The 6-1-1 Podcast Ep. 6: Ryan and Jimmy talk playoffs
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- Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of the 611 Podcast. It's your boy, Ryan Howard along with... - Jay to the Rizzo, you know, back at it again.

Taking hot takes, you know, trying to keep our listeners informed, give them something to think about. We're going naked today, meaning no guests. Not that we're taking off our clothes. That's it. You know, I got dad bod going on right now. You on the other hand, you know, you went the opposite way, Big Peace. Well, yeah, I'm trying to get to Smedium, Peace. Smedium? Yeah, we're trying to get Smedium. I don't even know if that exists with you. Well, we just invented a new word. I can sneak into Smedium. We invented a new word today. Okay. Smedium. We're going Smedium today. But that's like...

Actually, Smedium's been out there, bro. But no, but not in this context. Okay. This is the extra large Smedium XL. Okay. Big and tall version. Big and tall Smedium. Okay, that'll work. I'll take that. So it's you and me today. We're going to chop it up with everybody out here. And what we're going to talk about a little bit is...

As we're getting into it, it's October. October baseball. And, of course, you've got to get into the postseason mentality. And for those who don't know, October in the baseball season, just simply postseason. We like to call it October. Outside they call it the postseason, but we see it as October. It's red October if you're from Philly. It's your blue October if you're a Dodger fan. Actually, they just call it blue heaven out there.

Oh, I don't know. I didn't play for the, but you did, but you could talk about that. You could talk about that. You know, just, just the different things that comes with playing ball in October, AKA the post season. And we can't stop at that anymore because now it's November. Right. You know, we got DJ, Mr. November took, took over from Mr. Jackson, which was Mr. October. But,

Yeah, it's different ball. It is different. And it's different. We went through it together. I got in a few years before you. You laid on my couch for a little bit, went to Wawa all the time. Shout out to Wawa. Holler at your boys. Went on to win Rookie of the Year, MVP. And then we finally made it to the playoffs in 2007. Talk about that moment. Because for me...

And you were like, although I spent more time trying to get there, but you were like, we heard the stories of what it's like to be a Philly.

1980 World Series and having to make our mark. And every player when they're playing wants to make that mark, no matter what organization, it doesn't matter who's come before you, it's our turn now. So just going back, you know, preface in that way, tell us what it was like, you know, for you, we'll talk about my side also, but for you just to finally break that mold. - I would say for me, obviously having come in, my first call up year was September of '04.

Had the opportunity in '05 to come up, obviously when Tomei got hurt. That was kind of my first taste of what it felt like from a playoff atmosphere. - Right, so we were close. - Because we were close. - Close. - We didn't make it, we missed it. - Like two games short. - But that was what that playoff atmosphere felt like. And I think for myself,

You being on a team, Chase was also on a team. Brett Myers was on a team. That kind of young nucleus from inside was starting to kind of get the taste of what it was like to win and be on the verge. Now, for me, once we got to 07, you made this statement. You made this very famous statement. Or infamous if you're a New Yorker. Infamous. If you're a New Yorker, it's infamous. If you're Philly, you know, we call it. Exactly. And so...

- A proclamation. - We hadn't won anything. We hadn't done anything. - Hadn't really got close. - We didn't even win the division. We were nowhere close to really winning the division. Like at best we were trying to get a wild card. - Wild card, for sure. - And you come out and you say, I think we're the team to beat. I'm like, oh damn. - That ain't what you said. - I said, oh. - They said, oh shit. - Well I'm trying to, you know what I mean. - He said, oh shit, oh fuck. - I said, Jimmy Dunn did it again. And so when you said it, it was like, well,

Why can't we be the team to be? I was like, we can't leave him out here on this island by himself. So we got to go out here with him and have his back, which is what we did. Now the Mets kind of fell apart for sure, but we did do our part. We did our part and did what we needed to do in order to make it thus the craziness of the last week.

of that season in '07. - That was crazy, straight bananas. - It was insane. - Bananas. - It was insane. I will say, me personally, when we clinched on that last day, 'cause when we came out, and we're warming up, it was already like four nothing or something like that. And the crowd was cheering. We're playing in Philadelphia. Last game of the season, we need this game to clinch.

The Mets are down, I think, to the Cardinals or whoever it was. No, no, to the Marlins. Oh, to the Marlins, yeah. So the night before what happened, I think they hit Hanley and the ribs and started talking trash. And the Marlins were ready to go home. Yeah. They took it upon themselves. First of all, they already played the Mets well that season. Right. So now they're like, okay.

We're gonna do our part. It was almost like at that point, they were pulling for us because of what happened. You guys just go out there and beat us. So what? We're going home anyway. We're about to go fishing. We're in Miami. But you guys wanna start some trash. They showed up like all stars. And I don't know if you remember-

inside the clubhouse, you can hear something happening outside. We didn't have any TVs on because we had to focus on what we needed to do. We had to go win a ball game. And you can hear the energy. You can hear the crowd just stomping and screaming and yelling. And I know to myself, I was like, don't get caught up with what's happening out there. You have a job to do. But there's also the little devil in your shoulder is like, go look. Right. What's happening? Go look. And it's like, nope, nope. Focus. Go take a look.

