The 6-1-1 Podcast: Phillies' legends Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins host CC Sabathia on first ep!

here we are Jimmy Rollins Ryan Howard welcoming you all to our new podcast the 611 where we like to go inside of player Stories We want to give these guys former players current players people that have nothing to do with baseball the opportunity to express themselves and share their stories maybe in a different way that they have before so we're looking forward to Bringing to you this new podcast with my man Ryan Howard who is uh the voice and when you hear him speak you'll see why illustrious intro as you can see this is what I've had to deal with over 13 plus years and I've had the honor of being next to this man on the field and now I have the honor of being next to this man on the microphone so what you going to have with this 611 podcast is we going to have a lot of fun cuz that's all we know how to do we just going to be ourselves we going to be Jimmy from the bay and Ryan from the STL baby because that's what we do I'm just a laidback cat from the Midwest baby that's all it is we're going to get on here we're going to have a lot of fun we're going to have some great interesting guests for you guys to allow them to come out share their stories as Jimmy mentioned and we're going to have fun doing it so it's going to be 611 Jimmy why 611 it's because my man here world number six now we're number 11 and together when we get together it's always actually I don't know what it always is but people always find it interesting so we like to bring that out in our guests you never know what we're going to get cuz we don't even know what we're going to bring to the table that day we just show up and it comes out naturally when you got a partner like Ryan with you magic happens I'm going give my Spiel on the number six I grew up wearing number six it was one of the numbers I wore when I was a little kid yes I was little Jimmy and then when I got to the big leagues my first number was 12 as soon as six was available I went to six and that's where you know I just wore the number six it fit it worked number six 2006 big year so we ran with it I didn't I I did not know that see I'm I'm learning about my partner that's that's the beauty of the show you put a mic in front of somebody and they just open up and tell you things that you've never known about them so that's what you're going to get from the 611 podcast of play on the 411 getting information extracting things but when you just let people talk you really get to find out who they are when you provide that environment where they can be comfortable uh in their shoes and you can build that trust they'll tell you things about them that maybe they haven't told before so we're looking for those stories looking forward to bringing you to 611 Ryan Howard Jimmy Rollins let's get it so as we kick off our first 611 podcast we're gonna kick it off with the big L homie cuz we got the big homie there you go AKA Ogle OG young James say it again Ryan AKA OG triple OG young James over here we going to kick it off with CC Sabathia we're going to tackle things on the past the present and the future and what he's doing and how he's going about it so we looking forward to get out here go talk to my man CC looking forward to getting out there Jimmy Rollins is now the franchise leader in face hits Brian Howard has completed an improvable come from behind Victory we here we are in here with the big little homie CC you know what I'm saying for real the big I'm I'm I'm the little homie but I'm the big homie I'm the eldest I'm the senior you are you know at the same but uh it's great to be here with you today big peace Ry uh CCE go way back like uh fish sticks and Cadillacs you know what I'm saying oh man see I've met you through my brother Antoine and I didn't think you were going to play baseball I really didn't I'm like this big talented kid there's no way in the world you're going to play baseball why would you but you made that decision what was that why baseball over I mean you could have played basketball you could have played football but you chose baseball I always love baseball like it was I mean I I love to play you know the other sports I played soccer too but baseball was just always the easiest you know what I'm saying like it was not the easiest in the way to play but just the easy is the way my mind worked like I always knew what bases to throw to I knew how to hit behind Runners like little things like nobody ever taught you but you just kind of know as a baseball player kind of came to me so it was just those little fundamentally things that like I always had to work harder at football you know what I'm saying I always had to work harder at basketball but like baseball just the just fell into place all the time right so it was seamless and growing up in valo um I tell this tell people this all the time like I play with nothing but like kids from my neighborhood you know what I'm saying like it was all of us playing baseball together so I mean I remember like one of my best friends now he moved from Richmond and moved to Val and we were in the second grade and I remember me and my boy Dave Bernstein we ran up to him was like what's your name he was like my name is Jason was like you play baseball and he was like nah and we was like we can't with you you know what I'm saying like that early like 9 years old like this is what we do if you're not doing this what you doing yeah like and he ended up signing up for baseball and then he was the homie you know what I'm saying so it just it was just in our blood and yeah I mean I love the other sports but baseball was just just in my heart I find it crazy to see like were you always big like bigger so to sit here to sit here and hear you say that baseball was the easiest you always a big or you sp yeah I was like the bigger kid so y got that in common but I didn't play football growing up were you like were you one of the biggest kids or were you the biggest the biggest kids I was one of the I was a bigger kid I was one of the bigger kids like my twin brother played with me growing up so he was always taller than me but like I was like you know little more pot belly I was always like that my mom had to travel with my birth certificate really yeah wow they thought you was cheating yeah she always like always thought I was a year up we were playing tenu they were like oh 12 see that's because he had the same beard that he had now back then he 12 years old what's crazy is that's why I asked you that I wasn't the biggest kid right I was like the fourth biggest kid in my little league right which is nuts but yeah so my mom always had to travel with my with