Cigars And Quick Introductions

SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right, welcome back to another edition of Hold My Cutter. We are here at the drawing room in the story on the south on 2nd Street. If you haven't seen it, you should come check it out. The people are okay, but the place is outstanding. I say that because he's right behind me. He gets really sensitive. He's probably gonna have to go to therapy after this. But, anyways, folks, today it is a special day. My man Robbie and Spikowski. If you don't know him, shame on you if you're in Pittsburgh. And Paul Hoke Kogan is here, former firefighter, and he also is now an organ transplanter. We'll get into that in a minute. How you guys doing? I don't even know how to say that, but literally, like, how you guys doing today?

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Well, you know, first of all, he took over. You said he would do it. I can't tell you how cold is. How cold is it be on your podcast while you're smoking a cigar, hanging out at this beautiful place? I'm honored to be here, brother. How are you, man? I'm humbled. Paul Hogan is my co-host on my podcast, Sacred Grounds with Robbie on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

So tell us about your podcast before we get into all of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

We just started it. Uh we we started uh a podcast called Sacred Grounds with Robbie and Uncle Paulie. Um, Paul Hogan's one of my best friends since arguably the first month I moved here to Pittsburgh, December of 2012. He has a different version of when we met, different version of that story, which is the wrong version. Different version of the many. But he's one of my best friends in the world. And uh I want to hear that. I want to hear that story.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

He's been a true one.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Yeah, he's spent he's spent 23 years as a Pittsburgh firefighter. He's not retired. Father, two daughters in college, lovely wife Marcy, and he just made me laugh my ass off all the time. So I said, You need to be on my podcast with him.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Yes, okay, so 23 years, best friend.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Kudos to you to be 23 years as a firefighter, 13 years. 13 years.

The Arizona Pool Party Origin

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Oh, well, it probably took you at least 10 years to be friends with Robbie, right? So so tell me the true story. Uh, the true story was years ago, and uh you um you weren't with fire chat.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Yes, he was.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Were you were you on the 13th? Yeah, thanks for remembering. Keep going. I meant the dude looks just like he was the fucking catch that. Yeah, yeah. Must have been a good looking cat, dude. Yeah, yeah. We we rented the pool in Arizona. We rented the pool out in Arizona, center field. So we brought 13 dudes in with this amazing party. Wait, wait, wait. He had 13 dudes in it. Pool, yeah, yeah. And he made sure he said it on it when he interviewed us. So he goes, Yeah, this is that was Robbie's idea. What do you go? Oh guys, he said it right on the air. He's like, I'll be there. Yeah, the next year we'll brought 35 people. But he interviewed us down there, and and uh and it was one of his first interviews, right? Yeah, one of his first interviews, so he was a complete nobody. I mean, I think we can all agree on that, and then I immediately put him on the fucking map, immediately, immediately, and things haven't changed. Me, Pauly, I got you. And I won't go into that on how they banned us from coming back.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Though you should go into that.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Well, I'm not sure 13 grown men are supposed to be in that baby shallow pool. They didn't. We it's more a hot tub than a pool, dude. No, it is it's a nice pool. Yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice pool. We read we rented the pool. I knew one of the clubhouse managers from Diamondbacks, but the college one, so he cut us a deal there for that. So we flew out 13 boys, and we and we just rented this pool.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

We can balls and that's part of the part.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

We press parade party, and um and the next day they they put on their websites that's how you throw a party. So they invite us all back. So the next year we bring 35 people back to this pool. It's in his book. And uh we're gonna get to that book. So one thing leads to another. They go, Listen, Paul, you have to spend at least$350. That's like what the corporates do. Though, and I went, What? So we were at$2,500 by like the fourth inning. So wow, you got paid well as a firefighter. Good for you. Long story short, good for the government. The sheriffs come down at in like the eighth inning. And they have to leave. They're they're gonna kick us out. And they go. I go, what? Speedos? They go, no, it wouldn't have been great. That would have been great if I showed up. If I go again, it's gonna be I'm gonna have the American flag right there. So uh just make sure you're not at the salute. There was a puddle on the on the um there was a puddle on the warning track. That was the pool. So they said, look over. This is you guys, we're we have to stop the game. And I went no way for us to do uh jump in this pool and put a puddle on it. And it turns out they said, no, well, the drains drain onto the field. So this is me, the two sheriffs. Uh I said, uh, that's that's not us. That seems like that's gonna be an engineering problem. And he goes, I think you're right. And they let us stay. That's awesome. They let us stay. And then afterwards, they sent me an email. Uh basically for life, yeah. Good, it's not Pittsburgh, who cares? Yeah, since fired that guy, so we got another email last year saying come on back down. Yeah, yeah. You got welcome back. You got snake bitten is what happened. Yeah, we did. So is that pretty true? That is how I met Robin. That's how I met Rob. Yeah, of course. He he probably migrated 13 new people. No, he didn't let me ran that way. He didn't let me talk on the first interview. We didn't really know one another, but the second year he did let me talk, and that was uh I was in Tiger Woods mode. Uh on uh hopefully not driving. No, I wasn't driving. Okay, good.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

But uh but it was fantastic. Well, what happened? But but one little detail in that story was that every time the pirates scored a run, they were all going to do cannonballs on full. So in like the seventh year, I'd go back and look at the box score.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Yeah, we killed them.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

And they scored like seven runs late in the game to make the game a blowout, and they went nuts. And that is prompted. I was on that team if you don't remember, them go, you can come next year, but the pirate they the email said to him, and I have the email somewhere in my in my inbox, and it said, Paul, um the pirates essentially that the pirates series against the diamondbacks was sold out. Pick another game. He's like, You think we're gonna get 30 people to fly out here to see the freaking tubs? Come on, bro. So that was how they got invited to the pool. But here's what's great. So so in my we'll talk about the story of them getting okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

It's a little bigger than I thought, but you guys were only in the little pool the whole time. Is that I heard we there it is, yeah. That's awesome. So we we we took out baseballs, we bribed all the we knew we were gonna be, we knew we were gonna you're a bunch of fire, of course, you're gonna be a problem. Yeah, we uh well you're hanging out. So uh that's even worse. Well, first off, thank thank you guys so much for your clubhouse guy and oh, give me like 12 baseballs. So we were bribing, we were giving the kids baseballs around. What were you bribing kids for? So the parents didn't get pissed off at us for making a nuisance of it. Just want to make that clear. We could have gotten weird so, anyways, and at the end that we walked out of there to a standing ovation in Chase Field for throwing the greatest party ever thrown at that point, and we won. And we won. I'm gonna go ahead and say it, and I'm not because of that.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

I gotta box for I don't remember if you start. I don't know. I gotta see if he played in either of those games. I'll check.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Somebody doesn't even remember.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

He didn't remember you were on the roster because he had a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

But he remembered you because you came. There's new documents. When it's raining, man, we put them on. He called us for the hangout for like a month. We Lord all calls me and then slowly, slowly.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, I'll put you on television, sure. Why not?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Yeah, yeah. But that's one thing I Robbie, you were always great at finding the good stories. How did you come to find? We got a bunch of servicemen out there jumping and doing cannonballs in a pool, giving kids balls and breaking things. There's this so the story behind that.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

When I my first week on the job, I was brought around by our what was the station was then known as Root Sports, our PR guy, Nick Del Greco, and he said, I want you to do interviews on all the local stations, uh, the radio stations. So I said, sure, I mean I don't know how appealing I would be for what I'm gonna do. So he brings me around, and Colin Dunlap was doing radio uh at the time. He was like on the sports station, I believe he was doing the morning show at the time, or whatever it was. Anyways, he goes, You've got to meet my friend Paul Hogan. And I'm like, sure, why not? He goes, He's a funny dude, he loves to drink beers, he loves baseball, loves the pirates, and he's funny and shit. I'm like, sure, I'd love to meet him. So I get in touch with him, like, hey man, you know, and he's like, Hey, we're putting together a trip for Arizona. So I go to our producer who invented baseball, and I said, Hey, we got a uh a guy. That was for you. I got that one. That was for you. Yeah, so he um so I said, Hey, we'll put you on television. Uh so let's just do a hit on. I think it'd be pretty funny to have you guys, you know, talk about all these pirates fans flying across the country to hang at this pool and root on the team. And obviously, 2013 pirates were a damn good team. Obviously, 2012 was a tough, you know, was a tough year uh, you know, down the stretch, but you know, Hutch got hot right off the beginning, and you know, and and and it was a good team. So I put him on TV and made him famous. Basically, how the rest of it goes.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

