0:01

From the Berkshars to the sound from

0:04

wherever you live in MLB America.

0:06

This is Inside the Parker.

0:08

You give us twenty two minutes and we'll give

0:10

you the scoop on Major League Baseball.

0:13

Now here's Baseball Hall of

0:15

Fame voter number seventy, Rob

0:18

Parker.

0:20

Welcome into the podcast. I'm your host, Rob

0:22

Parker. What a special Shohei

0:25

Oltani edition of

0:28

Inside the Parker with Jerry

0:30

Harriston Junior, the former Major League

0:32

infielder and outfielder and analysts

0:34

for the Dodgers on the Spectrum sportsnet

0:37

LA. Also Manti

0:40

Bolanos, she's a weekend host

0:42

on Fox Sports Radio. Will also

0:45

get her perspective.

0:46

Let's go better up

0:49

to lead off, it's getting robbed

0:51

and keep them on. Rob's hot take on the

0:53

three biggest stories in Major League

0:55

Baseball. Number

0:57

one, it is the perfect marriage.

1:00

I don't care what anybody says, show

1:03

hail tany going to the Los Angeles

1:05

Dodgers, a blue blood franchise, ten

1:08

years, seven hundred million dollars. I know

1:10

the money's eye popping and people can't

1:12

get over it. The athletes

1:14

and other sports got dwarfed

1:16

in the NFL. Those guys are looking like

1:19

seven hundred, like what and

1:22

even in the NBA. I mean, I

1:25

think show Hat's contract bigger than

1:28

maybe the best players in all the other

1:30

leagues combined. I mean, that's how big it is.

1:33

But the point is it's

1:35

perfect for baseball. I

1:37

do not I repeat, I don't hate Toronto.

1:40

I think it's a great international city and

1:42

we know the Blue Jays history. They won back to

1:44

back World Series in the nineties.

1:47

But show Hay needs to

1:49

be on a team in the United States for baseball.

1:51

This is going to help the sport grow. The sport.

1:54

TV ratings don't count outside of

1:56

the United States, so I

1:59

think this is good good for baseball that

2:01

he's with the blue blood Adam on a

2:04

major market team.

2:05

There's a big difference.

2:06

I know that Anaheim and Los

2:08

Angeles only forty three miles apart,

2:11

but trust me, it's like a million

2:13

miles apart.

2:14

When you talk about.

2:15

Attention and people

2:19

caring and being involved, it just is.

2:21

It's a big difference.

2:22

And for baseball's sake, show

2:25

Hey being with the Dodgers is outstanding.

2:27

Number Two, the Dodgers didn't.

2:29

Do anything illegal by deferring

2:31

ninety seven percent of show

2:33

Hay's contract.

2:34

He's only gonna make twenty million.

2:37

Out of the ten year deal that that's

2:39

currently So it's two million a year for

2:42

ten years, and then the other six

2:44

hundred and eighty million will be deferred

2:46

and payout through I think I read somewhere

2:49

twenty forty three like something

2:51

crazy outrageous, But

2:54

I think Baseball will have to address

2:56

this as far as competitive balance

2:59

and a team kicking the can down

3:01

the road to dominate the sport

3:03

for eight or ten years while other teams are

3:05

handcuffed and they don't have the same

3:08

breathing room or

3:10

leverage, and I think that's what So

3:14

you might have to be able to count that money

3:17

in the current year even though you're not paying

3:20

it. There's got to be something to still

3:22

make it count with the luxury tax. I'm

3:24

sure Baseball and some other owners have

3:26

already alerted the Commissioner's office that they

3:28

don't think this is fair because

3:30

most players ont Sho

3:33

hal Tani, They

3:35

don't have a gazillion dollars coming in from

3:37

everywhere else that they could defer

3:40

that amount of money. Ninety seven

3:42

percent of your income being deferred

3:44

is just unheard of anywhere

3:47

nobody does that, but Otani was

3:49

able to do it for the Dodgers so that he could add

3:52

other players to that roster

3:54

and give them a real shot to win. The

3:56

Dodgers have won one World Series and I was

3:58

twenty twenty since nineteen so

4:01

it's been. As good as they are

4:03

and as many games as they've won over the last decade,

4:06

they still only have the one championship.

4:08

Number three.

