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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. The Patriots. This team destroying everyone in front of them. How far can they go?
Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show. Prime Video TNF analyst Andrew Whitworth. Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Coming up.
Savannah Bananas left fielder Robert Anthony Cruz. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Okay.
Well, everybody, welcome to hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN radio presented by Progressive Insurance. We say hello to everybody helping us break the record of the Chiefs and Cowboys viewership today. I mean, we're really honored. I mean, our phone lines are lit. You know, 57 million people calling in at once.
I'm surprised we're able to handle that type of volume. That's not happening. Oh.
Okay.
But our audience we we love nonetheless. Love them all. By the way, lions. 10 Packers broke a record already at 47 million. That was the record.
Period until the Cowboys and the Chiefs beat it later on in the day. Yeah, and the Bengals and Ravens set the night game record at 28 plus million. Crazy. We love our football. We love great sleigh games.
Some NBA news. uh all over the place involving some bold-faced names. Let's go with the one that our friend Windhorse popped first, because that's the latest one. What did Brian Windhorse throw out there, Chris? He was on ESPN Radio in Cleveland.
Yeah, he was. And they were talking about, you know, Giannis, and there's some trade speculation out there as the Bucs are, you know, underperforming. They haven't been good with him out of the lineup. And recently, this week, Giannis deleted off social media all Bucs-related content. Which means bad things usually for the team that is employing said player who cleanses his or her social media of any sign of their employment.
Yeah, not a great sign. And the hosts there were just talking about him. And Windhorse just casually dropped that Giannis had asked for a trade out of Milwaukee before this season. I think that's earned Brian Winhorse the call for me to say here. Can you do our show?
Hmm.
Well, so and so they essentially rejected his Request? Or the Knicks didn't pull it off?
Well, that was the one spot that Giannis had wanted to kind of go to this offseason, but Yeah. And now and now teams are circulating. I've heard people speculate on San Antonio. Could the Lakers pull something together? Giannis.
Come on. The Golden State.
So, yeah. San Antonio, that is just I don't understand why would anybody mention San Antonio or Golden State? or anybody but the Lakers aren't Aren't you supposed to only just call the Lakers and the Lakers only and make it only a deal with them and not throw it open to anybody? I think that's part of the NBA bylaw. I thought that's the way it's supposed to be for the expension for you to do that.
Yeah, that's just the way it's supposed to be. Yeah, it's got to wind up on the Lakers. Although they did already pull off their once-in-a-generation talent move that they've done since, what, 1970-something?
So Giannis picked the best player from Milwaukee in the past. Why do people throwing out San Antonio just because they, you know.
Well, they have a lot of the assets. Not only would Milwaukee want picks, but you want young players, and obviously they have Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper could be sent to Milwaukee along with the bevy of people. And so I guess if there's any sort of healing balloons that go up into the rafters, they could just put Giannis on Wemby's shoulders and then just pull it down. A front line of Wemby and Giannis? Stop.
How does that even work? Why would they trade Freunas? Oh, why would you? Why would you? My worst take in the history of this show, Don't Trade for Yanis, is now a great take.
Don't trade away, Yanis. I'm sure. I'm sure that's what Doc is saying. Yeah, it hasn't been good this year in Milwaukee with 9-13, and Giannis has missed some time, 1-5 in the games without him. You know what everybody's saying.
But the East is still wide open, so I don't know why you're trying to give up hope there. Hey, your Celtics are playing well. You know what I mean? You know. Looking at the odds yesterday, TJ, 15 to 1 to win the East.
Big win over at New York last night. Had been good in this recent stretch. Starting to come together, playing some small ball. Tatum comes back in April. Who's better than the Celtics if Tatum is back at full strength?
Especially with the way Jalen Brown is playing right now. And you sneak in in the Miami Heat Tournament. And suddenly we're the 7-8 seed. Yeah. You don't want to put losing the play in your life.
Well, you know what everybody says. Look at the Pacers last year. Turn of the calendar last year. Who was talking about the Pacers being any threat? Remember the Mavericks a couple years ago?
Boston the year before that? You know, the energy shifted? Right. Pacers are trying to pull his spurs right now, though. And this is a loaded draft, so it's like.
You don't really want to be in it if you don't have a chance to compete for the championship with the way the talent is going to be, you know, come next June. But look, obviously, Oklahoma City is just blowing everybody away. Yeah, all the metrics are one of the greatest teams of all time. You know, we're seeing something truly special there.