So I probably went out, you know, I go out right on time. You know what I'm saying? There is no extra space. I go out right on time. But I went out about five minutes early. What? Wait a minute, time out. I know. First off, for all y'all who know Jimmy-

And those who don't, five minutes early is like three hours early for Jimmy. That's a lot. That's a lot. Yeah, I usually make it within about the last 10 seconds. And you guys will bet on me being late. And whoever bet against me, why would you bet against me? There was no need to. You know what I'm going to do. I already knew what it was every time for stretch. Anyhow, so I go out there five minutes early. And I didn't look at the scoreboard, Rye.

because I didn't want to be disappointed. Even though I feel the energy, it's like I don't want to be disappointed. And either the Mets came back and tied it or it's a one-nothing ball game. But I get out and I get up on the field. I'm just trying to not look. I'm not looking. I'm looking at the crowd. They're going crazy. They're clapping. They're pointing. I'm like, don't look, don't look, don't look.

But of course, the little dude on my right shoulder is like, look. Whoop. Yep. It was five nothing. I was like, oh, shit. Yeah. Oh, it's on. Yeah. All we have to do is win. Mm-hmm. And it's like I locked in. Mm-hmm.

I felt that I had been pretty good all year, you know, and we locked in for big games. We played Mets, I think seven games coming down at last 17. We won six or seven. We basically won every game. So it was like six out of seven, but this was different. It was elevated. It was like the task is at hand.

one game, that is it. We win today, we go on. And that helped propel us, you know, not necessarily in 2007, we were finally getting out of 93 and breaking the mold of 1980. Like we finally got there and we went home fast. The Rockies were world beaters. They beat everybody. But it was like a different level of locking in. And it's hard to explain unless you've been there. You know, I didn't need rest.

All I had was focus. I would go home. It was like I was taking power naps because I didn't want to shut down. You know, they say, you know, there's no off switch. There's no on and off switch. You have to be on. Right. That's what October or postseason ball is like. Like you're just on. I need fuel.

I need just enough rest. I need focus. And that was it. And that day was the first time I ever felt that. When I say ever, of course, like I said, there are games you lock in. But to that point where we win, we go on. And although it was fast, I feel it prepared us for the next year in 08. We celebrated in 07. No goggles. Eyes burning. I will say this. I will say this about 07.

I felt like when we clinched in '07 that we celebrated like we just won the World Series. 'Cause I was like, man, this is great. But I'm like, damn, we kind of celebrating a little hard. We just made the playoffs. - But we didn't know any better. We didn't know any better. - We did not understand the burn from alcohol and how it burns your eyes. - It burns. - So goggles. - I couldn't see for a day. It was just trying to get the filament and stuff off.

With that said, I mean, yes, we got knocked out early, but it was well-deserved from where we came. And for me personally, like you say, you guys had my back and, you know, saying we're the team to beat. I didn't know it was going to grab the legs that it did, but I remember winning the division that year, and it felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. Did you ever feel like you needed to change your routine? Like you said,

you felt more focused when you got to the postseason great question like did you ever feel like you needed to change your routine once you got into it because great question the biggest thing is I always say blackout right right where it's like you go up there you hit the ball you say Ryan bro you didn't even swing I was like bro I blacked out right I don't even know what happened right but it was something that either you were so focused or locked in to the point to where it was like

It all just came together. So, and I don't know if you remember, I asked you, I asked Chase, and we were always, it's all our first time there. And that was my question. Like, what do we do? Like, is it different? Like, do we try to focus even more? How do you try? How do you focus more? Right. It happens, you know, but it's,

Those were the questions and it wasn't just for me. I wanted us all to think about it. So we all had one game plan like we had all season long. Our mentality was pass the baton. If they don't want you to do it, trust the next guy to do it. Don't go out there and be a hero and get yourself out. When we have guys in the lineup that can definitely get the job done. And

I remember asking that question because, one, I consider myself a leader. I want to have that answer so I can provide it so when guys ask also, hey, this is what I'm doing. Right. I went out there and for me, I'd say, you know what? Don't change. Exactly. It's worked all year long. Do not change. You said it yourself. Don't change. You said it yourself.

we had no clue. We didn't know what to expect. Like I was thinking to myself, okay, we made the playoffs. Like if I hit the ball, it's going to explode. - Right. - Like what, like what, you know? - A super curve ball. - Right, is it nastier? Like what is it? And it's like, and it took that year for us to be able to understand, 'cause we were still somewhat of a young team. So we had never, never had that experience. But once we did get it and it was like,

the buzzsaw that was the Rockies. Like we didn't really stand a chance, but. - Ran through everybody in NL. - But the experience. - They didn't lose a game until they got to the World Series. - Right. - And that was with a weak wing. - The experience, but the experience that we got from it saying like, as you just said, nothing changes. You still gotta catch the ball. You still gotta hit the ball. You still gotta throw the ball, right?

Nothing changes. The game doesn't change. The lights get a little brighter. You want to however many teams that are still left, but you still got to go out and keep the same mentality of what it was that you were doing. Now it's even more so not putting pressure on yourself to execute. But like you said, it's leaning on each other to where if this guy can't get it done, it's the next man up.

