Thinking about the future of the Orioles differently

Luke and Nestor discuss the Orioles best path forward with new ownership at Koco’s Pub on “A Cup Of Soup Or Bowl Week” to benefit The Maryland Food Bank. New owners at The Warehouse? What do we expect from a new regime with a first-place team and a wizard front office now armed with resources to win a World Series?

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

ownership, fans, baseball, love, luke, talked, coconut shrimp, years, happen, maryland, call, feel, watching, food bank, john miller, corbin, lived, bought, treated, real

SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor J. Aparicio

Nestor J. Aparicio  00:01

Welcome back. We are wn s t a M 1570. Tas Baltimore, Baltimore positive we got some 10 times the cash tickets were given these way we are Coco’s, we’re live, live. anything could go wrong. You never even know what’s gonna happen. Luke might even show up in Maryland and be a part of things here. Look, you’re on your mike three. Go for it, man. What’s going on? How are you?

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Luke Jones  00:22

I’m good. Where’s the food though? I was promised food. Let’s go.

Nestor J. Aparicio  00:28

Just in time for me to talk. Yeah, exactly. Yes. Great french fries.

Luke Jones  00:32

I’m looking at the French Great. Oh, my goodness. waiting for this all day

Nestor J. Aparicio  00:35

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smell. I smell the shrimp. What’s going on? Man? I’m watching madhouse in here.

Luke Jones  00:40

I was just saying, normally I’m so accustomed now at this point to just be talking to you on a screen and you know, not worried about my internet connection and all those different things. Today, right, right. But it’s nice to be sitting here next to you and especially on the heels of you’ve never been happy to see me. Crazy last 10 days. A lot of bad but also a lot of good lot and a lot of excitement. I’m only good. Where possible. Hey, boss, I’m wearing this sweatshirt today. So there you go.

Nestor J. Aparicio  01:12

Give me the shrimp. I mean, just keep the drinks away from him. He especially he seen you want to tell her what happened in New York.

Luke Jones  01:19

I thought you were accusing me of being the one to spill the drink. Well,

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Nestor J. Aparicio  01:22

that was John Harbaugh. That was John. It’s true. I’ve seen napkins is all any. Luke, you’ve never been to cocoa savvy.

Luke Jones  01:29

I have not I’ve been by here. I’ve heard about it for years. And looking forward to trying the crab cake. I’ve heard so much about anybody

Nestor J. Aparicio  01:34

that wants to come by right now and get a piece of this for the Maryland food bank. And if you’re watching on tape, good for you to come anytime you want. And donate. This is all going to St. Francis of Assisi local church. I’m going to give you a chance to talk about Deacon Jones to because you’re not going to get at it today because we’re doing good causes and you’re good man. You’re a man of faith real real, the real deal. I’ve met a lot of real deal people the last couple of days do an unbelievable work in unbelievable ways. Whether it’s missions, churches, community groups, feeding people, Maryland Food Bank, hunger is a real thing. A lot of people go to bed hungry. My dad was one of those people. I’m re releasing the book on my father. Do you ever read that? No six or any point I read hearts of it. When I did free the burns. I wrote a book saying why I did it thinking nobody would ever think I’m a jackass. Like people are gonna read something. But nonetheless, there is a book I wrote 90 chapters of my love of my father my love of baseball in the summer of 2006. When I did free the birds, it wasn’t some shark thing I did. So the book, I’m gonna re release it on my father’s birthday. It’s March 5, I’m going to rerelease the Peter principles once a day. I’m not Peter principles, book of my dad, I’m gonna really speed up principle because people, people have real misinformation. You know what I mean? Like, and I guess I should bring this up with you. Because like, you’re young, but You’re old now. Right? Like, like I said to my son, I finally graduated

Luke Jones  02:57

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from being the guy that you had socks older than me. Right? I think that’s what you said famously. One of the first times we bet right now I’m, I’m the young guy who’s when I do, I did

