Draymond Joins to talk new-look Warriors + Dusty Baker talks Retirement | The Steam Room

[Music] for the fifth season we hear that theme music meaning only one thing you have wandered aimlessly into the steam room Charles Barkley Ernie Johnson at your service so good to be back with you all five years yeah well this is the fifth season wow episode one well we made it we made it to what hey to all you people who think we wasn't going to make it up yours uh you think that many people are out there saying this will never make it yes there's always haters Ernie there's always haters I don't think they even wasted the brain power they even think about whether the steam room would be around 5 years later well we made it we here yeah we certainly are you look great man thank you brother how much you weighing now I am 285 wow what's the go what's the goal 270 wow you're almost here when you what did you start at 352 congratulations F ass brother you're looking good thank you brother you're looking good thank you man it's coming I'm gonna get to 270 I can't get to my plan weight which there's no need for that to 270 yeah yeah what was your plan weight ideally 250 no you ain't going to get there I take if I get to that would be unhealthy for you right now chucker I don't know if it's unhealthy but 270 is good yeah yeah shout out to Manjaro and the golf games good yeah oh man hitting that thing be Roy green like a drum are you really are you consistently beating these guys that used to consistently beating Roy and Brennan I I got I a Mod's on my hit list I got to get him he's still beting you mod I Mod's a handful but that's okay they've already peaked they've already peaked shout out to my boy Stan Utley who who saved my life and uh man I'm excited to be back for the steam room it's been an incredible summer I'm excited about the NBA season you know we got a a lot of story lines you know we finally got rid of the the national nightmare known as the James Harden Saga yeah uh thank God that's over you know living in Philadelphia during the summer I tell people if I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me about James Harden I'd quit TNT I'd be a billionaire like yo man I don't know I don't work for the Sixers and know but I'm so glad it's over now a Clipper now now a Clipper and the main thing is you know what you can't sports are hard enough without a dark cloud hanging over a team you know so the Sixers I'm glad it's over they made the best deal now they can move forward right and their two best players are the MVP and Ty Tyrese Maxi I'll uh give you guys a little heads up that a little bit later in this show Dusty Baker the just retired uh former manager of the Houston Astros and others and a just a marvelous Big League career uh will join us and tell us stories is that the understatement of understatement a great career yeah legendary career I mean that's like to like as a as a basketball player you would be I'm trying to think because fil Jackson's up there one of the greatest coach but he wasn't a great great player Pat riy is in that conversation but he wasn't a great great player yeah so it's really hard to comp compare him to anybody who had that longevity but hey what do you what do you say we start this episode yes a little differently uh oh with first of all this is the way we start every episode of every season of the steam room first of all first of all you know I got to say goodbye to some friends um a couple people I know who I'm a miss uh this guy was a big F A friend of mine from Auburn his name was Dr Sam Miller he passed away a couple months ago just a great friend great Auburn man just nothing but admiration for him and I'm going to miss doc Miller Sam Miller now this guy was a good friend of mine a professional golfer gentle giant Andy Bean yeah one of the really true I did I do I I've been doing a charity event with Andy for the last I think 12 14 one in Birmingham right no it's one in Florida okay yeah one in Florida and man when I heard he passed away it it hurt me because there's no better person to play golf with or talk about fishing Andy would send me pictures because he went fishing basically every single day but he was just such a good person and he will be missed so shout out and condolences to the bean family man what a good man Andy was now this guy's one of my favorite actors his name is Ray Stevenson uh he passed away and it was quiet nobody know but you would know him if you saw his face he was in a ton of movies uh I I just became a big fan of his fill me in uh he was he was in this movie called The Irish man that was really really good uh he was in this movie called big game with Sam Jackson uh but you would he's one of those guys you would know his face if you saw him yeah because you a lot of actors cuz um is it JK sour JK Simmons Simmons man lash I you know I met him one you got to watch and you still haven't watched Whiplash even though I've told you a billion times you got to watch it because I don't watch it to annoy you because every time you said to me and I don't I tell you I haven't watched it yet you would love it though man but I'm going tell you something JK I met him in the gym one day and you know you know you hate to bother people when they in the gym cuz that's annoying cuz you're in the gym GM to work out and not talk to people but I had to say hello cuz he's one of the great actors uh that you will ever see and uh same thing with re Stevenson but uh shout out to JK Simmons too uh but he's still alive obviously uh I have a okay you don't want to interrupt somebody when they're working out yes you don't that's rude but it's fine for you to interrupt somebody in a steam room and try to get their bracelet uh first of all let's get is that what yet it's fine for you to interrupt somebody in the steam excuse me excuse me when you're in the steam room you're done working out still interrupting some no y you're not no first of all no I didn't interrupt he was doing nothing just mind your own business in the steam room will you you're sitting right by people you got to be so you don't just sit there like a lump on a log see that was just rude but that's okay America I'm used to it been dealing with it for 23 years now but and last and definitely not least Matthew Perry uh I never met him uh uh but my daughter knows every friend's episode verbatim really like I have even no idea why she still watches I mean like why I I always laugh like she doesn't do as much now that she's a mom but she would watch every episode and she'd recite I like if you she'd know lines before before they were delivered if you already know the lines Why are you watching and but she loved it and uh man I didn't know Matthew Perry I think I I met um Courtney from Birmingham I met her quite a few times so my condolence to Courtney uh Courtney's always been great the few times I met him most people don't know she's from Birmingham and I actually bumped into Lisa cudra one time in the elevator and I just like hey just a huge fan don't want to bother she was awesome uh but I I don't so did you ever watch Friends excuse me did you watch many episodes of friends I've never watched friends but you've run into everybody who was on the show two people but I've never watched Friends Ernie I was busy I don't have time just sit around and watch television I was busy doing half hour your day doing their heyday hour of your day but I'm like getting ready for games traveling and things like that one of the great all time shows it's on TBS every time you turn around oh I want to shout out TBS too thank y'all for getting Modern Family I can't wait to start watching Modern Family arguably one of Cu you were on it once no no no no no yeah it was an honor to be on it but arguably one of the five greatest shows ever it's good it's no it's great it's not good it's great no very clever very clever well written well acted and I love the diversity uh of the cast uh but so shout out to TBS for finally uh no we've always had uh you know I love Big Bang Theory I mean we can only watch Law and Order so many times uhuh I mean damn okay as a matter of fact I pretty much know every Law and Order episode by heart kind of the way your uh your daughter knows friends but I don't say