The FAN Morning Show

A Player's Perspective w/ Frank Catalanotto & José Cruz Jr.

It’s the final hour of The FAN Morning Show at the 29th Annual Jays Care Golf Classic with Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning! The hosts welcome on Frank Catalanotto, former Blue Jay, to pick his brain about his memories in Toronto, the current playoff format in MLB, and what he would do to make the game more exciting (0:20). After, they welcome on José Cruz Jr. to discuss how he became a switch-hitter and the difficulties that arise approaching the plate from both sides (24:16). Later, they analyze the Detroit Tigers' third-round pick in 2020, Cruz Jr.'s son Trei Cruz, and how being the son of a Gold Glover may have aided his path towards the majors. The trio end the show looking at the increased velocity being seen from pitchers in the modern MLB era.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Duration:: 48m
Broadcast on:: 22 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

[MUSIC] >> Fan Morning Joe Sportsnet 590, the fan Ben Ennis, Brent Gunning. We are at the 29th annual J's Care Golf Tournament in support of the J's Care Foundation at Rattle Snake Point Golf Club. Some great Blue Jays alumni joining us all day, including our next guest, Frank Calinato, former Blue Jays outfielder, Frank, thanks for doing this, appreciate it. >> Thanks for having me. I want to, I don't want to catch you off guard, but like, we just talked to Ernie Witt, and I brought your name up, because of the 2009 World Baseball Classic in your team, Italy. >> It's at that time. >> Not the Italian. >> Canada, out of that tournament. What are your memories of that? That was an incredible victory by you guys, and then you lost event as well in the next, right? Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda, that could have extended Canada's tournament. And you knocked him out. >> Well done. >> Apologize to the country, right? >> [LAUGH] >> I'm sorry. >> I'm sorry, no, that was so much fun. It really was. And being able to beat Ernie's team was a lot of fun for me, because obviously Ernie was a coach when I played. But I just remember coming back to Toronto, obviously, and playing. And the ovation that when I was announced that the fans gave me was like, it was pretty awesome, you know, like, you know, the fans, people don't give the fans that much credit, as much credit as they should. But obviously they recognized me, I thought that was great. Playing in front of the fans, again, you know, for me was good because I had, my last year was '06 with the Blue Jay, so this was '09. And then like you said, knocking off Canada was pretty cool, because obviously Ernie. >> Was it cool for me, I was in the crowd for that one, it wasn't so cool for me, Frank. I remember definitely researching, I was like, how Italian is Frank Collinato and Nick Boonto? Come on. >> Well, let me tell you a quick story about that, so I forget who was Gene Orza or whoever at the time with Major League Baseball contacted me and said, hey, Frank, would you like to play on Team Italy? And I said, yeah, sure, what do I have to do? He's like, well, were you born in Italy? No. Were you grandparents born in Italy? No. He goes, do you like pizza? I go, yes. He goes, all right, you're in. >> I want that. You should be expunged from the record, that game shouldn't count. >> Right, yeah, it was pretty easy to be able on that. I guess they didn't have a lot of guys, a lot of guys from Major League Baseball on Team Italy, so they were trying to get guys. So yeah, the qualification was as long as you like pizza or you eat pizza, you can play. >> Oh, yeah. >> Sounds like a lot of dudes. I got to be honest. I feel like I'm Italian. I just found that out. It's good to know. You know, just looking back at the WBC, I mean, it's, you know, we think about when we think of international sports, like the Olympics is always going to be the first thing that kind of comes to mind, but just that tournament, how special is it? And I think part of it is that it's its own unique thing. Like it's an event that kind of popped up within the last, well, I guess 20 years now, but at the time it was fresh. What does it mean to you to kind of be a part of that and it's an oddity kind of in baseball history? You know, the game's been around for a really long time and there's a very small window that we've been doing that. >> I think it's great. It really is. The WBC is something that, you know, Major League Baseball has done that I think they've gotten right. It's a great tournament. You know, I always used to look forward to it, not only as a player, but also I coached it for a couple of years there. But it's great, it promotes the game in all these different countries. And you know, there's a lot of pride too, like, you know, I kind of got in touch with my, the pride for Italy. I've been to Italy a bunch of times since, you know, that first world baseball classic and, you know, it helped me kind of delve into my heritage and, you know, listen, I just think it's really great for the game. I hope it stays around for a long time. >> Yeah. And maybe going to the Olympics in four years time, that's what Major League Baseball is. >> Yeah. That would be great. >> Yeah. That would be really cool. So I want to ask you about some of the current Blue Jays. So George Springer had this horrible start to the season, like awful. He was one of the worst hitters in baseball. And in a month's time, a hot streak has gotten him back to being what we thought he was and what he has been throughout the course of his entire Major League career. Did you ever have a slow start like that? And like how important is it, is getting off to a good start where you look up at the scoreboard and you don't feel like you're chasing your line all season long? >> Yeah. It's so important. I, I have had seasons where, you know, you look up there and you're three weeks into the season and it says 150, you're batting 150 and it's a terrible feeling because you're like, how the heck am I going to get this thing up to 300? So, so I could definitely feel for Springer because in spring training, you know, I would always say to myself, I didn't care early on in the spring training games if I was getting hits. It was like the last week or two that I wanted to kind of really get my hits and be ready to go for April and ready to go for opening day. Sometimes that just doesn't happen. Most of the times I was lucky enough to get off to good starts, but boy, that could be frustrating because a bad start doesn't necessarily mean you're not seeing the ball good or not swinging the bat, but maybe you're just hitting the ball at guys and there's nothing you can do about that. So, yeah, I definitely feel, you know, feel for him, but it's nice to see that he gotten back on track and it looked, you know, you