As the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans prepare to invade Baltimore for Maryland Fleet Weekend, Luke Jones and Nestor prepare for an all-too-rare June series of significance at Oriole Park Camden Yards.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
phillies, orioles, game, week, play, weekend, yankees, years, team, philly, fans, philadelphia, series, fun, baseball, pictures, phillies fan, stadium, watching, win
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor J. Aparicio
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home we are a W n s t test Baltimore, Baltimore positive or positive we get back out on the road. We’re gonna be a fleet week on Friday and then next week I’m wearing my pappy shirt. That’s two weeks. That will be a Costas next Thursday. Before the Orioles Yankees game from one to four and then on the 25th we will be at Pappas in Parkville. The original World Famous crabcakes I’m wearing my pappy shirt all the brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery. I had to learn this the right way. It’s gold rush sevens. doubler not gold rush double sevens. I got that wrong. So I’m giving these away either way. They are lucky. I had a $20 winner over a Coco’s on Wednesday. Great conversation to Coco’s a bunch of good friends stopped by over SIG and Max Weiss stopped by Tom Pierce from classic five golf who he’s a Phillies fan speaking to Phillies fan. I used to be one this guy SR married into a family full of them he’s about to become an uncle a squared this weekend. Just in time for the Philadelphia Phillies to get here he was at most of the games of this series was running around with the Ravens earlier this week. And as you know, they only allow wn st one credential for one person so we didn’t get to cover everything this week. But Luke is overworked and as always ready to deliver on all things. Orioles. Big week, man, you know this brace thing you can’t sweep everybody dude. I mean, everybody wants a broom, a broom. It’s like the baseball teams never supposed to lose when they’re playing good teams. If we get together next week, and they don’t lose to the Phillies, in the Yankees, they’ve done something. But this is this is as good a week of baseball as they’re going to find competitive wise until they probably get to
Luke Jones 01:43
October. No question about it. I think there’s always this sense of looking ahead October, we’ve talked about this with the ravens, January, January, January, it’s all about January. It’s becoming more and more that way for the Orioles. But I think this is a week to make sure you’re not missing the forest for the trees in the sense of this is the kind of week this weekend series specifically with the Phillies coming in is the kind of series that Orioles fans could only dream about for a really really long time. You know, there’s nostalgia 1983 Which obviously holds a special place in my heart because I was born two months before two weeks before the Orioles want last won a World Series. And as you mentioned, I mean there’s a local connection with Philadelphia just being right up the road. But you’re talking about two of the three best teams in baseball and then when the Orioles are done with the Phillies, they’ll go to the Bronx and play the other of those three best teams. It really is exciting. It’s fun. I mean, when I saw the pitching matchups, and I talked to you a couple days ago about this, I think we were just texting about it. When I saw what the pitching matchups could be for this weekend series, which we already know Saturday and Sunday was announced about a week and a half ago that were they were sellouts. I’m sure they’re going to be plenty of Philadelphia fans. Friday nights, I would assume is at least very close to a sellout if not a sellout by the time we get to first pitch. There’s so much excitement with this series because these are such good baseball teams. I was looking at the numbers going into this game going into this series opener. Orioles first in Major League Baseball and runs per game. The Phillies second in Major League Baseball and runs per game and oh by the way, the Yankees third in Major League Baseball and runs pregame which obviously the Yankees will follow. Runs allowed pregame Orioles are third best Phillies fourth best Yankees first best I mean these. These are the three best teams in baseball right now record wise, and there’s nothing fluky about it whatsoever. It’s not as though any of these teams are miraculously winning a ton of one run games or you look at the run differential and say, well, that doesn’t look like a team that should be 20 plus over 500 and mid June. These teams are all legit. And I think this is there’s this there’s the can be the sense of oh, you know what, what if this doesn’t go well, hey, October still three and a half months away regardless of what happens over the next week. So there’ll be a range of potential outcomes to your point. If they sweep the Phillies, they sweep the Yankees. The Orioles be the undisputed best team in baseball perception wise. If they lose two out of three
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:22
weeks, they have the opportunity to to establish that in June. Nobody wants to be the best team in June. But you want to be the best team in June 8. No in the NFL. Nobody wants to carry that around on Halloween. But it’s fun when you are
Luke Jones 04:35
right. It’s fun. And that’s where my whole point here is embrace how fun and how unique this setup is. I mean, this is Major League Baseball. The only thing that they’ve messed up on is none of these Orioles Phillies games are nationally televised games. I mean, why? Why not on Fox? Why not on Sunday Night Baseball. So that’s the only thing that I would say but I mean, it’s gonna be exciting. And this is fun. It’s fun. The idea that Kyle bro radishes matching up against Ranger Suarez on Friday night is fun. Oh, my goodness, on Sunday, we’re getting Corbin burns, Zack Wheeler, it doesn’t get any better than that in modern baseball. So embrace that. Yeah, it’s going to be tough. And guess what? That they the unthinkable would happen and they would get swept. They lose all six of these games. This season is still far from over. And they’re still right. Yeah, just right around 20 games over 500 I guess it’d be a few under and at that point, few under 20. But they’re in a great spot, regardless of what happens over the next week. And the Phillies are too and the Yankees are too. So let’s see what see how it turns out. It’s a measuring stick week for all these teams. And I think that’s something that comes with trepidation. But on the flip side, it’s an opportunity. And I just, I’m looking forward to this as much as you and I talked about that Orioles Yankee series back in late April and May and and I kind of I was dismissive about it being big, just because it’s late April and early May. Now it’s still only