Hunter Pence joins the show!

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Hi, This is Chase Utley and this is the Phillies Show.

00:00:17
Speaker 2: Hi, everybody, Welcome to the Philly Show. Ruben Tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todds a lucky We are part of the followed territory network. It's Tuesday, July thirtieth, twenty twenty four. You know tonight is six pm Eastern. Is the trade deadline? You know by now what moves the Phillies have done. We will see if Dave Dombrowski has anything else else up his sleeve. Maybe it's another arm, maybe it's another bet, maybe it's nothing at all. In the meantime, though, this will be a nice change of pace. We caught up the other day with Hunter Pence, who, of course, was one of Reuben's big trade deadline acquisitions in July of twenty eleven. From the Astros, Hunter becomes an instant fan favorite the moment he puts on his Phillies uniform. He helps the Phillies Winter franchise record or two games they fall short of course in the postseason, and then he gets traded to the Giants. In July of twenty twelve, we took a stroll down memory Lane gart a lot of fun stories through in a surprise for you that we think you'll get a kick out of. In the middle of it. Hunter is in town this week because the Phillies are celebrating the twenty year anniversary of Citizens Bank Parks, so they've been bringing in former Phillies to throw out first pitches. Hunter's throwing out the first pitch before Wednesday afternoons games against the Yankees. And then if you want to meet Hunter, there's an opportunity for you. He's hosting an equipment drive and meet and greet again Wednesday, July thirty, first at yards Bring and Philadelphia from five to six thirty pm. Fans are invited to donate new or gently used baseball or softball gear to gain entry and the opportunity to meet Pence, take photos, get autographs. Hunter has partnered with pitch in for Baseball and Softball to distribute the collected equipment to youth baseball and softball teams and local underserved neighborhoods. So that should be a good cause, a great time. Bring in some gear, meet Hunter, get an autograph, get a photo. But while we wait for six pm Eastern this show, here is what we talked about with Hunter Pence, You're gonna enjoy this, Hunor Man, thank you so much for joining the Philly Show. So good to have you. You're gonna be in town in Philadelphia at citizens Bank Park. It's a twentieth anniversary of citizens Bank Park and you're gonna be throwing out a first pitch on Wednesday. And obviously you had a great time in Philly. Short time in Philly, but a great time in Philly. Are you looking forward to coming back?

00:02:33
Speaker 1: Absolutely, It's gonna be so fun to come back. What an honor. This will be my first first pitch ever. Like, do y'all have any tips on like how I should go about it? Like I haven't really played too much catch since I retired, but a little bit here and there. Any any tips?

00:02:47
Speaker 2: What should I go with Rubens?

00:02:50
Speaker 1: I would not go. I would not go to the top of the mound.

00:02:52
Speaker 3: I would go probably just in front and or just in front of the rubber. Make sure you get loose, and I would just go ahead and fire man, let it.

00:03:05
Speaker 1: As hard as I can. All right, hard as you can. But you might blow somebody up there. But I don't know who's you know, who's catching it? No idea, no idea. I'm sure it'll be something special too, So I'm excited. Yeah, it'll be cool and what inn order to get back to the bank. Yeah, I'm excited.

00:03:23
Speaker 2: The timing's perfect because of course you were a huge, huge trade head dying acquisition for Ruben in twenty eleven. What when you think about that time, what immediately comes to mind for.

00:03:35
Speaker 1: You getting traded over to the Phillies. Oh, man, Like, it was, uh, what's what a blessing? Like I was super excited to be Like I was a Texas kid right born and raised, and it was an honor to play for the Astros, And you always have the dreams, like I think it y'all know me, Like, I'm a guy that wants to be loyal and like stick to whoever. But like you find out through the nature of baseball that that's very difficult to have that opportunity to get to stay with one team. So obviously we were losing a lot in Houston and it was a heartbreak that I wasn't able to like make it happen there. But then when I got to Philly, man, like, this is a team that was prime probably the most talented team twenty eleven the Phillies that I ever played on, I would say definitely. It was an insane group obviously, like we didn't catch lightning in the bottle, Like you got to have a lot of things go your way. But I got to meet like the Philly fan base, learning experience a whole new city, and so it was perfect for me. That opportunity and coming in to Philly in that time was ridiculous. It was like, really really fun.