my birth certificate that's crazy that's crazy that is crazy yeah I will say this like growing up kind of being one of the big the bigger kids like and being able to go and play and doing all that kind of stuff bro yeah you do get questioned a lot like hey it's cuz I did it I know coaching my daughter's softball team I'll be looking at some of these girls like yo bro we got to check some birth this this stuff same thing BR doing my daughter like crazy it's crazy it's crazy bro did both of y'all play other sports growing up too so yeah I I played basketball I played football but that stopped and Pop Warner story around that when we grew up you played all sports whatever season it was that's what you were doing you weren't trying to specialize it wasn't no penalty well you got to play for my fall team if you going to play for my summer team play for my winter team no whatever sport was in you played so I was quarterback uh in um football nobody nobody throw qub first of all I was the same height thing as I am now so I was good the same I nobody could throw and I'm like you know I'm I'm a Niner fan IW watching Joe Montana Jerry Rice I'm like give me the ball just run and we had the fastest dude on the team Jonathan Tatum who was Jack Tatum's nephew who played for the Raiders and couldn't nobody see him first play of the game was like a 45 post it's like just I know where you going I'm just going to throw it out there I know you run run under and nobody can could keep up with him so that so we did that until I got to high school my fault I don't know if they'll let me play anyway but my fault I said mom look I'm tired we playing I'm playing basketball football baseball there was no off season and I'm just tired and we're in football season I if we were in basketball season I had this mindset I probably wouldn't have played basketball well I would but I would have said the same thing I said if we win this championship game I'll quit football we won a championship game so now we going to High School eighth grade so now we going in high school right and so we're I'm out there at the field taking ground balls doing football season with my dad because we know the baseball coach is the assistant football coach so you just want to have him see me he comes over my dad's like yeah this going to be your next short stop and he started laughing right and they're having a conversation but I'm not even worried about their conversation I'm looking at the field like why in the hell are you playing baseball like you the only fool out there playing baseball it's football season foot straight up though you know I'm smelling the grass I'm hearing helmets clack clack I go get a permission slip I was like Dad I need you to sign this permission slip so I can play football it's like oh go ask your mom I'm like all right cool didn't really think nothing of it ask my mom mom I need to sign this permission slip um to play football go ask your dad I was like he just told me to come ask you and and I looked at her I already knew what was happening she's like baby you remember that promise you made me that uh you quit playing football if y'all won a championship before she said that I really did not remember but as soon as she said that promise it was like um no she's like well I do and that was it I just wanted one one Friday night that was it I just wanted to run out the smoke break the banner the cheerleaders the whole N I still get that feeling like in in August when it's like football like just hearing like the crack of the helmets and like damn I miss football but I was the reverse of you so I didn't play pop warner like I was I was too fat so they had the weight limit so it was a weight limit like you know what I mean so I was always over the weight limit so that's why I played soccer so I didn't start playing football until I was a freshman in high school that was my first year I went out as a freshman and you a varsity as as a freshman Varity quarterback as a freshman and I realized like if I just did conditioning for football that's the only condition I got to do cu runs in the basketball basketball runs in the baseball I Ain got to do no extra running like all I got to do is condition two days in August and I'm good like so I played all three all the way through because I was lazy and didn't want to do condition cuz he was lazy cuz he was lazy yeah cuz see I was like you see cuz I never played football at the pop warner levels I played freshman and sophomore year you were too big also no my mom wouldn't let me play oh wow so cuz my older brother had played Pop Warner and all that kind of stuff and when he was growing but then he didn't play in high school or anything anything like that I wanted to play pop warner but she wouldn't let me play so we played baseball basketball soccer played that all the way up two and through High School stopped playing soccer in eighth grade man I did marching band bro you play soccer too I did I did it makes s because you can dance got some footwork and you know what's crazy is like when you big like us if you put your kid in soccer they don't go through that awkward phase of like growing and like they Fe you know what I mean there was no awkward stage with me because I was always using my yeah so basketball like I had good footwork because I can play you know what I'm saying I've been playing soccer my whole life so it works for kids that are bigger and are going to be a little uncoordinated I I well there you go lesson learn if you a big kid play soccer yeah that's the first sport you should play if you showy like me you can do whatever hey alijan bro dun scho lot of body control a lot of body control that way as as as K say major key major key know that indeed but but that that brings us here see it's been an honor all the years playing against you we got you and you got us you know you got us on the big stage and this one thing I can't say just you know between you know some Bay Area kids and you know R we love you too dog that all of us that made it up got R got a ring yeah we got a ring yeah TR was first and he was the baby yeah tril was first with the Marlins and we got ours in 08 and you got yours in 09 and then even Pat I mean I mean even Pat bur you know what I'm saying like smon got one last year was on N did y'all's pass ever cross playing against each other or or or did you play against like dra train or no because so we were we all two years apart so Jim's two years older than me and I'm two years older than TR so so tr's four years older than Jim we all played on the same team right different levels at different times me and Antoine uh Jimmy's little brother played together h yeah me Me andan grew up together playing together all