Luke Jones and Nestor gather at Costas Inn on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour for a baseball history discussion on the greatness of WIllie Mays and our many heroes lost as Luis Aparicio becomes the oldest living Hall of Famer in Cooperstown.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
willie mays, years, play, baseball, game, greatest, frank, players, baltimore, era, orioles, wearing, brooks, costas, picture, luke, catch, star, part, friends
SPEAKERS
Nestor J. Aparicio, Luke Jones
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home we are wn S T am 1570, Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive. We are positive here at Costas. We’re in Dundalk doing the Maryland crabcake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery to Gold Rush sevens doublers. We’re here for the Orioles in the Yankees but we’re not going to talk about the Orioles in the Yankees today. I think we’re talking about just in general baseball because we’re in the middle of a season to remember thus far and we talk day by day about pitching and bullpen and reinforcements and trades and all that stuff. Luke Jones is here it’s all brought to you by our friends at Liberty pure solutions. Keeping our water crystal clear at home can do that for you. If you have well water if you have water needs get that orange water going on. Don’t drink that call my friends at Liberty pure solutions. Let them fix that for you. Like they fixed it for me our friends at Jiffy Lube multi care, including the Merritt Boulevard Jiffy Lube right around the corner. We’re appreciative of all of our sponsors. Luke Jones has made it all the way to his ancestral homeland of Well, that would be Essex but it is done though. He does have relatives on the east side. He is Baltimore Luke, He is our insider for all things football, baseball, Orioles, ravens. He is the guy they lead in. They don’t let the Venezuelan guy in. But that’s all right. There’ll be back next week. You get to cover some baseball. In the meantime, we get to watch it at the bar here. So we try to do these conversations here. So they’re not dated about like the potential Brawl the other night or Aaron judge or the Yankees. I wanted to make fun of the Astros is cheaters and all of that. And I said well, Louise, the last living all famer, and I mentioned that to you. And you said to me, Do we got to talk about Willie Mays? We haven’t talked about Willie Mays at all. And I’m like, All right. We’re losing them. All right. I mean, when Louise, the the oldest living Hall of Famer, it’s probably a good day for you and me to talk about the Hall of Fame. Yeah,
8
Luke Jones 01:49
I mean, I think we need to talk about it a little bit. One of the things that, with Willie Mays passing this week, obviously Major League Baseball during the game at Rickwood field and the Negro Leagues history and something that just popped in my mind, and it’s not specifically related to that, but certainly talking about living legends who are now no longer living with us. I thought back to Brooks Robinson, late last September. I mean, it was such a strange time. Because there was so much excitement about the Orioles on the verge of clinching the division. They were number five, the team honored him, there wasn’t anything about that, that I was unhappy about or anything like that. But it was just so brief. And you think about other instances where someone passes away in the offseason, someone passes away early in the season, and you wear that jersey number on your on your shoulder for the entire season. And for Brooks, it was just it was so brief. And I miss him. No. And I just think that I
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:44
found the final picture I took with him when I was doing the documentary. I saw Brooks coming into the football stadium, it was with ranch, Pyro and he’s Brooks, you know, he was getting out. He’s wearing a checkered shirt, going to a football game. And he saw me and he said to me, it’s the third time I’ve seen him out. He’s like, I owe you I’m supposed to come on the show. Nestor, I’m gonna come on oh, you want us broke? You owe me nothing. And I took a selfie of myself and Brooks is behind me signing an autograph for him. You know, I had this the last picture. I have made me cry. I found it. I didn’t know what to do with it. I wasn’t gonna put in the document or whatever. But I found it and I pulled it aside and I said, there’s gonna come a day where I’m going to share my last picture with Brooks Robinson, you know, because I didn’t even take a picture with him. He didn’t even know. I just he was signed. And I just took the picture over the shoulders. And I’m like, I think I put it up online cuz I’m like, I ran into Brooks this morning. It’s a good day. Anything you’ve run into Brooks. It’s a good day. You know, Willie Mays, carry that for other fan bases and other ways and for people of another race. Everywhere he went. And I don’t mean to be flippant, and I don’t mean to be a jerk. I had sort of forgotten he was alive. You know what I mean? Like was 93. Yeah, I just didn’t think about him being a living Hall of Famer anymore in that way. Well, and I
Luke Jones 04:03
guess that’s why I thought a Brooks here locally, but you think about Willie Mays, what he means to the Bay Area. And what he did for the San Francisco Giants as that was a franchise that came across the country, from the Polo Grounds in New York to the west coast. So and he was from the Negro Leagues. Exactly. And you think about what he meant in New York and just 1950s Baseball, Willie, Mickey and the Duke and that, that era of baseball history as someone who was born in the 80s, and long after that occurred, there’s just there’s a mythology to it. To CISM there. There’s there’s such a transcendent feeling when it came to Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, I think as well, but the thing that really strikes me about Willie Mays, and it’s one of my all time favorite players never saw him play never met him anything like that. It’s about one one of I mean, I don’t think I’m talking out of turn it’s saying that I mean, you’re talking about
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:58
8See what I did face Well cards in the late 70s, early 80s, I was more likely to want an Erin or Clemente. Yeah, for me, panel
Luke Jones 05:07
from that era, okay, okay. Okay. And I think what’s so amazing about him? And look, I’m not gonna say anything here that’s unique to any number of tributes or insights or just thoughts opining about Willie Mays, but you think about the greatest players of all time, or the players that are at least in that conversation, right. Babe Ruth, played pre pre Jackie Robinson right pre integration, so played against only white players, the great players of the Negro Leagues played against only contemporary black players, right? So there was always a sense of what would Josh Gibson do against the greatest white players of that era? What would Babe Ruth have done against the greatest black players of that era? Fast forward to the modern day and more specifically, the 90s into the early 2000s Barry Bonds Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa we don’t need to belabor the point P Ed steroids, all the questions that’s created that walk, you know, kind of transitions right into any Hall of Fame discussion in today’s day and age