mid June, there’s still so much season to go. Nothing is decided this week. To your point. If you’re the best team in baseball in mid June, what’s that get you nothing. But it’s just a it’s a great opportunity to see some great baseball teams match up here over the next week. And who knows, you know, let’s not let’s not exactly count these guys out in terms of you know, they could handle their business and be the best team in baseball as we are talking a week from now. So let’s just enjoy this because this is as relevant as it gets when you’re talking about hosting the best team in the National League and then immediately following that, with an off day built in there finally for the Orioles on Monday, but they go to the Bronx then they face the best team in the American League as it stands right now but the Orioles are right there. There’s nothing about this series that fans should be fearing by any stretch of the imagination other than just the fact that these are great teams and it’s baseball and you don’t know exactly how it’s gonna go. But you know, the Yankees or the Phillies are banged up right now me Trey Turner still on the IL Brandon Marsh went on the aisle a couple you know about a week and a half ago and JT realm real Muto their their star catcher is sidelined with a knee injury right now you know having surgery for it or had surgery for it. So they’re not at full strength. We know the Orioles aren’t at full strength of some of their pitching, but it’s a great baseball team. So I mean, you can tell I’m excited. I really genuinely am excited about this as someone who gets to go to games every day. And I you know, I try not to take that for granted. But there are plenty of series where you just kind of, you know, you watch the games. And you know, it is what it is and then you move on. But this is a really special weekend. This is really special week coming up. And I just think everyone should embrace that as an awesome opportunity for this young team. As good as they’ve been to see how they match up against the mighty Phillies, who went to a World Series A couple years ago, were in the NLCS last year, and to see how they match up going against the Yankees in the Bronx, knowing that the Yankees have played such great baseball now for the last month and half really since the last time they played in Baltimore six weeks ago. One thing about the
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:10
series is burns won’t go against the Yankees, right? So you say what’s more important this or that they’re all important games that are in front of you. And whether it’s important or not, we’re going to pretend it is you know, because we’ve never had anything like this and been on the air 32 years, man. And I don’t remember the Orioles played the Braves in the late 90s, maybe 97 or something like that when they they switched over. And it was a big deal that Messina was hitting against the Braves and American League hitters hitting and you know, cross leagues and all of that stuff. 27 years ago, whatever, I don’t really remember any series, or group of series, or week or two in June for this franchise, under Angelo’s ownership, where it mattered or could have mattered. So to your point, you can only dream about the series. Yeah, like, I forgot that you could have big series in June, right. And once we have them, to your point, you sort of pissed on it last month, and I’ll push on it today and just say, if they if we do one in five, the next six games, they’re still their toes are tapping the Phillies are in another league, it’s more of a measurement. It’s more fun than it is. And same thing with the Yankees. I mean, with this wildcard, it is all more fun because if you’re alive in October, you’re alive so you’re not walking the tightrope the way maybe you would 30 years ago before all of this existed with a gene series, and also more opportunities to beat teams in your division that don’t exist anymore. You don’t even play the Yankees enough for them to be in the way or to beat them enough for them to beat us enough to knock us out of the playoffs or anything like that. So but bowl crowds, the mojo of it being summer and the arrive Have all of the team being good? I mean, not that we should say that after they win a division last year but you know, there’s plenty of empty seats. There’s plenty of room on the bandwagon and this weekend there’s no empty seats because the Phillies are going to bring 30,000 people, maybe more down here Saturday. So the way it’s sold out way ahead of time and the Orioles fans not. Why would the Orioles fans get a jumpstart on the Phillies series, they would want a jumpstart on the Yankee series if they were buying tickets in advance. So I am a little worried that it’s going to be a road game this weekend. Amidst this prosperity, there’s nothing worse than being that team you win a division, you’re awesome. And you get shouted down in your own stadium by Phillies fans. That being said, Rodriguez has a chance to go out and pitch so does burns and make this thing a celebratory thing for whatever 20,000 Oriole fans that are there. Because we plenty Oreo fans here this weekend. But it’s not going to feel like a playoff game against the A’s where everybody in the stadium is going to be an Oriole fan, it’s going to be a real mixed bag in sort of a non football way even when the Cowboys fans come in and take over. There’s 10,000 of them and 60,000 of us. That’d be a little different this weekend. I think there’s gonna be a different atmosphere for the crowd this week. And then anything we see first of its full, and it’s not opening, everybody’s drunk and hanging out and walking around trying to find warmth. It’s gonna be hot as hell, and it’s going to be packed, packed to the gills. We’re a big baseball game with big pitching with big moments, and there’s gonna be a lot of noise because it’s not going to be quiet when the Phillies hit a homerun. It’s it’s going to be competitive, I guess is what I’m saying in a way that baseball stadiums aren’t usually half and half this weekend is going to be that way. Yeah,
Luke Jones 11:44
I mean, and obviously Yankees fans travel. I mean, we’ve talked about it over the last couple of years Orioles fans of low key traveled better at some of these you know when you’re talking about when you go to Wrigley or obviously the trop with that being you know, St Petersburg vegan being not that far away from Sarasota Orioles. There’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:01
also 5000 fans that don’t care. Right, exactly. So when you bring 3000 You’re You’re the crowd, you know,
Luke Jones 12:07
right right. So so yeah, There absolutely are going to be Philadelphia fans there by the way, they’re going to spend a lot of money downtown and that’s a good thing. We
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:15
look up look up you Philadelphians look up the cheesesteak eaters.