Nestor J. Aparicio  03:07

have socks. You were like, you know, young and when I met Yeah, so All right, I would just say this, this thing happens. And people are in a little bit of disbelief. And I’m one of those guys like trying to navigate it. Have I ever said to you at any point in our friendship, our relationship, our employment status, whatever the hell we are, that even on a flight even after five drinks, which you’ve been with me when I’ve been smoked up more than most people on Superbowl trips and whatnot, that I would say to you one day, I’m gonna get back into pressbox. One day somebody, I stopped thinking about that. I have given up you sit in the press box, and I don’t I don’t know if it’s because you’re Caucasian, I’m Hispanic or you’re nice. And I’m not or they think you’re a professional thing. I don’t know. I don’t talk to Greg better. I’ve never met Jennifer, whatever her name is. So like, it’s, it took me 48 hours. On Thursday night, I was home alone, my wife went to yoga and I sat at home. And it just occurred to me like, if I might be able to go back and do my job again. And I never really thought about that. And for me, it’s 30 years of all of this, that there’s a real disbelief that yeah, like really, until the till Corbin shows up. But I’m gonna eat some shrimp and Utah for a while. Yeah, I

Luke Jones  04:29

mean, piggybacking off of what you just said, I mean, I was 10 year old 10 years old when Peter Angelos bought the Oreos. I was 10. I’m 40 Now, I mean, it’s been 30 years. You think about the history of the franchise from 1954 through the end of 1993. And what it’s been in the 30 years since I mean, it’s it’s night and day and we don’t need to belabor the point too much because we’ve all lived it. We’ve all experienced it or in the case of someone like me read about the glory days yeah and watched all old videos and heard stories from my father and my mother and my grandparents. You’re

Nestor J. Aparicio  05:04

41 4040? Yeah, berries 39 I had a reporter from the banner call me. I’m not gonna give him up. But you seen his name. He was a former son report. I don’t know him. I know the name. And I’ve known the name a long time. So I really didn’t know anything about this person. Do you know their age, and they called me last week, and it literally was at the Apple store. You know, by the way you like the bright, shiny object

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Luke Jones  05:28

I do. I was gonna say the board is man that is new age right there. That’s not what I’m used to seeing. You could

Nestor J. Aparicio  05:35

have spent three nights at the Luxor this week for what I spent on the board. And I’m about to kill these coconut shrimp, which are my, they’re so good. But I just want to say this, and I’ll let you get after it. But Porter calls me and I’m on the phone a couple of minutes with him. And Chris Corman is a sports editor. At the paper, he kind of told me one of my guys gonna call you and I recognize the name. And I didn’t know if this person is 55 or 20. But I knew they’d been around a long time and I have respect for this person. But like, Friday morning, I’m at the Apple Store. I’m getting a call. I’m trying to be polite. And I said to him, do you want background? Or do you want to quote? What are you looking for here? You know what I mean? This if you really want to learn, I wrote a book on all of this. Right? And it’s better than my recollection of the wacky ish that went on the just crazy stories in the Peter Prince was crazy. And all of it documented and sourced from newspapers and birria there was real stuff that was happening stuff that I was in Johnny Otis office when he confided in all of us that the owner was calling down and telling him to play Leo Gomez. You know what I mean? Like crazy stuff that happened. Davey Johnson, just Frank Wren calling me and telling me how he was fired and telling me that he thought they were like the devil’s advocate. I mean, just crazy. Then they screw me on 30 grand assault me with the bird, Mike Flannery, I could go on and on and on with the wackiness of it. And I’m doing this to the poor guy on the phone, right? Where to F? Do you want me to start? You know, if we’re gonna, who do you want to quote? Or do you want to read the book? And he said, This is what he said to me. He said, What when Peter bought the team, he was really popular in the beginning. And I’m like, No, he wasn’t like, No, you’re you’re changing history here. And the first thing I said to him is he bought the team in July of 90, Augason 93. There was a strike, there was no baseball, he took the side of the Union, which ended everything with his partners pretty much forever, right? And cow streak he used cow streak as a wedge to say we’re not gonna he

Luke Jones  07:38

was popular for that, though enough in the fans eyes, whether it was whether they got it, but I’m just was really a

Nestor J. Aparicio  07:43

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minute a half, right? So if you’re asking if you had a shot, and this comes from you being a 40 year old, got it. This isn’t the point where the guy said the same thing to me. And I said, How old are you and I kind of came off as a dick and I didn’t want to be and he said, I’m 38 Like, like, I always be in the Get off my lawn like you could not possibly know. And I said, Listen, I don’t want to be a jerk. But if you were 10 years old when this happened, I’m not telling you something to make things up or because I did free the birds. I’m giving you facts. And I said September 6 1995. That was Cal Ripken ‘s 90s. Okay, yeah, yeah. You said I was a kid. Okay. He was booed off off the field that night. He had Oh, in the team 20. If you go back, I promise you. I’ve watched you to hunting