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:05
as to whether Barry Bonds is the greatest living baseball but you think about this, in
Luke Jones 06:09
terms of Willie Mays, played in the major, you know, briefly played in the Negro Leagues, but played his entire career in the major leagues from the time he was 20 years old, until playing to the point where he was with the Mets and falling down and not the guy that he was. And you look at the numbers, all the numbers, whether you’re talking about the traditional counting stats, whether you want to talk about war, league adjusted, oh, PS, all the nerdy stats of today, all of that tells you Willie Mays was absolutely incredible. And as much as there was a mythical aura that he had, going back to the days of him being in Harlem playing stickball with kids on the street, buying them ice cream, and then adding to the polo grounds to play a game later that afternoon. I mean, everything about him is legitimate when you look at it, never really heard any negative stories about him or him ever being standoffish with people or anything like that. And let’s face it, growing up in in that era, and playing baseball in that era, I’m not even saying the word bitter. But you could certainly be guarded, at the very least. And by all accounts, just a wonderful human being, but an amazing player. And I just think about whether you think the greatest ever is Ruth or Cobb or Josh Gibson or any players pre Jackie Robinson. And then Willie Mays is in that conversation. I don’t care whether you think he’s the greatest or the second greatest, or the third greatest. I don’t think he’s outside of the top three. I mean, let’s just put it that way. And there’s nothing that you can really say, that’s a caveat about his game. I mean, this is a guy who lost a year and a half to military, to being in the military, you know, Dread being drafted and all that. So just a remarkable career. And I saw something that was just absolutely ridiculous the other day, I saw it on social media, but someone had put together the stats of Bryce Harper and Mookie Betts, two of the greatest players of the last 20 years to surefire Hall of Famers at this point in time, right. Their numbers combined. We’re still slightly lacking to Willie Mays close yeah, but still lacking and of course, those guys are going to play many more years, but just that exercise,
8Nestor J. Aparicio 08:21
the body of work of their 20s to write you know, and you just think their next 10 years for those two guys are not going to be as good as the last time.
Luke Jones 08:28
We use the term five five tool player in baseball. No one in the history of the game. Now we can we can debate Ruth and Okay, Ruth was a pitcher and I’ll hear that no one in the history of the game better epitomizes a five tool player than Willie Mays. There were others who had five tools but there was still one or two of those tools where you’d say okay, there were pretty good. Like Ricky Henderson had some years where he had 20 home runs Sure, but he wasn’t a big home run power guy of course. But he did it all and he did it all at a really really high level. So I just such an admiration for him as someone who considers myself a baseball historian I mean, I was born in 1983 it was years after he was retired in the in the Hall of Fame already but just the you know, whether it’s seeing the clips from the 1950s the catch and
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:18
see the old timers catch in, in 81 in the New York he played an old timers. I don’t remember that could find it find a video of it. He he made a basket catch in a Mets uniform at Shea Stadium in an old timers game. Believe was at 182 like Brooks famously at home run one time at RFK Stadium it was that era but they weren’t wearing those al NL that he was wearing a Mets jersey was 51 years old. And he made a basket catch in left centerfield is centerfielder on the Ronnie fell and a bunch guys came on the egg crane pulled some other old timers came or scrape them up or whatever But I even saw that show up on my timeline. And then there’s just like the pop culture part of him being and Bewitched, you know, and like what? What stature a baseball player of that era would have in the 50s and 60s where football players weren’t really celebrities yet until Nemeth came along in the 70s. Right. And you mentioned Willie Mays, it’s, I never saw him play in person. Obviously, I did see Hank Aaron playing person. So there’s a point of that. And I sort of remember when Clemente died I was five years old my dad was, my dad loved Clemente, even though he loved the pirates, but he loved Clemente 73 World Series is the first World Series I watched as a kid. I remember it pretty pretty well. I was rooting for the Mets because they were playing the A’s and I hated the A’s because the ACE beat the Orioles. Right? And the A’s and Reggie Jackson and Charlie Finley and all the things my father hated the handlebar mustache and all that. So our family that year and like the Mets had just beaten euros and 69 I was not a part of that. But my dad had like, didn’t like the Mets either. So this was like the Mets in the A’s played each other was threatened for a lightning bolt and was bad. But I took him like a loving to lay Agron orange. Rusty stop was the best player on a 73 mats. And Seaver was there. Kruseman those guys, but this was the end for Willie Mays. So I do remember Willie Mays playing in that era where you said falling over himself. And yeah, you know, my father would always say a shadow of his former self. You know what I mean, about Willie Mays that I saw him play at the end of the end of the end is broken down. It would be like saying, I saw Eddie Murray play for the Orioles at the end. Except worse, you lot worse. You know what I mean? So that was my Willie Mays thing. And maybe that factored into how I felt about him that he was an old man when I saw him play or whatever. And I know how great he was. I know 660. I know all of that. Right? I’m a baseball guy. But his passing this week, the weirdest part about it for me was I was like, I didn’t realize he was still alive because it’s baseball, I guess, does a poor job that everybody knew Ted Williams was alive at the end of his life, because they paraded him around and he was a part of the sport. He was a part of the thing, right? Everybody here knew Brooks was alive because Brooks showed up here. Brooks was maybe in San Francisco was that way, but Willie Mays was I haven’t heard Willie Mays his name in 10 years, and in any sort of way to know he was alive or to hear him feeded which is why it was a little weird for you 48 hours after his death to say we’re doing a Willie Mays segment because I didn’t know he was your favorite. But I