over the place whether it was NorCal Junior Olympic World Series all that like we played they don't have that anymore I remember like the coaches used to come pick me and and uh Tuan and my cousin Joey up it was just us three like it was us us three and the rest of the team was all was was all white boys we played in Sacramento I was me no yeah you was it was just you but I remember the very first day the coach came picked us up Twan got picked up first then me and me and Joey get in the car kind of a quiet ride we riding all the way from my house of Sacramento it's like 60 Mi like an hour it's quiet we get out there it's just us three you know what I'm saying and this team has been playing together for years like you know they adding us three to the team so we get there and nobody said a word to us like we get there we stretch we warm up no not like nobody on the team said a word we play catch do whatever this guy hits us first second and third like in the lineup on a team that's already like a great team you know what I'm saying hits his first second and third Jo leads off with a bun single Tuan hits a double and then I hit up I get up and hit a ball 500 feet and then everybody now everybody we good everybody oh these guys are you going to help us win and but I remember that very first day like and it was just you know but me and Twan went through that all the time where they was coming to pick us up and we going to play on these random teams and just like flying in to go win games for real I was one and and and that's and that's in a bay area where we were rich in baseball yeah but I'm glad you brought that experience up what was your experience like you know if if you had that experience playing that travel ball and you showing up and it's like bro I'm one of one I'm one of two this situation one of three BR if that it was one of one of two maybe cuz it was myself and then my brother a lot of the times and then we ran into a couple other black kids that were like twins because I'm a twin so wherever I was playing my brother was playing and then we ran into some other kids two black twins so we were on the team and we basically it was like us four until the two brothers had dropped off so my brother and then my boy's brother dropped off so then it was just us two and it was all the way up through college bro it was like once I got to college and played it was funny I signed on late went to Missouri State University at the time it was Southwest Missouri State so we had a baseball meeting I was basically a recruited walk- on and uh get in there there get in the meeting and I look over and I see another black dude right we look at each other he's he's my boy to this day bro it was like that one movie and we was like I'm supposed to be the token black dude on this team like like what like what are you doing here bro like we were just looking at each other like bro but in our league which was a Missouri Valley Conference there was we recruited another kid my boy D Brink Dante Brinkley and we recruited him and we had three black dudes and at that time we were only three black dudes in the entire league oh wow at that time so it was it was the norm like growing up and being like one of one or one of two or one of three on those competitive teams like that for us like growing up in the bay we all played that's what I'm saying I don't think I would have played baseball had not the like the kids in my hood played you know what I'm saying like it it wouldn't it wouldn't have been as attractive to me if I had to go somewhere outside of my hood to play baseball that was the sport see but I played so I grew up was more predominantly white area so the baseball in that in that area was obviously it was it was better now I played basketball like on all black basketball team that we would also switch over to baseball clearly like that team baseballwise was not on the level of where I was playing like with my white teammates but we all got out to play baseball because again everything was seasonal right so it was like yo you got to be doing something if it's not basketball and then it's baseball and then it's whatever you would do in the fall but like clearly it was one of those things to where where I grew up like that area where I grew up was where baseball basically reigned Supreme I mean that area I mean y'all I'm sure had a bunch of guys that came came out came from the league to the league and winning and stuff like my rival High School Max sherzer went to one of the Rival high schools out there I went to school with David freeze like he was two years behind me so you had talent coming out of St Louis where normally you didn't have talent like that before you know it was always Texas California Florida like we always got overlooked and people used to tell me all the time man well actually we had maybe four or five Scouts consistently we had a ranger Scout a brave Scout Philly Scout giant Scout that would come down so you playing for one of them 14 one yeah no Cardinal Scouts bro and my school was three hours from St Louis none cuz they always looked at California stuff and I got the opportunity to hit one time with Albert and Mike mathian and some guys and whatnot and Marty Meyer who was like I think at the time he was like the head of minor leagues for the Cardinals or something like that and he came in he's like man how do we miss you like it's like bro y'all never had any any Scouts same thing with us with the giant I remember the first time I remember the first time I saw you I was like damn and then like even like I face you in spring training we were in Winter Haven I tell the story all the time man I mean cuz you know I never had problems with lefties so I'm like oh it's a lefty whatever like see we got we got to we got to preface this though first I'm listening as as we go into we got we got prefaces first cuz I remember we were in Whitner Haven yeah and I came up to see because they were like I was like who's starting today it's like CeCe starting I was like all right cool I go up to see I was like see bro you pitching today he's like yeah man I was like hey bro don't be afraid man like give me at least one fast bro first pitch Ambush took him pitch fast bro took him out he looked at me he looked at me just like straight set up everything that day and I remember it was the same thing like when I faced Robbie k for the first time I was just like it's a complete hitter because as a lefty like I can see where I get you out there was nowhere to get him out you know what I'm saying like he hit that he hit that first pitch out and I was like all right let me try fast ball away he hit the ball off the wall the left Center I'm like Jesus what the is going on