When the Maryland Crab Cake Tour puts friends together, the wisdom flows. Our Allen McCallum and Baltimore Magazine Editor-In-Chief Max Weiss share symphonic musical notes and their mutual Orioles love with Nestor at Koco’s Pub in Lauraville.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
love, orioles, baltimore, people, game, movies, baseball, talk, max, day, years, symphony, great, award, remembered, players, yankees, week, music, thought
SPEAKERS
Max Weiss, Allen McCallum, Nestor J. Aparicio
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home we are wn st Towson, Baltimore. Baltimore positive. We are positively at Coco’s I’m sitting with the back to the bar. I have had the most delicious appetizer meal in the city. It’s already in my belly and the show hasn’t started yet. Coconut Shrimp spelled with two case and I have co hosts today. They don’t know that they’re going to be spelled with a K. And they’re both writers, which makes it even worse. We’re here on behalf of the Maryland lottery if I get my newest scratch offs together because I have some PAC man’s to give away but I’m here to talk you’re gonna get the fresh ones Max and Allen who the red look at that gold rush seven doublers from the Maryland lottery, your friends at Liberty, pure solutions, bringing things together and putting us out on the road as well as Jiffy Lube. MultiCare we’re going to be doing Fleet Week in Fells Point. We’re going to be Cooper’s on Friday. Got some other guests down there not as great as the guests we have here today. Coco’s Of course. We’re also going to be at like Costas next Thursday before the Orioles beat the Yankees something we can all agree on. And then we’ll be Pappas in Parkville on the 25th as well, Alan McCallum is here he’s just walked in fresh Max Weiss is here she is the Executive Editor Editor in Chief. I always forget the chief part Editor in Chief. All right, yeah, well,
Max Weiss 01:16
I expect that whenever I walk, it’s very
Nestor J. Aparicio 01:18
presidential. Yeah. Elena made a huge mistake today. Not in inviting you or max or both of you together. I invited Max early no offense to you, but like Max is like she likes Coco. She’s been here before she needs to come on. She wants some hotsy Taapsee award that she’s going to be too modest to talk about. No, you’re not No You’re
Max Weiss 01:38
I think you know me a little too well, yeah, so
01:41
it was person here Yeah, well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 01:42
I mean, of course so I know you love Max and I know you met Max on a zoom with me years ago like during the plague during Oscar week. This is like three years I had no idea that you guys had gotten together in the real world I thought I was surprising her and turns out like you come in you’re like what’s up max? And like I just thought like you I didn’t know you knew each other well, so I’m gonna let you take over two movies now I wouldn’t
Allen McCallum 02:12
go nuts and say we know each other well, we’ve spent some we spent a nice afternoon morning together first
Max Weiss 02:18
of all you ruin the surprise already
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:20
because you got a picture of likes to go Hey, Kim tagged me
Max Weiss 02:23
and Alan in a Facebook post. I didn’t an hour I have like an hour right so so the surprise is done, then? Yes, Alan and I have had we’ve had breakfast like a brand you’ve never gone together with your partner in crime. Don Mohler.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:39
Well then I know that was fascinating. I mean, Don is the man he’s the connector he’s he’s the straw that stirs the drink. He really he is so
Max Weiss 02:46
so yes out and I guess we go way back.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:51
Have you ever seen a movie together? No. No, we have not all right. You both were among the movie files. When I had the most magnificent experience of my movie them this year. When I saw in the box. I know you’re gonna set the box I went to see Talking Heads making sense. I knew I text both of you at the first day out within five minutes. I wanted to stop the film because I was texting both you out of the chair while I was giggling you know and I’m like you got to come see this and I talk John Allen. Rockstar John Allen and and and received in receive will be my other co host or later today. He lives in neighborly lives two blocks away into actually doing it. So we were the only ones in the theater. I mean again, I don’t know that anybody have you done D box?
03:40
I have not done D but
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:40
have you done D box? No anything? No. Have you considered it?
Max Weiss 03:46
Not really.
Allen McCallum 03:46
I have considered it my only IMAX is my regular enhanced movie experience that I that I’ve done where does one watch IMAX in IMAX theater and IMAX theater Max What Are there any local theaters you’re always I’m so the Columbia has one Columbia. There’s one in Bethesda Rundle mills.
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:11
There’s one where I went. I went to a Rundle.
