Beating the Yankees is always a rare and beautiful sight for any Orioles fan to witness and behold. But, as Nestor Aparicio explained to Luke Jones, it’s more fun whilst sitting over the New York dugout heckling Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo every time they fail in another Orioles Magic beat down of the Bronx Bombers at Camden Yards with friends.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
good, orioles, games, yankees, baseball, team, thursday, baltimore, played, ballpark, pitch, fans, weekend, picture, rodriguez, years, documentary, rubenstein, dugout, greg
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor J. Aparicio
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home we are W n s t TAS Baltimore. Baltimore positive positively into a beautiful weekend where I was like saying this when the Orioles are we should call Cincinnati, Cincinnati. The Orioles are going to Cincinnati. And it’s sort of weird. You know, it’s sort of weird. We’re in the conference with the Bengals all these years and I’ve been to Cincinnati a million times and think about riverfront stadium and all that. But I’ve only been in the new ballpark like twice had a beautiful hotdog there and we’re going to get a whole weekend of that I I wore my SPF 50 And I went down to fade Lee’s and I know Luke now understands fade leaves in the legend a deep fly ball from Camden Yards. I was down at Lexington market. We’re going to be giving away the Pac Man scratch offs next Friday, when the Orioles returned against the Arizona Diamondbacks. And my wife said where do they go after they go to Cincinnati like Washington so they sort of are halfway home you’re most of the next week. But certainly over the weekend, we’ll be there to until five my thanks to Liberty pure solutions as well as Jiffy Lube multi care for putting us out on the road. Also big thanks to our friends at curio wellness and foreign daughter. I have my I’m a blunt person shirt on to make you giggle and tidur and the 25th anniversary documentaries that they have sponsored our 25th anniversary celebration my little cupcake here and all that stuff. That is not any special guests a regular cupcake that’s there’s no THC at all or any sort of product in this particular cupcake. But the 420 specials all sort of broke down a system. When he came on this week. We talked about it, but I’m very very appreciative. They helped us put together the documentary. It is out now snipping it but you can go watch it. Lots of people have reached back to me with beautiful words tears, cheers, beers, questions, answers, Hey, I didn’t know that all of that kind of cool stuff. But all of that happened to me. Curio sent me to the ballpark Thursday, and that Denise had extra tickets and like I said, Okay, and next thing you know, Chris pica, who’s a ghost is melting in the fifth row under his own sunscreen. Greg Landry, the executive producer of no one listens. everyone hears the documentary was with me. He I don’t know a bigger Oriole fan than Greg. I’ve learned a lot about Greg doing this movie. Greg played baseball at UMBC. It was an outfielder like a division one baseball player. And I’m like, that’s pretty good baseball player Division One baseball player. So that’s another part of Greg Landry is like I said I should do a documentary on YouTube. So he went to the ballpark with us and then I dragged Brian Poole, my, my seventh grade Dundalk via overly legal friend, and good man and big Oriole fan with his angry bird shirt on and we slathered up 50. And, look, I’m going to tell you, we hazed Juan Soto, we razzed Aaron judge we annihilated Anthony Rizzo. We were on the on deck circle. And I’ve told Wendy and I’ll tell anybody curio Will anybody with seats down there. If they don’t give me my press pass back soon, I’m going to make a full time job is sitting behind the visitors dugout and just becoming the next Robin Ficker because we had a really, really good time. And I’ll tell you this, when I went to check in loop, when I went to check in on my phone like I wanted to, I took a picture of the four of us, you’d probably saw it on the Facebook or add on the Instagram world or out in the interwebs. And when I went to check in the first place that popped up was Yankee Stadium south with 158 check ins as sort of a little bit of a Foursquare joke, I guess at Camden Yards. But I checked in at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Kyle Brad has checked in for four and two thirds the bullpen checked in every you checked in I checked in and I had a really good day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday and kisses to everyone out there that said really nice things to me and yelled at me and took pictures and goofed off and offered to find me free beer. I am appreciative. Had a good time, dude. And it this is tell the baseball team to watch Luke it really is you’re seeing it every night.