Luke Jones 12:18
So a big weekend for the city but yeah, I mean and look that will anger some Orioles fans and I get that and believe me I always prefer having a stadium full of only
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:29
what used to anchor me. Where’s our local pride get out? And then Angelo’s took over that I’m a chump on the radio even saying stuff like giving your money like people stopped going forever now they have to get them back that’s Greg gators charge. That’s that’s what they’re trying to do right now is get people back the places for this weekend. There’s nothing to said. I’m just for people going down there this weekend. It’s I have a feeling when there’s a double off the wall for the Phillies. You’re gonna think you’re in South Philly. I mean, I have no doubt about that. Because the thing sold out it’s not sold out full of loyal fans. That’s the uniqueness of this series. It’s look it’s the same way with the Phillies play the Mets win the Phillies by the Mets in Philly. There’s 10,000 Mets fans there. They just are. Yeah,
Luke Jones 13:11
yeah. I mean, and again, that can make for if you get really competitive back and forth games that can actually make for a really fun atmosphere when you think about it in those terms. But yeah, Philly fans travel. I mean, there’s flashing that’s not exactly a shock right there. By
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:26
the way you’re meant to Brazil thing with the football thing.
Luke Jones 13:28
What about it? So
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:31
your song this week now Tom’s classic five golf and Tom’s a Philly guy and I’ll hold that against them. I was nice to him. You can hear it on the air this week. We were over Coco’s on Wednesday having a crab cake. So we got a crab cake downstairs. My wife koechers Thank you. So you know we got to talking about this and you know that the London series just last weekend, right so all these Philadelphia fans went over there. I had a whole bunch of on my timeline that went because I’m connected these people that had other Phillies fans with the Boston to see them play and you know, they’re a little bit jet lagged, I think at this point. But the Phillies, the Eagles I should say and we think about the Eagles traveling because they travel pretty well too. They’re going down to Brazil. They’re playing the Packers. Apparently you can’t wear the color green in the stadium. You know about this? I did hear about that. It’s like it’s it’s a gang thing. It’s a stadium thing. It’s aware of the rival team. It’s like the Steelers were in black and gold even though Towson and UMBC were black and gold here. There’s a weird thing going on what there’s Eagles fans going down to Brazil anyway I just figured I’d throw that out because we don’t get the CDs Philly people. I was with a mall last weekend I was up Philadelphia for Tommy Conwell and the Phillies are real thing up there. Like you know I mean they and I’ve talked to Tom about this, your brother in law’s a Phillies fit they want enough the last 15 years that everybody has Phillies gear. I mean I saw a Chase Utley dog the other day, I saw dog in Fenway, Pennsylvania and a little Chase Suddenly 26 outfit, powder blue with a bubble pee the whole deal. So there is they’ve been winning up there while we’ve been down here jumping around playing football, like eating I mean that the baseball team is a real concern in Philadelphia. In a way it wasn’t at the turn of the century when they stunk after Crockett Hollins. And Schilling and all those guys left, they stomped forever. But 15 years ago, they picked it up. And that’s part and parcel of them bringing 25 30,000 people down here this weekend is they sell a lot of tickets up there. They’re they’re a big brand up there. And this is where I get my monocles out for Mr. Rubenstein and the Whistler. This is what you want your brand to be. When we play Philadelphia and we’ve won a couple World Series 10 years from now, we want to be the fans that go up there with 30 because that’s how you grow your fan base winning. And the Phillies have done that they really have I mean, how about the Eagles brand, it’s the NFL and the Sixers and the flyers. The Phillies are the most ubiquitous brand in Philadelphia, if you’re going to talk about wearing something that says I’m from Philadelphia, the P says that to me, and it’s winning, winning and winning, and we haven’t had enough of that here. I love the Phillies brand because of that hope they bring the fanatic down this weekend. Yeah,
Luke Jones 16:16
