Dexter Fowler’s AWESOME stories on Cubs World Series run, Bill Murray, SNL cameo | Lovable Reunion

Anthony Rizzo, David Ross, Dexter Fowler. Welcome back to another
episode of Lovable Reunion. Today is what I've been looking
forward to as my favorite episode. We have Dexter Fowler here.
We're talking ten year anniversary of our World Series championship.
Crazy.
Dexter was one of the most, if not important, piece
of the whole formula that we had to win the
World Series And Dexter, can you believe it's been ten years?
I cannot believe it's ten years. We celebrate our ten
year A little bit of the tenure, like the precursor
of it, little appetizer, a little amphathizer, and it got wild.
I can't even imagine, like during the year when we
really do it, how.
It's going to be bro And what I like, and
I'm gonna say earlier here is these three were the
three main circus ring leaders of the Clubhouse at all times.
And when I look back at this team and our
time together, the you two are the two that I
think about because we would just come in every day
with some bullshit that we were going.
To do nobody.
No one was safe at anything, whether.
That's the owner's Joe, everybody's it's we drag.
On each other, and like, the the thing I look
back at most is if I was tired one day,
I knew Dexter would bring it. If if Dexter was
tired one day, ROSSI would bring it. Like if if
for some reason US three were off, we'd have Strophi
or uh, Travis would bring in it. Like but US
three were the main stal warts. And that's like, I
can't wait to get.
Into these stories now. Are some of my favorite teammates honestly,
like because just for that, like that fact that I mean,
you are great players, but good in the locker room.
Like some teams, you just go in and you just
see like the magic and you see you two have
the right people in line to be there, and I call,
I'll see the judge, the jury, everything. It's like ROSSI,
what is it? And he's like this is what he says,
and that's what goes.
Yeah you're the boss.
Yeah. Literally I get for being a career two twenty
hitter on that team.
But I.
Look back, I did get a lot of credit, and
I think, like from leadership perspective, and like I'm glad
that I have my piece. But the cool thing to
me is I never told the media what I did
or who I was. Like, that was all you guys
giving me that love. And I say that in such
a positive way because of the special humans that we had
on that team took my hard love sometimes and like
actually listen to the message rather than sometimes I think
I can be a little more aggressive, and you guys
listen to the message and still gave me love back.
I tell a story all the time when I speak.
Is that about knowing everybody watching everybody in rooting guys on,
Like it's stuck in my mind about like I said,
at the top step, and you would make a diving
play and center field for the first out, and then
the pitcher would give up four more runs, four runs
in that inning, and everybody's pissed off coming back, And
like I think part of the part of being a
good teammate is like remembering that freaking tech catch the
decks made when he comes off. So then if Dex
dogs it down the first baseline, he knows I'm watching
it all and I'm giving love where love's deserved, and
you're giving criticism where it's like, hey, this is how
we want it.
You know, always take that after ya you would always
do that. They're good at that.
Man.
As I got older in my career, I'd always make
sure to go over to someone good batter and different.
Hey man, nice like hey keep grinding or nice play
bro like giving them their love.
That means, I mean it's important that when and that's
how you are able to criticize I think or sometimes
give tough love is because like, wait a minute, this
dude's always giving me love.
Let me just least listen to that. When you come
at them with with the tough love, it's like okay,
well at least.
And that's the thing about it is like you have
different pieces, like you were to piece on the field,
like hey, look like we looked at rid Is like
picking ship, Like yeah, we looked at this plat Glover,
Like we looked at this dude like and we saw
his work ethic.
We saw him out there grinding with his back hurt.
But you see stuff like that and you know, like
I can go talk to him and he's gonna it's
gonna be received well. Like for me, like being in
a locker room with a bunch of different and this
is every locker room, but a bunch of.
Different characters, young, old, the world.
That's what I said. I was like the middleman, Like
so everybody you would come to me, or or Lester
or Lackey would come to me and can you talk?
You should talk to what some ma. But I would
also bounce stuff off of him, just he was like
my sounding board, Like, hey, bro, like this dude's coming
to me. I don't have all the answers, and I
would be remiss if I didn't reach out to him
because he's been on teams.
He knows how it's done.
Like look like you said, I had seven years in
the big leads at the time, and I was like,
there's the younger guys, the older guys. But there was
a big gap, right yeah, in that in that locker room,
and I was kind of just trying to fill the gap.
You got, you got? I mean, this is what I'm
super underrated. We haven't talked about this. We talked about
the pieces we brought him fifteen, and everyone instantly thinks,
Joe Matt and John Lesser, David Ross, you got traded
in fifteen.
To us that came trading baby.
Yeah, but we have a bona fide leadoff hitter coming
in that the game like you're like almost like the
last guy to be a leadoff hitter, Like that's actually
what a leadoff hitter stereotypically looked.
Like.
No, I appreciate it that it was funny because you know,
Males kind of facilitated that whole thing. So Males, Yeah.
So John Mealy is our hitting coach.
So Males was my coach and my hitting coach in Houston.
When I was in Houston, and I remember going against
I was rehabbing.
I messed my intercostal. So I was rehabbing.
I was playing for Oklahoma City and we were playing
against the Iowa Cubs.
KB.
I played against KB sol Air Hobby. It just got
called up. Manny was down there and we're playing.
We played like we have three or four games, and
we played a double hitter against him, and they aren't
launching balls like.
KB is going apple like we know KB does. So
Lair hit me a ball.
I'm playing center field and I'm like I'm like this
is you know, minor league baseball, like do tip balls
and it's not like the big leagues like when Dow
tip balls and they do what of these?
So he is like, one, I hit you in Atlanta.
That took a left turn.
We need to talk about that. So he hits the
ball and I'm running for the ball and I'm like
I got this and I'm like whoa And the ball
hits off the wall.
Field off the wall, throw it in and I'm like,
this is a grown man.
Like these dudes are going to be really good to
Males gets the job over there, and I text Males
and I was like, Males, like, I know. When I
came back, I told him, I said, I said, Males,
the Cubs they're gonna be nasty in about a year
or two. Bro, these dudes coming up are nasty, like ready,
like big ly ready. And he goes, that's you know,
my city. Like he gets he gets the job over there,
and I texted him. I was like, Bro, I need
to be I need to be there. I need to
be with you, and he's like, you really want to
I was like, bro, like yes, I'm gonna be a
free agent. Bro, I want to play with y'all, like like.
This team is gonna be crazy. And so he ended
up talking to the people and we they but he
started that conversation did you get traded for you?
Remember? Uh?
Luisa? Right, Yeah, uh was Dan.
STRALI yeah, Australia.
Bro.
I remember, well, like you're getting traded. We played you
in the Rockies, right, but the Rockies are smaller markets, like,
but you guys always raked you DJ to like just Nolan,
like Cargo, everybody was a beast holiday dire.
Yeah, like Nelton was there.
I said, you can't. I was gonna say that earlier,
like you came up.
I was Holiday, Yeah, that was those are my Yeah.
Brad was the first basement too, and I was.
And then Cargo came up like that traded over there.
What I knew about you was like your pregame, your
pre a bad routine and you like your little stretch
stretch that's right because.
I remember everybody else's bullshit. Yeah.
And but to come over and instantly year one, like
how it's not easy getting traded. You just got traded
to Houston the year before. How are you able to
come over and ingrain yourself so fast? And a team
that like in fifteen were like yeah, we thought we
could be good, but like we had to build that
confidence honestly.
Like for me, which made me feel the most.
Comfortable was Joe Madden. Yeah, because I played on teams
like Joe was my favorite manager because Joe let me
be me. Yes, like everybody else would be like, hey, Dex,
we're gonna need you to do this.
I was like, bro, can I just go? Would you
just let me go play?
I did like I understand the game. I know how
to play the game. Let me go play. And the
best managers for me were like, hands off debts, just
go do you every day?
Right.