Luke Jones 04:05
It is and as I said to you earlier this week, it’s nothing new. I mean, I went back and look since July 1 of two years ago, they’re 60 games over 500. I mean this. This is no longer the rebuild at the turn of the corner. This isn’t even the upstart that surprised the baseball world last year. They’re just a really good baseball team. And as I wrote at Baltimore positive.com. I’m going to continue to say it there are no big series in late April or late May, other than their one of 162 or one of how many series you play. I’m not sure how many statements really exist in early May, when we’re roughly 30 games into the baseball season. But if they do exist the Orioles certainly made one this week and I think if nothing else, this was a reminder to the Yankees who finished what was it? I mean, 19 games behind the Royals last year, whatever it was Off the top of my head and to the rest of the American League East that the Orioles are the team to beat in this division. And that’s not to say the Yankees are going anywhere. That’s not to say we should be dismissing the rest of the elite, despite the fact that they’re not off to the same start as the Orioles with the Yankees. But I think what we saw this week was first of all, really good four games overall, I mean, each of these games other than Thursday’s finale, The losing team brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning or later, but the Orioles got the best of the Yankees and they take three out of four and the team that was in first place for most of the month of April, is now looking up at the Orioles. I’ll be at only buy a game going into this weekend series in Cincinnati. So a good week of baseball didn’t go perfectly and we’ll get to Grayson Rodriguez in a moment. But you said it the story on Thursday to me was clearly the return of Kyle Bradish and foreign two thirds you just look at the box score you’d say okay, wait didn’t get through five innings while he was on a pitch count. And to understanding where he’s been over the last two and a half months, three months. He looked like a wild radish the fastball velocity held firm. He threw his secondary pitches effectively. He held the Yankees to one run over for him to own 84 inches because his last rehab start was at I think 77 So he wasn’t going to go all the way up to 100. But that looked like Kyle Bradish and but
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:24
by the way, so it was 100 degrees. You know it was it was really really really hot. I can tell you is a guy who was sitting down off the dugout right? By the Yankees dugout it also the Macan thing cost him 50 pitches early on, but it was almost like situational pitching like it’s like all right, Kyle, you’re working the rookie mound down in Sarasota trying to get worked out it’s hot as hell it’s getting humid out let’s situationally put the Yankees in put a couple of guys on you know and I mean he worked out of it and and then the Orioles of course loaded the bases and couldn’t squeeze you know oh but Matteo I’m a when McCann is playing it’s when the sort of the B squads there you’re bringing the picture back. They’re gonna figure means out this weekend. I have never and I went with my three dudes who are oral historians like when you start mentioning Chico Simone to Chris pica Are you mentioned Jim Dwyer to Greg Landry? Are you mentioned you know Kiko Garcia to Brian Poole the guys I’m with these are legitimate dudes. These are OG Oriole people. And we were having a crab cake and a beard fade the same as you and me except they didn’t recognize me. I came Memorial jersey, like I ordered food. They’re like, Oh, Nestor, I’m like, Yeah, it’s cool. I’m just you’re having a beer. They’re like, we don’t recognize you when you’re not like doing radio and I’m like, Okay, well, I’m here. I’m just hanging. So we were talking ball. And like I don’t and I know Look, the place isn’t packed. We’ll talk about that was Yankees Yankee fans everywhere, and the vibe down by the dugout. Today was 85% Yankee fans behind the dugout like this. The seats were I was, and I heard Spanish being spoken in every direction. There were Spanish hecklers, Puerto Rican do that was like, really into and having a good time. But it was boisterous behind it. I mean, there was no problem with me heckling. I wasn’t like it was but it was crazy. And it was baseball. And it was fever pitch. I mean, what a situation for Bradish to come back into, as opposed to the let’s ease tax at Holiday Inn at Fenway Park. I mean, there’s no off days for this team, right? Every game every inning, every situation, every page is loaded. Because the Yankees are going to have footsteps and as much as I’ve peed on Toronto, and somebody’s going to take a run at them. You You scare me with the Tampa Bay, start comparing it to the 84 Tigers and all of that stuff. Like, you know, I’m not a rearview mirror guy. But like, they’ll be footsteps before the year is over. And there’s gonna be problems. And the Grayson Rodriguez thing is problem one. I mean, it’s like whack a mole, do we get Bradish back in Rodriguez, what you know, it’s, but this kind of conversation went on with me and my boys for the minute I picked them up at 1045 in the morning, until we melted our asses off. And I dropped them off in Loch Raven at 430. Because the games get over kind of quick. But I mean, I had a great baseball day just talking baseball and hearing baseball around me all day. But I’ve never seen anything like this team. And I mean, I mean that I mean, I don’t look man, my track record stands for what it is I I don’t know what this team is capable of the potential Rubenstein is going to do. And the number one question for me everywhere I go is you get your press pass back. I swear to God that I hear that more than I hear any other question. And I don’t know. But like the question, I have no question as to whether this team is going to be good, because this is fun. Baseball and if you love baseball, but this is a recruitment tool for the people who aren’t coming, because it’s um, it’s fun. It’s just a lot of fun.
Luke Jones 10:03
Yeah, like I said, I mean, it’s been a lot of fun for a while now. I mean, this isn’t something brand new. I’m not surprised that the Orioles are 2011
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:10
I mean, let me just put it that way like, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to continue quite at this pace, you know at the exact winning percentage they are right if I had told you Bradish wasn’t going to pit let me go through the bad things right Bradish wasn’t going to pitch holiday was going to come up and fail. They still wouldn’t have a closer I mean, I’m just giving you the you know, all the Achilles heels in the team or whatever the disappointments without telling you about cows or without telling about Westford, you know, without making the case for how Kramer has stepped up and they haven’t had a whole lot of really bad starts, right. But they’ve also had a lot go wrong. Bradish and Rodriguez, it’s it’s it’s Derby Day, and Bradish and Rodriguez are both Miss starts. And they’re 2011.