I told this he said on our podcast. He interrupted five times to say that I'm saying it wrong. You just said everything that I said, but I had there's one big thing. There was Colin. That's how I was Colin Dunlap introduced.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

I remember Colin.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

So it's really Colin, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Thank you, Dunlap.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

So we're gonna have you back on the Hulk Hogan. Yes, I've never heard anybody. I want to hear your story. I want to hear about all the organs, I want to hear about everything you do because it seems extremely interesting, and to Girls Banter. But the big reason why, Robbie, we have him on today is because that book would not be without your man and your best friend. So explain that story.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

So, yeah. So go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

No, I'm just kidding. This is where you time it.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Yeah, it's a great story. This is what it's like when you have an asshole working for a friend, and he does stuff like this where he go ahead. It's called Sacred Grounds, and it's because of him.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Explain that.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

That's not it. You can't stop there. So it's 2024, September 2nd, to be exact.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

When you're trying to figure out what's next.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Uh well, I was working with the Texas Rangers at the time. Okay. So I was still with the Rangers, and I'll never forget I had just gotten home on Sunday. Uh uh Sunday, the Rangers had a day game, and I flew home right after the game, and he sends me a text Monday and says um Let me so I this is gonna sound crazy. I knew that the game I worked the day before was probably gonna be the last game I ever worked in baseball. Why?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Um was it like a gut thing?

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Yeah, it was more a gut thing. So I it's it's actually I don't want to say emotional because it's not emotional, but I guess it is a little bit you got a little emotional. With the pirate, the Rangers were playing the Oakland A's, and I'll never forget it. It was Sunday, August 31st, or maybe it was September 1st, it was okay, it was 2024, and the Rangers were playing the A's, and that was my last game on the schedule because I took a backup job as a host slash reporter with the Rangers, and I was I was doing the pregame and the post-game, and I remember standing there during a national anthem, and I'm like, this is gonna be this is the end of my 16th season as a major league baseball TV announcer. And I said, and I'm I'll never forget standing there, roof was open. I remember like it was yesterday. I'm like, this is it for me. This is gonna be the last game I ever worked in baseball.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

So what what went over like it was I kind of knew that feeling when I was when I was gonna walk roof the game, but I I I let it kind of think along the things it was a con so I was a little emotional.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

I've actually I don't think I've even told him this. So you're really not his best friend. So yeah, well, no, he knew because he had come down that I'm out asleep. He had come down to visit me. So, anyways, enough talking about me, but I know, but the next day he goes, Hey, Skeens is pitching at Wrigley tomorrow. So on Monday, September 2nd, he sends me a text. He goes, Skeens is pitching at Wrigley, and Jimmy, one of our best buddies, uh owns Mario's in the south side. He goes, Jimmy's bartendant. It's Tuesday night.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

He owns a place called Mario's. Yeah, it's gonna be Hoffman.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

It's been Mario's since 1982. That's awesome. So he uh so he goes, Do you want to go watch him? Like, yeah, man, I got I don't have anything going on. So I'm like, let's go. So we go to the bar, and it's me, him, our buddy Harrison, Spike, and Jimmy in the bar. And we're just watching Skeens pitch at Wrigley. He goes, five innings, pirates win five-nothing. So we are ripping a few shots throughout the game. Great bombs, to be specific. Many.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

What are those?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

It's like vodka, red bull, stinking up, back of red bull and a glass. Rip them, shake them up. It's good. It's it's a great drink. The Pittsburgh staples. So at this point, we're at about a point two. So Hogan and I are sitting at the bar and he looks over at me.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

So when you do your best thinking, 16 deep. Yeah, he looks over at me.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

We're running over the Bebnap. He he looks over.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

You drew that 16 deep.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

This is it. Yeah, that's the nap. So he grabs the bar napkin. He grabs the napkin now, the bar caddy. And he says, Hey man, I got the name of your book. I'm like, dude, we're super fucked up right now. I'm like, let's just wait. And I had a meeting with my team the next day. And he grabs a bar napkin and he goes, Jimmy, give me a pen.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

He grabs a pen and that's Sacred Grounds. He said, I got the name for your book, Sacred Grounds, which it took some effort to spell the word grounds here. Yeah, I mean, you could tell, like honestly, like I couldn't tell that you were intoxicated up for infill dirt. I got the bases. This wasn't you know almost having you have the first base almost in a shift. So even the legal now, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

How much you can do in, but here's the story in the book. Yeah, a picture of the napkin and a picture of us from that night with yeah, you look glossy. He's holding the napkin. So take everything.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Like you guys are there, you you're 16 deep with vodka and record. He didn't have a name for his book yet. I know, but so that's not the time I'm thinking, oh, yeah, let me tell you about it.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

We didn't have a name yet.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Yeah, so you were talking about, of course, he's talking about it, trying to figure it out. Even called, I remember, I was like, this should be cool. Like, I can't wait to see what comes up this. So, how sacred grounds, why sacred grounds, how did that hit you, or were you just like it just did an angel come down? It just hit me. He we were talking about it, he said, I don't have a name for this thing, I have no idea what we're gonna call this. I know what I'm gonna do. I've already done interviews, I just don't know what the name is. So I was just there and I went, just hit me. I went sacred grounds, let's do it. Then I thought, okay, make sure I spell sacred right. I did, and then I got grounds wrong. So I wrote this exact bed map, and I drew this and I handed it to him. Now think his entire story that he told you about how that night went. And if you added funny to it, that's how I would have told that. Funny and interesting. I would have told you. I think because you called him out with the phone, he got nervous, you know. He had the virtual story. That's the thing, right? Everything he said is right, but that's what happened. So I just drew it. I drew it on a bad map. And I didn't know he saved it. He saved it. He said he had a meeting with his with his team the next day, they approved it. That's what happened, man. Well, it's an awesome name because I it really is safe. I I had well, I we had it, we did our you're like, dang it, that's too good. And you're like, I don't want to follow.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Here's what's crazy. I'm like, Hogan, no, dude, we're good, we're good. I'm like, all right, whatever, just write whatever you want. And I'm like, there's no way I'm gonna take this name seriously. And I didn't, I feel like that he's gonna he's breaking my balls with something, and then he he he slides the napkin over to me on the bar, and I'm looking, I'm like, he's like, Look, it's like, how about Sacred Grounds by Robin Spikowski featuring Paul Hogan? And I'm like, That actually sounds kind of intelligent, and I'm not sure. You know, having the little feature happened, yeah. We were hammered.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

That's the only thing that didn't make it on the cover of the book is featuring Paul Hogan on the book.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Right, but we have featuring Uncle Paulie on the podcast. So our podcast is called Hold on, hold on, hold on.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

We're not on the cover. He didn't write the book, all he did was name it. I meant it a few times, but uh he said it three times. Hey, you did you at least get the forward? No, I offered to write a forward, which uh there's like five forwards in her house, so I didn't crack the top five on forwards here. So you manage came up with a title, didn't you crack the top five?

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Top six, top six, top six, actually seven, because I have an actual forward and six intros.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

All you had to do is get him 16 Red Bull and vodka, and he would have written you the best forward of your life. You ain't lying about that.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

That's God's honest truth. I that story is 100% organic, 100% true. And I'm sitting in the meeting the next day, I'm a little sluggish. No, and I say to my team, I'm like, you won't believe this. So my team, it's a sender book services. Let me give him a shout-out. Kyle Fager, whose name is on the cover, Steven Kinezovich, Anna Hall. Anna did all this design. What?

