels. They don't play that long. They lose early. Kansas City.

They're not in the American League anymore.

Oh, Milwaukee.

Milwaukee. Point for George.

What's it? 3 3.

2.4, George.

2 3, 3.

Okay, here's a. Here's a more recent one for you, Ethan. A fan at Dodger Stadium did this. Morgana four times in a single game in 2018.

Catch foul ball.

Beating astronomical odds estimated at 1 in 1 trillion.

Huh?

They estimated that it was 1 in 1 trillion odds that one guy catches four foul balls in a game.

Was it Zach Campbell?

I don't know. It was. It was a fan.

It's just a fan.

It's a fan. We didn't get the name.

Foul balls.

Four foul balls in the game. Okay.

Rick wanted to know it wasn't fair towards her.

The K signs displayed by fans for strikeouts originated with the fans of this National League team to show support for their star pitcher.

Texas Rangers.

Angels.

National League team.

New York Mets.

Pirates.

Tom Seaver.

And why did you have Tom Seymour?

Why did they use a kid? Who were they? Who were they backing?

Dwight Gooden.

That's right.

Yeah, that's right.

That's a bonus.

I was gonna say you should know.

I wasn't looking at the case. I'm just glad I wouldn't taste them all right.

This infamous ballpark once had an in stadium, courthouse and jail cell to process rowdy fans. Primarily at football games immediately after incidents.

The Coliseum.

Oh, I remember that.

Oh, this place is infamous for having Washington National.

No, Risky.

I guess somebody in Philadelphia. Somewhere in Philadelphia. I don't know. The stadium.

Veterans.

No, veterans.

It was veterans. You guys can split a point if you want.

No, once you guys just split.

We'll split it. We'll split it.

Take a height.

It was called Eagle's Court.

Eagles Court.

And if you got nailed for doing something, it would process nachos.

Yeah.

Okay. This famous stadium was the last one to install lights for night games.

Yes.

The name of the field, not the city.

I know.

It held out until 1988. And ironically the first night game game got rained out after three and a half innings and had to be played during the next day.

And guess what? I have the picture in my Indian eye on the wall. Yes, I do. Yep. I found it at a good wheel.

Oh, goodness.

Yes. Yeah. Found it.

That's famous.

Level swing. Let it travel.

Wait for your pitch. Be aggressive out there.

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Baseball legend George Foster is currently accepting new students. Learn the psychology of hitting, situational hitting, hitting for power, bunting and more. Every team needs players who can hit. And George explains the the game in a way that's easy to understand and exciting to learn. So check out georgefoster baseball.com to learn how you can apply for private lessons with a member of the Cincinnati Reds hall of Fame. Spots are limited and the roster will fill up fast, so don't wait. Apply@georgefoster baseball.com.

All right, let's see.

Okay, so I'm running the roll. What? I got 10.

What's our. What's our score? Ethan?

I got 10.

I've got two. George has six. Rick has four.

Okay.

What? I thought you had three.

All right, here we go.

I got six.

Nationals park features a massive three pound burger named after one of their players. Fans. Fans who can finish it within the allotted innings receive a commemorative T shirt and their photo on the stadium's wall of fame. What is it called?

Was it. Is it a pass player?

Is it the Big Donkey?

Oh, De Soto.

Keep going. It's a three pound.

It plays Harper Burger. Harper. Yeah. No. Oh.

Is it a current player? For a current player.

Couldn't be a current.

It is a three pound burger.

Burger. Whose burger? Or it's a burger.

There's a Jake. There's a Jake Burger.

But he doesn't know.

He don't play no more. Yeah, look it up.

You got it.

Nah, he's a pitcher. Or it was a pitcher.

I don't.

A three pound burger named after one of something.

Is there is a hint there?

Three Scherzer. No, no, the burger.

The Scherzer.

It's not. Oh, Mark. It's not Burley.

No. What's that? The right hander that always getting hurt.

Strasberg.

There you go.

Yeah.

Oh, really?

What's the name of the burger?

The straws.

Yes. Ethan gets Strasburger.

This Ross burger.

Did I get a fourth of a pound?

Three pounds of burger.

Three pounds. Wow.

And if you eat it, you get on the wall of fame And a commemorative t shirt.

And nine. 11 real.

Okay, here we go. Last.

Getting juicy now.

Last question.

Wait a minute. What score?

I don't know. I think you're winning, Rick.

Barely.

Barely. No, it's strasberger.

Okay. In 1908.

Oh, yeah, I remember that year.

Vaudeville performers Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer collaborated to create a piece History. Ironically, neither one of them had ever attended a baseball game. And yet their contribution is alive and well today. What did these two men contribute to the game?

National anthem.

I think you just had it.

Yeah, I did.

What did you say?

Me out to the ball.

Yeah, that was pretty good right there.

Now do you know that? What we know is take me out to the ball. Game is only the chorus. There are also verses, really, that tell the story of some lady who loves baseball.

And I think I seen that on a documentary. The guy that does it. All those documentaries all the time. What are you. Because I watch it on the History Channel. Yes.

Yeah. So basically, Jack Norworth is riding into. On a New York City subway, and he sees an ad for a game at the Polo Grounds, and he starts writing the lyrics in his mind, he's never been to a ball game. He actually didn't go to a ball game until 32 years after the song was written.

Okay.

And so he had never been to a ball game. He just saw an ad, started writing it, gets to where he's going, and his buddy Albert von Tilzer writes the melody and they crank this out and they perform it on vaudeville for years. And it was actually part of vaudeville shows long before it ever made it to the baseball field. In fact, started to have to buy.