Luke Jones 10:54
Well, Grace Rodriguez hasn’t missed a start yet. But I understand that a lot. They’ve also had a lot of things go well, though. I mean, look, this is baseball. I mean, the Yankees haven’t had a pitch thrown by the reigning Cy Young Award winner, the top of their rotation. So that’s just part of it. But they’re really good. They lead the league in homeruns. The bats actually had cooled off what they hadn’t scored in 15 innings before they finally broke out on Thursday afternoon, but but your points well taken and I think if nothing else, and we’ll get to Grayson Rodriguez, but with Bradish coming back, because I’m gonna stick with him because he was their best pitcher last year. I mean, he was their best starting pitcher. He was their ace. He was their game, one starter, and obviously they have burns now but Bradish if he’s healthy and right, and you’re knocking on wood and you’re crossing your fingers and you’re saying prayers that he wakes up on Friday morning and feels good and he feels good after his bullpen and he feels good after his next start. There’s going to be that for a while. I mean, Brandon Hyde kind of said tongue in cheek that you kind of feel that way about everyone in baseball these days with the state of elbow injuries. And in Grayson Rodriguez’s case of shoulder inflammation. I mean, it’s just, it’s guys are throwing hard and they’re throwing it with ridiculous spin and break in movement. I mean, it’s just, it’s wild. Go look at the Yankees back into the bullpen. And the way Holmes was throwing the ball the other night, and you see the ridiculous insane break, he gets one way or the other, you know, on pitches that look exactly the same out of the hand. So but there’s a consequence to that and guys get hurt. And we’re seeing that but for the Orioles. They’ve got a lot of depth. The lineup depth is Thursday wasn’t the best example of this, although they got contributions. But on any given night, you feel really good about one through eight in the lineup, at the very least, you know, we can talk about a Reus you know, when he’s out there, or whoever it might be McCann
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:43
Ryan was getting her pistol on in the first inning by fans around me, right? Because I’m hearing all of this. And, you know, it really was an earful to hear this man behind me who had watched baseball a long time and didn’t know much. You know, just if I rattled off the things that were being said around me, it was sort of it was a it was almost sort of like, you should listen to Luke and I a little more. He’s come to Baltimore positive a little bit more often, or probably 30 years ago to learn a bit a little bit more. But I am amazed at the pushing of the right buttons. Part of this that buck was, you know, Buck was great at that, you know, the Ryan Flaherty’s getting the big hits and every night there’s a different star and you know, all of that tea gardens and you know, names of of Oriole passed, right. But this sort of is the same thing where people can question whoever is at the end of that they’re not questioning anybody, Henderson or rutschman, or whatever, but around the edges of the lineup. The kids got to play somedays. Right. I mean, you have to you have to give guys your your one of the guys big time for Hey, man, Mullins, 120 530 games, all of these guys, we have enough players, and enough depth to let every you know, let you’re gonna bring her set up, let him bat let him play. And I have no fear of any of that. And I also think that they are so analytical, so nerdy. And I don’t know this because I’m not in there to ask them questions. And I wish I were because I’ve learned things that their matchups make all the sense in the world to them. This isn’t, Oh, it’s this day. We got to do this there are there three steps ahead, which is why they’re 2011. Right.
Luke Jones 14:25
Yeah, and I mean, going back to what you just said, I mean, look, fans fans have a right to trip a little bit about Ryan and kind of because he’s not that good. He was, Look Thursday stung the ball. When they looked when they left the bases loaded. And in the second inning, he smacked that ball. It’s just right at the left fielder and then next time up, it’s a home run to centerfield. But Ryan McKenna is not that good. But you also have to understand how a roster works and we talked about this a little bit with Heston Karstadt since he’s been recalled how he’s played. You know, he’s since his first night in Anaheim where he did get the start. He started once you know gotta hit on Wednesday night, but he hasn’t played and we kind of explain why he’s not strong defensively. He’s left handed. And they already have left handed bats. Ryan O’Hearn is essentially blocking Heston curse dad. And look, Rhino Rhino has been really good. Are you gonna sit here and say you want him to sit on the bench? So so there’s some of that. So what that means is you have someone like Ryan McKenna, who, basically, the new Ryan McKenna, before he got hurt was Austin Hays, you know, in terms of how hot Colton Couser was, although Colin Couser has come back to Earth certainly a little bit here of late, which is fine, he was always going to, but you need role players on your bench who, let’s face it are not going to put up big numbers. But I’ll continue to say it and you as you cited it. There is no one in this lineup other than Gunnar Henderson, who for me is an absolute as long as gunners feeling good. And you don’t feel like he’s banged up and needs a day or he’s under the weather needs a day. He’s the only guy I’m saying 100%, I’m fine with him playing every single day. He’s the only guy that at the end of the year, if you tell me he’s playing 162 I say that’s fine. I mean, it’s one of the best players in baseball at this point. Now a guy looks like he’s going to be an MVP, strong MVP candidate at this stage of the game. So But beyond that, everyone else in that lineup can benefit from some days off here and there and, and Connor can sit you know, every once in a while even you know, I mean, that’s that’s, you know, if he only plays 158 games, I’m okay with that. But everyone else, you know, you can play matchups you can give guy some rest, you can look at the numbers and say, Okay, this is, this guy might be a good fit, not just because it’s a right handed pitcher or a left handed pitcher on the mound. But his profile is a assortment of pitches, this guy actually hits the breaking ball low in a way better. And that’s something that this guy tries to live off of. So go through all those different things. But the point is, and Brandon Hyde would be the first one to tell you this. You can push all the buttons, but you’ve got to have the players to do it. And I think you look at this team. Yeah. Jorge Mateo hits a homerun on Thursday. And