I mean, I don’t I still my brother in law would probably still tell you the Eagles and welcoming the Eagles have won a Super Bowl fairly recently. Obviously, they went to another Super Bowl. So But your point is well taken. And I agree with that. I mean, that brand has taken massive strides. I mean, obviously they won the World Series in oh eight went to another World Series in oh nine. They did have a lien a lien stretch in between that era and what we’ve seen the last day last for a minute. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And really badly for a couple years. But yep, that’s how you get Adly rushman. Yeah, exactly, sir. Certainly. But yeah, they signed Bryce Harper, that changes things right. You know, ownership
Nestor J. Aparicio 16:56
is beloved and Phil. Oh, yeah, absolutely. That’s my point being nobody’s ever loved the Sixers owner and Philly, right? Like so. I’m just saying when you love the owner, or believe in what the organization is doing, and you put that hat on, or you put that shirt on it you really believe, dude, come on. We went through this last year. Orioles fans haven’t put their stuff on and believed until maybe last August. Yeah, never. Now, fans believe now we all believe they can win the World Series. But nobody’s put a hat on believing they can win or believing in management or believing they’re gonna sign Adley rutschman are believing things are gonna stay together. Really believing we haven’t had the ability to believe in the ownership here. I still don’t you have a press pass? I don’t I don’t believe in the ownership. I think they’re I don’t Greg baiters run in the place. So believing in it, buying into it. When I talked to Phillies fans, it’s very clear they love the ownership. Even learned to love Bryce Harper.
Luke Jones 17:54
Yeah, well, I mean, Bryce Harper is a phenomenal talent and you sign him to that long of a deal. You know, he’s gonna be there for a long time. Although those deals also on the back end of them oftentimes don’t look so good, but lots of great talent on that team, free agents, but also some also some homegrown guys, you know, guys that they’ve developed and come up through their system and pitching right now. They’re really really, really good. I mean, they just are now the one thing I’ll point out and I wanted to point this out, and this is why I said this isn’t just the litmus test for the Orioles. It’s a litmus test for the Phillies. It’ll be a litmus test for the Yankees when the Orioles go to the Bronx there next week. measuring stick barometer however you want to describe it. All these teams kind of want to see how they measure up. But one thing about the Phillies and this is including this series against the Red Sox where they actually they scuffled a little bit, you know, to your point, maybe a little bit of jet lag, or, as I mentioned, they’re a little banged up. You know, they’re missing some guys in their lineup right now. But they have only played entering Friday 12 games all year against teams that are currently above 500. Now they’re eight and four, but 12 games all year against teams currently over 500. They’ve had a very favorable schedule to this point in the season. In contrast, the Orioles are 20 and eight against teams currently over 500 The Yankees 19 and 11. So the Orioles and the Yankees have been much more battle tested in that way and this team’s playing the Al East has been better than the NL East top to bottom when you consider how lousy Miami is and knowing that the Mets aren’t very good and the nationals are better than they’ve been but still not very good overall. So for the Phillies, this is absolutely a chance for them to come in and flex their muscles as the NFL is best team if they can knock off one of the two best teams in the AFL. So this is fun. I mean, it really is to your point and I can’t stress this enough. Whatever happens this week, even if they do go one in five. If the Orioles go one and five over the next six games, guess what? They’re still 18 games over 500 Madrid in mid June, they’re still in really good shape. They’re still the wild card, they’re still there. The Yankees wouldn’t run away with it under that scenario either. So just let this play out, embrace it, enjoy it. Because to your point, other than I think back to the race series last September, you know, that four games set when they came into Baltimore in mid September, which was huge, but we also know the rays are the Yankees in turn, in terms of prestige, aren’t even the Phillies in terms of prestige. And you know, with the Phillies bringing fans in here, it’s going to be a combative crowd in terms of back and forth. And, yeah, Bryce Harper hits a homerun in the first inning off, Kyle Bradish. It’s gonna be I don’t know what number will be 15,000 taught, you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:48
they’re gonna be ringing the bell is what that is what they do. They don’t stay up there.
