Cubs pranks, a $10k check & World Series comeback w/ former strength coach Tim Buss | Ross & Rizzo

Anthony Rizzo, David Ross, Timothy Thomas, Buss Buss Bus Thinks
Us Buzz. Welcome back to another episode of the Lovable
Reunion podcasts. Me and my patna, David Ross, are joined
by my favorite, the one I've been looking to most
of interviewing one of my best friends in the entire world,
one of my best friends in baseball, the person who
means most of me in this game, and the biggest
unsung hero of the twenty sixteen World Series Championship team,
Timothy Thomas Boss. Wow.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm so excited.
I've got to start this off. I gotta start this
one off because me and Bussy go so far back.
We were in a ball together in the Cal League, Sam Bernardino, What.
Was this like in the seventies? Done? Thanks?
What was it to two thousand? Yeah, two thousand. We
were in the Cal League before we got to the
big leagues. Yeah, I won a championship in the Colleague.
Bussy's going into his twenty fifth season in the big leagues.
He was our strength coach. Now he's a low level
field coordinator, I.
Think a mid level now level according to mind level staff.
ASSTEM with the with the anaheind Angels, the Angels, Bussy.
We talked about culture. We've talked about culture on this
he is. He was our leader on and off the field.
He was our ring leader and twenty sixteen my career
wouldn't have been the same without you. So I'm thanking
you before we get into all these stories.
But don't give me waterworks.
Right.
Yeah, we're trying, but we've been we've been looking forward
to this. You've impacted a lot of people and you
know it. And your sense of humor, you're gonna crack
jokes the whole time, I know. But there's real there's
real leadership and culture building that you have such a
natural knack for and being been through winning and losing.
That you're just yourself and to everybody, nobody's a big deal.
You've had, you know, guys like Anthony and Trout and
Otani and so d Lee. You've had all the boys.
You've seen a lot of baseball, you've seen a lot
of characters, and uh, you're one of the best I've
ever been around as well, So kudos you. We've got
a championship that we talked about and then I came
back here and all of a sudden we win again.
That's odd.
Yeah, okay, okay, good point.
You guys got me a championship.
So we're going to try to paint the picture of
what Tim Buss meant to our culture because from the
outside looking in, it's hard. It's really hard to tell,
like he was our strength coach, right, how much can
a strength coach really mean to a team? And hopefully
throughout this episode we could really paint that picture. Startling
spring training, bus Man in there and Buss, he's doing
these pre spring training skits, right, And there was a
picture I saw of you in the full green suit, uh,
coming out of vans. There was one time where in
spring training we were shooting him with paintball guns.
He's running.
I think he's just in a jockstrap.
Right. It was for charity.
It was for charity, of course, it was always for charity.
But we we had these stretches and before spring training,
Bussy would call the meeting and he would just talk
about stories and over the years, who put something on
Twitter the night before It was called the ball Bag
of the Day. And this started with Darwn Barney, right,
the ball bag. If you want to explain the ball
bag of the day story.
Yeah, it was just you know, if you do something stupid,
then we're going to call you out and everyone's gonna
have fun with it.
It was almost like kangaroo court, fine for the day.
And so do you.
Remember a good ball bang?
I remember a lot of good ball bags.
Carlos Marmal bought a three hundred dollars three hundred thousand
dollars Ferrari and put eighty seven octane when he fuiled
it up the first time, and so he gumed up
the pistons and it sat in the players parking lot
for the rest of spring training. No way, never, yes, yes, way,
We've had players think their cars got stolen. Yes, the
ball bags. I got ball bagged.
You guys crushed my car come out for stretch.
So usually I would come out for you know, I
go through the clubhouse and be like, hey, let's go stretch.
And this one day, I come out through the clubhouse
and there's no on there.
I got what's going on. So I go outside.
Everyone's out there and they start clapping for me or whatever,
and so I walk out and I look out and
my car is like flat as a pancake in the.
Right field, like the track, yes, just crushed.
And so I go, what what's going on here? And
they go, oh, we you know, we messed with your car.
I go, it's not my car, it's my girlfriend's cars.
And I drove her car that day.
I was driving the Cubs sixteen passenger most of the
spring and off season, and so I go, that's my
girlfriend's car.
It's like crushed it.
And so I had no idea what was going on.
I'm like, dude, like not funny. Panic. And so right
before the game started, all the players got together and
threw me a new set of car keys to a
nissanic Sterra that drove like seventeen years.
Oh yeah, what what was the sport package car? You
just bought Mercedes for Porsche Grocer.
You're welcome.
Than you.
Bussy and I we would sit on the plane together.
I would always go up and sit with him and
just we would tell stories. We'd enjoy the playing rides,
and we became like brothers.
And when.
We would get to cities, him and I would always
go the next morning to work out at the gym.
We go to a regular gym and Forbes and Stanwick's
in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is so monumental to us because on
that corner of downtown Pittsburgh at Forbes and Stanwick's, you
see everything, and there was a gold gym there. I
don't know if it's there anymore, but we go work
out in gold gym.
We've been in tank tops, just do it.
We all had main highlighter colored tank tops like pink
blue and bright yellow from the Gold gym down there, yep.
And we went there before the playing game the playoffs
against the Pirates.
Oh yeah, front and we had those and Riz had
to eat at Modes every time, welcome the most every time.
Yeah.
So we go in there and be like they didn't
really say walking low's this time loud enough.
But those those times for me were like therapeutic because
like we would just go and talk to shit. We'd
be away from the field and we would just talk baseball,
we'd talk life and at some point what would I
do what? Our warm up was always on the treadmill.
I said it all the time. I lived my life
at a two point five, so I'd always warm up
on a tremill out at two point five. You never
want to get higher, you never want to get lower.
Yeah, just start the walk. That was some of the
best that routine here with us, we're stead of looking
back for some of my favorite times because it got
me out of bed. On the road we went and
just moved around. Never crushed it, crushed it. He was
playing every day, so it's great for him and I
love the just the camaraderie. And I was joking around
having lunch after that and going back and.
