Jeff Francoeur 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 with Ruben Tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's a lucky, happy Fourth of July weekend. Hopefully you are listening or watching us down at the shore on the beach. If you're not lucky enough to be at the shore, hopefully you are in your backyard, on your patio, on your deck, on your porch, manning the grill, you have a cocktail or a beer in your hand. Phillies Braves open a three game series Friday night at Truce Park in Atlanta. Kind of a big series relatively speaking for early July. Who better to talk Phillies Braves than Jeff Frankcore, former Brave, former Philly. Jeff is a Braves broadcaster. He is a national broadcaster for TBS. Super insightful, super great guy. Shares a lot of great stories of his time with the Phillies. Offers a lot of really great insight on what makes this current Phillies team great. And of course we talk about the Braves what they're going to need to do to catch up with the Phillies. We also get into his podcast, Pure Athlete, which is geared towards youth sports, something as near and dear to my heart. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. Jeff, thanks for joining us, man, it's so great to have you on. We're gonna talk some Phillies braves today, but first I do want to mention you are doing this podcast called Pure Athlete. I founded about a year ago because I have an eight year old, five year old, one year old. My eight year old's in little league, and it is about youth sports. Your co host Brittley Brad Williams. It's kind of like helping young athletes and parents kind of navigate youth sports. And it is so good and so valuable and so helpful. And I've talked to some other people about some other parents in the little league that my son's in, and they've become addicts and listen to it. And you have some great guests.

00:02:04
Speaker 3: You've had JT.

00:02:05
Speaker 2: Real Muto on Ryan Howard on a lot of Philly connection people, Carly lloyd Is on, Mark Derosu went to Penn Matt Ryan who went to Penn Charter. It's a lot of fun and I imagine you have a great time doing it. And you feel like you're helping spread the message of trying to make you sports positive and sane.

00:02:24
Speaker 4: Well for sure, and you know, I love obviously with Ruben was able to bring me up in fifteen and Philly and I'll say this, man, I've told I get a lot of crap down in Atlanta for it, but you know how much I love playing there and the way they treat the families, you know, just the whole idea was run first class and so obviously, but the main thing is, you know, I got four kids on my own now, and you get into this thing and you start seeing the way that some of these other coaches and parents are and they're screaming at eight year old kids, They're screaming at nine year.

00:02:53
Speaker 1: Old kids, and I'm like, what are we doing here?

00:02:55
Speaker 4: You know, it's like you're not being paid for this, You're not you know, doing this, and it's just I mean, it's kind of people have lost their minds. And I love giving you know, ideas of guys like right, like perfect example, Ryan Howard, right like he didn't go to FSU, he didn't go to you know, one of these huge college baseball programs. You know, we just slowly developed and turned into a great baseball player, and like, let your kids develop that. Let your kids develop their patch. And you know, I've told it on there. Obviously I love baseball, but after a year my son was like completely uninterested in the game. I found him out there, you know, looking at all this stuff and didn't care.

00:03:33
Speaker 1: And I'm like, but do you like this?

00:03:34
Speaker 4: And he's like no, And like I had to look at myself because I'm like, just because I played it, you don't have to play it. And so now he's playing lacrosse, which I know is huge up by y'all, and he loves it. I knew nothing about it. Now I'm helping his coaches lacrosse team. I've learned all this stuff. But like he's passionate about it. So I'm like, let's do.

00:03:53
Speaker 3: It, dude.

00:03:53
Speaker 4: Like he comes home from school and he has lacrosse practice, he's got his gear set out ready. Dude, he'd come home for baseball. I'd be like, all right, let's go, and he's like, do I got to go today?

00:04:02
Speaker 1: You know? And it's like but so it's like, let your kid drive the ship.

00:04:06
Speaker 4: Now I'm not saying don't push them, you know, you got to work, get them out there do stuff. But at the same time, you know, I think we're just trying to give parents a way to navigate.

00:04:16
Speaker 1: You know. One of the first questions I ask.

00:04:17
Speaker 4: All parents guys, is what do you want out of sports for your kids? What do you want out of it? And like, for me, I want my kids to learn work ethic, discipline, how to be a great teammate, you know, how to come beside people. And I've always said it, like, then if you get sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, whatever sport and you have an opportunity to play in college, you know, now let's look back. But there's these ten year old travel teams that are from Georgia going all the way out to California for ten days.

00:04:42
Speaker 1: I'm like, how the hell are your parents affording this?

00:04:45
Speaker 2: You know, totally, And I thought when you do have some of these athletes and it's amazing how a lot of them have similar stories about just not being pushed and you know, just.

00:04:55
Speaker 4: Loving the game sports, right, like playing well multi sports.

00:04:59
Speaker 1: Matt Right talked.

00:05:00
Speaker 4: About it, you know what made me a great quarterback? Dude, I was a shortstop in high school. And He's like, happened to move side to side being under center. He's like, all that stuff made me better at football, and now these kids are special I mean kids are playing one hundred and twenty baseball games a year.

00:05:14
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, you know, like, good Lord.

00:05:17
Speaker 3: Not to mention that, not to mention the not to mention the injury part of it, too, right, because you're doing one thing all the time and your bodies just at that age aren't able to really you know what, We're able to handle.

00:05:29
Speaker 4: That physically, rub And I love that you said that. One of our most powerful ones. We had a doctor from Emory on doctor Neary and he's one of the top pediatric doctors with injuries and sports, and he was saying, in the last twenty years, where people used to get their first major injury at seventeen is now all the way up to twelve years old because of specialization in sports. He said, the kids are using the same muscles, they never get to use anything different, and it's killing them and the parents keep wondering.

00:05:54
Speaker 1: Why, you know, and it's like, you know, I tell the story. Brian McCann.

00:05:58
Speaker 4: You know, y'all all love I won a great catcher hard enough, He pulled his team off a field a few years ago because this coach had his guy throwing one hundred and twenty pitches and Brian told him, if you don't pull that guy, I'm I'm off. I'm not I'm not watching this kid. You know, fall apart out here, and Brian pulled his team off the field.

00:06:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that those natural breaks when you had those seasons, right, you played brack basketball, you know, hockey, whatever. Absolutely, those are really kids. We have the same message. My brother and I do the same sort of thing. We have the same messages, and sometimes it falls on deaf ears, man, but it is what it is.

00:06:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, it welloks like you said, right, like you're when you were GM, You're not looking at some fourteen year old kid going, man, this kid, we need to keep an eye on him, like no o, nobody cares. Correctly, it's your athlete, right, Jeff, it is, yeah, pure athlete.