the words in advance oh I don't say the words in advance difference that's the difference great so so is that for is that it for first of all for first of all that was an interesting first of all um still to come Draymond Green and Dusty Baker oh yeah wow how about that for a they had some good careers them two right yes [Music] sir we are back inside the steam room happy to be joined by Draymond Green of the golden State Warrior you think we can get a Kia come on I'm act like Kenny now you know you know you know I already got a Kia yes I know you do you talk about them all the time yes uh Draymond the Warriors out of the gate three and one and uh you're back in there played the last two games how you feeling first off thank you guys for have always a pleasure to work with you too but I feel really good um just trying to get my legs back underneath me it's always tough uh when you miss training camp you know you you get out there and the game's moving a million miles per hour uh you're trying to keep up with guys who's already in game shape who's had training camps who's had several preseason games and then trying to jump in that into that can be a little tough uh needless to say it's been fun um and I just got to work my way into game shape you know you guys when you came back that move CP uh to the bench that it had to be weird for him have you guys had conversations how the best way to address that oh well I think it's weird for him in the sense that he's coming off the bench for the first time in his career in 19 years um which is absolutely insane that you never um come off the bench not one single game that's impressive um but I don't think it was where from the standpoint of of as if it was an elephant in the room and I saw uh CP talked about it uh a couple days ago I had BR where where he talked we had a meeting uh with the six starters if you will um before training camp even started and we spoke about this day coming about how hey we got to figure out who's the starting lineup um we're gonna have to figure out who's the closing lineup some nights it may be different uh one night it may be me not in the closing lineup another night it may be Wiggins not in the closing Stephen CP whoever it is and and guys have to be willing to sacrifice that so I don't think it was weird from the standpoint of as if it was a shocker you know if it's a shocker I mean Chris PA had a right to be pissed off but it wasn't a shocker something we talked about and we're all willing to sacrifice whatever we have to to make this team great and try to win you know we had you guys on opening night uh we were doing the show from Denver um Chuck can I relay to Draymond unless he's already heard what you had to say about the Golden State Warriors on that on that opening night he said we could no he said well cooked was one I said that in the playoffs I said y'all were cooked in the playoffs and what he also said Draymond is y'all may be the fourth best team in California that's crazy wa been saying that years D Dr you said it I and I meant it because I said man this team one thing that comes with success and Dre knows this man when you play for the championship as many years as they play it taxes your body and all I said they got an old team and and that's not no news they got an old team and I said man them other three teams in California Paul and Kawai they're well rested well rested the Lakers got a deep team and Sacramento got a bunch of youngsters I say the Warriors if if they have any injuries any injuries they could be the fourth best team in California and that's not a knock that's that's because of their success they got a old Team all right so your reaction to that Draymond uh my reaction to that is um you know we we the fourth best the the the eventual Champion may come out of California if that if there's that much talent in in the state of California if there's that many good teams in the state of California I but you know I don't mind that I think you know old is old sounds a little harsh uh old sounds as if you know we look like Chuck when he was out there with the Houston Rockets that's what old kind of sounds like to me hey that's what old was yeah I I would say I would say no we we are experienced um there's no secret uh we're getting up there in age I think CP 38 Steph's 35 I'm 33 Clay's 33 um you you can't you can't deny that our ases are getting up there and saying that though we are experienced and I think the most important thing to Chuck's point is us staying healthy if we stay healthy which I have no doubt that we will we got the best um performance staff in the league and we stay healthy on our way then teams are going to struggle to beat us because now you have to know how win I think last year when we look at um our team and losing to the Lakers in the second round aside from all the uh chemistry issues that team just wasn't a team aside from all of that we also didn't have enough variety we couldn't score in a bunch of different ways now we can you know you bring in a CP that adds a totally different layer to the offense so uh no I think I I agree with some of Chuck's points we are we are definitely getting older but uh that ain't never stopped us from winning that team just wasn't a team what was the what was the chemistry problem who was uh and who was the cause of the chemistry problem well I think uh you know there there was always an Elis in the room with the with the stuff that happened um in the preseason uh there's no no denying that um and quite frankly I think did you guys ever get over that gray and so so that's that that's actually where I was headed next it was like we kind of never moved on from it and so if you never move on from something then how do you how do you even grow and that team just wasn't tight enough to handle adversity no you're going to go through ADV um throughout the course of this 82 Game season plus playoffs adversity is going to hit and the team has to be tight enough to handle that adversity we weren't tight enough to handle that adversity last year I think this team that we have this year is built for adversity we're built to handle adversity and that'll be important for us moving forward you know I said last year going in I said listen I know Dre Steph and Clay going to do their thing Luna going to do his thing but it was really going to come down to the young guys kaminga wisan Moody but I'm GNA stop I'm GNA stay with Moody and wisman obviously y'all have moved on from wisman were you surprised your young guys have not come along faster um well I mean I would I would say what is coming along faster you know we're we're star of year three for those guys um and JK is taking a huge step forward uh several steps for it Moses is taking uh a huge step several steps for it so I think the way uh that they both started this season off that's what you want to see from a third guy going to thir third year when I look back at my third year I was coming into the season I hadn't played a ton uh we were switching coaches I played 12 minutes a game during the preseason and then David Lee got hurt and so I don't I don't View those guys as oh man they've come along slow the reality is where they get screwed they're judged based off of kaminga being a seventh pick and Moses being I think a 14th pick and so they lottery picks they're judged off that well guess what most lottery picks get to do they get to go to to these teams where they get to shoot all the balls they get to play through their mistakes uh no one's over their shoulder if if they're shooting terrible shots or turning the ball over they're letting them learn through their mistakes you get two guys that come here is lottery picks and they come on a team that has guys who wonn multiple championships and still trying to compete for championships and they're expected to uphold a championship level standard and so they're judged off a standard based on playing on a championship team and then you got guys out here their age that's judged off the standard of if they can get 20 points on 23 shots and so I think the standard is just totally different now when I look at these guys and you see the ball they playing this year they've benefited from those last two years because they're learning