4:09

Do not go to confetti r Russ

4:12

and buy your confetti if you're a Dodgers

4:14

fan, Okay for the parade because

4:17

the pitching is still questionable and suspect

4:20

it really is. So I

4:24

just think especially with sho Hey not pitching

4:27

this coming season, that's

4:30

gonna be an issue for

4:32

the Dodgers. You

4:35

also got to remember that Clayton Kershaw

4:38

injured. There's just so many guys on

4:40

that May was injured, he'll be coming

4:43

back. So there's

4:45

so many people that the Dodgers

4:47

really can't count on yet as far as

4:49

pitching. So that's why Yamamoto

4:52

and maybe a Glass and Hour on their radar,

4:55

because they need pitching in order to

4:58

win a World Series no matter what the lineup is. They

5:00

won over one hundred games last year, got

5:03

knocked out in the first round. Two years

5:05

ago they went over one hundred games and

5:07

the Padres had better pitching and beat them in that

5:09

series. So it's about pitching

5:11

and defense in the postseason, not about bats.

5:14

It just has never been about bats. So

5:17

you could stack your lineup, you need

5:19

pitching, and the Dodgers desperately

5:22

need pitching. So I don't think they're gonna

5:24

win the World Series in twenty twenty four. I'm

5:26

gonna go out on the limb with the way

5:28

they're pitching looks at this

5:30

point.

5:31

Right now, here comes

5:33

the big interview. Listen

5:35

and learn.

5:36

It's so good. All right,

5:38

now, let's welcome into the podcast. The front

5:40

of the podcast Jerry Harriston, junior

5:42

of course, former Major league infielder and

5:45

outfielder and an analyst

5:47

on Spectrum Sports net LA.

5:50

Jerry, Happy holidays, Welcome to the podcast,

5:52

my friend that talk

5:56

with you man no doubt, and my god,

5:59

I mean the Dodgers front and center.

6:00

Not in the baseball.

6:01

World, the sports world,

6:04

I mean the Dodgers. Indeed,

6:07

with the signing of Shohail

6:09

Tandy moved the needle.

6:11

Of course.

6:12

On Thursday's gonna be introduced

6:15

the seven hundred million dollar deal

6:18

ten years with the Dodgers. Just your

6:20

thoughts real quick, Jerry, first

6:22

on when you heard the announcement and

6:25

you heard the money.

6:28

When I heard the announcement, I

6:30

mean I was through the roof

6:32

because I mean you said it. Rob moves

6:35

the needle. You know, not just in the baseball

6:37

world, but in the sports world, Rock queshed

6:40

he's the best athlete on the planet.

6:42

Yeah, nobody, nobody does what

6:44

he does. Of the five hundred foot

6:46

home runs, his speed work

6:48

class speed, and obviously when he's

6:51

healthy on the mound, are

6:53

starting picture that can throw the ball ninety eight to

6:55

one hundred miles an hour.

6:57

The best that feel the planet in all eyes

7:00

will be on him and the Dodgers. I think it's

7:02

the perfect marriage. When you

7:04

combine the best athlete on

7:06

the planet with the Dodger brand,

7:09

the global brand the Dodgers are, it

7:11

is a perfect marriage. So I was from

7:14

the roof excited for Choyotani,

7:16

excited for baseball, excited

7:19

for the Dodgers, especially the way that

7:21

they structured his contract, only

7:23

paying Shoyotani two

7:26

million dollars a year throughout

7:29

the contract. That

7:31

tells me that he wants the Dodgers

7:33

to continue to be aggressive in the free

7:35

agent and trade markets to make

7:37

sure they continue to have teams

7:39

that are capable of winning World Series, not just

7:42

this coming season, but for years to come.

7:44

Uh, there's no doubt about that.

7:45

I mean, obviously, if you handcuffed them with

7:48

that contract, you might not be able to do anything

7:50

else.

7:51

And as you know, in baseball, you

7:54

could.

7:54

Have three or four players and still

7:56

not you know, teams we saw

7:58

the Braves Dodgers won over one hundred

8:01

games. It's not automatic that you automatic

8:03

that you win the World Series. So you

8:05

always have to improve your team and do

8:07

things. But Jerry, here's the thing. You

8:10

know, I heard a lot of players and ex players

8:12

and people who thought once he got

8:14

hurt that you know, there's no way

8:17

he's going to get over five hundred million dollars.

8:19

And I just never believed that thought.

8:22

I thought his.

8:23

Value, we see it in the NFL. They

8:25

deep value players. Oh you

8:27

heard this or that, and

8:29

it's not the same. But I never believed

8:32

that people were going to get him

8:34

at a discount. And the Dodgers

8:36

showed you they're willing to wait a year for him

8:38

to even be able to pitch. What

8:41

do you think about that that his value was never

8:43

decreased.