Luke Jones 20:52
Yeah, no, no question about it. But again, beat them, play good games, have it be back and forth. And then it’s an unbelievable atmosphere over the course of the weekend, so and to the point I made earlier, they’re going to spend a lot of money downtown, which is good thing for the city in and of itself. So I mean, like I said, I, I sound almost giddy talking about this, because I’m excited about it. And again, it’s not so much the ramifications. It’s just 15 years once when we played a game in June, that first play like web, I mean, you
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:25
could dream about it. This is
Luke Jones 21:28
for them. And they played, they played some I don’t want to say critical series, because again, how critical is it really in June, knowing there’s so much baseball left, but just in terms of perception? Like I said, I just laid out numbers that tell you these are with apologies to Cleveland, who’s also right there in that picture. These are the three best teams in baseball right now. Yeah, record wise, runs, runs per game and runs allowed per game wise. I mean, I just read off the numbers to you going into the series, they’re all right there in terms of pitching and offense. So in the aggregate, they’re all about the same, you know that. As far as their makeup, they’re all built a little bit differently. Obviously, the Phillies have some big time free agents, pitching and hitting wise. And we know the Yankees do have the Orioles are much much, much more homegrown, and only have a couple hired guns in their mate, namely, Corbin burns, the trade, but in the aggregate, they’re all really really good. So this is just I mean, like I said, the only thing Major League Baseball failed and doing was not putting Orioles Phillies in Nash in a national TV game or to this weekend. But all eyes in Baltimore and Philadelphia are going to be on what’s happening at Camden Yards all weekend and then you’ll you’ll have a brief chance to take a breath and then you go to the Bronx for three. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:51
if anybody’s watching out on the YouTube or watching on our WNS TV channel, and you follow us on social media, you should follow Luke at Baltimore, Luke, no matter what I worry about, follow me on. I just put up pictures of rock stars and stuff. I’m going to take over your Luke and we’re going to do a little throwback here on my 1983 I was telling a story to Tom Pierce. That I had a Pentax 150 camera that my parents got me for my birthday. It was my 15th birthday. If that week was my favorite game one was not my 15th birthday. It was game three. Game One was Tuesday. Game Two was Wednesday, game three was on the 14th. Friday. So the 11th, the 12th, the 14th 15th and we won the World Series on the 16th which was Sunday. You were born on October. Second, correct. Second, correct. So you were born on a Sunday. Two weeks before you were born like the week Tito Landrum at the home run.
Luke Jones 23:44
I was born I think it was the regular season finale finale. Okay, so
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:48
this picture here is taken on the the 11th of October which was Tuesday night game one. This was a night with Joe Morgan who’s stretching out here in this picture would hit the home run to beat the Orioles. But Bo Diaz Sarge, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Terry Holland, Todd Caribbean cruise and these pictures. And here’s the fanatic and the Oriole bird wrestling at second base. Let’s create a full crowd in the outfield. The weirdest part is there’s like little spots of orange. It’s a couple of orange a lot of white panel to hatch. You can see Oriole hats were big. You could not buy an oriental jersey at the games and eastpoint Mall in it. No one had jerseys. No one had to see a guy with an orange jacket out here in the outfield. Yeah, your dad as your dad. They’re the Usher outfit. But that’s the only orange we had no red. It’s crazy how different sports is 40 years later, there’s a very young spell. Oriole owner Cal Ripken MVP that year. The great buoy Kuhn and Yvonne de Hey Soos playing catch here in the background during the stretch out. The Philly Phanatic under the John 316 360 sign and right field, having some fun with the car. ops cop has a bat on the Philly Phanatic, which is exactly what every good work for that Baltimore police officer. I was so close to the dugout before first pitch. I had pictures into their dugout. I went down to the dugout with my little camera, Little Master I need to take pictures show me leuco my radio show when I’m a big radio star 40 years from now. And there’s you could see it was raining a little bit that night. You see the water down on the field. There’s the late great Venezuelan, I have to point that out for the whistler that this is a real Venezuelan bow Diaz who perished many years later in a very tragic accident. So there’s my my 1983 Philadelphia Phillies Orioles World Series pictures that I treasure and shares and you know what, Luke? That strangest thing about all this is you’re a little younger than me that you’d I started going to games and 73 or your games and 73 I had the picture of the Louis Aparicio the ball like my parents had a little instamatic for that. I don’t think I ever carried a camera in the Memorial Stadium ever again in my life. Like I played baseball there. I played it, pitch it and run there. My dad didn’t take a camera to take pictures of it. We’re just different these days. These are literally the only Memorial Stadium pictures I own that I took ever with a camera I from football pictures. Later that year. We played the Packers that year and a year when the Braves or the ravens, the Colts didn’t win a game that year. But I took some pictures and 82 with my Pentax camera. I have pictures of James Lofton and Chester Mark hole and Lynn Dickey of all things and Randy McMillan in colts gear. But we didn’t take cameras. So that’s all I got. And I will tell you that there are plenty of people out there in the listening audience because I’ve met them who went to one of the World Series games in 83. Like you didn’t, but your dad did. Maybe your dad didn’t know. Didn’t did your stuff. The World Series
Luke Jones 27:01
One of my Yeah, one of my most treasured stories, and really were a reflection of his character, although I certainly wouldn’t have judged him and I honestly, in the remaining years, yeah, yeah. I mean, I always said to him, why didn’t you go and well, we’ll play in another world series Luke. Yeah. And here’s So here’s what’s funny, and I’ll add a little bit to that, because it’s just yeah, since you brought it up. Yeah, a lot of people would hear that. And so, you know that Mike Jones was a good man. He stayed home with his wife who had just given birth. Now my mom was upstairs in the bedroom with with her mom, my mom’s parents were, I think still staying because they were retired at that point, everything. But no, my dad was downstairs with me and my grandfather, you know, his father in law, watching the World Series on TV, so it wasn’t so much that I’m watching the game with you is what you’re saying wanted to watch it with me even though I was literally two weeks old as Cal Ripken caught the final out, you know, the line drive and McGregor’s hugging Dempsey and everything happening at the vet. But yeah, he did not work the World Series which I think he’s you know, to this day, if he were here, I’d say you should have worked one game at least you know that that that would have been okay. And he would have made good money too, because tips would would have been amazing for a World Series game but But yeah, that’s, that’s the legend of Mike Jones right there.