how to play when basketball where some guys in their class have just up there hoisting shots and just wased two years so I don't necessarily think their development has been slow I think it's been exactly what you'd expect um if you're trying to put two 19 year olds on a championship level team and ask them to compete and produce at that level hey Dre are you excited about the n Season tournament Ernie I am excited as hell about this NC tournament I think it's absolutely incredible for our game I saw the Le rolled out the course uh the other day um which I think is absolutely incredible uh I always speak and and I've heard you guys share some of the same sentiments about Adam Silver being the best commissioner in the NBA there it is now every team has another court for this thing the possibilities that that bring when you start talking about brri and different things of that nature uh and again continuing to increase the revenue absolutely amazing you look at at at this season model it's it's like European soccer it's like European basketball where they play for all these different cups during the season now you take a a a random uh Tuesday game in in one of these cities that you can't get up for and that game matters now you know and and we're playing for Hardware so I'm excited about it I think it'll bring excitement to this to the season as an NBA fan I'm I'm happy to see it but also as a player I'm happy that we'll get to bring this to our fan base uh continue to grow this beautiful game that we all have the opportunity to play you know you look at the allstar game it's going back to East versus West uh you think that's good or because I personally I've all I I've suggested this for five or six years in a row I would love to see the United States against the world I think that would be a fabulous Allstar thing but are you at least excited about going back just east west I'm actually not against that idea of United States against the world I think the only problem with that is you then have to put more World players in it if they're not if they don't make it then you can only get 12 show players from the United States I think that makes it tough and saying that I am excited number one uh I heard this morning that San Francisco actually got the bid and it's coming to San Francisco in 2025 so I think that's dope but also going back to East and West I think it's incredible I think you know when we look at um the history of the allstar game it's East and West it's when you look back at all those battles that you guys had over the years when those incredible Allstar teams and incredible Allstar games it was East versus West and you got to take pride in that maybe there need to be something added as far as like oh this team gets homec court advantage if you win allstar game like they do in MLB and stuff like that if we want to make the allstar game more another thing that I think Chuck and where we where we made and I would love to know how it was for y'all but I think it was different with the amount of media attention that's around the game today there's so many more things that you have to do leading up to the NBA Allstar game so you get there at one o'clock for a seven o'clock game and you're doing all of these things media pictures this thing that thing then by the time you get to the game it's like oh we gotta play a basketball game so I think the setup it's been tough for guys to get going you know guys got whole game day routines that they go through to get their body ready you don't get to do that for an allstar game and then everybody wants you to go out there and play hard so I think there are some changes that can be made to get the allstar game back to the level that we want to see it at as basketball fans um but you know in saying that East versus West is definitely one of those changes that I think should be hey before we let you go uh James Harden's a Clipper now so what's your view of uh La as a rival in the Western Conference a team now that has kawh Leonard and Paul George and Russell Westbrook and James Harden I think you know when when you put those names on paper uh that they'll be as good as any names you can put together um you know you're talking four first ballot Hall of Famers um what is that two MVPs one Finals MVP or perennial allar you can't put much else better on paper than what they have I was saying that they're also getting ERS just like us uh to Chuck's point you know you got I think all of those guys are probably in year 14 or 15 or above you know and so uh with the exception of Kawai Kawai clayer so it's 13 like those and so health will be important as well you know you hope to get to the end and see everybody healthy and may the best man win but they'll be a tough team uh they got you know a lot and and even around those guys you know they still got zubac they still got Norman P still got bones Highland you know they still they still have through PJ PJ tuck in on that deal too with I know with Harden yeah absolutely you got PJ Tucker so they still have dep and then they also have an incredible coach in tyo so they'll be a team a force to be reckoned with uh nonetheless the one one beautiful thing about the playoffs is you don't have to go through everybody so depending on how the schedule lines up you got to be the the three teams that they put in front of you from your conference and you got to be one team from the Eastern Conference so um that's that's our Viewpoint vantage point we're ready we're ready and willing to take on whoever that is that gets in our way and and ultimately to reach the goal that we want to reach your first inseason tournament game is Friday at OKC their first game in the inseason tournament what group are you in um it's not a and it's not B it's Group C okay okay who you got OKC C us um San Antonio yep um you're playing them tomorrow night sack sack sack and Anthony Edwards minnesot yes minnesot there you go that's a lot of young yeah no doubt Sac Sacramento and a Warriors are going to be favored in that Sacramento and the Warriors that's that's the game yeah heavily OKC so I got a question for you you talk about our OA do you think that bods us well and in in this end season tournament where we are Health oh yeah I think it it in season I think your age shows up later in the season like everybody's in great shape and healthy when the season starts and then I think I tell people I say when you get older you get around 35 40 games and then there's so much stress in the playoffs I think that's why I favor young teams the longer the season goes uh it doesn't get easier it gets harder but to in in in fairness to Dre and the Warriors man they've had so much success so much success and when you when you go deep in the playoffs every single year it takes his toll once you get 33 34 35 it does hey Dre we appreciate you man thank you uh thank you so much I appreciate you fellas always a pleasure all right be safe you're always welcome in the steam room yes you are you're always welcome in the steam room all right man later thank you all I appreciate it you got [Music] it we welcome you back oh my to the steam room this is awesome where I mean you would be hard pressed chuckster to find a guy with a kind of resume in Major League Baseball um that uh matches that Dusty Baker has as a player and a manager as Co that's unbelievable yeah like we call him a manager not a coach yeah I know that now but like it would be great to have his resume as a player yeah and now you factor in his resume as a manager it's in it's unbelievable and we got him on his first episode of the steam room yes sir in in season 5 and Dusty Baker joins us it is so good to see you you are uh you look really happy retired Dusty at the age of 74 yeah Barnie I don't know what retirement is I'm still packing trying to get back to California I'll let you know in a couple weeks and uh people like I wasn't feel to be retired I've been retired like uh three days you know what I mean exactly exactly so how much you watching the World Series oh yeah I always watch you know I like watching I like watching sports I like watching ball you know uh I watch basketball I watch football I watch almost every sport that is you know on TV and uh you know once Sports