Luke Jones 12:43
8mean, like I said, not my favorite. But as far as just I love baseball history. There’s such a, to your point, romantic, you know, mythical all those
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:54
waves in 99 when I met him, right,
Luke Jones 12:57
but I think so much part of what you just laid out, and I wouldn’t disagree with it. San Francisco west coast, we know that there’s always East Coast bias when we talk about sports. I mean, right down to us complaining about the time that games start at nine o’clock Eastern. Absolutely. But I think what was the shame of it, but I also think it’s going to lead to a pretty cool tribute, I would expect was, I think there had been designs on him being at Rick Woodfield for, for the Negro League game that they were doing this week. And I think he had actually put out a statement, I want to say it was pretty modern day that he couldn’t take and he passed away the following day. So now, did he have a publicist? Or someone put that together? You know, I mean, sure, the giant doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. But I mean, just it was it was his health just a little bit longer,
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:44
he would have I just he would have appeared.
8Luke Jones 13:46
I just think when when we look at the history of sports, I mean, you use the word we romanticize it, we tend to remember it in a way. That’s not exactly how he’s the real thing. But I think he was the real thing. And I even think back to the catch, and there’s been lots of debate as far as whether that’s truly the greatest defensive play in baseball history. I mean, I remember the catch. Jim Edmonds made 20 Some years sober to go the other night, every Matthews Jr. Former Oracle, remember had that unbelievable catch. But I think back to the catch, and I wanted to double check because I knew Russ Hodges was on the call. But it was Jack Brickhouse, you know, calling from BC, you know, the famous call of the catch in the 54 series, and, you know, way back there, way, way, way back and he just, he, he guess he can’t even speak for a moment. And then he says, a catch that must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people. That’s where you look at something and say, Okay, that’s the contemporary commentary in real time. That’s what someone was saying is that happened and he called it an optical illusion. That cat was legit. Anyone who knows what the dimensions were at the polar grounds, which was 475 The dead center, such a cavern, anyone who’s listening just Google it, you know, look it up on what opinion just look at what the dimensions of the polo grounds were. I mean down the line it was nothing but centerfield went on forever. And for him to do that, and I believe it was Larry Doby at second base. He caught that ball and he was so far away from the infield. Larry Doby probably had a chance to tag up in score from second base. That’s, you know, that’s always been the story. But he catches the ball and in one motion spins and throws it back to the infield, it hits the cut off man and keeps the guy from scoring. So you know, that’s one of the legendary plays a baseball and again, it’s kind of like, you know, Ruth Wrigley Field, did he call the shot or not, you know, and there’s tends to be a lot of lot of sentiments out there that that didn’t actually happen, because Charlie root probably would have put it in his ear. And Charlie root even said that it was the pitcher for the Cubs. So we always have the we have these historic, classic moments in baseball, and I think, but I think the catch was very legit. And whether it was the greatest of all time, were on the short list, for him to do that, in that setting. At a pretty still a very early stage of his career. And he had missed a couple, basically a year and a half, you know, being being serving in the military. So for him to be on that stage and to do something like that at such a young age, and then do be in the limelight for another 20 years, almost 20 years after that. Crazy, amazing career that I don’t think there’s hyperbole out there that that would that you would call it hyperbole. You know, I think he’s truly as great as amazing as all the stories, all the numbers, it all checks out. I don’t I don’t think there’s a way to say that Willie Mays was overrated. And again, with a lot of it having to do with you, I think he was the 10th player of color to put to play in the Major Leagues. I mean, this was, you know, a few years after Jackie Robinson and he was the best of that era. There’s no question I,
Nestor J. Aparicio 16:49
I was only in a room with them once that I’m aware of that, you know, and I remember it pretty vividly. I was in San Francisco, I was with Julio having lunch. And he was dropping me off for whatever game three of the World Series in 2002 in San Francisco, and it was simply it was cold it was wet it you know, it was like it was damp in San Francisco. And he dropped me off at the gate and because the the World Series starts earlier, they’re right to five o’clock game time there. So you get to the ballpark at like noon right for like would be like three o’clock here. And I had I had like an early lunch with Julio I’ll never forget this. And he dropped me off at the door and he was coming to the game that night. And I had my press pass. It’s actually the day I met Joe Maddon, I went to sitting in the dugout, the angels dug out with Joe Maddon that day. And as I walked into the stadium that day, a carpool pulled up at the press gate, and three guys got out of it. And it was Willie Mays, Willie McCovey with Canadian crutches. And one Mara shell. Wow. And I walked into the press gate with them. Amaze was wearing that World Series jacket. He threw the first pitch at that night Tony Bennett saying I left my heart in San Francisco. And I had Tony Bennett on the show. I put them on with Haney that afternoon because it was early in the afternoon at that time to be out there. And I saw the picture because I thought that they died. I’m like, I know I met Willie Mays that day. And I know he was wearing like a World Series jacket. But I didn’t take a picture with him. And I remember him being with Marshall. And I saw that picture. It was like coming back to life. 22 years later, I was like I was there because they’re wearing what they were wearing that day as I remembered it out on the field. And I thought, What a fool I was to not go and take a picture with Willie Mays, or say hello to Willie Mays, because we walked into the press gate together. It was like walking with royalty. I mean, there’s merit to it was three of them and a couple of handlers and we all walked in together. And there was nobody there. It wasn’t crowded or anything. But it was like, you remember that? And then you remembered on the day that Willie Mays dies because I haven’t thought about Willie Mays in 22 years to be honest with you.
