Leading off another season with Singy and the cool kids

It’s been 43 years since Orioles legend Ken Singleton celebrated our last World Series win here in Baltimore and we’ve all been awaiting the next parade. The Sparks resident and longtime voice of the New York Yankees begins another season with Nestor as the balls and strikes change but his love for our community and commitment to the Cool Kids Campaign remains strong and sincere. Never a bad day to talk baseball, golf and some old Earl Weaver stories with Singy…

Nestor Aparicio interviews Ken Singleton about his baseball career and current involvement with the Orioles and the Cool Kids Campaign. Singleton recalls his early days with the Orioles, his friendship with Rod Carew, and his experiences as a broadcaster. They discuss the impact of the new automated ball-strike system in baseball and the Orioles’ recent improvements under new ownership. Singleton also highlights his work with the Cool Kids Campaign, which supports children with cancer, and invites listeners to support the organization. The conversation concludes with reflections on the state of baseball and the Orioles’ potential for a playoff run.

Action Items

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Try to track down John Miller next Wednesday when he is in town and secure a brief segment with him for the Faidley’s event.
• [ ] When visiting the Cool Kids office, explicitly tell visitors that people who want more information should go to coolkidscampaign.org.

Outline

Orioles Legend Ken Singleton Visits Nestor Aparicio

• Nestor Aparicio welcomes listeners to WNST AM 1570 and introduces the topic of the Orioles’ upcoming road trip to Chicago.
• Nestor reminisces about a past interview with the Twins manager and decides to invite Ken Singleton to discuss the ABS system.
• Nestor shares a personal story about collecting baseball cards, including a 1973 Christmas cello pack featuring Rod Carew and Billy Williams.
• Ken Singleton joins the conversation, sharing memories of playing against Rod Carew in the Bronx league and their subsequent careers.

Rod Carew’s Heart Transplant and Baseball Memories

• Nestor recounts a memorable interview with Rod Carew after his heart transplant, involving Conrad Roland’s heart donation.
• Ken Singleton elaborates on his history with Rod Carew, including their competitive days in the Bronx league.
• Ken shares a story about Rod Carew’s heart attack on the golf course and the importance of being seen by others during emergencies.
• Nestor and Ken discuss their favorite baseball players, including Ted Williams and the importance of on-base percentage.

Ken Singleton’s Early Days with the Orioles

• Ken Singleton recalls his first season with the Orioles, where Earl Weaver instructed him to lead off and focus on getting on base.
• Ken shares a story about his first game with the Orioles, where he walked on four pitches and scored the first run of the season.
• Nestor and Ken discuss the wisdom of Earl Weaver and the importance of recognizing balls and strikes.
• Ken reflects on the changes in baseball over the years, including the introduction of the ABS system and its impact on the game.

Ken Singleton’s Broadcasting Career and the Orioles’ New Ownership

• Nestor expresses regret that Ken Singleton didn’t call Orioles games but instead called Yankees games for many years.
• Ken explains his decision to call Yankees games due to his extensive broadcasting experience and the success of the Yankees during that time.
• Nestor discusses the new ownership of the Orioles and their efforts to improve the team, including significant investments in players and facilities.
• Ken shares his optimism about the Orioles’ future and the importance of community involvement in baseball.

The Impact of the ABS System on Baseball

• Nestor and Ken discuss the introduction of the ABS system and its positive impact on the game, including faster decision-making and improved accuracy.
• Ken believes the ABS system will help identify the best and worst umpires, potentially leading to changes in the minor leagues.
• Nestor and Ken reflect on the importance of umpires in the game and the challenges they face in making calls.
• Ken shares his experiences as a player and broadcaster, including his reputation for recognizing balls and strikes.

Ken Singleton’s Involvement with Cool Kids Campaign

• Nestor highlights Ken Singleton’s long-standing involvement with the Cool Kids Campaign, which supports children with cancer and their families.
• Ken explains the origins of the Cool Kids Campaign and its mission to provide support and resources to families in need.
• Ken shares details about the upcoming golf tournament to raise funds for the Cool Kids Campaign and the support from the community.
• Nestor and Ken discuss the importance of giving back to the community and the impact of the Cool Kids Campaign on the lives of children and their families.