Okay.
What I meant by pulling the Spurs is Halliburton's out. They went to the finals.
Now they've got four wins. They're going to end up in the lottery. They're going to get a top. player and then Halliburton's gonna come back and Yeah, just like Tim Duncan backup. You mean whoever Michigan sends into the draft?
Okay.
I mean, she's got some players. It's basketball season in my end of the world right now.
Well, I mean, the season's over, with the exception of what there'll be one bowl game I'll tune into. Sure. By the way, projection, Citrus Bowl, Texas, Michigan. If neither make the playoff Citrus Bowl. They like the juice on that squeeze right there.
I saw that projection. And then there's another story. Yeah. Your Los Angeles Clippers um signed Chris Paul In his farewell season, going back to the future, playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. Bob City.
Is this the worst? Retirement tour in the history of retirement tours? Because, you know, you're supposed to get like presents when you go everywhere you go. Rocking chairs, right? I mean, just Rivera, Jeter, Big Poppy, they all got gifts.
You're not supposed to get a knock on your hotel room door, apparently, around the middle of the night and say you're cut. And yet? I don't know. What is the circumstances in which the Clippers informed Chris Paul, in the middle of this dreadful season, For the LA Clippers. that um that we're done.
But Lawrence Frank confirming that they're they're They're not In business with Chris Paul anymore. And he, what, he Instagrammed out on his stories? I've just been informed on this. Hey, informed of Ben Ruit. Let go.
And apparently the uh the flight at the Coopers were on last night was delayed in Atlanta, leaving. They were on the tarmac for a while.
So, did they care for him? No, but players were learning about the move while they were on the plane. And I'm seeing all over reports that he and Tyron Liu haven't been on speaking terms. Yeah, they haven't been speaking. He took them out of the rotation.
At the beginning of the season, put him back in, but apparently Uh per shams They felt that Paul was too vocal in holding management, coaches and players accountable.
So They told him, get out, we're done. In the middle I mean I mean, Chris Paul has always been known as kind of like a hardo, right? You know what I mean? So apparently, maybe with this new regime that's in there now, just didn't. take Conley to his style of leadership.
didn't mesh with Ty Lu. They like you said they weren't speaking.
Well, you're the Clipper fan here. He's an all-time great. You're telling him in the middle of the night that we're done? I mean, look, it's got to be something deeper than obviously we know, right? Like.
But this team isn't going anywhere. It's this is a very frustrating season. Um And I'm looking forward to the end of the year because we'll get a high draft. Oh, no, we won't, Chris, have a high draft pick. We're not going to have a draft pick.
That's going to Oklahoma City five. This guy's going to have his jersey retire. He'll be the first Clipper to have his number hanging in the new arena. And it's a farewell tour. It's a reason for diehard Clipper fans to come to games.
I I just don't understand.
Well, it's something, man. Remember, Blake Griffin signed that big deal. He wanted to retire a clipper. Then he got traded. Two months later, he's out.
Same thing with Chris Paul. I really don't know, man. Being a Clippers fan is. If I could go back to 99 and do it all over again, I don't know if I'd. Would have hopped on this.
Well, you would have stopped the Shea Gildis Alexander trade. Oh, absolutely. No one's gonna be able to do it. I would stop. They'd say, listen to the client.
With the Clippers, listen to Jerry West. Listen to Jerry West. Right. But Kawhi said I need Paul George. And at the time if I'm departing.
At the time it was great. It was a You're thinking it's a great move, but I can still remember that night. That the trade broke on the SPN. And I remember it because I was recording myself laughing on my couch. But then I saw what we gave up and I was like, oh, that's a lot of draft.
Yeah, but Kawhi just won in Toronto. Yeah. But I'm still. Still on 4th of July. Yeah.
Well, I mean, you remember like there was an earthquake there. You remember that that was supposed to be, he was supposed to come back to Southern California where he's from and play with LeBron. Right. That's supposed to go.
Well, I mean, because that's the way it always goes. But Kawhi wasn't having it.
Well, I mean, that's what happens sometimes. One time the league will just say, nope, Chris, you can't play with the Lakers, you've got to play with the Clippers. Right. One time the Lakers didn't get the trade they wanted. That was happening.
That's weird. And Kauai is Yeah, I said this in the break to TJ. What is ultimately Kawhi Leonard's legacy going to be? Because it's such an interesting career. Finals MVP is not the real star of that team in San Antonio.