Yeah, it's just with the boys type stuff where we
get up and move around, and we.
We'd move around there in Pittsburgh, and then in Cincinnati
we would go to like these random gyms, right and
then there there was this little diner down below. It's
called Anne Hathways, Hathaways, Halthways.
I love Anne Hathaway.
But Hathaway's diner. It's a real old school diner in Cincinnati.
Good food, good people watching. It's like a little small underneath. Yeah,
that's a greasy smooth And Bussy was mad at me
one day and he's talking. She's like, you know how
many fucking people I brought fucking Hathways and I brought
fucking Joe Girardi. He starts listening off names. I think
he all pissed off of me because I don't know,
we were talking shit. But it was these little moments
that formed this brotherhood. And let's get into the sixties season.
What when did you know that that team was as
special as we all thought it was?
Well, it was special the whole way through.
I didn't realize like, holy shit, we're gonna win until
you guys did what you did against the Giants in
that in that game, and sooo.
Oh okay, okay, okay, yeah.
So in sixteen, you know as far as you know, like,
holy shit, I have a chance of winning. Gosh, you
just went through the whole year. You guys are so awesome,
and we grinded. I mean every day it was a grind,
but uh, to know that you guys were maybe gonna
win was was then. I do remember, you know, like
when ROSSI, Lester Lackey and when these dudes came in,
And the one thing that sucked for me was listening
to everyone come in and saying, uh, you don't you
don't know what it takes to win. You know what
it takes to win, and and I I felt like
I was a winner, but I really wasn't.
We went through a lot of losing.
Went through a lot of losing. You know, we won
some games and we you know, won some.
Some good teams. Yeah yeah, yeah, but not finishing.
But to be a winner and finish, and that's what
you preach when you came in. It's like you don't
know what it takes to win. And so when I
when I took myself and sat back and went, you
know what, I need to listen and just embrace everything
that you're bringing to the table. You won Leicester one,
you guys won. Let me take that in. And once
I did that and realized everything I could learn from
you guys, and then knowing like after that game in
San Francisco, that last inning, I was like, holy shit,
these guys, these guys are going to do it.
A show I'm so excited to see in July is
bon Jovi at the Garden.
Let's go Slippery when wet.
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Thank you, See.
Geek, Thanks suit Boom, shout out suit book' SG in
the house. What I want to move forward, get crazy.
I want to tell the story about the rehab story
and Jorge Lair, George Laiir Jersey when Cincinnati.
Guy fucking or hey, I would I would rehab George
because he that was you know, you'd have a hams
from my issue.
I mean look at it like that.
Anytime any time someone got hurt, anytime someone got he
was an absolute.
Yeah, it's always it's always the trainers of the strength
conditioning coaches.
Yeah yeah, I get twenty four hours where I would
just lose my ship because I thought at some point
that like a muscular injury or soft tissues, Yes I could,
I could, but you don't know what you guys do
when you go home. I mean, I had a good idea, but.
George, and I love George.
I mean, this guy came over here in a boat
that was smaller than the waves. So it's like, congratulations,
you made it over. I mean, unbelievable story. I love him,
and I got to celebrate his ten years in Anaheim
this last year.
That's right, and he's a World Series two times, two times, right, right? Yeah,
So George is rehabbing with a bad hammy right, and
he's on second base and I'm in the cage. Yes, George,
he's on the he's on the d L and what happened?
He's on the IL.
He's so we're doing you know, you got to ramp
him up to get them back, you get on field plays.
So during batting practice, I'm like, hey, George, just like
get some reads off the bases. All these guys are
taking VP in Cincinnati, and so I get him to
second base, and uh, you know, VP is like boom
every you know, twenty seconds, another pitch is being thrown,
and so I say to the VP thrower, I go, hey, fuck,
can you just like pau give me a pause?
I go George goof you know, happy happy hitting.
Yeah, so he's hitting, so Rossi's hitting, and so I go,
can you give me a pause? And Rossie comes flying
out of the shell and he's like, fuck you, now,
fuck you.
Do that ship on your own time.
Doesn't rehab.
Rehab George, she is just a young player.
Yeah yeah, yeah, really yeah, I mean George wasn't but
a guy we know now.
But that's what we was funny, like minding your relationship
and knowing you and then we're trying I was like,
we're not rehabing guys at the show, trying to get
ready for a game. But that was like our team.
We would we would tell everybody fuck off. Absolutely, we're
talking about it. We talked about with bores, talking about.
Well when they when it came time to play, we
were funny strapped it, yeah, let's go.
Because we were all honest and upfront with each other,
like you, we didn't let we made fun of anybody.
If you got a line like that's your your superpower
has always been like you can get in there with
guys and dig and you make fun of yourself, but
make fun of them and everybody's laughing and loving you
for it, and it kept everybody honest. You know, it's
such a superpower.
We we every stretch before we went out for batting
practice or on the field, we would all get together
and Bussy would pick two guys or one guy, whatever
it was. And that year it was like, if you
say something negative about someone, because it's so easy to
go negative, you have to go what positive too positive?
So anytime you go negative, are two positives.
Two positive for every negative.
So we would he would start. He had this ultimate
feel of like the ebbs and flow of a season
of players, so he would know where guys were at
mentally and physically because he was so in tune with everyone,
so he knew when to pick on guys for that
little players huddle and be like, all right, say it
was me, uh Tony Rizzo blah blah blah, say some
good things about me, and then he would make everyone
in the circle say something nice or monumental about that player.
And it it was one of those things during that year.
What did we call that? What was it called? Circle? True?
What do we call it?
Well, it was just the circle of trust hru.
Okay, we called it something, but Bussy would be the
ringleader and all that and what that different guys over
the years, Like we're struggling. You sometimes you feel like
you're on an island and then you have you know,
you're eight seven to ten guys that are out there
for VP saying something nice and meaningful about you, and
it's like, oh shit, all right, like so good about
myself again today, Well you did that for me.