Allen McCallum 04:16
Towson has something that it’s like enhanced, but it’s not. I’ve been
Max Weiss 04:19
to a bunch of enhanced movies, but not I don’t think what’s enhanced,
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:22
like loud or go to movies. Okay, so come
04:26
on, like louder and more sort of
Max Weiss 04:28
bigger screen. Generally speaking, it’s
Allen McCallum 04:30
like a step. It’s just a step below IMAX. Yeah,
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:33
I’ve been to five movies in the last 10 years. You know this. That’s why I bring you together to educate you because you’re, you’re into this. But I had this experience that you haven’t even had which is weird, you know, because the D box thing to me my wife was going to do it for the Tom Cruise movie. By the way, head Glen Powell. You ever heard him Glen Powell, of course, a hitman we can talk about he sat at my table and did a half an hour with me and it’s on the internet. He was on with the Pretty Gal That was in a tough game with him. Give me her name. She was the she was the pretty Jennifer Connelly. Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t remember her name. Yeah, there were some. Okay. So I had I had to hit the two stars. Yes. Came on my show in Miami and then the plague happened, and the movie didn’t get, right. So like all these years later, when the movie got released, the video was up, and the whole shtick, and it’s not stick my wife thinks that stick to I’ve never seen Top Gun. Okay, so it’s just
05:31
embarrassing. Yeah, I
Max Weiss 05:33
said, American. I’m pretty sure you can be deported. Well, Clem
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:36
Powell made fun of me for this as Luke Jones. Everybody else was on the set that day. Right. So I still never saw it. I put I heard it was great. Right. Like the second one was great. Yeah, you
Max Weiss 05:48
know, it’s funny, I went back and rewatch the first one. And it’s so cheesy, right? It’s so I don’t think it aged particularly well. I mean, it’s entertaining in a certain way. But you’re kind of laughing at it while you’re watching it. I thought Top Gun Maverick was just straight up. They fixed it. Right? They did. It’s a much better film. So
Allen McCallum 06:07
for me, yes. Top Gun came out way six. I was 14. Right. I wanted to be an astronaut. To be an astronaut. You either had to be a scientist or generally
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:19
just want to be a baseball reporter wouldn’t I know? Yeah. Right.
Allen McCallum 06:24
So I was it moved me at a time. I’m not telling you. It’s not cheesy. But I there’s much more nostalgia for me in the first one. The second one is spectacular. I would say until the end. The the last 15 minutes gets really corny, in my opinion. But but in well, I guess you’d
Max Weiss 06:45
go for corny actually in a movie like that. And also, I actually thought that the final like rescue scene was thrilling. Like, a lot of times, I’ll see an action film. And I’m just like, get on with it, man. We get it. You know things. Right? You know what I mean? Like, a lot of when I’m looking at my watch the most in the theater. It’s during the film’s third action sequence we look at you’re watching the theater. Why don’t actually have a watch but my hypothetical watch your phone. You’re like, When is this gonna end? No, no, I do not condone looking at one’s phone, maybe in my purse.
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:19
I’ll take the light down a little bit.
Max Weiss 07:21
Nobody can see the light. But But I actually thought that the the action I don’t know why we’re talking about Top Gun Maverick, but
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:28
because of Deepak because I had an experience, you have an ad and my wife, it was the movie that you could go to see it in right where the seats gonna move around, you’re gonna fly around and all that stuff. And she didn’t do it because she thought she was gonna get motion sick. Well, she really did it. But the thing has a button on it where you can make it stay up late, or you can you know, bring it down. You’re
Max Weiss 07:47
basically like, is there an earthquake outside or is this deep?
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:52
It was an it was a magical theatrical experience that I want to bring to to people whom I know love theater in all different ways. This is a renowned film that with the greatest music concert film maybe ever made their shot in an artsy fashion that you both are probably familiar with the film, or at least the the big suit. Right? Okay, of course. But seeing that where there is this motion that moves with the sound that moves with the video that makes it pleasurable, it was way more pleasurable. I was pissed when it ended. You know what I mean, to your point, when it ended up? I went to see it again. Yeah, and pay 25 bucks to do it again. You
Max Weiss 08:36
know, David Byrne is a Baltimore and of course, boy. Yeah, that’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:39
because he’s brought brilliant people. Yeah,
Max Weiss 08:41
I mean, uh, David Byrne, you know, I’ve always loved the talking heads. But it’s like, as I get older, I think I appreciate them even more, I read that entire playlist of theirs. It’s all killer. No filler. I mean, it’s just so good man. When
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:56
they start coming out there and they do genius love God, you will top out accounts here. A maximizes here, they’re going to talk about real movies. Max is going to promote Baltimore magazine. I’m going to hold the magazine up as though Don molar we’re here. I’ll put the little card out. I’ll do all of that. Let’s start with your award. And then we’ll do some movies. Because I did bring you guys together and baseball and baseball. I mean, you got to share as much baseball as movies. So we’ll do all of that. But you want an award. You’re doing. Yeah, there you go. Absolutely. I remember when I used to win Best of Baltimore awards. Back in the day when I do. I’ve
Max Weiss 09:30
been on your show roughly 20 times and you’ve mentioned the fact that I haven’t given you a best of Baltimore roughly 20 times
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:40
and your worst part is you actually did we want this podcast like you always bring that up especially when you get positive. I think I’m serious about it. You get all well, you’re slightly obsessed
Max Weiss 09:51
is the thing. The modesty.
