After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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For trusted protection, trust Pampers, the number one pediatrician recommended brand. What a night. What a night in Alabama. What a night in Birmingham. What an event.

What an occasion. For this history buff, for anyone who loves baseball, even if neither of those labels applies to you, I'm not sure how you could watch this game that took a back seat to the history, that took a back seat to baseball storied past, that took a back seat to a tribute for Willie Mays, for all the surviving members of the Negro Leagues, that took a back seat to the stories. Even if you don't like baseball and you're not particularly into history, this occasion, this event was still captivating.

My emotions went from laughing to crying to clapping to exclaiming. I looked up names of players that I'd not heard of before, whose stories I didn't know before tonight. An emotional tribute to the Negro Leagues with a focus on Willie Mays, but expanded to include other pioneers. I so much appreciate the star power that showed up on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama, and really some of them had been there for the last few days. Guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds, of course Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, who were part of the Fox broadcast, members of the Mays family, including his son, who as you can imagine is still so raw with his emotion.

Fans, who were getting emotional too. And as much as it was neat to see them play baseball at the oldest professional ballpark in the United States, two years older than Fenway, four years older than Wrigley Field, and I'm always blown away when I think about it, but I'm always blown away when I think about it. And I'm always blown away when I think about the fact that Fenway opened the same week the Titanic sunk. Isn't that crazy?

And yet, Rick Woodfield is two years older than that. So much history there. I actually spent a couple minutes, I didn't have a lot of time because I was focused on the game and trying to prepare for the show, but I am going to go back and see if I can find my photos from 2013 when I traveled to Birmingham for another work assignment and had the pleasure, the unexpected pleasure of getting a tour of Rick Wood with no one in it. Maybe there was a member of the grounds crew, but as I remember, it was pretty empty. There was the caretaker who happened to be outside.

We introduced ourselves to him and he asked us if we wanted a tour. And to see it on TV featured the way that it was tonight, it was amazing. I'm not sure if you've ever heard me criticize baseball.

I do. I think baseball at times does a very poor job of promoting its game. Sometimes can't see the forest for the trees, but now in, what, three consecutive years, but two consecutive special events. First, at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, which turned Major League Baseball players into little kids. And now at Rick Woodfield, more than a hundred years old, 114 years old, 14 years old, that has turned Major League players into students, once again students of history, that has taken the cover off of an entire chapter of baseball's history that has been ignored and, let's be honest, segregated for too long. I said to my husband, as we were watching the pregame, and as the members of those old teams came out on the field, some of them needing an arm to walk, some of them in wheelchairs, taking their time, some of them bouncing to the music, some of them connecting with the Major League players that walk them out onto the field. I said to Bob, I am so happy that they finally have the recognition that they deserve, and wondering aloud what this must feel like to them after so many years of being overlooked, forgotten, not considered, again separate from the rest of baseball's history. They're finally honored in a place that means so much to many of them. And then, right on the heels of that, I tear up because I think of what this would have meant to Willie Mays.

And of course, his son Michael, who walked out to the field with Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds, he certainly understands what it would have meant to his father. Birmingham, I've been telling you all that if there's any way on earth my father could come down here that he would. Well, he's found another way.

So you already stand to your feet. Let him hear you. He's listening. Make all the noise you can. Willie!

Willie! What a cool pre-game moment, and you could hear the emotion in Michael's voice. I'm so glad, so glad that I had the chance to see it. Even more excited to welcome Cardinals insider Katie Wu from Birmingham. She will join us after the update at the bottom of the hour. The last time we had Katie on the show, Albert Pujols was chasing home run number 700. He was a couple away, and she did such a terrific job at setting the scene and telling stories from that game.

I believe they were on the west coast. I don't think that they were in St. Louis at the time, and she did such an awesome job describing it in a way that we didn't feel like we were missing out. So I'm thrilled to have her on the show again from Birmingham.

She covers the card, so she's been there for a couple of days according to her social media. It's going to be awesome to get her perspective from field level with so many greats of the game past and present there at Rick Woodfield, and I'd love to hear your reactions too if you were able to watch it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on the Infinity Sports Network.