Luke Jones  08:30

groups, because he talked for 20 Min. He talked for 14 minutes. And frankly, he was booed coming on the field. I think it was like Dude, get get out of the way never

Nestor J. Aparicio  08:39

ever, ever took a public face as the owner of the Baltimore Orioles ever again. He never held a press conference. He never He didn’t need after that. He did my show in March of 97. So I shouldn’t say never took a he did an hour to two hours of drinking with me. And you can go listen to that, right. But what I’m saying is there are all these fallacies I’ve had people tell me, he saved the team for the city. That’s just a lie. That’s just a lie. And I don’t want that written because it’s not true. There are good things you could say about him. That’s not one of the rights. Not true.

Luke Jones  09:19

I will say this. And I don’t say this from my own perspective. But I remember the perspectives of my grandparents and my father. The part about him saving baseball in Baltimore is bunk. The stadium had already been built. The lease through 2022 had been signed what late 1992, a year before he bought the team. So I totally agree with you on that. I do think the perception of him being local, was something that fans invited after ECW in the 80s and with Eli Jacobs being a New Yorker who had zero interest in making the team great. So I do think the element of local ownership was appealing and popular initially I do think that first offseason when they sign Raphael Palmero and make some of the moves they made. But you’re right. It was very, very short lived. There’s no question about that. And even, and even through high payrolls, and

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Nestor J. Aparicio  10:14

he was the Marylander of the year in 1994, right? Because John Steadman right, bought his BS. I mean, I would say right now, it all fell apart. But but then he had already, kneecap Makino screwed over to which Sure, sure, sure, hired and fired Phil Regan turned down, John, I mean, I, I wrote a book on this, so I gotta go through it forever. But like, his legacy is his legacy. And let’s not make stuff up. And that’s to the reporter. I said, the reporter no offense to it, if you’re 38. You better take what I’m saying as gospel because I don’t need this. You’re talking to somebody that knows more about this than anyone. I lived it. I lived in full color for 32 years. I had a real trespass for 21 years. I asked questions. I was treated like garbage. We promoted them. They didn’t pay their bill. And I got really pissed off, so pissed off. But

Luke Jones  11:06

again, I just I wanted to go back and offer a perspective as an outsider and with parents and grandparents who are outsiders as fans. There was appeal to it initially and certainly the way that they bought free agents and bringing in Pat Gillick and signing Roberto Alomar and doing there was popularity to that there’s no question. I think you mentioned the night of the streaks. Certainly that was a bad look, as I don’t care how popular you are. As an owner, there’s no reason for you to be speaking that long when it’s someone else’s night. I mean, it’s just plain and simple. But for me, and this is where I was 13 at the time, the first major black mark for me as that really hit me big time. And look, I didn’t have anything against Johnny Oates. But I wasn’t a major Johnny Oates fan as you know him as a manager, not even speaking about his impeccable character or anything like that. But for me, it was John Miller, John Miller was my generation Chuck Thompson. And for him to be jettison left not welcome back however you want to, you know, whatever semantics you want to use. The fact that shad upon he was rapidly becoming an institution for a generation that only knew Chuck Thompson in semi retirement, doing Sunday games, things of that nature, which was great. And I, I love Chuck, but John Miller was my generations guy. And that, for me was the first. Like, why why is this happening? Why, why are you doing that? Why this seems so simple. And then, Davey Johnson, and you know, the list goes on and on after that, that we don’t need to rehash because because we said at the top of our conversation, we’re going to be positive today. So I don’t want to rehash too much of this. We’ve all lived it, but I’m in agreement with you. The initial perception I will say was positive because he was local ownership after EB w in the 80s. And Washington and losing the Colts and all the fear there. Any law Jacob’s being what he was, which was a zero, I mean, no bankrupt, had no interest in making the team any better. So when Peter came in, when they spent money, there was excitement about that. But yes, that was very fleeting. It was very apparent very quickly that things were turning south and not going to be what that initial optimism was that first year

Nestor J. Aparicio  13:23

or two loops here, were Coco’s to grab one of those and I’ll talk for a minute and that’s a raspberry jalapenos, kicky one to 10. It’s a two on a spice napkin you’re going to need to do so people bringing stuff by here, I mean, people are coming in and out all day long. Please stop by over here to five or six gonna be a little later. Can’t wait for you and received a throwback that you’ve only met received once or twice like we have

Luke Jones  13:49

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that really good by the way.