8:45

I listen, I

8:47

it wasn't one of those guys because I

8:49

understand obviously, especially

8:52

with technology and with the

8:54

science, with the way our

8:56

doctors and the way our training staff

8:58

are able to rehabilitate

9:01

players. Now, I mean, we're just seeing Aaron Rodgers

9:04

two months after having an achilles

9:06

surgery usually takes a year, year

9:08

and a half, fifteen years ago. Too

9:11

much after surgery, he's strolling the football, walking

9:13

around. So we have come so

9:15

far with modern medicine.

9:18

So when you talk about shoe Otani, he

9:21

is worth the if you want to call

9:23

it a gamble, that money,

9:26

because not only is he a game changing

9:28

type of athlete, he brings

9:30

in so much revenue. I know, I think those ESPN

9:33

did a did a piece on him.

9:36

You know, his revenue brings in anywhere

9:38

from seventy two to bout eighty five million

9:41

alone. This is when he was with the Angels,

9:43

right, So you put

9:46

that with the global brand like the Dodgers,

9:48

the doctors knew, hey, we

9:50

paying X amount of dollars, we're gonna

9:53

receive you know, tenfold on

9:55

our investment. So that's what it is.

9:57

It's about what you can bring in as an

10:00

athlete. And there's nobody, nobody

10:02

on the planet that brings in more revenue

10:05

than shohe Otani and it's

10:07

it's literally just paid off dividends. I

10:09

think fanatics just talked

10:12

about this yesterday. He just

10:14

set a record for Jersey sales, breaking

10:17

Christiano Ronaldo and Messi

10:20

in forty hours. So again,

10:23

he is a global phenomenon.

10:26

People are gonna want to see him on TV.

10:29

People are gonna want to see him when they play at

10:31

Dodger Stadium, when they go to the variet when he goes to

10:33

the variety of various stadiums with the Dodgers.

10:36

I mean, he is definitely must see TV. So he

10:38

is the what the money.

10:41

No doubt about it, and you talked about

10:43

it.

10:43

He's also he's a global brand and

10:46

the Japanese just watch and see.

10:48

I saw it with Matt Suwey

10:50

with the Yankees, and obviously Oltani

10:53

is a greater player. But

10:55

I saw it with the signage

10:58

at Yankee Stadium from Japanese these

11:00

companies. I saw it with

11:02

attendance with Japanese

11:05

fans when they came to New York Jerry

11:07

Yankee Stadium was a part of their you

11:10

know, trip to the United States

11:12

and all that, and I do believe it's the

11:14

same exact thing tenfold.

11:17

And also I'm sure

11:19

that the Dodgers and Spectrum will make a

11:21

deal with the Japanese networks right

11:24

to broadcast his games live.

11:26

All that stuff is

11:29

amazing.

11:29

And you mentioned that Sui with the

11:31

Yankees, that was a teammate hit in

11:33

two thousand and nine, and the media

11:36

that was there covering him alone

11:39

is you know, it was spectacular.

11:42

You know, he had about ten twelve guys

11:44

following match Sui everywhere

11:46

he went. Yeah, both up play that night five

11:50

with show k right, you

11:52

know the best. You

11:54

know, he's the Michael Jordan of Japan.

11:57

Put it simply. He is Michael Jordan over there,

12:00

you know, and now a global brand like

12:03

himj You know. So again,

12:05

I'm so happy for Dodger fans everywhere,

12:08

not just in LA because Dodger fans are

12:10

global. I'm happy that he's

12:12

put on this Dodger uniform, the uniform

12:15

that Jackie Robinson wore, the uniform

12:17

that Don nukeom or Campanella

12:19

standy kofax. You know, so on

12:21

and so forth. He's gonna be one

12:23

of those type of superstars to

12:25

where the Dodger blew to go along with Mookie Bets,

12:27

Freddie Freeman and the rest of this

12:30

Dodger team. Man, I'm excited not just for

12:32

this year, but for many, many many years for the Dodgery.

12:35

Our guest is Jerry Harriston Junior, of

12:38

course, an analyst with Spectrum Sports

12:41

in at La and a former

12:43

Major League infielder and outfielder. Jerry

12:45

I did on the radio, I

12:48

made a new song instead of old Canada.

12:50

I was singing no Canada

12:53

when I heard that.

12:54

Maybe maybe he was going to

12:56

Toronto, and I was I was thinking

12:58

about on a selfish way from baseball.

13:00

I really didn't want to see him go to Toronto because

13:03

a it's a different country. Uh

13:05

and and you know, like the TV ratings

13:08

from Canada don't count in the United States.

13:10

Just a lot of things that I don't think would have been good

13:12

for for baseball. But

13:15

that little wrinkling there, do you think that

13:18

was any little negotiating

13:20

thing or change things, because for

13:22

a minute, I don't know, when you heard that report, I

13:25

was stunned that that it would be anywhere

13:27

but to Dodgers and to go to Toronto.