He was the star of the finals. Then, yeah, but then becomes kind of a mercenary, goes to Toronto for a season, wins finals MVP and a championship there. Only 27 in that year.
So you got to figure he is hitting his prime as a basketball player. Comes out here, forces the trade for Paul George to come with him. Has a great season. Things fall apart in the bubble. Then it's just injury.
Kind of riddled. Did have it pretty much played a full season two years ago, but since then. That can't stay healthy. Just kind of a strange, interesting dude. We don't really hear a lot from him.
One of the best defensive players. Of his time. No doubt. Right. Of all his time.
Great. Clutch. Big game player. And uh one in two places. Yeah, I mean, who okay?
Very few people can say that. Yeah, I mean, obviously, the reason I'm Toronto, a reason. I mean, dude, you remember it was like. They were putting stickers in the windows at fruit establishments saying, you know, don't leave, and how Kawhi could eat wherever he wanted in Toronto. An iconic play.
Yeah. The multi-bouncer to be aware of. One of the greatest sound engineer in the history of five games. Yeah, he learned from some guy. Yeah.
I wonder if it's not. I don't want to be inseparable. Yeah, don't do that. But then, obviously, coming out here to try to kind of save this Clipper franchise and give it a new identity under the Steve Ballmer ownership, and it just hasn't materialized. I'll be honest.
It's been. I'll say it. coming out here to LA. The Clippers, it's been mostly about No shows.
Okay.
Not not being available. because he's unavailable. In terms of Being healthy enough to play. Then there's all this other stuff going on about The no-show job, and then there's the stuff about This city is about showtime. There's a reason why This city Certainly, when it comes to basketball, it gravitates towards the superstars.
Just gravitates. That's the history of this city right now in Los Angeles. And it's been mostly with the Lakers, with the exception of. The Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul era, right? Yeah, the Lobb City era.
Lob City era.
So far. And then so far, which is why when LeBron was here. Fresh off of the, you know, bubble with Anthony Davis. And Kawhi's like, I'll go to Los Angeles. I just need Paul George.
And the Clippers were just like, let's just make it happen.
Well, that was before. No, I know that because this is what was happening to lead up to that bubble here. You know? Put it all together, the Clippers wanted to have their stars as well. And to be able to prevent Kawhi from going to the Lakers and saying, you're going to come here.
But I mean, it's an interesting conversation about what his legacy is. He's a Hall of Famer. Oh, absolutely. Right. So.
And at the end of the day, what are you going to remember about him? You're not going to remember the fact that he didn't play these games. You're going to remember the championship. No, no, no. You will remember what he did with the Spurs and what he did with the Toronto Raptors.
And what is he going to write for Steve Ballmer before he does? Finish his career. Because right now, his Lakers, his Clipper years are just. 100% in the old Toilette. And the fact that they're going to try Thank you.
Welcome. Right. And that's it. And the Clippers have a beautiful new building. Kids love going there.
Love it. Yeah. Go to Intuit Dome. A great place to see a basketball game. I enjoy it.
Um But right now, man. It's just a weird, wild way for this because Lou is one of the best coaches in the NBA, right? Anybody would be all over him. I I don't know what their what the plan is right now. But Chris Paul just in the middle of the night.
Is that what happened? Do we know what the exact circumstances are? Like knocking on his door. I don't think it's an exact timeline. Yeah.
That's how it seems. You know. I did see one thing where the convers Lawrence Frank said the conversation lasted three hours on what to do with Chris Paul.
Okay.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I like the Clipper organization. I love the building. It's just the record right now. The record.
Kawai's just got. Again, in this town. You you want your your superstars to be out front. And he's a guy who's willingly just like, yeah, that's not for me. And that's when you acquire him.
Yeah, I mean, I don't think anyone expected his temperament to change. The fact that the man's body, like, And that's what's sad. You know, the NBA and all sports is littered with what-ifs. You know, what if Bill Walton was healthy? You know, what if Derek Rose doesn't blow out his knee?
What if Grant Hill? Had a healthy ankle. You know, you could go on and on forever. And at least Kauai, I feel like. Obviously, he didn't get the most out of it, but he got so much out of his talent.
and out of his career. If it were to end today, but obviously it's not.
Well, we'll see. Right. With the NBA, it's so difficult to follow with aprons and caps and releases. And apparently, December 15th is when it's going to take effect. And it's so weird because I don't understand this.