I don't know if you remember, like I, I cry
every time I talk about this, but I Game seven,
I was out there and you had the whole team
that was out there, say put me in the middle,
and everybody said nice things and each guy tell me
what you love about ROSSI say one nice thing about
ROSSI and it just like, you know, I remember crying
in that circle because everybody, you know, dudes don't tell
each other their feelings. But that was special to me.
That was a that was a that was a one
of my favorite things about that season was that day
and your your peers telling you cool shit to you.
Well yeah, and you know, it's it's always good to
hear I think that. Here's the deal is that you
guys are so awesome and it's like you don't think
that anything bothers you. And so when you hear something positive,
you guys, especially nowadays, and you don't hear, you know,
positive positivity, it's it's tough to get. And so to
hear how people actually feel about you, like to hear
like an Addison Russell or KB open up and just
be like, hey, you know, but and it was at
the end of the day.
It was just stretch.
It was it was just stretch talking about at the
end of the day, at the end of the day,
that was where life left. That was where those were
Sundays with Maury Okay, like the book Okay, Well, we
used to scream pause on a three to two count.
A whole someone would scream randomly pause tivity and then
what do we call it? On the base on a
three two count and the whole dugout. Whoever had a
three two count would be on the base on the
day, and if the guy got on base.
Or walked or got a hit, the dug out.
It's like manifest We were manifesting it, right, and everybody
came from here.
And dude, to this day, if someone's up and they
have a three two count, it gos like on the
base on the base on basim stakes with you right, no.
Doubt, No doubt.
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Oh man, so jealous. Well those weren't just stretches. It
was it was the reason why culture is built is
because you look forward. It wasn't like, oh, we got
to go stretch. Any guys late, Like, no, I'm I'm
not being late.
Yea, What is Bussy going to do to that?
Yeah? Yeah, exactly what's Bussy got up store and saying
with spring training you all like nobody was ever late
because everybody's out there can't wait for you to start
the fact that the strength guy started without stretch with
just you know, some kind of joke. You let my
son run. My son ran his whole I got it
on video. My son did a stand up routine for
his talent show at school and he was like fourth
grade and he was telling Bussy all he was out
there for spring break and he was telling you in
your office and you're like, you're running stretch today, And
he got out there and had the whole games rolling.
I got it on videos for my Fairit videos.
I pulled it up. It was crazy, Bussy. Bussy was
so good at like when you were dark. He knew
off the field you needed like a little bit of
a release, so.
He would be you. You can count him for everything
you take him. You take you out.
Literally prior whole sixteen roster has been out with you
and had a good night with you to not take
life so serious because what we were doing was break
We're breaking a curse there. Yeah, And the pressure, as
much as we say it didn't get to us at times,
it weighs heavy on everyone. The jersey wasts heavy at times.
And your ability to bring guys together, to bring them
off the field, to know when to go in when
not to go in was the best feel I've ever
seen in the game. And it's a lost art in
the game with chemistry and camaraderie, and I can say
with confidence that you were the absolute best at it.
Waterworks.
Let's let's let's get into like I want to hear
you talk about your experiences being in the game for
so long, being on a World Series team, but also
a lot of losing before that, like a lot, a
lot so so and so winning in there, and you've
seen winners. What do you look for now in players
that are like that guy's a winner, guys a winner
and going through the tough time, Like, what are some
of those traits that you've seen in players?
So I think before you guys came here, we had
lost like nine or twelve straight playoff games in that row.
I mean it was like nine win won a playoff game.
And I remember even Ted Lilly, you know, beat the
ship off of a water pipe at Dodger Stadium because
he was supposed to pitch the next day. And we
got beat and we were flooded out. The whole dugout
and locker room was flooded out. So I to go
around and watch Lily Cuckoo for Coca puffs. But no,
I you know, there was a lot of a lot
of losing, you know, until you win, so you only
you know, you only win one time, unless you're a
two time winner or three time winner. But as far
as players see, you guys never I did you know
we'd had players in there that had talked about the
curse and about not winning. We had we had I'd
heard that. When you guys came in, no one talked
about it. You just talked just talked about winning. And
it was like a winning mentality. And so with THEO
and the rickets and like it just so happens. It
all worked out where they built this new, huge complex
and everything was more professional and pro and you had
a great weight room, you had a great gatorade station
and all that, and it was like it just kind
of went you know, arm in arm and to listen
to be able to listen to guys that that have won.
I never won, So when you came in, it's like,
how can I tell someone what to do and what
it takes to win. But at this point, when I
go to sleep every night, I put my head on
a pillow and I'm a champion.
Yeah, yeah, yeah because of you guys.
We the stories that's coming to my mind is when
we were in New York.
When we were in New York and it.
Was a long night, we had a day game or Sunday,
and that's when Joel Ostein happened just on TV in
the background, yes, and he was saying some sermon about
Misuba chef or something. He made cooking lines straight, and
for some reason I always stuck with us. Ritual became
like Sunday mornings, we gotta put on Joel Ostein Jelostine.
So we're in Pittsburgh, remember when Pittsburgh All Star break?
And before the All Star break, I'm going to paint
the picture of it. Tim Busses a two thousand and
five Newton High School.
Hall of Famer Newton High School, Nice Tony. Yeah, shout
out to Newton, Iowa.
Newton, Iowa, and Bussy's Bussy would tell a story all
the time when he was in what's.
College you go to?
I went to Iowa Wesley Wes, Iowa, Leslie right, and
he had a double header that day, and he went
ten for ten in the double header.
Yes, ten for tent.
Not easy to do it.
Ten for ten, Yes.
Ten for ten. And they lost both games. So they're
driving back. They're driving back in the in the minivan
around six and your coach was wearing your team out,
and you're.
Like, fuck, yeah, fucking talking to me. I went ten
for ten. Yeah.
So in that Pittsburgh series, I was going off before
the All Star break, and there was a point where
I was one for one, two for two, and I
always said, I'm gonna fucking beat this ten for ten.
