At Bet365, we don't do ordinary. We believe that every sport should be epic. Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play. From the moments that are legendary, to the ones that fly under the radar. See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5. Whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365. Bet365, proud partner of the Colorado Rockies. 21+ only, must be present in Colorado. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call or text 1-800-Gamblur. Terms and conditions apply. All-star, closer, keenly, Janson, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Bitbod isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Radford and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago. And it's now the most prolific national daily baseball pod. There is another fact. So jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to baseball as I'm boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's move on. All-star game coming up. Who's got a better team, Brent, the American League or the National League? Well, I think if you just look on paper, I think the American League. You look at a lineup. It's more power-packed than the National League. You look at pitching. There's great pitchers on both sides. All-star game is a time. It's a production. It's entertainment. You know, it's not like 1965 where you were there to win a game. You know, you talked to Pete Rose about an all-star game. He geared up like it was a regular game. There was pride on the line. That National League won. I don't know how many in a row, but it was a big deal for them to win that game. Today's game a little different. It's more of a production. It's the home run derby and it's lights, camera, action. I can even admit, as kind of I consider myself an old school player, when I was fortunate enough to go to an all-star game, yeah, you'll want to win. But what you want to do as a player is not get hurt and not embarrass yourself. So if we lost the game, it wasn't that big of a deal because the most important thing was getting back to your team's second half healthy and winning when it counted for your team. But definitely the all-star game, you know, people talk about it. Of all the major sports, I still think the all-star game is the best. And they talk about, "Oh, it's watered down. Why even do it?" I still think in all-star games and all-star game, it's an honor to get invited to get selected. And I don't know. I always look forward to it. I don't watch. I don't watch cover to cover, but I'll definitely be poking around checking out the home run derby a little bit and checking out the all-star game a little bit. But the modern day player, it's don't get hurt. Don't embarrass yourself. Tyler, who's got a better team? Who's got a better squad? The American or the National League? Yeah, it's funny you asked that question because I never really think in those terms because everyone's so good that you might have an Ales Diaz who's the MVP last year, you know, hit the big home run. So it's hard. I mean, I think in the Nash League, when you look at guys on the bench like Freddie Freeman and Will Smith, I mean, all those Dodgers on the bench, and then you have Otani in the order with Bryce Harper and those guys. I mean, that's pretty good. They're gonna throw Paul Skeens, I would think, ending in that game, that'll be exciting. But then again, Judge could pop a couple homers or anybody on the Ales side too. So I guess I'll go the NL route just because I think one of these years, Otani's gonna have a big all-star game and make it about him, you know, in B&MEP or something like that. So I'll say, I'll say National League, but either way, I mean, it's gonna be fun. I wish they were the uniforms, team uniforms, but that's not happening this year again. But it's still really fun. And like Brett says, you know, it's for the players, it's a celebration of who they've become, you know, to be an all-star, to have that status. And for the managers, it's trying to get everybody in. They're just about everybody in and nobody get hurt. So, and that's the great thing about baseball. So again, though, is that you can't, I mean, except for maybe your approach at the plate, let's say, you know, guys don't usually try to walk in the all-star game. They try to go up and swing early in the counts, you know, they're not there to walk. But basically, you play a baseball game, you can't really play it too much differently than you would otherwise, you know, where it's football, basketball, you can just lay off the defense and let everybody do all the hockey things. So baseball is the closest to an actual game. And that's what I think makes it so special. You mentioned Paul Schemes who will be making his debut in the all-star game. How big is it that there's nobody with double digits? We don't have anybody making their 10th all-star game. We have so many first-timers. How important is it for the game to be able to showcase these new young stars? Definitely big. I mean, I think that's obviously the future of the game. It's having guys like that and being able to show people something new and exciting. And Schemes has quickly become a big name that we're still learning about. So there's a curiosity factor there. And you have some of the guys who are there all the time, Al Tuve, and Judge Harper, although Harper still hasn't played in all-star game for the Phillies, believe it or not. So you have that nice mix, but it's not quite the same as you see those reels on Instagram or wherever with a show like the introductions for the 1990 all-star game or the 1993 also in 1985. And it's like all the guys, you know, that they're Hall of Famers or Hall of Famers, like maddingly and, you know, foster and Murphy guys who didn't quite make the Hall of Fame, but they were thought of in that breath. So you have a little more sort of random dudes who get the stars now. And that's that's the knowledge. But I think that fans understand