And that was that mentality that when we got into spring training, because you and I had the conversation, I remember in the outfield during batting practice, and you were like, why not us? Why can't we win? Why not? We've already gotten a recipe to where it was like, okay, we had unfinished business going into 2008 because now we knew what to expect and going in. Now, everybody's different. You know, like LeBron will go, you know, zero dark 30. He'll go off social media. We didn't really have social media like that. But-

You just locked in, and it was one of those things to where you would look across the clubhouse, and everybody would just look at each other and just know. Just know. I got to do my job today. And if somebody's coming off the bench, Dobbs came to the field with his back, bro. 9-9-9. Remember that? Hey, Dobber was ready. Hot. Dobber would have his back in the first inning knowing he was coming in to pinch hit. We like, Dobber, bro, you can put your back down.

bro. You're not hitting at least until the fifth. But that's that focus. He didn't want to lose it. That's what I'm talking about. There's no off switch. He was on. When I went home, I was on. When I came to the field, I was on. I'm on watching the game and when my time is called, I know what my assignment is. And it's a beautiful thing. And I remember just...

Having those moments where, as you said, we look at each other and nothing needs to be said. Nope. And there is no greater feeling. It's like we're about to beat their ass. They don't know it yet. They don't know it. But we're about to beat their ass. Yeah. And it didn't matter what the fight was. If you lost tonight, it's a series. Right. Okay, you guys got one. Congratulations. Y'all got to deal with us tomorrow. And-

As you said, that's something that you go through and you have to go through to experience it. And then when you finally win, you know, and I don't think we talk about that enough or we haven't really talked about those moments. We celebrate it and everybody went their separate ways. And it was like, okay, well, I guess, you know, that's it. We'll show up for spring training next year. But to have accomplished that with your brothers, man, it is special. Like,

No one can tell you anything anymore. All the flaws you had coming to the season, all the bad articles, all the bad press, all the bad radio, all the booze. It's like, it doesn't matter anymore. Because at the end of the day, we accomplished what we set out to accomplish. And for our city, we put on for the city the way they hope we will put on. And they can never take that from us. Like, that's ours. That's our thing. That's our thing with the city. We'll forever be champions. It's etched in stone.

Speaking of Greg Dobbs, you know, as I call him, one nine, nine, nine. And the fun thing is we're in contact to this day. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I mean, he'll send text. I'll send text. We'll go play golf. He's a pretty good stick, by the way. I believe it. But, you know, the role that he played, he was he was a utility. I don't even know if utility was really a thing. It's always been a thing. But he was Mr. Utility. He didn't play third. He'll go play third and go play outfield. He'll go play outfield.

"If he had to play first, he'll play first. "You need a pinch hit, he'll come off the bench and hit." And he was a guy that we saw grow, when I say grow, his confidence went from bouncing around a little bit, getting here, finding his role, wanting to play more, got more playing time, then got the playing time taken away as everybody got healthy, and having to re-figure that out.

But knowing that at one point, and we had conversations all the time, I don't know if you spoke with Doc, but I spoke with them all the time about confidence, being ready. Like when you get your chance, you know, go out there and do your thing because you're just as important. Just because you're not starting again doesn't mean you're not important. When you come in and you're that pinch hitter or defensive replacement,

you're that important that Charlie said, I want you in this position right now. And I could see his mentality change. And I'm not taking any credit. I was just doing my job as a leader because I know how important confidence is. So when he came up with big hits, I mean, he was hitting 275, went all the way down to like 220. But then as a pinch hitter, big hit, big hit, big hit.

I didn't care about his average because I knew off the bench, outside of Matt Stairs, Matt Stairs was there for a specialty purpose. He's going to hit home runs. But Dobbs, you're going to feel it. You're going to put that good at bat when it's earlier in the game. Later in the game, those are going to be Stairs at bats. You have to understand your role. But he understood that and he took it. You just said it, understanding your role.

And it's like, I don't know if you had to go through this. I know I did because we had this guy named Jim Tomey in front. He was pretty good. Yeah. But I mean, you know, I was able to do what I was able to do in the minor leagues. And obviously, you know, coming up to the big leagues and having Tome, who was amazing. And he was a great mentor for me as well. But I knew this is the man. My role is come off the bench. So I'm like, if this is what my job is for the time being,

I'm going to do the hell out of this job and understand what my role is. I may spot start here and there, but I may only get one at bat. So it's, it's, it's like when you have a relief pitcher coming in, right. You know that when you got to the tail end of the bullpen, you had mad dog coming in. Yep. You had JC coming in and you had Lidge all,

you know what your roles are. You know if you're another reliever in the bullpen, I'm coming in before these three guys. Right. Shout out to Clay Condry. Yeah. He was solid. Chad Durbin. Man, Durbin. Shout out. Shout out. All y'all, bro. And then Scotty Ayer. Scotty.

Scotty Ayer. Let's not forget about Chicken Wings. Sleepy. Old Chicken Wings. Sleeper. I mean, he came over late. Three-piece biscuit. Chicken Wings. That's it, bro. Like, those guys all knew their roles. And that's what Dauber do. Yes. Because, and that's what made him so good is that

When you had that conversation and then you understood what your role was, it's like, okay, when I go up here, I'm going to battle. I'm going to try to win because we knew Stairzy was like the closer. Dobbs was like the setup man, right? 100%. Like you said, he's hitting earlier. Stairzy will tell you. He's coming in to do one thing and one thing only. He's trying to put the ball in the seats. He's not a walker.

Strikeout hit a home run. Yeah, that's it. That's it. He didn't want to run the bases. No, he didn't. He wanted a job. That's why he's either strikeout to home run. Yeah, yeah. He'll tell you that to this day. But when you understood what your role is, and I wonder with like today's game, like as we look at that, like how much more do we either –

see something like that because everybody, everybody it seems like kind of has the same role of like, hey, I'm going up here, I'm swinging. - Right. - People were trying to hit homers and doing all that where we lose a lot of those. I feel like those roles where it was like you and Shane would hit one, two, vice versa. And it was like, if one guy got on, if you got on Shane's bunting you over. - Right. - Right. You don't see that really in this game. Now you see it at times during the post season.