Please find me online at ALaw Radio and also on our Facebook page. It actually reminds me of a stat that I shared with you at the end of our last show, so late in the show, but early on Thursday morning. I was reading different numbers from a recent sports audio report that was compiled by Sirius XM Media and a couple of other companies, and one of the stats that caught my attention that I'm not sure I agree with, I'll actually retweet it in case you missed it, nearly one in four sports fans have cried over the outcome of a game or event that they watched on TV or they listened to on the radio. That actually seems low to me because as I think about some of these spectacular moments just in the last few summers that baseball has given us from the field of dreams to now Rick Woodfield, not to mention those of us who are so attached to our teams that the outcomes for better or for worse make us emotional, I kind of feel like one in four is low. But that's the number from Sirius XM Media in this sports audio report, nearly one in four sports fans admit to crying over the outcome of a game or event.

And then another number that I absolutely love, 68% of fans believe sports bring their families closer together. And not only was the Mays family honored, but you had stories told on the broadcast and over the the last few days about my dad played here or my my grandfather took me to a game or I remember seeing I remember seeing this guy play because I was there with a family member. Right and these stories are now passed down through generations.

Think about it, a lot of us never saw Willie Mays play, didn't see Satchel Paige dominate when he was on the mound, maybe didn't even see Reggie Jackson who's actually caught the tail end of his career. How else do we hear the stories? How else do we know about the traditions? How else do we recognize and honor greatness if we didn't see it with our own eyes?

Well sure there's YouTube videos, yes there's old grainy radio broadcasts which I actually adore, but a lot of the way that we learn about the past is by people we love telling us about it because they loved it. It meant something to them so they want to pass it down to us. And there's a lot of that this week for major league baseball. We could land based baseball for taking so long and there's certainly an element to truth that it took far too long for the stats from the negro leagues or the players who are far more important than the numbers for them to be honored. I'm glad it's finally been done and I hope that this night was so impactful for current major leaguers, the ones that were there and the ones that were not. I hope that it's such an impactful experience that they want to go to Rickwood themselves.

I hope it's such a powerful message emanating from Birmingham that teams are lining up to be part of the next game there because they should continue this. Again love your reaction at A-LOL radio or our show twix at Amy After Hours. I'm going to have producer Jay retweet some of the videos as we talk about these moments. I'm going to have the videos as we talk about these moments.

MLB did a great job of packaging the videos from Fox and flipping them up on social media, also on our Facebook page. And it was the perfect day to do it because it was the first day of summer, Thursday June 20th. Happy summer to you. In addition to sharing a couple of those stats from the sports audio report, I posted a photo on Thursday of my favorite summer activity. Okay, one of my favorite summer activities. I waffle back and forth but it's a great combination.

So I'd love you to respond. Producer Jay can quote tweet it from our show account or he can put his own answer up there but in my happy summer tweet, I have a photo of one of my top two favorite summer activities. And as we close out the work week and we launch forward into the first full official summer weekend, I would love to know what's your favorite summer activity.

In fact, I could use some new ideas if you don't mind. In the middle of a heat wave in the northeast, in the midwest, in the midwest, I know parts of the mid-Atlantic, gosh you guys in the south you're always in the middle of it so I know you have no sympathy for us. But temps in my neighborhood soaring up near 95 with heat indices into the triple digits. I will confess I got home around I guess 6 45 on Thursday morning, that's eastern time. Sun was up of course but I promptly went inside, the humidity was starting to build and then waited until 8 30 eastern time. It's the longest day of the year so I was out early and then I was out later. We took the dog for a walk around the block and it was still pretty warm out but the sunset was glorious, kind of affected by the haziness but the colors were enhanced and there were lightning bugs out or as my husband calls them fireflies. We go back and forth now.