00:06:50
Speaker 1: And man, we've had some great guests on so.

00:06:53
Speaker 2: You really have You really have had some great and like heavy hitter guests and they have been really good.

00:06:58
Speaker 4: You know, I'm actually looking forward to we're actually doing next week before the JEFT is Charlie Condon from University of Georgia, who's probably gonna be the first, second or third pick. But he's a great story, right, he was a walk on at Georgia. I mean that's for example, this kid didn't even get a scholarship. Great story and great story. And so my whole thing is I want to show parents, like, if you keep working, teach the fundament.

00:07:18
Speaker 1: Smoltzy had one of the best. We all know Smoltzy can get going.

00:07:21
Speaker 4: And you know, but I love what he said when he said, I wish more coaches at young age would have the stones as he did, say stones, but I'm gonna say stones on here.

00:07:32
Speaker 3: You can say balls. You can say balls here.

00:07:34
Speaker 1: All right, perfect.

00:07:35
Speaker 3: I wish you talk about Jim's balls all the time.

00:07:40
Speaker 4: I wish more coaches have the balls to teach development over winning at a young age.

00:07:46
Speaker 1: And I couldn't agree more.

00:07:47
Speaker 5: With that, Frenchie.

00:07:50
Speaker 6: I just want to say, it's really nice of you to name your podcast after Ruben pure athlete.

00:07:56
Speaker 3: That's exactly right, good point, it was in my mind.

00:08:00
Speaker 6: I want to tell you a story, though. I want to tell you a story, and I'm totally on board with what you're doing. Positive you want that kid to look forward to going to the field and going to the basketball cour on the hockey rink that night and having fun and growing as a human being. A former Philly told me a story once that and this guy was booed in Philadelphia, and he said, booing don't bother me, because every time I had a bad game as a kid, my father yelled at me the whole ride home.

00:08:25
Speaker 5: It toughened me off. How do you balance that? Well, No, I do.

00:08:29
Speaker 4: I think there's got to be tough love one hundred percent. Like you asked my daughter, I coach her travel so football team. She's ten, and there's days she gets in the car after game and I really don't say anything and all of a sudden she'll be like, man, Dad, I didn't play real good.

00:08:43
Speaker 1: And I'm like, no, you suck today. Like let's call it what it is now. Does it mean I don't love you anymore?

00:08:49
Speaker 2: No?

00:08:49
Speaker 1: And if anything, it means okay, let's go to work.

00:08:51
Speaker 4: But I think that's where you find out if it's really the kid's passion, Jim, or your passion?

00:08:55
Speaker 1: Does it by you know?

00:08:56
Speaker 4: My dad used to say, you know, with my brother, he get in the car on the way home, and if you had a bad game, it was like, oh, well where my dad said, you would get in the car and it drove you crazy, like you wanted to get better. And so I think that's good, right, But you don't want to just kill the kid where eventually they're like, I don't want to do this anymore. Don't take that away. Teach passion, Teach hard work. You know, you come watch me coach. I practice hard. But then when the game comes along, let them go play. I mean, you know how hard it is. These parents are yelling at their kids. Keep your back, elbow up, you know. I'm like, first of all, you know how hard the game is. Guys, if you're sitting there thinking about all these things, you have zero chance. So it's like, let the kids at least figure it out on their own.

00:09:40
Speaker 3: You know.

00:09:40
Speaker 4: I don't tell our kids that ten year old girls. I don't yell at them during the game. If there's first and second the ball's hit, I don't tell them where to go. I want them to know where to go. We work on it. You know, if it's hit to short, you can get a quick out a third if not, flip it the second, like you want them to learn that stuff. And if that means you lose a game and you don't get a four dollars ring that they buy from Amazon, We'll be just fine.

00:10:02
Speaker 3: And you make a great point because that's one of the things that's happening in player development across baseball, where guys are not being allowed to play and figure out like where to play. They're they're giving him like these little cards. Okay, this is a guy. This is instead of watching the game and saying, Okay, if I'm in a second basement and I see as a left handed hitter and he's pulling everything, I'm going to slide over to the hole. Imagine that I was doing. It just doesn't happen anymore.

00:10:28
Speaker 4: No, And I was doing the Yankees Orioles with Bob Costas a couple of tuesdays ago when when Willie Mays died, right when he passed away, we were in the fifth inning, and I remember the one thing that came to my mind is could you imagine, because we just got done showing an outfielder looking at a card, I said, could you imagine giving Willie Mays a card? You know? When this guy comes up, you know, and I think about it. For me, I played next to Andrew Jones. You know, I think, besides Willie Mays, it might have been the greatest center fielder. Agreed, and I said, I just watched Andrew. I said, I could imagine an a guy telling Andrew you've got to move over two steps, Like sure, all right, I'll be right on.

00:11:05
Speaker 6: You know, Willie May is in the fifty four World Series. Let me see Rick Wartz. How do I play Vic Worts?

00:11:13
Speaker 4: But I agree, you talk about the minor leagues, Ruben guys come up now, and I hear it from all sorts of the you know, I talk to the you know, y'all's, Phillies coaching staff all the time. I talk to the Braves and Mett's. And then the number one thing that I'll say is these kids don't come up and really know how to play the game. And that's the most frustrating thing to them.

00:11:31
Speaker 3: Because they're not necessarily taught how to play the game. They're taught how to maximize their their talent and so and so that's a that's a really important element. I'm not saying every organization is like that, but there are a lot of them, and there's a lot of people who are running their organizations who don't understand those at the essence of what it is to be a winning player as opposed to just a player who's going to maximize his ability to play.

00:11:54
Speaker 1: You know, and I'll say this.

00:11:55
Speaker 4: You know, you talk about the Phillies, Rube, when y'all were there and you had Chase and Rob and Jimmy and Halladay, you had people that love the baseball. People ask me about this Phillies team all the time right now, for the last two three years. I said, they got people that love to play. I mean, you know, I golf with JT. Realmuto all the time. You know, they're all all the Phillies are coming out to well I shouldn't say that, madam.

00:12:17
Speaker 1: A few of them might be coming out play, right, got it.

00:12:20
Speaker 3: They do like the golf.

00:12:22
Speaker 4: They're coming out to play.

00:12:24
Speaker 2: You know.

00:12:24
Speaker 4: I play with those guys all the time, but they love to play baseball. We get out there, you know, and it's like, I won't bring it up specifically because I remember it's like, ah, you're playing golf, but what do we end up talking about for four and.

00:12:33
Speaker 1: A half hours while we play baseball?