The rights to it. Baseball or.

I don't know. So, in fact, this is our follow up question here. Okay. It did not become a part of regular baseball games until.

Babe, we're saying it.

No, until the. The. The 1970s, when this hall of Fame announcer who worked for both American and National League teams in the same city was responsible for the tradition of singing it during every seventh inning stretch.

I know who it is. What is? He passed away.

He used to have the glasses.

Oh.

Yeah, Harry. White socks.

And that was actually when it began.

White socks in the car.

And that was when it began.

Really, 1970.

Yeah, in the 1970s. And then who would have thought? Because he went to the. He went from the White Sox to the Cubs.

Right.

In like 83 or 8. Yeah, right. Early early 80s. So because he was. He was with the Cubs by the time you went. You were with White Sox. So. But yeah, Harry Carey was the one that gave us. Take me out to the ball game during the seventh inning stretch. Thank you. To many Internet.

That was.

All right, what's our. What's our total, Ethan? Who won?

I got 17.

You guys. You guys tied at six.

Oh, no.

All right, let's get one more.

I'm gonna have to come up with another bonus. Let me see what I got. This one. This player famously once ate a dozen hot dogs and drank eight bottles of soda. Two games of a double.

Hell, that's right. You gotta let him finish the question.

Cheater.

Cheater.

Americans in any given year will consume about 7 billion of these during the course of a baseball season.

Hot dog.

Hot dogs.

Give yourself Another point there.

It doesn't count.

Let me see here. Oh, this. This ballpark is famous for what they call McCovey Cove, which is where fans can wait in kayaks. Home Run Giants.

It's not Giant. It's his name.

It's the name of the park.

Is it AT T now?

No, no.

It starts with a P. Is.

It's not pnc.

No, not pnc.

And it does not start with a P. Oh, okay. It starts with an O. Oracle Park. So, yeah, that was.

Hey, you know What?

I have McCovey. Cool.

Also, I seen it in the Golden State warriors stuff, man.

Oral San Francisco.

Yeah. Because now they're money. They're all named after sponsors. Then they don't just have.

Yeah.

Money, money, money.

Right.

Cool.

Okay, so Fenway has the shortest left field distance to center field.

Oh, center.

Right.

Oh, center at 390ft.

Really?

This park is the longest. Coors Field at 420ft. No.

Oh, that today's feel.

Oh, man, I. I know that the longest.

Oh.

Oh, the longest to center field at 420ft.

Is it the Coliseum?

No.

American League Global?

No. American Family.

I can see it.

Midwest.

Oh, Astros. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Midwest. Great Lakes.

Yeah. It must be Minnesota.

Oh, Tigers.

No.

What's the name of the field? It is the Tigers. What's the name of the field?

Oh, because they changed one of these goofy Cornells because they didn't change the name. Tiger Stadium.

I always call it Tiger Stadium. Comerica.

Yeah. Yes.

Comerica. Yeah.

I'm not a big. I'm not a big fan of the corporate naming of stadiums much.

The money, though, preserved.

Yeah. The good one, though. The good one, though, is Great American Ballpark. Because, like, it just sounds like it.

Is a great American ballpark. That's true. That's true. Okay. How are we doing?

I think, Rick, I've got Renegade George tied again.

You got him tied again.

You gotta ask one final question.

If you ask a question that I know, a question, it's got to be about.

Yeah, yeah. Give.

Your chest won't know something.

Oh, gosh. Hold on. Let me get. Let me get back.

Say what. What shoes did you wear into the stadium?

Yeah.

First game, the World Series. I know, George. I seen you.

Goodness. Let me see here.

What picture? Did I get? My first hit. I know. What team did I get?

Oh, did you get your. No, the ball off your. Your first hit.

Did you remember?

Okay.

It wasn't as popular then, but I think so.

Okay, okay, let's move away from ballparks. If we can. Let me see if I can. Oh, wait, no, I gotta get this.

One, one, one. One last question.

Okay, one last question. This ballpark has the most. Well, that's not the one I want.

To say the most fights the most.

There's a better one about that ballpark, but they have a place where you can watch beer being made and make a special brewers. They make a special brew all year long and they only make it as long is in contention.

Oh, Core Stadium, Coors Field. Yep.

Okay. Yes, they do.

That is it. So, Rick, we don't drink beer.

So then now we finish it. One.

One, one at first, I.

One, one and one. That's how it's going to finish.

All right, so when we came on.

Strong man, we come back, but you're looking at the answer like.

When we come back in the second half, we'll have to see who can be the reigning champion of season one. Right now everyone is tied. So that was great. So anyway, well, I hope you guys have enjoyed this. This little fun bit about watching baseball, maybe even learned a little bit about watching the baseball game. I want to say from. From the bottom of my heart, all of you who have listened and taken these things in, thank you so much for all your support. Thank you for being a part of this. We have had a ball making this show week after week. It has been the privilege of my life to sit down with these guys and talk baseball. And I know that they've had a great time as well. And we look forward to coming back real soon with the second half of season one. And until then, we wish you the best. Have a great summer and we'll see you again on the Complete Game Podcast.

We hope you've enjoyed the Complete Game Podcast, the show that's all about baseball. New episodes drop each week, so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a thing. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider leaving us a five star rating or better yet, drop us a comment or a question. Let us know what you think. The Complete Game Podcast is produced and distributed by 2Creative Digital Marketing. Check us out at 2CreativeDigital.com on behalf of Ethan Coach Rick and the Silver Slugger George Foster, I'm Greg Duncan saying have a great week and we'll see you real soon.