The Future of the Orioles and Baseball

• Nestor and Ken discuss the Orioles’ current season, including their record and the potential for a playoff run.
• Ken believes the Orioles have a good shot at making the playoffs and that the team is improving with each game.
• Nestor and Ken reflect on the state of baseball, including the challenges of free agency, salary caps, and labor disputes.
• Ken expresses hope for a resolution to the labor issues and the importance of maintaining the integrity of the game.

Ken Singleton’s Personal Reflections and Legacy

• Nestor and Ken discuss Ken’s personal experiences and the impact of his career on the game of baseball.
• Ken shares memories of his parents’ support and the joy of playing for the Orioles during their winning years.
• Nestor and Ken reflect on the importance of community involvement and the legacy of the Orioles as a community organization.
• Ken concludes by expressing his gratitude for the support of the Baltimore community and his commitment to continuing his work with the Cool Kids Campaign.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Orioles, Ken Singleton, baseball, community, Cool Kids Campaign, Rod Carew, Earl Weaver, strike zone, umpires, Yankees, World Series, cancer support, Baltimore, broadcasting, ownership.

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SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Ken Singleton

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

This meeting is being recorded. Welcome in. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively, getting you through April and Easter and Good Friday and hopefully a good weekend to baseball. Here is the Orioles go out on the road for the first time, probably gonna see some cold weather in Chicago next week as well. It’s been a little while since I’ve had this guy on and on Sunday when the the twins manager came out to argue with the machine, I enjoyed the ABS so much the first weekend that I went through my phone and I’m like, Who do I want to talk to about this? And I thought, well, I want to have some of my buddies and some of my sports writer buddies, and I wanted to find some pub find some ball players and whatnot. And I thought I haven’t had Ken singleton on in a little while, and Ken came to me about four months ago. And Kenny, how are you? I just want to give you some love. How are things at Sparks, you’re still local. Somebody bumps into you in the mall or sees you around Hunt Valley. They know it’s you. But I sent you a picture of this because I collect Louis Aparicio, esoteric, weird stuff. I have all the cards and the autograph like all of that, because of my my cousin, right? And when this thing became available on the internet, this is a 1973 they call them cello packs. This was a Christmas cello pack. And when it had Aparicio on it, and listen, it has Rod Carew on it too. So I have Rod Carew and and, and that’s, that’s Billy Williams as well, another hall of famer that I saw, Ken singleton in that Montreal Expos. Gear there at 73 before you got here. And I said, I need to buy this one. So I sent you a picture of this. And I said, Man, there’s you. There’s an Aparicio and a singleton, right in the same place there. Man, how are you?

Ken Singleton  01:46

I’m doing. Well, you know, Rodney crew and I have some history. We played against each other in the Bronx league when we were teenagers. And really, yeah, Rodney was a couple years older than me, and remember playing against him. I was about 15, maybe 16, and this guy kept hitting and hitting and hitting. We couldn’t get him out. And the next thing I knew, he was playing second base for the Minnesota Twins. So, you know, he preceded me to the major league

Nestor Aparicio  02:12

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and he never stopped hitting all the way to Cooperstown, right? Oh my goodness, 3000 something hits. You know, I had him on. I was in Minnesota the other day seeing Springsteen. I had him on at the Mall of America after he had his transplant, and I had him one of the greatest segments I’ve ever done. 35 years of doing this, I played it last week, and I play it all the time, because it’s an eternal piece. You know, the Ravens former tight end Conrad Roland, who I knew and covered, died, and instantly, his heart was donated to save rod’s life. And Rod sat with me inside the Mall of America, right by the Harmon killer brew home run and all that stuff, and told the story with Conrad rulings mother on the air with me. I mean, of all the things I’ve done on this radio station. I’ll, I’ll get messy talking about it. But Rod Carew, I did, I did not know that you were, were I knew you contemporaries, but I didn’t know you worked together. Yeah.

Ken Singleton  03:12

Well, he was from the Bronx. I grew up the next town up Mount Vernon, but we played against each other in the Bronx league in the summer, just outside of Yankee Stadium and other places up in New York too. From what I heard about of rod’s heart attack, he had it on the golf course, if I’m not mistaken, and from what I understand, he had it on the first hole when he was out in the fairway, and they saw him from the clubhouse and were able to call 911, now he feels if he had been on the seventh or eighth hole, he was playing by himself, nobody would have seen him, and that probably would have been it.