gets into your veins I mean you just don't pick and choose uh uh you know what the what to look at I mean sometimes in life uh uh in the real world uh you miss that adrenaline rush and of of of being of being in sports and uh you know that that kind of like lures us all back into paying attention to not only your sport but the other sports you know I got a question like you had we Ernie was saying a little a little bit earli you had one of the most amazing baseball careers when did you get the bug I want to be a manager something had to kick in divorce kicked in that's what happened think I'm kidding Al campan has said some things that you know we weren't qualified to to do this and that and then thinking man's positioned in sports and and at that time I was getting uh divorced and uh and all of a sudden baseball come looking for some some minorities to disprove what he had said and at the time I was at the right place at the right time uh myself cedo Gaston Hal McCrae and Don Baylor we were there all at the same time and so uh I went to uh Texas I went to Dallas for the winter meetings and about 15 of us walked in Frank Robinson Hank Aaron Kurt flood some of baddest dudes of of that generation they invited me to go Joe Morgan so I went in there and they and Al Rosen asked me that I want to uh you know was I interested in coaching I said no man I was a stock broker at the time and I didn't want to any part of the game and uh so I asked my dad I said well Dad what should I do he told me go to the Mountaintop and pray and I went to uh Lake Arrowhead and I was checking in this hotel me and my brother trying to make up a mind and the owner of the Giants tapped me on the shoulder and he says dust you need to come join us and I I went to the phone I asked my dad I said dad is that a sign he said son that's a sign that you don't want to see and he saids even before you s your prayers the Lord tapped you on the shoulder and uh and this and so like I said okay I moved back to Northern California got divorced and then they Al Ros and said it would take five years to get the player out of me and five years in the day I was named the uh you know the manager of the Giants so that that it kind of chose me and I just uh agreed with it how long have you been in baseball total Charles I was thinking about that well you know something since I was 18 and then um um I was out a year as a broker at 87 I missed uh six years at three different times you know two times uh three I was out two years when not even a job officer offer so since 18 I've missed uh seven years out of of out of uh out of baseball and uh you know I actually made more money as a manager than I made as a as a player yeah welcome to my world Dusty welcome to my world now yeah yeah exactly Charles I a mad at you because I'm telling you you know people don't know I mean you know the money that we made when I first came into this game Charles the minimum Sal was $15,000 and and you know you can't do nothing on $155,000 that's why I had to go sell cars down in Augusta Georgia when I was was in Atlanta I I I sold cars in offseason I worked for Atlanta life I sold uh uh life insurance another winter you know back then we had to work to to make his meet and then I played winter ball three different years to try to help my mom and daddy out and brothers and sisters that were in college so but it taught me some valuable lessons uh it taught me how to take care of things take care of business and take care of yourself and and your family let me say this too chuckster this it always seemed surreal to me anytime would sit in Dusty's office when I was you when I do play byplay um on our TBS games and you know we spent 15 minutes in a manager's office it always just was so surreal to be sitting across from this guy because all I could think about was tagging along with my dad at the Ballpark at Atlanta Stadium back when this guy was playing for the Braves and hitting behind Hank Aon and uh and and just to be walking around with Dusty Baker and Ralph gar and Hank Aaron and these guys was just you know it was it was a dreamlike thing as as a kid you know you're sitting here you know with your forearm on the batting cage watching these guys take BP and uh and then to be able to to be working and calling his games it was it was always it was always so strange and so wonderful and and and part of that is Dusty it's just gratifying to to see the career you had man and it's just I was so many Baseball fans were happy for you when you won a World Championship as a as a manager um and it all kind of came full circle for you and there was really nothing left although you tried again this year to do it but what told you what told you you know what enough's enough well you know uh actually speaking of Ralph gar to go back I was with Ralph gar yesterday he Liv here in Houston really yeah honestly with them today and uh and then I uh somebody sent me a a thing that I had done in 1973 with Ernie not not with Ernie not with your dad with Mel Hamilton an interview that I did 1973 yeah that's all over the Internet man and so anyway you know the the the thing about I kind of had made up my mind a little bit during the winter in January while I was packing because see it was a lot easier when I was managing in the town where I lived because all you did was pack for spring training and then you know you came home and then pack for the road but you know when you live in in in a in a different town than when you manag you got to pack for eight months and you got to pack warm stuff you gotta pack cold stuff you gotta pack shorts you gotta pack everything I hate packing I hate packing for any trips I'm telling you and see I'm that's what I've been doing the last three days packing now to go home home and then when I go back I got to unpack and some sometimes you get tired of you just get tired of being away from home and see I had been away I haven't been home since um February the 10th and uh you know I got a nice place I just got two new dogs right before I left four months old and my dogs when I get home my Hoggs they won't even know me they'll probably be growling at me and I'm like hey man I live here and I take your butt to the to the V and I clean up after you and so uh you know that kind of I started thinking about it and then you know we had a lot of success here Ernie and then uh and Charles and in the last couple months here you know wasn't very pleasant because we weren't we weren't uh 10 games ahead and and and you spoil people they think you're supposed to win this every year running away that's not like that you know every year is different and uh you know there was a whole bunch of like criticism from 30 year olds and bloggers and tweet and I'm not doing this and I don't know that and I told my wife I said you know I'm kind of tired of of of this and tired of scrutiny and if I could like you know if I could go manage show up at like six o'clock say 6:30 for a seven o'clock game and leave 30 minutes after the game don't do the pre and post stuff I can manage for another four or five years you know what I mean but but after a while you just get tired of just uh you know answering questions you get tired of just uh uh you know and then you not to mention you know like I had to have my my my uh pacemaker replac this summer I didn't miss any time you start thinking about your health you start thinking about your kids you start thinking about hey man you know how much and you see a lot of your friends die in and you haven't even really uh enjoyed your you know your life away from the game and uh so you you factor all that in and start thinking about it and you're like okay you know Lor's been good to me uh I've been away from home a whole bunch and then I really start thinking about those those grandchildren I got you know two two grandsons two and and four and uh so don't even get chuckster started on grandkids man I don't want to see myboy play yeah mo boy is in triple now with the you know with the national yeah so Char Char go ahead man I want to hear about these grandchildren cuz see I knew you and mo when before y'all was married see when I met Chuck at the at the war Hotel oh Philly in Philly right you know what's crazy Dusty you know two people