And at one point I was eight for eight in
that series, and every time I was like, I started
counting down, like two more, one more when I would
get on base right at busy and we were scuffling.
So the day before the All Star break, John Lester
comes in, We're watching Joelo's teams. Oh, I'm on the floor,
and he wears me out.
Wears you out.
Sunday getaway because he said the pigeon needed to pick
it up like that.
Oh and Bussy was there, just like she said, in
your little with death right there in the corner, and
just let me go to dine.
He walked out of here.
He was pretty pissed, I remember, and yes, we're waiting
for it, and it was It's like one of those
deals where it's like, oh my god.
Yeah, I go to Hey, it's not that bad. It's
not that bad. Right, he'said, no, it's not that bad.
It's not he knows he's coming to you know what.
We're gonna put Joel on today and we're gonna make
shim a chef. We're gonna feel better about ourselves, make
her crooked line straight.
And then John came in and uh, it was quick.
But we we were also in Pittsburgh and we were
it may have been rain maybe in a rain delay
where we were in the cage and I started pitching
the Bussy. I was like, come on, Bussy, get in there,
take a couple of hacks and he has a good swing,
and he takes a swing and the fucking ball comes
right back up the middle like barely clips the L
screen and I'm like out, I go down. He's like,
that's it, I'm done. I on the he was about
to be released.
And it was like, I'm sick and tired of hearing
about You're in the high School Hall of Fame.
You fucking stink, You're a piece of ship. And I go,
throw me a couple of pitches and risks right, and
we had already you guys had clinched, so clinch, just
playing out the season.
And he goes, come on in, so I go.
I go in and he throws me a pitch and
it's probably it might be the best best FUCKATUT scene
and just nick the L screen. It would have taken
him out, broken his teeth and he wouldn't have been
part of the plane.
You would have got twenty sixteen, you would have got released.
He called, that's that's it. Well, that's the funny sting
about about your mannerisms.
Like that's it.
I'm done, I'm done over it.
You were so good at like you knew when to
push guys, you knew when to piss guys off, and
when they were able to be pissed off. I remember
it was early in my career. We were in New
York again and Red Johnson was on our teament. He
was struggling. This is all time top three. Ree Johnson's
like ever venting a little bit about his swing, and Boss,
He's like, well, why don't you just fucking get up
on the plate, like and just crowd the plate. You
fucking just get up or you're throwing a VP and
re Johnson you he went off.
Shut the fuck.
He like strength coach day in your fucking lane, YadA, YadA, YadA.
Ree and I were so close to his old shade
stadium was it was like yeah, and so Reid would
like infamously be way off the dish and so he
was so awesome. And I remember when he played for
the Blue Jays and he actually single handedly won a
game against us, and I was like so happy to
have him with the Cubs. And I was like, and
he kept bitching it. It's like when players keep bitching
around you and you listen to like, d Le d
lea bitch. A couple of times, it's like bitch, and
then you would say something, be like shut the fuck
talking to me. Those deals they're venting, And I couldn't
listen to anymore, And I was like, dude, won't you
just close up on the dish a little bit?
He goes, fuck you, And so.
Like three days later he goes like his next next start.
And in the New York Times he says, well, I
just listen to my or strength conditioning coach.
Bussy told me I need.
To shout out, oh god, it.
Was Read Johnson. But I did it with d Lee.
It didn't go over real well with d Lee.
Well those are the stories, like you, Darbish. Harvish comes
over and kind of was quiet in his shell here
and you and I are getting to know him, and
the next thing you know, you're getting Darbish to partake
in some Yeah we made inning cigarettes and like from
that point on with the Cubs and even like still
he's yeah, I still check in with him, saying, hey,
make sure you keep doing your thing, because too, I
still have a smoke break with him. Yeah, his darvishes
first start. I was on the IL and we're down
in Cincinnati. Cincinnati had right off the bench in Cincinnati
is their their grounds crew room. So I'm talking to
Darvish me coal hamils, and Bussy you're talking to Darbish.
I'm like Cole or you what was Japan? Like, did
you smoke before games? Could you hear all these things?
Oh? Yeah?
But here they don't let me and like I don't know,
like I want to. I'm like, well, dude, do it tomorrow.
He said no, I can't. I'm like, we're doing it tomorrow.
So we go down and Bussy, Cole and Darvish. I'm there,
but they're the ones that are smoking. Yeah, and Cole
hamils Yeah, end up smoking a cigarette. After his first
out or before his first inning. He goes out and shoves.
Then it's the second an. I think he threw seven
scoreless and then from that point on it was seven
or eight scoreless. And Bussy had to wear it every.
Time I go hold of Why am I in the hailing?
So it got to the point at Wrigley there was
no good spots. So in one of our personnel's office
they put in a smoke thing that inhaled the smoke
out because darbish had to go in between. But because
of you, like, he doesn't feel comfortable enough to.
Do that because of you. Now he has cancer.
Because of me.
I got no, But that's because you were one of
the boys. Dude, and you got it. You got the grind.
I told you the other night, like only strength coach
ever had come in. It's like, man, I don't feel
like working day, get the thing in. Let's bang this out. Bussy.
He's like, well.
Don't you don't you know, you work out, your grinder,
you work, You're in here every day like your body's
telling you. Don't come in like you had a feel
that is, you know, Hall of Fame feel and the
fact of knowing how guys what they needed. Do you
have a favorite sixteen story. I'd love to hear a
Riz sixteen story, But do you have Yeah?
First off, you know, you know, when you have douchebags,
you're like, well you need to work out because you
don't work out, you're a douchebag. But when you have
pros and like I don't feel like working, I'm like, then,
don't like you're going to get more out of not
working out.
Yea, and Tony was the you know, the king of wanted.
To work out the mornings and grinding it out and
doing all that stuff. But you know, twenty sixteen, I
think that remember when we went We're in Cincinnati and
we had to work out and all you get. You
were there when Dexter and KB and everything try to
go to halfways and.
It's like all of a sudden, the it's like new
kids on the block were for fat Guy.