Nestor Aparicio  03:49

So Wow. Well, I hope i i love to visit with him again and catch back up. And he was one of my favorite. Hey, listen, when I play wiffle ball, I look, I did the singleton, I moved the rocks, I got rid of that back line right I knew your left stance, I knew your right stance and that down stroke that you had. But Karoo had a whole like thing going on that I hit like Rod Carew when I was a little leaguer. So I loved Rod Carew. I loved anybody that got on base. My dad was always a Ted Williams guy, and the boxes in the science of hitting that, making contact and getting on, but you were the original walk taker. You know, you were like, like, like, Earl Weaver. You know, on base percentage was a thing for you before stratomatic Or before analytics, right?

Ken Singleton  04:35

That’s true. Because when I first got to the Orioles, when I got traded to Baltimore, come to spring training, and Earl says to me, you lead off this year? And I said, what? I already had 100 RBI season in Montreal. And I said, Earl, and you know, I don’t steal bases. That’s that’s not what I do. He says, That’s not the point. He says, You get on base, you walk a lot. Bobby grits walks a lot. He’ll bat second, you bet first. My first time up in Detroit, opening day, I walk on four pitches go to third on a base hit by Tommy Davis. Lee may hits a three run homer. We’re up three to nothing, just like that. In the first inning, I’m the first one. I scored the first run of the season. I come back to the dugout, Earl points his finger in my chest, and he says, that’s what the hell I’m talking about, just get on base.

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Nestor Aparicio  05:24

And that was that. I mean, Earl, what did you learn from Earl? The book just came out two years ago. John Miller wrote that great book. I’ve had him on a bunch of times. I mean, what wisdom do you extol even now with the ABS thing? And we’re going to get into that in a minute, because you were a guy that had great command of the strike zone, that when you looked at the umpire, you’re like, you know, you weren’t Tony Gwynn, but you were, you know, you know, a ball from a strike and like side eye and umpires, all of these things that you lived your whole life as as a minor leaguer, as a 20 year major league player, and then as a broadcaster for three, four decades, that everything about the game changed last week, and that’s why I was so excited to text you over the weekend and all my baseball nerds and saying, Oh, my God, they made baseball better. I can’t believe that they did. This is the first thing I’m looking at and saying, This is eternal. This isn’t going anywhere, and they’re not getting rid of the umpires, because there’s too much conflict involved in this to make it more like American Idol. It’s great theater to sit here at home and guess along and then wonder whether the pitcher, the catcher or the batter are going to guess along.

Ken Singleton  06:31

You know, not only that, you see the reaction of the crowd at the ballpark, you know, when they see the because this is kind of instantaneous. I was kind of worried it was going to take too long, you know what I mean, but it takes, you know, takes less than 10 seconds for you to get the right results. And that’s the whole thing, to me, is getting these calls right. It started with the reviews on the basis, and now it’s balls and strikes. And you know, the game is still moving along at a pretty good pace. I mean, they sped up the pitchers. So, you know, you have to make and your batters can’t step out of the box forever. So this, this is, like a natural progression. Now, I don’t want to see him do much more, because I think we’re about as far as we can go. But this is that’s a good thing. At first, I wasn’t sure about it, but now I kind of like it, and Nestor, I also think we’re finding out who the best umpires are and who the ones who aren’t so good, and maybe they’ll make changes down the road as to who the better umpires are and and who the worst ones are. Maybe they’ll start bringing up guys from the minor leagues that take the place of some of these veterans.

Nestor Aparicio  07:39

Well, we’ve watched Jim Palmer, call games here forever, and have his wisdom. You call games for a generation or two in New York, and your wisdom was extolled with this, with what the strike zone is. But as a player, you knew every umpire, you had your own scouting report that he’s going to give me the high strike. He’s going to call that outside pitch inside, and I got to swing at that, because he’s going to call that a strike, even though I think it’s a ball, right? That’s that’s true, I think.