I really listen to about things are Clark Kellogg and Ernie Johnson and I get the pleasure working with those guys they're like because I don't you know it not a lot of excite me I've had a lot of exciting things in life so not a lot going to make Chuck excited and go crazy and I'm like yeah I'm excited it's going to be be fun having grandkids blah blah blah and they're like no you don't understand it's going to change your life I'm like dude I told you I'm a little bit excited it's going to be all right and man little Henry is 16 months and little Charlie she's like six months Dusty it's the greatest thing ever it's the greatest thing ever man you Chang diapers no I didn't say it was that good uh oh man I don't change no diapers man hey D there in the diapers I think I was going to say if he was going to tell a lot okay so no I'm not going to tell a lie hey I got a question for you I sent you a text when when Mr Aaron passed what did Hank Aaron mean to you oh he meant everything to me I mean here's the reason I signed you know there are a couple turning points in your life and my parents had just gotten divorced uh uh uh right before I graduated from high school the same way that I got divorced after I got out of pro ball and uh uh uh Hank promised my mom they flew me and my mom the LA and he promised my mom that he would take care of me as if I was a son if I uh had enough confidence in myself to to sign a pro contract and be in the big leagues by the time my class would have graduated from college to go ahead and sign if not and go go on to college and then he prom my mom i' go to i' go back to school which I did in the winter time he promised my mom he'd make me go to church he'd make me like get up and eat breakfast and uh you know all would make me quit hanging out all night which I was couldn't wait to do and uh you know he just took care of me he took care of me and Ralph gar as I mean we were over his house every day and they fed us um you know like he would chastise me you know if he thought I was doing wrong you know he'd get in you know he'd get in my butt but um you know he was remain such you know until he died you know and his wife Billy uh you know whom I met when they first started started uh dating uh after he got divorced um I just talked to her a couple days ago and Hank has a a 2012 or 20 2016 BMW at 13,000 miles and she she wants me to have it you know she wants me to buy it I'm buy it and yeah and leave it before my son for you know to drive and spring training what did his 715th home run look like from the on Deck Circle where you stood yeah Where I Stood you know he used to tell me all the time you know always say man this guy's gonna throw me a slider away or he's gonna throw a fast ball up and in he's gonna go do this and do that and you know he didn't have no no uh laptop to go look back on on I mean he had it all in his brain I mean he knew every every pitch every wind up he knew I mean this guy had Total Recall he taught us Total Recall about about you know things in in the game and uh he said okay he's gonna throw me this I'm gonna get it over with I'm hit it out of the ballpark and I said okay heyk you know he wasn't predicted like Al Le like he was gonna knock him out in the third round but he knew always what he was doing and you know he was always in in control o o of the situation and uh you know Barry Bonds is probably as close to you know the Hank Aon type uh attitude and outlook on the on the game as I've ever seen why did Hank call you Daffy no it wasn't Hank call me Daffy it was uh it was a uh uh Satchel Paige called me Daffy oh really yeah Satchel Paige you know in ' 68 I September call up and nobody knew how old satch was he was trying to get the you know you had to get four years on the pinch and then to get fully vested and I think he needed like two or three months and so uh I was his caddy and so that you know like I'd carry his fishing bowls fishing rods I'd carry his suitcase and he promised me he's gonna give me a Fisher I a never gave me nothing and uh you know he's like hey Daffy go get my I said look man I didn't say man you know he was older than me you know I was talk reverence but I said I said satch please my name is Dusty he goes Daffy I know what your name is so I just answered I just answered to Daffy because you know back in those days everybody you know they give you a nickname whether you like the name or not right you don't right Charles them old dudes they give you the ni most just call me hey Fathead I'm like who's he talking to I was gonna say Fathead y so Fathead uh uh you got some more stories you know I I'll tell you this Dusty uh every I started call calling Moses dad like from like probably my fourth or fifth year in the league cuz he took me on his wing and made me lose 50 pounds and made me the player I was he was like Hank was to you Mr Aaron I never called him Hank I call him Mr Aaron he was like my Mr Aaron and a Bittersweet moment for me I saw Moses Friday night at the hall of fame and I got and every time I told him I said Dad I love you man thank you for everything and he and Moses did like son I love you too and then he died that was Friday night and they found he died that Sunday um and uh man it was and and I tell people one of the worst things I've had to do with my life was doing a eulogy at his funeral it was so tough but I got a chance to tell everybody what he meant to me and how much I loved him cuz man if it was for Moses I don't know where I'd be today right well the same for me and and you know one of the worst days that I had uh you know beside that well like today it's my brother's birthday you know he was a basketball player he got cut by The Warriors and he passed four years ago he was a madic depression a depressant that's why I give so much food to the homeless every day I give food to the homeless every day because we got a big homeless problem here in Houston uh uh big time and one of the other worst days beside my dad and mom passing was when my wife came in that morning and woke me up like six o'clock in the morning and told me that Hank Hank Aron was gone and I just I just couldn't believe it you know and uh I know we're all going to pass over but it still doesn't make it any easier and I'm just glad that I had as much time to spend you know with the hamler as I had indeed indeed who's the best player you ever played with the hammer the hammer Y and then the second best player nobody knows was Reggie Smith Reggie Smith could do he was second behind the hammer the best player I ever managed was was uh Barry boss best pitcher you ever faced Jr Richard Jr man gave me the blues I'm talking this guy man this guy was striking me out three times and he was my buddy you know you never was buddies with the pitches he strike me out three times in asone and then come around and pick me up by the bus so we can go out and I see him coming in the car and I trying to hurry up on the bus and he like hump b b you saw me get in the car and I'm like man I thought want to get in the car he said dude the game is over that's it over for you it ain't over for me I'm still mad about them three strikeouts you know what I mean so Jr was definitely oh yeah he gave me the blues and Raleigh fers gave me the blues too I mean man you hate when a guy got your number Charles who had your number Charles who had your number papy Jones I hate papey Jones to this day for some reason uh you you know Shaq Shaq talks about Big Country Big Country had his number I have no idea why papy Jones he got he kicked my butt every single time and I was like yeah I was like yo man just I don't know what I can do this dude just owns me but there's somebody who owns you no matter what sports you are yeah and there's somebody you own and it's not necessarily the best player that owns you which which player did you own which pitcher which pitcher probably Tom saver really see you would think it might be the other way around yeah where you might say the toughest guy ever face was Tom sver he's got all the credentials he's the Hall of Famer and I I see papey Jones now on the sidelines he still got them ears sticking out there you what I mean I know when I see him but you know I I remember asking Hank a I said Hammer who's the