he’s looked better with the bat so far this year, albeit playing on a more limited basis than last year, because I think that’s his best fit. I think he’s meant to be more of a reserve outfit, or a reserve infielder, who will face a little bit of left handed pitching from time to time. And he’s played some pretty good defense at second base overall. So that’s fine. And he’s a speed guy for you off the bench a lot of nights. And he can do that for you as well. So you need bench players who have defined skill sets and defined roles. And I’m not going to sit here and say that I expect nor think that Ryan McKenna should be on the roster all year long. But I can understand why he’s on the roster right now. And that’s because the role that Austin Hays was giving them, which was a right handed bat coming off the bench more, because he was struggling and Couser was looking like the better player. But Canada was a better fit for that then Heston curse dad who doesn’t give you that same skill set, you know, blade ending defensive replacement speed, etc. So, you know, they just they’ve got a really good roster, especially on the position player side. I mean, it’s so good. And on the pitching side for as much as there’s some questions in a big picture sense now. I mean, Brad is coming back, but is he going to stay back? Is he going to stay healthy? Is he going to the elbow gonna continue to be okay. And is he going to hold his velocity the way that he did on Thursday? I mean, he averaged 95. Throughout that start, you know, it was even touching 997 A couple of times, I’m throat through his slider, effectively in the way that we saw him throw it last year, so it’s still going to be a collective holding of breath for a while for Kyle Bradish. Let’s put it that way. I don’t I’m not gonna say the rest of his career if he avoids Tommy John surgery and continues to pitch but it’s gonna be a while. But as we saw with Grayson Rodriguez this week, even when you have someone that you don’t have any concerns with, you’re not concerned until suddenly you are right. I mean, the guy wakes up and his shoulders a little a little more sore than normal, you know, the normal soreness from a start and now. Yeah, we’ll see how that plays out. And that doesn’t mean that he’s done or that he’s out long term, but he’s at least out for the next couple of weeks and you want to make sure that structurally, the shoulder is okay. So they’re running through tests. And at the very least, he’s gonna get a couple of weeks off here. But you know, in the meantime, how does Bradish look? So far? So good. He looked like Kyle Bradish on Thursday, and John means making his debut in Cincinnati on Saturday. So, you know, there’s also the trickle down effect. Albert Suarez now moves to the bullpen, you and I’ve talked about him. You liked the arm. He liked the velocity. How’s it look in a bullpen role whether it’s a to winning role, like Jacob Webb gave them the other night in a very improbable save and striking out Aaron judge and going through the Yankees heart of the order. Or maybe maybe Albert Suarez two months from now we’re talking about him being an eighth inning guy that a kid usually closes games for them, or he’s off the roster. Who knows. I mean, it’s just, it’s a long season. And that’s where I’ll continue to go back to not trying to make too much of this for games that but we know it’s 10 games against the Yankees rather than 19 of the past. So that right, that alone tells you that there’s a little more meaning to each of these games. So James McCann said it best, you always get good perspective from the backup catcher, backup catcher, and sometimes the backup quarterback in NFL locker rooms. But he said it look, it’s a lot of games to go with got 130 games to go. We don’t want to make too much out of something in late April, early May. At the same time. We sure as heck don’t want to be in the third week of September looking back and saying, Man, if we just got one more game against the Yankees, or gotten one more game against this team, or one more game against that team, because it all matters. But if you’re not playing the vision, you’re vying for a wildcard and so so you know that going up against other teams that can have some increased meaning as well. But he said we don’t want to look back and say, Boy, we should have done that in April, or we should have done that maybe we should have won that series at the end of April. So from that standpoint, it was a really productive, fruitful week. And I think great way to end the homestand considering on Monday morning, the amount of panic over Craig Kimbrel and the bullpen and losing two out of three to the athletics because hey, they’re Oakland and they stink and they’re moving to Sacramento and and they’re awful. Meanwhile, there are a couple of teams that that division works in them right now. But it’s baseball. And that’s where it’s always important to pump the brakes a little bit when we’re talking about this stage of the season. Whether it’s a team that’s struggling, whether it’s a team that looks great. And here’s your perspective. And that’s why I’m not saying this at all to be dismissive. This was a really good series and a nice early season statement from the Orioles. But if it were last year, and the Orioles were 20 and 11. They’d be five games behind where the Tampa Bay Rays were at this time last year. So it just speaks to you don’t know what’s going to happen. The rays looked like they were going to run away with it. Even as late as early July. I think the Orioles were six games out, you know, not even to the All Star break and six games out already. And they were in first place. I think, what two and a half, three weeks later. So you know it. It’s still early, but you’re spot on and assessing this team and saying, Yeah, they’ve got some questions here. And they’re not everything’s gone perfectly, but there is just so much to like. And I think what’s so exciting is there’s a higher ceiling there for them to continue to try to strive for and reach with the pitching with Jackson holiday coming back at some point with a guy like a Heston Karstadt with someone like Kobe mayo, who continues to tear the cover off at at Norfolk. So there are other names that will be in the mix at some point in time, whether it’s this year or next year. But in the meantime, this is already a really good baseball team. And it’s playing out that way as they’re 2011 through basically the first fifth of the season. We see their plan close to 667 ball and you’ve gotta love that. Luke
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:17