So when I first got to I don't know if
you remember this, when I first got to Chicago, I
like the first month, like first bad bat of the game,
I was punching out, Like remember I got punched out
and I got the first half. I got punched out
nineteen times on balls. Yeah, remember when we went in,
we had the meeting with it. But this is the
whole other thing. So we're sitting there and.
You had a meeting with the no.
But first Joe called me up in the office because
I'm like, I'm leaning off this. Dude's gonna move me down.
I know I already know, like just from PTSD of
the years DENI just.
Started psych battle that no one realizes that right when
you grind and you don't have your right years.
So now I'm looking over him every day. I'm like
the line exactly.
Joe probably pulled you in and said you're a guy.
Joe pulled me in.
The office, and I never forget this. He put me
in the office, he said, debts because he used to
ask me. He goes, hey, what are you gonna do
first at back? And you know me, I'm like strike
out like he started laughing.
He goes, no, no, you can't think like I.
Was like, I'm just what I'm saying like, and I
would sit there and he told me. He goes, dex,
all I need you to do is be decks. He goes, look,
every day you come in here, you're gonna be leading off.
I don't care how good you do. And I said look,
and the hair stand up on mind and I said,
this is the first time somebody's ever told me that. Like,
I'm coming in every day, I don't have to look
at the lineup. I normally no. And but you know,
if we're not playing, they tell us the day before, hey,
we're gonna give you a dath like all right, cool,
like whatever, Sure, I understand that. But every day that
I was playing, I was leading off and I took
that mindset.
I was like, but you want to do well for
guys like that, right right right, because.
He believes in you. So I'm gonna play.
I'm gonna run through this fucking wall for this dude.
It's confidence and you're also relaxed. Exactly, I'm not looking
over my shoulder. And if I have a zero for
five game, I'm in there tomorrow. And he proves that
track record, it's like, oh, okay, I get to go
have my say I'm a free a. I'm gonna go
have my year, have my year. And especially when earlier
about the you.
Got what everyone was at different points in their career.
Joe another thing, the five levels of a big leaguer,
right like happy to be there when make money, went whatever,
and Daxton sixteen, we're getting a little head but was
on his paper Chase, we knew he was gonna be
a free agent. And it's like as a responsibility as
a team, like let's get this through paid, right, Like
that's what it's all about at the is winning and
like setting up your life forever.
Sure sure, And I say this as not really knowing,
but because I left, but after sixteen, the questions I
got a lot in seventeen, eighteen and nineteen were what
what is it missing? What is it missing? I think,
why why weren't they as successful? You know? And it's
like every piece matters, you know what I mean, Like
you being gone in that staple in the top of
the lineup is a big freaking deal, you know. And
now that the people that took your place aren't good players,
it's just like there's a bigger dynamic that kind of
comes in with that. And you were such a the
personality outside of your performance and who you were and
coming back, man, I think my favorite one of my
favorite moments as a player is and so confused is
watching you walk out to the field in sixteen in
spring training and he's back. Bro. Hey, I'm telling you
you can't get your head out of the phone. Get
on that phone. Let's get some seat geeked seats for
Chesney at the Sphere.
Unbelievable show, Chesney at the Sphere, Rufus at Wrigley Are
you kidding me?
Rufus assault, Oh yeah, let's go if you want me.
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Thanks dude, Bro, I remember.
Talking to you like that week. I said, what do
you do when he goes to dar comedy? Bro? I was, so,
I was, what the fuck?
Bro?
Like, we're talking every day for the most.
Part, goes you better And you know what he told me,
He's gonna sign with the Oriole. No, he goes, you
better not come back. This is even before that.
He goes you better not come back and not tell.
Me yes, yeah, yeah, he goes you better not do that.
And I said, Bro, I'm gonna let you know I'll let.
You know, bro, you know, I mean, I'm like, heyde Scoop,
you gotta have inside scoop.
And then you come back.
Well, the backstory on this, I want to yeah, I
want to hear like, yeah, A lot of people don't
know the better, like how all that went down. So
I say goodbye to the Cups. I remember we were
building our house here in Vegas, and like three days
before two days before that or three days before that,
we're sitting here and Baltimore, US and Baltimore were going
back and forth. My agent in Baltimore and Baltimore was
trying to make me pay for the draft pick. You know,
I had the qualified offer, so they were trying to
make me pay for their draft pick once they get me,
like they lose a draft pick. They were like, we
feel like the draft pick is worth this much. So
basically I was going to pay for the draft pick.
And I said, okay, if that's the thing. So they
offered me a three year deal. Was kind of disrespectful
at the time, and I was like, bro, I made
more than that aav before this, and I go, you know,
we're having these talks and back and forth, and then
I said all right, how about you give me X
amount of dollars we can keep the same and give
me an opt out after the first year.
And they said, we before like an opt out even.
Right, And they were like, we don't do And I said,
and I'm not paying for a traff pick. So we're
back at square one, so we're never gonna get anywhere.
Then I told THEO. Theo's like, hey, look man, like
I want to offer you this amount. I forgot what
them mo out was, but we were like two million off, right,
And I said, bro, I can't look at my family
in the eyes and tell him like I'm going to
take this to come back here. And he goes, I
totally get it. I said, so I appreciate everything. Tell
Joe I love him, like, tell tell the Rickkins family,
I appreciate it.
Like, And I said, thank you for everything you've done.
Man, traded me over here. Man, it's been the best career,
best season in my career. Hung up the phone. I
get a call.
Back from THEO the next day.
THEO goes, decks, we're a million apart, like, let's figure
this out. Was I said, if we can figure it out,
then I'm back like and he goes, all right, give
me a minute, call me back.
Like three hours later.
It was like, hey, so we're gonna like, let's let's
meet at thirteen and let's we'll try to slice it
anyway we can and like to better you and then
you'll have an opt out whatever. However they did it.
However they sliced it. They were like, but and I
was in the design studio and right what he said,
I'm gonna figure it out.
Baltimore came and was like, dexy signing with the Orioles.
Like, I get a.
Text from Andrew McCutcheon, No, not Andrew McCutcheon, and Cutch
is like, bro, congrats on the deal, that's awesome whatever,
And I'm like, I call my agent, Casey, and I'm like, Casey,
what the fuck are they talking about. I'm literally designing
in the design studit of my house, looking at furnishes
and all that. And he's like, don't answer anybody's calls.
Let me figure this out, let me call it. I
don't know what. I don't know what's going on. So
he's making calls and stuff, and my phone is going
like I can't wait. The baldewin minutes who I played with,
the with the with the with the Rockies, Manny Machado,
Adam Jones. They're texting me like, bro, like hey, you're
gonna be sick, like you're gonna love Showalter whatever. Everybody
text me, And I'm like, for me, I'm like, you know,
how honest I am. I'm like, I want you want
to tell him, but B it's not true. It's not true.
That's true. But my agency said, don't
say anything. So I said to THEO now and he goes, yeah,
THEO knows. I already talking to THEO like we're good.
We're good on this side. He goes, but you can't
repeat it.
That's perfect.
End up going and THEO calls me back. He goes, thanks, Im,
gonna need to get you down here tonight for physical.
He goes, we can't tell him. We're not telling anybody.
He's the only people didn't know is me, Jed and
Tom and Jim. He's like yeah, and PJ. Yeah, it
was the only people didn't know, and the obviously the
docs and VJ. So we end up going down there,
kept it quiet, drove, I drove my car down there,
took the physical at like eleven PM. Yeah, dr Adams, Yeah,
he was talking.
He came.
He came there fresh right at dinner, had to leave
dinner early. I was like, I'm so sorry, and he
was like, bro, it's good. Got the physical done and
he goes. THEO goes, we're not gonna we gotta we
got a surprise. We're not gonna say anything. I said.
I said, I'm not I haven't said anything. He goes,
So I stayed at the Phoenician, came over the next day.
He goes, I'll call you in the morning and I'll
tell you what's going on. So he gave me the
l A lamb.
We're sitting in my.