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Who did I say this, Lennon? He's rolling. He's best friend now, he's rolling, man. God damn Kyle. Man, just come. That's the understanding.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Um, so my my team at Ascender Book Services that produced this book with me and did an unbelievable job. Center Book Services. What's Ascender Book Services? I'm gonna say anytime you get you say it. Kyle and Steven live in uh Pittsburgh, Anna lives in Seattle, Washington. And um, Anna was the graphic designer. Steven handled all the marketing, and Kyle wrote it with me. And um uh I said, you won't believe this, but I was at Mario's last night, hammered. I think I have the name for our book.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

I said it to them, they were like, I'm sure their Facebook were like I'm like, all right.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

So I called him and I'm like, dude, you won't believe this shit. They actually like it. It's really good, and then that's it. We were I I don't know what our how long did it take to name the book?

SPEAKER_01 18:21

What do you mean to name like like actually like that day between because you were already writing it?

SPEAKER_02 18:27

Uh yeah, I had already we had already begun a production of the book, we had already done interviews and we already had gotten a couple stories uh done. So uh a couple drafts of the stories because we you know we revised and edited everything, obviously, when you when you write a book like this. So um I so Anna said to me, Why don't you go take a picture of home plate? There's your ashtray right there.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Oh, it's too late. We call that the Robbie now, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

So Anna says, Why don't you take a picture of a home plate? So I went to my local baseball field. That's a real home plate in Mount Washington. This gets better. Doesn't look like I went to just because the angle. Hold on. I went to the WHAA field in uh in Mount Washington, Scookum Field. So I went there and took a bunch of pictures. And I'm like, I don't know, it was kind of a dirty home plate. Then I the week before the 2025 season, I went to PNC Park and took a bunch of pictures of PNC Park because that was the last picture I took photographs of, which is ironic because I made it, you know, it was my my my quote unquote home ballpark for 11 seasons. Yeah. So I said, hey, the grounds crew had the tarp on home plate. I'm like, can I lift this up and take pictures? So this is actually PNC Park's home plate with the Pearl baseball. That's a really cool angle, too. So we don't want to get banged by major, so that's a major league baseball, a pearl that we don't want to get banged with a copyright strike. So we turned it around. And uh copyright strike for saying that. I don't know, it's not all there. So this is PNC Park's home plate with uh with a pearl on it the week before opening date 2025. That's what this actual photo is. It's crazy. So and and the pictures we sent it. She sent the logo. I'm like, Hogan, you are a fucking genius.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

So much so that Kyle Fager. Yes, Fager's on the on the cover, and you're not.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

It is. Kyle earned it.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Kyle earned it. What does that mean you did? By the way, but here's what's cool. I want here on here. What's up? How's it mean feel? I'm in there somewhere. I think I'm in a second or last grade zone.

Cooperstown Archives And Baseball Relics

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Yep, he's in that, so he's in there three times actually. Nobody else is in this book three times. He's in there once for the Arizona chapter. He's in there once for the Hall of Fame chapter in Cooperstown. He and I went to Cooperstown late in the 2024 season.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

That was a great thing.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

And then um never been. And then it's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Oh, they got an arc they got an archives in the basement of it. That guy was a baseball. And we went down in there, we got the special trick.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

We held Babe Ruth Bath 199th Homer.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Thanks for the invite, guys.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

It was crazy. I was probably just sitting at home like, man, free nights to hang out with Robbie and Paul, the guy I don't know yet.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Babe Ruth signed the bat from his 199th Homer.

unknown 21:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

Gave it to Warmer Governor of I forget the state. Governor died, and the bat went back to the Hall of Fame. So it's signed to the governor by Babe Ruth.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

I bet that is amazing.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Which is cool. Um so we had pictures of us holding that bat. What's that? It was Tennessee. It could be Tennessee. I can't remember who it was.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Tennessee? Well, yeah. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Volunteer State, they probably gave it back. What do we have, Billy? Linkard's glove, Abro's bat, Christy Matthewson's jersey.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Baby's fat, they put white gloves on him. I thought your favorite thing was the jock strap that you were holding. Whose was that?

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Give me that jock strap, baby.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

He loves a good jockey. They said uh course they do. Listen when you uh Hold baby's fat, hold it like hold it like this. Take a picture, you know, enjoy. And I went, What? You kind of look like the babe with the cigar in. Yeah. What'd they do? They paint him? Nothing. Nothing do anything. It's because you look like the babe when you did it. I got a look. Yeah, I think I got a look by yeah, but you don't look like the babe. The guy who oh that bat was going. There was no way, but it was it was amazing. I love you. She was amazing. Everything you ever wanted to see. Like in the hall, you can't touch anything. It's all behind glass. You get to kind of get to touch Donna Archives was cool. How'd you get down there? He knew someone.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

So you know everybody. Well, sometimes yes, sometimes no. But the president of the Hall of Fame is uh so the last two presidents, one was Tim Meade, who was a former PR guy for the Angels, and then the current president is Josh Rowich, who's a former PR guy for both the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. So working in my role, you know all the PR people. That's true. So I called Josh, and then his chief communications guy at the Hall of Fame is uh Shesta, John Shestakovsky. He spent a long time with the Boston Red Sox. So I knew Shesta from when he was with the Red Sox. So I sent him a note. I'm like, hey man, my buddy and I are thinking about coming up. He's like, can you be here by like 8:30? And I'm like, Hotan, can we get there by 8:30? Because he was driving for work. And me and him left at 2 a.m. from Pittsburgh, drove through the night to Cooperstown. Was it just like a spur of the moment trip? Uh no, it wasn't spur of the moment, but I had to go to Boston. So we had we I picked up a route because I was going to meet the Rangers in Boston right from there. So this is in August of 2024. So we drove up together and I I he went back here. I went to Boston to meet the Rangers. But, anyways, um we set it up and he goes, Hey, it was uh do you remember Colin McHugh? Yeah, nice career. Yeah, so it was us two and Colin McHugh, former relief pitcher in the big league, started reliever. So us two and call McHugh end up getting the this private tour, which they bring VIPs and stuff, and people win contests and all that, you know, whatever. You know, rapidly.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

It was pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

It was pretty amazing prizes and all that. So it was unbelievable. So we go, so we we spend this incredible time at the Hall of Fame. So I take the gallery, and that ended up being in the books. We did a chapter on the Hall of Fame, which is really good.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

So that pretty face made it in.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

It was his ass, actually. He's looking standing looking all I didn't know you walked backwards.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

My face.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

So yeah, he's in the Hall of Fame chapter, the Mario story, and then the Arizona story.

Vegas Lies And Late Nights

SPEAKER_01 24:38

What did you prefer? Robbie, I'll I don't know if I asked you. What sport did you prefer the most? Well, he better better nail this one. Well, different I think it's hoops, but I I hope it would be so why didn't he do figure skating for a little while?

SPEAKER_02 24:56

I did not do figure skating.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

He did the uh nights.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

I was an announcer for the Vegas Golden Knights. I was the first ever reporter for the Vegas Golden Knights, by the way. No, not many people know that uh just did it for a month. They the other reporter was having visa issues, their main reporter, Ali Lozoth, who's now at the NHIS.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Did you do that for him? Visa issues?

SPEAKER_02 25:13

They called me and I said, Hey, they said, You want to go to Vegas and work the Golden Knights? I'm like, hell yeah. So that was a lot of fun. But I was with the Minnesota Timbrals for three years. Where did you live in Vegas? Where did I live at the hotel at the residence?

SPEAKER_01 25:31

So where did you live?

SPEAKER_02 25:32

This is in Vegas. I lived at the hotel right by the monorail. I think he's trying to get you to say something.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Where did you live? Did you uh parlay your time in Vegas in anything interesting?

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Dude, I love this guy. Keep going. Parlay my time in Vegas. I'm wondering where this is. I was there for one month. I worked the first month of it was 11 games I did with the How'd you do in Vegas?