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:54
We knew Yeah,
Max Weiss 09:57
how you can be
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:59
next time Time, the next time you get with Don Mohler, okay, because you will do that because the movies happen. Right? Right. Ask him how little interest I really, really have in my heart of heart of hearts of winning. And when I when it’s almost a little embarrassing, and he wanted to cut it out and make it like this big on the front of the website, and I’m like, No, and the worst thing that I would do, and the thing I would tell them is, I would never lobby for it. I would never, I’m not even a part of any of these journalistic things where they give these trophies. I’m not a part of broadcasters broadcasting thing. I’m not even a real media member, you know this. So I don’t care
Max Weiss 10:34
and lobbying does not work when it comes to water law. Right. So just but just if anybody out there listening fiber when I know the gentleman getting any bright ideas, like they really really liked me 32
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:48
years into this I you know what, I’m gonna say something really sweet to you that I’m sure you’ve heard before. Your presence is my president. You come by you love me you do the show? Pick Jerry Coleman. Pick somebody else. It’s fine. It doesn’t need to be me. So anyway, your award? Yes,
Max Weiss 11:07
I did. I won a Crma, which stands for City Regional Magazine Award. For the profile that I did have Jonathan Hayward, who is the new BSO Maestro. And it was really special. Because you know, I’m a cellist. I’m a musician. And I do think that to some extent, you know, I can speak the same language as as Hayward. And you know, it was great to meet him to talk to him to get to know him, I just recently bumped into him again, he’s got a new baby, I haven’t had him on yet. Oh, my God, you would love him. He is such a sweet man. He’s just interesting and thoughtful and charming. And he’s an amazing conductor. And, you know, what I learned and talking to him is that the guy is just obsessed with music, like the way you and I might go home and read a book or read a magazine or watch a TV show, he’s going to study a score. You know, he’s just a massive geek when it comes to, to music. And that’s how he overcomes the fact that he’s younger than a lot of the players in the orchestra. Because he just comes correct, you know, like, you earn the respect. Nobody is gonna know that piece better than him, you know. And so anyway, it was really nice to when I wasn’t there, the award ceremony took place in Cleveland, you know, we don’t even want to go there anyway. Well, it’s fun. But here’s the sad thing. Okay. So last year, they had the Conference in Baltimore. And it was amazing to show off all these magazine editors to show them Baltimore. And they loved Baltimore. And we were like, extremely proud. And we had been nominated for I think about eight awards. How many
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:42
magazines or publications are involved in this many? Well, just about every single everybody knows Max Max can’t hang out larva without people waving at her just about every talking about her award.
Max Weiss 12:53
She She just about every single city has at least one if not multiple magazines, you know, like Washington, Washington and Boston Magazine. Philadelphia. Yeah, even Bethesda has a magazine and they’re almost all members of this seat. Crma. So we had it in Baltimore. We were like so proud of Baltimore. But so they have the award ceremony. We’re up for eight awards. We didn’t win. Oh,
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:20
man. This was like when we seen it in pitch the all star game, right? Yes. Little bit. Right.
Max Weiss 13:25
So and it was so sad because you could see the audience. They wanted to cheer for us. Or something right. We got we got absolutely shut out. Shout out. But this last year, that was last year, so this year in Cleveland, where I’m not there and they’re in Cleveland, they will talk on five of these voters
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:45
woke up and you understood Oh, lord. Yeah, it’s kinda looks like baseball. Right? The attendance comes to your after you win. Right? Right. Absolutely. So Allen, of course, you got your start in Symphony, right. I mean, when I met Alan, he was doing a symphony night at Oregon ridge back in the day. That’s and my English teacher, Sue Monday. I yesterday, by the way,
Allen McCallum 14:11
I started there. I was 12 years old. My sister worked there. I went every show for the summer at Oregon magic and went back the next summer. And they’re like you’re here all the time wanting just work. And that’s literally how I got my start. Oh, let me Kennedy Center. See, there’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:25
another thing you have in common.
Max Weiss 14:27
I mean, you know, Star Wars two when we were hanging out with Dawn, we already talked about
14:31
Xinmin to McAnuff
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:34
Allsop. So what you’re saying is molar greenroom. Did screwed my show up again. Pretty much. Yeah, he’s not here, right. Um, so but the symphony side of this And when’s the last time you’d BSOD Alan, I know you’ve had family. I mean, tough. Oriole games are tough, but like going back to the BSO and being a part of that the reason I even bring this up because I haven’t been and I want to have like
Max Weiss 14:56
it you make it a verb by the way. What be so when did you Let’s be answered.
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:01
Yeah. Okay, so I’m gonna start using it. Why don’t b s a b? So though, you know, I pa showed. I’ll say that out loud. Oh, I did p. So I want to see staying with the Philadelphia symphony orchestra. And we did this two months ago. Alan stinked, maybe two and a half months ago. Sounds right. Played a Friday and Saturday and I’m thinking this through from like, stings perspective. He knows the Philadelphia Orchestra. He’s done this before, okay, because he mentioned it. He’d mentioned he’d been there
Allen McCallum 15:32
before thing and sting and Paul Simon did it when I was at Stroud. He’s done it with other
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:36
orchestras, right. But he knew the Philadelphia because I’m like, What is he doing here? This one off Symphony thing doing all the police songs and like all that, and he lives in New York, he just took the train down. He’s here for like a day and a half. It’s sort of a one off to do it. But it was important to him to to be in front of this orchestra. It was important for me and my wife. It gave us some balance for like, I don’t know what would drag me to Philadelphia for a symphony. It was almost a Rolling Stones. The other night, I went to a rock show in Philly. I almost went to see Chris Stapleton and Marcus King last week in Philly, and live on the north side NASA fillings easier than like Manassas, but to go to a symphony in Philly, and go to that beautiful and Kimmel is what it’s called, give us. I mean, it was breathtaking place. And we had this and we sat in the front row of the balcony, and we got a late drop ticket for 179 bucks. And we ended up falling on Thursday night in Philadelphia. We had a magical experience. And I said to my wife, why don’t we be so more? Is that better than BSOD? Why don’t we be so more? And I think having a young kid Doug, you writing about you winning an award about us talking about it? At least let’s know people know that Justin Tucker will come down and sing with so look.