Luke Jones 19:00
It’s funny that you mentioned that story because I thought this had been John Shea, baseball writer for The San Francisco Chronicle. I don’t think it is because I’m I pulled up his Twitter page and did not see it was a story from that. That same World Series. I believe it was in Anaheim, though. Okay. Willie Mays shows up. He’s at the security gate where presser going in and this is 2002. There’s security. It’s not maybe as crazy as it is today. But there’s still post 911 world all that. But he didn’t have a badge. The security guard wouldn’t let him in. All these media are bringing up. This is Willie Mays, Willie Mays let him in. And apparently John Miller was there of course the great John Miller have so much affinity for him growing up listening to him on Orioles broadcasts. He said, You know, the catch the catch 1950 Like this is him. This is the greatest ballplayer of all time. The security guard was completely unmoved, so they had to wait,
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:57
8but he doesn’t have a pass.
Luke Jones 20:00
But whoever
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:01
told the story and again, I can’t remember it may have been John Miller telling it would be hilarious. Yeah, right. Right. Someone had just made if ever if John Doe were on again, I’m going to ask him about this. Sure, sure. But they said that, you know,
Luke Jones 20:12
he ended up holding court with the media and basically did kind of an impromptu kind of sort of press conference that he was so gracious was not impatient whatsoever. And just, they all these get in all these baseball scribes are they’re just, I mean, think about this. You’re covering the World Series. And yeah, you know, Willie Mays is gonna be there because the giants are playing, but to have that kind of impromptu encounter, and just the hilarity of the security guard. Nope, you don’t have a pass. I don’t care if you’re the greatest baseball player of all time.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 20:40
Well, the craziest thing about me seeing this picture, the picture I put up on my Facebook is Willie Mays thrown out the first pitch, Where in the World Series jacking and I looked, and I see McCovey in the Canadian. And it’s like, I remember walking in the press gate and it was like the same picture of the three guys were on the same thing. And I don’t know it’s a point in time thing. We’re, I guess the one time in your life you meet Willie Mays. You don’t forget it. I was never in a room with mantle. You know what I mean? I’m thinking I was in a room one time with Hank Aaron. I told the story when he died. i He was visiting Ozzie Newsome in the press room at the top of the Georgia Dome. And it was like a preseason game. Like it might have been the day that Vic broke his ankle, or was Delos Thomas broke, right? It might have been that game because it was very sparsely attended. And Hank was literally visit he and Ozzie were friends, like real good, very close. And so they were just like visiting. And they were sitting in the cafeteria just having a meal. It was Hank Aaron there. And I had a camera and everything. And I didn’t think like Yeah, Mr. Aaron, will you take a picture or whatever. I think I took a picture with Billy white choose Johnson that day crazy enough in the elevator shaft. But you remember when you meet someone like that? It’s why people stand in line to get auto. That’s why all of that. But it’s even more so when you Rando bump into somebody and never the rest of your life and the day they die. You’re like, man that made such insight handled that day. He had such an impact on you. You’re like, wow, that was Willie Mays. Yeah.
Luke Jones 22:11
So I mean, I told this story several years ago when
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:13
you meet Reggie Jackson, your wish you didn’t. Yeah, right.
Luke Jones 22:16
8Right. And there are some of those examples. Sure. But everything heard about Willie Mays, and that’s why I wanted to bring up Brooks because brooches are Willie Mays. Everyone had an amazing experience with Brooks Robinson. But yeah, you know, I’ve mentioned this a few years ago when he passed away, but Frank Robinson, it was fan fest going into the 94 season. My dad and I were there. If you recall, you probably don’t. But they actually announced the signing of Lee Smith at Finn fan. I was I was there at the Prescott we encountered Frank Robinson. It must not have been 15 minutes before it was being announced. It was it was in this random hallway. Like we I don’t know if we were lost or trying to find a bathroom or whatever Convention Center had all those halls and you have to keep in mind I was 10 going on. 11 years old at this point in time. I was a real young guy. He couldn’t have been nicer to me and I know there haven’t always been great. You had a good Frank interaction because I had a great one and he was more than willing to sign an autograph. Not he not my dad nor I had a pen so you know not not that did the autograph itself is the memory there.