00:12:36
Speaker 4: And so these guys live and breathe and sleep at Bryce Harper. I'll pay him because I know, oh for four it matters to him, not the money he gets. The money's great, he's gonna make playing, but it matters to him. Chase Utley when he was there, you know, he knew he was gonna make plenty of money, but that son of a gun hated to lose worse than anybody.

00:12:52
Speaker 1: And so I said, that's the one thing that Phillies have going right now.

00:12:55
Speaker 4: They got people that love to play the game of baseball.

00:12:58
Speaker 2: They do. I remember talking a couple a couple of springs ago, and I asked, like, who do you think in this clubhouse loves being a baseball player the most? And a couple of guys said Kyle Schwarber, Man, that guy is always talking about But every time I walk by Kyle Schwarber, he is literally talking about baseball.

00:13:12
Speaker 3: And I think there's a lot of guys in that clubhouse that do that.

00:13:15
Speaker 4: We can all say we know the long term deals the last five years that haven't worked out. I think you know, Rubin, you probably know better, and you knew it was going to be a train wreck. Some of these guys hated baseball. They're not going to play unless than one hundred percent healthy. And so then it's like, all of a sudden, they're not even playing and they've made one hundred and twenty million.

00:13:30
Speaker 1: I want to be like, did you not see that coming? Like, you know, did you not vet them? Did you not find out if they actually liked the game?

00:13:37
Speaker 3: Right? And may you make a great point. You make a great point. And you know, some guys, you know, get injured, and it's one thing, but but there are a lot of guys who who who you see out there who are getting paid and uh, and it's just so important. It's not it's not necessarily about just the talent. It's about their love and passion for the game.

00:13:57
Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:13:57
Speaker 4: I remember talking to Alex and Topless about that when he signed al and Riley, and he said, that's easy to me. These guys will make every dollar of it because they play, they want to play, they show up.

00:14:07
Speaker 1: It matters to them. They're grinding in the cage. They want to win, you know.

00:14:11
Speaker 4: And I think back to last year during the playoffs when the Phillies and Braves, and you know, the Braves weren't getting a hey hits, and Austin Riley was trying to do anything he could to get the guys going, and I'm like it mattered to him. You though, he's gonna be twenty million whether he hits one eighty or three twenty, but he cares, he cares what those numbers are, and those are the types of guys you want on your team.

00:14:31
Speaker 3: Frenchie.

00:14:31
Speaker 2: This is a great segue because Phillies Braves series beginning Friday night in Atlanta. Braves have so you know, they lost to Coony, they lost Strider, They're nine games back in the standings as we record this. Is this a series with any significance? Is it's early July? Does it matter? You know, what's what's the feeling like down there in Atlanta as the Phillies come to town?

00:14:51
Speaker 4: Well, I would think depending on the next three weeks and how that goes, this could be significant. Right, Like if you can cut it back to five or six games, you know, going into to the All Star break or August first, then yeah, you have somewhat of a pennant race. But you know what, the fields are playing great baseball, and you know they're doing everything they need to do and they're finally getting starting pitching Ranger Suarez between us and I. You know, I gave I gave Rob Thompson a hard time last postseason. You know, we were in his office every day and I'm like, well, you just let this guy throw seven innings.

00:15:25
Speaker 1: He's ready to do it.

00:15:26
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, I remember people would be like, yeah, our goals, try to get him through five, and I'm like, get him through five, He's no hit the Brakes through five innings.

00:15:33
Speaker 1: Well we've taken him out, you know.

00:15:35
Speaker 4: But but they have got great starting pitching, and then they have What I tell people is I think Zach Wheeler is the best pitcher in baseball. I do. If I had one guy to go start a play and it's no disrespect to Garrett Cole.

00:15:48
Speaker 1: Garrett Cole is probably my number two.

00:15:49
Speaker 4: But if I had one guy right now to go into a playoff game, I want Zack Wheeler on that mouth.

00:15:55
Speaker 6: I wonder, Jeff does it kind of eat the Braves a little bit that. I mean, Zach Wheeler is an Atlanta kid. He actually where your stadium is located is in Smyrna, right.

00:16:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's only like twenty minutes from HAWV Right.

00:16:10
Speaker 5: So he actually pitched in the Smyrna the Little League.

00:16:14
Speaker 6: Like, does it gall the Braves a little bit that they didn't make a run in him?

00:16:19
Speaker 1: You know, I would think so.

00:16:20
Speaker 4: But I will say this, if you think about it, the Phillies have got like a great he is. He's always been healthy and been able to work. You know, with the Mets those years he was hurt, you know, quite a bit. And so I think when they did that sign, it's like this could either go one way or could go It's kind of like with Alex and Thopolos when he signed Chris Sale to that big thing. I remember the two years forty and everybody's like, ah, man, but I thought, if he's healthy, which he's done, it's worth every penny. And it has been so I think you got to get a little luck there too. But you know, I mean again, he's been incredible. Aaron Nola has been so good for so long. I still remember in twenty fifteen, and I'm sure Reuben does you know he Aaron Nola is going to Triple A.

00:17:01
Speaker 1: And he scrimmaged us on that backfield that.

00:17:04
Speaker 4: Day and it was me, Chase, Ryan, you know, all these guys and we faced Nola and he threw like five innings, and I remember Chase going, is he gonna be our opening disc or second behind? He's like, why is this guy out with us now? And so, you know, they just got a lot of a lot of great players. You know, I think down here, though, it's funny. I think, you know, Braves fans have kind of been you know what, maybe let's finish fourth this year and try to go up to Philly and do what they've done to us.

00:17:34
Speaker 2: Him going, Frenchie, I'm telling you, if the Phillies meet the Braves in the NLDS, the Phillies win the division, there is gonna be this they might even talk about in Philly, but Phillies fans are gonna be nervous as hell that this this layoff, you know, from between the end of the regular season and the NLDS is gonna do what you know, do to them, what what the Braves thought it did to them. You know, it's gonna be that would be It's gonna be on everybody's minds.

00:17:58
Speaker 4: No doubt, said, you know what, but right baseball need this, Like how perfect would that be if it happened the other way? And you know, and here they are up in Philly Game one, and it's like here we go, you know. And so I actually I told someone the other day I think the Braves, even though the offense isn't as well hitting as well, they might be poised to play better in the playoffs if you have Lopez, Sale and Freed healthy, those three guys to make starts. I mean, I still tell people last year the Braves offense what they did last year, guys, And you know, I took a step back this year, but I did one hundred and ten games. It was incredible watching that night in a night out. I mean, it was like seven eight runs every game. But then they get to the playoffs, right and you come up to Philly for Game three. You remember they didn't know who the starting pitcher was until like four hours before the game, and I'm like, yeah, I'm not a good sign when you're going into a series and you don't know who your number three is. And Strider didn't throw bad, but he felt like he had to shut him out to win ball games at that point. So I do think the Braves pitching is better poised this year. So you know, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. But you know, I heard Brian Snickers say that, you know they're not going to give into this at all. You know, obviously the Phillies, you know, have a little tougher schedule coming up. So I think that's kind of where. You know, like I said, I think by the end of July, you'll have a good idea if this is going to be a race or if it's going to be like you know, the Braves are playing for that wildcard spot.