00:04:34
Speaker 4: I still remember the day you arrived, Hunter, because you know, there was a lot of rumors that, hey, they want a right handed bat. Hunter Pence is the best right handed bat out there, and we kind of knew that they're gonna get Hunter Pence. The deal goes down and you show up like an hour before game time, and I remember you came.

00:04:53
Speaker 1: Out on the field.

00:04:53
Speaker 4: They had to spray paint your spike's red.

00:04:55
Speaker 1: Do you remember that? Oh I remember that, Yeah, because you have red sp and I didn't have any, and uh man, I just like I was about business, like I was coming I play every day. I burned the field to the ground, like that's just who I was. Like I'm gonna hit the weights afterwards, and like, uh, it's just very aggressive was just kind of my mindset. So spray paint the spikes, whatever we gotta do. And I think one game I wore like Nikes because I didn't I had to deal with Rebok, And I think the first game I actually wore Nikes and that was the picture that like blew up everywhere and it's me and a Nike shoe and I have this like big Rebok deal at the time. And so then we started spray painting my rebox. But like you can't reverse the time. I guess we should have spraypainted the first day. Do you remember that, Rubin.

00:05:38
Speaker 3: I think it must have been Frank Openbargen with spray paint and stuff, right.

00:05:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. They just find a way in the clubhouse man the grinders there, And honestly, the spray paint was like really cool. That was way more fun.

00:05:55
Speaker 4: So we're we're approaching another trade deadline here, and you went through it twice. You went through it Houston and Philly, Philly to San Francisco. When you start hearing your name a little bit and you kind of do the math that you know I might be the guy. Is it stressful on the player? Is it stressful on the human being.

00:06:14
Speaker 1: I mean, it's gonna depend on situations, right, Like different people have families. When you become a veteran or whatever, and your wife and you have a system. If you're like really hooked into a place and you're not expecting to ever get traded, and then that happens and you're caught, like you just bought a house or whatever. That's the whole saying. It's like, don't buy a house that will get you traded. Uh yeah, you know, like yeah it can. And and like for me as a young kid and like you know, once again like the dreams of being like the Craig Vigio that gets to stay forever. You know. So emotionally it was a big hit. But as far as like I don't know, I feel like baseball's a bit of a soul journey and like what it taught me as a human and an individual, it was like perfect for me. And like you get to learn someone, make so many more relationships and great, learn so much more about our country, learned so much more about different organizations. And as a student in the science of the game of baseball, game of business, game of life, you learn so much from each organation you go to, especially if you like go in with like like I'm gonna give my all to who believes in me, whoever just trade Free really believes in you. I'm gonna give my all to the city. I'm gonna go, like get out into the streets and like learn what's about. Experience the shops, experience the people, talk on the radio shows, meet the personalities, and like also take the accountability of the mistakes you make. Like none of us are perfect. We're gonna be humans, but like you can learn so much from each organization in each city.

00:07:33
Speaker 3: So I'm one of the reasons why you were sort of a perfect fit. Not just because you know, you were a right handed bat and you played the right position that we sort of needed to fill, but you also had a certain personality and and you know, a makeup that I think the fan base in Philadelphia because you were just kind of this balls out player, were like the great fit for us.

00:07:57
Speaker 1: Now, is this something that developed? Is this something that you were as a kid. What were you like as a kid.

00:08:03
Speaker 3: Is this sort of just like the mature Was this the more mature hundred pence that became this you know, really aggressive player, or just something.

00:08:14
Speaker 5: That that gradually happened in your life, you know what, Like I've always I grew up in Texas, Like I grew up with like humility embedded in me, like be humble, be humble, be quiet, right, but like my innate nature, especially in sports, like I just like there's something in me that loves to compete and like and like when I go.