The flowers are blooming. I love June in the northeast in the mid-Atlantic. It's one of my favorite months of the year and we were back inside then. I paused the tv because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything so we're back inside then to watch more of the Giants and Cardinals and the broadcast from Rick Woodfield. So a combination of joy, some emotion, some awe at men like Bill Greeson. This might be my favorite moment of the entire baseball season.

You'll hear it when we get back. Happy summer to you. Congratulations to Major League Baseball. We honor these men from the Negro Leagues and I'm just so grateful that these men are left, right? There are some that we'll never be able to honor in person and it's I think a tragedy that they weren't honored when they were alive but thankfully there are others now who finally have their their moment, who finally have the recognition and so love to hear from you and as you respond, what's your favorite summer activity? Lots of stuff on our social media tonight and you can find us on the phones as well 855-212-4227.

Some of the reaction, I'm not even sure we're going to get to the actual play-by-play until a little bit later on but some of the reactions, some of the fanfare, some of the moments that I won't forget from tonight in Alabama, deep in the heart of Alabama. Thanks so much for hanging out with us. Happy almost... You can host the best backyard barbecue. When you find a professional on Angie to make your backyard the best around. Connect with skilled professionals to get all your home projects done well. Inside to outside. Repairs to renovations. Get started on the Angie app or visit angie.com today.

You can do this when you Angie that. Start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to $30 off your next repair service. Plus get a free closer look vehicle check to make sure you're road trip ready. So if you need a brake service and alignment check or tune up hit up Midas for up to $30 off.

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See owner's manual for complete warranty details and limitations visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. It's Friday to you it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Ceremonial first pitch will be delivered by a man whose career on the ball field and in the community is unparalleled. He served his country during World War II and fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. He played for the Birmingham Blackberries, was teammates with Willie Mays and was the winning pitcher of game three of the 1948 Negro Leagues World Series right here at Rick Woodfield. He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954 and after his playing career was through he became an instrumental leader in Birmingham as a pastor who had served his community for over 50 years.

He's 99 years old. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Bill Creason. Wow wow that is a moment that made me tear up and we're presenting it from Fox. That was exactly how it happened on the field.

If you have not seen it we can retweet it from our show account at Amy After Hours straight from MLB. Powerful moment. I clapped.

We clapped in my house. The man had such a grace about him. He's still a pastor so he gets addressed as Reverend Bill Greason but he fought at Iwo Jima for our country. He's an American hero. He's a pastor. He's a community leader. He is a pioneer. He was the first black pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