00:19:23
Speaker 6: Do you think I mean we hear that quote about four hours of hell in Philadelphia. Yeah, you were here for the postseason last year. What does it feel like from your perspective the impact that that stadium in full throat has on an opponent. Did it have an opponent in effect on the Braves and could it be in their head if we see Braves Phillies three.

00:19:48
Speaker 4: When things are going good, Yes, I mean I said it, when when they're hitting home runs and doing what they're doing. That place is the hardest place to play in baseball, hands down. I experienced it myself in O seven, eight nine in those years, and you know how he would come up and the bell would start raining.

00:20:04
Speaker 1: I'm like, well, here it goes, you know, and you're.

00:20:06
Speaker 4: Just I remember Tim Hudson admitting one time he's like, he I think you remember.

00:20:11
Speaker 1: I can't remember what game it was.

00:20:13
Speaker 4: It was late in the season, and I think he hit Chase two or three times. No how he hit three home runs out play, yes, but I think Tim Hudson hit utterly twice on purpose. He said, I was just sick of hearing the fans yell, and I just thought i'd put one right in his ribs, you know, and he's like, forget it. I was done with it. But I do think it also though, because if you remember Game six and seven last year the NLCS, when things got a little tight, those fans got quiet and they they they did. I think that's where the visiting team a little bit. You saw the Diamondbacks kind of take it. They started stealing bases, which we didn't see in Game one and two. And I'll tell you what, man, I I remember going to Game seven last year. You know, you're in the booth and it's you know, tight early the four and it was eerily quite like people people were nervous and tents and they were nervous, and you know when when the Diamondbacks won. I remember the first thing I did was, you know, I'm up there with Brian Anderson Ron Darling, and I backed my chair up because I'm I ain't taking a beer bottle to the face.

00:21:12
Speaker 1: These people too well.

00:21:14
Speaker 4: And of course my favorite part was the forty five minute ride back to the hotel where we turned on the talk radio.

00:21:20
Speaker 3: And I'm, oh, my goodness.

00:21:22
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm just like, holy smokes, you know, and we we put I think the whole ride was quiet because we just kept listening to every collar calling I've lived.

00:21:30
Speaker 1: Here fifty two years yet.

00:21:33
Speaker 4: You know, oh yeah, and you know our little runner is a kid named Noah, and he was he was the one that would drive us back to the hotel.

00:21:42
Speaker 1: Dude, this kid, poor kid.

00:21:43
Speaker 4: On the way home after game seven, I was just praying he didn't drive us off the bridge.

00:21:47
Speaker 2: He was.

00:21:49
Speaker 4: I kept telling him, I'm like, Noah, there's brighter days ahead, buddy, you know it's gonna be all right.

00:21:54
Speaker 1: You'll get back.

00:21:55
Speaker 4: But he because he picked us up game six, right and it was a slammed Ducks were winning, so he's.

00:22:01
Speaker 1: Like, we're partying the night in Philly.

00:22:04
Speaker 4: It didn't happen. So he picks us up on game seven. I remember thinking, how you doing, no, And he's like a little nervous to be honest with you, you know, but I'll tell you what though.

00:22:12
Speaker 1: It makes it so fun to play up there.

00:22:14
Speaker 4: And I remember the year before SMOLTI of course did all the games with Fox up there, and he's like, next year with TVs.

00:22:21
Speaker 1: He's like, if they're there, man, And of course it was awesome.

00:22:25
Speaker 3: Yeah knows this.

00:22:30
Speaker 1: It's awesome till it's not.

00:22:32
Speaker 3: You're right about that.

00:22:34
Speaker 6: One night, Frenchy when when Jimmy Rollins had his big hit against Broxton back in.

00:22:41
Speaker 2: Was that nine.

00:22:43
Speaker 6: Rubin was in his executive suite and he jumped up on the counter and was cheering so hard he almost fell out into the crowd.

00:22:51
Speaker 1: The crowdsurfed him at that point.

00:22:54
Speaker 3: I was big. Then, that was big for a minute. They liked me for a minute.

00:22:58
Speaker 6: They would have padded him on the back. Then a few years later they want to punch him in the mouth.

00:23:02
Speaker 3: That's right, speaking of that, you know, I was looking up the numbers after we signed you, and I guess the off season of twenty fourteen and you came to Philadelphia. Actually, I was looking up your numbers. You actually had a pretty good year that year, and you were sort of kind of bouncing around at that point, right. You played for several different ball clubs, but it was nice to have you. And one of the reasons why you did I did sign news because I knew, you know, what you were about, and what your makeup was about, and who you were as a clubhouse, you know, leader type of a guy. And so we had a lot of started to go into that transition of very younger players, and then I let go. I got let go, but I was looking at the numbers after I got let go. It's where I feel like you had some empathy for me, my friend.

00:23:46
Speaker 5: After I got let go, you really struggled.

00:23:48
Speaker 3: You weren't playing like every day anymore. It was like you were nine for forty eight with like a one eighty eight average like before that you were, you know, you had a really good year going and then I was gone, and you were like, oh.

00:23:59
Speaker 5: Man, I lost my guy.

00:24:01
Speaker 1: Rube.

00:24:02
Speaker 4: Well you say that, but you know, we knew each other really well. I knew Charlie really well. You know, we went to camp and me and Howie worked with Charlie religiously on those backfields, and I always, I always appreciate it because when I'd come up and play, you know, Charlie would talk hitting with me all the time, man, and we always talk about Charlie loving home run. There'd be like a game, maybe we'd be down six to one versus Phillies, and I'd be on deck and be like the eighth inning, you know, games pretty much over, and I remember Charlie would look at me kind of make eye contact and he'd be like, like, hit a home.

00:24:31
Speaker 1: Run, let me see something, you know. And I always appreciate it.

00:24:34
Speaker 4: But I felt comfortable there, you know, and Ruben, I'll say this, y'all made me feel needed I help those young guys. When I was playing, well, I got to run out there, and when all that kind of you know, we.

00:24:44
Speaker 1: We had talked a little bit before.