Nestor J. Aparicio  13:55

They have additional radio row in Vegas right now. You asked me what I was going to do back in October. I told you I was gonna have an idea. There you go. You see the food bank piling up there. So we get things to happen. Great. All right. I, this is your first chance. It’s been a week since you know we’re thinking about this or whatever. And I ran everybody through the realities last week. Now we’re learning like John Angelus refused to wear Oreo logos and all those dirts coming out and the Wall Street Journal weird stuff about him. You’re a pragmatist. You’re as level headed as any human I’ve ever met. You love baseball more than anybody I know. What do you expect to happen? I don’t mean like on the field 100 Or how much more money they’re going to spend. What’s your expectation? And you’re a real journalist and I’m a fake one for now. press conferences getting this done? How would you like to see this handled over the first year let’s say in non regard to baseball This is because they’re they’re gonna spend money Yeah, baseball guy. They they need to reengage with people. And I’m gonna eat the Russia, the shrimp and let you there’s a crab cake with your name on it over here. So I’m gonna we’re gonna go wrong. But for you, for me, I don’t know what the thing is going to be about putting that hat back and buying an actual ticket and going down there and whether they’re gonna give me a seat next to you or across from you or for me and my family would I do if they reach to me and say, of course, your immediate member just come. We don’t need to have a seance. We don’t need to, you don’t need to prove you’re just you’re passing me left next to Luke’s pass and come opening day and enjoy yourself and cover the team, meet the manager come down to zero. So whatever it is, I will be able to go out on the airwaves for the first time in the history of wn S G really, I’ve owned it since 98. And like, have a heart about it have I like, my heart is way open to changing anybody that’s know me knows how much I’ve changed and as a person but like, I don’t need my ass kissed and I don’t feel like I should, you know, it feels I feel like if if I came back and could be normal about it. It’s going to take an adjustment period for me to root for him cheer for him. No one be there experienced the new world. But what that’s me, what do you what needs to happen for you?

Luke Jones  16:12

I mean, look, it’s tough because I do focus so much on what what’s happening on the field. And they are in a good position now that they can capitalize on this, you know, they are just entering this and they want 101 games last year. But this isn’t ownership or change of ownership, in concurrence with being at the beginning of this rebuild where no one wants to come out. I mean, you can say okay, great. It’s good. Oh, you know, better ownership, optimism long term. But in the meantime, you’re still watching really lousy baseball for three or four years with our line

Nestor J. Aparicio  16:42

about for like three years ago. It’s unbelievable. Oh, it’s crazy to reread,

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Luke Jones  16:45

whatever that was hazers Sue Cray Rio Ruiz. I mean, it’s amazing. Like, let alone going back to 14 straight years losing way back, you know, before bucking Ducati even so, yeah, so they have that going for them right off the bat. But I mean, you’ve talked about this a lot. We’ve talked about this a lot. And there are challenges to this that didn’t exist 15 years ago, or certainly 30 or 50 years ago, but they need to recruit people. And I’ve said this over and over. And I’m not going to deviate from that. Now, winning is still the best way to do that to watch a winning product. But they need to recruit people, they have to put a good team in place as far as new people and deciding who amongst the incumbents are going to stay and all that because there are good people that work in the organization. I know them. But there’s a lot of change that is warranted and overdue, quite frankly, you know, they they have to build relationships with businesses with their fan base. I mean, you know, to your point media, and to try to grow something that’s great. I’m not gonna sit here and try to act like I have all the answers from all the stuff that’s off the field. But you’ve got to recruit people. We’ve talked about this a lot with, you know, the challenges the Ravens have faced over the last 789 years compared to the first 20 years of existence where they didn’t have to sell tickets. Yeah, they didn’t have to take out