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:25
Look, I wanted to show you one picture here. This is the most important picture in the whole thing, right? This is the picture of me in the Phillies dugout like putting the camera into the because I cared so much more about the Phillies than I did the Orioles in 83 and I was 15 I love the Orioles. I mean I went to every game at 79 Oh God, but I fell in love with the Phillies. My father, my paternal father came back to America in 1981 and was friends with trio and and Bo Diaz. My father was Venezuelan, obviously. And he came back and took me and Kevin Eck up to Philadelphia in the summer of 1981. Before the strike, I have all the tickets stuff. I saw Nolan Ryan pitch for the Astros and I saw the Expos play the Expos in the Astros in the summer of 81. My father Nestor senior took me and Kevin, and one of his baseball friends up to Philadelphia for three days we stayed at the stadium Hilton across the street, and we went to every game. And my father, I kind of abandoned me as one of the last times I saw my father, my real father, but we went up to Philadelphia, and my father was in the clubhouse. Nestor senior was in the clubhouse. I have autographs from every Philadelphia Philly player on stadium Hilton. Like the little tab, desk notes thing that you would have in a hotel room that says stadium Hilton on it. I have sheets of paper there the size of this lottery ticket was a little notepad and I have Mike Schmidt Bob Boone Mani trio, Gary Matthews, Paul Owens, like all of their autographs, Schmidt and Rose, specifically his Hall of Famers. Now Joe Morgan, I guess he didn’t see Joe Morgan that day. But in 81, so my dad and I went, it’s been three days there. We came back home to train, came back home. And Kevin remained an Oreo fan, and I went out and bought Philly stuff at one. So I have a Philly bubble p hat. Richie Ashburn was a giveaway in 81. I still have that ad. You probably seen that. So I was a Phillies fan during that era in 81. And 82, became a Mike Schmidt fan. I collected baseball cards. The Schmidt rookie was the rage and 73 and all that stuff. And they were such a good team. They were a team full of these exotic and it speaks to interleague play. I was just gonna say, there was watching Pete Rose all of the years in the 80s in the Big Red Machine and Joe Morgan, watching Carlton and Schmidt, thinking Philly was a million miles away, and then realizing you could get there and an hour and a half when you’re 13. I didn’t know any of this. This opened the door for all of the rush concerts, journey. All the concerts I went to an 84 a 586 When I got a driver’s license was because my dad took me to Philadelphia, and I fell in love with it because the fanatic was funny. The bird wasn’t. I get squirted one night because I said the bird wasn’t funny enough. It wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the fanatic because he’s not as as a mascot. And the fake grass, the artificial turf, the round Stadium, the fact that Gary Carter Warren Cromarty, Andre Dawson, were playing the fact that Nolan Ryan who I’d seen pitch as a kid as a California Angel, but he was in the National League. You see these players, and there was something just incredibly exotic about it. I my dad, we even had the the antenna on the roof, that could get channel 17 that get Phillies games in 8182 83 because they were great. They were great. I loved baseball, so it didn’t matter baseball, but my love the Phillies and my love of baseball and my love of national league baseball and I would go every single time the Dodgers would play in the 80s and Philly. I would go see Steve Garvey, Ron say Davey Lopes play, I would go up every time Doc Gooden pitched I would go see Doc Gooden pitch against and Darryl Strawberry and Ray Knight and in 8685 8687, so I went to Philly a ton. So I mean, I have a lot of experience going to the Phillies games and you only have one Philly. I had a Philly hat and a shirt, but I wasn’t like a geek up fan. And I sort of let that thing go when Curt Schilling started pitching for them. I went up there a ton to see Tony Gwynn play. But this is all pre. interleague play, and it only plays change that. I mean, there was no way to see the Orioles play the Phillies in the regular season back then.
Luke Jones 32:57
Right, exactly. I mean that that is the one thing that’s lost and it doesn’t take anything away from this series in general. But yeah, that mystique that was lost at this point 27 years ago. I mean, that was the same. You know, I didn’t go to Philly very often. I think I think I saw a game at the vet in 91 or 92. Against the Braves actually when the Braves were at their absolute best. So that was fun. But for me it was my mom’s dad. My grandfather was a Phillies fan. He was born in 1923 the Orioles this year old Luke Jones
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:29
went to the vet. Yeah, with dad. Ah yeah him. Never told me the story 50 Never heard his story.