Car and me and THEO were sitting there talking just
like like just shoot, like this is gonna be crazy.
Like he goes, yeah, Joe's.
Gonna get everybody together like a meeting and whatever, and
we're gonna walk out. He goes, give us five minutes,
walk in there, walking out, And I said, that's that
was the best day. And I said this at the
at the rear, that was the best day of my career, honestly,
Like because you sit there and you look at like
teams and I mean, mind you in the off season.
He signed Jay. Hey, you signed Lacky, you signed you
signed Zobie, You signed all these guys that we were missing.
At fifteen, we went to the Nationally Championship Series, and
if we had those dudes, then we go back to back.
You know, it had been crazy like but we were
just missing those one of those pieces. And I saw
we got Jay Hay and me and Jay Hay go
way back. Like I've known Jay Hay long, yeah, Lanta days.
Jay Hay's four years younger than me, and like we
used to work out the same place, hit at the
same place, hit the game in the off season, and
then we find y'all awesome human being. It's awesome human being.
So I told him when he signed over there, I said, Bro,
those are my boys. Bro, you're gonna have a blast. Bro,
there's nothing better than first of all the fans then
you had You're in the locker room with these guys. Bro,
You're gonna have unbelievable time. And so when I signed back,
like that was the one time that I was like, man,
you like you, you feel wanted, and it's like these
dudes genuinely want you to be part of something special
and It's like, you know, you sitting at the lunch
table by yourself and somebody's like, hey, come sit over
here with us. They become your best friends.
Like you don't get that. No, no, they're not normal.
In baseball, we are literally bread to not feel good
enough as like whatever you do in this game, you're
not good enough. Like you can be the MVP and
you struck out too much, you can be the player
of the week and there's someone's nitpicking you. Right, So
that moment of like feeling that love and wanted is like.
Yeah, I walked in, I'm giving everybody hugs and stuff,
and Rossi tells me, he goes.
Everyone starts going crazy. We're in this whole puttle and
spring uniform. He's walking in. I think you're on a
white shirt and like black joggers or something. Yeah, but
I had the twelves on actually, and he comes in
and if you want to say, what you said?
So I So I get in there and I give
everybody hugs.
And everyone's like what the fuck, Like what's going on?
Yeah, and Joe goes, welcome back, we got Dexter Fowler
and Rossi goes, wait, wait, he goes, are you just
coming to say bye to us. He goes, are you
going to Baltimore? You saying with Baltimore, I'm confused, Like
are you saying? Bio said, no, I'm here, bro, Like
this is us.
I was so confused. I remember like looking at him
coming out, like what what's happening right now? Like what
are we doing? Even that happens in baseball? Like you
know that never happened. Never.
No, everybody, there's always inside, there's always an inside.
And the lead We're a week into spring training, mind you. Yeah,
we're already talking about the World Series, but there is
like this little cloud that's like what Stecks are doing,
Like we don't have a leadoff guy, Like what do
we got? And when you came back, it was just
like it was almost like all felt right in the
world right like we already like were in spring and
in camp, like we just got swept in the NLCS,
like we got so close in that playoffs and we'll
get to that fifteen wild card game here right after this.
But it's like then you came back and it was
like we built this such a brotherhood and that fifteen
run to get you back was like these here we
go the final piece of the puzzle that we needed
to figure to to put it on the board.
Especially before Chappy, Like Jappy was like, oh oh.
Javy was like for me. For me, yeah, for me,
like you know what, Rechel and I appreciate y'all saying that,
and it means a lot coming from you guys. But
like for me, I was just like all right, like
we got it, like let's do this, like I already knew.
For me, I already knew, like y'all were like like
the Cubs were gonna win, especially how close we wereried
we got like I said, we got those pieces. But
like me, I'm just like, hey, I'm in there with
the boys, like and what I never thought of it
like that, like because I'm like I'm at the end
of the day, like I didn't think of myself as
being the guy like the piece, like the piece that
was missing.
Like for me, I was just like I'm added to
the puzzle.
Yeah, but that's because you are who you are and
like how you fit in with everybody and get along
and also bring it every day on the field. It's
like an on and off the field type thing. The
thing that stood stood out to me looking back though.
Remember you were getting so much shit about docking for
your defense because you played shallow. We talked about that
so many we and I love like a shallow outfield.
And then you back up that next year you're no. One.
Everybody's chest game. I was like, the same game. I
just moved back for whatever.
Great, yeah better, I'll never forget that about that year
is like docking decks for this and that. I'm like, yeah,
move back.
You know, I came up in coursefield. That's what everybody
doesn't understand. Like I came up at coursefield, so I
played naturally. I played shallow just because everybody's hit. It's
either Homer is going to stay up enough for me
to run up under. So that's I was accustomed to
playing shallow. But the pictures loved it because the pictures,
and you could say this as a catcher, like if
you make a day pitch and they bloop it in
like they're more pissed off than they make a bad
pitch and it gets hit in the gap and they're
like terrible.
When I managed, I was like I want to especially
with two strikes, like push in like it's on the
picture to execute pitches. I want them to make a
good pitch and get rewarded, not you.
Know, I didn't give a ship about analytics, none of
that ship.
Well it was a deal in six right, right, it
was just getting introduced a little more, and it was
like now everyone in like every organization has their system
of like you play here, right.
I gave it about my teammates exactly, and I wanted
Mike Guy on the mount and be like one decks
out there, yes, right, And that's what.
And that's all that mattered, because that's who really mattered
at the end of that's is if if you got
burnt over your head for some reason and the picture
was okay with it, well then so now it goes.
But in fifteen, like what we built in fifteen was
so special for me because I mean I was there
for longer and we stunk, and you weren't on a
very many good teams in Colorado either, right, I mean
we were, on paper, on paper paper best April team
of all time every year, The Colorado Rockies from twenty
thirteen to twenty one was the best April team of
all But like bro, I remember after the turning point
in fifteen, which I'll ask you what you think it is,
I'm gonna end up saying it. When we swept the
Giants in August in fifteen and we went out, yeah,
we remember, we all went out and we're seeing karaoke.
Yeah, and at the wood Country.
Glout at Stanley's. Yeah, Hanley's Stanley's in Lincoln Park in Chicago,
and we're singing karaoke and we're just like it brought
us together closer, right, And then like we we would
go out, we would hang out off the field. And
then as we're getting to the playoffs, like we're starting
to kick the fucking shit out of the Cardinals in
the second half, like they hate us. They win the division,
but we're the wildcard. We have to play the Pirates
who also hate us because they were good, and but
we're the.
Three best teams in the major leagues were us through.
Ninety seven, ninety seven, ninety eight and one hundred and
we finished in third. Right, so we get to this
wildcard game and it's our biggest game of our our careers. Right,
like blacked out at at P ANDC Loud. The Pittsrick
fans are were absolutely ruthless on Twitter before Yeah start
and like Bro like that home run was like one
of the monumental home runs in Cup's history, to like
put us up in the wildcard game. We won that.
If we don't win that game, I don't think we
have that.
Well, it was funny, it was you know what's funny
is Arieta comes. You know, I brought my hyper Bear.
Yeah, and the ivy guy, guy Doc Adams liked here.
I said, hey, we're getting out of.
I think I think was it before the wildcard game
or maybe we clinched. We were all in uh, I
think Lester's big penthouse and you got we had ivs
for everyone.
Yeah, so before that, so Arietta comes to my room
to use the hyper Bear and I remember his wife
was there and my wife was there, and we're sitting
there and I said, Snake, you ready, he goes this,
Just give me one, I said. I said, that's how
you feel. Look, I said, that's
how you feel. I said, we're gonna give you more
than one. But like he goes, I just need one.
You need me one? Run all right? I said, all right.
I said, all right, well I'm gonna hold you to that.
And I remember I told him I said, because you
know I used to like what people don't know is
like I go home and I I.
Couldn't go to sleep without a game plan. So I
would look at the picture.