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:20
Frank rang me up on a three two pitch that was blown away on schmuck calling balls and strikes me a game. Yeah. So I remember you said I remember. I didn’t dislike Frank, I came to terms with how Frank was going to be right. The last thing Frank ever said to me. I was in LA at Camelback Ranch, which is their facility they share with the White Sox brand new facility time. My friend Dennis Mannion was running the Dodgers this is when Frank DecoArt or Frank McCourt and his wife from Baltimore, the only other Evelyn I’ve ever known in my life was the secretary for Jamie McCourt was Evelyn eller. So that was your second Evelyn reference this week for you. And I was in LA and I was at that point, putting together the book that I never finished on Baltimore leadership. I interviewed Frank cush. Jim are all sorts of people I sat with, for long stretches about Baltimore in coaching, and what inspired them to be a leader of men or women depending. And I wanted to get to Frank. He was on the list. He was a manager of the Orioles. He was he was he was great. Or he was a Hall of Famer, it was because he was a manager of the oral I was only interviewing leaders. I interviewed Sam Palazzo people that had had led things you know, I was looking for football coaches, basketball coaches, hockey coaches, all of that. And Franken down the hallway and I was I was in the front office of a spring training facility, which is very nice to Camelback Ranch their front office. You made that a little thing they built in Sarasota is nice. Camelback Ranch is a mansion. And I was waiting on Dennis things happening and we were getting tickets stupid. It’s March 10. There was, you know, cactus baseball. And Frank came down the hallway. And I saw him and he saw me and I wanted to introduce in my wife, I’m proud to have a new wife and like all that it’s probably 2007 or eight. He’d never met my wife. And he came down the hallway. And he it was it was so frank nest is talking to you, you know, I talking to you. That’s the last thing you said to me. Next to you, in a way talking to you. Yeah. But he didn’t dislike me. He was kind of stick right his stick and I’ve heard that was the hard time. You know, I you know, like, but he wasn’t gonna sit into my book with me. He never did my show. As long as he knew me. He did do my show. He did my show when he was the cop for Major League Baseball when he was meeting. Fine. Yeah, when he was discipline. He did my national show after some stupid Brawl thing. When Gunnar Henderson charged the madness that it didn’t charge the mound, and they had to mete out fines. Frank came on and did seven and he you know, Franklin disliked me. Frank was just irascible. That’s all. I don’t. I think Reggie Jackson was there is a real prick. I think Frank was just tired. I don’t know say I never held it against Frank. But I wish Frank Well, I wish I had better stories and the stories I have about Frank. I really do. This also
Luke Jones 26:23
goes back to what I had mentioned about maize and him being so Apple, you know, so friendly say this about Louis. That’s a that’s a you think backup,
Nestor J. Aparicio 26:32
friendliest guy in the world. I mean, it’s just and Louie didn’t speak the language and Louie got hazed, and Louie got picked on by Tabasco and all these guys. Like in the real world, I think, you know, Louis, to all of his life felt slighted, he was smaller, he was picked on, didn’t speak the language. He sold tickets. He didn’t get paid for that. He was reserved, like Brooks and Steve Carlton and everybody else. Right. So I just think there’s something about players of that era watching. I don’t know Juan Soto run into third baseman and knock them out and they’re making $400 million, and they don’t care. I think there’s real distance between all of the players of that era, Palmer included, and the players of this era and toughness, dedication to the game, money, money, money, all of that. The Old Guard has a bone to pick but Willie Mays got 1000s of dollars to sign his name for 50 years of his life. So sort of my cousin So sure,
8Luke Jones 27:32
but But I mean, this goes back to you know, part of the mystique for Willie Mays is again those clips of him being in Harlem playing stickball with a bunch of kids literally
Nestor J. Aparicio 27:40
in the game, but he didn’t take the piss when they wouldn’t let him into the stadium in Anaheim in 2000. That’s the thing like he was chill. He was chill about I think Frank would have lost his mind and said, You know,
Luke Jones 27:49
I’m not. I’m not even saying that
Nestor J. Aparicio 27:52
8he didn’t have a right to
Luke Jones 27:53
be ticked off there. But because it’s Willie Mays, but he bought by all account by this account that I saw on it again, it was on Twitter somewhere. It was a legit, it might it might have been Bob Nightingale, I’m not sure even sure but just spoke to what kind of person he was. And when you think about that, again, you think about the era in which he played where there are no caveats there are no Yeah, buts about when he played I mean, he was, you know, game had been integrated. I mean, it’s considered one of the great eras a Major League history, and his numbers were just unbelievable. I mean, again, I mean, you’re just get the back of the bubble gum. There’s nothing about it where you say, oh, okay, well, you didn’t really run that well, or he wasn’t a great defensive player or, you know, he had too much swing and miss in his game or he didn’t hit a lot of home runs or did everything and he did everything at such an elite level. I mean, again, anytime we talk about a five tool player, I mean, was it just a five tool player, he excelled in all five so
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:53
you may run like a maze but you know what?