It was like flooded. It's like, Okay, this isn't gonna
work out. And it was just a matter.
Of all the fans. Yes, crazy that that year was
like insane.
Yeah, it literally felt like a little bit like the Beatles.
I don't know, but they was fanning everywhere. Yeah, you know.
And sixteen.
It was such so many stories like riz would come up.
I've never seen anyone eat spaghetti with ranch dressing.
On the planes.
That would be like, what the fuck are we doing?
Your strength coach? Here, can you lay off? The ranch
dressing was spaghetti? Yeah, you had you had.
To dress the we were playing to be.
The fat ass where they were retired everybody the way
you ate, But you look great, bro, you thin great?
Well Ver sixteen was great.
It was It was awesome, but it was honestly it
was a learning experience.
But you know, the stretch and all that stuff.
That was just about the boys, you know, for the
boys f TB, for the boys, because it's just it's
it's about you guys. It's such a long season, as
we know, and so if you can make this like
as much of a family and that type of stuff.
And it's good to get away too. The four months
away from everyone's good too. But those seven eight months
when you're together, it's it's really it's it's so key,
and it's so.
You got to mix it up.
You got to keep it light, yes, And.
That was you guys allowed me to do a bunch
and I think Joe allowed us to do that, right
And and and talk about Joe. You you've been with
Joe for a little while, multiple years, like tell us
about how he impacted.
Ohoe was awesome, so we uh the first time I
met him, Joe was so eclectic.
He came out and you know.
As a strength coach, you gotta be careful like you gotta,
you know with coaches, and like, how can I you know,
can I train these guys during the day within your
allotted time of working him out?
How can we do this?
And Joe for some of that, Joey came out and
you know, we had the agility field, we have the speakers,
and I said, you know I would love because some
some managers I've been with be like no music, stretch
and take an hour and all this stuff.
And Joe came out and he goes, oh, I love this.
You got speakers and stuff and like led Zeppelin, and
it's like fuck yes, and so he goes, you do
you get as crazy as you can for the boys,
They'll love it. He goes, I want them. I want
them to be themselves. I want people. Joe was so
into guys being comfortable, being uncomfortable if you will embrace uncomfortable,
and uh, that was Joe and he and I ran
with it.
You that was you know, like yeah, we went yeah, well.
That was a match made in Heaven for you match
I mean, and it couldn't have been a better.
Still is still is?
I love him and I wouldn't be sitting here talking
to you guys if it wasn't for Joe Madden.
I agree, we wouldn't be sitting here.
I don't think the boys would have I don't know
if we were breaking then.
That's what we talked about, how every person on the
team has impacted us.
Winning some weight like you really needed all not just
the players either, like it was coaches, personnel. It was
Otis and his staff, all of our coaches, every single
person that.
Yeah, Ski, I mean, how about Hintsky.
It's just all a cast of characters. And we we
would work out all the time on the road, right,
it was like religious, like we would go and you
were saying, like I didn't feel like working out. There'd
be days where I didn't feel like working out, but no, no,
come on, we gotta we gotta hit it a little bit.
And actually, you know, we have like this incredible workout.
I feel amazing. I didn't want to do a thing,
but I got up to go because of our What
that time meant to me in my career was just
like I wouldn't trade it for the world. I wouldn't
trade it for another home run. I wouldn't trade it
for anything because that time was the best time of
my career.
And and you know, I mean remember we would like
wake up and I would usually go a bit at
four or five in the morning, and.
I'd be He'd be so fucking His workouts sometimes would
be based on how long he stayed out, and if
he stayed out late, we were in again another New
York store. We're in New York. We're at an equinox
in New York, or doesn't take me him and I
think Dexter maybe, and we're working out and you're not
allowed to have a trainer, and.
The and Ron Darling's there, like so Ron.
Darling nan announce it for the Mets walks in either
before or after. So we're again after it, me and
him in Dexter. He's pissed off because it's New York.
And I'm like, oh, we gotta work out in New York.
Usually in the major cities you take those days off.
And he's busting me. He's fucked dude, this, this, this,
and this trainer comes over and goes, excuse me, sir,
you're not allowed to train in here.
He's like, oh, no, we're not training.
And the guy walks aways, all right, now give me
ten more push and I'm like he stopped, Like I'm embarrassed, right, yeah,
And so we walk out and go, hey, thank you
guys for letting me train these dudes.
Right.
And so that night I'm up in the clap the
clubhouse and during the game and I hear Ron Darling going,
these guys, these cubs, these guys, they're they're into it,
they're aggressive, they're they're locked in.
You know.
I saw their trainer and they're guys working out this morning.
I was like, I was hung over to.
The Bejesus screaming at these guys like, let's fucking.
Go so mad. I remember the one we went to
in San Diego, that little trip and we took pictures.
Tony gwen Stotts statue. Good Eye came.
Our our second are.
We had a game and then an off day in
twenty sixteen and Anaheim and we went all to the
Equinox and Laguna Beach or wherever we were, and there
was an upstairs and at the time, we were all
feeling good. It's right off the spring and we're all
good shape. So we're upstairs outside shirts shirts off, working
out and there's these monkey bars and I'm gonna do
the monkey bars.
You're done.
I had two blisters here and here I'm both hands
that I was grinding through, and I'm like, oh fuck.
But it's a good story for the boys. Door monkey
bars out, r Uss. I mean it does. Yeah.
So and you're released, you're done, You're fired.
Yeah, one cut, because you can't take a hack. Done bussy.
When we we went down three to one in the
World Series. I remember coming to you in the weight
room and just venting like, we're ant fucking doing this.
We ain't doing this, like we just got swept last year.
We're not We're not losing this. And and that's when
we started channeling the Rocky like, yeah, I was like, Bussy,
tomorrow we walk in here, I want Rocky on every
fucking TV Rocky, none of his baseball bullshit. Just put
Rocky on and you embraced it. You said some stuff,
but what made you believe that we can actually do that?