Jones is here. He was there I was there we was there at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday the birds away all weekend taken on the Cincinnati Reds. A couple observation you know, we just ease through this week and talk about the Yankees and stuff I mean, they had their clothes or have an arm problem they have their number to start or have a an arm problem. They have their number one starter get beaten around a little bit. And you know they come out of this smelling like roses i i would think that the one thing that I would say psychologically, that changes for me when I put an oil jersey on and I go down there with my buddies and sweat my ass off and sit down on the lower bowl and see how good the team is. See that the place is far far far from empty or filling up at 190 degree day the Yankees are in town it was 80% Yankee fans where I was I would say it was probably 40% Yankees fans in the stadium like in the overall scheme of things that were at the game. But there’s a different thing and all three of the guys with me pica included, we had a conversation about how unpleasant It was to be an Oracle fan forever and ever and ever. Amen. And I’m married to a Red Sox fan, right like during any of those eras where you would go down there and there literally would be 35,000 Red Sox fans in the ballpark. And there’d be 8000 Oriole fans in the ballpark and they’d be given something away that the Red Sox fans don’t even want and the Miguel Tada shirt or something and, and fans not wanting to go to a Yankee game, right you know what I mean? I don’t want to go down there when I’ll go to a game And but I’m not going down there when there’s 25,000 douchebags rooting for the Yankees and my team is has no chance to win. This is I guess my point. Four of us getting getting the car we go down parked car go to fade these inner crabcakes drink or beer. Oreo fans Yankees fans, not a lot of fans not a lot of traffic easy to get in, by the way had an A lot parking pass. Had a little QR code on it. I pulled in nice man wave to me have my name on it. It’s beautiful. I said to the guys who haven’t been in the ALA parking pass. I told the Rick Vaughn story where Rick sent me out to BC back in the 90s. We still fight about that. By the way, shout out to Jim Hedeman in the 25th anniversary documentary, because Vaughan came in this weekend for the Hanuman thing. And the 25th anniversary documentary. There’s a piece that I noticed way into the editing piece way after I knew Hanuman in the press box name and all that stuff. Or take a picture of the press pass in front of the Jim Hanuman press box because Jim and I were colleagues forever. I love Jim. His picture is in the is in the documentary because I had the headline story for the paper. And it was the you know, the front of the paper headline about the changing of the Skipjacks coaches or something Terry Murray and Brian Murray. But he had his picture there. So Jim Hanuman so. So nonetheless, we pull into the lot and we’re there. And we go in, we sit down, and there’s Yankees fans, and they’re fun, boisterous. I mean, I’m in the expensive seats. So nobody’s really a jackwagon too much. I mean, people beers or 15 bucks, it’s, you know, it’s, it’s not a place to be a jackwagon too much. But um, I would say this, the level of banter amongst the fans, and more than the competitive fun part of it. The part for me in an Oriole Jersey, and the three people with me, is we went down to the ballpark expecting them to win, we expect them to play 650 ball this year, we expect that they’re going to be in the playoffs. We sort of know that they’re a better team than the Yankees. You’ve pointed that out every day this week, right? So if they on the field, but we’re like, no, no, no, no. I said to my wife, I’m like, they’re the best team in baseball, like I said to my wife, like, they’re really good. They’re better than they’ve ever, ever, ever been. I’m trying to express that after 21 years of our marriage where they’ve just been so totally awful. And she’s watched the Red Sox win championships, right? That this is one of those periods or runs and I shouldn’t say one of those, because I’ve been around this weight. And for two years, I haven’t had a whole lot of this. I mean, the 97 oriels. When I’m beat people every night, you sort of knew they were going to 96 Oreos weren’t that way. The 14 Orioles there was a level of confidence that you were gonna go out and you know, you were the better team most nights every night at 379 You can make some cases and add one nobody remembers that issue except me. You don’t I’m I’m old enough that I remember being on the bus every night and going out there trying to beat Jim rice and Fred land and figuring out all out. By the way. I’m trying to get Fred Lynn on the show because I’ve just loved Fred Lynn. But the expectation to win and that’s not ness and Greg and Brian and pica going down were jerseys or anybody in the stands or the fun Puerto Rican dude who was yelling and you know, yelling at Spanish, all the players, like he’s wearing his Yankee stuff and whatever. But he knows we’re really good. You know what I mean? He knows he was only heckling Gunnar Henderson and Adley rutschman. Because you weren’t worried about Ryan McCann, and he’s a baseball fan. And baseball fans? No, you have MVPs Cy Young’s you want 101 games. This is not a fluke. It’s not a fake. It’s not anything. But I’m just saying psychologically, they go to the ballpark, expecting to win every day. And they’ve all played on bad teams. And he you know, some of them in this jersey. Right. But there’s an expectation to win that we’ve always had with the Ravens. We’ve had that since Billick. You know, since Ray Lewis, there’s never been a day where losing has ever been acceptable for the Ravens ever. Losing got real comfortable around here for the baseball team. And this expectation part is just so unique, you know, as a fan, as a human as a sky that’s love this forever as the guy that built the place. If you go watch the documentary, you’ll see I sort of love baseball first. And invested in baseball and invested in sports and loving it and wanting this to be what it would be a lot more often than it’s been. I mean, I’m a baseball fan. I understand. You lose, you win. There’s ups, there’s downs, but the malfeasance and the what happened here for 30 years. This is why I fought for all of this is like it’s possible. You know, it needs to be well run, it needs to be well managed. It needs to, you know, it needs to be updated. It needs to be all of that. But it is it’s a pleasure. It’s just as I just didn’t say that out loud. They after I spent a day in my life when I couldn’t be doing anything. And in previous years I was you know, I thought of going to every visit and live two blocks away for 20 years and And somehow it was always about the weather and like who they’re playing in? And do I have other things to do? I made time on Thursday. Right? This is they’re worth making time for because you expect them to win. Yeah, yeah.