Ken Singleton  08:05

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But over the years, you mentioned my strike zone ability to recognize balls and strikes, I think you get a reputation with the umpires too. I think that I could take the close ones and get away with it more so than some of the other guys. Rick Dempsey used to say to me, you take that pitch and they don’t call it a strike. I said, Rick, the reason is because I’m not up here swinging at everything like you are. You know, I just said, You got to trust the guy behind the plate to a certain extent when it got, you know, close pitch, I always felt, Nestor, if the ball was too hard for me to reach and hit. It was probably going to be a ball. So I just, you know, sometimes the pitchers make great pitches in their strikes. You know, you take it with a grain of salt. You walk back to the dugout. I mean, I did walk more than I struck out, but I struck out 1200 times, but I walked more than, more than that. So the fact is that the guy behind the plate. I just want him really to be on his P’s and Q’s when there are men on base, because that’s how I make a living driving in runs. You know, you get a bad call with nobody on you know, okay, I can get around this, but when I got a guy on third base with less than two outs, it’s my job to get him home. I want that umpire to zero in on the strike zone and know what a ball and a strike is in that particular at bat.

Nestor Aparicio  09:27

Ken Singleton is our guest, longtime yes network. And listen, I piled on Angelos for all 30, however many years there were, but I always thought like one of the real shames was after you got your internship at Channel 13 back in the day that you went off and called Yankees baseball and not Orioles baseball. For all of those years, you could have been here all the things that went wrong, all the losing, all the awful Aprils and awful seasons and all of that that’s going two years now into new ownership. Rubenstein says they’re open for business. They. Bought an 18 and a half million dollar rental for one year in Chris Bassett. They spent money on Shane boss. They imported Pete Alonso from New York. They’ve given Sam beside Oh, the money. I don’t know where they’re going to be with the Boris clients and all of that, but I think we’ve got some level here. I don’t know if they’re competent. I don’t know where that’s all going to be, but I feel like they’re going to try at a different level, and they are than anything we’ve seen here in a while. So I want to go fresh slate, you know, open canvas on where you are with the Orioles in the entire operation. You’re back here. You’re not calling Yankee games. I think they’re going to pull you back in one more time they call you, but you’ve done enough, but maybe celebrity Oriole game one night, or something like that, and call an Oriole game here. But for the Orioles, you would have a different version of the Orioles now than we’ve had before. And for that, I’m heartened, Kenny, you know, I’m heartened that the next 10 or 15 years for baseball in our city, if they can figure out labor at the end of the year, will at least give more people more reasons to want to support the Orioles, support baseball and go down to the ballpark. I think that they’re on to something better than it used to be here, and for that, I’m very grateful.

Ken Singleton  11:17

Yeah, well, I am too, because, you know, I still have a lot of orange and black running through my veins. That’s true. But you have to remember, before I got to the Yankees, I was doing Montreal games for 12 years, so by the time I got to New York, already had 12 years of broadcasting experience. And then 25 years in New York, that adds up 37 years of broadcasting. You know, the the fact is that with the Orioles, you know, in a way, while I was in New York, the Yankees were having great success. I mean, it was a junior years, Marianna, Rivera O’Neill, David Quinn, I can name a lot of great players that they had, Bernie Williams, and they were fun to cover. I gotta admit, I was kind of going back to my roots, because I grew up in the New York area, and I saw a lot of Yankee baseball growing up. I saw Mickey Mantle and Yogi and all those guys on TV. So it wasn’t strange for me to be in New York, so to speak. You know, maybe it would have been better. It would have been easier if I was doing Oriole games, I wouldn’t have to get, you know, be on Amtrak once or twice a week, you know, going up in New York and back. But during those years, the Yankees were having great success. They were great team to cover. And you know that, what, four or five World Series? You know, I got a bunch of rings from them so, but my favorite ring, of course, is my orient ring that we won in 83 I have four kids. I have four rings, so they each get one. I can’t designate who gets the Oriole ring, but they do know. My kids know the Oriole ring is the favorite. So what I did, it’s already in the will. They have to pick out of a hat, pick the names out of a hat, and see who gets the Oriole ring. I can’t designate one child over the other

Nestor Aparicio  13:00

so I hope we get another one, right. I mean, I was there. I was with you at the vet that night. My dad almost got us killed in Philly that night in 83 yelling at Philly’s fans and wagging fingers. But I, you know, I, I wouldn’t have known, and I’m sure, though that night, you, all of you, wouldn’t have known that it would be 43 years later, and we still haven’t played a game in the World Series here. I hope that we can change I’m 57 now. I hope we can change that at some point. And I feel like, you know, maybe, maybe they’re onto something here. Maybe they’re better. I’m worried about the defense, worried about the bullpen, all of that, but I think that on a night by night basis, they have pitchers that can go out and at least give them a chance to compete, and they have the kind of lineup that can score six or eight runs on any given night.