You have to have 15 people on your team. But then some teams, because of like contracts or structure, can't have that many people until like January. They gotta wait.
So it it's and if you do make a trade, the money has to be equal.
So if we are if say we're making the same on a team, we can be traded for each other. But if we were gonna trade for Rich, We would have to get like 18 people involved because all the money has to even out.
So that's why, like, you're talking about me? For Giannis Trade, there's only a couple of teams that can actually do a deal like this because of what his contract status is. All right, suddenly I'm uncomfortable about the way this conversation is going.
Well, Rich, your name's on the mug, baby. People know. Suddenly, we've got to take a break. ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance. Keep your career moving forward with growth opportunities, great pay, and benefits in one of the country's top workplaces.
Go to careers.progressive.com and apply today. If you're on hold, stay on hold, we will definitely take your phone calls before the end of the program. The Savannah Banana left fielder, known affectionately as Coach Rack, Robert Anthony Cruz, is in our green room. It's time for, is he going to like backflip his way? That would be fantastic.
You know, into the guest chair? Wouldn't that be fun? Coach Rack of the Savannah Bananas is in our studio. Don't go anywhere. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
I am now putting two and two together. That was one of the, by the way, I've got Savannah Bananas. Robert Anthony Cruz coach Rack is here on the Rich Eisen Show. I remember that moment. Our radio audience just returned here on ESPN Radio.
Where you went and walk me through that moment again, if you don't mind. I remember this.
So your dad is working where? My dad's working at Firestone in Riverside and Here in California. California, yes. I had dreamed of being picked up by a professional team, but I went to a Division II school. I didn't think it was likely that I'd get picked up.
It was a 20-round draft. You know, COVID shortened everything down. And I ended up getting a phone call right after the draft. I was playing Minecraft. I was homeschooled, so I love Minecraft.
Nice. And playing Minecraft, I get a phone call from DC and I'm like, all right, I'm going to answer it. It's probably spam. But it's like, hey, this is Mark Baca with Washington Nationals. We want to sign you for $20,000.
Does that work? I'm like, yeah, I would have done it for free. Let's do it, man. And so, yeah, I went and I drove to Lids at like a local mall, bought the last two Nationals hats that they had there, and then drove to Firestone where my dad was working. And I told my mom, I was like, hey, like, you should record this.
I think this is going to be cool. You know, make sure it's red at the top, mom. Wouldn't want to, you know, have an accident there.
So she recorded that moment, and I, you know, told my dad. That I got signed, and you know, we were both crying. And later on that day, I thought, okay, this would probably be pretty cool to share. But yeah, that moment was. And so you popped it on TikTok, yeah.
And off it went. Yeah. What a moment for you and your dad to have, right? Because again, that's. And Ian, we'll get to the fun and the games with Savannah Ball, Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball in a second, but You know, this is This is the culmination of so many people who are waking up four in the morning, five in the morning, driving all over our state to get you out there, to play ball as a kid, to get your reps, to get your swings, get your Get your at-bats, you know, and to get that moment is pretty cool, brother.
So special. Thank you, man. Yeah, my dad worked so hard, and often, I mean, every time I would ask, he never said no. Every time he's getting off work, I'm like, hey, dad, we got an hour left of daylight. Like, meet me at Reed Park.
Like, can we go, can you throw me some batting practice? And he always said yes. Even to this day, he still throws me batting practice. Yes.
So if somebody had told you right then and there, hey, you're going to play in Angel Stadium one day. But yeah, the but I never would have expected. But it's going to be, and it's going to be in front of sold out.
Sold out. Angel Stadium actually sold out. Yeah, I know. That's right. Otani's not involved.
Yeah, yeah. You know? But it's going to be with the Savannah bananas. And it's going to be in front of a crowd that is fully delighted by watching your son play or watching you play, right? Were your folks in Angel Stadium the whole year?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, they were there, man. Yeah, this thing has been so special. And I think that so many of the players realize we've got a second chance at playing again. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be playing ball.
And so we try to keep a good perspective and not take it for granted because, yeah, we were just sold out Angel Stadium. I grew up going to games there all the time. My neighbor had season tickets.
So, yeah, man, such a blessing. I feel very blessed. And you are entertaining, and your colleagues are entertaining. beyond Expectation. And it's so much fun to watch.
you guys play. How what goes into preparing A game. A lot more than people realize. I bet. Oh, yeah.