13:30

For a minute, I was, I was, I

13:32

couldn't believe it.

13:34

Yeah, I was with you. I was actually on the golf

13:36

course, shocking.

13:39

I was gonna say, Jerry, what are you not on the golf

13:41

course?

13:42

All right? I know, you know. And I

13:44

got various texts from people all over baseball,

13:46

you know, and they said, hey, man, we

13:49

heard Show is going to Toronto.

13:52

And then reports flew out that you know, he's

13:54

on a private jet. He just left

13:56

Anaheim, you know, headed to Toronto. And

13:59

I guess that's the jeni he uses. So you

14:01

know, everybody thought he was going to be a Toronto Blues and

14:03

I thought, wow, you know, I was, you know,

14:05

selfishly being with the Dodgers. I

14:08

was hurt a little bit because I knew I would the

14:10

impact he would have not only on the

14:12

Dodgers, but you just said it, robh

14:15

on major League Baseball, the importance of him, you

14:17

know, staying in the States. And this is no knock

14:19

on Toronto.

14:20

Not at all, not at all.

14:22

Toronto is a great city. Canada

14:24

is a terrific country. I love going

14:26

to Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto,

14:29

great people. But when we were

14:31

talking about, you know, twenty nine

14:33

other teams here in the States

14:36

and the value that he brings

14:39

with the eyeballs here in the States.

14:41

Selfishly, I wanted him to be here and

14:43

obviously with the Dodgers because I knew with

14:46

the Dodger brand and Shoilotany

14:48

it is the perfect storm, literally

14:51

the perfect storm. We talk about Michael Jordan heading

14:54

to the Olympics in nineteen

14:56

ninety two making basketball

14:58

global. That's impact Tiny's

15:02

having, and I know he's going to have with

15:04

the Dodgers. It literally is that

15:06

type of perfect storm. So

15:09

I'm so glad he chose the Dodgers. He

15:11

gets to stay in LA and I

15:14

think it's gonna be a terroristic terresfic

15:16

marriage.

15:17

All right.

15:17

A couple more things with the not spending

15:20

having to pay the sixty the whole seventy

15:22

million dollars.

15:23

Now the Dodgers have more spending money. They got

15:25

a.

15:27

Platinum American Express, a Black American

15:30

Express, I guess the shop.

15:31

So Yamamoto is a guy who's

15:34

still out there.

15:34

And then I want you to comment on him

15:37

and Tyler Glass now who just

15:40

talk that the Dodgers might train and get from the

15:42

rais. Do you see them getting one

15:44

or both or pitchers

15:47

because we know the Dodgers need pitching.

15:49

Let's not kid ourselves. The Dodgers need pitching.

15:52

You know what's amazing. We talk about athletes being

15:54

very competitive, and we are. Whether

15:57

it's football, basketball, baseball, golf.

16:00

It took a competitive and you get to that level, to the big

16:02

leagues, you are a competitive person. People

16:04

fail to realize that owners are

16:06

competitive too. Uh. And the

16:08

Dodger owners have from day

16:11

one when they bought the team, they say, we're gonna

16:13

make sure every single year, we're

16:15

gonna have a team that is capable of winning the World

16:17

Series. Now we haven't won it every year,

16:20

but we've had a teams that have had chances

16:22

to do so. Uh. The last

16:24

two years the Dodgers have failed to get out

16:26

of the first round. Uh. And

16:28

the front office and the dog ownership,

16:31

Dodger ownership group has made it put

16:33

pretty clear they're not comfortable

16:35

with that at all. So when they

16:37

just signed showal tiny, they put

16:39

everybody on notice in that club off, hey, we expect

16:42

to win raings plural. And

16:44

then when the contract was announced

16:46

how it's structured, it

16:49

made the Dodgers and the players

16:51

understand, you know what, we need to be even more aggressive.

16:54

Cholo Tiny has really let us know. Hey,

16:56

deferring all this money, you're only paying

16:58

two million a year for so many years.

17:01

I want other players, other

17:03

pieces around me to go along with Mookie Becks,

17:05

Freddie Freeman, Bobby Miller,

17:08

Gavin Max Munsky and the rest of the guys

17:10

Will Smith. I need other players

17:12

so that this contract allows

17:15

the Dodgers to continue to be aggressive. And Yomto

17:18

is doctor. He's an incredible pitcher.

17:20

Uh, he's the version. He's a sy

17:22

Young award winner, multiple award winner,

17:24

the version of that in Japan. He's

17:27

twenty five years young. He's

17:30

just entering his crime. So listen.