00:24:45
Speaker 4: Ruben, you know, was let go about coming back for a year or two, and so I, man, I played with a purpose. And then after that, you know, it's kind of like they're going to completely change this thing. And I knew I wasn't coming back, and that sucked, because I told you, I enjoyed my time up there, you know. Todd Jim, y'all talk to me all the time. You knew it, like I felt. I started like, man, I knew when I wasn't playing that, you know, between Sandberg and Pete, you know, it was like, hey, guys, if it's a six seventh eighth inning and there's a big moment, you're a pinch hitter, like you're a guy that's going up there to deliver a big knock, you know.

00:25:17
Speaker 1: And as a player, I took pride in that. You know, I would go down, work, get ready, get.

00:25:21
Speaker 4: My thing in. And when that kind of hit and it was changed, I'll be honest, the last month kind of sucked, man, because I knew I was on my way out after the season, and uh, you know, I didn't really want to be you know, I'd made that known, but you know they went in a different way, and uh, you know that was that. But I I loved it. I remember Ruben talking on the phone and he said, look, if you come to camp and do what you should, you should be on this team and you should make a difference. And so I went to camp, you know, put all the work in and and you know, played a big part. But it just it just one't meant to be Frenchie.

00:25:52
Speaker 5: You also had a good era, well for one inn, for one inning.

00:25:57
Speaker 4: I tell people that story all the time because it's one I'm my favorite, because we'd given up Drum Williams started that game. And remember if you go look, I think at the box score, we gave up a run every inning until the seventh, when this guy came in and went.

00:26:09
Speaker 1: One, two, three.

00:26:10
Speaker 4: And I remember I throwing what eleven or twelve pitches and I come walking in chest high, you know. I remember Cole and Aaron Harang and those guys are sitting there and I'm like, guys, it's not that hard.

00:26:20
Speaker 1: You just gotta throw fight. I remember.

00:26:23
Speaker 4: So I but I thought I was done right, and Rhino comes down. He's like, dude, that was solid. You got one more inning in you. And I'm like, one more inning, I can go nine, Like let's do this thing. And so I remember I was throwing ninety to ninety one and had the two seamer rolling in there, you know. And but I sat down for those fifteen twenty minutes, right, Well, I forgot that when you sit down and lose all that momentum and then go back out like that's why starters are starters, and relievers are relievers, and dude, I'll never forget.

00:26:52
Speaker 1: I went back. I went back out there, and it was a disaster.

00:26:56
Speaker 4: The first pitch I threw, if you remember at Camden Yards, it would shoot up like what it was, and and Flarity hit Ryan Flaerty hit a home run off first pitch I threw in that second inning and it said change up eighty.

00:27:07
Speaker 1: Three and I was like, no, that was my fastball.

00:27:11
Speaker 4: And then of course, you know, freaking Chase is about to get into it, you know, with pitching coach, and it was just like with McClure and I'm like, oh my god, this is this is not good.

00:27:21
Speaker 5: Frenchy, And you got to tell you told me this once, like you actually snuck up into the clubhouse before that inning and did something give us that the.

00:27:32
Speaker 1: Only time, you know.

00:27:33
Speaker 4: I'm so, I've actually, I've actually when I was in Philly, I can't remember where you I broke a young kid's phone.

00:27:40
Speaker 1: I'm not going to say who it was.

00:27:41
Speaker 4: But we got in after the game and the first thing they did, we got smoked, and he was looking at his phone and I threw it on the ground and then I handed him three hundred bucks, and I was like, I felt bad, but I was like, go buy one. I'm sick of watching it, you know, because again it mattered to me.

00:27:54
Speaker 1: I cared.

00:27:55
Speaker 4: I knew we weren't the most talented team, but I'm only get our face beat in, right, like, let's let's get after it. And so so I never had my phone, but I remember the only time in my life I called my my my wife, and I said, call my mom and dad, tell him I'm coming into the seventh inning. Turned out to TVR. That was about the fifth inning, and so I remember the sixth inning, trotting out there warming up. Man, my heart was pounding. I was ready to go. And but yeah, the only time I ever went to my phone. And that's why I actually when my wife answered, she thought like something was seriously wrong because she's, you know, she knows by five o'clock, I can't get in touch with Jeff. My phone's up. Like, if I need someone, I'll call the clubhouse guy, right like, but that was saying. Then I always tell people the funniest part is if you remember, you know, that was on a Tuesday night, and then we came home to play the Orioles on a Wednesday and Thursday, and I'll never forget that. Ryan Sandberg was like, my left ass cheek was hurting so bad. I threw forty eight pitches learning on it, and I couldn't walk. And so I remember we take the train back home and I was walking all crippled to the train cause my cheek heard so about it. And I remember Rhino going, you don't have to do anything tomorrow, like you have taken it for the team. You don't have to hit, you don't have to do anything. I'm like, thank God, like I didn't want to do it. So I get to the field the next day. I literally I think I spent two hours in the hot tub. I think the massage guy massage my tail, you know, for me, like it was just I wanted nothing. But then what happens is we get to the ninth inning in Philly and I think the Orioles were up one or two and we had a base runner and Zach Britton was pitching the old lefty closer Nasty. I think Mina Dubal Horreri were the only guys left on the bench, and I remember Rhino coming down to the bench to me kind of had his head down. He's like, Frenchie, if I send a double Herrera up there with you on the bench, I'm going to look like the biggest idiot in Philadelphia. And I'm like, I haven't taken a swing.

00:29:47
Speaker 3: Right all day.

00:29:49
Speaker 4: And I'm like, you know what, I'll go up there. And I remember I grounded out to second and I ran to first like Kurt Gibson in that World Series, and everybody. Of course, the game ends. You know, it's anti climatic, nothing happened. But I remember walking back in the dugout and Rhino just comes down and pats me and says, thanks, man, that was huge.

00:30:10
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.

00:30:11
Speaker 4: I've never got congratulated for hitting a ground ball the second in the game. That was the first. Frenchie, what can you tell us?

00:30:19
Speaker 2: You know during that game when you pitched, Bob McClure and Chase got into it. I mean, was that an all timer? How many F bombs and a half?

00:30:28
Speaker 4: There were fifteen F bombs being being thrown out there, and I remember Chase saying, he's done everything you've asked him to do. And I remember Bob saying, were you the pitching coach? I don't think so just play first base, because Chase was at first that thing, and I mean it was getting pretty serious, and I remember just finally getting between the two and I'm like, look, stop, like one more hitter. I'll do one more hitter. And if I don't, luckily I got that guy out in the inning. But man, I was like, we're gonna, you know, the season's already not going great. We're gonna have Chase Utley and Bob McClure dropping down on the pitching.