We've got this guy, Macio. He's our dance instructor. Yeah, we've got one of those. Zach Frangelo is our director of entertainment. Yes.
What this practically looks like on a game day, you show up and before you even touch a baseball, we got rehearsals. Yeah, there's still pitching. Love that. We have rehearsals. And so they will tell us what the plans are, what dances we're doing that day.
So when you see us performing a dance, you know, in front of 45,000, 50,000 people making a fool of ourselves, we learned that dance, you know, like that morning. That was going to be my question. Like, when do you practice the dances? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, the day of.
Yeah. There are certain dances that we repeat. Like, when we win, we have our victory dance, I guess. It's silly to say that. But yeah, that's basically what it is.
So we have a couple of dances that we repeat. Other than that, the run scoring celebrations, the special walks up to home plate, all of those, those we learn that day.
So, have some grace with us out there. We're trying. You don't get heckled, dude. Oh, no, no, no. Just on just on like, you know, social media, I'd say.
Oh, well, forget that. That's everybody. For sure, sure. Who's throwing a savannah banana on social media? What is your malfunction?
A sad, sad person. In fact, that's an understatement. A party animal diehard, maybe. I don't know. I'm sick and tired of this chat.
What the hell?
So, has something happened on a diamond that wasn't planned? Completely. That is That even surprised you. Wow. I just made that play.
I just made that hit. I just hit that ball or something like that. How often does something like that happen? Oh, all the time. Again, we're playing baseball.
I mean, we're competing. We're trying to win. The ball's going to come off the bat, right? No, no, there's no way. Like, you could get the best hitter in the world.
And, like, I mean, who knows? Otani might not hit a home run, even if it's, even if they throw you a fastball right down the middle. Like, baseball is hard. And probably the moment that stands out for me that Blew my mind, and I just thank God I got to even experience this. You know, I always dreamed of just rounding the bases, you know, hitting a home run in a major league stadium, a bunch of people.
Like Fenley Park? Sure, yeah, yeah, like that. Exactly. Yeah, we've played there a couple times. Yeah.
The three-year anniversary of me getting signed by the Nationals.
So I got signed July 13th of 2021. July 13th of last year, 2024. I'm at Nationals Park. We just so happen to be playing at Nationals Park. Our one game of the year that we play at Nationals Park was on the three-year anniversary of me getting signed.
So the owner, Jesse Cole, of Bananas, was like We were sitting on a plane next to each other actually the week before, and he was like, Hey, did you know that? When we play at National Park next week, that's like the anniversary of you getting signed by them. I was like, wow, I didn't even realize that. You didn't even realize that. I didn't realize that.
He wanted to see the video on my phone, and we pulled it up, and it was July 13th.
So he was like, Are your parents coming to this game? And they weren't planning on it initially. But he was like, you know what? I think we should have your dad walk with you up to Home Plate again. Come on.
And, you know, kind of recreate that moment initially of you getting signed by the Nationals and you telling your dad. And so we'll have him walk up to Home Plate with you, share a moment. We'll play your video on the video board. We'll give you a standing ovation at Nats Park and go from there. And wouldn't you know it, my last at bat at Nationals Park.
Home run. Come on. It was like, I just never, I'll never forget the ball leaving the yard, and it was just, ah, it was euphoric. It was, it was so, so cool. You jacked it out.
Yeah, yeah. I got it somewhere on YouTube. I don't know. I mean, we'll find it. Yeah, yeah.
Did you go to the plate thinking like I want to jack one out here? Oh, of course. Yeah. I mean, of course, that's the idea. But, you know, at that point in the game, I think that was my third at-bat.
And I was like, all right, I just want to, I already had a triple earlier in that game. And I was like, all right, let's. I wasn't specifically. I'm always trying to hit a home run, you know, of course. But I wasn't even, it thought it even crossed my mind.
It would have been like too good to be true in my head. But there's moments like that a lot that happen. Dude, basically, every game is too good to be true right now. Yeah. I mean, you're selling out football stadiums.
Football, you got Oregon Stadium next year. You got Wrigley Field next year. Yeah. You're back on the bananas again next year. Um Right.
I mean, Raymond James Stadium, three million fans on the ticket waitlist across the United States. This is a phenomenon. And it just also speaks again about how baseball's a kids' game. And you're acting like kids, and kids can't wait to watch adults act like kids and maybe see somebody throw a fastball on stilts. You know what I mean?