Luke Jones 30:13
I mean, I don’t have it. You know, we’ve been talking about this for a while now. And I think what you’re saying and how it applies to people continue will continue to show up from an attendance standpoint, I’ve said this to you. And you know, we’ve talked about this for years, I mean, even going back to even going back to the best years of the Duquette Buck era, and talking about attendance, you’re not going to have the years and decades of damage that was done to any brand, quite frankly. And then it turns around, and it just comes back. It’s not a light switch. It’s a dial. And I think what you’re starting to see in attendance is doing better at this point in the year than it was last year, certainly way better than it was two years ago. And, you know, we’re that doesn’t mean that happens overnight. And, again, we’ve talked about this, are they ever going to get back to a point where there’s 3.7 million people coming to the ballpark on an annual basis? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be three, it can’t be just under three would still be market improvement from where it’s been for a long time. So it can’t mean that they could go
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:22
every day against the Yankees, when they’re really good when you can plan to go you know what I mean? Like so the Yankees? Yeah, I mean, this was the last opportunity and I’m thinking as an entrepreneur look, and anyone that knows Marty Conway’s people be here would say look, you really want to focus on your weekends, you really want to focus on giveaways you know in your promotions and then fill in the blanks when the brewers are in town on a Wednesday you know, try to do something giveaway night dollar dogs beers, whatever, you know, whatever cow night whatever, whatever splash zone Milk the Cow I have called cow’s milk cows with Chick fil A out there you know what I mean? And what cow Ripken? I’m just making a funny now, but um, I get all of that I was just thought the Yankees with good weather with this team and beating Yankees asses, and we got in the car, we were all like talking ish on the way down there. You know how brash is gonna go seven and a third, you know, like, he might go on six, and began to dip gloves. But I guess this, this energy that goes on in my life and my circle and your life and being a baseball nerd and being there, like, and I have all baseball nerds. But I did have an extra ticket on Wednesday night. And I did go through my rolodex to say who do I want to reach to to invite to the game and I went through my Facebook and whatever. And there’s just a lot of people that wouldn’t want to go to a baseball game that I in my life ever no matter what, or people that just would have something else to do or whatever. And I understand all of that. But this is the recruitment level of I would hope that if they win a World Series, and Mr. Rubenstein and Mr. Rifkin do the right thing, including giving me my press credential back amongst a billion other right things, getting television, right, getting digital, right, reaching the young people reaching to, I mean, it’s still so lily white, I’m never gonna give that up. I mean, it’s it’s a thing for white people. It really is. I mean, mainly, and it needs to be more than that in a city of color. It needs to be more than just you and me, it needs to be more than the people that collected baseball cards for 35 years, because we’re not going anywhere. And we’re there and we stayed when it was a dumpster fire for three decades of my life. And they did torturous, awful sadistic things in regard to me and my business and in regards to all sorts of people I knew so so you’re talking about the damage being done to the brand and I agree wholeheartedly. I’m wondering First things first teams great. You know, I don’t know if it’s priced right I you know, I said to Brian, it was fifth inning. You want another beer? The first round was $50 for three right? Do we want another beer? Do we not we want to wait three you know like there there comes they make me make decisions there about money that I that you know I I make it concerts I make we all make a movie theaters wherever we are at bars and restaurants and saying where’s the value? Where’s the there’s a value this is a Marty Conway where’s the value proposition for me to come back? I said really expensive seats that I did not pay for that I would not have paid for it was a $700 day maybe we had at the ballpark for the four of us you know with and we didn’t even eat hotdogs and do all of that crap. It was we went to families you know had nice crap I mean, we made a day of it with four good guys and guys I like and all that but like when I do it again when I do it again and 92 degrees what I’ve preferred to been up in the shade, you know, but I’m not going to complain to to the folks that gave me beautiful seats. I went sat him but I had to get up Get out of there and people were melting older folks. I mean, it was it was hot. It was uncomfortable. And you spent 700 You know so like I’m just giving the weight of being there versus not being there very fairly. It’s not Mr. Anti Angelo’s anymore. Are any of that it’s just more like, I’m not shocked, there are only 23,000 people there and 15,000 of them are, are Yankee, I’m not mean to be 1000 9000 Yankee fans, because that’s pretty much what it was. But I would hope that that’s not acceptable. I would hope that two years from now, if they’ve won 101 games again, and they played the World Series, and maybe one, one, maybe last one, whatever, they’ve signed the head or, you know, a Henderson and rutschman. And like, all of that being equal, this series with this weather against the Yankees, two years from now, there’s a broad, there’s a measurement for me to say, All right, you know, I’m okay with where they are and what you know, whatever, I’m okay with him locking me up. Now. I’m really not, but I’m okay with him reviewing, you know, I’m okay with him reviewing everything, including their television network, including, you know, like all of that and how we, but I’m reviewing them. You know, I went down and review them. And I’m giving honest opinions about all of it about the parking was a great getting in and out ingress egress, like all of that, you know, like, stadium needs updating. I mean, it’s pretty obvious about the dome $600 million into it, when you’re there, you’re feeling things when you’ve been to the new ballpark in Arlington and smelled newer and shinier, and all that but I am, I am so heartened that this has happened, and that they’re good. And that they’re trying to recruit people in in a good way with these players. It seemed like decent people. You know, that’s my report card on it. You know, I don’t know we’re a month into it. And to your point, they’re 2011. And you’re not shocked. You expect them to win. I’m not shocked. I expect them to win. But I don’t expect Rodriguez to be hurt and Bradish to be this and then the you know, and holiday to fail and you know, the things that have gone wrong. But they got a couple of days now coming up. We’ll have some rest on Monday, Thursday, come back. And they smell like a championship caliber team that they’re of that quality. And, and I’ve never gotten three buddies in the car and going down there watching beat the Yankees and lift it up. I mean, come on. I mean, pretty cool day on Thursday, I thought.