And because Rossay and I were down three games someone, Yeah,
in San Fernandino in two thousand, it's a lang Master Jayhawks,
Let's Seattle Marya.
That's what you pulled.
That's the inspiration you pulled from absolutely to.
Me, had been there, yeah last time in two thousand. Yeah,
this is sixteen years later.
Yeah, So honestly, the inspiration was you guys, because you
wanted to do that.
We did it, you.
Know, the Rocky stuff, naked dance and doing that stuff.
And then if you remember when we traveled to Cleveland,
it was Halloween. Yeah, it was Halloween. So we had
to dress up, and it wasn't like, hey, we're just
going there for one game. I think I wore like
assless chaps and everything.
Whatever. So it was but.
It was honestly, wasn't it just a feel of like
just another game and we knew you win that you
win the first game and it's over.
Yeah, well was the key for sure and what everybody's
talking about. But that's what we've talked about. It really did.
There was no panic in the room. There was no like, yeah,
we took a late flight, so like a trick or treat,
like Joe was still treating it like normal and just
where your Halloween costume on the plane? Yeah yeah, I
would dress shore had short sweatshirt on.
Yeah yeah, yeah no. So it was. It was so good.
But and then we came out for.
Game six and you guys took it to them, and
my goodness.
I remember thinking of the Raj Homer, where were you?
I took a knee. I physically heard so bad.
I went to the ground.
I'm not kidding.
You, really in the in the in the weight room,
the room.
Yeah, I was in the weight room and I took
a knee because I'd probably just done a rally like
a rally beer for.
A twelve time.
Last we're doing I got it and a rally dip
and whatever. And I physically it's the first time I
took a knee. But you know, damn it, this game
you can just feel it. Even as fans. I think
you can just feel when ships go a little sideways.
You can feel that.
I could, Yeah, sure where I was in there, and
I was like this, I got we got figure out
how to change this feeling. But something doesn't feel right here.
And this fucking guy and I talked to raj I
think it was last year because he works for the.
It's funny, we all he won the World Series and
everyone for some reason, you know what I mean?
Serious?
Yes, and I and I saw him and I said, dude,
I just have to know this from my well being.
I go, how the fuck did you hit that ball
like that? And he goes, I just I got a tip.
I got a tip and and he goes, it worked
out and he hit it right off the fucking camp
and Lebron.
Everybody brings up Lebron.
Ron.
It's like a fucking Jordan. I love him.
I remember you used to always tell a story. You
still always tell a story in three when you guys
were in the NLCS, first the Marlins, and it was
game seven.
In Miami, right well.
But or whatever whatever game it was, and you said,
there was like this quiet in the stadium pre game,
and all of a sudden, the who Eminence Front comes
and on our playing rides we would jam out, we
would jam there, we'd be playing everything. But whenever Eminence
Front came on it I always brought me back to
that story. And in game seven on the line, I
didn't really go out much during the playoffs to warm up,
but Game seven was like this is it, Like I'm
gonna go and take this moment in and I hit
and I come out to do my pregame, uh stretching stuff,
and we're on the line and Phil Collins into the
night games and like from that story you told me,
Eminence Front. For me, it was like the whole stadium
got quiet, and it was just like all I could
hear was this song and everything around me was moving
so slow, and I was just looking around at everyone
like I'm.
Not locked the fucking right.
I just did my pregame, my pregame Upper and Downer.
I did my pregame shot him, shot him, shot him,
Wood for reserve and five hour energies. I'm flying high,
but everything around me small, and I'm just looking at guys,
like looking in their eyes, like we fucking got to this,
and like that was my moment, like where you're saying
eminence front where the YEAH column and I just looking
at you and what we had been through, just together
on this team and being together for so long. It
was just like when we did win, it was it
was fucking I just wanted to do everything for you,
both of you. Honestly, your career is over. You and
I are like this, we're brothers, so I love you too. Yeah,
an emotion, but bussy. When Roger hits the home run,
we go back into the weight room. Yeah, And I
remember my weight room experience was with the rain delay
and I had just re upped on my pregame mix
to like get myself going, and I just remember talking
to you like we ain't fucking going down like this, Yeah,
no fucking way. And then all of a sudden, like
people started congreging, J had calls everyone in. You were
the only non YEAH player in there, that's.
All I remember.
You were the only non player in there.
Think about this.
This is how much he meant to us players that
we have a players only meeting. That is just Jay
Hay speaking his mind. And you're in there, So what
is that like for you to see all the waterworks
going on?
Yeah, and that's all I remember walking in and the
players only. I was like, there's Bussy. I was like, oh,
Bussy's fine, that's all I remember.
You were in the like, get this fucking guy out.
Yeah, we were, we were, We were in the trends in.
The back back left.
I remember to this day.
Cleveland has changed their weight room, these douchebags they changed.
But no, I used to go in there and.
Be like, this is where I was this every time
I went in there after.
That's where I sat right there during the rein.
But the best part was it was one of those
moments where I was like, I was doing one of
these and a coach tried to come in and Jay
Hay said, no, get your fucking ass right out of here.
And so when he think and so I'm like, I'm
doing the Jim Belushi like should I stay?
Should I go?
And I start walking out and Jay Hay goes, no, no, no,
you're one of us, and you're fucking staying right in
here and you're talking, and I go, okay, So I
stuck in there and I sat there and watched like
THEO and everyone walk by as you guys were doing
doing your thing.
So that was what do you remember about what was
being said?
In Man, that was epic. What was being said was
I knew the game was over. So we we've all
seen these tides shift. And that's one thing in baseball
is that when when the momentum turns, how can you
turn it back?
In baseball? It's not like basketball or football. It's baseball.
So it's like, how can we figure out how to
get it back in our favor on the road, which
really at that point was fifty to fifty road game
and you couldn't do that. But you guys, that rain,
that Ron Santo rain delay was like, it's a godsend, Yeah, godsend.
And it was like when they came in, what was
it eight minutes, twelve seventeen seventeen minutes?
Joe West called it.