00:30:59
Speaker 1: Ma I'm going at it. And I just I remember looking.

00:31:02
Speaker 4: Over at but sher Walters and because remember that's when the Oriols they were hot. Man, they were good. That's when they had all those guys. And I remember looking over and Bucks like what are we doing?

00:31:11
Speaker 1: You know?

00:31:11
Speaker 4: And I just always walked it. That Actually, the last two three years, when we would do a TVs. Game and I'd go into Bucks office, we would talk about that situation every single time and he would just laugh.

00:31:21
Speaker 2: That's awesome.

00:31:22
Speaker 3: I mean, it was.

00:31:23
Speaker 2: It was an all time moment and during a really bad season that needed it needed some levity, it did.

00:31:29
Speaker 4: And don't think that every year on that day, Tom McCarthy doesn't send me happy anniversary. You know, he doesn't know my birthday, my anniversary, but he remembers the anniversary of me pitching.

00:31:40
Speaker 5: That's funny, Frenchie.

00:31:43
Speaker 6: One of the kind of the characteristics of this Philly team the last few years is their resilience, their toughness, whatever you want to call it. They lost Harper for a couple stretches in twenty twenty two. They lost them to a broken thumb, and they went They played twelve games over five hundred, So Phillies are a resilient club. I look at this Braves team. They lose, you know, they lose Fences Strode, they lose Ronald coun just just and and and the two guys at the corners are not having their big you know, Riley is still there.

00:32:14
Speaker 5: There's still a good ball club.

00:32:15
Speaker 6: You give Brian Snicker a little tip of the hat for that because he and Rob Thompson they kind of remind me.

00:32:22
Speaker 4: Of each other. You know, it's so funny. I've had so many people, but he's in Atlanta, text me, when is Snick gonna go in there and tip a table, you know, call a team meeting this And I said, I remember Bobby cox Man, who I you know how I love him like he's my second dad. And I remember you say team meeting is for losing losers. You have team meetings when you're losers. Like, if you have the right players in that clubhouse, they will police themselves and they'll get through it.

00:32:45
Speaker 1: And I want to give them the opportunity.

00:32:47
Speaker 4: And so you know when you talk about Rob Thompson, I look at him a lot and snit When things weren't going well last year, the last two years for the Phillies, the first three four months, it never was this like blow up the clubhouse, do it. You have confidence in those guys that they're gonna pick it up and they're gonna do it. And I think that's where Snit does the same. You know, with those with those braves, guys like, look, y'all are good, you have back of baseball cards, You've done what you can do. At some point you're gonna turn it around, right, And I think that goes to show you, though, how hard the game of baseball is.

00:33:18
Speaker 1: Man.

00:33:18
Speaker 4: That you know, guys like Austin Riley can have the year they had last year and they'll spend a month where they can't hit, and it's like, this game is so tough, man. I mean, Jackson Holliday was a perfect example of that, right, Like, I think this guy's gonna be incredible, But he came up to the big leagues and they found a weakness, dude, and they exploited it. I watched numerous those bats. They were running balls in on him, trying to get him quick on the inside and then going away. And it's like, until you figure that stuff out. But we talk about it now, right, these gms now are given no ability to try to build something. Chris Getz, you know who's with the White Sox. He's one of my best friends. We played together in Kansas City, we go on vacation. I feel so bad because I'm like, are they gonna give him three years to try to build this thing? Because it's like, you can put any manager you want with that team. They're not winning a bunch of games. They don't have the talent. And that's what you know, Chris told me this year, I'm trying to find out who wants to play, who can play, who can produce, and who and then kind of go from there. But again, so what happens Jim they bring all these kids up, that Braves kid, Hurston, Waltrip, they brought up last month or whatever, eighty five and a third innings in the minor leagues, and now you're expecting him to go get these grown men that have put these massive numbers up. It might work for an inning, it might work for two starts, but if they don't know how to fail.

00:34:36
Speaker 3: And get back, it's too tough.

00:34:40
Speaker 1: Man.

00:34:40
Speaker 3: This this game will beat you up.

00:34:41
Speaker 4: I remember when I got me and Brian mccannon our first year in minor league ball. I remember Dayton Moore, you know who is the Braves head of the minor league. At that point, Dayton said, y'all are playing the whole year in Rome. I don't care if you hit seven to eighty, You're gonna play the whole year in Rome. I want you to learn bus rides. I want you to learn three game series. I want you to learn day games at ten o'clock in the minor leagues after you know a night game. But he's like, I want you to experience a full season. So don't think just because you're doing well, we're going to move you up on the fast track, like you will get there when you get there, and I always appreciated that because they gave us time to go through a full season. Unfortunately, the way that these gms and presidents now they feel like they got a winner. They got to put you in. They don't give them time that they rush these kids. You know, it's Kyle Wright. Y'all watch Kyle Wright for years with the Braves. Everybody kept asking all the time, what's wrong with Kyle Wright? And I'm like, nothing's wrong. You don't have experience just because he dealta Vanderbilt. You know, he's got to learn how to pitch. And when he finally learned how to pitch two years ago, you remember what happened twenty one games he was incredible, ninety five sinking in you know, obviously got hurt, but I'm like, he finally learned how to pitch.

00:35:49
Speaker 7: And yeah, that was one of the most important things when we talked about well, you know Cole Hamil's and Aaron Nola, because you guys can't rush these guys up there.

00:35:57
Speaker 3: You have to let them. They have to learn how to fail, because they basically had not failed ever and bounced back from failure. Always believe in that. Let's see how this guy reacts when he gets beat up a little bit, because if he gets beat up at the major league level, he may not bounce back, he may not figure it out, and it'll be panicking instead of, you know, unless he's got a certain level of confidence. And I think, you know, players are being developed at the major league level now instead of being developed at the minor league level, and it's speed up baseball. And I think it's a detriment to the game.

00:36:31
Speaker 1: I do too, And that's why you talk about it.