For the night the next day and I was looking
at Garrett Cole that I said, all right, like this
dude's gonna be throwing a hundred right. He's gonna be
amped up, but he throws at two seemer and that
two seemer is gonna go. It's gonna because he's gonna
be so amped up, it's gonna be running up in
a way. I said, So I gotta I gotta push
him like middle end to let it run back over
the place to be to be a strike.
First picture of the game one hundred right, and.
I remember like I end up getting to hit my
first step back and right no center, like one harp
of the cutch throws it in and I'm like, this
dude's fucked. In my head, I'm like, this dude's fun because.
He's but you know, but you know how house money, bro.
And it was so loud in there, like when I
went up to it was so I remember I could
feel like I felt like the stadium was shaken, like
they had that blackout and we got a hit and
I know how Garrett Hole gets Remember used to give
a hit, throwing his hands up so mad like, so
I was like, I got to hit.
And I was like this dude's flustered. And I remember
I stole second swore.
Bird get one nothing and I was like quick, oh quick,
And then I.
Would have walked by, like there's your one. There it is.
You know how Snake is. Snake was like you see
his pupils like this.
I said, this dude is a lot. Remember there's no hitters.
You hug him at the end of He's like this, yeah,
I'm like this dude is yeah, he said. But that
then and there I was. I was.
I was like, we're gonna win this game.
Well in that moment too, that bond of winning and
clinching and then beating the ship of the Cardinals, like yeah,
we just beat our We lost the first game I
remember we're in.
But that was like the Big Brothers first one.
We lost the game in Saint Louis first game. Often
we all go to we all go to I think
it was Ruth Chris right, we all go like a
big team dinner. We're just fuck it we lost where
I have the beautiful team dinner probably lack your lesser
paid for it, and we're like we're good, We're good.
And it was like we won next one, we won
the next three.
Bro, Yeah we won the next one.
But then when I remember leaving, same, yeah, I will
see you next year to the club he's in Saint Louis,
Like that's that was our attitude. But building that bond
and then going into sixteen, it's like we're rolling. You
come back right, Like we get off to this insane start,
crazy and crazy start. I met my wife Emily in
spring training that year. She went to Arizona State. She
was an intern, and De Dex would always give me ship, right,
and this goes back to just like bickering and bickering.
And and the bear.
Yeah.
So our second series of the year is in Arizona
and I go back and I go out with Emily.
Right, I think we had Oh I still got these pictures.
It was on a weekend. Yeah, we had. We'll get
a picture on here. And she's going to Arizona States
to senior in Arizona State and we go out and
we go out one night and we just run it
and I.
We're basically this is when you're after Anaheim in Arizona. Yeah,
this is like the fourth screwed.
Yeah, I think this is when I a yeah, yeah,
I think this is when Lackie gave up like those
four or five early and we came back and won. Yeah.
Well that night I stayed out till like five or
six in the morning, like running it and I come in.
I had to like jump this fence and Tempe there's
a train track right, and like the fence was like
a little like an opening of the bars and I
couldn't fit through it. So I had to jump it.
But I had the blisters on my hand because the
second game of the season, we were working out in
Anaheim and we're doing key bar. So I had two
big ass blisters on each hand.
So I was trying to That's another thing we all
used to work out together.
Right, thinking this morning, this morning, So I'm I'm climbing
this fence and I my hands are like killing me.
So I slipped. I sliced my leg open. Right, I'm
talking like a gash, right, like definitely need stitches. Right,
We're we're like a mess of trying to She's trying
to tape it that night with like mermaid band aids. Right,
show up to the field the next day like completely.
White tea, white white tea.
Camo sweats. Yeah, it was brutal. And he's taking no
this is bro, and he's taking pictures to me, making
fun of me.
And the first thing he does, he walks in and
he puts his head down like this. I said, Bro,
what are you wearing? What is this? What is this
you're doing?
So I go into the training room, like get this thing.
I don't show the trainers because I'm like I can't.
I'm like eventually I showed him like a few games later,
I'm oh, yeah, I hit it on my bed. Right. So,
but that day, right when I get into the field,
I like immediately go to that like little auxiliary room
in Arizona and I go on like this big green couch.
I think it's still there, and I just pass out
till like probably an hour before the game. Right like
it's a day game. I know my routine.
We're headed home.
This dude starts his inside joke with us, and I
hope I could tell this, Like so it lands. He
puts a bottle of brute on me like Brute after shape.
For some reason, I don't.
Know why, He's like taking pictures of me sleeping on
the couch just like literally.
Dead right, literally gone and gone from that day on
like me, him and Jay Hay for whatever reason. Yes,
it was like smearing off ice to get ice, Like
we got him with the brute one random day, finding
your bad We.
Just pack it every in our glove, like I brought
it out put it in his glove first base.
I played with in my back pocket one inning. But
like this is the third game, in the fourth fifth
game of the season, like these are the bonds that
are starting so early that like for you and me,
I just felt like it was so good because we
got each other and we were able to talk like
more than baseball.
Well then they got to love about you. Your memory
of like how it all went down is so great.
In fact, you remember what he was wearing walking in Bro.
He he has pictures of me in Miami, Like in Miami,
I would dress up. I wear like the Tommy Bahama
shirt he had the.
Hat on it. I was like, bro, what the yeah,
what is this?
You have to you have to switch it up and
break up the Manani, and that's what I would try
to do. Joe would.
But you thought you looked hot, I did look hot.
Take a picture.
I can't say that I painted my toenails. My daughter
painting my toenails for that trip when Joe let us
go to Miami.
And then like during that year, we build and then
we all make the All Star Game. That's your first
All Star game. And it was like, bro, like there's
seven of us there, Like we fly on two different
private jets. The Cubs got us two different private jets.
We flew together around like G five's or something.
I mean, like starters. It was our.
Whole, the whole team field.
KP and like Bryce Harper was a Bryce Harper and
somebody else left.
You and who's the second?
Said second? And Addie Leicester area and we roll in
there like we had this arrogant what arrogant I would
just say this swagger to us of like we were
the best, but like we were the best for us,
like we weren't trying to be assholes everyone else. And
I remember rolling into to that San Diego clubhouse in
the All Star Game and like Lackie and Leicster have
like the cooler of like drinks and it was a
dry clubhouse that the wouldn't let us have drinks in there.
I'm sorry, Lester and lackier Lester in area to have
the fucking cooler of drinks. They're like getting beers for everyone,
like and we're.
Just in there, like, but everybody gravitated towards the Cubbies.
They were like, bro, y'all have we know like y'all have.
Obviously we had the most guys here, most guys in
the locker room, but everybody was literally under us. And
whether that whether you had five All Star games, when
you had eight All Star games, everybody was fucking with us.
It was like, hey, we want to be around the cups.
Remember the energy that our dugout had, like talking about
just like that presence in the league. Like I just
remember people hating us because of all like we're like
three two counts were like screaming paza toot all that crazy,
like we were like a softball team some times. So
much ship, but it was like for us and you guys,
the personalities though, but you talk about people gravitate to
you guys because and like he had and especially Lester
like had been to these All Star Games, and so
it's like, yeah, those are the dudes and everybody wants
to hang out with because you guys had your own
own little there's your own little team there. Bro.
I remember was it sixteen or was it fifteen when
Joe famously said you go, we go, and like that
was our motto. Like literally, that was after.
That was after I went in an office, Bro, you went.
You was after you went.
After I went in the office and I talked to him.
He was like, yeah, I don't know if you know this,
and he was like, but when you get on base,
he told me this. He goes, when you get on
base twice, we win eighty, like eighty it was something
something ridiculous, and he goes, when you don't, we lose this.
I was like, no pressure, yeah, but I was just
like Wallford, this guy anyway.
That confidence of what he told you, and also like, okay,
here's my plan. I just got to get on basis
much I possibly keep and you leave the team twice.
I don't care how it was. If I got hit,
if I fucking didn't, I don't Hey, look, I'm just
trying to get on base, like and the rest happened
because it was supposed to happen, but like whether I
hit a triple or I hit a homer or whatever,
but it would happen. And I was like, as one,
isn't it crazy?