who is having a great year. Jerkett's and Profar is going to start the all-star game, you know, like you wouldn't have necessarily thought that going to the season, but he deserves it. So it's good in battle in that. Brett, 30 seconds. Give me what it's like to be a first-time all-star. Awesome. I remember my first one was in '98 and I got the call. It was during a game, actually. I got the call my skipper told me they announced it. And it's just kind of another thing, you know, as a player, as a kid growing up, man, I want to be a big league player. You get to college, you get drafted. These are all things. You get to the big leagues, you become established in the big leagues. Now the next thing is the all-star team. But I remember my first one. I was a kid in a candy shop in those locker rooms listening to the stars. I played next to and against. And I didn't know what to do. It was like, you know, there's a room in the back booney. Put all your equipment there and everybody will sign it. So you kind of learn the ropes your first all-star game, but I always cherished them. And, you know, I see guys that, oh, I'm not going to go. You know, I got a hamster. I'm like, this is such a window we have, a short career. I think you take it all in. You accept every, every opportunity you get and don't take them for granted. Pretty awesome. We can go back and see booney's real first all-star game, though, in '79. You can go find that on YouTube. You're sitting there with your brother and your other brother's being born back home. Is that right? Yeah, Maddie. Mom was, mom was pregnant. Both it sets a grandparents. My grandparents were with mom and mom basically said, that's back then when they, you didn't have, you didn't have time off for a kid. You didn't have, you didn't get paternal leave. Well, it was my first, well, it was my dad's first time he was starting an all-star game. I believe. Yeah. And he's kind of like, Sue, what do you want me to do? Sue being my mom and mom said, no, you're starting. This doesn't happen every day. You've got to go. And during the all-star game, Matthew Boone was born. And you know what's cool? For Matthew's birthday a couple years ago, my dad gave him his all-star ring from that, that game the day that he was born. And I don't, you know, I'm not a very, sentimental guy. I don't get caught. Oh, what a, what a kind gift. But that gift hit me. And I said, how cool is that? That's awesome. And my dad got a lot of crap for going to that all-star game. You know, the letters came. How could you leave your wife? Would you not? But that's what players did back then. You didn't. My dad wasn't there for, I think, I think he was there for my birth, but he wasn't there for Aaron and he wasn't there for Matthew. That's just how they did it back in the day. It's, no, I got to go to work and earn a living. Take your business further with the smart and flexible American Express Business Gold Card. It offers flexible spending capacity that adapts to your business. You can also earn up to $395 in annual statement credits on eligible purchases at Select Business Merchants. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more at americanexpress.com/businessgoldcard. Do you remember Tyler when Joe Madden took time off to go to his wife's graduation from law school and everybody went crazy? How could you leave your team to go? Dude, you're managing. I mean, it wasn't that long ago where we didn't have paternity leave. You missed the birth of your kid. You never took any time off. Right, I think it's great now. It's much more humane. I mean, it always, I'm reading Dwight Evans' book right now and he talks about that, how, you know, spring training and he wanted to go home for his kid's birth and Zimmer was going crazy. You leave for three days. You're going to get out of shape and it was freaking spring training. And he got there and his son had just been born. He missed that actual birth moment, but things have evolved a lot over time and I don't think anybody has a problem with it now. I mean, graduation, people have a problem with graduation. I mean, didn't Aaron just miss a game for graduation. Right? I mean, you can be able to be there. You miss so much when you're in baseball, when you're a player, when you have to be in uniform, you miss so much that if you can be there for at least some of the big events, that's about the least you can do, right? Yeah, I think the culture now has changed. You know, it's different. We're in a different era. If you grow up in this generation, of course, I'm going to go to my son's graduation, but it was a mindset back then and that and I'll go as far back as my grandfather. Obviously, that was a whole different animal, but my dad's generation, that's just the way it was. And that's how you were brought up. And no, we don't stop for anything. And there's some things I like about that, that mindset. But I also think, as you mentioned, Tom, the humane part of it, where it's kind of like, okay, it's just kind of common sense to think, yeah, for my wife's going to have a baby, I should get the day off and get to get to go see my child. I think there's a little common sense mixed with that. The old school of, you know, just keep going forward at all costs. You know, there's there's a balance in there. All right, let's move on. Home run Derby, big deal. Does it still matter, Tyler? I think it matters in the sense that it's one night that baseball gets all to itself. And they try to put on a big show. I really wish, just like the NBA dunk contest, I really wish that the best players just always did it. You know, Judge and Otani and Soto. But the guys who do it are engaged and enthused about it. So people tend to like, I mean, I don't love it. It's fine. You know, sometimes there's fun stories that come out of it. And there's the million dollar prize attached to it. So I think the union put that in there to incentivize the players. And and we saw a couple of years