And guess what? They haven't practiced it all season long. How do they expect them to execute? That's a great call, but not the jump in. Yeah, but no, but you see it sometimes where now all of a sudden small ball comes in because you understand that when you get to the postseason, runs are fewer and far in between. And to that,

I still think it exists. I do. As far as the roles. I just think it's left the position players and has gone to the bullpen. Pitchers, what are they required to do now? Starting pitcher. Right. Even the great ones give us five innings. Yeah.

If you look great, we'll leave you out there. Sometimes, not even all the time, because the numbers are going to say the third round through, batting averages go up. It doesn't matter what my eyeball test is saying. I can see that you're dominating. The numbers say over time you're going to get beat. Right.

So I think that that role has just been flipped to the bullpen. That's why we have guys coming in in a sixth inning throwing 100, and a seventh inning throwing 100, and an eighth inning throwing 100, and a closer throwing 105. Right. And so I get why they do it. And as a hitter, I wouldn't like it. Leave that starter in there. I don't care how dominant he is. Leave him in there because at some point he's going to fatigue, he's going to make a mistake. But you have these specialists coming out of the bullpen throwing 100. Yep.

And it's a new arm. The next time I'm up there, that's tough. It's a different situation because it's all, it almost reminds me of spring training where you see the starting pitcher for like two innings and you're just starting to get used to it. And then they start bringing in another guy and then another guy. And then another guy, our goal is,

was, A, we wanted to get the pitcher out by the fifth inning. Yeah. We want him to stay in now. We want those bullpen arms. We want him to stay in because we want to get three A-Bs. If a dude was still in the game after five innings, I mean, he was dealing against us. Now, like you said, if that guy can go five innings and then pass the baton, then you're in a good spot. All right. I want to switch it up for you real quick.

As we're talking about post-season, clutch post-season moments. Ooh. You talking about yours? Or ones that we've noticed? All of them. We've been witnessing. We got time. This is our show. We can talk about it all. We can talk about it all. I'm going to talk about two. And one was for me and against our Phillies. Yeah. But one happened prior to that against my Oakland A's. Kirk Gibson. Do tell. Oh, yeah. 88 World Series. Yeah.

- I was mad, I mean, I was a kid. I was mad as hell at Tony La Russa. And Eckersley, I think he may have been like close to MVP that year or something, whatever the highest award they would have given him, he was there 'cause he was just dealing that year. But I remember as a kid, I think it was game one in the World Series, two in LA, I think. Whichever game it was, it was in LA, the first game in LA.

And I'm watching. And first of all, we have the Bash brothers. Yeah. Mark McGuire. Mm-hmm. Rikki. Canseco. Canseco. Everybody. Lansford. Steinbach. Yeah. First of all, there's no way we lose to the Dodgers because who's on their team? Yeah, that's true. As an American League player, that's what I'm thinking. I mean, as a guy, that's what I'm thinking. Like, who do they have? They have no chance. This is going to be over quick, early, fast, knockout. The A's at that time were like the coolest team. You know, bruh. Yeah, the Bash brothers, bang. Yeah. And so...

Kirk Gibson comes up. He can't walk. Nope. And I remember, you know, watching him. And of course you remember now, cause they showed all the time and fell enough pitches on one leg. Yeah. And as a kid, I can still go back and say, why can't you finish this guy off?

Just throw him a sinker. Do not throw the slider because he doesn't have bat speed. I didn't know all the things that I know now, but I knew that he wasn't getting around on the fastball. He was late and he was struggling. You could see him obviously taking much better swings, but it's like, oh, just throw that two seam that you always do off the side of the plate. If he beats you, we knew this as a kid. If someone's going to beat you, make them beat you the other way. Don't give them the poolside. Anyhow, he throws a slider.

And Gibby is running around the bases, pumping that fist. I was heartbroken, Robert. Bro, he hit that thing on one leg. On one leg. With one hand. And it was halfway up the bleachers. Yeah, bro. You got to check that bat, bro. He got that good wood. You know? Yeah.

That's that big league wood right there. When you spin them, you hang it, he bang it. So that was one that broke my heart. And to this day, I'm still mad at Tony. And it's not his fault. It's baseball. But as a kid, you're the manager. You knew better. That's what it was. Tony, I love you. But my A's, we were supposed to get that. But then in 93...

I know the Phillies fans won't love this, but understand I'm a Ricky Henderson fan first. I grew up in Oakland. He went to school with the rival high school of my dad's. They live a couple blocks away. So I've been a Ricky fan since I was a kid. That was my favorite player still is to this day.

So when Joe Carter hit that walk-off home run, clutch moment. You know, we all have had walk-off hits. We all have had walk-off home runs, but not in the World Series. No. Not to win it. No. That right there, it didn't make up for 88, but –

It made me feel a little better because Ricky got another ring and that's all I cared about. Nothing to do against the Phillies. You know, I love my fields. That's my city, city of brotherly love, but my Rick at the time, plus I didn't know y'all was going to draft me. Let's just be real. I didn't know y'all was going to draft me three years later. I'm going to keep that thing a hundred. So as we were talking about the, the, the Eckersley Gibson at bat, it immediately took me to the Joe Carter, Mitch Williams at bat, because I was thinking slider, uh,

And the slider, and I love you, Mitch. You know I do. The slider was a filthy. It was filthy. It was a pitcher's pitch. Especially to a right-handed hitter. Right. To where I was like, how did this dude hit the ball? Like, it could have hit him. That was clearly a blackout moment right there. That's what I like to call a blackout moment. I was going to say, you called it blackout moment. Yeah. Yeah.