next that b throw him a slider Off the Wall I'm like I me there's there's nowhere to get him out you know what I'm saying as a lefty it was like it was pretty crazy yeah the coverage that you had no man it was it was one of those things I always loved hitting against lefties the one thing for me was I always stood off you like lefties I did bro cuz I was like I wish I would have known that but if you ever notice bro if you ever notice like where I stood in the Box I stood way off the plate so it's like you hit me like you messed up yeah you had a 40 inch bat bro yeah I did that it never felt like you could reach that ball away but you could that's where it was it was I had to hit him with the oky do because for me like my go-to was trying to go Gap to Gap opposite field so anything you tried to throw me in like was basically middle everything over the middle of the plate was was middle to a away so it allowed me to get my hand extended and go through so it's like but did you like the ball in you never like the ball I didn't really like the ball never pulled I feel like most hitters don't really I never like I never like I like yeah I mean you and like the guys with the quick hands like Chef or whoever else you know what I'm saying but like for the most part guys want the ball like out over the pl get that get that Barrel extension yeah but okay here we go see we got a clip up here man oh I want you to look at this we going to run it this is world serious yall up two games one somebody's on first base what just happened see what happened what just happened what just happened speed kills speed kills oh is that r no way we that no way hey I forgot to slide bro let me see look at this jump see you see you see the blatant disrespect I thought that was Goofy I thought that was Jim you see the blatant disrespect he ain't even look boy what is he doing look look at G even G got a late break hilarious G got a late break he got a late break BR none of us remembered that I didn't even remember remember that he was like still off I'm like when I'm like when he's with that's what I said with Milwaukee right I was like World Series cuz at this point cuz this was what game G four okay cuz obviously like was that the game they cheated and said A-Rod hit the home run that ball went out hit the camera that ball hit the camera one that camera a foot a foot in front of the fence this the game okay okay I just want put that on record put that on record Charlie Charlie was like hey he better be glad he's safe son you better be glad he made it slide right there that's crazy that was it bro back at that right they like you know we hear about athletes that have they can pull up any moment in the game plays Etc can how do we forget that Ryan Howard second standing up in the world I forgot I forgot bro I forgot I should have slid right there made it look even better right there bro no was in there like for those games man it was insane I mean it was even louder than 08 like I remember going in 08 and pitching in 08 but in the World Series in 09 it was crazy how like loud yeah how loud it was I remember that being the loudest place that I pitched in I mean I pitched in Metrodome that that I pitched in Anaheim that year but when we got to to Philly it was it was it was crazy crazy it was it's it was one of those places to where just the complete atmosphere and just the Rumblings of it all and I hadn't been here long obviously it my first year so I didn't know how close in proximity Philly was to us like half the people in Jersey or Philly I didn't know any of that it was rude to me you know what I'm saying so half my my neighborhood's got Philly Flags I'm like what the is going on you know what I'm saying like but that was cool it was cool to play against both of y'all but it was it was even cool to have the World Series be Philly Yankees yeah I I I love this taking that train ride up and down getting off MSG you bus is right there and they looking at us like okay man you know what I'm saying like they they knew we was something to play with but they if they if they could have had something in their hands and hit us over the head let me tell you that scariest uh traveling I ever did when we we took the train to Philly after game two but we flew we we took the Train the next morning and we all had our families I think l c was like five I don't even think Carter wasn't even born yet sa was one she was a baby and I'm walking I got Lil C's hand and I got sa and we everybody's got like bags and all that stuff we come up the escalator in the uh train station in Philly and and the whole city was there like I didn't you know it was all Philly fans in there screaming and going like going nuts scared me to death like I wasn't prepared for that you know what I'm saying like I didn't know that they was going to get our bus our our our train it was it Ser doing Yankee F do research too it resarch they be on you crazy they be on you let's go back the year prior right 2008 2008 we got we got a couple things great great year first off I mean tell me a little bit you know obviously we saw each other in in 2008 in the postseason I think you had pitched like the last seven games in a row you know coming in cuz you had just come over right and come to Milwaukee and obviously help propel them to the spot that they were to be able to make the playoffs I think for the first time in like 20 something years yeah some 20 some odd years let let me pause you for a second and in that short run what he did was so incredible so incredible he was considered for MVP oh no no absolutely absolutely that's what I'm saying I mean and less than half a season that's how incredible it was I just want to make that that doesn't you know go under under I mean not to take anything away from what the rest of the team did but clearly like you coming over there like man bro you coming over there and basically you helped get them over the hump and we're a very very the main reason in my opinion as to why they were able to do what they did because we were like oh cce's pitching on three days rest like for the third time in a week like like what are we doing real he got at some point he got he got a got it was really one pitch yeah so going back to 2008 and we're gonna touch on first off let's touch on this I know where you going take us take us into the visiting Dugout the cheese steak situation can you can you tell us a little bit about I hadn't never been in the national league right so I for one I didn't know you guys were that good I'm going to be completely honest I didn't like cuz we hadn't played y'all right you know what I'm saying so I didn't I didn't see y roster I wasn't looking at y' roster so I didn't think that you