Who comes up with this stuff? Ah, man, well, you got to give a lot of props to Jesse Cole, the owner. I mean, his vision for the sport of banana ball was birthed out of this collegiate summer team that he's running in Savannah, Georgia. And, you know, collegiate summer teams will try to get creative with their mid-inning promotions and try to get the fans involved. But you never see more than a couple thousand people show up.
And Jesse Cole started, rather than looking at the field. He started looking at the fans and was like, okay, what parts of the game are they getting disengaged? And he basically crafted the sport of banana ball to just keep the audience's attention the whole time and make it interactive. You know, like as we're playing in these stadiums, we have players going up into the third deck and giving roses to little girls. And the stuff that we do makes it feel like even if you're sitting way up at the top, you're still included as part of the show.
So, gotta give props to Jesse Cole.
So many of the amazing. Ideas that you see us doing on the field, a lot of it originated with him. Is there a spot you want to play in that you haven't been? Like a place I want to play. Oh, I would love to play at Dodger Stadium.
That's like, we're not going there next year. I grew up a Dodger fan. I'm sure you're okay. Yeah, I would love to play there. Dodger Stadium.
Yeah. What about a football state? You're a football guy in any way, shape, or form? I have a fantasy football team, and I think I'm in third now out of 10.
Okay.
I did auto-draft, and I know nothing about football. Yeah. Listen, you're kind of what's wrong with fantasy football teams. Right. I've heard it right now.
You know what I mean? I know, and I'm doing well, too. That's just the tough part. You know, like, that's how it works, right? That's him over there, too.
That's Jason Feller. What's up? Is that you too? Jason Feller meets Coach Rack. Hi.
Coach Rack. That's Jason Feller. Yep. Oh, I have Rico Dotto. Oh, geez.
Let me start him. Oh, he gets 200 yards rushing. Oh, okay. Nice. Nice guy.
That's the guy. That's my guy right there. Oh, so who did you auto-draft? Oh, man.
So I got, let's see, I got Bijan. Yeah, you did. Yeah, I got Jalen Hurst. He's my quarterback. You know, I don't even know too many names.
You know, I just. Oh, my God. Yeah, I just see this guy here, and I'm like, oh, he's projected for 13. All right, cool. Let's put him in the lineup.
Oh, my. That's me. This nationals home run is. Incredible. You get an American flag on your way to first base, and you're like running around the bases with this flag.
That part is incredible.
So, that was the funny thing. Before the game, we, you know, as we're rehearsing, they were like, okay, we're in DC. One of our celebrations will be: if anyone hits a home run, the celebration will be we're going to run the American flag out to you, and you run around the bases with it. And so, yeah, I mean, I hit the home run, and I start running to first base, and then my teammate Kyle runs up. To me with the flag, and I was like, oh, yeah, I got to run around the bases with the flag.
So, you know, Toby Keith's rolling, and I'm just running around the bases. It was probably one of the, you know, top five American moments in the past couple years, I'd say, self-proclaimed. It's a giant celebration. Yeah. The only thing missing is you didn't hit in the light tower where the natural balls are flying through.
I've seen that movie. I've seen that movie. Good. Yeah. Good.
I'm glad you get that pop culture reference. Yep. I don't get too many. I'm homeschooling. You said that, but you're also 27, and I didn't want to show my age here.
Sure. Oh, my gosh. That is so cool, brother. Thanks. And part of that story, too, what's the most amazing part of that story is there were actual Washington National lids and Riverside lids.
What is that? Because for the Howie Kendrick, there were two. The two Howie Kendrick fans who rooted from the Angels of the Nationals, is that what it is? I think those were those two. It's just some poor Howie Kendrick fan goes, why are we sold out of national hats?
Because Coach Rack grabbed them. Yeah. Viral video. You know, fun fact, my first ever professional hit was with Howie Kendrick's bat, actually, because he was in the Nats Org. Yeah.
Yeah, man. I just remembered that. Yeah. I still have that bat. The only thing better is you got maybe one of Juan Soto's bags.
Yeah, I don't have that. No? Yeah. Well, he's a Met fan over there. He knows all about Juan Soto taking the bag.
That's what that guy knows right there. Love of the game, my ass. Wow. That's what we got. This guy here.
Wow, Charles Yankees fan right there. That's all right. I'm bitter. One thing I love about you guys, though, too, is: can you tell me a little bit about the umpire? Yes.
Oh, yeah. The umpire. He's the man. He's the man. Yeah, no, Vincent Chapman, he can move a little bit.