He's 99 and he shrugs and smiles when they remind everyone of his age. I was blown away by Bill and then later he was interviewed by Ken Rosenthal on Fox and I was captivated. This this showcase for the Negro Leagues it's one of joy of course and it's one of honor and it's one of celebration but there's also such a bittersweet and sad tone to it not just because Willie Mays is gone but because these gentlemen as I say were forgotten and ignored overlooked or purposely set aside as though they did not matter and and that's after their playing careers when they were playing and if you didn't hear some of the stories with Reggie Jackson we're going to bring some of them back but while they were playing they were vilified they were hated they were discriminated against there was prejudice there was racism they were told they weren't equal to their white teammates of course many of us know this in theory right we've heard it it's heartbreaking but these are men who lived it and yet Bill Greeson as he was interviewed by Ken Rosenthal was still full of grace and peace no doubt it's because he's a leader of a church and has a relationship with God that gives him his identity from somewhere else right men it doesn't matter what men do to him what matters is his relationship with the Lord and it was so evident what he's been able to share with people over the course of his life whether it be in the community in his church other negro leagues players he was a teammate of Willie Mays he fought for our country oh my gosh I am so grateful that I had the chance to be introduced to him on this broadcast and when he was asked about traveling and playing during segregation I stopped to tweet part of his response to Ken Rosenthal once you make up your mind and you see what's going on no you can't change it so you adapt to it and make the best of it and that's what we did we we didn't worry too much about segregation because when we get to the ballpark we put that uniform on go out and play come back change go and that's the way it was with us we didn't allow segregation to stop us from playing from using our talents and gifts for what we were there for and it was a tremendous blessing to have a gift from God that enabled you to be recognized as such how about that perspective that's the quote that I put up on Twix we didn't allow segregation to stop us from playing from using our talents and gifts for what we were there for and it was a tremendous blessing to have a gift from God that allowed us to be recognized as such this man could be bitter he could be angry he could be telling stories about how he was treated and all of those things he would be justified in doing he would be justified in feeling and yet instead this man has joy and he's got peace and he's happy and he can't wait to be part of this he's cute he smiles he throws out the first pitch he shrugs and then when Ken gets done talking to him and we'll hear something else from him because he was a mentor to Willie Mays when he gets done talking to Ken he says was that okay did I do okay oh my gosh 99 years old you know how often you hear in their studies that are done about these types of things how joy and laughter and smiles and positive relationships can actually lengthen your life I'm confident that's one of the reasons why my grandmother lived to 100 plus because she never went through a day without laughing she laughed at everything that's where I got it from she smiled she talked to people she valued her relationships and she tried new things again my grandmother could have been bitter she could have been sad she lost her husband 50 years before she passed away and yet she spent the rest of her life making people happy and being happy she enjoyed food she enjoyed travel she enjoyed her family she enjoyed her grandmother I mean excuse me her granddaughter that joy sustained her for decades and it is really clear that the joy former black baron former American hero current reverend Bill Gleason who is also the first black pitcher for the Cardinals what more could you add to his resume it is clear that joy has sustained him for decades oh my gosh I can't even tell you how grateful I am that I got introduced to him because I had not heard of him before tonight Ken asked him about being a mentor and a teammate to Willie Mays he was a determined young man he had the gifts the talent and he was sensitive to listening to those who were older than he was and it was a tremendous blessing and we turned out to be real close brothers like brothers everything worked well with us I could listen to that guy tell stories all day long no doubt probably that goes for most of these guys who are out there some of them were moving and grooving love the music and I just hope that they enjoyed being showered with attention I'm looking forward to talking to Katie Wu she will join us from Birmingham following the update we'll get her perspective she's a great storyteller she was there with the cardinals again we're gonna use our show account at Amy After Hours so that you can see some of these moments we'll flip them I'm blown away I hope that you feel the same and also it's summer peeps maybe baseball is your favorite summer activity uh maybe frisbee I love