Allen McCallum 16:47
I mean, yeah, I was with the BSO literally from age 12 to I think 4745. Six, because they were out at strathmore 30 years your
Nestor J. Aparicio 16:57
life? Without a doubt. How many shows a year? 50 100? A lot of cases. More
Allen McCallum 17:03
than that. More than that. But um, wow. Maybe Maybe not. Maybe 75 shows but two or three shows in a weekend, right? So you’re it mean? Back to Back? Sure. So I’m at the National Symphony national symphonies in my hall now at the Kennedy Center. And, for example, they do a thing with Ben Folds called declassified, which is really cool. We told me I’d like it. There’s one tomorrow night, where you have modern artists paired with the orchestra, you have orchestrators who come in and work with the artists and pair it with with the symphonic element. And it’s spectacular. It really is saying with
Nestor J. Aparicio 17:45
the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, it like it made us cry. It was so beautiful. They did
Allen McCallum 17:49
kill the Killer Mike, who’s a rap artist Atlanta was voice with with the orchestra a month ago. And you you wouldn’t believe that rapping reading his music Okay, with the orchestra, you wouldn’t believe that it’s possible, but it’s really amazing and, and smart orchestras are not just doing two or 300 year old pieces anymore, which will never go away and shouldn’t, but they do Star Wars, but to be able to bring in new audiences sure to expand their palate to be relevant. So
Max Weiss 18:24
does that they have this pulse series? Um, I saw I want to say her name is Esmeralda Spalding. Is that her name? Yeah, I saw her with the BSL like there’s a lot of cool artists to come to the BSO as well. Now, here’s an interesting question. See what your awarded your ward pays for the symphony. I have overheard an interesting argument among very respected musical scholars. Is John Williams, the guy who you know, did all the music, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost our jaws, etc. Is he going to be remembered in the same breath as a Mozart and Beethoven 200 years from now? And that was the double
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:10
under that about Billy Joel and Paul McCartney, right? Yeah. And Mick Jagger. Right. Well, I
Allen McCallum 19:15
think composers borrow great composers steal outright
Max Weiss 19:17
and Williams has stolen from the best. It’s to me the music is excellent. I’m not sure if it works separate from the the the film’s you know, I mean, there is nothing quite like hearing the Indiana Jones theme song and you know, Indy is about to show up. It is so stirring, but Disney
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:37
is that way to Disney’s not even really to film right. You know, Disney songs are Yeah, soundtrack of your life.
Max Weiss 19:45
Right. So when you hear them, they’re either evoking the film or in the film. They work so beautifully. I’m just wondering, and it’s still an open question. You know, 200 years from now if people don’t know Raiders, will that music still haven’t impact, I would
Allen McCallum 20:00
argue they’re asking the wrong question. Yeah. Okay. The question that they should ask is, What should he be remembered for? Okay. And I think that he should be remembered for the fact that he inspired an entire generation of artists, musicians, conductors, composers, with the work that he did getting them in interested in something beyond popular music, more than you would have heard on be 104. Growing up in the 70s,
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:24
some of them were a cellist can get a gig, I can’t tell you hey, indeed, all right. I
Allen McCallum 20:28
can’t tell you how many musicians that I’ve heard, say, John Williams, the music that I heard when I was five, watching Star Wars inspired me to move on to become a professional, right, do that. And whatever you think about his music, and I’ve heard, I’ve heard it described from he steals to, you know, he finds color and things that people can’t see that he has a weight, he kept awake. The idea that music was something bigger, or could be bigger than what we know, in terms of popular music, I think is what he should be remembered for. Because that generation that went on has inspired more, as they’ve 50 years after he really hit with jaws and Star Wars and ET. So I think he should be much like God. I can’t believe I can’t think of his name right now. A composer, Maestro. Oh, Bradley Cooper, a Leonard
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:28
Bernstein, as I was gonna go with Hamlisch. But okay. Leonard
Allen McCallum 21:31
Bernstein can be remembered for his scores. And in the work that he did on Broadway, that he did the young people’s concerts in the 60s, that no one, no one that isn’t 50 or older. I don’t remember it. But my parents, my mother certainly remembered it, that it inspired kids who didn’t have access to going to see orchestras made a huge impact on them, and kept it alive and kept it moving. And as much as his music and the things that he conducted or composed. He should be remembered for that. And I think John Williams, the torch gets passed to the next generation through the music that he created for movies.