Nestor J. Aparicio  18:09

you know, and you don’t talk about this is a shoot interview your wrestling guy. Chad steel is not listening, Greg Bader is not how are you treated? And how would you feel about being a fan again and buying tickets and being I didn’t like Marlon Humphrey treat me like garbage. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like that as a season ticket holder. I’m in there. I’m there 10 minutes a week or whatever I am. You can’t be pleasant. I’m a fan. I have. I’m a stakeholder I bought right. I’m a citizen. I was here before you got here. I’ll be here when you’re gone. If you just consider me media scum, because that’s that’s the door I walk through. That’s a really shitty door, dude. And like, That’s not. That’s the way the Angelo’s family operated for 30 years, the shotty family’s operating that way lately because we’re here. Your this is this is evidence number one that I’m eating delicious and very grateful to be eating coconut is gonna be here. You and I should be on radio row. But Brian Billick, Brian Baldinger and everybody else, really we should be you’ve dedicated to that I’ve dedicated to that, but how you get treated. But how I’ve been treated long before I was thrown out like just long before I brought this up with management with Dick Cass with all and I said and now they have $10 tickets in December when they’re nine and two, you know, like, and the Orioles played a clinch game in front of 26,000 people, you know what I mean? So that that’s where the basis right? That’s where the the the entry point is for the Rubenstein group Rubenstein group. For me, I’m going to completely tear down my heart and my soul and get my jersey out and just see what they are. Yeah, I want to I want to see something that looks and feels different than what I’ve seen from Steve Ashati which has been deteriorating for the minute Ray Rice punched his wife in the yellow They’re long before that, really the moment hardball showed off. It became a different place in a lot of ways. But I would say as a as a stakeholder as a season ticket holder, I want to go back and love baseball. My last name is Aparicio people think I hate the Orioles all these years, I hated the way I was treated. And I think it’s really important that they treat not just me, everybody well, because everybody’s got a skid mark on their back about something that’s happened with his baseball team, well, just losing or down the line to how you feel about John Miller or Mike Flanagan, or anything that you could pin on it, or a cold, hot dog one night or whatever, whatever you’re pissed off about, that you can wash that out of your soul. And I’m gonna be the advocate for that to say, I’m giving these people not a chance I’m giving but but they need to be nice from it needs to feel different right away. It really does. It does.

Luke Jones  20:51

And I think one of the big things and, look, I haven’t worked in customer relations. And I’m not going to speak out of turn on that because I don’t have any experience doing that. I mean, I can give you ideas that I’ve heard from other people. But we’ve talked a lot about TV. Everything you just mentioned, look, sports more and more. It’s a TV product, TV driven product. We’re seeing that more and more to the point now where we’re starting to see in some stadia, smaller capacities and Okay, people will say, well, there’s cities or whatever. People are watching it on TV. The average baseball fan watches way more on TV than in person in a season. Done

Nestor J. Aparicio  21:31

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University fix the game. I mean, it’s shorter, it’s just a better game than it was three and I think that would

Luke Jones  21:35

you know, if you if you’re talking about things for a new ownership group to figure out it’s what is television gonna look like? And look that’s not unique to the Orioles. That’s all 30 teams right now are trying to figure out what this is going to look like in 2024. But more importantly in 2029. And to that and beyond, because it is changing. And you know, we’re even seeing streaming you know, I mean, the the deal that came out with Fox ESPN and what was a warner? I think there’s gonna be a sounds like a streaming super package that comes out which by the way, sounds like cable. So it’s almost like recommended full circle. It’s no, but the point is, I think if you want to talk about a way right off the bat to start connecting with your fans, is make your product more available. And we’ve talked about that, figuring out the streaming aspect, they’re gonna have to figure out Masson, what’s this gonna look like? You know, people have talked about monumental and Leon says, you know, do they sell? But, I mean, who knows? I don’t know. But it has to be better and way better than it’s been. Because, one, it’s not profitable for them in the way that it used to be, obviously, and two, you are missing out on reaching your audience reaching new fans reach, I want to

Nestor J. Aparicio  22:42

send you on a Friday night at 730 in the back seat and watch the game,

Luke Jones  22:46

I should be able to do that on my phone in this day and age. And look, I’m not asking for you to give it away for free, but make it accessible, that it’s easy for me to do it. Don’t make it where I have to jump through hoops. You know, to borrow what borrow my brother in law’s password for this service? Because I don’t have that. And he has to borrow mine for this service.

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Nestor J. Aparicio  23:03

They broke the law. I mean, I get emails all the time. You’re subscribed to Major League Baseball as a class action lawsuit. They’ve done the fairies.

Luke Jones  23:12

I mean, I think that’s going to be such a cool, I mean, right off the bat for new ownership group. What are these renovations gonna look like? I mean, the lease, it’s there, right? But they’ve got to figure out what exactly it’s gonna look like, and they have to execute it. You know, I mean, that’s a major undertaking that you hope new ownership group will have some vision as far as what’s going to be best. Right? This is it’s not their money. It’s the Statesman Hold on.