00:08:32
Speaker 1: I go for it. And so my thing was like let your actions speak, don't let your words speak, so like you're gonna see the fire that's in me through my play was kind of like and and and yes, like you know, as you know you're coming up through all the leagues, like uh, you're always if you you know, in my particular case, I was always the youngest everywhere until I got to the big leagues, right, and I'm still very young, and so I always had to kind of keep a quiet mind. But like, yeah, I think just my nature in and of itself is aggressive. But a lot of my coaches, like I got to the big leagues and it was like hey be conservative, be conservative, and it was just like so not me. So I was like in this like weird battle, like how do I be Like I want to go make the play. I want to lay out for it, like I believe in myself and I had good instincts I didn't. I don't want to be reckless, So yeah, I think it was It is just my nature, like I've always believed, like prevent defense previns you from winning anytime you get like lit up in basketball or whatever and you're not continuing to push the envelope. Like I love Chase Utley's mindset. He was like, listen, like the game's not Overteil, he laughs, freaking out. We are healed here to continue to add on. Don't settle into like whatever the record is, don't settle into whatever the score is, like ahead or behind, continue to push, and like, I just love that mindset. And even Charlie Manuel. Charlie Manuel is a dude that's like, hey, man, are we Like it's like breakfast time and Charlie's like, hey, what are you doing looking for hits? Is it time to hit homers? And I'm like yeah, like I'm ready, I'm thinking about it. So that just is me. I am that fire energy and I live for that. So I was.

00:09:57
Speaker 3: Curious when you walked into that clubhouse, your expectations like how fired up were you?

00:10:03
Speaker 1: How nervous were you?

00:10:06
Speaker 3: We intimidated in any way, shape or form, because now you're in a situation where you came from Houston and weren't winning.

00:10:12
Speaker 1: Now the expectation was to win.

00:10:14
Speaker 3: How what was going through your mind and what was going through your body at the time.

00:10:17
Speaker 1: Oh, man, I was thrilled. I would say that, Like I also had like a very like I was. I was very I'm very curious in life in general, and I was excited to learn from utlely Howard Rowlands, Victor Reno, like I want to learn from Holiday Cliff Lee, and like there's a lot to from even just from there's so much value in that experience of like watching how Holiday went about his business and how Cliff Lee two guys that were competing for this im with completely totally different ideas of how to prepare for a major League baseball game. But also so like there was just like so many like oh, there's more than one way to see succeed at this game. And like I finally hit that point because when I first got to the Major's room and I would take Bertman to breakfast, I would take Cliff Carlos Lee morgan Insburg, and I would ask all of them. I even like I called up Barry Bonds and went to like I was studying all the greats and bagwe video and like every time I tried to be one of them or like I would take that a little bit of notes, but like I would try too much to be them, I would get worse. So I finally learned that like take the good and the bad, but make it your own. And even Charlie said that no yourself, we're all built a little bit different. I thought he was really wise with that. So then for me it was just more of like more opportunity for knowledge. But like I was ready to win at that point, and like I was excited. It felt like a lot of pressure left off of me because in Houston it was like it was kind of just me and Born having a good season. It was like I had to carry the whole weight, and now was like just be the puzzle piece because there's a lot of pieces around you. And like it was like Raoul Labanni has one day political, the next day, the next day meet that you know, and just like keep doing your part. And it was like Charlie was like similar where it's like every single day you play, these are my guys go play and I like lived for that.

00:11:53
Speaker 2: I remember you talk about the differences between Roy and Cliff, and I remember Jason Worth one telling me that he's like when Roy, when it was Roy's day to start, you knew because he was like laser focused. You couldn't talk to him. He is that. Meanwhile, then Cliff Lee half an hour before he starts throwing paper into a trash can for one hundred dollars a shot, you know, I mean just he's.

00:12:12
Speaker 1: Like it's like, is Cliff's pitching today?

00:12:14
Speaker 2: I don't even know if Clip's pitching today? Right?

00:12:16
Speaker 1: Is that? Is that kind of how.

00:12:17
Speaker 2: You would describe the difference between Roy and Cliff.