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:05
My audience is not used to hearing him talk about anything other than the starting rotation right now. And
Max Weiss 22:13
the conversation that maximizes
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:15
your ogos Max won an award in which led us into this symphony conversation I didn’t think I was to be talking about we don’t talk about movies yet. We haven’t talked about baseball yet. Your magazine, you’re doing something really cool tonight. You don’t want to have Ron out. You guys. And I haven’t talked to you about this. Yeah, I’m sure you were there. Ron was there when you brought John Waters Brooks Robinson barbells. Did like that also won an award. Yeah, well, it should have. And we’ve now since lost Brooks, and I don’t know who else was in that picture at that time. But you guys do these sorts of event driven things. You’re doing an event tonight gamechangers game changers for you. You also do best off you do all these different things. You’ve had a crab feast last couple years, you’re having a crab feast. It’s game changers give me game change. And I want to be one of those. I don’t want to be best off anymore. I’ve already done that. So
Max Weiss 23:04
game changers is about people effecting positive change in Baltimore. It’s just
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:09
telling this despite the positive right here,
Max Weiss 23:12
it’s telling the stories about, you know, the people who are really rolling up their sleeves and working to make Baltimore a better place. And we, you know, it
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:21
awesome to meet those people.
Max Weiss 23:22
Those people really is and you know, we do feel like everybody, people tend to tell a lot of negative stories about Baltimore. And we don’t only tell positive stories about Baltimore, but it’s really inspiring to talk to these people who, you know, they walk the walk, and they talk the talk, and they’re really, really putting in the time. And so we put out this game changers section every single year. This year. It has a cover story written by yours truly about Eggo new Odom from Saturday night. Who is amazing. So just very briefly, she is in love with the art of improv. So she’s taking improv, you know, the whole Yes. And the whole, you know, onstage just kind of making it up as you go along. And she’s bringing it to Baltimore City school children, because she thinks that you learn a lot about listening. You learn about self confidence, you learned about working in a group, active listening, they call it so she’s bringing the art of improv to Baltimore School kids. So that’s how we ended up writing about her. So yeah, if you flip through, you’ll see about a lot of amazing ways
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:29
you meet her. I’ve been doing improv for 32 years. Right here.
Max Weiss 24:32
You’re improvising right now. Yeah.
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:34
I am making it up as I go along. There’s no script here.
Max Weiss 24:38
That’s true. Anyway, so she’s she’s amazing. A rising star. She’s not coming tonight to the party, because she’s a little busy, but the governor himself Westmore will be there tonight. And he’s a game changer and himself. Oh, he’s he was a cover boy for us in February and handsome, handsome man. I
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:56
love less can be said I wait for him to come back on the show. Wes, I see you. He’s fixed. On the bridge, especially today’s use since last time we got together I mean, the biggest story in our world was during the bridge
Max Weiss 25:06
that picture I don’t I don’t know which outlet Did it have Brandon Scott and Westmore with their arms around. Yeah, the day after him their heads down and almost in tears to take in comfort in each other. That was one of the most powerful images that I’ve ever seen, you know, just to black men who love the city so much and also working together. You know, it’s beautiful to see that when politics works the way it’s supposed to work, you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 25:34
horrible that bridge has to go down to figure all this out. Yeah, but as far as picking the thing up here the Orioles have been a part of that now we’ll get the movies because I want to get your recommendations and all that. But you guys love the Orioles. We’re in the middle of Oriole madness here. i Today’s the only show that I didn’t attach to an afternoon Oriole game. Like last week we were you know we were there before the oral afternoon game against the Blue Jays next week. It’s the afternoon game against the Yankees. home game here this week’s I didn’t want to sort of that’s why I didn’t do the show here tomorrow because the Braves are playing and I ain’t seen the Braves play a game all here. The Orioles have been a heartbeat of the city in a way you love them. You love them. I cover them even though they don’t love me. And this has been going on for years and years and years. There’s something really different about what’s going on ownership. Peter, we get through all of that. But the free I mean the only pops up the splash people once again been anything right beta is still running it. Nothing’s changed about the team except the team on the field. Very, very the team on the field is, as we sit here, five in a row pitching and all that they’re extraordinary. And I say to my wife every night, I’ve been married 21 years my wife knows of my baseball thing. Every night we have to have the game on because it’s become the heartbeat of the city. And that’s a good thing. You’re wearing your Oriole hat to
Allen McCallum 26:50
nest. We talked about this last time we were I was on with you. I’ve waited my entire adult life for this window of Orioles baseball, where I mean they’ve been good before they they’ve won before you have really believed before. If it’s not about belief, it’s about the ability to sustain something for a for six or seven years. That’s the belief. And it’s clear that these these players rutschman Henderson, Westberg guys with a heavy haven’t gotten here yet, are for real. And they’re here at a time when they’re better than almost everybody else. And does that turn into championships? No, not necessarily. I mean, this is we play in an age where the best team rarely wins the World Series anymore. But to be to watch this team play and know every night, they have a chance to win i a guy that remain will remain nameless, who like he’s like, Oh, well. Therefore behind the Yankees, they’re not going to kill you. They’re catching the Tober. And it’s like, clearly the football mentality has entered the like, it was one game they lost two or three in a row. This it’s June. And they’re not there. They’re two and a half back. But they’re one
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:07
football guy. And let me say this with this football turnover with the chat steel stone people like me out and NPCs people come to the games every week. And they cheer war on offense. They just don’t know. And I think the baseball thing is we’re in a baseball city and all that we have been in a lot of pain, right. And this isn’t even as normal penalties. Like I can’t get more about the Yankee games next week. Because I’m trying to figure out with Luke what we really want to finish in first place and take a week off, or whether we want to go play three days in a row and take our chances we’ll get knocked out in a day. And that
Allen McCallum 28:36
is exactly right. That’s the question whether or not it’s better to win because recent history would tell you that it’s not the best thing to win 100 games and take that week off, because they tend to go out in the next round.