toughest guy you ever face and he told me uh Sandy kofax so I said really so I got to know sand kofax when I got to the Dodgers and I asked Sandy kofax who was the toughest that he ever faced and he told me bad Henry and that was Hammer's nickname I'm like well how can both of y'all say each other but that was just how much mutual respect that they had you know for each other you know I uh I got a chance to have dinner with sand kofax a couple years ago because I had a bucket list one of my mentors is Billy Cunningham he's awesome and we were playing golf one day I I guess I'd watched a baseball game I say yo man I I was watching a baseball game sandic kofax is on my bucket list I never met Sandy kofax you know because you want to meet these Legends like when I met Mr Aaron actually a friend of mine who worked for the 76ers became his personal assistant and I says hey uh and he treated me great I probably met him 10 times and it was like royalty every time but Billy Cunningham says me you want to meet sandic kofx I said I would love to meet s kofac he said well you know we went to school together I said what and we went out to dinner we went out to dinner in Philly about three summers ago and it was so humble he was so humble and so nice and like when you meet somebody like that and they're so awesome you you just like man that was worth the tweet it changes your outlook on how you treat people yes you know what I mean and so and I tell people like Sandy kofax Brock and Hank Aaron were the most three humble superstars in baseball that I ever met because I never heard him brag you never heard him talk about anything that they did mean you know if I was Han gar I'd be walking around tell people I was baddest dude in the whole world I said that exact same thing about Wayne gresy and Tom Brady they're the goats in their Sports every time you meet them they make you feel like they're like normal and I'm saying to myself you do know you Tom Brady right that's what I'm saying under my breath but but Tom and Wayne if you're saying the same thing about Mr Aaron and those guys it man it it just makes you feel good I never heard him brag you know what I mean never hey we've talked about or mentioned your son Darren um people will remember back to the 2002 World Series Chu you remember this oh yeah JT snow snowt remember scooping up your son at home plate in the middle of a world Series game so how much do you have to talk about that what and when did you realize what had gone on there Dusty well you know he didn't you know he doesn't even remember that because he was three years old you remember it yeah well I remember it because see I believe in having those kids in the in the Dugout you know let you know it's like having a a kid on the set actor have his kids on the set and uh plus I had had I found out I had cancer answer uh that December before the season started and then I had a prostate operation and so I didn't know you know if I was even gonna live um I'm tell you the truth uh the the most scariest moment in your life is when they tell you you got cancer and you can't believe it at a young age and so uh I was gon to try to give my son everything I could before just in case you know I didn't make it through that and uh uh right before that game I'm mother she calls me she goes Dusty I got a bad feeling and I said here we go so I said what mama he says well I don't think he should be the bat boy tonight I said come on Mama he's done this like 20 times he go no listen to me well when he almost got run over I thought oh Lord I'mma hear from a mama so I get back in I get back in the club house and the phone ringing I said oh I ain't answering that so I pick it up that's Ste I told you you don't listen to me you got listen to your M I said Mom I got to go cuz I said the Press is coming in here she goes oh no you tell that press to wait you'll hear what I got to say and and you know your mama get on you oh yeah man she don't if you 52 or if you're 12 it's the same D thing but uh that's something that you know they change the rules because of my son but and and I'm just glad that you know he loves it fell in love with it then and sticking with it and and trying to make his mark on the work yeah I saw that he brought the lineup card out at a uh at a spring training game he brought the lineup card out for uh Washington and you were at the plate what that what was that moment like for you well that was pretty cool I mean that was really cool I mean and see things go full circle you know he graduated from Cal played baseball over there and uh you know him to bring the lineup card out Davey Martinez arranged it on the other side I didn't even know it I just saw man who's this kid bringing the line then I saw him cuz he was in Big League camp and uh you know that was and we trained at the same stadium where I started my career at in West Palm Beach with the Braves wow it's a different location but we share a stadium with the Nationals they go to the right then I go to the left and he actually told me he said Dad I want to be your I'd like to live with you during spring training and I'm like really because you know I love my daddy but I don't think I can live my d tell me when to come on come in what to do and everything yeah I said you sure he goes oh yeah Dad I want to live with that I said okay no dishes in the sink okay no towels on the floor you gota make up your bed in the morning you know we you got to have a Chuck you know it's tough having a dirty roommate nothing worse than that and so I said I ain't having no dirty roommate son or no son so he was pretty good about it and then he brought the lineup card out uh and then he hadit a grand slam off us the beat us really in that yeah pinch hit Grand Slam and then he's looking at me coming around third I'm like man I ain't looking at you and so everybody in the Dugout was like hey man I didn't know where to clap had my head down or what because you know my picture just gave up the you know the winning Grand Slam to my son and so when I got him home that night he goes damn how come you didn't even look at me I said what was I supposed to do jump up and down I said cuz my picture feeling bad but that was a you know that was a a special moment for us last thing I got to ask him a serious question first okay cuz mine's not serious okay yeah you going to let I'll let you let me ask a serious question you know with your success in cedo Gaston same thing in every sport lack of minority coaches do you what what can be done uh to to make sure more guys more black coaches get an opportunity to be in youc those shoes winning the World Series yeah hey Charles that's a great question because I've been trying to answer that question for 20 years and uh you know you cannot make an owner hire anybody you know you can you can uh put guys in front of them uh but there's uh certain pressures sometimes that from their country club from their this or that or the Kanas Club whatever um I really don't know first you got to have guys in the pipeline you know what I mean in order and and to be hired most of the time you have to have somebody like I had Al Rosen you know you go and and and Peter myy you gotta have somebody white that's not afraid to to to trust you with his Club you know because because if you're waiting on somebody black to hire you they're no black owners you know so so you got to have somebody that's not afraid and also trust you as a person trust your leadership uh uh and and willing to give you some you know some time see most of the time Charles we're gonna inherit a bad team you're gonna inherit a a last place team I mean this me inheriting Houston was a first place team but man we had more problems when I got here than the law allows so you know there's always something most the time you're not going to get no first division team that that's going to let you uh you know I look at doc Doc Rivers or in the NBA and some of the guys that I see the you know Sacramento Kings I mean you know there's a few but we need more and I'm hoping that the better I do the better C Gast does the better Dave Roberts does especially in baseball which is more conservative than basketball I'm hoping that opportunities come and and and really the scrutiny