It happens. Because you got, I'm sure, because you got to some balls that you hit that you were like, I have no clue how I got to that ball. For sure. Like that ball was like in here on my hands and I got, and I did this or whatever it was, but that was one of the filthiest pitches. But to be able to do it and then go back, to go back to back. I know. Was. I know. Definitely a huge, huge moment. No doubt. Like you said, to do it in a World Series, man, that is the epitome of where you want to be able to do it. I'm trying to sit there and feel what it must have felt like.

to hit a walk-off home run, um, 20-watt series. And I remember the announcer saying, you've hit home runs before, but none bigger than this. You know what I'm saying? Just how it went.

And I was jumping up and down like a little kid. I'm not even a Blue Jay fan at that moment. I don't care about the Blue Jays. I like Joe Carter, but Ricky got a ring. I think Ricky worked a walk off of Mitch, and you know that he does that better than anyone else. That's what he does. But man, that was one heck of a moment. But I'm going to stay here because we're going to brag a little bit. We're going to pop our collars around it. This is what we do. Rye. Yes, sir.

You've had some postseason moments yourself. And one in particular, was it 08, 09 against Colorado? That was 09. 09. That was 09. 09. First round, divisional series. Yep, first round. And we're in Colorado. We owed them. We owed them. For what they did in 07. They just knocked their heads off in 07. Yeah. And it was starting to feel like that a little bit again. Mm-hmm.

Even in a regular season, that is not an easy place to play ball. It is not. 20 runs doesn't seem like enough because anything can happen. The field is big. Balls jump. It was just a matchup for us that night.

somehow worked out in their favor but we get down to the was that the top of eight or top of nine nine top of ninth and houston street is coming up yep and we're we're coming off the field and you said some words and i'll let you repeat them because they're your words what did you tell us i don't know what happened um bro i just went down to the end of the dugout and i just started pacing

Back and forth. And I just started getting like hyped up and just getting built up and getting built up and getting built up. I think I was like fifth or sixth. Yep. Deep. I was like, listen to this. And I just walked from the one end of the dugout all the way down by Charlie and everybody. And I was like, get me to the fucking plate, boys. Just get me to the fucking plate.

And that was it. And y'all know I don't ever say anything. I don't say anything. And I saw Chase's head whip around like... Everybody's eyes went like this. It was like, we have an assignment. Yep. It was no longer, you know...

It's always winning the game, but it was no longer winning the game. It was pass the baton back to our thing. That was our rallying cry, pass the baton. Rise set, get them to the plate. So now as a hitter, it's what do I need to do to get to the next guy? Right.

What do I need to do to get to the next guy? What do I need to do to get to the next guy? Kind of like you're talking about was the 86 match when they were saying no one wants to make the last out. Nobody wants to make the last out. It was the same mentality. It's what do I need to do to make sure Ryan is on with somebody up so that it counts? Mm-hmm.

'Cause I think we had this conversation before. - I was locked bro. I mean, you know, I got locked. First of all, you got me locked in in '06 when you won MVP. I was like, bro, he sleeps on my couch. He hits home runs much further than I do, but I could hit that many in my mind. - You did. I mean, not that you did. - But so there were two moments that you kind of, you just said something or I was so close to you. I'm like, this is tangible.

And that was the second moment in the playoffs where you just said, give me to the plate. And I remember my antennas went up and it was like, I'm not making an out. I don't know what I have to do. You know, I'm not a guy to get, I don't like to get hit. But if the ball is close enough, I'm getting hit this time. Right. Because I think we were down by like two or three. We needed it. Yeah, we needed it. Because they were starting to feel the momentum. Yes, they were.

I think this game would have tied the series. And then... And then I think we had to either go back to Philly or we had to go... Yeah, I think we would have had to go back to Philly to play the deciding game. And I was just like, give me to the plate. We're going to win this game. And so...

You got it. You got it. Shane got on. And the next thing I knew, I was like, I'm up. Because I knew Houston. I played with him in like the fall league, in Arizona fall league. So I knew, you know, the little smooth little slide to the side and he had the little sinker. I was like, if I bring it up, it's a wrap. If I can bring this pitch up to my knees, it's a wrap. And I was like, that was one of the only times I ever really felt like

I'm about to hit a home run off this guy. And I just hit it with a little bit of topspin. And I just remember getting to second base and I looked and I saw Chase going into home plate later. And I was like, I put my arms out. I was like, what happened? Because I guess Shane missed the...

Third, and had to tag it because Chase was scoring from first. And then Jason came up the next FB. J-Dub came up with the next AB, got the knock that knocked me in, and I think we wound up winning like four to two or something like that. But it was just one of those moments, man, where –

I just got locked in and was just like, just ready for the moment. Because Charlie used to tell us all the time, man, you got to want to hit. Yeah. You got to be ready to hit. You got to want to hit. And that's what I think we had that mentality about going into. Now, fast forward, because we won that game. Yeah. Some of us didn't have to fly back to...