00:12:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like like Roy was like literally like hours in the studying notebooks of like how to dissertate, like what every single batter, where their weaknesses were, and what counts like every percentage. But also Holiday had like the arsenal of like I can throw any pitch and they're all good, So like I'm gonna which one do I want to throw? And so I'm gonna He leaned his confidence on like knowing your weakness, and he had every pitch, so he didn't just need to be like, I'm just gonna have my strength overpower you. Clif Lee was just like, I don't care what your weakness is. You can't hit my strength, and you know, and like, and he believed in that and like, but if he if Cliffley overthought it, he might get worse. And if Roy Holiday didn't do his preparation, he would lose his coff. So like that was what was good for both of them, Like right, like what one thing that's good for one person doesn't mean it's good for everyone, similar to what I was saying with like, I tried to be Lance Berkman, and I got a little bit worse. You know, He's like, all you know, swing down and catch it way too deep. And Carlos Lee is he had some really good tips. Carlos Lee probably gave me some of the best advice in hitting that I ever got because it was very general. It wasn't like be him, and I shared this with a lot of people. But anyway, every time I tried to be or even Barry Bonds, I got worse. So like, yeah, each of them were totally different and it worked for them, and they knew themselves, which was really cool.

00:13:32
Speaker 2: Is there anything you picked up from Chase, because we've had I feel like every player that we've had on that played with him, when we've had Handles, Frank Core, Pat Burrell, they all have a Chase utly story. Is there a lesson that he taught you or just a favorite story when people ask about about him that comes to mind.

00:13:49
Speaker 1: I mean, I have a lot of stories. He was kind of a big mystery to me because he's kind of secretive in general. But like there was one time, I think in twenty twelve, I was struggling and he like kind of was like, hey, let's like go through this and let's do this, and uh, he was trying to help me. I don't really, honestly, I don't even really I remember trying to do the stuff that he was telling me. He was like telling me I was hitting it too hard and VP and you know whatever, you know, and like you have these years where it's like like the year before every you know, everything was in sync and working and then I don't know whatever that reason. That year, I was hitting homers and I was driving in runs, but I was like a two sixty average or something. Which is not where I really felt like I belonged. And but yeah, he was kind of secretive. But then one time he tried to help me, and and he was always like questioning, like what are you doing? What's happening here? But like he wouldn't tell me why he was questioning it. But I guess for me, the biggest thing I saw was like what I tried to mirror him at first. I get there as early as him and start watching as much video as him, and like my head started her. I was like, dude, I don't have the mental capacity for this. Yeah, right, you know what I'm saying. So, but also he would show me like he could see tips and things like he just had this abilities, like look at his glove and he'd be like, is buble do this? And his buble like it was like the I neiest thing, like I can't even do a justice And I was like, I literally don't see the difference. And I was like I don't, like I don't know so But at the same time, like I learned some like there were some really cool things he taught me on leadership, you know, like the first day I got there, he was like, hey, man, like let me show you around the city so that you can learn the city. And I was like, oh, I could just get a cab rack holl And He's like, yeah you could, but let me show you around. And then like he like showed me around the city and uh, you know, and just kind of welcomed me. It's like if there's anything you need, like the only and like all of them, like Utly Rowlins, Howard, they all came up to me. Ruben back to your first question, and the first thing they said was like, Hey, we don't need you to be anything more than yourself. Just be yourself. And so like they just like that. That made it so easy coming in to have confidence. It's like, hey, welcome, like we got this, like you don't have to do everything anymore. And they all vocalize that, and that was really cool. And you were yourself.

00:15:53
Speaker 4: He showed up with you were full of energy, full personality, full of production, and the fans fell in love with you just like that. Of course it didn't hurt that you showed this. I'm not I guess you'd call it a sense of humor, but it was sort of like the mantra for the season you win a big ball game. The interview, you're after the game and you say, great game. Let's go eat.

00:16:17
Speaker 1: That was perfect In Philly, they love to eat, you know, we all well, I mean it was like it was like this game and I think we had we had to get a getaway day and we're in the outfield and there's more to this story than just that. So like we're in the outfield and Victory was like, man, I'm starving, can you end this game? And uh So I'm like, oh man, Victory is hungry. Maybe I got to find a way to score, you know, lock in uh for the for the home mees. And so they're like, well, what do you think when you when you when you scored the way they ron And I was like, and like the first thing that popped into my head was an old school like a hundred points in the basketball game for the Mavericks. They would get like tacos and so like they were they had this thing where Dirt Dewitsky came in like dunked on someone for the hundred points and they were like Dirk he says. So I was like, Victory, that's hungry, Like we scored the winning runs. Good game, baby, Let's go eat.