Luke Jones 28:56
You made mention of the pop culture references a major league and Willie Mays haze, which is that in bold Durham I mean I love Field of Dreams as well. I mean, obviously that’s more romantic but
8Nestor J. Aparicio 29:08
I haven’t seen Field of Dreams yet.
Luke Jones 29:09
You’ve not seen Field of Dreams. Go ahead, man. I did I
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:13
wrote of you how you would clarify I’ll admit that I hadn’t seen Top Gun did I not do that? And now he’s the biggest star in the world but
Luke Jones 29:25
8I thought about that because that he was in that movie that comedy that came out not long ago and I thought about that but wait a second though. I know you’re not a big movie guy. So I wasn’t shocked that you hadn’t seen top. Don’t do this today. If you’ve not seen Field of Dreams Moeller did this if you told me that you
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:41
every dollar that he would say let’s stop the show. You’re going to my house and I can’t.
Luke Jones 29:46
I just watched it again. Two weeks ago for probably the 300th time
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:50
in my life. You may find this hard got teary eyed again. You may find this hard to believe but you were in Arlington last year when we were being discriminated against for me. I don’t have the romanticism for baseball. that you have. Yeah. You know, but again if the whistler called you six weeks ago and spoke to you the way I was spoken to, you know, and that went on for 20 years, the romanticism of this game baseball this movie came out long romanticize baseball. It’s not romantic to me that’s in the way it is to just
8Luke Jones 30:20
surprise you. To me that movie I was just surprised because I bought
Nestor J. Aparicio 30:27
them and which leads us to our next topic and then we’re gonna go watch the game work Costas Lucas here. We’re trying to stay away from all things oriels Yankees Astros so we do a meaningful segment all courtesy of our friends at the Maryland lottery. I have the Gold Rush sevens doublers to give away our friends at Liberty peer solutions, keeping our water clean as well as Jiffy Lube. We are Pappas on Tuesday. Luke will not be there. He will be minding to baseball and the Cleveland guardians and all that stuff this week. Alright, so while we’re on romanticism, we did Willie Mays aparece show we rag on Frank, we got Yankees Oreos, all that stuff. And maybe we’ll have another conversation about maybe we won’t because we’re really close to this and you’re making babies and having vacations or not making babies families making babies all star just want to clarify that forever. All Star All Star game all star value all star All Star all star. It’s an Arlington this year. All of the Orioles brass wearing their little funny ties and little heads on them. And I see that they’re sort of like incenting people to vote, which is weird. I go back to ballot stuffing and my dad punch in a little cards for Aparicio. And I did all that I miss taken out my dad’s keys and yeah, yeah, that was way we did it. Yeah, yeah. And it’s long gone now. Yeah. Where are you on on because we’re going to hear a little bit of next coming two, three weeks. We have a lot of guys that are worthy. Um, you know,
Luke Jones 31:47
Gunner Henderson, Adley rutschman. Corbin burns, I think they’re all locks at this point. Whether they’re going to start or not. I mean, depends on the voting, but I think their locks. I think Jordan Westberg has a shot. I think Ryan mountcastle has a shot just because there’s look around the American Thomas palmiero. It’s not Yeah, we’re a long ways away from that. So. So yeah, this can be interesting. And, you know, I don’t know if there’s the juice for the Oscars. Certainly not the juicer was 20 or 30 years ago. But that’s every sport at this point in time. I mean, do we even say what the Pro Bowl has become? Anyone who’s tuned into the NBA All Star game in recent years? I still think
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:24
8they still play the NHL. And it’s like,
Luke Jones 32:27
I mean, I can’t speak with any. I mean, I don’t watch. This is the hardest
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:31
part of getting like you and I right now, three weeks out. We’re talking about it once. You and I are serious cats. We will talk about it the day that they announced it you will have a kiss on the cheek, there’ll be a text and a thing or whatever, but it’s not. And when we’re trying to get the all star game here it’s uncertain. I guess we will I just when we talk about Willie Mays or Frank, part of it is how many all star games in the all star games they shined on and, and the game meant something. And once you get a relevant team with these great players, you don’t need to tell me Adley rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are all stars to advance in some meaningless game. The romanticism is going up that, you know, this is the romanticism of the game being depleted to some degree, it’s
Luke Jones 33:15
depleted. However, I will say I will still maintain of the four major sports and they’re all star games, it’s the closest thing that actually still looks like that sport. Now, my biggest pet peeve in recent years, has been the uniform. Oh, right. How we’ve gone from what was always such to me such a, I don’t want to say beautiful, that would be too much. Well,
8Nestor J. Aparicio 33:37
if you pull up the 78 national legal story, I’ll tell you a contrast
Luke Jones 33:40
in uniform jersey to Jersey team to team, American League National League One team wearing the home whites, the other team wearing the road race, or if you get into the 70s and you know the pirates are where they’re alternates and different stuff like that. But now that they’ve done these generic American National League uniforms, I hate it. I really hate it. That would be the first thing I would try to fix. This
Nestor J. Aparicio 34:06
picture shows up on my timeline from time to time I’m in that seven eight All Star Anderson looks in there. Right? Look it out. Good day Parker looks in there even though that pops. I mean, you know, like those guys, I
Luke Jones 34:17
8mean, I know I’ll modernize it a little bit and say, show me the team photo of 1993 and I can hear the fans at Camden Yards bluing or doing all the Blue Jays coming out from the dugout. Right and see, you know, gassed and what happened in the ninth inning of that game, obviously, but you know, so much of this and we talked about this when interleague play rolled in a couple of weeks ago, you know, I forget who they were even playing it Oreos or even playing at the time might have been Atlanta. And we said that, you know that that mystique of Al vers Nl and the novelty of that. I mean, that’s so far gone at this point. I mean, we’re at a point now where you play every team in baseball at least for one series every year now so you’re never going to
Nestor J. Aparicio 34:57
Zack Wheeler versus Gunnar Henderson and All Star game does it mean is right?