frisbee is your favorite summer activity what is it you can find us on either twix or on our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence you selling a little or a lot Shopify helps you do your thing however you cha-ching Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business from the launcher online shop stage to the first real life store stage all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage Shopify is here to help you grow whether you're selling scented soap or offering outdoor outfits Shopify helps you sell everywhere from their all-in-one e-commerce platform to their in-person pos system wherever and whatever you're selling Shopify has got you covered Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout 15% better on average compared to other leading commerce platforms and sell more with less 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actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children talk to your pediatrician or visit YVaccines.com brought to you by Merck or listening to the After Hours podcast it was honestly better than even what I expected and I expected it to be awesome but it was a awesome experience you know getting to walk out with those players that played here before and obviously no one they were kind of playing for Willie and you know that he started his professional career here that was it was really special it's a special special day for the Giants man I'm just you know I took it all in today try to try to really just enjoy the moment it was unbelievable today you know the festivities before the game during the game you know it's a good game out here too so just try to enjoy it man it was it was unbelievable today what a special night I mean this is something that we should celebrate this this right here is pretty amazing and to do it in Alabama and I got some friends and family in the stands I think it's pretty cool it's like I'm playing summer ball again right I had heard about this field I know a lot of my buddies have played here but I'd never been here myself so I wasn't sure they always told me it was a big yard so I'm glad they brought the fences in just a tick but man I was just looking forward to being around some friends and some family and hopefully getting the dub and that's what we got tonight this is After Hours with Amy Lawrence first Logan Webb on NBC Sports Bay Area talking about the impact of this game as they honored former giant Willie Mays then you hear Mason Wynn he had a hit and a run at Rick Woodfield for the St. Louis Cardinals and finally Brendan Donovan an Alabama native who also talks about the significance the impact of Fox Sports and he went three for four with a home run and three RBI in his return home it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence thanks so much for hanging out with us happy almost Friday happy summer what's going on happy summer what's your favorite summer activity you can find us on either Twitter or Facebook we're pleased to welcome Katie Wu who is an insider for the St. Louis Cardinals and the athletic and is in Birmingham after a couple days of festivities Katie how would you describe what you just experienced tonight it's still so surreal I think it was maybe the most impactful and powerful experience I've had in the ballpark I mean just to be at brickwood field the history entrenched in this ballpark the players here that you know were so so critical and not just Negro league history but baseball history to see baseball come together and really give these players and give this city this ballpark their flowers it's honestly it's left me a little bit at a loss for words I just I'm so thankful for just the option to be here and I'm grateful that MLB decided to do this because I really think what ultimately their goal was and I do think they've achieved this is introducing a brand new era or a brand new encyclopedia if you will of baseball history to the casual baseball fans and stars showed up from everywhere I thought it was amazing that Barry Bonds was there we don't see a lot of him anymore but he felt like he needed to be there others like Ken Griffey Jr who are a couple of baseball stars that you encountered and and that you thought it was really neat that they were on hand well I think you know just growing up in the bay area seeing Barry Bonds there was surreal I actually saw him in the bathroom prior at lunch so that was a cool experience um you know everywhere I went it seemed that there was a prominent black player former black player prominent voice in baseball around you probably thought Reggie Jackson, Cece Sabathia, Dexter Fowler, Adam Jones and I was talking with Cardinals coach Willie McGee who absolutely deserves to be uh in those groups of people and he said that was one of his favorite parts was to see how many different eras of black baseball was at the ballpark and I think again that's that's what this whole event is about is celebrating those players and what they've done for baseball I was talking to Cece Sabathia on Wednesday and he basically said you know he considers brickwood fields the birth of black baseball and you could really feel that celebration again the history the spirit the fervor here come to life on the