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Gambling? This fucking guy, man. Where do you live? He's obviously not gonna tell us.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

I I'm I'm dead serious.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

I I literally your magic number and your time in Vegas.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

I didn't win. I don't I'm not a big gambler.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

I don't think that's where he's going with the.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

I'm not a big gambler. No, he knows I'm not a huge gambler.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

I don't think he's talking about gambling.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Hookers? No.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Did you bag a bunch of chicks at Vegas? I'm gonna have to say this.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

No, I didn't actually. You lived in Vegas in a casino. I lived at the residence inn, which is not a casino. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 26:38

I'm just saying when I would go no when I would go to Vegas, I would have I would at least have a good Vegas lie. I would dress the dress, I would have a hundred wrapped around a bunch of 20s, and I would look, I mean, like, and it would work out for me. Did you have a Vegas lie? Did you have a I got a Vegas lie? I have a yeah, but you have to make people think that you're you're rich in Vegas. I didn't know that, but I mean now. Well when you well, when you aren't rich, uh you have to have you got you gotta you gotta play the lie. My lie was uh my grandfather invented the Zagnut. What is a Zag nut? A candy bar. That's a candy. That's not a candy bar. I want they don't have that's good. I'm a Tennessee guy, yeah. Yeah, we didn't eat Zagnuts. All right, that's why it's it's an ungooglable. Of course it is, ungoogleable, yeah. It probably has thinters on it. You can go with the live Zagnut. I am I can't believe that this didn't work out for you.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Well, I once told somebody personality, this hair, and these looks, you don't need to throw money around.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

When I was in the Mighty Leagues, we convinced a group of men at a bar that we invented the Budweiser frogs. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. That's what you're getting at this whole time. I have a lot of those stories, right? Right. I was like, Yeah, I was the Bud. I was rich because my grandfather invented the Zagnut. Did that just come to your head? Yeah, at the time. That's pretty good. But another guy there, he would uh he pretended to be um a European soccer player, so he faked the European accent the whole Vegas. I don't think I can hold on to that. Yeah, that'd be hard. Um that is impressive.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

My buddy Brad May, who I worked with, former NHL tough guy, he was my broadcast partner, one of my broadcast partners with the Golden Knights, and just a hilarious dude. I don't want to get Brad in trouble. Sorry if I get you in trouble for this. So we started at O'Shea's and we end up at Denny's at 6 30.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Then we go to You know it's a it's a weird night at Denny's.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

We end up going home at like 9 a.m. and there are these people in a rental car, and he just walks over. I'm like, what are you doing? What are you doing? He walks over as it's at 8:30, 8:45 a.m. We've been out the entire night, and they're in like Taurus. We could tell it's a rental car tourist car and goes, Hey, enjoy the Hoover Dam. That's it. That's all he's all. Dude, we gotta go to bed. It's way too much.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

What if they were really going to the Hoover Dam? You know what I mean? Think about how freaky that would be in your brain. Oh my god. How did he know?

SPEAKER_02 29:08

They clearly were tourists. You took one look at these people, you knew they were Vegas tourists.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

And they thought you were definitely from Vegas.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

It was so funny. O'Shea's is so funny. That was funny. O'Shea's is O'Shea's is just an all-time. The old O'Shea's was a dump. They made it nicer, which actually I don't like. I liked it when it was a dump. They renovated it and made it a lot nicer.

SPEAKER_01 29:29

So, anyways, I don't know why we're talking about sports going where it's going. Yeah, you tried to take it to Minnesota basketball, which nobody wants to do it. So, you asked me what sport I like. Yeah, you didn't basketball. We ended up in Vegas.

SPEAKER_02 29:40

When you do the NBA, how'd we get there?

SPEAKER_01 29:43

Football.

Basketball Chaos Versus Baseball Rhythm

SPEAKER_02 29:43

NBA, yeah. So in the NBA, you know that ball's tipping off at 7 05 every night or whatever time the start time is. You go two hours and 20 minutes later, the game's over. Baseball, you can have a rain delay last four hours.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

But baseball just took over in viewership last week.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Oh, yeah, that's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Yeah, I don't want to date this podcast, but this is April 2nd, and we literally took over. Take that, we're not growing. Cable's gonna die. Shut up.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Well, what's great is is with baseball, when when the pitch clock came in, hold on, we gotta go. Baseball got infinitely better and more interesting, my thing, but whatever.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

He never picked, he's staying away from his favorite sport. I like so sports never answered it, did he? He didn't never answer it. He's dodged to the question again.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

You wrote a book about baseball basketball. I would walk right into that huddle. I remember one time Rick Adelman. We know he liked basketball. Rick Addleman, the Hall of Fame coach. Uh he showed Rick Adelman treated the media like shit. He was terrible to us, right? And I'm sure he's a good guy. His kids, the head coach at Denver Nuggets, David Adleman is a great guy. David was an assistant with the Timberwolves. Yeah, yeah. David Michael Malone's a great guy. David Adleman's a great guy, but his father, Rick, was a was just a mean prick to the media. He was terrible. And Rick, I'm sorry, nothing personal. He was he consistent? Oh, yeah. Consistency is the best. He one time I would be in the huddle. So we had Kurt Rambus for two years, and we would go in the huddle. I would go in the huddle all the time and just get information. I would talk to a couple assistant coaches. Well, one huddle. I was doing that when Rick was in there. Rick looks at me, he goes, Get the fuck out of here. So Adam kicks me out of the huddle. Like, oh shit, I'm in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

And like, how many times have you been in the huddle before?

SPEAKER_02 31:23

500 at least. At least 500. Loves being the huddle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

That's how you guys met. You got your huddle.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

So it was it was uh it was yeah, so basketball is fun for that reason, but baseball is a whole different monster, and it's good because you develop relationships in baseball with everybody, you develop them with players, coaches, equipment managers, trainers, take office, vendors, janitors.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Don't you feel like they're lasting too in baseball? What's that? Those relationships seem to last in baseball.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

I put 120 different people in this book. Wow. 120 different people are in sacred grounds because of relationships. Now, I had never personally met all 120 before I put them in this book. But what's great about baseball is I'll give you a couple examples. I'll use the local one, Donnie Kelly, Pirates Manager.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

Did you not? He just name dropped me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

First of all, Donnie Kelly is the nicest guy on planet Earth. Yeah, nobody outside of you will never find anybody on planet Earth to say a negative word about Donnie Kelly. He's the nicest human being, arguably, you'll ever meet in your family.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

Yeah, he's the best. He's the best when it comes to life. He's a great friend, he's the best answer.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

He'll do anything for you. That good a guy. So I was looking up guys, and I wanted to chase down Dwayne Wise. Do you remember Dwayne Wise was a former outfielder, played for a bunch of different teams? Do you know what he's known for? His one big mummy. Know what it is, Hogan? No. When Mark swing, what is it? Bang! Swing on the money. Always. Mike's messed up, but that's on me. At the top of the ninth inning, he comes in as a defensive replacement. Mark Burley's throwing a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. First ball. Gabe Kaplan at the plate. Bang. Left center field. Oh shit. Perfect game over. Shutout over. No hit, no hitter over, shutout over. Dwayne wise jumped the wall, just into the stance, robs the homer. Two outs later, perfect game, Mark Burley. Dwayne Wise saved the perfect game. I'm like, so I'm doing the chapter on the White Sox Stadium. Like, I gotta track down Dwayne Wise. So I start looking, and what I did was to track people down that I didn't know that I wanted to reach. Was I would look everywhere they played and I would look on that team's roster. Who's their manager? Who are the coaches? Who's gonna be able to do that? I need to find a connection. So I saw minor leagues, Donnie Kelly. So I called Donnie. I'm sound crazy. Dwayne Wise, do you have a number? Can you get me anywhere in the vicinity of Dwayne Wise? He goes, Yeah, I'll call him for you. Or he texts him for me. He goes, Hey man, here's his number. So like Donnie Kelly connected me with Dwayne Wise. Jeff Frank Hoare, who uh former outfielder, Braves, Royals. Grew up loving him. Yep, he's a Georgia guy. Um, I said, Hey man, and I uh Brian McCann, six-time All-Star. I knew McCann, I'd been in media scrums with him, but I never had like one-on-one interaction with him. And I knew Frenchie, Frank Hoare was really tight with McCann. So I called Frenchie and I'm like, hey, can you put me in touch with McCann? He's like, Oh, hell yeah. So ended up getting Brian McCann. So, like, that's kind of how a lot of it came together. But that is the beauty of baseball, are the relationships and how they last. Yeah, and I can't tell you, probably 15 guys.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

Maybe that's why you guys are best friends. 15 people think about that.