Philly, we just went ahead and flew to LA. Oh, you mean at PJ? Yeah. Yeah. So we went now fast forward in the NLCS that year. We're playing the Dodgers. And there's this dude, number 11, who was on our team leading off. We get into the situation. I forget which game it was, but...

- Jonathan Broxton. - Right, game five. - Please. - It was a game five walk off. - Please, take us through that. - So it's funny 'cause it was no different. We know the Dodgers are a good matchup. We had the three at home. We did not wanna go back to LA. That was just what it was. We didn't wanna go back to LA. We knew that. We have to get it done now. And

I remember, as Charlie tells it, who was the bench? Was it Jimmy Williams, our bench coach? Yeah, Jimmy. Jimmy Williams, our bench coach. And he was like, speaking of dives, he's like, hey, man, we got to get him up to the plate. You know, we got Broxton. He's a good fastball hitter. I can see his little goatee and everything. Oh, goad. Ross Glode. There you go. Ross Glode. Yeah. We got to get Ross up to the plate. Charlie turned around like, yeah, we need to get J-Roll up to the plate. You know what I mean? And these are moments we don't hear it happening because, once again, we're locking ourselves in. Like, what needs to be done?

And like you, I'm five, six batters deep. Right. And you know it may happen, but the like, it's a probability. It probably won't. Broxton, who's been lights out all year, who's done well. Yes, we got him last year, you know, the previous year in 08. But he starts saying at some point, you know, it starts to revert back to the pitcher because they have the advantage. A couple walks later, I think Ross Gloat ended up.

either flying out but whatever it was he didn't hit into a double play and I'm on deck and I'm like he has zero speed and this is not a shot at him he has zero speed yeah exactly get in the gap get in the air but do not hit it on the ground and it didn't happen and I was like thank god

So now it goes back to pass the baton. In my mind, a three-run home run would be absolutely gorgeous. I've never walked off a playoff game with a three-run home run. That'd be fantastic. Reminds me of Joe Carter, people I've seen do it before. Big Papi. I've seen guys do this before. Then you go, hold on, slow down. What needs to be done? And it's funny because these moments and these things are going through your head constantly.

instantaneously. As one comes in, another one goes out. One comes in, another one goes out. Try to get the home run. Just get the hit. If I get the hit and we tie the game, Shane's behind me. If he doesn't get the hit, I've done my job. The pressure's off him. It wasn't on him to get it done because I did my job. And so I was taking that responsibility on myself. And then it's like, nah, but a home run would be cool. Just get a single. Home run would be cool. Now I'm stepping in the box. You know, all this is going to be free. It's crazy. All this happens for you getting the box.

So I'm like, okay, I've worked on this. See the ball, hit the ball, just catch it. Just my Barry Bonds drill. Just catch it. Boom. Simplified. He throws a hundred. Why am I going to try to swing a hundred miles per hour to match it? Just catch it. Yeah. Ball one. Or I think maybe a strike one, um, slider cut or whatever it was. One go over the top. I'm like, all right, you took your shot.

Go back down, get the single. A single over the second baseman head would be perfect. Bruntlett's going to score. There's not going to be a play. If I hit it right at Ethier and right, it's going to be a play. Hit it at, you know, camp and center, it's going to be a play. All these things are going through my head. Get back in the box. Ball one. Now this is at the point where I face Broxton enough to know that I'm saying one-one counts. I know he likes the slider. It's devastating. This is a one-one count. The pitch is ahead. Two balls. I mean, two strikes to me, three balls to him. He's ahead.

In the past, I always said, when one county is going to throw me a slider because he knows I can hit the fastball. And he always threw a fastball. And I was always late and popped it up trying to play catch up. I'm like, you know what? I remember the Gibson story. As sure as I'm standing here, Eckersley is going to throw me that slider. And it's funny because it's like they were teaching me lessons in that moment. As sure as I'm standing here, he's going to throw me a fastball. Just catch it. Just get the single. The game is tied.

Took a deep breath. I stepped back in the box and he threw a fastball. And it was a blackout moment. I don't remember it. I didn't see the ball go in the gap or anything. And it really was when I watched the replays that I realized what happened. Although I realized what happened in the game, don't get me wrong. But it wasn't until I watched the replays. And the funny thing is,

even after watching the replays, it was like I shocked myself. I was trying to literally like bunt the ball over the second baseman's head for a single.

But when I watched the replay, it was a full swing. Like I was trying to get it swing. Yeah. But I didn't know that. That's a black, those blackout moments. I did not know that because my mind, I simplified it. Do this and it's a tie game. Then the ball's going in the gap and I'm running, but I still don't see the ball. I just see Ethier and Kemp going out to the gap and I'm watching, you know, Chooch Bruntless score. And then I see Chooch coming around and scoring and I,

As he's getting in between second and third, I see the ball start coming in. So now baseball instincts kick back in. I keep running third just in case he for some reason messes up and tries to throw to third. That run scores. I just stop. Period. Before I call, I never made the throw. Then I get to third and I turn around. Who's the first person I see? Big piece.

And it was like, you know, it looks like I'm celebrating throwing my hands out. And I think I've told you this. I turned around. I see a big 6'4 brother coming down on me like a linebacker. And I'm really just trying to open myself up and embrace the hit. I was like, and it looks like I'm celebrating. Then he picks me up like a little teddy bear and just rocks me in his cradle arms and just pushed me down. And I was like.