Nestor J. Aparicio  23:35

I keep saying what’s the idea? Yeah, exactly ideal, you hope there’s the gold ring will reach you

Luke Jones  23:41

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hope. There you hope there’s vision with TV and how that’s going to look because again, that is a major challenge for every market at this point in time. And especially in a sport like baseball, where you have 162 games a product to sell. So those those things, they have to connect with businesses, local businesses in the community. And first and foremost, because at the end of the day, the product has no value if fans aren’t going to consume, including sponsors aren’t going to want to do business with you, if fans aren’t consuming, and you’re not putting eyeballs on their products or on their business name, whatever it might be. They’ve got to connect. So you know, you’ve got to recruit people. And again, they’ve got their off, they’ve got a head start here with how this team has performed the last couple years it is trending in a better direction, and has been since you know, midway through 2022. But it’s a long, long, long way to go. So this is it’s exciting. There’s so much excitement, so much optimism as I wrote it Baltimore positive.com Last week, it’s just a sense of raising the bar of expectations. And that was even before they acquired Corbin burns two days later. But you know, you’re in you’re allowing yourself to think about this thing without having a ceiling on it anymore. And I don’t mean that 30 years we can’t have nice things right? I don’t mean that In the sense that they’re going to become the Dodgers, and they’re going to have a $350 million payroll. But if they’re run well, and they recruit people the way they need to, and businesses support them, and they should be able to pay GM, there’s no reason they I’ve said to you over and over for a couple years now, there’s no reason they can’t aspire to be like the St. Louis Cardinals, who’ve won two World Series for pennants and they’ve been in the playoffs, I think it’s 17 times since the turn of the century. That’s pretty good profile, is it not so and that is not a market that is drastically bigger than Baltimore. I’m not saying it’s exactly the same. But the point is, it can be done. If you have good people running it. And you’re committed to doing it the right way. You have to make smart decisions. As I’ve said, don’t just spend money, spend it wisely. Spend it to keep your homegrown talent that you’re drafting and developing, be be a player in the international market, which they just opened their academy in the Dominican, you know, they’re they’ve made progress. So this isn’t something that’s starting from scratch, like it was on the baseball side five years ago. So they’re at an advantage in that way. But boy, they they need to hit the ground running. There’s no question about it, because you don’t want this momentum to stall. They’ve got some momentum here. People are excited. You know, one thing that I was unhappy to see, but this is, you know, it’s gonna take some time here that the new ownership groups not in place and it’s not official yet knock on wood, you know, it’s still the Angelo’s family and it’s still major league baseball that has to approve this, but I would have loved to have seen them bring Corbin burns, and even if it’s, he flies in at 10am have a have a press conference at the ballpark video photos of him on the mound at Camden Yards. They didn’t do that. They just did a zoom. And I get it. It’s close to spring training.

Nestor J. Aparicio  26:32

You could do Aubrey Huff him when they sign right well.

Luke Jones  26:38

Look, resumes are great from a timeliness standpoint for media purposes. But that was that was a situation right there to spike the ball and recruit people and show people Corbin burns wearing his number 39 Oreos jersey on the mound. Even if there was snow in the background, I know there’s not too you’re

Nestor J. Aparicio  26:53

hot. So show on the club level and have people come down. So there’s

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Luke Jones  26:57

an example right there of whoever whoever makes that call for them right now. It’s not the new regime yet. But in the future, there is a situation where Boy, that was a chance to recruit people people are already excited, but show that don’t do a zoom at four o’clock just to appease the media, which look was great for media purposes, but got no traction from a fan standpoint, as opposed to you know,

Nestor J. Aparicio  27:20

you got to show up. You got to show flat out saying hey, look, man,

Luke Jones  27:23

we got you on a 10am flight press conferences at one we’re going to take you to a best lunch in town fest Coco’s we’re gonna get you a Coco’s crabcake. And you’ll be home by eight o’clock. They should have done that, and I get it. It’s 10 days before spring training. But if you really sold him on it, and you gave him some bells and whistles, he would have done it. I’m sure. You know, I don’t think he was going to, you know, I don’t think this is a case where he’s going to get in on the bad side of the organization that just traded for when

Nestor J. Aparicio  27:48

8

he didn’t have to come in to meet the owner. So

Luke Jones  27:52

but that right there, and you know, I don’t want to harp on that too much, because it’s not the new ownership

Nestor J. Aparicio  27:55

group. Yeah, this is your first seen this. You’ve seen a Mr.