would never even know that he got off to such a bad start. >> How did your, your kind of feeling about that change throughout your career? I mean, I imagine when you're a young player, you're sitting there going, this is my life in front of me. I better get it going before someone changes their mind. And then if you're more in Springer shoes, you're saying, God, I'm, I'm supposed to be the adult in the room here. I can't have this happening. How did that feeling of the need to get off to a strong start, kind of a ball through your playing career? >> Well, well, for me early in my career, I would think, you know, I'd be looking behind over my shoulder saying, hey, if I don't start getting hits, they're going to send me down. And, but as I got older, I had more patience with that. You know, but like you said, there's that it's kind of a double edged sword because now you're saying, wait, I'm the veteran here, I'm supposed to, you know, I'm getting paid a bunch of money. I'm supposed to be putting up some numbers. So you do have a little bit of that pressure, but, but not as much pressure as when you're a young kid and you're trying to make it in the league. >> I'm looking at your baseball reference page right now. >> Me too. >> By the way, happy birthday, 50th birthday in April. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Do you do anything special? >> My wife had a little surprise party for me at a, at a nice restaurant. So that was, that was an Italian maybe. >> No, it was actually, it was actually a stake place. >> That's Canadian. >> Yeah. >> But, but we, but my wife turned 50 later this year too. So we said, we're going to go on a nice vacation. We haven't, we haven't picked the spot yet. But yeah, that'll be nice. >> I have a, we had a guy backpacking through the Yukon. You don't want to do that with the right. >> No. >> No, okay. >> I have a, I have a 40th birthday. I have to plan for my wife next December, so I need some good ideas. But I was looking, I was expecting to see under the nickname spot on your page, something. And there's nothing. Did you have a, a nickname, because I, I have a nickname that I think of when I think of you. >> But do you have one? >> The only nickname that I really had was Cat. >> Yeah. >> I don't, I'm surprised it's not even there. >> Yeah, I didn't know. >> Yeah, I think many Blue Jays fans of that era will remember the, the partnership you had with Reed Johnson and the platoon that you guys had, and the free Johnson Lenato nickname for both of you guys, it should be on both of your pages, no? >> Right. >> I kind of expected him to be right next to you. You guys sharing duties, like he'd take the headset for half of it, like he'd, that's funny. Yes, I, you know what? I've heard, I heard that one a bunch, but I guess that one didn't stick, but I'm surprised that, that cat's not on there. >> Yeah, it's not even know who to contact about that, but we should, we should get on it. >> Yeah. >> Like your agents listed there. >> I don't know. >> It's funny during that time when we played and had the platoon, there was always, whenever I was in left field, there was one or two guys out there that would be yelling and screaming and say, "Catalin' out, you suck. We want Reed Johnson." And then when Reed was out there, they would say the same thing to him, "Read, you suck, we want Catalin' out." So me and him would talk about it all the time. >> I'd actually like to apologize to you for that, that was, I mean, you know, I spent a lot of time out there, it was very nice, sorry. It's, yeah, I mean, it's funny, right, like we think of all these teams in, in different kind of eras of it, and you were, I mean, at the kind of forefront of, of your area, definitely somebody you, you think of, I mean, do you have a kind of singular J's memory from your, your time, the kind of sticks, right? >> Yeah, yeah. I'd have to imagine that would be, right? >> Yeah, the sixth, the sixth hit game was probably the game that I, I remember the most, I mean, but I, I had a lot of, of great times, great memories. Obviously, we didn't, when I was there, we didn't go make the playoffs. But that's six, the sixth hit game in Chicago would be the biggest memories for me. >> You guys did have 87 wins. >> We did. >> In 2006. >> You know, my games, you finished outside of a playoff spot with 87 wins? >> What was it? >> Eight. >> Yeah, well, that, that's the thing. >> The Tigers were the wild card team, but they had 95 wins that year. >> Right. But, but the Yankees, Yankees and the Red Sox during those years, they were always the two teams, you know, ahead of us and beaten up on us, and we had some good teams. It just wasn't good enough. >> No, that, oh, 16 was a lot of fun to watch, and I, I've railed kind of against this playoff format because it does, it waters down things quite a bit when you're talking about three wild card teams and the Diamondbacks getting in last year with 84 wins, but they made it all the way to the World Series, right? So it's hard to argue. And then, again, you look at that '06 team, how fun would it have been to, to make the playoffs with that team, or it would be a lot closer? >> Right. Because, you know, you got Roy Halliday, you know, right, when you're, when you get to the playoffs and you have a couple of good pitchers. >> Yeah, right. Yeah, right. >> Yeah. >> And BJ Ryan is like, right, so we could have done something, you know, who knows? >> I feel like BJ Ryan's kind of the forgotten reliever in Blue Jays history that people look at the big money contract that he was given, and then the injury that's sustained. But like, before the injury, that, that was one of the most dominant closures in Blue Jays history. >> Yep. >> What was it like watching him walk out of the bullpen? >> Oh, it was pretty awesome because he was such a confident guy. He came in throwing hard, you know, he met business when he came in. So we, we always had so much confidence in him and always liked to see him coming in the game. He didn't, I mean, he didn't necessarily throw all that hard either, right? >> Well, he was from the left side. I mean, he wasn't, you know, he wasn't what they are now, 98 miles an hour, but he was, he was probably mid 90s, I'd say. >> Yeah. How, how is it for you to kind of watch that now and again, like it didn't happen overnight. It's been a slow evolution here, but I mean, it, it seems like every team has some freak in nature that's 104 and it'd be one thing if it was 104 straight, but they're throwing it with movement. It's got cut. I think it's just, you know, not that you wouldn't have adapted and found a way, but doesn't part of you look at this and go, how, how do they, how do they compete with this? >> All the time. And it's funny on the, on the way here in the bus, a few of us were talking about it. We're like, how the heck are these guys