We win and we win when you change your mindset
to when I was a backup, back up Bmack and
I didn't want him in Atlanta and I didn't want to.
I didn't want him to have to try to get
him in the game. When I had to pinch hit.
All I did was say, Okay, if I'm winning, he
doesn't have to come in and pinch hit. So when
you move that to all I want to do is win,
then it like changes your whole kind of like.
Montres game baseball, like you if you look try to
do these other stats, focus on the game, and the
game will take care It will take care of this
exactly what you need, what needs to happen.
I think I think it's crazy how many mottos we
had within our team, like we are good, you go,
we go, try not to suck, embrace the target, like
all these things that like looking back, do simple better, Joe, Joe,
simple better. Respect where it's like everyone always asks like
how do you guys not feel the pressure, one hundred
and eight years, the goat, the curse, all this, and
it's like because we had all this stuff inside where
we were sucking theme theme, road trips, circus, magicians, animals,
like all these things where it was like playing was
like almost the easiest part. Yeah, there's so much like
it's magic. Yeah it's yeah, it's magic.
Yeah, it's like a trip. I remember it like it's magic.
It's like the numbers on the field were what they were, right,
And it's the bonds that were created during that for me.
And there was a time We're in Cincinnati and I
was like off the rails struggling. I was like grinding,
I stung. I was never any out of the hit.
I was going through it. You go through it every
a bunch of times a year. And it's hot, and
we're in a August and we're playing a bunch of
games in a row, and I'm sitting in a dugout.
I'm like zero for three, right, and I'm sitting there
just literally just like staring at like nothing. I'm literally
staring at nothing. I'm just like I'm never gonna get
another hit again. And he walks out to me out
of nowhere. Bro with a fucking double cup of gatorade
hands me a cup and he goes, here, man, drink this.
I what is it?
And he knew exactly what I like to drink. It
was a crown and sprite mixed up perfectly with like
their nice little crushed ice. And I took a sip.
I go I needed that, and like we just sat
there and like I had a few SIPs. I probably
drank most of it, honestly. Sure enough, my next evat,
I hit a fucking missile and like from there, like
I went like because like I was so in my
own head and my guy comes up to me randomly
out of nowhere. It's like, God, you need this, and
I take it. I'm just like I didn't like just
trust me, and it's like obvious that you can't do
that every day. But it's like he knew me at
the time and like our friendship, so for him to
be able to, like in August, I'm I want to
kill everyone. Yeah, I'm not getting hits Like it sucks.
You're you're at the finish line in August, like trying to.
You're almost seeing September.
Yeah.
Yeah, So I always look back to that I'm like, bro,
like just out of nowhere, like that's that's my guy.
Yeah. I love that story because like I feel like
you're so in tuned with other people. The unselfishnit about
you is what I also makes you a great teammate.
But my favorite story, and I'm going to get into
this week when you when you make the playoffs, you're
going to make the playoffs, you have a little meeting
where you split up the money that you're gonna make
far you go. So the further you go the postseason,
the more money you get.
Right.
So we're I have a team meeting, and it's only
the guys who have been there all year. We have
a team meeting, and you divvy up like, okay, everybody
that's here full time gets a full share. Coaches get
a full share. But then you have like security and
the chef, and the clubhouse guys and the wives. Liaison
might be an imp important part and the generous person
that we all are. I think we set a record
for giving out the most amount of shares that year.
And we would just set more of a record.
If we would. But uh, there was one discussion in
the meeting that where Anthony is giving full shares, which
turned out to be four hundred.
And okay, so we knew we were gonna win the
World Series.
We're having these shares meeting like we're winning the World Series, right.
That's the only think we were making the first round
and getting five grand.
This was the only shares meeting to in my career
where I can legitimately say that shares meeting was about
the final ship, the final share. So this was a meeting.
This was like an hour plus meeting. And Dexter and I,
who are usually always on the same page, of course,
we're on the same page in this one, and they
wanted to get so we're giving.
Everybody's just throwing out because because you you kind of
get you kind of get you hear like full halshhare yeah,
full halshha, and you don't really get the dollar amount
how much that really is. So everybody just throws out
there like hey, this guy full share, Hey, this guy full.
Most of them.
And I'm like, you realize half is like two hundred,
Like that's a lot of money for anybody, right.
So we get to the wives liaison who took care
of the families, right, the kids and stuff, and I
have kids, right, that's you had kids, but you didn't
really use her, right, you didn't know who she was, you.
Know, because everybody has nannies.
Great person. I'm trying to give the well, I don't
want to say that. I'm trying to give like people
in the neighborhood shares like and they're like, dude, do
that ship, like, donate that.
Yourself, right, we're gonna give this guy.
I was like, sorry, a fool. So we get to
the vote on on the Wives Liaison and it's like
a quarter share and me and Dex are like, huh,
I go, bro, why don't you guys just tip it
yourself like a quarter share? I go with kids and
we're like breaking it down, is like, that's eighty thousand dollars, bro,
Like that's eighty the.
Amount of times the decks are. Fowler at a high
pitched voice goes eighty eighty, like she's here.
At first they said half, like we'll give her a hat.
I said, half is crazy, right, half is ridiculous.
Right, that's out question, and I will stand on everything.
Now we're changing people's lives. But it was definitely I
don't think any I had three kids and I didn't
even know the Lowise liaison personally, so it's like one
of those. It was just it was funny that but
everywhere you are, we love you, we love you, and
we're so thankful. Our wives are thankful. But every time
I hear the number eighty, all I hear is your
boys going eighty.
So we ended up we stopped on eighty, and throughout
the whole rest of the meeting, everybody's.
Like, that's crazy, that's crazy.
Min We still do it, and we gave her whatever
that quarter share.
Wait, no, I never saw.
Mind you too though you doing that? Mind you too.
It's easy for people to probably look at oh they're
they're selfish. We gave out the most playoff shares in
his Yeah, yeah, like what we were given to everyone.
I didn't want to tell that story because of like,
like it was just funny because we gave it. I mean,
we had so much security because ran in first class.
Everybody every day was first off. THEO took that the
one thing I experienced, like playing around the league and
going to Boston have they be in first class and
going to Chicago, like it was run the right way.
But just that that story, to me, I had to
bring up because like, that's money one of my one
of my my favorite moments. Just when I hear eighty,
it's like it never stakes. I'll go back to that meeting.
When you look back on that season and even postseason,
like you got a favorite game, or when you tell
everybody about mm hmm or moment moment. I mean I'm
sure that.
I mean there's multiple moments, but they're off the field, honestly,
Like I really don't remember the games. I mean, if
we look at it, I remember the games. Like if
we go back and you're like, oh, remember in Pittsburgh this,
that and the third, I'll be like, yeah, I remember
in Milwaukee where this, that and the third. I'm like,
oh yeah.
I think that's crazy about what I tell people at time,
like I don't remember. I don't remember what this guy
did or that I remember how a guy affected.
I remember the times together, Yeah, the times well spent together,
like when we were in Saint Louis when we went
to the country bar. Remember I remember the times when
Riz and I went out and he told me there
was gonna be it was raining all day, and.
Like the Chesney concert, the Chesney concert, Like I remember
stuff like that, like it was yesterday, like and I
relived that in my head all the time, and you
kind of get spoiled, like I got spoiled.
Like you go to another team. You didn't go to
another team after that, but like you go to another
team and you're trying to recreate that, right. You try
to talk to Snake about it stakes like, Bro, I'm
trying to get the Phillies like to have fun, Bro,
to do there, to do what like what we had
Because you're trying to match that up for the rest
of your career and you're chasing that. You're not even
changing because you realized it. That makes you, That takes
you over the top, makes you better, It makes you
better like it makes you it takes you over the top.
Because that's what Mises like. Good teams can be good teams.
You can be good on paper, but the teams that
have that. And you talk to every championship team, everybody you.