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Ken Singleton  13:47

Yeah, that’s true, I think, especially with Alonzo on the team. One thing I really like about him, he plays all the time. You know, he’s, I think in the last 10, last four years, he’s missed like 10 games or less. So you need a guy like that. It’s Eddie Murray stuff you play all the time. You know that singing stuff you play all the time. You know one thing about the 83 we had our reunion a couple years ago. I don’t know if you remember, that was the 40th year of or 50th whatever, winning the World Series in Philadelphia. So I was driving home with my wife after the game, and I said to her, you know, you know, three quarters of the people in the ballpark tonight weren’t around. Yeah, they weren’t born yet, but we won the World Series. And I hope the grandpa’s and the, you know, the older parents were there to explain to them how good these guys really were. You know, who you know, and everybody knows Cal Ripken and everybody knows Eddie Murray, but you know, maybe they don’t know Al bumry or singing or Mike bodeker or tippy that as much as the you know the Hall of Fame guys. So I just, I was thinking about that on the way home, and I. Says, well, hopefully they can get one soon. You know, hopefully they can get another one for this generation.

Nestor Aparicio  15:04

I think everybody’s worried about the state of the game. And you were one of the original battlers in the Nestor Smith era, 73 I got your 70 This is 1973 this is when all hell broke loose with free agency and Reggie and, you know, just all of that teammates, the whole deal in that era of big versus small, and now we have the Dodgers being funded to the level, and the Orioles are playing the pirates this weekend, right? So I would think at the end of this year there’s going to be a war, I don’t and the fans always wind up being the last ones to find out. But are you of any mindset about the salary cap, ceiling and floor as you get older, or are you still hard line, you know, from that school of thought? And you know, I know Flanagan got swept up in the collusion part of this and got screwed. I remember talking to him about all of that. There’s just such a long, lurid, ugly history of labor in the sport of baseball. And I I think the young people are going to come to a head to that in eight or nine months, when it gets ugly all over again, for the first time in a long time, to understand the history. And I said, when arroghetti and Rubenstein bought the team, I’m like, they got 1,000,000,008 I hope they can afford 2899 and get a copy of John hellier’s Lords of the Realm. You know,

Ken Singleton  16:20

yeah, Nestor, you’re right about the fact that, you know, back in the day, there was a lot of contention between the owners and the players. It was like every other year there was either a strike or a lockout, and it was more or less things like free agency and arbitration and pension benefits and all that. Well, all that settled. Now, you know, all those things are settled now, basically, to me, it’s about the big buy. I mean, there’s so much more money in the game because of television, internet sales, all those sort of things. I just think it’s more about, more about the dollars and cents bottom line. I do think you know, when you talk about what the players are getting now in the salaries, I don’t think they’re going to accept the salary cap. I don’t want them to they, you know, there is sort of a soft salary cap right now with the luxury tax, but teams like the Dodgers, they don’t care. You know, they don’t get teams like the Yankees, and they kind of care. But the Dodgers, to me, they’re almost in a perfect situation. They got all these superstars on their team. They got great weather all year long, so they don’t have to worry about rainouts or people not showing up. People get tickets. They get 40,000 50,000 a night. They got a great team. They got a great local TV and contract all the owners share international money with TV, but it’s just so much more money pouring into the game. And, you know, some of the owners, I think what you need is a salary floor. If you ask me, you got to get some of these bottom teams like Pittsburgh and somebody to spend the money. You know, don’t just put it in your pocket. They seem to be doing so a little bit better this year. But I’m with you. I do feel that there’s storm clouds in there on the horizon, and they’re already talking about, you know, possible lockout next spring training. Hopefully it doesn’t happen. The game is great. I mean, you’ve got so many stars all throughout baseball, and baseball to me. You know, it’s springtime Now this, this is what we should be doing. We shouldn’t be sitting at home, you know, twiddling our thumbs while they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to split up billions of dollars. You know, that doesn’t make sense

Nestor Aparicio  18:32

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to me. Ken Singleton is my guest, played the game at a high level, reported on the game, and is now the only game. It’s you and tippy out playing golf, right? That’s, that’s what you do. How much ball Are you watching? And I know sometime, I mean, I haven’t watched the dribble in the NCAA tournament because it’s just kind of moved past me. But I’m thinking, when it’s been your life and you’re here in Baltimore, the team has a chance you get an eye on the games, right?