17:32

Dodger ran on him as well as the Yankees

17:35

in various clubs. Last now

17:37

is another guy who has pitched in the World

17:40

Series. He's a front line

17:42

pitcher. Uh, he's an age Dodgers.

17:45

I'm sure you're on him as well. So the Dodge are

17:47

going to be aggressive and making

17:49

sure when they hit the

17:52

ground next season an opening day, I'm

17:54

sure they'll have a couple of arms to go along

17:56

with their young stunt pitchers.

17:59

No doubt.

18:00

You talked about it before the

18:02

last two years. Over one hundred victories

18:04

the last two seasons, out in the first round

18:06

both times, and that won't

18:09

be acceptable. And the pressure

18:11

will be on that this team, you

18:13

know, gets to a World Series, wins

18:16

a World Series in the next couple

18:18

of years. That's the kind of pressure when you put together

18:20

this kind of roster, and potentially

18:23

if you add another one of these front

18:25

line starters Jerry right, that that

18:27

that will be the expectation that maybe

18:29

the Dodgers turn into a dynasty

18:32

and win two out of three or three out of four.

18:34

I would love to see that. Youre talking about pressure.

18:37

Yes, there is pressure to win if you're

18:39

the Dodgers, but as an athlete, you

18:41

love that kind of pressure. You know what also

18:43

is pressure. I was on a team in two thousand

18:46

and three. I mean we were crushed by injuries. When I was the

18:48

Orioles. We finished the year four

18:50

and thirty two.

18:52

Wow.

18:52

The only one that's pressure. That's

18:55

pressure knowing that if you're on a team that finished

18:57

four and thirty two the last thirty six games,

19:00

don't know if you're gonna be back the next year. You know what

19:02

I'm saying that's pressure, okay,

19:04

But if you're a team that had expectations

19:07

to win, that's different.

19:10

And you know, and you know, Jerry, because you played

19:12

in New York, you played on the Yankees.

19:14

You played for a blue blood the Dodgers,

19:17

the Yankees of the Red Sox. Those

19:19

are blue blood franchises

19:22

that expect to win or be involved

19:24

every year.

19:25

So you know what it's like absolutely,

19:28

And that Yankee team in nine, yes, there

19:30

was pressure, you know, pressure on especially

19:32

the superstars like Derek and and

19:35

a Rod and Mario Rivera

19:37

CC and Pettitt because

19:39

they were the superstars. But obviously when you're on that

19:42

team, you're expected to win

19:44

because at that time we were, without questioning,

19:46

the best team in baseball. But Rob,

19:48

you want that pressure, you want

19:50

that pressure, and you want to be on a team that

19:53

is expected to win, because hey, man,

19:55

that's what it's about. Yes, the money is

19:57

great and you want to get paid

19:59

for your services, but they make no mistake

20:01

about it, man, their competitive. You want

20:04

to be able to hoist those trophies and

20:06

have those banners and we have those parades.

20:09

You expect that for the Dodgers, be

20:11

in no doubt, his name

20:13

is Jerry Harrison Junior, one of the best on

20:16

breaking down baseball, former Major League

20:18

infield on outfielder. Hey, Jerry, always

20:20

a pleasure man. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

20:23

to you and your family. And if there's

20:25

more big Dodger news, we're coming back

20:27

to you.

20:28

You already know that.

20:29

Always available for you. Rob, always a pleasure

20:32

talking base by talking sports with you.

20:34

No doubt.

20:35

Stay well, Jerry, you too.

20:38

When Rob was a newspaper columnist,

20:40

he lived by this mottol if

20:42

I'm writing, I'm ripping. Let's

20:45

bring in a writer or broadcaster, old

20:47

or new.

20:48

Now, let's welcome in Monty Bolanos,

20:50

who is a Fox Sports

20:53

radio weekend host and also

20:55

a tour lead with the Los

20:57

Angeles Dodgers at Dodgs

21:00

your stadium, MONSI welcome to the podcast.

21:02

It is a pleasure.

21:04

Oh my gosh, Hi Rob, it's my pleasure.

21:07

Thanks for having me, no doubt.

21:09

And obviously the baseball

21:11

world has been turned upside down with the Dodgers

21:14

and the signing, of course of shoh

21:16

Otani, who.

21:17

I said, yeah, I know, right,

21:19

did that happen? You mean yes?

21:22

And Mancy I said, I

21:24

was on Channel four KMBC

21:27

for the breaking news on on the whole

21:29

signing, and I said, I don't speak Japanese,

21:32

but I'm assuming that Otani

21:35

told the Dodgers show hat me

21:37

the money and they did a big

21:39

time.