Luke Jones 33:36
I mean, it was you know, there was nothing all that terribly memorable about it but it was just fun. Like it was a chance to go to the vet but for me, what I when I see the Phillies, you know what I think of Harry Callison what he Ashbourne on TV or on the radio, my grandfather to whose house I now within. It’s my own home. But Sunday dinners at my grandparents house and the Oreos were either on wn AR or the Phillies were on channel 15. I can’t remember what the call letters were at that point in time when the other game would be on the radio. So we would watch the Oreos and listen to the Phillies or watch the Phillies and listen to the Oreos every Sunday. I mean that was that was the Sunday sound you know my Sundays as a child going to church and then going to grandma and pop pops for Sunday dinner and watching the Oreos or listening to the Oreos and watching the Phillies and listening to the Philly so I have absolutely an affinity for me. It’s groundless
Nestor J. Aparicio 34:34
because you know my cousins lived in Newark, Delaware, right? Like right at 896. We always went up there on Sundays because that’s what what you did for you know you visited with my mother sister lived in New York. She had six kids. They were all fairly people. They were all Philly, you know, every time I’m up there, the Phillies game would be on on a Sunday afternoon. So I’m familiar with watching Phillies baseball, in that the late 70s early 80s When I was a kid going up there the Phillies game, and I love that I’m like, let’s go. Let’s go to Claire’s the Phillies are on let’s go watch that play, you know sodic than watching the Orioles in 1982 when I’m 12 years old, 13 years old, you know. And
Luke Jones 35:14
there’s just that mystique that you know that it’s exotic, that novelty and not even a novelty because they just didn’t play each other unless, you know, spring training. Who cares about that, but you’d see these players in the All Star game, so you might have a matchup You know, Jim Palmer might face someone for the Phillies in the All Star game. But beyond that, I mean, the only scenario was the World Series. So yeah, my grandfather was a Phillies fan and maintain that loyalty as his National League team. But then when the when the Orioles Of course, Major League Baseball returned to Baltimore in 1954. The Orioles were his American League team. So we watch the Phillies all the time we watch the Orioles all the time. I mean, obviously my allegiance was Orioles and my dad’s but there was no reason to dislike the Phillies. Heck, they beat up in 1983. So there’s no reason to dislike the Phillies. So I mean, that was always so fun. And again, to your point, talking about those national league players that there was so little player movement, even in the 90s, you know, okay, free agency had become more of a thing, but it still wasn’t as frequent seeing players change teams, as you see today. So yeah, that was your chance to see guys in the in the National League or that rare instance where Curt Schilling gets traded and suddenly he’s pitching for the Phillies a couple years later, so yeah, I mean, that was so much fun. That Mystique is lost. was lost a long time ago. I mean, now, you’ve see you play every night, every national league team, you play every team at least one one series every year now. So that gets lost a little bit. But when you’ve got this local flavor, when you have fun to listen to I will tell him he is a riot. He is talks about never watched the Phillies broadcast. He is hilarious. He talks Great. Let
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:59
me tell you my John Kruk story. You ready for this? In 93 All Star game I always tell you about this because it’s the day I met Michael Jordan that day. Right Barry Bonds is in the locker room early in the morning. Ken Griffey and I had a nice guy. Like it’s a Home Run Derby Day. I used to go to players and if you saw the 25th anniversary documentary, you would hear the Bill Murray bumper. I would have them to bumpers for me. I mean, BJ surhoff did a bumper for me, Frank Thomas. You know, Juan Gonzalez. All these guys did bumpers for me back in the day. So the all star team coming in, man. I had to get Tony Gwynn to do a bumper for me. I think he might have already done one for me out in San Diego. But so John Kruk walks in. So the Phillies, that Kruk Hollins, I’m trying to think there was another Billy that was on the team at 93. All Star Team Darren Dalton, Darrin Bell touched on Thank you. So Kruk comes in 10 o’clock in the morning Home Run Derby Day looking completely disheveled. Everybody else is like suit and tie. It’s the All Stars correct comes in looking like a bag man. Your shirts all hanging out, you know, like little like pigpen and he comes in and I don’t know him from boo. And I would always use that. I knew Schilling is sort of like, Hey, I’m a friend of curtain. Shawn does can you do this for me? And a lot of guys look at me and say your friend Kurt. I don’t want to talk to you. And like I thought they were kidding with me. I mean, when Terry Francona said that to me in Milwaukee, I was like, Did I screw up and he they need to get a warm smile like Kurt wins games, but we don’t like hurt. Um, I, I used to like hurt. Then Donald Trump happened but in regard to crook I went up to him. I said, Hey, can you do a bumper for me? He says, I don’t even know how to read dude. That’s what he said to me when I handed him the script. I don’t even know how to read dude.