Talk to off the field, it's off.
The field, it's in the locker room. We were this,
we were that, and we.
Were singing karaoke with our president of f and it
starts at the top, I mean karaoke with you know
what I mean it starts get into the field later
and like yeah, yeah, all you went out, Joe, I
drank wine last night. Oh nice?
Hey, hey remember what's it called American Legion Week? When
he was like, hey, Colbos locked on five.
This is a testament to This is a testament to
Tom Ricketts. Honestly, like the Tom and THEO and Joe
and everybody that was in the front office that because
I mean, if you sit there, you remember before the
world I mean before the playoffs where we sat and
he had the head Bulls meeting. We're sitting there and
it was the veteran guys and we're sitting in the meeting.
Uh.
THEO was there, Tom was there, Joe was there, and
I was like, look, the boys need to be the boys.
Talked to my wife. I remember you don't remember I
talked to my wife and I.
Was like, hey, look I forgot about this.
So the family trips are our worst trips, not just.
Because because everybody special, yes, and but we're we're creatures
of having right. So we're on the road. We're on
the road and were like, I don't care if my
wife tells me, hey, go in the back and be
with the boys. I'm still gonna be up there like, hey,
we're good, You're good. There's a guilt, And I said,
it's the fact that when we're on the plane and
we're hanging out as boys, we want to be boys, right,
we want to go get off the plane and go
to dinner together, all of us. Like everybody's there is like,
oh my wife, were kids, we got the kids here.
It's easy to say no.
So remember I was like, hey, look, we need a
separate plane for the families. We always have it off
there when we first get there. We can go to
practice and you can fly in somebody else. I say,
can we make that happen without hesitation? Tom Briggs done?
He flew.
He flew the whole cubs, uh like staff and everyone
to the games in Cleveland, for all the games.
But that's what I'm saying, So, how do you not
want to run through a wall for this guy? Right?
How do you not? Because when we got off that plane,
because it's it's family, like, we're all a family together.
Nobody else does that. You try to chase stuff like
that and it's it's never.
Because he didn't care. He realized the special moment. But
the thing that that does for you as a player
is like I've got nothing to worry about but focusing
on performing the best I can and stay in my
regular routine with the boys. Everybody else has got my
family right.
We know that, we know they're taking care of I
don't have to worry about that. You guys, Okay, you guys.
I think.
I think, honestly, that's a very good point. People like watching,
either if there's players right now or kids coming up.
It's like, the camaraderie is what makes you who. You
become like everyone when you get to a certain level
is as good as everyone else. How are you going
to get that much better? And it's by investing in
your teammates. It's by pouring in to the person next
to you and making them feel love. You came over, bro,
you felt like the guy. Right just we made you
feel like the guy. And by making you feel like
the guy, you became the guy. You were over there.
You came over, you demanded this respect and you were
this instant present. It was like we talked about this
with everyone. It's like without every single piece and character,
there's no way doing.
I gotta jump to fucking laid off home run game seven,
like like, are we starting this, bitch? We're going deep? Okay?
Is there a better feeling?
And you turn around and.
Bro oh bro bro.
I'm sorry. I just got excited about that moment. I
jumping ahead.
This goes right, this gets it right into Okay, Okay.
So what when when did it start in the NLCS
or the World Series?
I think it was the NLCS Bill Murray?
Okay, So Bill Murray is in our clubhouse NLCS. I
think it was before game five five or six five,
and we're we're I think game six, because we were
game five, and the celebrity starts showing up as he's always,
we welcomed in everyone. But Joe was good about Eddie Vedder,
Bill Murray, you name it, Scottie Pippen.
I just, I just I saw Scotty in Tallahassee shout out. Oops.
Really yeah, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta throwback posted
with he was at the game. We got a picture
and then I've got one from twenty sixteen, uh, when
he was in the locker room he has found about me.
Bill Murray's in there and we're talking to Bill. This
is forty five minutes before the game before first pitch,
Game five or six of the NLCS, Yes, he was here.
He pulls out these four little bottles. Just take this
to me and Dex.
What is it?
Five energies.
He's like to five hour energy. But here he takes
out a little airplane bottle of wood for reserve. He
goes woodford reserve and five energy. He goes called a speedboall,
brings you up and brings you down, like, I fuck it,
like right where you need to be one one little
thing's not gonna hurt, right, we take it. We fucking
go off right and for the rest every game before
the World Series, me and him as.
I was waiting on was bitching, Yeah, we're going at it.
Yeah.
World Series and we.
Had forgotten about it because we didn't do it again
until game seven.
Yeah.
Well no, I did every game, no.
But game seven, remember it was, so we go. He
goes Dan speedball, let's go with Bill Murray. Yeah, I'm
like all right, So we take the five injury shot.
The crown.
We had a crown because I always drink crown. So
we had the crown and I go out.
There and I remember, because you know, I'm leaving off,
so like everybody's there and it's loud, and it's like
this case and so I feel my heart my heart,
and I'm like, what in the fu is launching launching?
I was like, you're drenaline that, but my mind is slow.
And like I said, I did, I did my game plan.
I had my game plan, and fil was nasty Game.
One, he was nasty that front hip two steamer.
Well, you know what was crazy is my last at
bat against Klueber at home.
I don't know if you remember this.
They played this for me at the ten year and
there were you know, the moments thing they had and
they were like, this was your last st at bat
before your game seven Homer, And he threw me a
curveball and I got him at home, but the wind
was blowing it and he caught mine at you know,
you know, my hop like I did my hop. I
was like, all I got it and he caught mine
at the track and I was like, and I don't
think I think that would have been my first hit
against club.
So then fast forward to the game. So they had
the umpire's heat track.
Remember that shit, Yeah yeah, yeah, So they had that
and it said he gives a little bit off the plate,
and you know, my eyes were crazy. So he gave
a little bit off the plate to lefties away, but
inside it had to be on the on the white
and couldn't be on black. He was the ball in it.
It's like perfect. First pitch of the game, hips hop ball. No, no,
I'm sorry. First pitch of the game was away about
this fall and I was like, I looked at him
and I was like, it was a little album. He's
like he said something. He was like, that's all it is.
I was like, I appreciate it. Next pitch, hip shot,
black ball, I said, this guy's fucked. I said, he's
next pitch up and away. Next pitch, I said, he's
coming right back at it. The hip shot, I said,
but they got to be over to play. It's gonna
be through. You can't give me three one right over
the plate.
Said yes, Gotti, bro the way you turned around and
looked at your team like there's so much.
So that I wasn't playing either. So the way I
did that, the way I did that, I hit that
ball so high like and I was like, and I
saw Roger going back like this, I was like, you know,
you hit a homie You're.
Like, I got it, and he was going back like this,
and I was like, no way, no way.
So I'm watching it the.
Whole time and hidmatic, yes here, Hires here, and I'm
looking and as soon as it went over the wall,
I was past Hyder and I usually like and so
I hit first base and I look at all the boys.
Like yeah, and I'm like and I'm looking at Hiring
and I'm turning.
I'm like, that's sick. One of my favorite one of
my favorite pictures is that I've got to after my
home run is the dugout, like when the boys are
pumped for you and going like.
That isn't It's a feeling you get was signed his.
Mind up too. I'm like, if this dude catches this ball,
I'm running right out.
So I was like, we're losing this game exactly.
I'm like, I'm quitting right now. Is going right? Because
I just letting those fucking two runs that got them
back in the game.
This is game seven of a little series, right, We're
down three one, we come back, we win five wins six,
we're in the we're in the clubhouse. Were talking about
this with KB, but this will be its own separate episode.
We're playing Mario Kart. Yeah, uh forty five minutes until
the game. This dude's fucking pissed off.
I'm a mess.
We have Mario, I said, Rossie, we'll take it from here.