guys were as good as you were but yeah one going into first of all the visiting Clubhouse has the best cheese steaks in Philly I don't know if y'all know that but 1,000 hands down that's the best chees we did in the in the city by the way just we couldn't get them on the home side right because we knew what they they we knew what they did them on the home side that's the whole point we have to sneak we have to sneak guys over like hey tell them we want a Chate for Jimmy Ryan and Shane right we couldn't order we couldn't get them for good reason oh no but they cuz they were logs in your stomach and we get to me Prince I mean Cory Hart we get to Philly we feeling good like we just you know what I mean like we just made the playoffs we ordered so many cheese steaks bro we couldn't even move how many did y'all take down I think we took down 28 in those three days we were there for three days didn't think nothing of it couldn't move bro you can't can't move when you eat those things when we came back the next year in 09 I heard I heard I heard Joe took him out the club heard I heard Joe took him out the clubhouse I heard yeah so I learned from my experience the year before that trap yeah and then then y'all cheated on the damn home run but we you know it's whatever it's in the books it's in the book they call it a home run they say it's a home run right you know what I'm saying right n yeah that was crazy uh getting to Philly that year in '08 and man cuz like I said I had I had never really been there know um and yeah I mean we were we were just in a good mood and got a little too excited no but Y no y'all were y'all were good though yeah yeah we were good we were young though was we had got there the year prior so like our first year now is like we know what it's like and that was you guys as as a group getting together your first year where it's like yeah you feeling good and you turn around and it's like we're home already and and it's a bad feeling but on on talk about the game that you pitched like we knew you were coming in on short rest but that was no discount to us we knew what we had to deal with it's like he's doing us one on adrenaline too because he's saying I'm putting this team on my back and everybody knows that and not that stature has something to do with it but with you being such a big person as as in a personality it's like if anybody can do it he can so we came in knowing knowing we had our hands full and then it comes really down to one inning and in one one inning and a big what it was it was the Brett Myers at back Brett Myers at back walk us through that and I was just I was exhausted man like I was just like do whatever you going to do you know what I'm saying like I'm tired of you fing balls off like just put the ball in play hit a triple hit a home I don't give a like I don't care like I was over it you know what I'm saying and when I get into that spot is usually it was it was just like my train of thought like I was just gone you know what I'm saying like but that at bat like I I was exhausted like I I really was like I was done after after that however many pitch bad and then I walked him 10 10 11 or what and then you came up I don't even know what happened after that no I was Shane so which set the stage for Shane no you came up you came up first came then I came up either I don't know if I loaded the B Shane was second Shane was yeah so I maybe even walked you yeah I think so went back back I was but but that Brett Myers a bat like it just killed me like I was I was out of gas whatever gas I had left that was whatever was gone no matter what happened after that in it was over like I'm done I was done we knew was toast we knew like at that point because it set the stage for Shane to come up and then obviously as you said like Shane goes up hits the Grand Slam crowds going crazy I think pitch yeah slider and that was loudest I've ever heard it heard it so L it was so loud my my heart just sunk it was I knew it was it was over like right I'm not trying to be funny but like that we were at that point where like I had to win the I had to win my game you know what I'm saying so like if I didn't win that we we not going to win a game you know what I mean so we knew cuz we knew we were like hey if we can get Cece it's over it's a w it's a w we'll get these cats we will get these C we and I and I felt that you know what I'm saying I don't know if everybody else felt like that but that's what I was carrying no we felt look your team we other side is like if he wins we know what it does them for us yeah was we was I mean for them and you when I say battle it was like we like bro he he coming in whatever he have left in his tank he's given oh yeah I mean you know me I'm going compete bro like that I mean if I don't have nothing I'mma I'mma try to fake it till you know what I'm saying like I'm I'm that's just what I do I think that's what made me good is not so much my stuff is just me wanting to win and I'll compete I'll compete to the end no matter what playing doing whatever right now like I'm not going to quit you know what I'm saying and I think like think that's what that's made me who I am but it also was a double ass sword because then like that happens you know what I'm saying where like they come out and you're like you good yeah I'm good you ain't good bro but you know what though but it's but but it goes kind of to the errors of the game right because we're cut from that cloth like we were always we grew up like bro you don't quit you out my hand you going have to come get this don't ask me bro come take the ball you know what I'm saying if you ask me I'm always good right that was like a game I had against the Astros earlier in that year in 08 I threw 140 something pitches cuz Ned Yoap ask me am I good yeah I'm good I'm good we were up like 12 to nothing he left me game the whole game but because I kept telling him I'm good you can't ask me because I'm going keep telling you I'm going be you're not going to come out a whole different breed of guys never going to come out let me ask you this when when was the last time you actually saw that video and I can tell you what it's like on our side because the video of the hom run yeah the Home Run I see that every when Shane post that playoff season he post he do post it he do post it I'm not going to lie hey but but I remember you know it's it's kind of like you know obviously you you know you a little homie and it's one of those situations like in any situation I'm pulling for you oh no no no no it's like and I got to get you and it's like I'm celebrating but it's like but damn that's the homie but you know saying know my boys I want to beat you even more no I want to beat you you