21:41

Yeah, but not for a while, right, He's

21:43

not gonna see majority of that, which is it's crazy.

21:45

I just did not know

21:47

that this was allowed.

21:49

To be honest with you, to this degree

21:52

exactly. I think that's the it's it's to this

21:54

degree. People players in baseball

21:56

had deferred money before, but percent

22:00

of your loot being deferred, just

22:02

the number overall. Monzie,

22:04

When you first heard seven hundred million,

22:07

what did that do for you?

22:08

I mean I wanted to cry

22:11

a little bit. I so crushed.

22:13

I was like, man, I'm in the wrong business. But

22:16

at the same time, not shocking.

22:20

I think like seeing it visually is

22:22

where you're like, oh wow. But we kept

22:24

hearing five hundred six

22:26

hundred, right, that's.

22:27

What we kept hearing. So

22:30

I guess like shocking

22:32

when you just see it visually and

22:35

you're like.

22:36

Wow, Okay, no, it's

22:38

incredible. It's an incredible number. And even

22:40

you know, athletes in other sports

22:43

they thought like they were making money.

22:44

The NFL and those guys they're like, oh my

22:46

god like that.

22:48

You don't know how many tweets and stuff I saw

22:50

on social media where they're like, guys were

22:52

like, I'm out in the backyard with my son.

22:54

He's pitching and hitting right now. You

22:57

know what I mean?

22:57

Right, No, he is changing

23:00

game before our eyes. I said this month ago

23:02

with Dan Byron Fox Sports Radio. I was like, you

23:04

know, kids have been told you can't do both,

23:06

you have to do one. You gotta hit, you gotta

23:09

pitch. He is literally changing

23:11

the game before our eyes, just like Steph Curry

23:13

changed basketball with that three pointer.

23:16

Kids are watching this and now they're doing

23:18

both.

23:19

It's crazy.

23:20

It is crazy. And I've always said that too,

23:22

Like I was always against what they told kids

23:25

not to play more than one sport.

23:27

You know, That's another thing.

23:28

Kyler Murray was the first player

23:31

in sports history that was

23:33

the first round Baseball draft picks

23:35

and NFL.

23:37

So so when they tell kids that they can't

23:39

do more than one thing, I think it's terrible.

23:41

You know, to specialize and be

23:44

a kid show, right

23:47

is showing people help

23:49

me with this, the uh,

23:52

the impact just uh.

23:55

We heard about the jersey sales tell

23:57

us about that. Fanatics came out with

24:00

the numbers and stats just about the

24:03

old Tawi jersey right after

24:06

the announcement.

24:06

Oh my gosh, Rob so I yeah, I was

24:09

working at the Dodgers today.

24:11

I've already lost track of life. Today's

24:13

Thursdays. On Tuesday, I went.

24:15

To work at the Dodgers and the

24:17

amount of people that already

24:20

showed up to buy a show Hey

24:22

Otani jersey was insane.

24:25

Every single person coming into the store was buying

24:27

one. And let me tell you, we don't have the

24:30

show hey Otani jerseys. Like if you go online

24:32

and you order it says it's a pre order.

24:34

We don't have those.

24:35

We have the plane blank

24:38

jerseys that are not the authentic ones.

24:40

They're the replicas where you can add

24:42

his name. And that's exactly

24:45

what people were doing. So we

24:47

were making jerseys on the fly, could

24:49

not keep them on the shelves.

24:51

Like. They would make one and somebody would come and buy it, like but

24:54

we had to tell them like, this is the this isn't the actual

24:56

one you would get online, this is what we can give

24:58

you right now.

25:00

Did not care. They still they

25:02

still bought it.

25:03

I have been in the.

25:05

Tour department at Dodgers.

25:07

For like, I think I'm going on like eight years

25:09

right when we had Kenta

25:11

Mayda, when we had you Darvish,

25:14

when we had Hinjin Reu. The

25:17

international guests that were coming through

25:19

our gates was so high.

25:22

And imagine now was show

25:24

hey because he is at a next level

25:27

Like you can't say he's not.

25:29

He is a next level sensation.

25:32

And it's it's crazy

25:34

how in twenty four hours, forty

25:36

eight hours, you can already see

25:39

the impact that he has going

25:41

down the street, going down

25:43

the street, he was playing.

25:45

Down the road.

25:47

I know, It's not like he's just got to the United

25:49

States and we haven't seen him. He's been here for six

25:52

years.

25:52

Right stock down the street.

25:55

And and the other thing is didn't

25:57

the outseell the jerseys of Messystan.

26:03

Ronaldo, Yes, both of

26:05

them in forty eight hours broke that record.