the the the social pressure and all that seemed like it doesn't really do any good last thing and that was a great answer by the way your memories of the first ever high five because you were part of it because we'd seen low fives but never a high five until you and Glen Burke right in LA but you know Ernie Glenn Burke invented it everybody gave me credit for it I hit a whole run off Jr I mean that's he was my Nemesis Reggie Smith told him I was going to hit it off him on Thursday I said Reggie he don't need no help track me so I ended up hitting the home run off him and then Glenn Burke was on deck and then Glenn Glenn came up and threw his hand up I just it is his hand that's that I swear that is how the whole thing started I don't know I heard magic said he thought he he invented the I you know magic invented everything you know Bo but but uh hey man I I uh I uh I don't know Ernie I was just doing you know something this is off subject a little bit but you know one of the greatest Texas I got uh uh upon retirement was uh was some Snoop Dog and uh you know I heard from Snoop I heard from trade the truth I heard from uh uh uh wall wall wants to send me a Paul Wall want to send me a grill can you see me with a grill on no no we don't no Grill no Grill no Grill yes on not said so what look like 74 years old walk around with a grill I I put that Grill in my pocket go spend hey man I just want to tell you this you know one of my great friends who passed away was Jill Morgan he said he called his dad the day he was going to meet Jackie Robinson he said dad what do I say to Jackie Robinson he says just say thank you and from all the brothers out here man I just want to say thank you as a player as a manager the way you carried yourself all these years thank you for being being you well thank you and you know something sometime when I'm in a game and I'm having a tough decision to make I'm talking to Joe Morgan Hank Aaron Kurt flood you know Al Kine and some of these greats of the game that came you know before me because Joe was Joe was one of my mentors that I could run stuff by and I knew that I'd get the truth uh uh and that's and that's great that you mentioned Joe Morgan because see a lot of these guys that have that have come and gone you know people forget about them you know I think about the Willie starel And Willie mccovy and all these me I had some bad I came in contact with some bad bad dudes along the way you know even you know Bob Gibson who I was scared to death of the only man in the world I was scared of than my daddy and uh you know I'm like man these cats you know they they out mold me and and and my dad like he told me he said Son said dad what do I do with this he says son it's it's not yours to possess it's yours to pass on to somebody else and so this is just what I've tried to do Dusty bck you're one of a kind man we appreciate so much you taking such a big chunk of time to to talk to us here on CH of time he ain't got nothing to do oh come on man it's 24 hours it's 24 hours in a day what the hell he got to do he got 23 hey he Dusty you know where I was coming from man I was sincere D Dusty I'm not sincere you got 23 and a half hours left so good luck with the rest of your day okay well Char you kill me hey oh man welcome to my world Dusty welcome to my world man I love you man be safe later man down what a good dude man what a great life great stories cuz you know how about how about a guy who can talk about Hank eron and Satchel pige Willie mccovy yeah he's Willie mccovy hey Daffy I know what your name is I mean when he says Satchel Page yeah it reminds me when I'm playing golf with Gary Player he'll be like yeah I was talking to Nels Mandela one day I was say are you serious right now he just like skipped right by it I just he said Satchel Page when Gary players say Nelson president Mandela he's like wow history thank you Dusty Baker Chuck and Ernie in the steam room come and join us in the steam room Chuck and Ernie in the steam room leave your tow on in the steam room Chuck and Ernie in the steam room Chuck and Ernie in the steam room leave your tow on in the Ste room just occurred to me chuckster that I didn't tell either of our guests today Dusty to Draymond Green to keep their towel on well you you entitled to a mistake so this is the first call of the new season first uh answering machine that that's a call fool yeah the first answering well it's we don't call the segment the call we call it the answering machine you know what I meant when I said first call you know what I meant too didn't you you're just trying to be difficult no I was just why don't you give folks the number to call for the answering machine what's the number 404 yes Ernie no what what is it Ernie 404 yes 987 987 1065 okay that was close 44987 0330 not close at all as a matter of fact let's see what we got hello world this is Charles Barkley leave me a message hi Charles it's Taco again the 18-year-old from Hong Kong currently studying in the UK still a loyal schemer since 2019 for someone who isn't from the US and hasn't grown their own brand yet your words about not holding on to your own baggage not caring about what other people think meant a lot to me I can't explain the amount of times I've looped that clip it's it's it's insane my question for you guys today is about networking so I've built some connections already I've had great interactions but how can someone with as little credibility as I do as little publicity as I do get over that hump much love guys thank you so much wow that is a uh that's a tough question from Paco um what I love the question about like people's Rudy Tom jist was great to me when I was in Houston when I couldn't play anymore he was always great to me but he always talked about Chuck only control what you can control anything else is excessive baggage and just going to stress you out the only person you can control is you can't get mad at this guy this guy that guy you have to control your own and that it do that actually frees you up to pick it back on his first part of the question like it frees you up cuz if you spend all your time wor about other people's crap you would go crazy but the only person you can control is yourself right but to get back to his question about networking man you have to keep trying I remember reading about JK rowlings she sent that Harry Potter book she got turned down I think 15 times before it became the biggest book in the world and I was just thinking about that one when she was on I forget what show she was on this is way back too before the Harry Potter books exploded on and became the biggest thing in the world but she said she says yeah 15 people turned me down 15 companies turned me down before somebody took a chance on it so when it comes to networking a guy asked me that question last night I said the number one thing you have to do is surround yourself with good people because for me personally every conversation starts like Chuck I got a way we can make a lot of money and I like yeah that's a red flag right there for me it's going to take a lot of my money it's going to take my money for us to make someone for money if we lose it I'm the only one losing money so I think the main thing you have to make sure you surround yourself with good people and like take chances that's all you can do yeah and for for somebody like Paco who's young and trying to get in the in the business world and doesn't really have you know isn't can't surround himself with good people to do this and that yeah it's just a perseverance thing too and being unafraid to just to reach out I mean here's an example like last week we're in Denver doing that show and we had you know the big crowd behind the set M and one of those college kids we were doing it on a college campus there and after one of the halftime shows one of these college kids just kept trying to get my attention and TR you know kept trying to get my said yeah what and said I've got to write a I've got to write a a story or write a paper for my marketing class and I've got to interview somebody and I'd love to interview you can we do that and I was like when do you want to do this I have to do it before November 20th so tomorrow I'm doing an hourlong Zoom with this