Ken Singleton  18:55

Yeah, I do watch him. I will admit I don’t watch as many as I used to, because I don’t have to anymore. You know, I watched, I watched basically the Orioles, and I watched the Yankees too. I mean, the Yankees are on the West Coast, and I or they were until yesterday, and I watched them, and they, they performed well. They won five out of the first six. The Orioles are three and three. But I think Nestor, I don’t know if you’ll agree with me on this, and the Orioles open up at home. I think teams really mesh together when they go on the road, and I think it’s because when you’re at home after the game’s over, you go home to your family, your kids and your wife, and you’re doing things, you’re going out to the giant you’re doing things in the neighborhood. But when you’re on the road, you’re on busses, you’re on planes, you know, you’re in hotels. You eat together, you travel together, and you just and that’s where teams really mesh. So the Orioles are going out on the road. This is where I think this team, because they got a lot of new players, this is where you find out what your teammates are really like when you’re with them every day on the road. Hopefully they do well on this road trip coming up, and I think it starts out in Pittsburgh. 100. And, you know, get back, get over 500 I read something the other day that Costa procrastinator said that they think that the projections in the American League East where every team is going to finish over 500 so that means they’re all going to be fighting for it at the end.

Nestor Aparicio  20:19

Well, I think they have a chance. And, you know, the from a rotation standpoint, the effluent injury, not good. Obviously need to get holiday back Westberg. You know, they’re better players, defensively, a little more challenged, but the game’s changed so much. Like you mentioned, not striking out to badge of honor for you to say I walked more than I struck out. There aren’t a whole lot of guys in baseball, and it’s acceptable now the game has changed in that way.

Ken Singleton  20:38

Yeah, you’re right. Nestor, I used to hate to strike out. I thought it was non productive at bat. And it seems as though that it might be changing a little bit, because the team, a couple of things, the Orioles, I think, are in a position that Toronto was in two years ago. Toronto finished in last place two years ago, and they came within inches of winning the World Series last year against the vaunted Dodgers. I do think one reason why the Toronto Blue Jays had such success last year, their guys put the ball in play, their team did not strike out much. I think they had the fewest strikeouts in the major leagues. So when you put the ball in play, you put pressure on the defense. Defenses make errors. They make mistakes. You put the ball in place, something falls in. You get a broken bat single or a little bloop that can drive in a run with the bases loaded instead of striking out, which nothing happens. I think if the Orioles that one game where they struck out 16 times

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Nestor Aparicio  21:34

against Minnesota, that’s correct, in the shadows, yep,

Ken Singleton  21:38

I think they won that game, if I’m not mistaken, I’m not sure. Well anyway, it doesn’t matter. You got to cut down on strikeouts and hit the ball. And that to me, if they do that and they play decent defense, you know, you mentioned efflins injury, but they got Kramer. He’s going to be up pretty soon. He’ll be back, and he’s a pretty good pitcher. I liked him. Yeah, I thought he did well last year, so at least they got a replacement there.

Nestor Aparicio  22:04

Ken Singleton is our guest. He still lives here in in Maryland, right outside the beltway. If you see singing around, it’s him. I had occasion to do a cup of Super Bowl about two months ago, and I had a young lady, Alyssa magnoni, who stopped by, and we did about 20 minutes, and we talked a lot about you and a lot about cool kids, and I want to talk to you about it a little bit, because I said, I gotta get singing on here, but it’s February. I’ll wait till baseball season, and here we are. It’s baseball seasons. Here we are, the charity part of this and your community experience probably working for an organization like the hofburger Orioles and an EBW in the 70s and 80s, that it was always a big part of this. And, you know, I’ll get Bob Brown and even Helen Conklin and all of my Rick Vaughn, you know, Charles Steinberg, all of them that they’re the connection. And listen, I’ll beat up on Katie Griggs and all of these new people running the orals. The Orioles were a community organization. They’re not anymore, and they haven’t been. And Angelo’s kind of destroyed that part of it, in regard to having you and rich dower and Tippie Martinez and Rick Dempsey feel like family here. Palmer still, you know, eats and breathes and lives off of that in that period of time. And then the board dicks and the different people that have BJ, sur off, who came here later and emulated that, and still do, and you’ll still hit a golf ball with all of those guys, because they live here. They wanted to be here. Boog, you know, all of these people that made their lives here. It was, it not just optional. It made you feel like you were a citizen involved in this, not like you were just taking a check and you were a celebrity who played ball. The cool kids thing has been something that’s defined you. And when I think Ken Singleton, I think cool kids, and I think you’ve been at this for most of your lifetime here, right?

