The guys are shaking things up a bit this week by having their guest Bernie sit in on a big topic discussion, and if you were to hear the depth of baseball knowledge he has, you’d know why!
With the MLB season coming to an end, a couple of players were able to squeeze in significant milestones. With being just out of reach game after game, Aaron Judge finally connected for his 62nd home run of the season to break the American League record.
Bill chimes in, “I’d touch a bible if one were here… but some people were hoping he wouldn’t get it.” Bill notes that people, particularly oldheads, probably wanted Roger Maris to hold onto the top spot.
Jon is curious about one thing, “Does Judge deserve to keep the ball?” Weighing in on the ethics of the situation, Jon and Bill both proclaim that the person who caught the home run ball is an “instant millionaire”. Not that that matters much to the guy who caught it; he’s an established millionaire who’s married to a Bachelor contestant. Bill shakes his head, “Some guys have all the luck!”
Bernie has his say, “Does he deserve to keep it? The short answer is yes… it means a lot more sentimentally to him, this is a historic record.” In terms of getting the ball back, Jon explains that if he were Judge, he is sure it wouldn’t be an issue,
I mean, it’s Aaron Judge! If I were him, I would ask how much he wants or what he wants for it.
St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols also had a historic season, surpassing Babe Ruth for the 2nd all-time spot for career RBIs after getting his 703rd home run. Jon’s a little skeptical, “Do you think pitchers were grooving him pitches?” Bernie doesn’t think so, “I don’t know if that happened, but you still have to square up to bat!” The guys all agree that even if that were true, they’re still playing at a professional level. “He hit the home runs. If you think it’s so easy, grab a bat!” Bernie concludes.
With MLB Playoffs baseball incoming, they are set to arrive in a new format. There will be 12 teams total, and the 1-game Wild Card has been done away with. Jon is optimistic about the change, “I’m glad to see the 1-game wild card gone!” Bernie agrees, “You just didn’t know who the better team was from that one game.”
With first-round match-ups set, who does Bernie favor to win?
I think the Houston Astros are the most complete team in baseball, says Bernie with confidence.
With that being said, Jon fights the urge to be too excited about his Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a bye in the National League heading into the playoffs. However, after losing three in a row to the Colorado Rockies, Bill pokes Jon, “Are you sweating a bit?”
The Walking Encyclopedia of Baseball
Joining Bill and Jon this week is Bernie Fratto, a Detroit-born National Host for Fox Sports Radio, a long-time friend of Bill, and a man with a well of baseball knowledge that would make your head spin! Bill also notes that he’s a Las Vegas local, “We go back about 12 years!”
Bernie is full of stories, and he wastes no time getting into them, “I’ve lived this odd, idiosyncratic life.”
To start, Bernie was present during the Malice at the Palace, the most infamous brawl in NBA history that took place during a game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in 2004. He was also an intern at the Forum during Magic Johnson’s rookie year.
He was also in attendance for the tragic event that was the Kim Duk-koo versus Ray Mancini boxing match in 1982, in which Duk-koo went into a coma shortly after the fight concluded and eventually passed away. Bernie reflects on the years since,
It’s a terrible, terrible thing… it really destroyed Mancini, thinking he was at fault.
June 17th, 1994 also marked an odd day for Bernie. It was the first day of Bernie being a credentialed member of sports media, and he was working the Detroit Tigers game at Old Tiger Stadium when suddenly the image of a white Ford Bronco took up all the monitors in his immediate surroundings. “The monitors had no audio, so I had no idea what was going on,” explains Bernie.
The monitors then shifted to the commander of the LAPD with a statement that gripped the sports world, “OJ Simpson is a fugitive from justice.” Bernie continues to reflect, “It’s crazy that that’s what happened on the first day I’m in the Tigers’ press box.”
As a man who’s described his life as idiosyncratic, the story doesn’t stop there for Bernie, “The LAPD commander I saw on the monitor that day, well, some odd years later I ended up working with his son,” Bernie chuckles, “It’s like it had come full circle.”
Before Bernie made a career in sports media, he played for the Cincinnati Reds for one year as a catcher, “Unfortunately, I had health problems and it ended my professional career.” Jon feels for him, “People don’t realize how hard it is to play college baseball, let alone in the big leagues!”
In the throes of baseball talk, Jon asks, “Bernie, what’s your favorite team?” Bernie has to think, “Well, when I was younger, I was a Dodgers fan and a Los Angeles Angels fan.” Jon reacts as if he had just seen a ghost, “You were a fan of BOTH?!” Bernie retraces his steps,
I leaned more toward the Angels, but there was just something about the Dodger mystic.
Bernie also takes the opportunity to drop another out-there fact that will now never leave the guys’ minds,
Did you know that they sell 2 million Dodger Dogs a year at Dodgers games and that they can’t call them footlongs because they’re only 10 and a half inches?
The guys share a hearty laugh. The more you know!
Not only are the guys blown away by Bernie’s knowledge of sports in general, but something else catches them off-guard, especially Jon; Bernie is arguably the biggest Tony Orlando fan they’ve ever had on the show! “I was a teenager in the mid-70s,” Bernie says, “Tony Orlando was all over the airwaves!”
Then Bernie drops a fact that really tickles the guys’ funny bones, “Before all my games as a young athlete, I would listen to his music… It would put me in a good frame of mind to go out and compete.” This completely baffles Jon, “Really? My dad??” Bill grins from ear to ear, “Your dad is going to love this.”
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