To this day, whenever I see Joe West, when I
saw him, I was thank them. I tell hey, Joe, yeah,
you called the greatest rain delay in the history of
the game.
Thank you, unbelievable, and they and they came and came in, said,
you know, we're playing seventeen minutes or whatever, and then
Ben he hit the spinner that you know, kicked off.
What do you remember about what said and what the boys?
So you remember, yes, I do, Yes, I remember all that,
Jay Hay.
It was that that speech was more about the boys
in that room in the city of Chicago than it
was about anything else. And it was not that dudes,
you know, it's one of those deals where you have speeches.
It's like I'm already trying. I'm trying. It's not like
we're not trying. But it was like, hey, let's.
Remember who the fuck we are, you fuckers. You got
this ship, Yes, you got this ship. You got the
best players in baseball, you got the best position players,
the best pitchers, the best relievers. We like four of
the best catchers.
Well he was catch. Yeah.
It was like, just fucking get it done.
Don't take this moment away from me, because you walk
out of here as losers and you may not get
it back. And so you have you have this moment,
you have this fucking moment when we walk out of
these doors. And you guys, it's one thing to talk
about a moment, and that's another thing to do the moment.
And it was another thing to take care of the
fucking Cuban missile. Remember that take care of the Cuban
missile that day. This guy athletic life on the line
for absolutely so. It was all the chibbing is our him,
the city, the boys, let's just get.
It done and we're in a fucking momentum change And
it did.
Yeah, and we played. It takes a long way to
it takes a long way to the top. And then
you boys, you did it, man so and I appreciate.
The bus ride home, the plane ride, the pictures of
the trophy on the plane, all of it was special.
We get to the parade and we have this that's
the greatest parade ever. I was just watching some videos
of it, but when I spoke, it was like, you know,
there was a couple of people that were so monumental
to me, You and you, So. I gave you a
shout out, and then I give Bussy the shout out
of He's like, you gave me a fucking shout out
front of five million people.
He was made my life. I still hear about it.
It's just the bond that we had can never be broken,
and the friendship has been incredible. So I love you
to death. I want I want to now fast forward
a couple more years and tell the story about the
check the blank chain, because I was I got off
to a terrible start one year, and Bussy's being bussy
and he's doing his thing and trying to work my
psyche whatever the way he does it, and I'm like, Bussy,
I go, if I fucking drive in one hundred runs
this year, I fucking write to a ten thousand dollars
fucking check on the spot. Because I was like, I
had maybe like twelve rbs. I start going into like
the end of May. I'm like, there's no fucking way.
And I had gone off and had to really end
up having what was a good season, Like the very
last like two games of the year, I drove in
one hundredth run, and sure enough I wrote in that
fucking check, Tim Tim Boss, I don't date it, I
sign it, and I put the subject one hundred RBIs
until this day.
Where's that check? Right here? In my phone? Doug? He
kept he.
Hasn't cashed the check because he's always says if he's
going to pinch this is this is. We're going on
almost eight nine years of you having this check.
Yeah really still Crisp, Phil Crisp. Yeah, I haven't. It's
just sat here in my phone.
Hill, the camera were right there.
Hold that thing up, Tim hundred RB eyes.
Yeah, let me see this.
That's that's the freshest ten year old check you'll ever.
That's amazing.
That's what you meant to me, honestly, both of you guys,
and doing this, doing this podcast, doing this union has
been so great to get to reconnect with teammates. But
you guys are more than your friends, and I love
you the most. You're a close second.
You got We're all family and we couldn't have done
it without each other. And we've all impacted each other
so much. And it's like, oh, you're grinding every day
you're playing. You actually had to perform. I got to.
I was a good cheerleader and we had our own
little cheers in the dugout. We had the whole We
had such a great staff. But we're I miss you.
I know that I missed Tina dugout with you, that's
for sure, both of you.
We have we gotta end this. But we were in
Saint Louis. I got to tell these stories and it
was just at some point we're we're in Saint Louis
and we Bussy and I stayed real late after the
game because Zebras took forever sometimes after games.
So that's the worst. I was the last when shower
like ever't like.
So we were like I was hanging with Bussy and
Zoe and we were like, the bus can go. The
second bus leaves, so we we walk out of Bush Stadium,
right Bush, Yeah, and there's a little love carriage right.
It was a was a horse carriage.
It was a fust carriage and the thing was in
a frame of.
All hearts and it was all this romantic thing. And
I go, hey, boys, you want to jump on. And
we're staying at the Four Seasons there in Saint Louis,
so it's a it's a nice little fifteen minute ride
and it was like just so calm and we're just
in this horse carriage. It's all romantic. The lights and
where we have a video of us just like talking
here here we are me Ben Zobris Bussy. The memories
from Saint Louis. There's one more. We stunk so bad
in Saint Louis and it was a day game and
it had to be August. And I don't know what
you did the night before, but I could tell you were.
A little uh short normal, you were very short short.
So we end up losing, and Yachti Molina, who I
have a ton of respect for, did something in the game.
He was like chirping at us, and we ended up
getting swept. Yeah, and all of a sudden, we're like in.
They were all down, and we used to lose and
so it wasn't like that down all of a sudden.
Use here boom, all right, seven eight seconds later, boom
three more times. I walk in, I go, Bussy, what
the fuck are you doing? Because our fucking second loser,
and he's fucking he's taking like a way to ball
and just throwing it as hard as you could at
the left. He's these motherfuckers. Yeah, And because that's how
much he cared.
But that's how about saying, no, you had you, but
you had the competitiveness in you that was like you
were you couldn't impact the game. Physically, but you were
all about the boys and you were a competitor, and
I think that's why it was so relatable, how you
have such good feel yeah, because like, yeah, it doesn't matter.
I love my job, but I want to win.
Right yeah, yeah, without being disrespectful, because you guys.
Are out there with your ball, so they're trying. Yeah,
it's like you can't.