know what I'm saying like and like but it it just it just it was that moment that like okay you gave up you gave up and and and it was going to everything that all the work that you put into that moment yeah and it was like as you said at that moment we knew on our side that that was the end of his run here and you know it was crazy I remember walking out and seeing your mom and dad after the game and like she gave me a big hug and she was like you did what you could do you know what I'm saying like my mom wasn't there like it was your mom the one that told me like it's all right yeah you know what I'm saying but yeah that was a real moment me and your mom and your parents like she gave she gave me a hug and she was like you did whatever you could do you know what I'm saying like but yeah I mean it was it was that was tough that was a tough one you made up for it for it the next year next year hey I ain't going lie bro Hey listen to grown man scream on on they that that that is the worst feeling we've all been there listen to grown men scream like little I was always the guy that watched other team celebrate you know what I'm saying can't help yeah I always stood out there and like w I hated that but I couldn't like I just couldn't believe take your eyes off like and it's over it's over what could I have done differently like what could and there and there nothing that could have happened differently because that's the way it was supposed to happen but you do sit there and you're hearing it and it's hurting you you you you letting it you know letting yourself feel it but you it's like you're numb at the same time your brain is just million miles per hour and you feeling this pain and what's next you know everything's over what's next and that's this is how how it goes it's crazy yeah but you got your ring like I said you did hey I ain't going to lie like in 2009 like Chase obviously came out and had a coming out party on fire but then I just remember getting some of the nastiest pictures I ever seen from this man over here bro like I was I was pissed off he was he was catching the good I was getting I was getting nasty I was getting nasty cuz Chase is hitting homers Chase hit that Homer I was like God I was like damn I'm about to get NY you know what was crazy in game one I was feeling like real good I pitched good I mean Cliff just pitched better but former teammates by the way yeah we were and it was CRA cuz the the year before we were teames but I remember like in that game I was like oh like I felt pretty good like you know it's the World Series and all this I always tell the story like I didn't really understand I was in the World Series until I was throwing I threw the last pitch down before the inning starts I'm throwing they throwing the ball around A-Rod throws me the ball back I grab it with my hand and I look down and said World Series 09 said fall classic 09 I was like immediately sweating you know what I'm saying but it was fine we I got through that first atep B with you and I'm like oh okay like I'm like it's good yeah you're good it settled in throw chase a slider he hit that off the and then I'm right back to like I'm you know what I'm saying I was right back into it crazy he made the adjustment against me he made it against me it was it think what happened he recovered by the time you got up cuz I tried to I never bun I'm like see I'm like see the last thing he's going to expect for me to do is bunt right and I got it pass I'm like I'm in and I see Tex ass coming over I'm like where you come from where you come from I'm like so I'm like if we get him in a stretch cuz we know if we get him in a stretch early be CU like the greats when they settle in It's a Rap so I'm like if I'm on base he has to look at me and deal with Shane Chase and Ryan that's not easy to do it didn't work out Chase thing but that was my I'm like I just need to get seed mind on what is he going to do and if he starts spending some stuff up there then maybe we have a chance but it didn't work I mean it worked out that day it didn't work out overall Ryan I'm sorry I didn't mean CRA was Damas Marte man he he was the World Series MVP if you if yall remember but he came in and got you and Chase out both every time every time he came in like he saved the game for us basically every time so I mean I know matui went off and he had that great game six and all of that stuff but but if you look at if you really go back and look at like who held it down it was deas Mar he had some big he made some big pitches against you and Chase that that uh that series that was a good series un unfortunately for the guys in the blue just it don't matter bro and y'all went the year before he we hey we was trying to get it you know what I'm saying we we were trying to be legendary I mean y'all we we gave you we didn't years in a row huh no we lost no seven two no seven we got we got moped out by the dang Rockies Rockies oh yeah see and then 07 was the year I remember sending you that text in ' 07 before the playoffs started I sent Jimmy a text I was like great great regular season let's meet up in the World Series and that was year won MVP i w to S and I was like let's meet up in the World Series and we ended up getting up 3-1 and Boston and L we had I think we had the better team we had a better team we if we win that series we win the World Series yeah we end even 10 we know it's like if we get pack with the Cardinals who they're they're they are playoff royalty also like they get to playoffs and they know how to win we beat they butts all season long yeah it's like if we get past this team nobody can see nobody not we 101 102 wins That season it's like we were that year the best team in basball the staff we had that year and we just we just I mean we're up game two up four runs and couldn't hold on it was just they're just a team that don't go away so I understand that like you're the best team if if it's just one series that you know makes a break and I wish that like that Cleveland team would have had a chance to stay together like y'all did cuz we were that same path you know what I mean but it's just a small market and them not being able to pay any of us I was traded the next year but if that crew stays together then I think we may we may even make a run where it's like y'all and us you know what I'm saying where it was me Victor Grady seore like we had AE we had a real like we had a real core guys that came together but we knew 07 was our only shot right like I never cried so hard that I did in my life after after we lost that game seven cuz I knew it was over you know what I'm saying like I know like like I'm not coming like I'm not signing extension I'm not coming back they're going