throwing so hard? And one of the guys, now I don't know if this is true or not, one of the guys said, well, because now they, the, the guns, the radar guns are getting it right when it comes out of the hand as opposed to back when we played when it was closer to the catcher. >> I don't know if that's true or not. >> Sounds like it's true. >> No, there's a Netflix documentary, right? They talk about that. >> Okay. Yeah. Well, yeah, but, but still, like you're saying, 104, not straight, because if it's 104 straight as a straight, you can hit it, 104 with move, like these guys are throwing 100 miles an hour with movement, something, I mean, it's crazy. I don't know how it, how it happened. And like you said, it didn't happen overnight. It was a little bit of an evolution, but it's pretty impressive to watch something. >> Do you think it's, do you think it's a problem that pitching and again, like, you know, these things evolve, people change, people react to things. But I mean, you just, I mean, Ben, I forget what the numbers were, you laid it out last, last, like. >> 243 is an average batting average. >> Now, and it's just, Frank, you're an MVP candidate if you're playing right now with those wins. >> No, no. >> When we told you that. >> Yeah. >> Physically wins. And it just does baseball have a problem with that? Again, like the game is faster than ever, literally, in terms of time. >> Yeah. >> The game is take less time, but I think people love seeing the ball in play in action. >> So yes, I do think it's a problem, right? Like, I'm kind of an old school guy. I think putting the ball in play, making things happen, hit and run, bump the guy over. You don't see that anymore. You see a lot of strikeouts. And no one wants to see a guy walking back to the dugout, you know, all the time. You know, I took pride in hitting 300 every year. That was a goal of mine. No one takes pride in that anymore. You know, I was embarrassed. If I struck out, I was embarrassed, and I don't think anyone's embarrassed to strike out anymore. I don't watch baseball that much anymore because I think the game is a little bit boring. So hopefully they can do something to get some more offense into the game. >> What is that? >> I don't know. Listen, I think they've got to teach at the minor league level more of the old school way of, you know, a level that through the zone instead of this launch angle, because a launch angle when you think about it, you know, if you're swinging up like that and the balls coming in flat, you've got a margin for error that's like, yeah, there's a big hole in the swing. So that's what I would do. And, you know, I don't know if it's ever going to come back, but I hope it does. >> Yeah. That would be great. Because I like the time of game going down was good and the pitch clock. >> I don't mind that. >> Yeah. >> I actually liked it. I liked the pitch clock. I actually do. I mean, I think it's at first that was like, this is crazy. I don't mind. I don't mind it. I know some of the pitchers don't like it, but I don't mind the shorter. >> You must have a couple of teammates or guys you played with or it gates through the years that come to mind. You don't have to throw anybody out of the bus here. Here you go. >> Well, you face steel tracks. >> Well, look, I think about Nomar with the gloves, right? It's like he would have thrown out of the league if he was here today. You must have a few teammates who had a routine to pat lightly. >> Absolutely. >> They were, you know, human rain delays, and I feel like Reed Johnson was one of those guys. >> Yeah. Reed was one of those guys. But pitchers, too, that just took forever to throw the pitch. I mean, which, again, I think the pitch clock is pretty good. >> Yeah. Roy Holiday, not one of those guys. >> No. >> Oh, my goodness. >> No. >> I think Roy Holiday still is part of the shortest game in Blue Jays history. He faced Mark Burley in a game that I think lasted an hour 51. >> Yeah. >> No. >> Well, I mean, Mark Burley once famously as a J crashed the manager's press conference because he pitched so fast because he had a concert. >> Is that right? >> Yeah. >> True story. Did I ask me your questions now? >> Yeah. >> Wow. >> That is, yeah. I mean, so the two of them in a game. >> Yeah. Oh, yeah, imagine. >> Well, and for you as a player, like you've got to love playing behind that, right? Like you don't have those moments where you're out there sitting and, you know, God, I'm like coaching Little League right now. So I see way too much of it of the heads in the sky and not going what's going on. But I mean, for a player, it just keeps you in the game, right? >> Keeps us in the game. It was so up. When I knew that Roy was pitching that night, it was like, yes, like this is going to be a quick one. >> 10 o'clock dinner. >> Yeah. >> Exactly. Well, and he threw it. He knew what he wanted to do and, you know, he executed it. So those were fun. >> Was there almost more pressure, though, on the offense in those games? Understanding that the bar was low, but it's like, well, we got to score, though. This is like, we don't want to embarrass ourselves in front of Roy Allen, right? >> Yes. Yes and no. Yes, because, you know, Roy, you know, expected, hey, all you guys need to do is get me a couple of runs. That's it, right? And sometimes you kind of press the little bit, but you're like, all right, all we need is a couple of runs. Let's do it. Obviously, there were sometimes where we were going against a pitcher that was, you know, doing well and we weren't scoring runs. So yes, you would put pressure on yourself like, guys, all we got to do is score a run here. And sometimes that was tough. >> Did you? You must have faced him in your career, Rob? >> Yes. Yeah. >> What was Allen? >> Oh, hated it. It felt like it was bowling balls coming in because it was so hard and the ball moved so much. So he would either cut it as a left-handed hitter. He would either cut it in on me and jam me or he would sink it away for me. So you never knew which way the ball was going to go. And when you look out there and you see a pitcher that's so confident like he was, you know it's going to be a long day. Sometimes you look out there and you can tell that the pitcher's not confident and you're like, all right, I got this guy. But with him, he was always so confident. >> Who was the toughest pitcher you ever faced? You ever faced Randy Johnson? I think for left-handed hitters, Randy Johnson comes to my mind. >> So lucky enough for me, I never had to face him during the regular season. I faced him in spring training. Regular season they would stack the line up with right-handed hitters. But the toughest guy for me was Pedro Martinez. >> Oh, yeah. >> Pedro just had a change-up that was so freaking good. It looked like his fastball coming out of his hand and he would just spin me into