"Oh, that wasn't bad at all." And that's when it came back to noise and everything. - I wasn't coming at you like Bobby with them kidney shots on walk offs and stuff. Bobby Abreu used to hit you with the kidney shots and stuff. I was like, man, hitting walks offs are painful, bro. You're not supposed to get in there. - They are, they are. - Now you just get stripped. - Yep, they just get stripped. - They rip your jersey off or whatever. - But yeah, but those were moments that we lived through that.

for me, it was great to go through. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad it was, I guess it was finally my turn because I've watched you do it. I've watched Chase do it. I've watched Shane do it. And my moment came and I was able to execute on that moment. J Dub getting a big hit in Colorado. Jeff Jenkins, Pat Burrow, guys that we played with that helped us win a World Series, come up with those big hits. And it was always, you know, when it mattered most. So,

As we talked about it, you know, locking in. You don't have to work for it. It happens. And when that moment's there, all your work and preparation, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in your work and preparation and believe that, you know, this is my time and all I have to do is my job, the hero part of your mind and your ego goes away. I'm not here to be a hero. I'm here to do my job. The results will be viewed as, oh, you came through. You're the hero. But in that moment, I'm simplifying it.

I can get a hit off this guy. I can hit 100. I can make that jump shot. I can go up and make this one-handed grab. I can make that pass. I can make that tackle. Whatever it is, you simplify it back to its roots and its fundamentals of getting a job done. Yeah. I love that because as you were saying, and I was thinking even further back to how many times when you were a kid,

playing either playing baseball or just playing with your friends. And it was like bottom of the ninth, three, two, two outs, game on the line. It's that visualization of seeing yourself in those situations. And like I said, Charlie told us all the time, you got to want to hit. You got to want to be in those situations. That's where the greats, the mama mentality of the late great Kobe Bryant, rest in peace,

Jordan, LeBron, like those guys had that killer instinct. Mm-hmm.

Because they knew that visual, they, they visualized, they've done it before. They've done it a million times so that when you got to the situation, Oh, this is just, this is, this is normal for me. Like this isn't new. There's nothing for me to be nervous about because I've been in this situation over and over and over. I'm shooting these free throws with the game on the line. Cause I've been doing that. Practicing these games in your head. Yeah. So, I mean, a lot of it is like you said, it's the preparation. So when you practice, I tell kids all the time, man, it's like,

When you practice, you got to practice with a purpose, right? Practice and act as though the game is on the line so that when you get in a situation and the game is actually on the line, you've been here before. You've worked through your nerves. You know how to take that deep breath. You know what you did in practice that-

made you unsuccessful versus what made you successful. Now tap into that. And I'm glad you went there because you're 100% correct. That moment when you said, you know, get me to the plate, get me to the fucking plate. You lived that as a kid. The many times, three, two, pop up, do it again. Three, two, pop up, do it again. Three, two, pop up, do it again. Three, two, home run, got it. Three, two, home run, got it. Okay, I'm done. And then tomorrow you go out and do the next, the same thing.

three, two pop-ups, three, two, I struck out three. It doesn't matter because I'm still working my way through it. I know I can do it. It's the belief. And in those moments when you don't do it, it's not like you quit. You say, okay, maybe that was a foul ball. Maybe he dropped it. You always visualize yourself coming out on top. And so when those moments happen and it happened and you execute, yes, you're happy. You're excited. You're elated. You're thrilled. You're

But it's felt like I've been here before because we actually have. I want to do this real quick as we start to get ready to wrap up. Yes, sir. If you could win a championship in another sport, what would it be? In another sport? So, wow. You know what? In another sport. I would say that it's close, but maybe soccer.

- I'm with you on that. I was gonna say soccer. - I thought the Super Bowl because it's fricking one game all on the line. It's something that really the world stops and watches. But a global game that soccer or football is, and you're involved Crystal Palace, I think it is. - Yes, I am. - Crystal Palace, Ryze and owner. - Yes, you're certain. - I'm gonna throw that out there. But it's a global game.

And I look at guys like Ronaldo and Mbappe wherever they go. - Messi. - Messi is another one, wherever they go, they're recognized as the best. And baseball you recognize as the best baseball team, football the best football team, basketball the best basketball team. Obviously everybody has their stars.

But in soccer, there's one star. There usually aren't multiple stars on the team. There's guys that will score. They're good, but there's the one star. And not for that purpose, but the fact that everything falls on your head when things go wrong.

And personally, you get the appraise when everything goes right. And I've never been famous. You know, I'm known around the streets of Philadelphia, but that's fame. And I don't want fame. But what I see for soccer players, it's just a different level. And I'm like, yo, that is dope. It is. It is dope. I would echo that on the soccer level. I mean, obviously, yeah.