Luke Jones 35:01
Because you saw it a month earlier. Now, that’s not to say that I’m, I certainly wouldn’t want to see it go away. I certainly want to want to see it become what the Pro Bowl was become. We’re at this point, it’s just like, just named the taint teams and be done with it. I mean, really, like we’re really doing this at this point in time, like, but it’s the it’s the only sport now that kind of still feels like baseball. Well, we have real stars here now too. So and that helps, too. I mean, obviously, but, but in terms of, you know, I think back to what was it 94 When the National League won and that there had been a drought you know, I’ve been in them beaten the ACL I mean, back in the 70s What the NFL won for years and years. I mean, you don’t have any of that anymore. I mean, not even close to that one. The league’s play each other in the regular season, and then they wear their pajamas in the middle. Oh, there’s I mean, putting that aside, the player movement now is just so frequently, most these guys boy end up having played in the AFL in the NFL over the course of their career so so that part of it there’s nothing you can do to recapture that. I mean, I know they’ve they’ve pondered, altering the format if they really
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:08
want to do something here’s my idea. Okay. Make make me Rob Manfred. The world they were throwback 78 uniforms every year. That’s what they should do wear throwback uniforms. Whoever’s with the Padres. I’ll tell you right now Manny Machado should have on whatever when he was wearing that night right now,
8Luke Jones 36:25
I liked I really liked that.
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:27
I bet Ellie Dela Cruz wearing a well, they all know they have similar, but they were their pajamas. And since but
Luke Jones 36:32
in terms of anything you could do to recapture that Mystique, I just don’t think you’re gonna have that. I just, I’ve heard some people talk about could you do North America versus the world and kind of do an all star game that way? Well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:45
8that’s a hockey idea. You know, I
Luke Jones 36:48
mean, I’m not completely opposed to it. But at the same time, I just think we’re, we’re chasing a ghost. I mean, I think that’s where we are with the all star game. And like I said, it’s still, I’d still much prefer, it’s not even close.
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:00
Don’t say that next year when Mr. Rubenstein is lobbying the 29 All Star game,
Luke Jones 37:04
I think the event is still, if it’s in your city, I think the event is still very attractive, we live longer, but the idea of like, for example, in contrast, if the NFL, even though it would be in late January or early February, so it would never happen. Anyway, if the NFL talked about bringing the Pro Bowl to Baltimore, I would just be like, a flag football game like and we do move
8Nestor J. Aparicio 37:25
over to convention or
Luke Jones 37:26
have sign on. Exactly, exactly. Like yeah, don’t play paper fool. Do it Salah instead with a big banquet and do it, you know, charitable ties, all that. So basically, baseball still has a game. It’s still mostly ugly uniforms aside resembles the game. You know, it’s not perfect. pitchers have only gotten an inning or two for since I was a kid dude,
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:49
I was in Milwaukee and
Luke Jones 37:50
8went well, I mean, yeah, that was that was such a fiasco. However, I will maintain and they’ve since corrected that. Obviously. They made a mistake going in the opposite direction of this home field. And suddenly you had some guy for the the last place Orioles or the last place Tampa Bay Devil Rays decided who was going to have home field advantage. I mean, that wasn’t the right solution either. But you know that that was such a imperfect storm of circumstances that led to that. But, you know, the All Star game, I’m okay with it. I’m at peace with the idea that it’s just not going to be what it was in 1994, let alone 1974 1964. I mean, I mean, it’s just a different environment in which they play. But for the most part, players that show up, players are willing to play. You know, it’s a little tricky with the pitching side of things, obviously. And that’s where I, if I have a concern for the game itself, it’s pitching injuries and the health of pitchers and that being such a talking point. I do wonder what the future of the game is long term.
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:54
You’re religious man. Do you pray as Deacon Jones on Sunday for the health of Grayson Rodriguez and Corbin burns? You better start this this is a summer we got it. We get we need some more pray for more important things. But sure, there’s nothing more important than our number one starter. I mean, go look at it. I can’t tell the audience is all the more important.