the ground all the time. So he was tough. >> Just going back to Doc for a second, you know, it's so interesting to hear you say that. You know, part of it, I guess, is like bad job by us telling the story. But when we talk about Doc, it very seldom seems like we go to how tough it was on the hitter, almost how easy it appeared for him. And isn't that like the true mark and that could be about Roy Holiday, but that could be about somebody who's great in the box as well, that it doesn't seem like they're the other persons even involved in what's happening here. They're just taking complete advantage of the game and like how it is the first guy I think of with that. And it's just interesting to hear you say that from a hitter's perspective because so often we just talk about him as like, oh, he's a machine. He was cruising. There's nothing they could do. >> It's interesting to hear your perspective to kind of get the hitter side of things. >> Yeah, such a smart pitcher he was and he just, he could read the hitter's body language as to like what the guy was looking for and stuff like that. And it was just, it was so impressive watching him. And like I said, when I faced him, it was, it was a nightmare. It was tough. >> Famously and not that talkative during game days, like during his days that he started, like did you ever try and talk to him during a game day? >> Make that mistake. >> Yeah, my first year, I went, I said, hey, Doc, how's it going? And he walked right by and didn't say it word. And one of the guys on the team, I forget who it was, they said, are you kidding? Why would you talk to Doc, but he, I just, I said hi to him and I go, he's pitching today and I go, so he can't say hi to me and he's like, dude, he's locked in. So then like the next day or two days later, I went up to Doc, I was like, Doc, you can say hi to me when you're pitching and he's like, no, when I'm pitching, I like to stay locked in. So from that time on, I would not talk to him. He didn't talk to anybody. He was so focused. He did what he had to do to get ready for the game and then, you know, you, but I appreciated it because he had a routine and he was just so focused in what he had to do that day. And he usually took care of business. >> How unusual was that? Did you ever say anybody like that? >> I was going to say that that can't be all that common. I've never seen anyone like that. That's why I went, you know, because I had been in the league maybe for, I don't know, five or six years before I got to Toronto and I never saw it. So that, so it didn't matter if a guy was pitching or not. You say hi to him. Just, you know, it's just normal and human being. You didn't go up to him after the sixth inning in a no-no. >> Right. >> He went out there. >> The problem was assuming he was a human being. He was a robot. >> Exactly. >> That's what I think. >> Honestly. >> You're also the head coach at Hofstra University. >> Yep. >> Blue Jays just wrapped in the first round, a kid by the name of Atreya Savage out of East Carolina. You didn't face East Carolina this year. >> No. Didn't. >> But, I mean, there's talk that, like, if they get them signed, maybe as early as the next season, he could arrive at the major leagues. Like, how ready, how major league ready are some of these college arms? >> So it is amazing. You know, we've been facing some of these really good teams. And see, we faced Virginia this year, and Northeastern has a bunch of these. These arms, we're seeing these guys come in, and I'm like, wow, that guy can pitch in the big leagues. Just like we see, like, Paul Skeens, right? >> Yeah. >> You see Paul Skeens, and I'm like, holy smoke, when I saw him last year, I'm like, this guy can pitch in the big leagues right now. So I don't know what they're doing to get these guys ready, but -- and it's not only pitching. It's hitters, too. We're just seeing these guys ready to go. And I know things have changed a little bit, like the minor leagues, there's less minor league teams and stuff like that. So, you know, I don't know if they're pushing these guys quicker or what, and maybe, you know, saving money with all these teams in the minor leagues. But, you know, for whatever reason, a lot of these guys are ready to go sooner. And it's pretty cool to see, because I'll be, you know, face a guy in college when you're in the next year or two years later, you see him in the big leagues. >> Yeah. >> How'd you guys fare against Paul Skeens? We didn't -- luckily, we didn't have to -- >> Oh, you didn't? >> -- have to face him. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. >> That would have been no fun. That's not fun for you guys getting paid. >> Yeah. >> No. So, the interesting thing about that is, you know, the idea of college baseball and you're there, how different, you know, again, like, you know, a while ago, you look very young, but it was a while ago, that you were kind of that age. How different do you find the athlete, the kid, however you want to put it, is from when you were at that age, I mean, technology is so much more available to them now. We always see the jokes about, oh, looking at the iPad after, like, how different is a 22-year-old ballplayer that you're working with or a 21-year-old versus kind of yourself or your peers or what you were at that stage? >> I think they're bigger, stronger, faster, because all the training that they're doing, I just think they're kind of misinformed as far, you know, the Internet has so many things on the swing right now. >> There's wrong stuff on the Internet. This first I'm hearing of it. So it's a little frustrating because I'll get these kids from high school or transfers or whatever, and they're launch angle guys or guys that we have to now undo and change their swing, so that's a little frustrating. But as far as the athlete themselves, I do think they're bigger, stronger, faster. The baseball IQ is not like it used to be, and I'll tell you why. These kids don't watch baseball when I was growing up every single night, me and my dad would sit by the TV and watch the New York Yankee game. So I learned things, cut-offs, relays, bump defenses just by watching that I didn't even realize I was learning, and now these kids, I ask them if they watch baseball and they don't watch baseball. >> They play a video game. >> They play video games. They might see highlights, but they don't sit down and watch a full game, and that's where you can learn, and that's why the baseball IQ is not as good. >> Any more videos of cut-off throws on Instagram. >> Yeah. Hit the cut-off. >> No, we see the one of many Ramirez jumping in front. >> Yes. >> That one, we see it all the time. >> Yes. >> Yeah, that's for the nice relay though. Not so much. >> Yeah. >> Frank, this was great. >> Yeah. >> Maybe if we're around on August 19th, you can go see Bush coming to Budweiser's