Luke Jones 37:10
Yeah, yeah. And and I’ll disagree slightly. I mean, I thought the attendance was, you know, for from where it’s been, where it is now. And again, and your point is wanting to see more down the line, when presumably they continue to be good. Maybe they get to a World Series. Maybe they win a World Series at some point the next few years. But you know, 27,000 on a Thursday afternoon, pre summer vacation for kids. I mean, I don’t think that’s relative to where they been. I didn’t think that was that bad. I thought it was a nice atmosphere. I mean, I, you know, I think the big cross from an aesthetic standpoint is the left field upper back where they’re not opening it up most nights, and it just makes the place look emptier than it actually is, on a lot of nights. But I thought it was something it was a fun series, I
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:58
think more than them doing away with the free the bird seats, eliminating, it’s just symbolic cleansing.
Luke Jones 38:06
And look, right, right. But in all seriousness, seriousness, we’ve talked about this, I mean, when you look at where ballparks and where stadia where it’s all going, I mean, it’s it’s trending towards lower capacity. Now, that’s not going to help with some of the issues you just mentioned in terms of price points and costs. And, and all of that. And look, that’s not that’s not a Baltimore exclusive thing that’s anywhere
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:29
you afford Adley rutschman. And that’s literally how it gets ya for. And my point is, there better be more of us come in with wallets or short or solid will could ever be open and whatever be open in regard to what I can afford what I’m willing to afford, and I love them and they’ve treated me like garbage for 20 You know, like, so how much more am I going to do in regard to doing and how much more are they going to do of getting people who aren’t they’re there and drinking $15 beers? I mean, I don’t know what else to say, because that’s what’s going to fund it. And I keep going back to that.
Luke Jones 39:03
Yeah, and that’s fair. I don’t disagree with you. I mean, it’s and again, every team, every venue that hosts concerts wherever you know whether you’re talking big city is talking about outskirts talking about suburbs, talking about areas that are kind of the booties you know up so they’re all trying to figure that out. And meanwhile you have ticket fees, and all that stuff that goes on on top of everything. But I think the point that you’re making was overall from a baseball entertainment standpoint on Thursday, saw a heck of a product and you saw never
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:36
been better you know what I mean? Literally, it’s like going to see an artist going to you know, see Adele and saying never been better never been better than it is value us.
Luke Jones 39:47
I mean, I mean, I think for where the Orioles are now, when you consider not just the record right now because that’s such a limited view but even looking at the 20,000 foot view the other 20 1000 foot out, look with how young they are, with how good they already are with the guys that are on the way with new ownership with spending potential, whatever that ultimately ends up looking like, hey, we’ll see what David Rubenstein and the new groups willing to do on that front. I mean, you would be hard pressed to find a better set of variables when you have to go back to the Orioles glory days, I mean, the late 60s into the well into the 70s, where, you know, they had all that, but it was just it was a different sport, then. I mean, it was a different sport, structurally speaking, it was a different sport, and how it’s played, you know, certainly the financial realities. I mean, you know, Baltimore, struggled to sell out World Series games in, in the late in the 60s and early 70s. So, you know, I mean, it’s, there’s always been some of those questions at work. But all of that being said, I mean, this is, this is exciting with where they are right now, and where it can go and, and how it can grow. And the upside that is there, are they going to become the Dodgers? No, I mean, that, you know, they’re not gonna have a $300 million dollar role. But I’m not going to beyond saying that extreme, I’m not going to sit here and try to cap it too much beyond, you know, saying kind of that stating the obvious there. So let’s see what it looks like, you know, let’s see how much more attendance grows. Let’s see, if they can make a deep October run this fall. Let’s see if they can get to a World Series in the next three years. Let’s see if they can win a World Series in the next three years. And then we’ll see what that looks like. And we we saw what it looked like for the Ravens for a very, very long time. And still does, even if it’s not, at its peak, attended lots of excitement blast, been 18 years ago, whatever, whatever, whatever date you want to throw out there for that. But, you know, this idea of success and sustained success. And for the longest time, you’re an Orioles cap, just because that’s how you were raised, or you’re from Baltimore. And that’s just how it was. And people. Some years would look at that with sympathy, you know, you’d look at you like, Wow, man, you’re you must be a die hard. And now I think you’re starting to see that swing. And let’s face it for the better part of the last 30 years, and a handful of years where that pride has been there and there was always okay, how long is it gonna last? Whether we’re talking about buckshaw Walter D’Andrea, cat? How good can it be under the Angelo’s family, all of that there are no limits. Now, at this point, you know, realistically speaking, you know, again, payroll, we’ll see, we’re gonna see what that looks like, you know, David Rubenstein, you’re up, you know, Mike Elias, you’re up in terms of keeping this young talent. So, but I just think, in a broader sense, I think it’s really exciting for the city for Orioles fans who have stuck with this team or the fans who gave up not because they just wanted to root for another team, but because they were just that frustrated that, you know, that disgusted with it or that apathetic about it, that pride is is returning. And I think that’s doesn’t happen overnight. It’s going to be a doll, as I said, not a light switch. But I just think the Orioles are just in such an exciting place, and have been now for a couple of years going on. But you’re really seeing something that is good. And something that really feels sustainable. Knowing that there’s more meat on the bone, there’s more upside that can be achieved here. And that’s just it’s really, really exciting. Where, for the longest time, you know, even the buck and do cat era that felt like an accident that felt like lightning, just striking in the right place for three or four years. But this this feels different. To your point. It’s as good as the Orioles have been going back to their glory days. And I don’t say that with being light or to be hasty anything. I think they’re in a position where they are really good now, and they have a chance to be really good for a long time. And what more can you ask for to build a brand on than having that kind of winning baseball on a night by night basis?