00:36:33
Speaker 4: I talked to Freddy Freeman about this all the time, because you know, we talked about no time in our game has pitching been more nastier than it is now. Guys starting a hundred, just balls going off the thing. But as Freddy Freeman told me, no time in our game have the pitcher's ever been stupider. And he goes, he goes, you know, O two to two. Oh, it doesn't matter, you know. And I for perfect example, I did the Subway series, you know, last week, and at City Field and the Mets up nine to one, it got to nine to three bases loaded, and Rite Garrett threw through two nasty sliders to judge he took them both and now it's an O two count, and then he threw a fastball at ninety nine out over the plate belt high and he hits the Grand Slam, and I remember thinking, I'm like, that's a layup for him. I mean, you just and that's what Freddy says. Whether I'm in a two zero count O two, I feel like there's not counts anymore, Like you just wait for that pitcher to make a mistake and you capitalize. Now, honestly, they're two of the better hitters in the game. But I'm just saying these guys didn't get a chance to develop down in the minor leagues. This is how you pitch. This is what you do. So that's what's impressive when you do get a guy like a Zach Wheeler. You know, Rinaldo Lopez, what he's doing for the bravest here. When you've got stuff and the smartness, they know how to pitch, they're just carving people.

00:37:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it.

00:37:54
Speaker 6: Lopez gonna you know, make it for the season because he's been a reliever and doesn't have that anything, so.

00:37:58
Speaker 4: You know, but but he's been a ever but he's been a starter for a long time, and I think, you know, that goes to show you sometimes, you know, And I don't want to call anybody out, but the stupidity, the fact that this guy hasn't been a starter.

00:38:09
Speaker 1: The whole time, right, what do we do it?

00:38:12
Speaker 2: You know?

00:38:12
Speaker 1: Like you, I mean, Ruben knows this.

00:38:14
Speaker 4: If you have anybody, if they give me every five days for thirty starts, I want them doing that. They're way more valuable than one inning here and there.

00:38:22
Speaker 1: And so I do.

00:38:23
Speaker 4: Lopez is a big guy too, man, I I don't think he's gonna break. And I think the Braves are done a good job of you know, a few of the games he's pitched. You know, he's throwing like seventy four seventy five pitches and they got them out if they're up, you know, six to one in the sixth inning. But I also think something that doesn't get talked about enough. And one thing I actually do like that the Braves do is look at you know, Rick Kranitz, who I love Cranny and he talks all the time about stressful pitches and he's like, if guy's out there mowing, and that's what we talk about Wheeler, Right when people how many games do we watch Wheeler where he'll throw seven ings, one hundred and ten pitches, but zero stress. I mean he's not he's not worked up, doesn't care. It's nice and easy. So I don't think innings is that big of a deal compared to how stressful. So that we talk about young kids that come up, right, most of those innings are stressful for these kids. Man, they're trying to do it, so that those are the ones you have to watch. But I don't think guys like that. I think he'll be fine.

00:39:16
Speaker 6: Jeff Alex Santopoulos, we're big fans of him. Once he cut up his sleeve later this month's trade deadline.

00:39:22
Speaker 1: I'm sure something.

00:39:23
Speaker 4: I know everybody in Atlanta's wondering, you know, what, what what are you gonna do? But I think one thing that he's proven is it's not always the big acquisition, right, it's the right fit. And I go back to twenty one when they, you know, won the World Series and beat the Dodgers. You know, the Dodgers went out and got Sureser, they got Turner, you know, I got the big sexy names, and you know who ended up being the NLCS and World Series MVPs. It was freaking Eddie Rosario and Jorge Silaire right like they got the right guys and for not a lot. So I think you'll see him do something. You know, there's a lot of talk down here with Shortstop too, because Arcia, as good as he's been defensively the best finally kind of hit that, you know, at level a little bit. And so I think you might see, might see an upgrade there.

00:40:08
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be some I would be. I wouldn't be surprised if mister Boushett finds his way. You know, I got he's got some He's got some mystery with him too, exactly.

00:40:17
Speaker 4: And Alex knows the you know, the Toronto thing, and and you know, I think a guy like him would actually fit great in Atlanta too. And I think it would help Riley. I think it would bring an edge like that's what we talk about too, like one thing the Phillies had last year, and you know, and and I said this, and I think a lot of Brace fans finally realized it in that four game series, with the edge the Phillies played with compared to the edge the Braves played with. And that's what I said. You you got to you got to have a lot of guys that that want to play and want to play the game hard. And you know, you look at that that you know what Harper and Arcia with the whole thing when he turned and looked at for baseball people, you know, you look at you like, this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Like it's nothing, but the fans raw behind it. They thought it was the biggest deal. And so I'm like, yeah, smart, like you got it going. You got everybody fired up.

00:41:07
Speaker 1: You know.

00:41:07
Speaker 4: So I do think a guy like him, man with the edge he plays, that could be a great thing.

00:41:11
Speaker 3: Yeah. Good. I think I always believed in this. I mean, you have to have talent, but you have to have a little asshole in you too. I mean, I mean, and that's that's important. I think it's an important that you got to have a little bit of that in you and you have to have a little a little bit of grind.

00:41:25
Speaker 4: And I love I sat at his locker numerous times and told him, you're an asshole man, and he's like, I know, you know, like you didn't care, I know, but you have.

00:41:34
Speaker 2: We had we had Chase on a few weeks ago and he told some great series. Do you have a great Chase story, Chase story that you could tell us that you might we might not know, just of him during a game, or what you admired about him.

00:41:46
Speaker 4: Well, I will tell you this one of the great Chase Utley stories. I remember, and this is early on in two thousand and six, the World Baseball Classic, And you know I was on that team. He was on that team as the first World Baseball Class and Buck Martinez was the manager, and you know, you got all these superstars on their a Rod, Bonds, Griffy in this And I remember Buck Martinez telling me one time a few years later, and I didn't know this went on there, but you remember, like he was that's the hard thing, right, you get all these guys. It was like he would play Kensler one day or whoever it was Chase the next and there was all these things. And I remember Buck said, Chase came into his office and told him I'm the best player on your team. You need to play me everything.

00:42:27
Speaker 1: I remember Buck going, I'm.

00:42:29
Speaker 4: Sitting here and I got you know, Chipper, Griffy, a Rod, and here's this young punk comes in telling me he's the best player. He's got And that was the confidence that Chase played with, Like like he he got out on that field and he wanted you to know that he was the best player, and if not, he was going to show you why he was the best player. Maybe not with a hit, but the way the way he played, the way he you know, ran the bases, Like that's the one thing I always tell people about Chase Atlee. I could truly say I probably never ran one hundred percent every time I hit a ground ball. Chase Hutley ran the first one hundred percent every time you hit a ground ball. He's the only guy I've ever seen do it. And that's a fact.

00:43:10
Speaker 3: He also would take.

00:43:11
Speaker 2: He also like didn't mind getting hit by pitches as well.

00:43:13
Speaker 3: I mean that guy.

00:43:16
Speaker 4: And that was the thing that I appreciated about Jimmy and Chase vic Dono. You know, they got up on the plate man and like if you got hit.