Luke Jones 38:53
That’s exactly you hear on the better
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:55
the Manny Ramirez saying? I don’t speak English. Yeah,
Luke Jones 38:59
yeah. No Croc is a character. I mean, he’s,
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:02
he’s fun. Did it for me. I have a John Kruk bumper. He did it for me. He was funny. Yeah.
Luke Jones 39:08
So I mean, yeah, those those that 1993 Phillies team look the personalities on that team. I mean, my goodness. So I mean, Dykstra.
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:17
Yeah. Well, yeah.
Luke Jones 39:19
I mean, this is, you know, that it brings it back to today where, you know, you and I are talking about this. Obviously, we have some affinity for the Phillies, that other people in Baltimore won’t necessarily have it. That’s fine. But, you know, personal connections.
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:34
I wonder how many fans have been to a Phillies game?
Luke Jones 39:36
I would hope Citizens Bank bowl, you know, that’s a good Park. I mean, go see a game there. I mean, maybe get too easy to get too expensive right now, because of the demand. I mean, you look at their attendance. I mean, they’re right up there with the Dodgers and anyone else you talk about as far as attendance I mean,
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:51
it they have a ton of tickets of their community and that’s a tough ticket back to the beginning of this. The reason there’s 30,000 People here this weekend for fill it out. obvious they like this team.
Luke Jones 40:01
By the way, we didn’t mention anything about Thursday’s game with the Orioles. Did you see what the announced attendance was for? Thursday’s game a day game? 33,000. And look i i was at ravens the last day of mini camp. I did not make it for that game. But that kind of shocked me. You know, I figured okay, somewhere in the low 20s or something like that. It’s a weekday afternoon game, but there were quite a few people that I think either played hooky from work or you know, just how much
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:34
to get in Saturday for the game right now.
Luke Jones 40:37
It Oh, I’m sure it’s,
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:38
I know. $100 ticket on Saturday, it came to your ticket. Yeah, yeah, I was
Luke Jones 40:45
talking to more than a few people over the last week who were all talking about going to this whether it was someone I know. That’s a Philly fan or just a game you live in Philly, you got all day to get down here. Exactly. Except, well, you can get down here and you can even you know, bend a few back, you know, and
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:01
then drive home at nine o’clock at night and get home like it should. If we’re playing up there at four o’clock game. That’s easy peasy. You go up, get a cheesesteak come back. Absolutely.
Luke Jones 41:10
So yeah, I mean, it’s gonna be plenty of Philadelphia fans here and look spent spend your money spend your money.
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:17
If you want to go tickets are $7 on June 24, against the Guardians about that. There you go. Norris.
Luke Jones 41:23
There you go. Not not quite although Cleveland’s really good. There’s plenty of
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:27
good seats available for the next time. Sure. No, Jones is here. He will be there at the games this weekend. We’re gonna get in some Ravens. He’s been at ravens all week. We’ve been monitoring this brace thing. I’m glad we get to geek out about the Phillies in New Orleans. I get to show my pictures and tell some stories we never get to tell. Especially the ones about you and your dad. And you I’ve never heard the story. You go into the vet as a little boy. Stuff that ticket stub from the Braves game or no. I’m sure
Luke Jones 41:50
I have it somewhere. Yeah, these little stubs
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:52
in Philadelphia little skinny tickets is what they would do up there. I’ll tell you what, they’re gonna come down to a big fat cheese steaks and and some pretzels. And we’re gonna play some baseball this weekend. It’s gonna be fun around here. We’ve had an incredible week with Greenwood crabcake toward the gold rush. Chevron’s doublers are out. I’ll have these Cooper’s for Fleet Week on Friday. Thursday, we’ll be at Costas next week. We had a great group of folks coming over to Constance to join us including Jessica vows will be there for the Orioles Yankees game before four o’clock and then on the 25th We’ll be at Pappas in Glen Burnie all of it brought to you by our friends at Liberty pure solutions. This is my water and my cup. They keep it clean around here. Well water making things happen. I’m going to bring Doug on the program we’re going to talk about Liberty pure solutions. I’m actually wearing my liberty pure solution stuff in the 25th anniversary documentary brought to you by curio wellness and foreign daughter when I interviewed Vinny Testaverde on the on the radio rode down in Miami so I get my liberty pure hat back out this weekend for that our friends are shifting through multi care always keeping it even for these people. Philadelphia come down here they gotta get their oil change. Jiffy Lube will take care of that Jiffy Lube, multi care. Phil is a town all weekend and we get up to New York next week. Got a lot going on here. Man. This is this. This is as exciting a Father’s Day weekend. Especially if you don’t love golf. As we can have around here. Father’s Day weekend. pennant race, Yankees ahead. We got a real baseball team in his town. Something I’ve waited my whole life for. I am Nestor. We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stopped talking. Orioles baseball, and the Philly Phanatic Baltimore positive