to trade me first you know what I'm saying it was me Casey Cliff Vic get traded like that was the end of it so I mean I just wish that we had a chance to kind of build on our run too and who knows what happens yeah no that that that would have been it that would have been it that's a good one hey tell me your Jeter your favorite Derek Jeter type story my favorite any good stories that you can share that you can share yeah that you can share let's throw that I got go I got some I mean je is super super uh superstitious like he does the same thing every day really every day every day he does the same thing so um one one year one day we were in Kansas City and y'all been to Peach Tree Soul Fu Restaurant in Kansas City I oh my God I mean it's heaven on Earth it's the best soul Fu ever had in my life Fried Chicken catfish greens everything mac and cheese everything buffet style but it's I mean familyowned it's legit so for lunch I'm like G you want to go with me to lunch I'm like I'm going to this place uh peach tree uh a so food restaurant he was like cool sure so we always had to stop at Starbucks first like I had a rent a car we stop at Starbucks we go to Peach Tree I mean this food is so heavy y y'all know soul food right like we eat this food and then we both sleeping on the couch like before the game je wakes up goes five for five five hits like but like his stomach is hurting like he can barely run the bases like he's hurting bro so I'm like it ain't no way like he you know like cuz I know like before every game eats a peanut butter and honey sandwich like so he like he does the same thing so goes five5 after the game you know it's all good we get back to the hotel the next morning he calls me at 11:00 he was like you ready to go I'm like go where you know me I'm bro I'm 330 lb he was like the peach I can't eat that again L behold we back at at Starbucks back at PE street so he can play luckily he didn't get five hits again so he we have to go the next day but yeah I mean he's I mean if he does well he's going to do the same exact thing bro he does the same exact thing every single day he would make the peanut butter and honey sandwich take one bite of it and throw it in the garbage every day like it was it's it was crazy to watch him do his thing and like nobody ever said nothing to him but we all like we all watched him you know what I'm saying but like nobody ever really like made fun of him or did y'all make fun of him behind his back though nah I mean it's Derek Jeter like whatever you got to do to get ready going get ready you know what I'm saying hey whatever whatever works whatever works see we see we hey we we can edit this it's okay bro you're in a safe space you in a safe space you know me I'mma say something to his face no it was it I mean that's just him man the same same same routine same routine all right before we let you go see I want to talk about something that I I I've I've admired you especially in your post career and it's something that players are taking advantage of now I see I've seen it probably first in NBA but it's building a brand and who and and your brand who you are your identity and you know we know your story going to rehab picking yourself back up coming back and you have just been on a rocket ship from there talk to us about you know what goes behind and Ryan you know you did this young when you were playing you know Mr Powerade Mr Subway and both you guys can jump in on this what goes behind building a brand of yourself you want me to be completely honest yeah being good being a good player I think a lot of people forget that that's what gets you to be in a brand you can't be a brand if you ain't on the field you can't be a brand if you ain't making an All-Star team you can't be a brand if you ain't win the World Series like I think people look at us and see what we're doing and see you know all the places that we get to get to go and spend our time and do these different things and Brands we partner with but I forget I think they forget about the work we put in you know what I'm saying like I wasn't a brand until I went to Milwaukee and you know what I'm saying came to New York like I think I think I think you got to make the main thing the main thing cuz and and don't forget that and I think people once you do that then people start to see you in another light you know what I'm saying like it it that's weird to say that you got to be good at your craft but I think people forget about that and try to build a brand and forget about the actual stuff on the court on the field on the the pitch whatever but building a brand is about being a good athlete and treating people right you know what I'm saying it's and and things will come to you how do you go about continuing to stay true to yourself in your brand building like things that are more organic to yourself yeah so I just I just I do stuff that's like I would be doing anyway like you know everybody's like oh you working all this stuff and I'm like it's not work though right you know what I mean like I would be doing this stuff anyway like I would be around baseball I would be you know doing these different things um in the game trying to make the game better I love baseball right you know what I'm saying when I was still playing when I was retiring I was like oh I'm never gonna be around the game I ain't never going to no B we all I think we all said that I really love baseball like I love the game and I want the game to be in a better place than when we played it you know what I'm saying so um yeah I mean all of this stuff is just stuff that I love to do my passion you know I love being around kids I love you know kids that look like me I love going to the Boys and Girls Club and seeing kids in the situation that I grew up in so all of these things I think I would be doing if I didn't get paid or if I didn't have a brand if I wasn't an athlete I would still be in the community doing these things so um yeah it's easy to to to stay on brand when you're passionate about the stuff that that com let's stay let's stay on that for a second like talking about the youth game right in terms of looking at what you know what we went through kind of growing up and playing as opposed to what you're seeing now yeah right and so as you're as you're giving back what are some of those things that you're seeing obviously doing things with the players Alliance and whatnot that you're seeing just in the growth and the and the development of players in the game in comparison to what it was when we grew up yeah n that's a great that's a great question and um I think it's I think the kids are Overexposed I think I we played 16 games cuz when we were kids like that was a lot you play