Strange Ballpark Layouts And Oakland Loss

SPEAKER_02 34:38

Yeah, 15 people are in probably 15 people in a book that I had never met before. I put them in the book. And think about it, the book wouldn't exist without you.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

It wouldn't, I mean it would have never even been printed. What's that without you? Yeah, that's exactly what I've got to do. One of my favorite things that he told me was uh I never knew that in Oakland the the fans and the players are share the same corridor. Did that's the same thing. Work in Oakland. What about going to Chicago? You have to walk through the concourse, which one? Uh uh Wrigley to get to the clubhouse. Like, you don't there's no secret entrance, from the bus, but like still, like even when you walk out, it's it's gate from the bus to the clubhouse. It's wild through the real tunnel, there's no way to go.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

There's no private way out at Wrigley.

SPEAKER_01 35:21

Even now, even to this day, you have to walk through the which is kind of cool because they I think fans kind of get that behind the scenes. They don't normally get it.

SPEAKER_02 35:29

Fans look out, and fans are like right there. The buses are there, and fans are standing literally like eight feet.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Yeah, it's a unique experience. Yeah, Oakland. Rest in peace. Um Oakland.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

I just thought we'd have to honestly I did two extra pages in my book on Oakland for that reason.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

I think I think Major League Baseball will get back to because we're gonna expand and I really hope that for the too close. Is it too close to Frisco? They had a team forever. They had a team forever. Oh, I agree with you, and I hope they do, but is it too close to Frisco? I don't know. Maybe maybe they move it. I think they were different audiences, yeah. I do too, different fan bases. So I don't know, because San Francisco has a different feel, like it's just very, very different.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

Yeah, and they rubbed their baseball like eight Ace fans got shit on, and that was terrible. That that Ace fans, man, Will McNeil, all those guys, right field, Section 149. I used to go out and hang out with those guys out there, man. What happened in Oakland is an absolute travesty that they did to those fans.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

It got really busy.

SPEAKER_02 36:33

You know what's crazy?

SPEAKER_01 36:35

It was major baseball too. Like, don't like oh for sure. Yeah, like I mean, they had a tough draw. I mean, they didn't they didn't win consistently and people didn't show up consistently, but the people that did, it was the most loyal fan base, probably outside of Pittsburgh in in baseball for a team that doesn't win very often. So, yeah, I'm with you.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

I hated it.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Well, I hate it. I went there when did I go one or two years ago?

SPEAKER_02 36:57

224.

Ranking Stadium Feel From The Seats

SPEAKER_01 36:59

So uh I was just knocking off my savings. I got four to go. Four to go. Okay, which four? Uh I still got uh we went to we went to Steinbrennerfield last year, so I don't count Tampa. So Tampa. I gotta get on there. I'm not too excited about that, but I still got you gotta you gotta get there before they build a new one. I will. I will gotta get there. So this year I'm gonna I'm gonna hit Corona in Houston, and then I'm gonna end it. I love San Diego. San Diego? And it's San Diego, yeah. That's a good place to end. Yeah, that's right. So what's your favorite so far? Well, that's a well, this is such a homer thing, but I've been to 26 now. Nothing touches the aesthetics of BNC Park. Nothing. It just doesn't. You're not the only one everyone. But but I but I but everyone says it everywhere I go, though. Yeah, even the every white fans. Yeah, they just say it. And then um I I have when when you when you're picking your favorite stadiums, it's not it's not how good that team is. It's for me, it's a feel. It's it's a it's a goddamn feel. You feel it. So when my number two is Fenway. When I walk into Fenway, man, that's a feel. That was a feel that I can't explain. So I'm gonna put that at two. It's always gonna be St. Louis. What a feel. When you talk about loyal fans, St. Louis, my god, everyone wears red. It's the PGA of fans. It's unbelievable. Yeah, it's just always the same. Yep. So then you could go through the rest. I mean, I obviously I really love um Wrigley. Uh now when you see when you see games on TV, they'll show they'll show San Francisco's Bay after watching it on TV. Well, when you're in that ballpark, you don't even know that goddamn bay's there. No, you don't. All you see is the sky. Yeah, so it's I don't want to say it's overrated because I'll top ten that fields, but still or um, I'll top ten it for sure. But when you're in there, all you see is that big mitt in left field. Yeah, and which is cool, which is very cool. Yeah, now when you walk around pregame, it's unbelievable ball. It's something I never did. But when you're sitting there watching a game, you don't see anything, you just see the sky. So when you're in St. Louis, you see the arts, you see all the buildings. I mean, um Pittsburgh, you see that big well bridge. You go out the green monster. So I I'm a fan of that feel, the aesthetics and everything. Like if you go into Dodgers Stadium, there's a historic retro feel. But you go see the Angels game, nothing. Yeah, I never liked the Angels Stadium. Yeah, so you know when they show the Angels Stadium, they'll show that waterfall. Or when you go to the Brewers game and someone hits a home or they'll show what's their mascot's name, they'll go into the Barney Brewer. Barney Brewer going on a slide, but when you're in those ballparks, they're tiny, yeah. They don't really do it for me. Yeah, it's like that kind of thing. Yeah, like bank that makes any sense to you guys, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

Yeah, I I what's that saying?

SPEAKER_01 39:41

Do you echo that?

SPEAKER_02 39:42

Uh yes and no. My perspective is a little different. So, like, I've never been to Fenway Park as a fan. My first ever road trip as a major league baseball announcer was to Fenway Park. I was working with the twins in 2009.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

You're like, this is a dump. Well, that was my first thing. Yeah, I mean, it is a dump, but it's this is amazing.

SPEAKER_02 40:04

I don't know if you played there since they fixed I haven't since they updated a little bit. But do you remember walking out of the clubhouse? How skinny, first of all, how tiny is that visiting clubhouse? Everything is tiny. Yeah, you're jammed in it, and then you walk down the city.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

They had two floors on the home side. What's that? Didn't they have two floors on the home side?

SPEAKER_02 40:20

I think they did. You know, I've never been in the Red Sox clubhouse. Yeah, never. I got I was on the taxi squad visitor side on the club. Yeah, I was on the tackle house and I never went in it. That's another one where you have to walk in the concourse.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

Here's a good story. Got called up taxi squad, right? Then we did so happen a couple different times. Me and Drew Sutton, they're like, come to the game, watch the game, we'll we'll take care of you and your family.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

You family through who?

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Drew Sutton. So we're we're there. So we walk around, we take in the whole experience, and we get to our seats, and I'm behind a pole. No servants time. Thanks for the good seats. It is like this the whole time.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

So I walk in there and I'm wild. Robbie would have loved that. He loves a big pole. Um I love a giant guy. What's amazing is is this firefire reference. I walked in.

SPEAKER_01 41:12

You got that, right?

SPEAKER_02 41:13

So I think but I can add so much to it.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

I walk in there like, do you want to go out to the monster and take pictures? I'm like, hell yeah, I do.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

You're not talking about the pole anymore, right? It's like, no, not the pole, right?