26:07

And you know soccer soccer players

26:09

internationally.

26:10

Are big time, big time.

26:12

Right, So like I tried to get a leone

26:15

l Messi jersey in Miami. I wanted that

26:17

pink one and like it was instantly sold

26:19

out. I'm sure I can get one now, but he already

26:21

broke their records. Last I checked, there was still

26:24

no official number. I'm wondering

26:26

if they're still adding it up, but no,

26:28

Yeah, he he is, you know, unprecedented.

26:32

What sho hee o Tani is.

26:35

Our guest is Monte Bolano. She is

26:37

a weekend host on Fox Sports

26:40

Radio and a tour lead

26:42

at Dodger Stadium.

26:43

Tell me about.

26:46

Giving people, uh the tours

26:48

and what it is like and just like the balls that

26:50

you've had at Dodger Stadium, you

26:52

know, since the news broke.

26:54

Oh, everybody is so excited because

26:57

I think people

26:59

works expecting it.

27:00

You kept hearing these teams, these are the

27:03

top teams that are looking into it. But I

27:05

think there was always like, oh, he's gonna go to

27:07

Dodgers. He's gonna go to the Dodgers. So I think it's

27:09

just a little bit of release and a lot of excitement.

27:12

And every single person coming through

27:15

the door, you know that I was there on Tuesday

27:17

now is like, Okay, so Yamamoto, what are

27:20

we doing?

27:20

Are we getting him? Like what's the deal with that?

27:22

Like people have already just like associated

27:25

that we're gonna get both of them. Especially

27:27

Oh, It's like that's that's what everyone's talking about, especially

27:30

because of this deferred situation

27:32

where shoh is giving up most of the

27:35

money. They're like, this is this is perfect

27:37

for Yamamoto. And then you know

27:39

there's that picture that ran Dietro Satday

27:41

and I posted with both of them. Apparently

27:44

Yamamoto is now following Bobby Miller

27:46

and following like other Dodger players.

27:49

It is people are the Internet,

27:52

you know, not the swifties, but the Internet sleuths

27:54

are in there.

27:55

They are finding these.

27:56

Little details that really point like

27:58

Yamamoto is coming

28:01

to the Dodgers. But there

28:03

is you know, people out there saying that the Yankees

28:06

are still the favored team

28:08

for Yamamoto.

28:09

But that's what everybody is like kind

28:11

of waiting on right now.

28:13

Yeah, they say Yamamoto is more

28:15

of a out front kind

28:17

of star, wants to be on the bigger stage,

28:19

you know, bigger stage and New

28:22

York and Broadway.

28:22

It would kind of do that. That's why I think they believe

28:25

the Yankees have an

28:28

advantage. Yeah, just an edge. I don't

28:30

think that it's of the overwhelming edge.

28:32

But that's the talk.

28:34

And we already saw what the Yankees didn't

28:36

getting Wan Soto, so they're yeah, making

28:38

moves.

28:38

They didn't make the playoffs last year. You know, that's not acceptable

28:41

in the Bronx. Absolutely not so so

28:43

definitely. But give me a story to that.

28:46

I kind of heard that after

28:49

the signing of Otani that they canceled

28:52

the tours at the at Dodger Stadium.

28:54

What was that all about it?

28:55

Yeah, so it was actually quite funny. This

28:57

is last Wednesday, and we're giving

29:00

tours and we're busy. We have a lot of private tours,

29:02

so we have public tours, we have private tours,

29:04

we have private events.

29:05

Like it could be a very busy day.

29:07

And it was like Wednesday, maybe like one

29:09

o'clock in the afternoon, and our boss comes

29:12

to where the tours are where

29:14

we start at top deck, that's where everything gets

29:16

started typically, and she's like, so,

29:19

we just got an email and we're gonna have to

29:21

cancel tours Friday. And then she shows

29:23

us the notice. Because this isn't

29:26

normal. We don't cancel tours.

29:28

We have tours three hundred and sixty five days

29:30

a year, except on Christmas Day we are closed

29:33

or if maybe there's a concert, you know, and we can't

29:35

do tours because of the concert. But other

29:37

than that, we run tours pretty much

29:39

year round and not it's

29:41

not normal for them to suddenly ask.

29:44

Us to cancel tours. And this notice

29:46

said we need.