on Tuesdays you know what I'm saying we played 16 games and then you on to the if you didn't make the allstar team you on to the next thing right like these kids are playing 16 games in a weekend right you know like it's it's it's and and I and I I got a 13y old right now and he watches all the perfect game stuff and all this these different things and I'm like once you once you put yourself out there you can't pull it back right so I'm I keep telling him development overexposure like develop make sure your game is good because when these people see you that's your that's that's the impression that's it you can't change it so make sure that you ready and right before you start going to all these different showcases and all this all this stuff make sure that you that you got the development thing right and I think a lot of these parents need to understand that it's development over exposure right your kid needs to be ready there's a there's a million places we can put them on the Internet to be seen but he better be ready because these are the numbers that they going to run with once he runs the 60 and throws a ball across a diamond that is on that site forever but how do we get those parents to understand we played so we understand what it takes and what it was understand how do you try to figure that out because everybody thinks their their kid is the next Anthony VY right and who's the say that he's not you know what I'm saying and and and these organizations going to take advantage of you know paying the play kind of is what it is and what what sucks is that the Scouts have bought into it right so now the scouts ain't coming to Nel to see you they're not coming to Val to see you play if you don't make it to Atlanta in the middle of the summer they not going to see you and they don't want to see you in your hometown Talent they don't want to see you in your in your high school field or against your high school talent they want to see you against the top so that that's kind of where we are too where these I mean it's not lazy scouting it's smarter scouting where if I know the top 300 kids is going to be in Atlanta around the country why am I chasing them around and I get to see them against the best competition so I've seen that cuz obviously like my son's now is 23 so I was there I was in it the whole perfect game thing and just watching how these kids go about doing what they do and I felt like when I was helping coach's team at the time I was like man this stuff is different like it doesn't seem like these kids are about truly going out here and winning the game and playing the game the right way to win the game it was more about all right let me see how much I can light up the the radar gun and let me get my two hits and that's it I don't care if we win or not as long as the scouts see that I got hits they all showcase you know what I'm saying it's a lot of those kids in the big leagues and that's what I was talking about it's only going to increase it's only going to increase it's only going to especially when the Showcase is throw the ball as hard as you can from the Outfield throw the ball across the diamond as hard as you can like a lot of these kids don't know what they can't hit the cut off man right cuz they do showcase they throw the ball from way over here in right field to third base on the Fly that's cool right but that ain't gonna fly in the game cuz like a lot of these kids don't have game experience right and and that's where a lot of a lot of the baseball IQ was out the window and then in the big leagues you don't have nobody over 35 right there's no vets like when we got to the big Lees bro we had grown men it was grown men in our clubhouse to teach us how to be big Leaguers you don't have that no more cuz so it's the game is super athletic it's a different game that we played but I don't think fundamentally is is is up to par to the game that we played I appreciate you see we'd be remiss if we didn't thank you for what you've done we're sitting here on this podcast today because of you and I say that because you know we had a sit down conversation when you son went to Georgia Tech I'm like see you got time for lunch my first question is like after we get by the pleasantry like bro what are you doing like what like we sit on the opposite side of MLB what are you doing and you sat there and you you put it eloquently basically you know like Rob cool as you know like no Rob cool as like he real cool and I'm like that's cool but what are you doing and you explained it to me and I'm like I got a better sense of what it's like to in our in our from our side being a player it's like we're we're crossing the line but that's not it then I got to be able to speak to Raul and ask him you know what was he doing what was it like you know help me understand it because we're just trained as players we don't associate with that other side but here we are in MLB offices on this podcast so that's one thing you know say thank you for it but two I know I bugged you like hell but the commissioner's ambassador program cap once I knew what you were doing once I knew what Rob was doing I mean not Rob Ro was doing I'm like hey you you you got to tell Rob my menist in doing something out here on the West Coast and I thought it was just going to be Regional based and I stayed on you and he was like bro I'm I'm on a plane with Rob right now I'm going to tell him I'm like are you really going to tell him like I'm going to tell him it got down to Dan came down to an owner's meeting I wouldn't I would not have done any of those things if it wasn't for the little big homies you know what I'm saying come come down to San Diego can you make it I'm like I'll be there we sat in that room with Dan Rob yourself Raul and here we are with the commissioner's bassador program uh this podcast doing great things bringing former players retired players back into the game trying to expand a game what you're doing with boardroom like when I say when I we brought up the brand like C's really a brand you know like he is a brand he has weight in this office to give my wife the credit for that though you know I think Amber is is the driving force behind I mean not think I know the driving force behind a lot of the stuff I do so um I would be remissed if I didn't if I didn't say give her her props her thank you Amber thank you Mr Saia so uh see we appreciate you coming out today man you know yes sir always big homie yes sir yes sir Ry wrapping up f one great way to do it with a guy that we beat then he beat us right you know what I'm saying but more than anything just you know a Pioneer and and how things can be after your career is done so appreciate you coming here to apprciate sir