Max Weiss 28:48
Didn’t the Rangers they just kept on going Rangers
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:51
kept going a lot in the modern era. This has been an issue also in football. Yeah, as you know, you take a week off and the other but the notion that you got the notion that you want the Yankees sitting at home it and fungos and you have to go play Cleveland or whatever and you got 48 hours to get that’s a skill. So for that I want him to win one of the when one of the win, but I don’t need them to win. It’s not like they’re going to be a playoff team. All Things Considered. Now I’m thinking like, you better win game one and it’s terrible in June. I’m
Max Weiss 29:21
thinking like that. So the one thing I’ve loved about this team and it was sort of true last year, too is that they never allow that sort of pessimistic Baltimore baseball fan. Right, like right arm pessimistic muscle has been absolutely hardened over the years. So we go to Toronto, we blow them out in the first two. And then we lose the next two. So that was kind of a bummer, right? Like it looked like it was gonna be a guaranteed series when instead it’s a split and you feel oh, no, you’re it’s bad.
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:56
You’re gonna lose. What
Max Weiss 29:58
do we do have After that, we sweep the arrays, we take the first one against the Braves. And I feel like that’s what this team has done. It’s like they haven’t allowed us to get overly neurotic because they’re just so great. Well, the
Allen McCallum 30:15
consecutive series that consecutive series not being swept run of what 108 I think they got to Yeah, I mean, you couldn’t write because it was it never. They never allowed it to happen even before Corbin burns got here who is a bonafide stud number one, yeah, starter. They never let that
Nestor J. Aparicio 30:34
happen to me that Luke reminded me smarter than not gonna be able to pay him. It’s another thing altogether.
Max Weiss 30:39
Rubinstein you can print money, maybe they aren’t going to Well, maybe you talk to him, and I haven’t
Nestor J. Aparicio 30:43
being in the media. But you know, it is interesting. And I’ll take this to a different level with both of you because I talked about this all day. And you can go back over the last eight weeks, or Luke and I were like, Oh, my God, they lost means and wells, what are they going to do? You know, those moments, you know, not Jackson Holliday, who’s 10 years old, and you’ll figure it out. And I’m not up and down on any of that. But I am up and down on Bradish, his arm being and Rodriguez missing some stars and burns being flawless thus far right. And the notion that Ervin has been better than expected, my Venezuelan brother, Alberto Suarez doing his thing, you know, why, and so they’re doing things they shouldn’t be doing or wouldn’t be doing. But I think there’s an inspirational part, to your point when I see the Braves back in the day, hey, I stepped up, you step up your turn to church, and maybe Kate Povich that becomes something for him. But all of the negativity about the pitching and guys getting injured, they just went every night. They went your confidence back at 635 Every night, because you woke up and are up three nothing in the second inning a lot as much
Allen McCallum 31:50
as Elias and SigmaTel get ripped for not doing this right and doing that. Right. These guys are really smart. And they they have they go out and find pieces that nobody expects to be useful. And they are are they 100%? No, nobody ever is. But you know, you say cooler for it’s not very good, well colder, pitched in Oakland. And when he pitched in Oakland, he wasn’t a Cy Young, but he wasn’t bad. He had a bad year.
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:15
He loves dogs and cats. So I like him. He’s my favorite.
Max Weiss 32:18
And then the other thing that I’ve been really enjoying is I’m the kind of person where if I go to an Oriole game and there’s like a lot of Red Sox fans in the in the stands are a lot of Yankee fans. I get really upset like I can’t Don’t go to the Phillies game Saturday and Sunday. No, but that’s just the point. The point is that the Orioles fans are now turning up in droves. They’re in their draft. That’s exactly what I was gonna say. Even in Tampa, Colton Couser is getting to the plate and you’re hearing mus, you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:47
at the bar, and Costas the other day, everybody moved when he hit the triple. You’re hearing
Max Weiss 32:51
Oh, during the national anthem. I mean, so this, this team is traveling, but it’s also like it really used to irritate me when I would go to you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:00
you would avoid Yankee games. Yes.
Max Weiss 33:04
Yes, because I just couldn’t, I had no chill about it. I got like, my blood pressure would go up, you know. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:08
now it’s more sit down.
Allen McCallum 33:11
But the thing was, when you went to those games, and they were there, it was only half of knowing that they were there. What the other half is that? They knew they were going to win. And so to you, they had reason to cheer. And we did and now they still show up. Maybe not in this in the same numbers. But when they show up. They get silent a lot
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:29
by the way you miss I invited you to that afternoon game against the Yankees. I went to the after we’re here today. It’s like Max, you didn’t need to give me any more cheese here today. Yeah, you know, I only go to an Oreo game with you. We have been an Oreo game in 15 years. Yeah. So you
Allen McCallum 33:47
know why? Because he shows he called he’ll call me like Edenic. I gotta pick it. Let’s go.