You know, no strength coach should snap, you know what
I mean at the end of the day because of
a winner or loss. Really, that's what I would preach,
because you guys are trying your asses off unless you've
got nine dudes that don't give a fuck, which doesn't
happen and didn't happen. But it was like just so,
and we were horseship. It's not like that was sixteen.
That was like, yeah, two thousands.
But there's something about the room that when somebody is
like that, it's still mad. That holds everybody else accountable.
It's like it's still not okay. The fact that you
snap sends a message. I remember, you know, we can
tell stories all day, in our stories, but I remember
we got our ass kicked. I was in Atlanta, was
sitting on the bench and we were we were out
of this game. We were getting beat like eight to
nothing in the third, like it's over right, and I
think the final score is like fifteen to three, and
the game ends. We start to walk back and I
happened to walk back behind Bobby Cox, one of the
greatest managers have been around, and he takes his he
takes his lineup card and he throws on the ground
walking down the steps like fuck. And I'm like, I'm like, damn,
he was still locked in. I checked out of this
game five man, you know, like Bobby RELI bro like
we'll get him tomorrow. We had a good team. But
it just shows like that level of like, wow, he
was still locked in. When you have that in the
room and you have that, it doesn't matter if it
was a coach, a player, a club guy. Danny and
those guys j they grind with I watched as a manager,
like they're depressed sometimes when you're just going through one
of those bunks. So like that competitiveness is Competitiveness is
such a strength and respectful way, you know.
Yeah, And that's you know, hiring the right people right
that those are good dudes, And that's culture and that
and that's what you preach, and that's why the culture changed.
Theo Tom Rickets brought you guys in and Joe matt
Leicster Lackey, Joe Madden. Joe was just so fucking come on,
so awesome even you know, here's the deal. You can
you can do or be whoever you want to be.
But at the end of the day, anytime that you
spend more than a couple of minutes with Joe Madden,
you feel better about life, no doubt.
And I'll say the same thing about you.
Well, I appreciate that. I'll say the same I would,
I would I. I've got to say a couple of
stories before we finish.
I'm probably a little drunkard with you there with Joe Madden.
But the one thing I love about Rossi and it
was even going back to two thousand saying Bernardino's stampede down,
you know.
Three games to one and everything.
We came back and beat Lane Case Lancaster Jadhawks. But
you would always be like, if the guy got a
butt down or got to base it, if he was
catching and in the game and he comes sit next
to you and he'd slap my lego.
Great job, you go, don't fucking touch me. Bro. I
was the same way.
Yeah, bro, because bro, if you fucking did something. If
I heard David ortusday one year, the difference between my
good years and bad years is whether the guy's catch
the ball or not. Because I'm gonna hit the ball
hard the same amount every year. It's my good years
or if they catch it or not. So when I
would line out and hit a missile and it's an
out and everyone's in there saying, oh, good swing, I'm like,
don't fucking dap me up like I just got out.
I'd rather have blown up my back and hit than
waist a bullet, I'm sure. And I was just as
I got older, it was like even guys still knew.
But you know, when you're really grinding and you do
that and they give it to you can't get like that.
But you need a little red ass in the in
the in the in our game, and.
You were you know, I had a lackey. I think
that teams need that nowadays. It's like, you know, people
kick rocks like oh he yelled at me, and it's like,
you know, like uh, Darnelle McDonald going d mac going
around like trying to spray everyone with lavender.
And ship and Lackey's like, get that fucking ship right
at it was like so good.
But I do remember, you know, Riz with the I
remember the the time that you were bitching about I
stink a fucking stink, and I'm not going to get back,
and like, come on the baseball card, it's always gonna
be seen. You have one hundred RBS five, one hundred RBIs.
He tells me.
I'm gonna give you. I'm gonna give you ten thousand dollars. Hey,
you guys heard it. You heard it right, And so
so we get close to the he's like like ninety
nine RBIs with like two games to go, and so he's, uh,
nine second he's up and you know, takes an ass
out like fuck doubled down line and starts clapping the
second base and everyone's like, you know. And so then
he comes in after the game, slaps a check down
on my desk and goes, there's ten thousand dollars and
I go, that's awesome.
You know, uh, no big deal.
At the time, I thought it was kind of a joke,
but whatever, it's like it's.
Yeah, So then yes, I kind of got into a
little bit of a grind.
Just recently.
He called me.
Two months ago he called me, I know, but not
this grind, that grind.
And so he luckily I went to his bachelor party
and I'm like, photo left cash his check. And I
didn't say to anyone, but I was like, my god,
check at some point. And so he stands up and
tells all his buddies and he goes, the only thing
I have to say about this guy is and he
told his whole story about the RBI thing. He goes
and I got one hundred RBIs and I gave him
ten thousand dollars check. And this dude such a good dude.
He's never cashed the check. And I went, fuck.
Reverse reverse psychology.
So well, look, this is where we're family for life,
and we couldn't we can't thank you enough just for
being who you are and how you've impacted our careers,
this team, this special reunion that we're able to do
now and tell all these stories. And I'm just so
thankful for you.
So thank you, yeah, thank you. I appreciate everything.
And you invited me to sea World and ship that
was and we got flat for like peta was like Jesus,
I was trying to go to SeaWorld with my streak
on off there in San Diego break.
I wouldn't go use a smart one.
Yeah, and so we're.
Saying like, don't fucking move, don't fucking move. The dolphins
are coming by. Don't fucking That was like, oh my god, really.
And like these bustloads of fish come.
Yeah, remember that they took it back from Peter. Peter
was blow me on my social media, so I'm like, yeah,
it was really, you know, I swear to you.
I was with David Ross and like, no, you weren't
like I swear, I swear.
I know David.
That's a good memory.
I forgot about that. But no, thank you guys. You're welcome.
I mean, this is I mean, this is bullshit. This
is like pinch me stuff. Yeah it is.
Well you deserve. You have grinded a long way to
be where you're at, a Hall of fame resume.
So I thank you, I love you.
I love you ladies and gentlemen, tim Bucks, Timothy, thank you,
Buss Buss. That's a fucking wrap things.
Thank you boys. Give me a hug.