stage, and we're giving away tickets in today's show to enter for a chance to win text in today's code word Bush to 59590, again, that's Bush to 59590, standard message and data rates may apply, giving away another pair of tickets tomorrow, but if you don't win with us, tickets on sale, ticketmaster.ca, Frank Catalanado, despite being my mortal enemy in 2009, this was a whole lot of fun. Thanks for doing this. >> Thank you, guys. All right. More of the fan morning show when we continue Sportsnet 590, the fan. >> Hey, it's Ailish Forafar. >> And I'm Justin Cutsrey. >> Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the fan pregame, 6 p.m., weekdays on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, the fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. >> Fan morning show, Sportsnet 590, the fan, Ben Ennis, Brent Gunning. We are live from the 29th annual Jay's Care Golf Tournament in support of the Jay's Care Foundation at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club, where Jose Cruz Jr. will play his second round of the year, the former gold glove out for your choices right now. That's all right. How'd the first one go? >> Not great. >> Low bar. Low bar. We're going to do better today. I gave Ernie with a pump up speech. If you need one, I would gladly give you one as well, but I don't want to presume. >> I do. >> Okay. You can do this. You're a champion. You're an athlete. >> Direction. >> Oh, well. No, no, no. No tips coming from me. Strictly pump up. I am not an exes and owes coach. I am strictly a raw, raw guy. Get in there. Fire up the boys. Do this. You're an athlete. Be great today, Jose Cruz. >> Be athletic. >> There you go. Be athletic. Go. Go. >> Are you -- do you play golf right handed or left handed? >> Right handed. >> Okay. Maybe you're actually left handed. >> Only thing I do left handed is from time to time, open a door. That's it. >> So how did you end up as a switch hitter then? >> Well, I was -- this is the actual story. My dad's left handed, and one day he decides -- it was probably maybe July of '92-ish, so he decides that, hey, I'm going to play -- we're going to play stick ball, so basically like a broomstick and a tape ball. Hey, I'm going to play and to make it fair, I'm going to hit right handed and you're going to have to hit left handed. He's like, I'm going to play with your brother and you play with your buddy here, okay? So we started playing, and I started hitting left handed, and I started lacing the ball. >> Lacing. >> And it was just like -- he was pissed, and he switched back to left, and it was just his whole ordeal. So then it's like -- so we go practice later on, and then we're in the cage is hitting, and I'm hitting right handed, and then I'm like, hey, do you mind if I hit left handed? He goes, well, it can't be worse than your right handed swing, so go for it. And so I started hitting the ball, hitting the ball, and it was all right, you know, solid contact, and I did it a few times, and then I went -- I went to college. I was at Rice, and so I went in, and I told the coach, hey, coach, I'd like to try switch hitting in the fall, the fall, and the coach was like, yeah, I got knocked yourself out. And I still believe that being young and dumb is valuable. >> Yeah. >> You don't know you're not supposed to do something. So I went in there, I led the fall in hitting. Not really not sure how I did it, I was fast, I just chopped some balls and filled singles. I think I mixed in one double, and then in the spring I had no confidence, so I wasn't going to hit left handed. So the pitchers came up to me, like three of them, and said, hey, why aren't you switch hitting? And I'm like, I just don't feel comfortable. And they're like, well, we thought you were really tough out. You should hit left handed. And I was like, really? Because yeah, so I went to the batting practice, and I decided just to take some swings left handed. I hadn't swung probably in a month, and then I hit a ball off the scoreboard, like I smoked a ball off the scoreboard, and I was like, OK, I'll try it. And then as we kept moving on this season, I found something that worked, and then I just took off. >> Yeah. Right on it. Honestly, switch hitting is something that I, obviously it's part of baseball, and we're all like used to switch hitters. But I don't think we marvel at it enough. There is no other sport, you know, like I love hockey. The guys don't switch over, shoot left handed. If a guy takes a jumper with his opposite hand, we're giving him tons of credit. And you know, a third, half, whatever the percentage of you guys can just do this thing. It is honestly crazy. >> It is crazy. I think it's less than that. >> No, no, it definitely is. Sorry. >> I was, yeah, please. >> No, no. Very special. >> Yeah, because we always, we always say that it's like, OK, so these guys made it to the big leagues, and with one hand, and that's tough, and it's like, now we are the ones that are able to do it from two different sizes, two different personalities, and still compete at this level. So it's like, for me, it's like, I look at, I always look at switch hitters, and I, it's like, they're different, they're on a different spectrum for me of how I look at baseball players. >> Did you have a different mentality? I mean, obviously, you know, like, look at the numbers, there's a difference from one side to the other, but how was your mentality different from the right side versus the left side? >> It was funny because at the beginning of my career, I bet you the first half of my career, I was probably better left handed than I was right handed, and then as my career went on, I became better right handed and left handed, and I mean, if I had the answers and I knew I would have done that, but I mean, I have some theories. But left handed, I felt like I could slug a little more, I was a little bit more of a power hitter, and right handed, I was more of a, just a hitter, like, I was able to get base hits, I can maneuver the bat, I had real nice bat control, so that's why I'm thinking that the top hand is your control hand, and I think the bottom hand is your power hand. That's my theory. >> I like it. >> So that's what I think, but I mean, my son decided to go switch hitting well, and that's, and the funny thing is that, I remember talking to Lance Berkman, who's a switch hitter as well, and I was like, "Oh my God, Lance, my son wants to switch hit," and Lance was like, "Oh God, did you try to talk him out of it?" [laughter] >> No, I was like, "I did, I did," but he wanted to hit left handed, and so it's like, if that's what you want to do, let's do it, let's figure something out. >> Yeah, so your son is in the tiger system right now, double A, born in Toronto. >> That's right. >> Yeah, so I mean, if he played for a national team, do you think he would play for the