SPEAKER_02 41:25

I have a picture of me and this dude, Rhino, who is a clubhouse assistant, who is just a great kid.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

What about the names of their assistants, Clubhouse guys? Clubhouse guys is your boys.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

I'm out there and take pictures. My first day, first ever road game I work. And it's uh so you walk out there and you see it like this is amazing. And then you go into the camera well, and outside of Oakland and Miami, uh Fenway Park is the it's a bottom two uncomfortable camera well in Major League Baseball. It's like you're jammed in there, and Boston always has so many photographers, there's so many. Especially when they have to the fans are right on your ass. So, like you see, never happen, and they're right there, and they're just yelling the entire game. And it's like like from the time I got there, I'm like, what the hell is this? I hope this isn't like this. Every stadium we go to, because it was the first time I'd ever worked a road game. So the history of Fenway Park is amazing. But when you talk about what so I exclude PNC Park and Target Field because they're the two places where my home ballparks, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:37

But you didn't you didn't have the new Target Field.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

I did. I worked, I my first year was the last year of the Metrodome 09. I did the first three years of Target Field when I was with the twins. Oh, we'll get into that. I was a twins reporter. So and then um, so Target Field special me. I worked first ever game there. That was really cool. April 12th, 2010. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yep, pretty much. Um, but I would say Baltimore, that place has stood the test at times. Yes, Baltimore. Yeah, you got the warehouse, you got Utah.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

They probably have the coolest tunnel too, because you walk in, it's just all brick. It's it's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

Yeah, and then they feature brass plaques where every ball lands on Utah Street, and they love their baseball in Baltimore, and then the ushers wear like the old school, like the old orange. Remember when the Orioles had those like orange? I guess they still wear them to an extent.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

But remember those old so it's like the 1920s, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:30

Like the Xbox there, so they wear like the old.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

It's probably sucks for them, but it's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

But like, but like even the wrought iron fences have the old design. Yeah, you have like all the retired numbers, Babe Bruce Museums out beyond center field. I don't know, Baltimore. It's just it stood that it was this like Skydome was the first new stadium, Baltimore was second. So it was just like so amazing. It was so like I gotta I gotta go there as a food.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 43:54

And you go there, and the food's good, the people are friendly, the team by and large, it has generally Been pretty competitive. I love walking, they're great fans, and then Inner Harbor walk. Yeah, you get to walk from the harvester. They have all the vendors out there selling peanuts and shirts and helmets. They go again, you love the peanuts. Yeah, it's just it's incredible. It really is. I think the inner harbor is dead now. Yeah, the inner harbor is dead now. But back in the day, it was amazing. It used to be a real fun place. So I would say Baltimore, St. Louis is beautiful. I really like Kansas City. I like the waterfall. I like I mean, it's old, it's outdated. They're gonna be moving in a couple years, but I'll miss that place when it's gone. Um, that was always fun. So I would say KC. Cleveland even has a nice stadium to an extent. I know it's you know, not it's still, yeah, it's yeah, but it's still cool. Like I like it.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

Cleveland has some spots.

SPEAKER_02 44:43

Yeah, so yeah, I would say Baltimore KC. I like San Francisco.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

Okay, nice.

SPEAKER_02 44:50

San Francisco's beautiful.

Free Beer Hustles And The Pfister

SPEAKER_01 44:51

So I know I know I know you gotta go. You have you have your O League fans to get to. Um, so before you go, tell us one or two of your favorite stories since you're a part of this from the beginning. Really the backbone of why that's even there in the sacred grounds, Robbie's book. If you're just tuning in, but talk about a couple of your favorite stories. I think my favorite thing in life is listening to some of my people I love tell me stories. Robbie's a great storyteller, even though you like to time it sometimes, gets so long, but he he gets every detail. So tell me your couple of favorite stories of regarding what the book you can be in the book, maybe it's in part two, and you tease it. I don't care. Hold on, take a year away.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

All right, I don't want to tell you he's gonna take your stories. Steinbrenner Field.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

All right, all right. I think I I think I know in Tampa, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:39

We're in Tampa. We were we went last year because it we knew they were only gonna be there one year, yeah. And even though it was a minor league ballpark, we it's actually nice.

SPEAKER_01 45:46

That's why we went. I wanted to it doesn't feel like a spring training ball, it was like just seeing pro baseball in a in a single way field. It's something pretty cool about it. And it's it's really nice, yeah. In Tampa's nice, and you're just there. We and uh we we did this great time there. I was gonna go into how we uh with um the NFL.

SPEAKER_00 46:09

Who are we out there with? What city uh um we've been in a bunch of different cities together.

SPEAKER_01 46:18

We're not coming out.

SPEAKER_02 46:20

What's I don't know what we're talking about?

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Tampa Bay. You can tell their best friends.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

Well, we were in Tampa.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Like maybe even stepbrothers, yeah. It doesn't matter. So we're we're walking around and we're just checking out.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

Oh, Fran Marson, my buddy, the producer, Kenny Albert, you're talking about Kenny Albert.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

So we we're in the Kenny Albert right first game, anyways. We where are we now? We're in Tampa. We're in Tampa, we're in Steinbrenner Field, and we're just walking around, we're checking it out.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

But they were there to do a Tampa Buccaneers game. We were there in September.

SPEAKER_01 46:47

So Robbie is taking a lot of pictures, right? For his own for his book, yeah, taking pictures of dudes and you know other things that he likes to have.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

Yeah, how many references are we gonna make to this?

SPEAKER_01 46:57

What do you mean? Oh you can take it. We're just talking about the players. First time tell us so he's taking there, and there's a vendor in in center field, and I'm just standing there and I'm drinking a beer, and uh, I'm finishing a beer, and he and we just start bullshitting me and this this vendor. So uh he's talking, Robbie is is coming back for his pictures, and I go to the vendor, I go, hey man, um you want to be in the hall of fame. And uh he goes, fuck are you talking about? And I go, I go, hey man, you want to you wanna picture you want to your name and picture in the hall of fame. The guy I'm with works for a hall of fame. He's taking pictures because they're gonna end this the last game of the last series.

SPEAKER_02 47:40

So Saturday night they had one last game left, it was the last homestead. They were playing Boston. He goes, Ah, last homestead, last series I've seen.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

I'd love that. And then I go, Well, he comes over. I'm gonna have you stand with him. I'm gonna take a picture of you and everything. But before he comes over, man, screw me a couple um couple uh beers. He gave them to me. So you got free beers because you told him he's gonna be the hall of fame. Yeah, yeah, good for you. That's exactly what did that guy do about the hall of fame. Make sure you should have said it in the archives because he couldn't get down there. Yeah, should have it. Now he's gonna go there, he's gonna cry his eyes. I'm the only guy in the history of the world to get free beer off of a vendor and amazing ballpark. And I did it because I lied and said he worked for Hall of Fame. That's like 80 bucks. He played the whole role. He went up from this dude and he said the picture with him. We got a free beer.

SPEAKER_02 48:29

I love it. That's not weird and field that's outstanding.

SPEAKER_01 48:32

That's a good story. One more.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

Give me one more. Well, the pull story takes the cake, but that's we already told that.

SPEAKER_01 48:40

When I was when I was in Milwaukee, we were where we stayed at the street. I thought Milwaukee was a sneaky, really cool city. I thought it was for the hot dog. That was uh that haunted hotel you guys stay in all the time. It was a stadium sauce. Fucking haunted. That's only one side. What only a little side talking. What are you talking about? I don't know that. What's that?

SPEAKER_02 49:00

What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 49:02

So Milwaukee Brewers, you stay at this old witzy cool hotel. It's really cool. But like if you go right, non-haunted, you go left, haunted. So when you walk in at the so yeah, there's two. I'm gonna go with haunted because I felt that you stayed on the left side. You probably asked for it. Actually, I probably just looked at it. She said, He needs to go on the last one.

SPEAKER_02 49:22

We had hey, here's one for you the Pfister Hotel. And if anybody that's just a terrible when anybody does the search on the fister, every terrible, yeah. I would say 29 opposing right.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

How many stay the fister? How many? Hourly rate. It's such a nice hotel, but whoever came up with the name, I hope they had a tough childhood.

SPEAKER_02 49:47

How many opposing teams stay at the fister? 25 out of 29.

SPEAKER_01 49:53

Probably everybody would want to leave, but how do you leave? Well, it's like the everybody when you play the major leagues, it's the one hotel you remember.