00:17:08
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, it was so beautiful shirts and everything.

00:17:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, people still Philly people still to this day. Oh I loved you and Philly. Let's go eat on her?

00:17:20
Speaker 2: So Hunter, I I hope I actually found this commercial. Do you remember the Lycio's commercial that you did?

00:17:25
Speaker 1: You can? I can? I forget that commercial? Can I could? I? I want to.

00:17:29
Speaker 2: I want to play it real.

00:17:30
Speaker 1: Quick and I want to get let's see here we go depends here for Lysio's Bakery. You can do so many things with Lizio's bread and rolls. I used Lysio's Italian to measure my socks and you're good to go. They've actually become a big part of my training regimen. Today we're gonna get our curls in with the Lyceio's Italian bread. I like to work my laps and dealt with their patented bread. Rulie. My favorite thing to do with Lisio's roles eat them Lysio's Bakery. It all starts with the bread. I mean cool.

00:18:06
Speaker 6: You know that that's that still pops up, That still pops up on time on my Twitter timeline at times. And I think, like people see that commercial, they think of you. There's still like this sense of nostalgia for that for that season, for the year, and I think it just kind of embodies how big that team was that you could make a little off the cuff comment. I think it was your second game with the Phillies, right, and I think that probably sparked Lysio's reaching out.

00:18:32
Speaker 2: To you to do a commercial.

00:18:34
Speaker 1: Man, I love that commercial. Like people hated on that and a lot of people pay like that. That commercial is terrible. That commercials terrible. I'm like, you're never gonna forget this commercial now, Rubin, you remember this When you traded for me, you got like some money back or something. Because I had like a sports hearney. So I was playing twenty eleven with a sports turney of the entire season. So I had the sports herney of surgery. After the season was over and I could barely move, we were shooting that commercial, so like I was just like trying to get through life. And then we only had one day to shoot it, and I was just like, all right, I got to figure this out. That's funny. That's funny, very cool.

00:19:12
Speaker 4: Just you joined that great team in twenty eleven, Rubin made big deals every year. Cliff Lee one year Oswall, one year you one year made them all on July twenty ninth, and it was crazy. And then you know, you mentioned how talented the twenty eleven team was and you went on to win two World Series in San Francisco.

00:19:31
Speaker 1: But that twenty.

00:19:32
Speaker 4: Eleven team one hundred and two wins, best team in baseball, and they just had a bad week against Saint Louis, and it ends like that. It was like stunning, just and I know it still pains Ruben.

00:19:44
Speaker 1: How about you?

00:19:45
Speaker 4: Do you still carry that that defeat Saint Louis and what might have been?

00:19:50
Speaker 1: I got one hundred million percent. I'm still sick to death, Like I could not believe we lost that, like and there's just so much to it, right, Like like we were like we won the division with like twenty five or something days left in the season, so like everyone was banged up. You know, Howard had the Achilles and like like most of us, like even I have like a knee thing or something, and I had like eight days off as well, and then all of us came back for the last series against the Braves. We sweep the Braves, the Cardinals sweep the Asher, so we bring the Cardinals into the playoffs right sort of, and uh, you know, like I'll still remember Cliff Lee pitching, and LaRussa goes and gets on Jerry Meals. We had like a four run lead at home. We won game one, I believe, uh Cliff Lee's dealing, and then all of a sudden, LaRussa wears out Jerry Meals and then Cliffs like he won't call a strike and they and they climb back and they get like a lead and they win that game. We're just like what but and then the last game where it was like freezing cold and the winds blowing in and we're just we're like crushing balls into this like icy like wind that's knocking. Like Utley killed one, Howard killed the last one. Those are homers anytime during the summer. So it's like, wasn't meant to be. But yeah, no, the pain of losing that series and like, honestly, I feel like when you traded me out, like Utley and Howard were out for the whole first half, the only like it was like like victory. No. Me and Reees were like trying to fight and carry the Torture. Were four games behind the Braves, so like we thought, like, oh, Utley Howard coming back, We're gonna make this run. We're gonna make this push. But I guess like there was a lot of closed door meetings and you know, and I don't know what was said there or what the situation was, but you sent Victory No out to LA then you sent me to San Francisco, where I was just like WHOA, Like I thought we were gonna make this run. But the pain of losing that series to the Cardinals, and like even just remembering how it felt like spring training for twenty five games. When I got to the Giants and we ended up rattling off and winning the Vision by ten games. I remember telling everyone. I was like, look, we are like we have all these days. We cannot just relax and treat like spring training. And like I learned the lesson from that year that you can't just flip the switch on and off. And so like I was like like like they'd be like, hey, Sunday day game, doing a day off. I'm like, no, I'm playing, And I'd be yelling at like players like if their body language wasn't there, I'd be like, let's go. It's freaking matters. And like we had these like a couple comeback wins, and we kept kind of the pedal to the metal because of that. And I don't know if y'all remember, but like the speeches and stuff, I came that demon that was within me was built from the pain of losing in twenty eleven. Like it was big. I would I would not like. I was just like, this ain't happening again, Like I do not want to go home.