Canadian national team? >> He would absolutely do it. >> Yeah. >> And he was able to play, he played in the Caribbean World Series this year, which is kind of exciting. >> That's awesome. >> Yeah, so he got a feel of what the WBC can be like, I mean, the Caribbean World Series is crazy as well. >> Yeah, for sure. >> And they did it this year in Miami, which was unique, first of its kind, so he was part of that, but yeah, I mean, he definitely, I remember talking to Ernie about him a couple of years ago, so it's like, "Hey, he's a middle infielder, you know, I know that Canada needs some middle infield help," so, but yeah, he's definitely eligible. >> You know, you're working with young athletes now, like at Rice, but how is it to kind of, you know, you've lived this life, you knew what it was like to be a player? How is it to kind of watch your son, like, you know, we're both parents, we love watching our kids play, you know, but we weren't there. What's it like to kind of watch your kid go on the journey and how hard is it? I would imagine anyways, too, you want to like shepherd him through every little thing, but you also want to let him lead his own life and make his mistakes, you know? >> I think, I've coached him his entire life, and I'm still there, and I'm going to resource in the whole thing, and I'm not very overbearing about anything. We do work on different things. I mean, he came home for the all-star break, and we were hitting at Rice, just working through some things, and he's, I think, he's very talented, and it's just one of those things where it's just like, you know, you're going to have to fly at some point, right? And it's time. Now's the time for him to be able to fly, I think the beauty of it is he recognizes and realizes how hard it was to be able to do what I did and to be able to do what my father did. Right? It's an absolute grind, it's mental torture in many ways, and there's just a requirement to be so perfect all the time against the best pitchers in the world, and that could be difficult. >> What was he in Major League Club houses with you when he was growing up? >> Yeah, he was. He was there, and he was actually in Major League Spring Training this year. He hit really well, he had like 500 in the opportunities he got. >> That's great. >> How beneficial do you think it is, just being around the game, like having that, you know, it was funny, we were just talking to Frank Catalunato, and he's like, "Kids don't watch baseball anymore." And it's like, "I had to imagine yours, yours is insane to share a baseball," right? >> 100%. >> A student of it. I mean, we used to go, we were talking about this. I was, I was actually at Wrigley a couple of days ago with a friend of mine who's from out of the country from, was it Mauritius? >> Mm-hmm. >> Yeah, and so he doesn't quite know baseball, so we're kind of going through the whole thing, and we're talking about, in the United States, how it's very much a father-son thing. It's a bonding. You come to go to the game, take a look, you know, "Hey, here's how I look at this son, look at that son," right? So for us, it was a little different because it's just like, he grew up with it. I mean, he's been in tons of club houses and tons of fields and seen a lot of players. In a way, the benefit is you're not really in awe of anything, so that your comfort level is a little bit different. So as a young guy, though, we'd go to places, and I remember, it's like, "Hey, there's a kid from Cleveland, he's really good, let's take a look at him. His name's Francisco Lindor, let's take a look at how he moves, and we'd go there and watch, "Hey, let's take a look at Carlos Correa," because he played a lot of short stuff. Right? "Hey, let's take a look at Anderson Simmons, watch him, watch Stephen Drew, watch how he feels. Look at his footwork. Look how he does double plays." So those things, he became really high IQ early, because he was a student of the game. He's a very diligent worker. So defensively right now, I would say he's an above average, major league shortstop right now defensively, and he plays center field and shortstop for the Tigers. So it's very athletic. Sounds like he's starring a little league team playing both positions. Which is right? It's weird. I don't know many guys that can do that at a high level, and he can do it at a high level, and he played third, like he's very elite at third and second. It's just like imagine. He can play them all. He's like a super utility, really, right now. But it comes down to being able to be real competitive with the bat. He's hovering around that 250 mark right now. Has a really good eye, just a matter of being consistent and just getting hot. I think if he does that, he has a chance. He looks the part quite well. He's physical, and he's fast, and he can throw, he can pick it, switch it. Yeah. This is his first giggly can at the upper levels of the monitor, right? AJ saw him. AJ likes him. You know, they compare him to somebody in the big leagues. They're utility guys, so it's kind of, and he's left-handed there. He's leading guys right-handed, so they're like, there's stuff there. Yeah. They just keep doing it. You know, keep doing it. Get hot at the right time, and something happens, and next thing you know, you're called up. You mentioned Anderson Simmons, who, man, and his heyday, I don't know if I've ever seen anybody play the position. Arguably the best defensive shortstop of all time. It was insane. They can't infer an arm like all of it. Who is the best defender any position that you ever played with or against? Any position? I mean, you have to be a little more. Okay. All right. Are you played outfield? Sure. Because the Blue Jays didn't employ a couple of good ones in Kevin Kiremeyer and Dalton Varshow. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kiremeyer is special. He's special. Yeah. He's special. Yeah. That I played against, I think the best defender center fielder that I played against for me was Tori Hunter. Yeah. I thought Tori Hunter was spectacular in center field, and honorable mention Andrew Jones. Yeah. Two guys during my era were probably the best two guys as far as just center field that I'd love to watch, and even though even if that was my position, I loved it. I loved watching that. Well, no problem. The problem with a great outfielder occasionally is, you know, it takes a lot to appreciate their greatness, right? Because you're a great athlete. You get to a ball relatively easily. Like I won't name any. No, TV dies. I was going to say I won't name any names, but I can think of some guys for one of those personally. When I was younger, it's like he's diving after the ball all the time. It feels like it takes them a long time to get there. Timing patterns. Yeah. Yeah. It's lots of them. Yeah. It's always something that's jumped out to me is