We're taking here playing Mario Kart like he did in
these Mario card games. And then after Mario Kart, we
turned on the Rocky theme stuff, and then I stripped
down and started dancing, right, And that's what locking it
was for this team, Like we knew, like we were ready,
like you're prepared, and and no one was like look
at these guys like you can you can get like
that on teams, like you can get like, oh what
is he doing? What is he on this team? If
anyone had an issue, they're just come and talk.
Like Rossie, how about how about speaking of Homers your
home your last home?
Yeah?
I remember I came to him and I go bro
pitches like and this pitch is like crazy guy, like
he hits twice. Hey what I was a slider. I said,
he hits once because I had I'd taken him deep
the other time because I was like another in my head,
I'm like another slider. This I don't want to trust
it because I'm like, he's gonna blow your away with
this fast moll slider. I hit a homer on him.
He was untouchable. Well, then I told him, I said, bro, watch.
It, watch it.
When I had done, were you on the tip?
You know? Well, I had good numbers against Andrew Miller
when he was in Florida. He stuck and then I
caught it. He was different in Boston. Reliever. It is nasty,
and so I remember doing my homework and him shaking.
You had the tip and him shaking me. And Brian
mccannon had talked about that too. This is like, this
is like post game. But so I did my homer.
Every time he shook, he shook to heater because as
a catcher, you're like, I'm calling his slider like every
pitch right nasty. And I remember trying to look for
the tip the first pitch. I was like, I'm just
going to see one, and it came out and I
think I swung it a back foot slide or something.
So I was like abandoned that and was like, just
fucking see the ball, Just fucking see the ball. So
I got two strikes on me and then he threw me.
I was in my two strike approach. He threw me
a two strike heater up and away. I was like,
oh I saw that, Like I saw that, and he
had just come set and then him a pat so
and then the one two pitch he shook. I was like,
sell out the heat, sell out, and he threw it
right in the loop the loop joke, and he got it.
But it was funny. It's like my mind was running
two things at one time, trying to like one, calm
myself down because I just got in the game, and
also trying to like, okay, remember and then he shook,
and I remembered watching video going he shakes a lot
to fucking heater man.
But but the thing, you know, what a good team
does is like whether it was you, whether it was
somebody if you weren't playing, you were watching, watching, and
it's talking talking game like hey, how to look. Hey,
I come in, bro, Like everybody took members from like
it took like a fifteen pitch at bat like to
start the game ended up. I forgot what happened, but
anyway I come in. I'm like, hey, bro, he's going
to do great about it. You're so good, Hey, make
sure you get this over here. He can't throw this
over here.
So just that's got to be ups, got to be up,
you know what.
But everybody did that and I love that.
But trying not to be that's what I respect about.
When I watch Freddy Freeman play, sits this same seat
and watches it drove me. I was trying not to
be the old school guy that hated the iPad. But
like when I was managing and you look back at
the bench, you guys are just like this. It's like, man,
he'll tell you what he's can't do if you watch.
Oh bro, I try not to be the old grumpy guy.
I'm almost positive in my career was you who said
this to me? You were like, you're hitting third. If
you come in and start telling everyone that this dude's
got a nasty side, what the fuck's the guy think
hitting seventh? Gonna think? Yeah, like you're the best hitter
on the team, right. Someone said that to me once.
I think it was you.
Imagine playing with my swing exactly.
So for so long in my career, for so long
in my career, even if he even if that pitch
looked nasty to me, I would just tell guys like, no,
it wasn't that good. He just hit a spot right,
because I never wanted to make the guy, but like
even those conversations is like.
Well the worst hitting coach is like you feel like
you leave them the meeting and it's like I.
Can't hit, I can't hit.
This guy is the best pitch on the planet, rather
than here's what he does, well, this is how we're
going to attack him, and he's gonna leave one.
Here he misses over middle a lot, look middle or
hitting coach like that, because in twenty sixteen, the analytics
started coming down a little bit more and.
I personally hated this, like the numbers part, like he
throws this pitch thirty percent of the time. So Malee
would try to run these numbers out and I would
wear him out. I'm like, males just enough with the numbers.
Tell us how he's gonna attack us, and like he
would try to always creep the numbers. I'm like, stop
with the numbers. Like no one on his team wants
if they want the numbers, because we didn't have a
lot of hitters meetings, go tell him on their side,
but quit throwing out these numbers that are psychologically messing
with us.
Just give me a V that's it and outpitch, that's it.
That's why I was dat simplicity.
I need to see how hard he's started, ninety three,
ninety six. He throws this. He throws this seventy percent
of the time, Like, don't give me seventy percent. Just
what's his outpitch? And I got two strikes?
What are my where's he going? Where's which was the
beauty is? Like they knew our routines centerfield?
You have the best view outside of like picture catcher, right,
Like what was it like watching Game seven Raj go
deep and then us getting that last out.
So Chapby's on the mound, Chabby was unhittable.
He got thrown every Like if we know Chappy, Chady's good,
Chappy's there in the seventh inning, Chappy knows his job, finish,
knows his fucking Hey. Look, I'm I'm here to close
this shit out, period, point blank. And this is what
I did. And we had him in early, right, And
I remember I'm sitting there watching Raj's fouling off ship
and I'm like, just throwing the fucking you throw one
hundred and five miles an hour. He didn't have that.
Then he had a hundred.
I kept calling heaters. I'm like, somebody's gonna pop it up,
like surely, like it's one hundred, right, And nobody threw
one hundred then.
And then he I was like what so before so
before this so I'm a Jordan guy obviously, and they
told me. I was like, hey, can I wear the
elevens in the World Series? Like I want to wear it?
Like everybody wants to wear elevens.
So I'm like, can I wear the elevens and World Series?
And they were like, hey, look, if you win the
World Series, you can wear any elevens you want.
And I said really, And so we were up.
We were up center field.
Man off, I'm like, I'm about to get He's fucking elevens.
This is crazy. I'm about to get I said, this
is gonna be shoe game. I was like, this is
gonna be crazy. And he hit the homeer. I went
like this, if you if there's a vantage for in
to me. He hit it and I went like this,
and I was like, I was like this.
I was like this, you know. I went up and
he hit it. I was like this, and I put
my head down and I was like, holy ship, and
I was like this motherfucker just took away my Jordans.
He took away everything from us. He got us all this.
I was depressed for a minute. I still catching going
like I can shake things pretty quick and that ship.
But then but then we had like.
All those tears came down, all.
Came down. It was crazy.
What do you remember about that? What do you remember
about the rainde Lay speech?
Well, I remember what I was doing before the Raindo
Lay speech, and we were doing another speedball there is
we were. We were upstairs like some degenerates in the corner.
We really were degenerates too. I know, like the stories
that we say sound like it, but but we.
Were literally in the corner like this. We were like
this riz like we're having a meeting, and we were
like it went down to the meeting, but we were
in there. We're like, hey, work the first time, Let's
do it again. And we go down to the meeting
and you know, you got guys in there like that
are distraught, crying, like I mean wet and tears like rightfully,
so like we sat there and we looked each other
in the eye and like we were talking about telling
the truth. We let it all out right there. Yeah,
and that was what we That was literally everybody needed
to get it off their chests, like say what you
fucking need to say, Let's get it done. It's zero zero,
let's go back. We're the best team in the world.
And that's you know, everybody said their their their spiel.
You spoke, you spoke, I spoke. Jay Hay started off.
Jay had the best mindset in that, like because I
no one ever thought to like bring everybody together. We
all knew how we were feeling, but nobody would get
us all together at that time. And when he did that,
I was like, okay, Like that's when I honestly, that's
when I knew it was a reset and that was
the reset that we needed.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when we win, obviously, the celebration
is what it is. The parade, we're on the same float,
like the party, like it was just NonStop and then
blackout we go. We go to SNL and like, bro,
you're talking about like you win the pinnacle of the
series and you get to go be on Saturday Night Ride.
Well originally, originally, okay, my child, like my adult vision
of winning the World Series. Like you celebrate, you party,
and then you go to Vegas, right, like, come and celebrate.