field talking from all the Cardinals players to the coaches to just random people in the stands not one single person had anything negative to say about this experience it truly was I think for me you know a once in a lifetime event I actually got a tour of the place when it was empty so happened to be in Birmingham for another work assignment showed up there knowing the history and the caretaker was outside and asked me and a friend if we would like to see the inside so I saw it with no people in it which was pretty powerful if you're describing rickwood field and the atmosphere tonight to someone who's never heard about it what would you say about that old ballpark with all its character yeah that's a great question and part of the reason why I got here early was that I could able just be able to walk around the ballpark and experience some of that history and so you walk in through the patented green walls the front brickwood field is painted out in full letters on the front of the ballpark and they actually still have six of the original ticket counters boss offices from 1910 and that's the first thing you see and that kind of just stopped me in my tracks and I was like wow it's 1910 over you know over 100 years ago and it's still here and the way that they've commemorated this field and turned it into a place of history but also a fully functioning baseball field was terrific there was obviously a makeshift fence but actually was able to go behind the field and see the the original wall that was built again in the 1910 and the dimensions in center field were crazy out 478 feet Amy can you believe that I kind of wish they would have kept it for the game just to see but I was able to you know go up and actually touch the wall and and it's stuff like that when you're in a a historic place that makes you feel connected toward a little bit more and you know I know the players felt connected out there I certainly did too in that moment Katie Wu is a Cardinals insider for the athletic Cardinals Giants at Rickwood Field a celebration of the Negro Leagues and we're so excited to have her back on the show here after hours with Amy Lawrence when this celebration was first planned of course it was intended that Willie Mays would be there a guy who grew up in the area played his first baseball as a teenager at Rickwood Field what did you hear about him tonight from the men who were there nothing but great things is there anything else to say Willie Mays I mean for me I grew up a Giants fan and if you grew up in San Francisco you know Willie Mays is a rite of passage and that is that rings true throughout baseball so to be able to just hear everyone's different stories what I loved about the stories is they were all completely different but they had the same theme and it was that Willie Mays was crying and he really cared about you he didn't care about relaying what he did in his career he cared about the conversations the people that he met and I think that is just a remarkable legacy to leave during the pregame ceremony Ken Griffey Jr Barry Bonds is God's son of four and his son Michael Mays came out and there was a special tribute to Willie and his son said you know that he had talked about doing anything he could to be here for that for that night but he found a different way to be here so people were on their feet and he said something that will stick with me for a very long time his son said you're already on your feet you might as well let him hear you because he's listening and you could just feel that kind of throughout the ballpark that moment it was really powerful and I thought it was the perfect way to honor Willie not with a moment of silence but with a moment of celebration and I think that's exactly what he deserves. A great moment and another moment I love from pregame it actually caused me to tear up was the former Cardinal in fact the first black pitcher who pitched for the Cardinals Bill Griesen at 99 years old was a teammate of Willie Mays he's standing up there by himself and he throws out the ceremonial first pitch I will admit I had not heard his story before but now I am captivated Katie. And isn't that the whole purpose of this game right I'm so glad you said that because now so many people are going to go home and be familiar with Bill Griesen's story and this is a person you know I'm a professional baseball writer and I was unaware of just how much significance he had in his career exactly I think this game is doing exactly what it was designed to do to educate and promote another era of history and what a cool moment that was Reverend Griesen he's from Birmingham he's been a pastor here for over 50 years I was talking to Willie McGee who had the honor of escorting him onto the field and he said you know I didn't even know he was 99 because he didn't look like it that he was able to throw the ball to Ron Teasley Jr. the son of Ron Teasley another Negro league player it was I think everything about this had symbolism had meaning and the best thing about this is that even though the game is over there's so much to do there's so much to learn about you know it's never ending and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that when I get back to St. Louis.