00:43:24
Speaker 1: You got hit. Like they they were up there for.

00:43:26
Speaker 4: A reason, right, Like they never minded getting hit, Like, hey, I'm putting a base runner on for Howie or who or whoever was coming up. A bay is behind it, and so it's like if you hit me, you're gonna have to deal with the repercussions of facing the two or three guys behind me, and so again it was a mindset. And when I look at this Phillies team, I tell people, man, last year, you know, I was doing Game one in Atlanta and JT hit me up and he's like, hey, do you want to play golf? And I remember thinking like, well, when are the Phillies getting in town? You know, because y'all just even though you won Wednesday on that thing. And he's like, yeah, the day before and the Phillies to work out at four or five that day?

00:44:02
Speaker 1: Do we played twenty seven holes?

00:44:03
Speaker 4: We teed off at eight thirty, go out with JAT And I'll be honestly, this is when I was kind of like, man, the Braids could be in trouble. From a standpoint of I was with JT. Stott and Trey Turner and it was it was the four of us playing golf and we get done with eighteen. I remember thinking, well, don't y' all practice and they kind of look at their watch like we can squeeze nine more, and well, you know me, I'll play golf from sun up to sundown from super rolling boys, and you know, we had action going on, betting and all this stuff and just having the best time. And they got in the car and literally busted at the truest part. But for me, it was more of they've done this all year and just because it's the playoffs, we're not going to change how we do things. And I think that's one cool thing that, like when you would walk in it felt like a regular season game, and when players can make it that, when managers can make it that. And I remember Brian Snicker in nineteen when they got to the playoffs for Saint Louis that year, and remember they lost that game five and Aviage got rock. But I remember Smith saying him and Alex he finally went to him, was like, enough of these meetings, enough of this four and a half hour going through like we played baseball a certain way, this is the way we need to do it. And I remember Snit saying when they went to the twenty one playoffs and they made that run, like they did the same thing that they did all season, and he said, players feel that. Players feel like, hey, there's not a lot of pressure. Rob Thompson imagine he knew those guys were playing. He I got to the field and he asked me, how'd you do against those guys today? And so my point is it could have been easy to say, guys, this is the playoffs. We're not taking the clubs, we're not doing this. But it's like, y'all done it all year, it's worked, you're comfortable with it. Let's keep doing it. And I always I appreciate that.

00:45:41
Speaker 2: I totally agree.

00:45:42
Speaker 7: Hey, Chiff French, you had a quick question about this just you personally, and you've done a lot of the stuff in the game, played for a lot of organizations, a lot of managers had the kind of thing, and he thought that you would ever want to be back on the field in that sort of role coach, manager, leader in some way, shape or form.

00:45:58
Speaker 4: Well, my handicap it's too good right now, and then how else would.

00:46:04
Speaker 1: I get to get to do this for freaking three weeks in July?

00:46:09
Speaker 3: A great point. I know you got young kids too.

00:46:12
Speaker 4: And that Reuben, I've said this my and my wife has been awesome about you. Like when the kids get older and they're done, go you go coach, do whatever you want to do. And I would I would love to coach because I love you know, just just coaching my kids. I love teaching the game right. I love seeing I love seeing them struggle with something. I love them seeing work hard and figuring it out and the smile that lights up their face when they're like I accomplish something right, And so I think, you know, I would love to do that, but right now for me, just with my kids. You know, I always tell people this, man, I am who I am because of my dad.

00:46:44
Speaker 1: My dad, you know, I tell people all the time.

00:46:45
Speaker 4: My dad gave up the chance to be a superintendent in the Cab County Schools, which is one of the biggest counties in the state of Georgia my sophomore year high school because he's like, I'm not gonna be able to watch my son play. And he's like, I'm gonna have to be at this meeting, this meeting. My sister was playing Division III college basketball at the time, and he's like, I'm not giving up. So I watched my dad give up a dream to sit here and.

00:47:07
Speaker 1: Follow me and my sister.

00:47:09
Speaker 4: So as when I kind of did this last year between us, we were on a ten day road trip out west and I was in I think Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, and I remember waking up one morning and I called my wife and I'm like, I'm done. I can't do this, Like I want to be home with our kids, coaching them, developing them.

00:47:25
Speaker 3: And you know, it's actually been fun.

00:47:26
Speaker 4: I've gone to like two or three Braves games this year with my kids and why it's the first time I've ever watched a baseball game with my kids, and I get to point out the little, you know, things that are going on that maybe they wouldn't notice if I wasn't there with them, you know, and it's like, oh, I see, you know, why did they do this? Or so? But I would love to coach someday. Man, it's fun to be a part of it, you know it. I mean, between coaching and being in the front office, there's definitely this balance. But when you're down there on the field, man, you really feel a part of a team. And I always say that there's no better feeling, you know. I got to play in the World Series in twenty ten with the Rangers, and it was like going through that grind of the postseason and getting the World Series, Like you you have a bond with those guys that you'll always have you know, I text with mikey Young and all those guys all the time, just from that short time in Texas.

00:48:15
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Well, Frenchie, thanks a lot, man. We really appreciate the time. If you haven't checked out Pure Athlete, check it out seriously. It is so good, you know, eight year old son. For me, it's just tremendously helpful. It calms me down. Every once in a while, I hear these athletes talking about and you talk about it, and your co hosts talk about, you know, trying not to like these are they're eight years old, they're nine years old.

00:48:38
Speaker 3: Keep it fun, keep it fun.

00:48:39
Speaker 4: You know, you know, but you know what I tell all the time. Like I was at the game actually early this year when remember Ron with Cooon you dropped the fly ball in right field, like just a random fly ball, and it hit me like a ton of bricks because I'm like, here for one of the best players in all the world is doing this. How do I how do I yell at a ten year old girl every once in a while she drops the fly ball right So it's been fun. I will tell you. I have to I have to interrupt my vacation next week because I will be up in Philly with Brian Anderson for the Dodgers Phillies Tuesday night. Oh night, So you make sure to tell Frank two scoops and I want three scoops of cookies and cream crush out. We'll work on it.

00:49:23
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. Well thanks, make sure you pick up a couple of grouper and send him to us. Let's go.

00:49:30
Speaker 2: Thanks again to Jeff Frank Core. The Philly Show will be back on Monday. Thanks everybody, This is the Philly Show. If you haven't already, please subscribe to The Philly 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 Reuben, Jim and Me on Phillies Nation TV, presented by Valley Forge Tourism. New episodes air an hour before every Saturday Phillies game on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Replays air throughout the week and on Philliesmation dot com. Get more of Reuben'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 MLB Network