SPEAKER_02 50:00

And it's and it's like and it's like eight minutes, seven minutes from Fister to the ballpark.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Well, yeah, that area downtown's awesome. Quick trip. Well, the quick story on that is that was on a cross-country drive. Did you meet the ghost? Oh, did you said it was haunted? How do you know it's haunted? It felt very haunted. Well, how did it feel though? Would you get goosebumps? It's just a little bit. It felt a little was that not Robbie tickling your back for that. Wait a minute. I'm fell right to sleep, though. I mean I put this ether, ether wraggle out of my my face, but that's the last thing I remember. So I'm there. Oh, you must have not paid for the hour. All right, I mean Robbie. I'm on a cross-country drive. I just retired, and what I was doing was taking long drives. I drove all around 66, so I decided to drive Route 90 all the way from Milwaukee to Seattle. Go through the national parks to check out the Badlands. It was super cool. So cool. You know, the Tetons, Yellowstone, all the way through into Deadwood. It was great. It was really great. So I started in Milwaukee. That's when I hit Milwaukee Stadium, and then I I deviated off for the twins. And then uh oh, I made it for the Field of Dreams on that trial, too, which was pretty awesome. Is that pretty cool? Yeah, man, it is. It is. Then you go right right on the field. So I went out on the uh no, I didn't. But I what I did throw a couple balls into the corn to see. Did you really say I did it? Yeah. Oh, cool. I had to stand on second. He's back as far as I can hit a ball alignment. That's okay. So you did it. Uh you did it. I did it. That's right. I did it. So we're in a fifth room, and then uh Robbie and I, we got on to an Irish bar, and um Greg Brown's in there. Yeah. It looks like you already are. Well, uh, Greg Brown was about uh he was in the same condition I was when I named this book. So he ended up He's been working for the pirates a long time.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

He's the co-host of the show, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

Anyways, I had a host I had about a 30-minute conversation. I remember two, and easy easy half-hour. Three, he's one two. Yeah, you won't remember a single word of it. But he was he was a fun conversation in the bar that night. Always. He was a very fun conversation in the bar that night. He ended up he ended up eating a frozen pizza that I guarantee cost a dollar and they microwaved it. Like he was shoving his face. At least they microwaved it.

SPEAKER_00 52:08

So anyways, all right, Brownie.

SPEAKER_01 52:14

It was gonna end with where I parked my car that night, someone got murdered an hour later. I didn't see frozen pizza to murder. Hold on, hold on. We went from frozen pizza and brownie and frozen pizza. I parked my car across the street from the the entrance to the fister. So and and and and oh my god, I leaned the next day and last time everyone texted me and he goes, by the way, right where your car was, as soon as you left, there were police corps surrounded by somebody to murder. Did you murder them? No, okay, all right way too long to answer. Just want to clarify, he did not do it, folks. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 53:00

He's now delivering. That was the night, I believe that was the night before. Because I remember waking up. Bob Walk and I both got woken up by the gunshots in separate rooms. We were on that side of the hotels before you make that joke. I I heard the gunshots and I hurried up and I looked down, and yeah, it was that was bad. But yeah, but that happened the night before you got there.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

The Tampa Bay story was like good. Could have led with that one. Could have led with that one, yeah. Yeah, like you you you were the main suspect if you found a dead body.

SPEAKER_02 53:34

You know, no, we didn't find dead body, it happened the night. Why are we talking about this?

SPEAKER_01 53:40

He brought it up. Yeah, your man, your man's history.

SPEAKER_02 53:45

We had I'll tell you what though, you know what's cool is I said to him when I'm not in this job, because I knew one day I wouldn't be a TV announcer in Major League baseball.

SPEAKER_01 53:57

Which hit you in 25 of what's September 1st.

SPEAKER_02 54:01

I did, yeah, 2024, yeah. 2024, yeah, September 1st, 2024. And uh and I said um two things I was gonna do. Number one, I was always gonna do opening day uh with our cop buddies in hand, which we do every year. I have done that, I did it in 2024. I was actually home. The Rangers won the World Series in 2023, so they opened it home in 2024. I came home and the pirates opened a week later. They opened it on the road. So I had Rangers opening day and I did Pirates opening day that year uh as a fan. That was cool. And then um, we did it last year, we're doing it again this year. At the time of this taping, tomorrow's opening day, we're doing it again. And then um uh the other thing I said is every ballpark that he hits, I'm going with him. So we last year we went to Tampa Bay and Kansas City together, and then this year we're going to Houston and we are going to Tampa to the trop. Well, and are you coming up to Toronto with me? We're gonna do Toronto. My buddy's the catching coach.

SPEAKER_01 55:01

Toronto Blue Jays, yeah. Yeah, I can't really. It's just I'm gonna drive to Toronto and then we're flattering Houston, and the next one. You're gonna be disappointed from that to that. Really? Houston's awesome. Like as a player, I I can't imagine what it's like as a yeah, that's just the sequence of the yeah, but like just the city in general, yeah. Toronto's awesome. So it's I can't wait for that. Yeah, and then I I was in San Diego last year. Thank you, Swing. You're exactly right. So look, what'd you say? What swing below? Except except I hit two balls that got dropped on town. Yeah, I mean two ball moves on my on my stats. That hill wasn't there, so I it kind of haunts me. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 55:38

It's it was it's uh it's just one of the cool things in my life that I'll tell is obviously we have a deep friendship, as you can tell, but but it's more brotherhood. Being able to travel with him to each ballpark, and I would venture a guess that I've probably gotten him tickets. We tried to do the math on this, probably about 15, 18 of the 26 he's been to. I got him tickets, yeah, which is cool.

SPEAKER_01 56:04

Sounds like a little resentment that he got you there. I mean, not around. I mean I get it now. Yeah, I was wondering, you're a really cool guy. But that's cool, man.

SPEAKER_02 56:13

So you talk about why baseball's cool. That's why baseball's cool, Matt. Yeah, it's like you get the like look at me and you. I remember going up to you. Your last year, you were in spring training with the Rays, and we knew T was gonna retire. Kent Tacole, who uh was Pirates Pre and post-game, one of the nicest guys. I love Teak, he's a great guy. He was treated us so so good. I rooted for him when I was a kid growing up.

SPEAKER_01 56:37

Remember Teak actually is our number one podcast. You want to go check it out until this one because Paul came on.

SPEAKER_02 56:43

Yeah, Tink is great, man. So we knew we knew Tink was gonna retire. Yeah, and I remember saying to you in the visitor's dugout at Lee Comp Park in Bradenton in spring training, so he knew it wasn't going spring training, yeah. And I was like, Matt, I'm like, Mac, what do you think, man? I was like, I think you'd be good doing television, you know. Here we are nine years later, me and you sitting at the same, it's literally nine years later spring training 2017. Yep, and then I got to call you a coworker for since 2018, 19, 20. So six years, you and I work together.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

Yeah, and we'll then we're gonna we're gonna do yeah another podcast. Me, Rob, and we'll tell the story of literally how I even got into TV, and you're the about 99.9%. I don't know about that. Uh well you you started it. That I'm the one that would have put him on the book.

SPEAKER_02 57:29

It actually we'll talk more about it. Actually, you know what? Actually, Matthew. I think when was the first time that began? 2013. He had knee surgery, he had arthroscopic knee surgery, and he couldn't travel. He was in a brace and couldn't fly. So the team had him stay back and team.

SPEAKER_01 57:47

Which was cool. They asked me to stay, which I still to today I didn't realize how often due to go home. They asked me in Carson's instead, and that still means the absolute world to me because they wanted me to be a part of it. I did advanced meetings with them, I did all that stuff. So cool that they did. So thank you, Ray, thank you, Hurdle, everybody that because they didn't have to right because me home, they're paying for me to stay here, so thank you.

SPEAKER_00 58:07

Right, and then he had knee surgery.

SPEAKER_02 58:16

So uh he was in a brace and it was just too hard to find like physically getting around crutches, all that. So I and T didn't like doing the West Coast road games because he wouldn't get home till 1, 1.30, 2 a.m. So he just had somebody we had somebody else come in for him. And I went to my boss, I'm like, hey, Michael McHenry's, I know he's an active player, but let's check with the team and let's see if I'll ask him if he's interested.

SPEAKER_00 58:45

And I said, Would you want to do pre-amphit?

SPEAKER_02 58:47

Well, you know what to say, what not to say, all that, you know, they're your teammates.