Today's modern day Cardinals what do they have to say about being part of this occasion? Mason Wynn their young talented 22 year old shortstop and the lone black player in either starting lineup was all about this event he said pregame that it was very emotional experience for a stepdad to be here and that had stepped out would probably tear up and as he was talking he said you know I might I might tear up too I mean he grew up on a little league team called the Negro league legends and now here he is playing shortstop at Rickwood field in 2024 was talking was talking to Ryan Halsey the closer tonight and he talked about how electric the atmosphere was everyone was beaming about this event I will remember Mason Wynn's energy and how it much meant to him for a very long time because you could see it a real life dream play out and the history impacted on someone but even at just 22 has obviously been impacted by so many things that we were here for everywhere all around whether it was players media members fans MLB personnel I think would consider this an overwhelming success. Katie Wu is with us from Birmingham covering the Cardinals and the Giants at Rickwood field but really the game becoming a secondary part of this incredible occasion it's after hours with Amy Lawrence have you been elsewhere in Birmingham where they have honored Willie Mays? I was here Wednesday night at the celebrity softball game and that was an event in itself very light-hearted very fun but of course sometimes to recognize Willie and one thing that I really liked was that the hall of fame MLB's hall of fame brought Willie Mays' plaque from Cooperstown to the event it's the first time his plaque has left the hall of fame since he was enshrined in 1979 and the plaque event set up for maybe 10 minutes and I look around and the line to take a photo with it is already out the door and it stayed that way for two days straight I did take a picture of course but I thought that was just very cool for the hall to make those accommodations because as their president Joshua which was telling me given the circumstances he doesn't think there's any place more suited for that plaque to be than where it was tonight. You know what this reminded me of a little bit and certainly a different tone to this because of the negro leagues and Willie Mays but it reminded me of how baseball adored that trip to Iowa to be at the field of dreams and how much the guys who participated in it were really swept away by it this seems to have that flavor but also with the bittersweet tone. Yes absolutely I think you know there's celebration there's commemoration but there's also a deep deep understanding of just how flawed the past was in this regard I mean Reggie Jackson was very candid on the Fox broadcast about the experiences he had here and you know we we focus a lot about the history and naturally we try to think of like history being positive or the like significance behind it but there are some deep-rooted unfortunate very discouraging things that happen here that also need to be recognized and remembered so that we can move past it and we can recognize the the sacrifices or the trials and tribulations that last players faced in the negro leagues and sometimes still face to this day so yes I think while the celebration was wonderful and I think everyone enjoyed their time there was an underlying meaning to this game as well that I think delivers even more importance. I did love the joy it felt like even through the tv obviously you're there there was such great joy and often it feels like major league baseball their decisions they can't get out of their own way but this was if you will a home run it captivated everyone who was there whether fans media players as you point out and I said to my husband how much it matters to me that these men who've been either ignored or forgotten for so long in the baseball world finally had the chance to be honored. Absolutely I think you nailed it you know major league baseball did in my opinion not just went out of the park and to see these players get their flowers get their due it wasn't that they necessarily wanted it although I'm sure they did but they deserved it you know they've earned this and for far too long they have been forgotten and they've played such an instrumental part in baseball history I hope this is just one of many steps that MLB takes to further promote the negro league in the history of all of their baseball players. Did it feel like they were enjoying it as they came out on the field not a chance to mingle with some of the current players? Oh absolutely and you know there was an event this morning that many cardinals and giants coaches and staff attended at the negro southern league museum downtown and that's something that Willie McGee was telling me that really moved him was to be able to sit down and have conversations with these players and ask them what was it really like you know how many games did you win what was it like playing against the caucasian team was it as bad as what we hear in terms of the things that they have to deal with um all these things that are so accessible for major league baseball there are not a lot of people telling negro league stories and this is an opportunity for many many players to share those stories and hopefully again it's just the beginning and we can learn continue to learn from all of these experiences because I know just talking to Willie McGee for five minutes I could tell how blown away he was from that experience. Well you got to find Katie on twitter at Katie J Wu WOO because she's got some great photos from her time in Birmingham a story to tell about the game as well but really this is about the occasion the honor and the negro leagues getting their day and hopefully one that as you point out doesn't become just an offshoot but is something that's integrated now for baseball she's with the athletic we're always excited to have her here on the show Katie thank you so much for a couple minutes. Amy thanks so much I enjoyed it. What a perspective I'm wishing I was there but even watching it on tv was emotional and was powerful and impactful and I did see the joy that made me really happy I understand as best that I can having not lived in that era but I understand that there's got to be mixed emotions Reggie Jackson expressed a few of those and we'll hear from him as we head through the show mixed emotions because of some of the the racism and the discrimination that they were subjected to Birmingham if you know your history you know that it was really a a crossroads for segregation racism there were some awful heinous acts that occurred there in in the deep south Birmingham was maybe the heart the battle for men and women of all colors but specifically African Americans to be treated as equals and it was not a process that went seamlessly it was not a process of integration that was without its its prices its sacrifices and so the story is well preserved there Birmingham has preserved its history all of it it's positive it's negative the good the ugly and of course that's the perfect seat and this ballpark what a treasure so I do hope that someday you all can get there if you haven't been there before because it's terrific even with no people in it but this was the perfect showcase on Thursday night it's after hours with Amy Lawrence plug in a Hyundai EV and the extraordinary happens it's not just the ultra fast charging capability and long range in the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 or the adventure seeking spirit of the Kona electric or the groundbreaking 601 horsepower IONIQ 5N and it's not just the comfort in knowing that every Hyundai EV is backed by a 10-year 100,000 mile limited electric battery warranty Hyundai's EVs transform a low hum into a loud adventure they bring color to your journey and turn energy into main character energy so forget everything you thought you knew about EVs and turn the extraordinary into something truly electrifying there's joy in every journey for more details tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone news in order to secure convictions in a court of law it is essential that we conclusively sports that clock at four the step back three music and even podcasts whatever you love hear it right here on tune in go to tunein.com or download the tune in app to start listening start your summer road trip at Midas and get up to thirty dollars off your next repair service plus get a free closer look vehicle check to make sure you're road trip ready so if you need brake service and alignment check or tune up hit up Midas for up to thirty dollars off for more details request your appointment at Midas.com