specifically with that because, I mean, even, you know, the most athletic shortstop, he's going to still, it's still going to look like it's very hard for him to get to that ball, even if he makes the play. But guys like Hunter or Jones, or, you know, you can say your name and name is all Dave. Yeah. It's just basically. He's grissant. It looks easy, right? Yeah. You don't know how good they are until they're not on your team anymore. You're right. Yeah. Wait a minute. That dropped. Yeah. That used to be an out. Yeah. That's right. That's exactly right. You play it in one of the more difficult outfields to play in two in San Francisco with the wind blowing. You've played more corner outfield right with the Giants. Yeah, I did. I played right field. Yeah. What was it like patrolling that? I mean, it's shorter to right field, but there's a lot of room in the gap. Yeah. It is a it is a we had philosophical differences. I remember when I was there because the coach wanted me to play in the gap right in that little corner. Yeah. And I was like, no, I don't want to play in the corner. I want to play right field. Yeah. Right. So anything that anything that comes into the right field area, I want to catch. So that was our difference and at the same time we had a veteran group. I mean, I think at the time we had Marquis Grissom who had like four gold gloves and then he had very bonds. We had like nine. Yeah. So it's just like we're all in the outfield. And I felt like I should have had at least one when I was in Toronto. It was like, I know I was close. I know I was close, but it was just. We didn't have the same defensive metrics back then. Yeah. It was a lot of guys going fast. I saw in there was a stat somewhere. You can look it up and saber metrics or something that in 2002, the center field just defensive metrics was Andrew Jones and myself as the top two. Yeah. In that year. I think it was 2000. So it was like, which is like, hey, well, there's something there. Yeah, no kidding. So I thought that I thought that was cool. I learned that later. I didn't know. Should have funneled that agent at the time. That's okay. That would be good. Yeah. You know, just to hear you talk about Sam Fran there, obviously that is a ballpark that stands out in and of itself. It feels like they're getting kind of more cookie cutter. You would have played in an era with towels Hill in Houston and a flagpole in center field. I'm not saying we should. Yeah. Okay. I want to be clear. I'm not saying we should bring that back. I did. And it was like, no, man, this is it is done. It is really dumb. It should not be there in the middle of the field. It's amazing. Nobody suffered like a career ending. You're right. You're right. But do you think that and again, want to be clear, not saying they should put a flagpole or a hill in the outfield ever again. But it does feel like a lot of the ballparks are just kind of more kind of cookie cutter now with the dimensions and stuff. It must felt so different when you when you played to have again, I think right now. The new fields from my from what I've seen their their outfields, they used to be at one point. It was very symmetrical. And I think nowadays the infield, obviously very symmetric, the outfield seems like there's always something going on with all the new fields. There's like a little crevice or something nook one fields deeper and left and shorter and right. I mean, I was just in at a globe life right in Texas and and I'm looking at that field and it's just like it was a funky field. Well, David Schneider had a play in left field where he was parked behind the box, but he had to like try to catch the ball cutting over top of it. It was really weird. It is which is weird and then right feels different. So it's like it's totally a different experience playing right versus left. It's a totally different experience being a right handed batter versus left handed batter there, right? And how you attack different things and then you go to Minute Maids. It's a completely thing. You've got the little corner there, the opera box. And then it's kind of like higher and left center and then no more Taos Hill. They create some sort of Budweiser something. So there's like this little guy, people are on the field level, center field. It's wild. Really? Yeah. And then the bullpen and right where you can kind of see the bullpen and the whole deal the short fence and right field. So it's like those are kind of funky things. You know, you start looking around even even Toronto. It's like it changed a little bit. You know, it's got some things to it. Well, they have the notch now in center field where it's like explicitly made so that you can steal home runs and the first game they played with Kevin Kirmer brought one back. So those are all great. Those added dimension to the game, which is great. It also adds a dimension of positioning because you've got to be in the right place to be able to rob the Homer as opposed to being shallow or anything like that. You must elose playing an Oakland with all that foul territory to patrol. I guess it doesn't poke out quite as far as the Oakland. What I hated about Oakland was everything. I was going to say long list. We only have 10 minutes left in the show. So careful. Yes. Yes. That's true. And then the walking up and down to the clubhouse was crazy because you're in the middle fans are in the way. Do you see the instant replay thing that happened there? I say, Lewis, I did see this. That was crazy. Like I was so out felt for the manager and the guy who's been a security guard there forever. Yeah. You know, they know any better. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are you being a jerk? I just got back to our play, man. Oh, wait. Complete screwed us. So yeah, those are those are makes Facebook exciting. Well, it's so funny because it's such a fine line, right? Like I even think of things like, I think Sam Fran has it now that jumps to mind, but like the bullpen's that are not bullpen's, it's just a little area to play catch over on the side of the field. They can't finally move. That makes you think that maybe they forgot about the boy that they did when I went to go visit that place, early on, that they forgot about the bullpen and just say, hey, sounds like confirmation maybe, isn't it great? No, we're the pitchers going to wrap in the bay. They can go warm up on a bar chair, so you're, you're the head coach at, uh, at Rice. And so you saw Trey's savage, who, oh, yeah, the, the Blue Jays just drafted and faced your team. Give us a scouting report. Big body, uh, very competitive, uh, has a live fastball and he has two, uh, plus pitches, like, uh, one, one being a breaking ball, like a slider. And then he threw another pitch that was kind of like a funky pitch. Uh, it was like, I think it was almost like a split change. It