student that's awesome to and you never know who is going to say yes to something like that you know and so when you have opportunities and you know keep sending things out I mean it's the worst I can say is yeah or yeah or they can ignore it or every now and then you may get a response you know you know who's one of the greatest of all time it's like Doc emck you know the great hockey announcer who would spend a big chunk of his summer just analyzing young people's hockey tapes wow and he would encourage him and he would give out his number and he said here's here's what you need to do and here's my email address send me your video wow and he would do it so I met him it was like royalty yeah so it's it's doable but it's but you got to really really really stick to it and not get not get U bummed over maybe not getting the results you want right away oh you know what I forgot something too Ernie um uh when I was doing first of all I want to give a shout out to Barry meros yeah uh you know I've always said this I think Baron marose was the best guy on television in his hockey analysis and man uh I just want to give him and his family the best I know he announced his retirement from public life because he's got I want to say Parkinson and man he uh the few times I met him man what just a awesome guy loved hockey and people know how much I love hockey but uh I i' would be remiss if I didn't mention the Great Bear Rose I sent him a text and just tell him man thank you for being the best and thank you for loving Sports so shout out to Bar marose you got it uh next call hey talking Ernie this is Warren CH thir of the 2023 I to pop LIF every voice Fellowship recipient and Senior at Northwestern University I just wanted to call in and thank you both and express my gratitude for the impact both you had during opening night my fellowship and even the tips you all gave me I mean one that really spit out to me was during the second game we were in The Green Room and the first thing Chuck said to to me was you got to relax out there man and about my interview with Aaron Gordon and it was crazy this is a real moment to me because one this is Charles spk was Ching me but also he was talking about my interview and helping me get better at my craft so I appreciated it because you know although you complimented the job I did you emphasized a cute part in interviews that treating interviewers or interviewees like it's a conversation um and I think that's something I've noticed brings out even better answers for players and makes them even more comfortable so uh thank you both uh again for making opening night so special for me and if I have to leave a question I want to go back to opening night there was a python to you all's next and of course you all's reactions look Priceless but what would it take for you all to allow the snake to be on your extra five more minutes look I wore that thing and it was I figured this snake Handler is not going to put this snake around my neck if there was any chance things were not going to turn out well so I was like okay fine put it on me and then it started conried well it didn't really I think maybe the guy was messing with me I don't think so cuz I was sitting there well I was standing there and I was like I think that thing is starting to constrict cuz he started going up well he was yeah I know he Wasing at me but no he started going up and I and like not that I'm a snake expert I like oh it looks like he's getting ready to then right the guy came over I he was getting ready to constrict okay I mean and and let me tell you something I would have laughed my ass off he had have just choke the life out of you live on television wouldn't that have been something that would have gone viral you know we would have got some you know some views as they call it yeah that would have been views but hey young man number one shout out to Oscar Pope uh I think it's great what TNT does with a Lift Every Voice Lift Every Voice and Young Gun hey man you got some Talent just got to work hard you know people ask me about that all the time and I said hey man just relax you got he was so up tired no man you got to relax because he did a good job with he did a great job with the interview but I'm thinking too look chuckster and I'm thinking back to my TV career oh yeah if I were a senior when I was was a senior at the University of Georgia if they had put me on a national broadcast of a and said hey interview this guy I would have been nervous too Beyond nervous and that's all yeah he did great he did he did a hell of a job but like I say I'm I'm glad he took it like yo just relax a little bit and that's the way you know what and that's always my advice too to to H journalism students who I talk to all the time be your own worst critic and and if you're gonna ask somebody what they think yeah be prepared for hey relax more yeah or you need to do this and it's constructive and it's helpful y it's not be it's maybe not what you want to hear but it's what you need to hear so take it in the in the vein in which it is given because it's going to make you better in in the long run uh but Lawrence uh great job man great to have you as a team success yes do we have another one cap last one hi this is Randy from Long Island and I thought I'd just give you a little poem since I remember Ernie doing it one time longtime listener and loyal steema I just love my guys Ernie and Chuck you balance entertainment and wit with care for those down on their luck Charles first of all and number one I just love it when a song you unfurl cuz then I know without a doubt I'm the second worst singer in the world I also respect your maturity for you've grown greatly over the years and I so appreciate your antics like soap bar sides that brought me to tears Ernie you're excellent at your craft the anchor in your colleague storm the show's vessel is safe in your hands when they are crazy you are their norm and thank you for your book unscripted for it gave much on which to grab hold and for your wisdom about your mom for mine passed away one year ago most of all you're a great man of Faith with compassion your heart is furnished if your life has taught me just one thing it's The Importance of Being Earnest thanks guys love you byebye wow that was good that was uh good that was very impressive thanks for taking the time to do Long Island that's awesome man that is awesome apprciate the steamer yeah you know man we I told you this we've had so many great calls like that and you know when we first started doing this podcast I thought it was a stupidest thing ever and I'm going tell you something I really look forward to it and because other people number one the guests we have are incredible but when we get calls I mean I'll never forget the soldier who was like Hey I'm going through PTSD but you guys LIF my spirits the one lady who started walking listening to our podcast he had just gotten fired she says you know I was so depressed when I got fired and I started listening to y'all podcast just walking every day like stuff like that just brightens my day yeah no yeah and we look forward to another another season of that and you know and you know what's funny chuckster it's like uh over the summer uh you know our buddy Ben Ben spelic I don't know oh yeah okay so oh the little short ugly but Ben's like uh uh you uh you on board for another year of the steam room it's like of course yeah oh really oh good it's like of course we love this we love this this chunk of time every week Ben should go as Halloween like a troll cuz he's about the same height as one of those little troll things he just like put some like kind of makeup Ben I'm sorry I brought you up as part of this conversation I would have spared you it's my fault this stuff from the chucker is it my fault he's short no but it's your fault that you attacked him I attacked I just gave him a great Halloween costume idea anything else here on episode number one I cannot wait for B to hear it I cannot wait for episode number two I bet if Ben knows that number 44 oh B 987 0330 Ben may just be calling in the uh Chuck's answering machine next week Ben great seeing you again big guy yes sir brother all right see you on TV tonight look forward to it [Music]