Like for us, it would be like trying to win like a gold medal to be able to play on a worldly global level baseball wise. Right. But.

soccer like you got the world cup coming up here in a couple of years man here in america and north america i'm sorry i should say between canada u.s and mexico that is i've always loved soccer i grew up i played soccer until about eighth grade was actually you were too big and heavy play pop warner football like cc my mom wouldn't let me play my mom would not let me play football so i had nothing to do with just being you know

- No, I mean, 'cause I probably would have been fine playing football, but like I played the other football. I played the other football. And I loved it, dude. I loved it. - It helps your footwork. You can dance. - Oh man, you know that? - You might have some trouble catching the ball at first base, but you got them foots. - You know that, man? Hey bro.

a little light on my feet. You know what I mean? When it may not necessarily be on the running side, but you know, I can get light on my feet when I need it. But I mean, I love it. And to all the points that you talked about with it being such a global game and those guys are stars, like they go places. It's like, it's different. It's just people of fame is like the Beatles. It's like Michael Jackson. It's like Rolling Stones. Like,

people are passing out like i don't think there was anybody passing out from me and you coming anywhere no we got some movies so no they're probably some movies yeah we was hoping somebody might you know pass on me all right but whatever but but you know it was but it's next level and i mean like obviously the money in the games today like dudes are making you know 800 900 million a billion dollars dudes are getting offered a billion dollars for one year right

- For one year. - They understand the marketing power of that. - Yeah, I need to go dust my cleats off, bro. - You still got it? - Hey bro, if they offering the top dude, you know, a billion, you might be able to get like 20. - That's it. - Be on the bench. - Give me 1% of that. - Come sit on the bench. - I'm good to go sit on the bench. - Hey bro, I'll pass out water with the best of them. - I'll go hang out in Spain, Europe, Dubai, you know, just let me, you know what, you need me to hold your jacket? You the water boy, I got you player. - Right, they were like, they didn't even show up for the team bus.

- Wait, look at Instagram, he's over here touring. You saw you're touring right now. We got a game. - Easy call, but yeah, but that would be it for me. - I would love that. - Would be soccer. - I would love that. 'Cause I think with like the Champions League, the UEFA Champions League, between that and then the World Cup. - Yeah, dope. - And I think with what's going on here in America with MLS,

- Growing, the game is growing. - Yeah, the game is continuing to grow. - I'm in LA, you have a couple football clubs out there, women's and men's, beautiful. - Yeah, yeah, my hometown, St. Louis finally got MLS too. - Oh really? Congratulations bro. - Yeah, St. Louis is a huge soccer town bro. - I didn't know that. - It's huge, it's massive, massive. - Really? - But I think when you can get to that point

to where MLS can continue to grow, I think between MLS and Mexican league, which there could pop, maybe there's a merger, I don't know, maybe down the road, but you continue to grow that talent base here in North America, and then you get those games against Europe. - Right. - Man, it's really gonna grow the game here, I think in America, and I think the World Cup coming to America is gonna help grow the game, and I think if the US men's team

can have a good showing. - Right. - 'Cause this is probably one of the most, if not the most talented men's national teams out here. If they can have a great showing, quarter finals, semifinals, finals, win the damn thing, bro, it's, I think soccer in America will-- - Will blow up. - Will explode. - Right. - I think it'll explode. - I have a question, Ry. - Yes, sir. - You own a team, right? - Mm-hmm, well, I got a slither. - That doesn't matter. You get tickets.

- What's that? I can, yeah. - You can go to games, get a suite. You know somebody. - Yeah, I know people. - Have I ever been invited to go watch a football game with you? - The answer's no. The answer's no. Don't think about it. Don't think too hard. Study long, study wrong. The answer's no. - That was a little bit aggressive. - I'm just, I mean, that's how I feel. I'll let you sleep on my couch. - You know what? - No, no, I'm talking to my fans. I'll let this man sleep on my couch.

rent a room 'cause he was standing at the Doubletree. I'm like, nah, you're not standing at the Doubletree. - Hey, they got good cookies over at the Doubletree. - Hey, hold on player, hold on player. He has a sliver of a soccer team. Ooh, a sliver. He can get me in there, bro. I'll pay for the ticket, me and the plane ticket. I'll take care of the room. Just get me to the game, bro. Y'all hear, you hear it here first. - I got you. - You hear it here first. - You know what? - So Ry, I'm talking to my people. Give me one second. - Talk to the people, talk to the people. - You know, I think we should take a poll.

How many people out there think that Ryan Howard should invite me, Jimmy Rollins, to go watch Crystal Palace play? It's simple. Let me know. I think that's a great idea. We have to rectify the situation.

Luckily, I know some people. We can make this happen. No doubt. We can rectify this situation. Yes, we can. I would appreciate that. You're right. How many years? Sometimes you just got to take a knee. You just got to take this one on the chin. Bounce back. Go to your corner. Get the cut cleaned up.

Come back out the next round. That's it. Don't stop the fight. Don't stop the fight. Don't throw the towel. Don't throw the damn towel. We're going to rectify this situation. We're going to get this man out to a Crystal Palace game. We're going to get him some Crystal Palace gear. Okay. We might even try to sneak him in the game. They're going to be like, who's that dude? It'd be Jimmy making 20 passing out water on the bench. Man, what an episode. What an episode. So peace, you know.

i think there's something that's been long coming you know we've heard about it for years you guys need to do something um so i'm finally glad we took the time and uh we had people you know see the vision yeah for us to do something like this you know there's a lot more to be discovered and covered um baseball sports health finance things that are all to come in the future uh but you know i have to say bro

I enjoy doing these things with you, dog. Man, back at you, bro. I mean, it's from day one, from letting me crash on the couch. Yes, sir. And it was just, we just had this different chemistry, the big brother, little brother, figuratively and literally. You know, like twins. Yeah, relationship. Like twins. To where it's like, man, it's only right.

It's only right to be able to do this and just be able to have fun, man, and enjoy each other and just be able to share it with everybody. So we're glad that y'all are all here with us with the 611 podcast. Keep it coming. We're going to keep it coming. And without, we are out. We are out.