Yeah, the dancing umpire, the twerking umpire, I mean, he can move. There's no doubt about that. I'd say probably the fourth inning every game, he'll go dust off the plate, and then they play his song and. Chucks his mask way up in the air, and people lose their mind. They love that guy.
Like Enrico Palazzo? I don't know who that is. I know, I know. I was like two for two before that, though, so I'm still batting like 667. I don't think he'd know who he is.
You've never seen the naked gun, is what you're saying. No idea what you're talking about. Two things. Oh, no, two things. First of all, shot at Dodger Stadium.
Okay.
Okay, so that's number one. Pretending to be angels. Pretending to be angels. Reggie Jackson comes out of Wright Field.
Okay.
No, this doesn't ring a bell. I know Reggie Jackson.
Okay, good. I know Wright Field. He's part of a plot to kill the queen of England.
Okay.
Let me see what else. I feel like it is making this up. This doesn't sound real. Lieutenant Frank, this is one of my favorite parts in the history of this show is explaining police squad to coach rack at Savannah Bananas right now. Lieutenant Frank Drebbin of police squad goes undercover as an umpire to try and uncover the plot in time to save the queen.
This does sound good. And he is a dancing umpire at one point in time. Really? Yes.
No. Trust your guys. Trust me on all of this. I trust you, but like, kind of. I feel like this is a real thing.
Am I trolling? This is a real thing. No, no, no. This is great. This is great.
This is real? It's a great movie. It's like one of those spoof movies. Have you seen Major League? Maybe a little bit of a movie.
Yeah, I have seen that. Major League. Yes, that's a classic. Field of Dreams. Field of Dreams, yeah.
Seen that. Sam Lott, yeah. Oh, Sam. Met Ham Porter in the batting cage at Angel Stadium, actually. Ambino played in the game though.
Yeah, he did. It was a miracle that he made contact because I'll tell you what, I was giving him soft toss in the cage down before, and Brother could not make contact on underhands. And then he gets in the game and made contact. I was like, there's no way he just did that. It's amazing.
It was a miracle. Any special new rule changes for because that's kind of one of the unique aspects of Savannah Ball or the unique rules. Anything new for 2026? Yes, this is not confirmed.
Okay.
But we tried this out in playoffs a couple of months ago, and I kind of like it.
So, the one element of Banana Ball that was like not competitive is the trick plays. There was no incentive to do it other than it looks cool. You know, I'd do a backflip catch in left field, looks sweet. But it doesn't really give us any competitive advantage. If we're like the game's on the line, generally speaking, I'm just catching it normally.
Okay.
They added this rule where you get an extra point, they call it an equalizer point, if you have more trick plays than the other team.
However, the home team often has, I don't want to get too into the weeds here. The home team often has more opportunities to make outs on defense because they can walk off innings. Correct.
So let's say in the first inning, leadoff batter hits a home run. The away team didn't get a single out because the home team walked off the inning.
So, what they'd added was this equalizer point where if the visiting team gets more trick plays than the home team, Then they get one point. And it's very simple, but we tried it in playoffs, and it made it so that people were trying trick plays in pressure situations because you wanted to make sure you had more trick plays than the other team so that the visiting team doesn't get the equalizer point.
So that's like the one rule change that is up in the air. I don't know if they're going to do it for next year, but I think it'll add more of a competitive balance, I guess, to the game and give incentive for people to do trick plays and innovate. How many points for the trick play in a championship game by having a ball? Hit directly into the crease of the fence and the warning track. How many points?
Like, for instance, how many points would the Blue Jays have gotten? Right, right. I don't think they would have gotten any. If Kiki Hernandez would have done like a backflip catch or something, then maybe were you jealous? Do you jealous with that moment?
Like, I could do that. I could do that. Like, Mookie goes around the back. I can't do that double play. I could do that.
I can have pawheads come and hit me. How many points for that right there on the screen? How many points for that? Yeah, I don't think any personally, but gosh, that was such a fun World Series. That restored my faith in playoff baseball.
Really? Well, it was just so fun. It was incredible. It was cinema. Like, I was sitting there watching, and my wife was like, What's going on?
I'm like, Gigi, Gigi. You just had a home run. Like, of all people, you know, unreal. Rojas. Rojas and Rojas making the play at second to gosh, but I like this much.
So if you're a Dodger fan, so you were probably living and dying there. That the season was for an instant in an instant replay machine. Yes.