ago when P. Delonzo was making the minimum and he's doubling his salary by winning the home run Derby. That was kind of fun. It can be, you know, Josh Hamilton in New York. That was amazing. Yeah. I mean, you can still have some some big, some big moments and moments that kind of put a guy not on the map, but really maybe put him in bold on the map, you know, like it can, it can elevate a guy for sure. All right, Brent, I'm not going to bring up your home run Derby. But why wouldn't somebody want to be on the home run Derby? I can't get past it. I have no idea. You know, I love that Alonzo is going to do it again. He's won it twice, I think. He's going to do it again. I'm from the school of life is short and now being on the other side of it and looking back in my career. Man, I want to tell these guys it. Grab hold of everything you can because you think it's a long time, you know, playing, I played 14 years and it seemed it went by in a snap. Grab onto everything. You're selected to 10 all-star games. Don't take them for granted. Go soak up every single one of those. If you're asked to be in a home run Derby, I don't care if you've done it twice. Do it again. I don't buy the swing in message or swing up. That's nonsense. It's like when they used to ask me, do you play golf? Yeah, I heard it messes up the swing. It doesn't mess up my swing. I just don't want to play nine or 18 holes of golf and then have to play a nine inning game. That's why I didn't play golf. Not that it's going to mess my swing up. This is what the fans want. Give the fans what they want. Get the big boys, get judge out there, get Soto. And I'm not making their, they all have their reasons for not doing it. I think we're still going to have a great home run Derby. You've got some young players. The De La Cruz is going to do it. Bobby Whit, Azuna having an unbelievable year in Atlanta, Gunnar Henderson, the young star in Baltimore. So you're going to have plenty of star power. But yeah, you know what people want to see. They want to see Aaron judge against Gene Carlos Stanton against Joey Otani. That's what they want to see. And as a player, I want to give them what they want to see. And Rich, you mentioned, you kind of gave me a little shot there about my home run Derby. First of all, it had my answer to everybody that ever critiqued, especially my second home run Derby. My first home run Derby was I say face. I was good. My second one, I wasn't so good. But my answer, my stock answer was try getting invited to a home run Derby. Try qualifying for one before you have an opinion. That's like Dwayne Kuiper. When anybody gives him a hard time about how many home runs he goes, that's more than you pal. More than you, right? One more than you. Tyler, in all seriousness, is Major League Baseball has done a lot of things to try to make sure that they keep the interest in the game. I got football training camp starting about the same time as the as the home run Derby. And I'll be honest with you, on the radio network, this weekend, I did one hour on the New York Yankees on what's going on with them on national radio. And I did four hours of wall-to-wall telephone calls on whether Josh Allen was in the same stratosphere as Patrick Mahomes. And I had people screaming at me to get on the air. I had to beg for people to want to talk Major League Baseball. Why doesn't baseball take advantage of a home run Derby and go, listen, I need all the big stars there. Because once we get to this point of the year, we start taking, we start dropping down below the fold in a lot of newspapers when football training camp starts. Yeah, I just don't think you could mandate something like that. I mean, Brett knows, as a member of the union, they understandably don't like mandates. You must do this. You have to do this. There have to be extenuating circumstances. A guy really believes that it's going to screw up his swing. And if I'm a Yankee fan, and I haven't talked to Judge, I'm sure he's talked about it. I haven't seen it yet. But let's say Judge thinks it's going to screw up his swing. You're a Yankee fan. I don't think you want someone dictating to Aaron Judge. He has to go there and do something that he thinks is going to affect his performance, whether it does or not. If it's in your head, there may be something to it. So I don't think you can mandate it, unfortunately. I'd be great. I mean, I watched on YouTube recently, someone sent me a clip between games of a double header in 1979, Pete, not Pete, Dave Kingman and Mike Schmidt just did a home run derby just for fun for WGN. It was freaking great, you know, like, but we would never think to do that now. We always think that you can't, you can't mandate it. Right, you can't, it's, but Brett from a player standpoint, but it shows you, it shows you the game where we're at it from a fiscal capacity, because there's a million dollars on the line, and guys are like, that might mess up my swing a little bit, which is cool for today's player, how much money's really out there. But I don't know what more you can do than throw out a million dollars if you win. For somebody to say, well, yeah, for about, you know, a couple hours of work, yeah, extra million dollars, I'll have a great time. It'll be fun. All the zero guys are raising their hand. They're like, we were making 750 or double they're begging to get invited. So I don't, I don't know how much more incentive you can put out, make it 5 million, maybe 10 million, you know, that would become a FedEx cup like the, like, like the PGA has. So I don't know, but you can't, you cannot mandate it. It's, you know, it's, it's entertainment. And what is important and should remain important is the player's team that he plays for and the well-being of that team and winning games get to the playoff. That's what's important. This is, this is just a, a middle to celebrate baseball and to put on a show and it's entertainment so you can't, can't mandate it no matter what.