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:51
Like I have Okay, so my friends a curio wellness. When he called me he’s back in April might for the game. She’s like, look, I got tickets tomorrow. You know, like, I have several. I’m like you will two or four. I’m like, well give me four. I’ll call some friends. You know, and I started calling right and it took me you know 1518 No offense but you were on the first of the list. But when you said no you were kicked down the line and next thing you know Brian pools there and Greg Landry is there and Chris Chris pica who works there. He took one of the tickets at the last minute. So I went up fill in and we got that their seats are five rows off the on deck circle on the third base side. So I’m on the Yankees on deck store, but I gotta keep you on my drinking. You keep drinking. You’ve been hanging out with Moeller he takes himself off the mic to you guys. So get down to our seats. And this was when Soto stared down. Yeah, right. Okay, so we’re there on Thursday. It was 98 degrees. It was just swelteringly awful hot. And we kicked their ass I mean with six enough six 1/4 inning or something like that. We’re just crushing them and I will He’s just that guy. I I’m not running for Republican office, but I took a page out of the robin Ficker handbook, and I decided to heckle the Yankees players professionally. On behalf of Greg Bader and the entire Orioles organization, I sat down off the on deck circle and just let Aaron judge have it. I let Soto have it. You know, I just it was fun. Absolutely dislike your service. Well, there was a Yankees fan in the other section who was Hispanic is Puerto Rican. I want to make friends with him. He was heckling in Spanish. The Orioles players, especially the ones like Santander that understood what he was saying. But for me like Aaron judge, who’s like this tall in the batter’s box when the ball was low, and they called it a ball I stood up the screen is seven feet tall. And Judge looks over the shoulder seat and I’m like, gotcha, do you know you’re not in the Bronx anymore? Big boy. You know so like I was I pulled in a lane Bennis if you know you know what I mean? Like I got I got I got write about it won’t be half of you and everyone that’s ever hated the Yankees fan. Love that. Allen Callum is here. Max is here. Good man.
Max Weiss 36:06
I always say that they’re all the seats at Camden Yards are good. There’s like no bad seats at Camden Yards. But those seats just a few rows back first. Bayside third, Bayside homeplate those are the best seats in baseball. I mean, you can pensively reach out and touch the players and they absolutely can hear you and your hacker Oh app. So heckle responsibly.
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:28
We’re so struck out looking. Oh, I’m staring at you. I’m staring at you.
Allen McCallum 36:34
I was watching you know, you watch MLB Network. And they spent that whole after Soto did the whole stereo. Yeah. And it’s the home run the next bed wherever they are. It’s the home run. They spent the whole next day talking about it. And folks, New York, New York, they lost he you know, they lost who cares? On to the next
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:55
fan. He’s upset about this. There’s any I was upset
Max Weiss 36:58
to know man, I kind of loved it because he stared us down like he’s this big, tough guy. And then we killed them and I will well, you will say
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:07
what finish your thought.
Max Weiss 37:08
I well. My favorite player. Isn’t the reason I said well is is Cedric and he certainly has the yips right now it’s a little alarming you saying? Oh, of course. I’m Cedric for life. But um, you know, besides that, you know, of course I love Gunnar. I love Atlanta. Love them all. I mean, Ryan mountcastle. Can we talk about him? Here’s my question about Gunnar Henderson. Is he as great as I think he is? Yes. Is he like met Mike Trout? Great.
37:37
Not yet. But oh, yeah.
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:39
What’s wrong?
37:40
He’s not Mike Trout.
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:41
He’s only done it for a minute. That’s your point. His
Allen McCallum 37:44
bet right now he’s hitting 260 He’s hitting a lot of homeruns he can walk. He’s got great news. He’s a great infielder.
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:50
You don’t think he’s ever gonna hit 312? I didn’t say that and draw 121
Allen McCallum 37:55
I think this is a second full year in the big leagues, and we’ll see. But he’s a great player.
Max Weiss 38:00
And it’s funny you say he’s hitting 260? Because doesn’t it feel like he’s hitting 300. And I think that’s because he has the clutch gene. Like it just seems like in every big moment he comes
Allen McCallum 38:11
through now it feels like he’s hitting 260 Me as the
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:14
mountcastle thing to me. It feels like he’s a perennial 240 hitter. And he said 300 Right. So like, to me it feels like some of these guys are producing at a level where I’m like, my favorite player, I think, and I very, I mean, I like Westberg because of what he represents, and sort of that Bobby Grich, rich dour kind of way, but he’s better than that. I’m a rutschman guy, I just I’ve just decided that. I just he’s catcher I have special he has rah rah, he is spirit. And you know in a sport where you’re not supposed to be that spirit and come out. You come in rah rah the pitcher. They’re like what do you think you’re Mickey Mantle or whatever? You know all this Joe Cool, macho BS the baseball has. He doesn’t carry that with him and I never met him. I don’t know him. I you know, maybe one day, Greg Badal. Give me my press pass back my legitimate press pass back. Well, I have to say that today because like we didn’t have a representative at the game last night because my reporter was doing his Bible study last night and couldn’t do it. So we won’t have a reporter there this weekend because my reporters sister is nine months and six days pregnant. So they’re making nieces and nephews this week. So just in we have Raven training and so I it does piss me off. But one of the things that really does bother me is like, I’d love to know Roger, I’d love to sit and talk to Roger but about baseball, you know, and all of these guys when Rob long has them or when Melanie Newman or when they’re doing the post game other than when they’re spitting the sunflower seeds with each other in the dugout which I don’t like at all, because it’s my only time I get without Colton Couser because that’s what I get. i My wife always says they seem like nice guys. Yeah, they seem like good guys. And even when my wife acknowledges the problems I’ve had with new management, which is really old management Um, she’s always like, man, the players. We sit every night and watch them and I don’t root against them. I don’t you know, like, I’m for them because they’re likable.