29:47

To cancel tours on Friday because

29:50

we have to make an announcement. They even said that we have to

29:52

make an announcement. So we were like, what this

29:55

never happens, and our minds

29:57

just went down the rabbit hole of its

29:59

showing show Hey, it's happening,

30:02

Oh my goodness. But then we were like, okay, what if it's

30:04

not show hey? Okay, everybody relaxed, like what if it's not

30:06

and we started thinking like, oh, maybe Kershaw's

30:08

retiring and they want to make an announcement like

30:11

so many other things. Then we thought Yamamoto,

30:14

maybe we just we were like,

30:16

there's no way that it's show hey, and people

30:18

like it's not trending yet, like that people don't

30:21

know about it. But it wasn't that they

30:23

were signed that they were signing him. He was

30:25

visiting that day and they literally

30:27

just kind of closed down the store. If

30:30

you didn't need to come into work, they didn't want you to come into

30:32

war I.

30:32

Didn't want.

30:35

Exactly, and like they blocked off

30:38

the player parking

30:40

is what I heard. Like they just really

30:42

were extra extra careful,

30:45

extra secretive, which is kind of funny

30:47

because Dodger Stadium is kind

30:49

of isolated, you know, like you can't really go in

30:51

there. You can walk on the outskirts of the street

30:54

and you can't see inside.

30:55

It's not like Angel Stadium

30:57

or even Petco Park. You know, oh,

31:00

like you're on the street and it's like right there. Dodger

31:02

Stadium.

31:02

You actually have to get inside through security

31:05

drive in and then you're at the stadium.

31:07

So it was funny that they went so you

31:09

know, crazy on it.

31:11

When you can't access the stadium,

31:13

I'm like, nobody's gonna see anything. But

31:16

they were extra extra careful and it was

31:18

a fun of fun forty eight hours.

31:20

So we were just like waiting.

31:21

We were like, okay, let's see if if

31:23

they actually do announce show hey today,

31:26

And little did we find out.

31:28

We found out after the fact that he was visiting.

31:30

So that's fine.

31:33

All I know now was when I need some inside

31:35

information on something happening with the Dodgers,

31:37

I could just say, Manti, did they cancel

31:40

any tours?

31:40

You know exactly?

31:42

Might give me an idea that something's happening.

31:44

But anyway, Monty,

31:47

let everybody know about your radio show every

31:49

Saturday.

31:51

Yes, so Alex Curry, who

31:53

you have seen, she was filling in for the Herd

31:55

yesterday. She was the Angel sideline reporter

31:58

for ten years. She covered the King, She's been all over the

32:00

play. She does slipping podcasts with Ben

32:02

Verlander. Now she and I host

32:04

the show every Saturday from one

32:07

to three pm, so four pm

32:09

Eastern times a six pm Eastern time, and

32:11

we really discuss it all, not just football.

32:14

We do baseball, We do basketball.

32:16

Well, I know you guys do baseball, no doubt,

32:18

Yes, of course. Yeah.

32:20

And I think you know what's funny now because

32:22

Chris Buscharan on The Odd Couple talked about

32:24

this and we always do baseball. But

32:27

yeah, there's been a lot of shows

32:30

of the last couple of weeks now doing baseball.

32:32

You know, have you noticed that, like, yes, baseball

32:35

usually it wasn't even a topic of conversation.

32:38

It wasn't even on the radar, And it was

32:40

I I never understood that because

32:42

even before show, hey, like Aaron Judge,

32:45

like, why are we not talking about that?

32:47

We're not talking about Julio Rodriguez

32:50

and the Mariners.

32:51

Like you know, luckily, Alex

32:53

and I are are plugged into

32:56

baseball, so this is not new for

32:58

us.

32:59

And I'm glad that people are talking about

33:01

it.

33:01

I am glad that show hal Tani is bringing

33:03

into the surface all of the changes

33:05

happening in the sport. It's really great. People

33:08

are loving that it's faster. I

33:10

mean, I think it's not as great of an in game

33:12

experience. If you're physically there, it's going

33:14

too fast. You got to get a drink real fast. The game's

33:16

over.

33:17

Before you know it.

33:18

But in the grand scheme of things, the

33:20

game is more fun and more

33:22

exciting, and you know, show

33:24

hal Tani is adding to that.

33:26

So it's really really.

33:27

Great, no doubt. Her name is Monty

33:29

Belan'll check her out on Fox Sports Radio

33:32

on the weekends and sometimes even

33:34

on the odd couple. All right, Monzi, appreciate

33:37

you. Thank you so much.

33:39

No, thank you, Rob, this was so fun any

33:41

time. I'm sure we'll see each

33:44

other again soon.

33:45

All right, thank you.

33:53

In the words of New York TV legend

33:55

the late Bill Jorgensen, thanking you

33:57

for your time this time until next time.

34:00

Rob Parker out he can't

34:02

get it. This could be an inside of Parker.

34:04

See you next week, same bat time, same

34:07

bat station,