Luke Jones 39:12
I mean, I’ve said it you know, we’ve talked about it and you know, we’re not going to bring up the details. Well, if somebody else gets hurt, we’ll have to talk about it again. That’s you know, that’s the big thing I mean, at this point in time, you know, they’re kind of back to where they were last year in terms of it was Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez now it’s burns and Grayson Rodman you guys and obviously no Bradish but boy, you need another arm and you just hope you pray. I just said it pray. So there you go. All right. We’re praying but that to keep those guys healthy. There’s no so
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:43
we’re Costas Lucas here. We’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour. There’s been no crab cakes in this segment, but we are about to retire to the bar to watch the Royals in the Yankees. You’ll have the outcome of that whenever you listen to this, and Luke and I’ll be after all weekend with Houston and obviously Cleveland next week. Up The cost is before your uses of your time you were here for maybe the cup of Super Bowl or no you came out I was here for I believe you did Pappas that week. Didn’t you? Didn’t you? Didn’t you come up? Oh, yeah. I’ve done my February in here if you haven’t done the show with me here, right. We haven’t done the show together here. I don’t think the last so I just don’t know what you eat. I’m trying to figure out what you’re getting on the kettle on the
8Luke Jones 40:22
tin we do. Leading up to Super Bowl 47. And we do a show here with Brian McKinney. That’s when I was with my mother and your father was awesome picture of your mom. God rest her soul and in Bryan McKinney cool right here.
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:35
One of the coolest pictures out here.
Luke Jones 40:37
I mean, it’s it’s right up there with like, you know, see Andre the Giant next to me, you
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:41
8know really is the picture of my mother with Bryant McKinney here. My mother was alive. It looks like something out of one of those carnivals from 100 years ago where the world’s biggest man and the world’s smallest lady are in the same picture you know like the Ludlow guy that was a tall with a with a midget you know like that looks like that. Like Eddie Goodell or like Eddie Goodell batting you know, next to take PLU skiers I don’t know it’s
Luke Jones 41:06
or the more recent picture it was Aaron judge next to Jose l today which and the foreground was a little wonky but yeah, Aaron judge is like looks like he’s twice as big
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:16
and fitness pot. Yeah, exactly. My mother looks like she could fit in. Bryan McKinney spot. Oh, so Luke has been here he has of Essex soil and heritage was in Dundalk cousins mixed in I think as well. What do you got? You? I don’t know. I mean, is your seafood you don’t eat or do I not know about I’m not like oysters and clams. You’re not? See I thought you seem like a little bit much. I’m
Luke Jones 41:38
much more crab Shrimp. Shrimp. Of course I am. gallops you love scallops. I really like those are my main three videotapes, some fish to um, you know, I’m not not It’s not like I won’t try other stuff. But those are my go to.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 41:53
Here’s what I’m ordering when we get up because I had a Greek salad this morning. I had the fried shrimp which are my favorite. I had that for lunch. I haven’t had any crap get nothing during the show. I’ve been doing radio for three hours and waiting on the game waiting on you. I’m gonna get us some crab Imperial stuffed mushrooms. And then I’m gonna get I had some Oysters Rockefeller too, because we’re doing the oyster tour. And then I’m gonna get a bowl of soup. But the one thing that that I haven’t had in a couple of years is just some old fashioned steamed shrimp. Obey onions and beer. And we’ll peel that’s a good choice. He’ll any we’re gonna get ice cold draught beer. Mr. Costas. He always wants to buy me free beer here and I always turn him down. I’m taking your free beer today because it’s so we’re here cost this is all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery, the Gold Rush Chevron’s. doublers Luke Jones is here. Big appreciation Chris Emery against the rock and roll from 100.7 today my friend who lives here in Edgemere. And of course it did an hour with Jessica valus. I keep saying Harford design, she now has a new group. The CCC, which you can hear in our audio vault as well. She has put together our all new Baltimore positive.com website still has ellipses on the excerpts, I’m pissed about that she knows that the ellipses are gonna go away. So by the time you find it, the website will be exactly the way we want it, then we’re gonna get the mobile right and we’re gonna launch the app. We have a lot of things to do around here, and a lot of new sponsors to do them with our friends at Liberty, pure solutions, keeping our water clean, wise markets with us again for another annual deal as is the Maryland lottery and our sponsorship there. And one of our newer sponsors but one of our older sponsors Jiffy Lube, multi care with us for all of the Maryland crab cake tours Tuesday. We’re firing up near where I live up in Parkville. We’re going to be at Pappas in Parkville. From two until five on Friday. I’ve got some great guests coming out. I’ve been chasing Barry Stitz former Baltimore blast superstar athletic director at Archbishop Curley and the mighty friars. They have a major league kid played for the mariners now. The curly graduates fryer alums suspense is going to join me he’s been stalking me for a couple years. We played little league together he was playing shortstop tonight, Ritchie passed struck me out on the three two outside pitch that forced us we lost the World Series that year. It was my fault. You wonder why I am the way I am 45 years later 1978 Mr. Bush thinks it’s because I swim in the pool that day I wore myself out, you know, kind of watch out. It was low and outside I’m telling.
Luke Jones 44:20
Mickey told rocky before the big fight apologist when
Nestor J. Aparicio 44:23
I told Frank Robinson Luke Jones can be found at Baltimore, Luke, I can be found anywhere the good internet travels, we would encourage you to check out our 25th anniversary documentary, especially the best part comes around like minute 22 When Luke appears for about four minutes and comes into my life so you can check that out at Baltimore positive.com Big thanks to our friends at Costas for feeding us drinkin us treating us right in air conditioned comfort before they bring all the crabs out here. It’s 100 degrees outside but it is ready for Oriole baseball to beat the New York Yankees here back for more on wn st we are Baltimore positive.com Stay with us
Luke Jones and Nestor gather for a baseball history discussion on the greatness of WIllie Mays and heroes lost