00:22:29
Speaker 4: Wow, I remember those watching those in the dugout. You're giving those peptois yeah to the giants, and you're so right about Jerry Meals. Tony LaRusso goes on Fox TV between innings for the interview and he's asked an innocuous question and he has an agenda. He basically says, we're pitching the two different strike zones here, and then he goes out and he airs out meals on the mound during a trip to the mound, and all the pitchers Cliffy was getting he didn't get him anymore, and it changed everything.

00:22:57
Speaker 1: That was a real disappointed time.

00:23:00
Speaker 3: I remember getting a call from David Montgomery.

00:23:02
Speaker 1: Did you see what Tony l Russ is doing?

00:23:04
Speaker 5: You gotta say Charlie's got to go out there and get it strike zone back, and I'm.

00:23:09
Speaker 1: Like, oh, man, hold out in the club, I Doug, I mean, And yeah, it was. It was a big turning point and at back.

00:23:16
Speaker 3: I talked to Tony LaRussa afterwards and he said, Man, you guys should have won that series.

00:23:20
Speaker 1: You guys are way better than us and had you know, you guys should should have shown but hey, that's part of the game. That's the kind of stuff that happens.

00:23:28
Speaker 3: And it's interesting that you that that learning experience guided you through San Francisco. One of the toughest things for me to do, and I the last thing I wanted to do when I took over the club was to ever have to go backwards, because I wanted to try to win every year and we just felt.

00:23:45
Speaker 1: Like the injuries we had in twenty twelve, we just were not going to be.

00:23:49
Speaker 3: Able to have enough horses to be able to get there, and that's why we ended up disbanding.

00:23:55
Speaker 1: But and that was not fun for me, not fun to have to.

00:24:00
Speaker 3: Move you because you were sort of exactly what we wanted at the time and exactly what we needed. But we just felt like we weren't going to be able to get there in twenty twelve, sadly because of our injuries.

00:24:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think you were right, like Holliday was kind of like falling a bit, like there was something that he wouldn't, you know, admit to that. I think there was a lot of behind closed doors with him, and who knows what, like Utley like really had of the tank at that point. Like so there was probably there was a lot of like limpy stuff going on. And you even said to me when you traded me, you were like, look like we love having you, Like we're gonna miss you, like maybe hopefully we can cross paths again. So that was a totally different conversation than then, you know, when I left the Astros and it meant a lot to me and I didn't forget that, So that that was really cool. Hunter.

00:24:47
Speaker 2: You're doing Giants games now, you're still out there. What's what what's your perception of this current Phillies group, you know, out in the West Coast and just what you see from whatever game. I don't know how many Phillies games you get to watch, but what you see on the highlight shows and whatnot.

00:25:00
Speaker 1: I mean, this is one of the coolest teams in the game right now. It's just like a such a good a great group, an easy group to root for, their fun to watch, I mean the combo of Schworeber to watch Harper turn into what he's turned into. And you know we've seen him as a young kid and immature and hair on fire, uh, and turn into just a great leader, a great human, a great member of the Philly community, family man and like and a historic baseball player and Alex bowm you know, they're just they're they're a team that's like really special. This is a time in Philly. This group is going to be remembered for a long time with very fond memories. They're on you know, for the last three years. They could have easily won the World Series any of these three years they're right there. Uh and and you expected I think this is that year.