SPEAKER_01 58:50

Which I didn't really have to worry about. I don't even think you're even worried about that.

SPEAKER_02 58:53

Yeah, no, not that, but I want to do it.

SPEAKER_01 58:58

Well, I got three in Colorado.

SPEAKER_02 59:00

Okay, so he was like, Yeah, and that and he was our guest analyst, non-paid. He went in and did it.

SPEAKER_01 59:07

But they ended up paying me because I did good, I guess. Oh, you didn't get paid, yeah. I mean, not I don't not like what I get paid now, but like, yeah, they're like, Great job. Give us so you got the rate, you got the whatever the rate yeah, whatever the guest rate was, because they're like, Thank you, because I filled in, they ended up asking me three extra games because they were like, Oh, that's yeah, we'll see, we'll test the waters. Because they thought I was gonna suck. Let's be honest. It started because he opened the door and I was scared to death to do it, and he called me a pansy and said, just go do it, you'll be great at it.

SPEAKER_02 59:33

I did. His lovely wife Jacqueline pushed me along. Jacqueline Gain McHenry.

SPEAKER_00 59:40

Gain G A M E.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:07

Yeah, and you guys have a podcast, which I'm gonna be tuning into, and I hope I get to be a guest.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:13

We would love nothing more.

Delivering Organs For A Second Calling

SPEAKER_01 1:00:14

Yes. Well, I know you have to deliver it to Oregon, but I gotta ask you one more question. One, you're coming back on. Is that okay? We'd love to. I want to hear your whole story. You gotta be many, many stories. I want to train with firefighters so bad I can't stand it, so I want to get healthy. Can we make that out? You want to train somebody with a body like that? No, no, he'll be the one making fun of me the whole time. That's all they do is make fun of the guys they bring in, right? That body all day, every day. All day, every day. Yeah, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh firefighters, the bravest people in the world. Yes, so that's a bad thing. We got some badass chicks that are on the any woman that walks in and says, Let me run into a fighter, yeah. She's she's bad at the bone.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:50

Yeah, and that's unbelievable. Yeah, so and and it's cool, man. I I will say this about Paul. I I said, Hey man, we can make a little bit of a career thing out of this podcasting. If we do it right, you know, we we we grow organically, we do the right thing. If you just be yourself, that's what I think. And I said, Hey man, at some point in time, so he drives organs and it's so his retirement.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:11

What's the podcast's name, real quick?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:12

Sacred grounds featuring Robbie and Uncle Paulie.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

I'm so proud of you. So you named the podcast too? I did.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:20

Technically, yeah, I guess so.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:21

Is he is he at least on the like the main cover of that? Oh, yeah. But it's not like that's not that post Robbie and Smart Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:29

It's a 50-50 deal.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

He caught me a great deal.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:37

But you say a what? I missed that one.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:41

Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's perfect. So you deliver organs before you go because you're almost done with your scarf. I took a retirement job after I did two years of traveling, as I said before, and then I don't want you to hear a story. I want to know what is the weirdest organ in one story so we can tease you coming on because everybody's gonna like you've never delivered like a wiener, right? No, is that considered an organ of delivery? I delivered hearts, lungs, livers, uh, brains. Wait, wait, not for transplant. Oh my gosh. Brains, brains for research get sent to Kennedy. Thank you for clearing that up. But I've I've I've I've flown them all over the country, and then uh then then you drive them throughout the night. They'll call you in the morning and just fly them. Are you just the one like handcuffs? No, they're not hands. That would be cool. I might do that. Yeah, I'm gonna put my hands. Yeah, like like big goes, I go type thing. Yeah, show how important it is. So I like that. So, yeah, levers, lungs, all transfer. Then you run them up into the either either right into the hospital or many times right up to the operating room where they gotta go. And it's uh it's a pretty cool feeling. That's amazing. For a retirement gig, yeah. So you feel like you're doing something. How did you even get there? Uh, as they they'll they'll pretty much only hire like retired fire cops. Uh you gotta have the time, you gotta have the certifications, pre-reqs, and all this, the stuff that we already have, all that, and you gotta be a crazy person for the hours because you're just going. And uh, I mean, I've called Robbie at four in the morning 50 times because I'm dead tired behind the wheel, you know, just driving from here to Carolina or or Richmond or somewhere. Yeah, I said to him, Robbie, Robbie's a great friend. So that's every I call him and then some dude hands him the phone, and then I I talk to Robbie every time too, right? Yeah, he's like, Can I talk to Robbie again?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:33

I said, right.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:35

Sometimes I talk to the dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:37

I said to him, I said to him, I'm like, dude, we're gonna do well enough. I'm like, you won't even have to do the organs. He's like, no, it like it gives him purpose, and that's why he does.

Why The Friendship Feels Priceless

SPEAKER_01 1:03:46

I mean, I'm sure there's no better than it's it's a it's a really saving lives, yeah. So for retirement retirement job, it uh I'm not gonna sit here and say I do it for free, but I'll do it for free. It's it's a pretty sweet. Yeah, he didn't say that. Yeah, yeah, I'll say that. Yeah. So before you leave, Robbie, yeah, like leave us a note about Paul and what your friendship has meant. Because like it seems like you guys have a unique, well, unique relationship.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:13

What's cool is every time I like somebody like sends me an email or sends me a text and says sacred grounds, is that's what's cool, is that this could not have been more organic than it is. And to share that, the that is what's priceless. It's like drinking beers, hanging out with your buddies, you do that shit all the time. That's cool, right? And that's a lot of fun. We laugh our asses off. We have a great time. Nobody's better to drink with than Paul Hogan because he'll say something crazy or do something crazy, and people look at him like, is wrong with you? And then and then, like 20 minutes later, they're toasting shots with him, you know. But like that's Paul, yeah, that's who he is at his core, right? And like, but to to like this is my passion project, right? Like, and and you and I'll talk about this separately. You know the reasons why I did this. I told you why I did this. You're one of my best friends, so you know why, right? And you know why, too. What drove me to do this deep down inside, right? And there's a major, major motivating factor as to why I did this, right? But then not only does that happen, he names it while we're banged up at Mario's. Like, you almost can't write a script like that. The most important memory I share with him was that night. So that's why I have this framed, and why I'm keeping this, I have another copy for him. He wrote a secondary one that he's gonna get eventually, but um, but this is like one of my most doing that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:37

Yeah, so let's just say it doesn't look like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:40

So this is one of my most prized possessions because it organically happened. It's a napkin that he drunkenly wrote on, which is so funny. That's the best I could tell. I could give you some crazy emotional shit, but that's just really the truth. It's like this encapsulates our friendship perfectly, you know, and that organic nothing about this story is a lie, it is a hundred percent. Organic and authentic. It's none of it's fluffed up for TV or for podcasting or to get a laugh. Like all the everything we said is 100% true. So that's what's cool about our friendship.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:10

So everybody listening, put in perspective, I mean Robbie, we've been trying to get this done for a while. And we're talking, we send memes, probably inappropriate for most people, but back and forth constantly. So in between real conversation, there's a lot of ridiculousness. But then you write me this long, long note, and I didn't get through the first paragraph. I saw Paul, best friend, said, Yeah, bring him on. Didn't even know his story, but this is what it is. And I can't thank you enough for bringing Paul on. I think we're gonna be boys for life. Paul, you're coming back on. I think you have a harder, I hope, a brain to transplant. I'll bring him. So next time on Hold My Cutter, when Paul comes on, we're gonna interview him and understand his story. He's gonna bring a brain, and maybe we can figure out whose brain it is, but we'll tell their story. Maybe we'll make it up. We'll completely make it up, but it'll be more, it'll be better than the truth. It will. Yeah, we'll call him Robbie though. Yeah. All right. Hey, we'll be back. Please like, subscribe, everything. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Robbie. You guys are the best. Pick up Sacred Grounds. It's outstanding. I just started it. Robbie. Supposedly I'm in there and pulsing it three times. That's worth the investment.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:24

R O B B Y I N C dot com. Buy it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:28

Bye. Thank you.