Luke Jones  27:59

Better what they need to get better with. And I think they will, because I think you look at some of the names involved with this new ownership group, I think. I mean, we joked about this last week with cow and like, you know, I think you joked about it. BNI wash. cow has been very careful if there’s something you could say about Cal Ripken beyond the fact that he’s a Hall of Fame baseball player. He has been so careful about perception and how people look at him and view him. There is an example right there of you get Corbin burns, which is this amazing, amazing trade. You know, I love this trade for them. I love the rotation with him at the top. spiked the ball a little boring. Yeah, this is one of those things to make a big deal out of because I think your fan base was that excited. And I just think it was a missed opportunity. It’s not a crippling mistake or anything like that. But in the long term sense. There’s an example of the kinds of things you want to be able to do to recruit new fans and get people excited and engaged in your product in a way that frankly, they haven’t been in a very, very long time. Like

8

Nestor J. Aparicio  28:57

recently, I will be here. Luke Jones is here. We’re talking sports this afternoon. Like kind of old school. We’re live. We’re Coco’s pub. We’re down in Lawrenceville. We’re doing it for the Maryland Food Bank stopped by and it’s a cup of Super Bowl. We’re calling it crabcake row it’s day three. I just passed the halfway mark at one o’clock when you came on. I’m halfway through going strong our 21 I’m feeling my stamina you know and our friends are winter nation 866 98 should remind you that is 0% financing for five years. I’m gonna get doors this year. I didn’t win those two years ago so a great thing it’s it’s made me much more comfortable it’ll make you more comfortable I can speak for that. Also our friends if you do multi care I had my oil change couple weeks ago up with New York Road location that was fantastic. And and royal farms and wise I brought my wise market scoop so Luke can give you the scoop on the core you’d like that I like you on the corporate birch Luke and I are like Bernie top and and Elton John. We only get the same room together. Like once or twice a year and write a song so I got a crab cakes and coconut shrimp the minute I can get myself to start talking him to shut up prusik to show up we’re sick is gonna be your soon and we’re going to do an hour like sort of crosstalk Luke doesn’t know we’re sick well we’re sick doesn’t know Luke but we’re sick listen to Luke for 15 years. This will be fun. Come by the bring some bridge canned goods I got like coconut shrimp and my teeth. It’s terrible. It’s why don’t eat when I do the show. will bite my tongue off. Let’s see Whoa, black beans. I see classic baked beans. I see peas and carrots. I see mac and cheese. I see saltines ice see sugar.

30:38

I see soup.

Nestor J. Aparicio  30:39

I see lots of tomato soup tomato soup tomato soup. Stars yesterday. Brace yourself after the Maryland Food Bank is very very simple. You bring that we give you a free cup of soup or bowl of soup and they have Maryland crab and creamy crab. Are you 5050 guy if you I am we

Luke Jones  30:57

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talked about this last week. For years I thought that sounded for lack of a better term gross. It’s really good. I tried it but it’s a game changer. I

Nestor J. Aparicio  31:05

love it. The cream of crabs specifically yours really memorable. So if you just want to try one or the other I would tell you try the cream of crap here because it’s it’s really good I think I look I love Maryland crab and there’s no rights good but but the cream of crab to me if I had to pick one here I would do that but I love to mix here. Yes I do like the cream so much coconut shrimp are my thing. They got great Bert great burgers here. And colossal crab cakes lemon. I did see the lunch they do a lunch crab cake here. Now I’ve even talked to Marcel about that but they do a smaller crab cake. I may take a little extra break before we’re sick gets here and I’m getting thirsty and I haven’t had a beer all week and I deserve poor Jr. Dude. Oh my god poor Jr. Our engineer giving a shout out the chair. Things are working. We are four hours into today. Almost five hours into today things have held up what is this live radio thing Luke brings out the ugly of me. It brings out the nasty you bring it brings out the spooky in me. All right back for more loops here. I’m here we’re all here. We’re giving out Maryland lottery tickets at 10 times the cash. We got these as well small by their free we’re giving them out and we’re giving out super free and Marcela has a deal that if you give a $25 cash donation she will give you a $25 gift card and a cup of Super Bowl. I am Mister he’s Luke, we are not in Las Vegas, but we’re making the best of it.