was kind of funky because I remember watching him grip it, um, which, which it did a variety of things. Sometimes it kind of cut and sometimes it just went straight down, depending on how he threw it, but yeah, and that pitch became really deadly because it's same arm action as a fastball and it's fast, but you got to respect it. I mean, it's mid to upper nineties and he can maintain the velocity. So, uh, in fact, I think his last outing was against us before he threw, uh, before, uh, I think you got something happened to him or, yeah, like a, uh, puncture lapse or something, yeah. It was something funky. Is it, does it surprise you how ready the, the best kids in, in college are and how close they are, are to the majors? Cause I mean, forever baseball was the sport where, hey, you draft a guy and it's like, Hey, don't get excited. Wait half a decade before this happens. And that's just not the case. Now guys are jumping in pretty fast. Right. Well, the thing is that, that, look, man, my team, for example, I got, I'm probably going to have four guys that are going to be pushing a hundred miles an hour on my staff. Wow. Right. That's just my school. Yeah. Right. And then I have a couple of other ones that are probably going to be between, uh, you know, 41 and 95, right? So that's a lot. That's, I mean, that doesn't, that's not like how it used to be. And then you have other schools. I mean, I remember we played A&M and every single person that they threw out that was right handed was touching 95. Every single one of them. Right. They had a couple lefties that were low nineties, you know, they're, uh, more or less, uh, had another guy thrown a hundred, you know, with a sinker or something crazy, but I mean, it was like, and that there's a whole conference. Yeah. There's a lot of players like that. So it's like, it's never, it's never been more talented right now than, uh, than it is like, like right now, look at the draft. Yeah. It was like a lot of college players. Yeah. And they're, and they're ready. And the way they're training and the physicalness, the speed, it's not like, it's not going to be the difference. It's not going to be that much. It's just a matter of the mental. If you can handle the mental side and make that adjustment faster, those are the guys that they're able to make the jump quickly. Yeah. And that's not the way it used to be. Right? Like you didn't see college pitchers. You know, I mean, you didn't see major league pitchers, everybody, again, I, I, Nate Pearson's not that old. Like I remember when Nate Pearson was a Blue Jays prospect, he throws a hundred and it was like mind blowing at the time. And now it's like, yeah, he's a guy. You don't even think twice when he throws a hundred. It's just what, why is this happening? Why? There's just more guys that throw upper velocity. I think there's a, the training of it, uh, is different now. Everybody knows exactly what the recipe is to be able to do that. There's a bunch of pitching ranches and pitching schools all over the place. Uh, guys sell out for the velocity. Yeah. So there's, there's a, I mean, I, I call pitching the, like a big science project. So if you have a body and you have leverage and you're understanding how to use your body and understand your, your, um, throw a fancy word at you, your kinematic sequence. Yeah. Right? So if you understand your, the, the kinematics of what's happening, that's a rice word. Yeah. That's right. If you understand your layback, you know, if you understand where the layback is, that foot strike, you know, wow, in, in, in conjunction to your relationship to the ground, you know, that's going to increase your velocity. Yeah. So things like that. So that, that's what's going on right now, uh, with, with pitching. So pitching's ahead of hitting right now. You can, that's where there's more guys that are throwing, you know, closer, like upper 90s all the time. Well, and pitching doesn't have to react to hitting, right? Hitting has to react to. That's right. I mean, is there a way to react to throwing that hard other than, you know, moving the mound back or moving it lower? Like how, how do we, I don't know how much difference it is. I mean, besides, I mean, I might give it one mile an hour, let's say, faster, uh, than when I played, I think the way they measure the, the speed, the velocity is different. Yeah. So, uh, I think when I played, it was more JUGS based, let's say, and the JUGS is probably a 15 feet-ish in front of home plate with the velocities measured and now the velocities measured at, at release. So it's a little faster. So you know, you, you add a couple miles an hour to it, uh, and, and that's what today's is. So the 90, the 95 of my day would, would be easily be 97, 98 right now still. Right. Right. So the 103s and stuff. That's different story for sure. Right. And I'm telling you, that was a bowling ball of just like, whoa, what the hell is that? Um, I bet you that would be a hundred, a hundred something right now. Um, so, you know, that, that part of it's a little different, but there's just more of them now without a question. There's just more of the guys that are able to throw, uh, in the, in that 95, hit that 95, the 97 spot. Okay. Back to trade you savage quickly before we let you go. Could he be in the major leagues next year, you think? I think he, he could be in the major leagues next year. He has as good as stuff. He has major league stuff. It's just going to be a matter of him being consistent enough to make the pitches to make him be effective. Right. Cause he's going to have to mix in some, some pitches in college. You got away with, with a lot of, a lot of fast ball show, you know, and then it's just like throwing a lot off speed pitches for strikes. So there is some of that here, but the adjustment in the hitters make here a little differently. So you can't just, you just keep going to that well and, and you only see him once. So it's different than if you see him multiple times, which here there'll be a book. So you're going to get a bunch of different, um, approaches against him and, and, and different teams trying to attack him in a different way. So that's just going to be the adjustment of the league. But as far as stuff wise, yeah, man, yeah, he's got, he's got major league stuff without question. That'd be fun to see. Last, last one. Today. Yes. All right. That's right. Be great. No, yeah, no, no problem. I will, I am, I am good for one to two. All right. Let's go. Everything in between. Leave that alone. Forget about that. I'm the good. Jose, this is great. Thanks so much for doing that. Pleasure guys. Jose Cruz, Jr. A former, uh, gold glove out builder. Uh, this has been a fan morning show band. I'm a sprint gunning live from the 29th annual Jay's carrot golf tournament at rattlesnake white golf club. Good morning. (upbeat music)