Nestor J. Aparicio 44:11
All right. Greg Landrieu is going to come on because he went to the game with me and he did the 25th anniversary video so he could say whatever he needs to say about he owns Towson transfers. I didn’t even know he was a baseball player. He had all this background so he can speak to this but I I know you know Chris pica pike and literally had to get up and leave because I was I was having too much fun. And when you know the Yankee players can hear you and it’s all Yankee fans around you anyway. And I had a dude in front of me look like Questlove he had Adam Jones jersey on and he was with the dude his buddy who had an earring judge jersey on I put the picture up because it was such a juxtaposition. And so I started right away. I mean, we got in our seats first pitch And Soto came up I mean and he’s 12 feet away. And I just started in on I’m staring at you staring at you. I’m staring you down so we started on this and then the Hispanic guy started in Spanish like it was so it got on but my best tackles of the day for will Soto obviously and then he then he’s had the thing in centerfield with the glare and the white and the Reggie Jackson and the move and we’re gonna step out of the box and um, you’ll get getting the box getting. So delay. Yeah, me I want to um, so Aaron judge comes up to the plate, somebody was on. It was somebody a third maybe at time maybe. And I looked up on the scoreboard and it was went from 200 to 198. So, I started a 198 chant as he walked into the batter’s box, and we were ruthless. And that, you know, the Rizzo was the best. I got on the jump. Judge took a lowball a ball that was low, and I stood up and I screamed, he’s seven feet tall. That’s a strike. So I had a really good time. I was really having a good time. So but you have to ask play because pikey like this period for a couple money. Listen, Pike is a Birdland member, so he has the discounts and all that that he did not share with his friends, because it’s pica, and he went up on the club level and he had a sandwich for $2 off and did whatever he did. And he came back and had to get out of sun and I’m thinking you’re just embarrassed to be with someone that would look at Anthony Rizzo when he comes out of the box and says it was over your head. What do you swing it at? Like I literally and Rizzo looked up at me as he as he walked, because they had to look at me I was over the dugout, they had to look at me with shame. With New York cross their front which I had a really good time in New York the other day that I mentioned nastiness was my favorite pitch. Luke Jones is here he is Baltimore Luke he is there he will be watching Cincinnati this weekend. Hopefully talent off a little bit we have a very much overworked Luke and his sisters like all preggers and eating his favorite pizza and after looking at this on the internet, how far away from your vacation eight weeks away? I mean, you earned vacation the last 10 days here with draft this and Oreos that and Jackson holiday this and Grayson Rodriguez that and Kyle Bradish this and Craig Kimbrel that take the weekend off Gopi. Deacon Jones enjoy your family. Watch the you get the games in Pennsylvania. I need to ask that because that’s always an important thing. Do you have access to the games? Yeah. Okay, of
Luke Jones 47:46
course I do. Okay, just make sure your cable
Nestor J. Aparicio 47:49
provider provides that for you. I hear a lot of that too, man. I mean, we had four opinions in the car yesterday about how we get the games and how we don’t get the games and we’re a bunch of old 5557 58 year old white guys just Well, I’m Hispanic don’t really Mr. Rubenstein. So anyway, I had a great time. It was fun. It’s fun talking baseball again, Luke, and I’ll be talking baseball on the daily on the regular out in all the places we do it LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, they’ll be fun things. There might be some Black Crowes pictures over the weekend. I’ll certainly be some Kentucky Derby things and maybe a mint julep recipe over the weekend. Great great Preakness conversation coming on. Picture already joined me. I owe him a cheesesteak. I may have to hand deliver that over the weekend. And it’s great springtime around here and I hope that everybody finds our 25th anniversary documentary, informative entertaining, my wife finally watched because she’s back from vacation as well. So I hope you’ll watch it as well. If you’re on social, you’ll see little snippets of it coming and going and Greg and I are gonna have a longer conversation about it as well. I need to track down Mickey could show I’ve never had my real heart on the show. Gina shock has had some off the field issues where she’s been taking care of family and friends. So I haven’t had her on while so I’ll definitely circle back with her but it’s really been a nice endeavor to hear from so many folks who’ve followed us supported us had our backs in so many ways still have our backs after all these years. So we are appreciative. I am Nestor he is loop we are wn st am 5070 Towson, Baltimore calm get a PacMan scratch off from us at Bally’s next Friday, as we watch a baseball here all week.