Allen McCallum 40:08
I hear people talk about, oh, why don’t we go get to a bar? Like, I want nothing to do with that joke. But after the things they’ve said to me, there’s nothing about us man interest me. Look. I will I will say this to you. Before the draft a deadly Romanised. I said out loud, I would never I wouldn’t draft a catcher first. So I wouldn’t
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:27
do well, you saw winners to
Allen McCallum 40:30
run down to this day, I still wouldn’t draft a catcher because their shelf life is short. And I loved I thought Bobby Witt was going to be the star that he is now. They’re both great players. And Adley. The first year of at least C’s first season he was here. I thought he walks too much. He never swings the bat last year, you could see him trying to put it together. And this year, it looks like he’s putting the game together being becoming the complete one.
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:56
I did an hour on this if at least last week about walks and how they’re not walking as much. But that’s a byproduct of them telling him to get more aggressive. Right?
Allen McCallum 41:05
It’s It’s fascinating to watch his progression as a as an offensive player. But what can’t be denied? And I certainly didn’t know this at the time, is it the day he stepped on the field? They stopped losing. And what for that alone, he’s the right choice, obvious overwhelmed. And there are 100 reasons you could give for why that happened. But the intangible of Adley rutschman. And when that happened, cannot be denied and can’t be measured yet. It can’t be measured yet. And it’s not measured in his average. It’s not it measured, whether he’s in 260 or not. And yes, so being on the field and being able to talk to him would help fill that out. I don’t know what the entire answer is. I love Cedric Mullins, and I’m praying that he comes through and I’ll be honest, I’m a black man in Baltimore. And while I love this team, a lot of the guys on team look the same. And I think it’s important in Baltimore to have a some I tried
Nestor J. Aparicio 42:01
to express this to Greg Bader. Mr. Rubenstein is people that it’s important that Venezuela media member would be you know, because they’re Venezuelan player.
Allen McCallum 42:07
I think it’s important Baltimore to have some players of color on the team. I agree with that. And I want Cedric and Cedric has done it right. So you, you believe it? I believe in him. We’ll see what happens if he can’t I mean, if you guys lose it, and if he’s lost it then you move on. But of the young guys, Jordan Westberg I love I told you I love this kid. I just I love the way he plays even after two airs. I have no interest in let the kids play. I want guys that act that act like you’ve been there. And you he’s you see he sweats every at bat. His brain his mind is on every play. There’s nothing about this kid I’ve seen so far that I don’t like and I don’t think wrong I love Adly I’ve got her but Jordan Westbrook is like my my Cert my spirit animal on the Orioles in terms of how gosh, I
Max Weiss 42:59
mean, he first of all he really broke through this year. I didn’t realize he was this good. And now he just seems to me like a guy who’s going to be a perennial 300 hitter. He just seems to have figured out hitting and to me. Batting for average, in some ways is more exciting than batting for power
Nestor J. Aparicio 43:14
like that was coming on for him. Because he flashed that all through his
Allen McCallum 43:18
career. Well, what’s even better is that his he’s, he’s able to hit the ball to the opposite field and the right center and certainly with the new dynamic dimensions of Camden Yards. That is key. For right handed hitters, you’ve got to be able to hit the ball the other way and hit it hit it hard.
Max Weiss 43:34
And there’s nice I mean, they’re not just nice guys. They’re like, enjoying it so much. You can tell it’s fresh, having fun. They don’t take themselves too seriously remember last year with the with the tracksuits and the sunglasses,
Nestor J. Aparicio 43:48
but the only team was with a quad waterborne in the
Max Weiss 43:51
Hydration Station. You know, the vibes are just immaculate right now at Camden
Nestor J. Aparicio 43:57
Yards that you don’t want a cow outfit. None of that cow suits
Max Weiss 44:01
are no I mean, if somebody gave me a cow suit to wear to Camden Yards I would 100%
Allen McCallum 44:06
Where it I’ll think about Holden’s got to make a little more contact and then we’ll talk Wow. Yeah, he started
Nestor J. Aparicio 44:11
out strong and a little Mendoza here through May. Allah McCallums here, Max is here. I want to take a break and then do movies. Can we do that because we’ve been at this too long. And Max is here with Baltimore magazine. She’s the editor in chief never be confused with executive editor. Allen’s executive of all things baseball around here. You can find him down at the Kennedy from time to time and also here at Baltimore positive. We’re here promoting the Maryland lottery our friends at Liberty pure solutions keep my water clean, as well as Jiffy Lube. MultiCare at the double gold rush doubler sevens I get to learn I get to start saying that the right way before Ross gets mad at me. They’re fresh. They’re new. These are the first ones they’re going to be lucky one for Allen one from x male movies next. All right movies. Yes, that sounds Thank you through because I don’t have anything to say about it. Other than I haven’t already said. I think we’ll get one movie this year twice in the debug seat. Back for more with Max and Alan we are at Coco His pub where the coconut shrimp are delicious and the conversation is hot