So I had a plane all lined up to go
to Vegas, all my friends from back home that I
grew up with, and like, we're rolling with buddies, all
my buddies. Well no, because the parade happened and everyone's
going home. So I was like no, I'm I'm burning us,
you know. And Saturday Night Live NBC calls and it
was like, hey, we want you on SNL. I'm like,
holy shit, how can you turn out Saturday Night Live?
And then come to find out you guys, So we
redirect the plane from Chicago to Vegas to Chicago, New
York and I'm like, well, I have all my friends,
like bring them.
And we go do that. Remember we did the the
rehearsal and we come back and the green the green room,
it looked like the World Series again. We got thirty people.
We couldn't even sit out.
I was like, hey, I went back like a few
years later just to see a show, and the lady
that had a talent there saw me. She's like, till
this day, you had the most people ever. I was
like damn.
I was like, hey, cool and the cool of our
wife sit down like me and Rossie's wife was cool.
We were like, bro, that was the magnitude of that
was one of the most watched, no doubt, no doubt right,
and we just like to give you about it.
We wouldn't be good teammates. We're on there.
I got the picture of that.
We're all in there, twerking Bill. We're singing Bill Murray
like remember.
He came every day. We did the whole We did
the whole thing, and we're nervous and we're like, okay, cool, cool,
we got the script, We got the script down, and
he comes there. He's like, no scratch that we're doing it.
I'm so everything we just rehearsed is now done.
You want to talk about a rock star is when
Bill Murray roked into sound Everybody's like O G cast member,
and he basically said, no, no, this is how we're
doing it, and everyone there is panic, but it's Bill Murray.
So we everyone did it, but we don't know any better.
Yeah, it was fun. We end up grinding up on
my grandma and that one day.
How about we were walking out. We were walking out
y'all remember that we were walking out and we were
and he was like, they got y'all walking out in
this and it was jay Z.
Remember I remember that party was was the musical host. Yeah, Bro,
I mean that's what winning does. That's what winning and
that's why we get to talk about this of these
stories because without all these bonds, with all this the
off the field stuff, there's no way we're performing on
the field without you coming over and handing me or
drink when I'm grinding where it's like, that's not what
we're doing all the time, but it's such a long
grind that you need to break it up.
And that's what your teammates knowing you and how close
we were because of all this stuff we went through
on that journey, I tell you. But it's like the
journey starts in February, Bro, like spring training, and you
know we got to play till till November third.
You know now that we're sitting here talking about it,
like do you guys like I like you said, what
do you remember again? I remember the times we had
because at every.
Every road city we had a suite. We had a
big suite.
Gave me one no, but I'm.
Just saying, like VJ, remember we had like the hospitality
were all all the team after the games. We're all
going there, whether we were sitting there having some drakes together,
talking shop, talking the game. Dudes were playing video game,
but we were all hanging out at every team dinner,
everybody went yeah.
Yeah.
I always think lesser lucky for that because it's like
you knew they were paying and these dudes were old school,
so it was like the want everything was like the
seafood towers, and it's like that's what built the championship
brand of the greatest.
You gotta know who's next team. You gotta know who's
like your brother. Like I could talk to this dude
like maybe I can get on, but nobody else can.
That's right, right, nobody else outside this locker room can
get on this guy.
Like when you know each other off the field, it helps.
Like when I go hang out with the pictures and
we have a night. I also know when they're grinding
the six trying to finish, I can say what the
fuck I want to that guy in that moment that
I'm feeling.
As long as you say with all the respects, yeah,
I can say with all the respects or whatever I.
Want, speaking of this, remember, do you remember the time
you came in the locker room and wore us all out? No, no,
you do, because so that we clinched. Yeah, so this
dude comes in, No, because I remember my handstring was tool.
Oh that's right, that's right.
So we're in and it was a doubleheader and we
come out and I had a torn hamstring. So I
go out to the first game and the second game
that national anthem starts tied out and I'm getting treatment.
But there's guys in the locker room that aren't literally
just at the lockero on their phones. Yeah, a bunch
of rookies. Yeah, and ROSSI comes in and Rossie, what
in the fuck are y'all doing? And starts killing everybody.
Get your fucking ass How many times do you have?
How many times? How much time do you get your
ass up there? And I'm in the locker room about
to go get some treatment. He goes dance, get your
fucking ass up there too, and I'm.
Like, I was like, all right, all right, so I
get I go get my treatment, and shit, I'm like
I was like, hey, Rossie, I fludded it out and
I was like, hey, bro, I get what you were doing, Bro,
but don't talk to me like that.
I would be I'll be honest. You I know, bro,
I did He he goes, I did it because I
did it when I had to include you because you
were like, like that's how I like good? I said, Bro,
I understand, I said, I understand.
Bro. You know we had I did that to Sonny
Castro in fifteen and like I had to apologize later
because I was just like the same thing.
Yeah, bro, he did it when he missed when he
was man when he was managing. He called us in
I think it was in twenty one grinding. He goes
off right like he's screaming at the whole team, and
I'm sitting there and I'm just like, this is fucking hysterical, right,
Like I know him.
He's gonna start laughing and I am fucking screaming.
He's sing literally fucking compete and I'm doing everything in numbers,
all of them free agents. I'm doing everything. I mean,
like ROSSI chill the funk out. It's like June, like relax, right,
it's a long season. And I go into his office
like before he even gets there after, and I just
go to home. I go, Bro, I love you. I
that took me everything in.
Not to video video. He was my camera. I like,
browdy killed you, killed you. I was screaming at the
top of my life. But I love that.
I love when Rossi gets like that because.
He cares so too much much.
You know, there's never too much, bro, because we all
need that. But at the end of the day, like
nobody takes a fence to it. Everybody's like, bro, like you,
We respect you because we realized, like the skin you
have in a game like it's and I'm not don't
get me wrong, like I'm not trying to like you
were an everyday player, but you were there for us
every day. So we figured you out as an every
day guy.
Boston. You literally taught me and I brought this since
the day you taught me in fifteen. I had a
day off in fifteen. Think it was really late in
the season too, and I wasn't out there for the
anthem or something, and you got on me in a
nice way, but you were like, hey, dude, say bro,
he was These guys are out here every fucking day
for you. Every day, They're on the top step cheering
for your ass. He's the one fucking day you have off.
You can't be out here showing them that your appreciation.
And like, Bro, I took that with me forever, and
like any everyday player I've played with, I've told.
Him that, Man, I learned that how much that means?
Like I learned that at early age. Man, I actually,
like Nap tells me, I ripped napway in Boston and
Nap played first, but like I started and we had clanched,
and what I didn't know, he had got a quartzon
shot in his foot, which I didn't know. So it
was like another one of those like somebody's can treatment,
I'm the asshole. But him and Lackey were up there.
I walked in the game because I, I don't know,
I feel connection to my teammates.
Yeah, you're out there every day.
I'm there a fucking day, Bro, I'm rooting you guys
on And then the fact they were up there watching
doing Fantasy football or whatever the time watching, I fucking
I went up there getting ribbled. I was shaking. I
was so mad. I'm like and I almost started crying
because I'm so mad. I told him now, I was like, hey, bro,
I'm out there every day rooting you on, and the
fucking day you have off week clinch and I'm playing,
you're not fucking out there. I was like, that's fucking bullshit.
And I just walked off and he walked down there.
I was hard crying. It's like, fuck, you know, I'm
getting emotional. But it was those things. I don't know.
It's just like it matters, bro, it matters, and like you,
I think it's appreciate that.
Yeah, yeah, well it's thoroughly appreciated.
Yeah. Well, I love you guys, and I'm thanking for
my rings for both of you guys, and I'm glad
we're brothers for life and I consider you guys that.
I'm so thankful we get to tell these stories that
everybody gets out. I'm special time, bro, I love you.
I'm happy to get to wear those eleven SHI.
That's right, that's right, thanks for your time. Good stuff.
That's a rat.
That is a bunch of rap on Vegas.
HM