00:25:46
Speaker 3: Uh.

00:25:46
Speaker 1: It's all kind of coming together. You know. You just love everything that that that they're that they're doing, that they've been a part of it. You can feel like the tightness and and like even the words that these guys how they speak to each other. So they're they're the probably the most veteran perfectly put together. Like it's like good brand of baseball through and through and it's special to watch.

00:26:07
Speaker 4: I think you're also doing some work for Perfect Game Broadcasting Giants, but you like seeing the young kids in the coming up on the way, the young prospects. I think you got a nephew is a good player, right involved a perfect game.

00:26:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean he's young, right, and obviously he's getting a lot of clout and a lot of like a lot of attention because he throws really hard. He's actually a really good hitter. He's a good kid. He's worked very hard. He loves it. It's intrinsic with him, like he knows more about the history of baseball than I do. But yeah, I mean, I love all aspects of the sport. It's been awesome to have the time to honestly the Perfect Game College Baseball show that I've done for like four years, like getting to talk to some of the great college coaches, the great college players, Like I did not realize how much baseball was going to learn. I think college coaches are some of the greatest leaders in our country. You know, the responsibility that's put on them and the business that it's become is ridiculous. Like I just I come out of that show every time like with just amazing treasures of great wisdom and knowledge from them. So that's been really cool. And I forget what your other question was, but yeah, I have this weird window where I'm a little bit in youth baseball. I get to brab big league baseball games and you know, so I'm everywhere. It's great.

00:27:22
Speaker 3: It's great to have you on the broadcast. I've made that transition now too. I know it's probably pretty fun to you to get to you get to talk about baseball.

00:27:32
Speaker 1: What's better than that? Yeah, you can't really beat it. And you get to watch a ball game too, right, So you're around the guys, you get to watch the game, you get to teach, like you know, you have all this like trying to specialized knowledge, like all I've done my whole life is like study the game of baseball and study how to get better, and so getting to share a lot of that stuff that you learn through you know, ten thousand at bats or whatever the case may be. I don't remember exactly how many I had, and and so many innings in the outfield, so it's and Ruben you've watched probably more baseball than you've forgot, more baseball than I've even seen. So it's been fun.

00:28:03
Speaker 3: It's been fun, man, and I really appreciate you coming on today, man and giving us your your experiences and knowledge and uh and listen, make sure you just threw it, throw it through the catcher. I might you know, you don't want to be you don't be on one of those memes.

00:28:20
Speaker 1: You might throw one of the scutters on purpose and just act like because I mean, you've seen my throat like it's not pretty, so fish.

00:28:33
Speaker 2: I remember Mitch Williams did that once, he fired one to thirty feet to the top of the backstop in the playoffs many years ago.

00:28:39
Speaker 1: So and a warm up, yeah, yeah, in a warm up intermination, and then let's start looking at your hand. Get that guy digs in. Oh my gosh. I really appreciate it, man. Yeah.

00:28:50
Speaker 2: Thanks, Thank you again to hundred pence for the time. I hope you guys got a kick out of some of those stories. That was a lot of fun. Trade deadline six pm. Whether the Phillies do something or not. We will be back later this week to discuss it and what it means for the Phillies going forward. Thanks everybody, This is The Phillies Show. If you haven't already, please subscribe to The Phillies Show wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch us on our YouTube channel. If you like what we do, give us a review, Tell a friend. Catch Rubenjim and Me on Phillies Nation TV, presented by Ballyforge Tourism. New episodes air an hour before every Saturday Phillies game on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Replays air throughout the week and on Philliesnation dot com. Get more of Ruben's analysis during before and after Phillies games on NBC Sports Philadelphia, on the Sports Radio ninety four WIP Morning Show, and MLB Network. Rejim at the Allcity Network at allphl y dot com. Find more of me at MLB dot com, the philliesb Newsletter, and occasionally on MLBA A Network