Ken Singleton  24:00

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Well, thank you very much. Nestor, yeah, I’ve been involved with cool kids. It’s going on almost 20 years now. The fact is that I feel that, you know, I was taught this by Ron Shapiro, who was our agent for many of the teams, guys on the team. And the fact is that when these people come to ballpark or watch you on TV, or when you go to gas station, you’re getting gas. And they all said, Good luck. And, you know, good luck tonight. I’m going to the game. Well, you don’t want to disappoint these people. And they supported me all those years. I was with Baltimore for 10 years, and we had a winning record every year. So it was a lot of happiness around here in those days. I wish they had the wild card back then, we would have made more playoffs. I mean, we got the two World Series, but we finished second six times, so 100 games didn’t make the playoffs. Yeah, you’re right. 100 wins in 1980 didn’t make the playoffs. So, but those are the things that I remember my parents, who were not around in. More unfortunately, because they were great influence on my kids and but when they moved down here from New York towards the after they retired, they got to see, I think about the last two or three years of my career. And you know, they had, my parents had supported me my whole life. And the payoff for them. They worked hard. They didn’t get to see me play much baseball growing up, but the payoff came later on, when they were retired. They got to come to every game at Memorial Stadium. The ushers treated them well. They moved them down, you know, just they were so that’s the sort of thing I remember about playing for the Baltimore Orioles. So it’s my turn to give back to the community and with cool kids, and you get kids who are suffering from from cancer. That tugs at your heart, Nestor, it does. You know, some of these kids don’t make it, and that’s makes it even worse, but I know that the survival rates are getting better. I mean, the treatments for cancer are getting better. Over the years, research has proven that, and it’s just that, you know, I have my golf tournament. It’s June 13 through the 15th here at Hunt Valley Country Club, and a lot of my former teammates turn out we have people come from all over the country and they support us. And you know, a lot of people in the community support cool kids too. You know, you mentioned Alyssa. She did. She told me about the that you had her on, and she she says that guy’s something else. I’ve known that for a long time.

Nestor Aparicio  26:35

Well, listen, Kenny, I don’t golf, but I serve a cold beer on a golf course. So if you need somebody to drive the beer truck around or whatever, and, you know, wet down the troops a little bit that weekend of June, you you know, I, I will volunteer to volunteer, but I am, I’ll hit a tee shot. But you don’t want to see me play golf, it’ll be, we’ll be chasing the balls in the woods.

Ken Singleton  26:57

Go into the office. When I go into the cool kids office, I will mention the offices in Towson. Anybody out there who wants some information about cool kids? You go to cool kids campaign.org, and you’ll see what we’re all about and enable to help people who you know, kids and their families who aren’t doing quite as well as you are right now. Well, singing,

Nestor Aparicio  27:18

I’ll tell you, when my wife had cancer for those two and a half years she battled down at Hopkins. She spent 155 nights in the hospital, you know, and overnight. And my wife was bald, 80 pounds, with the tree, you know, things stuck in her chest, fighting for her life. And we would go down on a day when she could take the elevator down from the fifth floor to the second floor to the commissary at Hopkins, there at the zyad Center, with the colored the glass that you see over in East Baltimore. It’s right there, right there. I could see her, literally, that’s it, right there. And down below, there was an area. And when we would go there, she would see the kids come from the other side, wrecked her. Wreck me. He’s gonna wreck me right now, talking about it, but seeing kids that are sick, oh my god, it’s just, it’s, it’s right here, you

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Ken Singleton  28:09

know, yeah, we have, we have Christmas parties, Halloween parties for the kids, you know, all kinds of activities at the clubhouse and Towson. We have nights where the parents can drop the kids off, and the parents can go out and have a date night. We have vacation homes. All these, all these services are free that we give to these kids and their families. So hopefully we keep doing it for many, many more years. You know, we got a lot of support here, and we got a great, great board and a lot of support here in the Baltimore area. Well, I don’t know the

Nestor Aparicio  28:43

next time I’m gonna have you on, but I’m gonna make a threat right now that women see the last day of the season here for the Baltimore Orioles. I want to get the dates right here they play, they play your New York Yankees in the Bronx on Sunday, September 27 So on Monday, September 28 are the Orioles a playoff team singing it

Ken Singleton  29:06

depends on the pitchers. That’s the way I look at it. I think they will be better and playing for a playoff spot. I do think the Yankees are going to win the division, but I do think they’re playoff contenders for sure, and it’s going to be a fun summer, one way or the other, whether you make it or not, you know. And I think if they don’t make it, they’ll be closer to making it the next year. You know. Understand, it’s like a progression, but I do think they got a good shot at it this year.

Nestor Aparicio  29:35

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Well, I don’t have to ask you if their Yankees are going to make the playoffs, because they always do, right? And that’s that, that’s, sort of the conundrum of the sport. I think to some degree, we don’t think the Dodgers are going to make the playoffs. We just know they are right like around here, we get to have a debate about it. Yeah, I just

Ken Singleton  29:48

want somebody to knock them off this year. You know, the last team to win three World series in a row were for the Yankees back in the day. So, you know, I don’t, I don’t want the Dodgers

Nestor Aparicio  29:59

to do that. I. You still the best golfer from the 83 World Series team or stippy beat you sometimes.

Ken Singleton  30:04

No, the best golfer is Rick Nestor, really. And I mean, easily, he’s the best. He’s he he’s his group won our tournament. That was it two years ago. Rick also remember, there’s a lot of young guys in this tournament, and these guys, 2526 30 years old, and we’re, you know, in our 70s. Now, Rick won the long drive contest and that so that tells you what kind of golfer he is. He’s really good. Tip is good bumper. He’s pretty good too. Yeah, so, and, you know, I’m not, yeah, I’m up there. But not, nobody can touch Rick. He’s that good.

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Nestor Aparicio  30:42

See, I did not know that. When I get the dip around, I’ll talk to him about that, him and his baseball warehouse and all that good stuff as well. Ken Singleton is our guest. Always, number 21 in the program, number one in your hearts and and for me, when, when this thing wound up on eBay, when I saw this thing, I’m like, I’m gonna win that bid. So I look like I’m 21 year or 18 years old in that picture. Send 29 in your jersey. You were not 29 just quite yet. Yeah, I don’t think there, but you still have all your old Expo stuff. Man, less exposure, not

Ken Singleton  31:14

really, you know, I’ve given a lot of stuff away over the years. You know that use it for, you know, to sell it for charity situations.

Nestor Aparicio  31:23

Look at how good that hat looks. Man, there’s nothing better than and I, you know, I know they’re talking to maybe putting a team back up there or whatnot, but I don’t think so. I love Montreal, you know, and I know you love your members, too.

Ken Singleton  31:35

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Great City. Only in the summer. It’s cold in the winter. Man, it’s cold

Nestor Aparicio  31:39

up there. Grand orange. He is Ken Singleton. My thanks to you for coming on. My thanks to Farnan and Dermer. They are the comfort guys, and I got to give a shout out to them, because on Wednesday morning, I awakened at 6am in Minnesota, and my wife called me, and I’m like, Oh, that’s not good answer the phone. We had a pipe burst in my place called Zach Dermer over at Farnham. And Dermer, the comfort guys, they got out within an hour. We got it put away. I checked it out this morning. No damage, because we knew someone. So you know someone too far in a Dermer, they sponsor our Maryland crab cake tour, along with GBMC, where I have a doctor’s appointment this month coming up, and our friends at the Maryland lottery, we’re going to get those Maryland treasures tickets out next friday. We were at faidleys Having crab cakes, and my old friend Steven l Miles is stopping by. We’re going to talk about it. John Miller’s in town next Wednesday with the Egan days gave me a chance to go back and forth with John. John can’t join us at faidley’s Next week, but I’m going to try to track him down and get a few minutes with him as well, because he knows a thing or two about the 83 Orioles too. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, T, A, M, 1570 Towson, Baltimore. It’s baseball season, and we have a strike zone that we’re we’ve automated. It’s fun. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.