Did Will Smith's toe hit it? And then. The pious moment, catching the ball over Kiki Hernandez. Yeah. That was a Savannah Bananas moment right there.
You got me nervous just thinking about that again. That was huge. Yeah. Hey, what a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on everything going down with you in your baseball career.
And I love that you confirmed that. the comp the competition, the competitor. Outranks the entertainer when the game's on the line. You're not backflipping. Oh, yeah.
You're going to make the catch. I'll backflip if I know I'll catch it, which I love it.
Sometimes that's the case. Coach Rack, everybody. And you're the co-founder of the Not Your Average Baseball Camp. Tell me about that before I let you go here. Sure, yeah.
My friend Ange and I got that idea in 2022. I was making content on the line, and I was like, you know, I want to make a difference in these kids' lives. Yes.
So, we hosted a camp. We actually had it out here in Orange County, and we loved it. What we learned there was like, okay, the coaches might have had even more fun than the kids. And, you know, you said this earlier: kids want to see adults act like kids. And so, at these camps, you know, we've got one of our coaches coach Ball Game, and he'll go put a coach against a kid in an at-a-boy challenge where you have to yell at a boy louder than the previous yell.
And so, you have a coach yelling at a boy at a kid's face, and a kid yelling at a boy back. We have so much fun. We play banana ball, we teach baseball and the fundamentals, like the legitimate stuff. But more than anything, we want the kids to have permission to be kids again. We had our most recent camp in Texas.
And between our two camps, we had a thousand kids out.
So we're planning next year's right now, but we just want to make the game fun and really pour into the next generation. Attendance through the roof. You have a spot here anytime you want to come in, man. Congrats. Honestly, normally I'd like to make sure I'm beyond locked up, 100% prepped.
I had no idea that was you in that video with your dad, but I do remember seeing it when it came out, and I'm like, this is just what it's all about. Yeah. And it's such a pleasure to meet you and hearing your stories. And congrats on your baby on the way. Yeah.
Oh, thanks. You got it. Praise God. You won't be acting like a kid anymore. Coach Rock here on the rich eyes and shower back to wrap this up in a second.
The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. B.O., B.O.T.A. before Otani.
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Explore Sonos speakers, soundbars, and more at sonos.com. Aaron on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance, for a few more minutes to wrap up the show, ladies and gentlemen, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Thank you. Thank you. How annoying that literally the next October it was Dodgers versus Yankees at the worst.
I know. And then Dodgers, Blue Jays again, they've won every single time since I had that argument with that. Praise La Tom. Praise Otan. In the streets of Studio City.
Good to see you. Good to see you, man. Can you see me through those? Oh, absolutely. They're cheap.
But you know, when you go you get you're in a certain echelon that make everything look expensive. Listen. Who's on no contest wrestling? Oh, it's just me and TJ. Just chomping it up.
Yapping away. But we got a lot to yap about. And we have our fan base that likes us yapping.
So thank goodness for them. We like that. We like that. Also, today is my big brother Daryl's birthday.
So I want to give a shout out to my big brother Daryl, the coolest man on the face of the earth.
Okay.
Happy birthday, man. I love you. My favorite Daryl story of all time is one day he told a 13-year-old O'Shea Jackson Jr., hey. You know, dad was in a group before Westside Connection, right? Yeah.
To which he replied, no. I didn't. Is that right? And talking about NWA and all of the shenanigans of Young Dad, which is scary. You should get.
At 13, you just said you had no idea. I mean, I'm very biased still to this day. I got a favorite member. But yeah, I mean, like, I knew. Whispers, but you know, you know, you don't really care.
You're a kid. You know, I didn't realize how cool my dad was until my teenage.
Well, it's a credit to your dad, yeah, actually. Yeah, because if I was in NWA, my kids would know it. That's right. They would know it. Yeah, that's a credit to Pops.
Stop there. You know what you should get your brother for his birthday is a huge-ass tortoise. You can find one of those? Oh, man.
He's the, bro, he's the tortoise giver. Oh, you mean, oh, he doesn't need one for you. No, no, no, no. He's got that on lock. He's about to have a baby in 17 days.
17 days? Yeah. Yeah. The tortoise? No, no, no.
My niece. My niece will be here.
Okay.
He's stressed. Y'all like me though. Is it his first? No, it's his second.
Okay, but they're just like a year apart. What's he stressed about? Because now he's going to have the two-year-old with the brand new baby, and it's going to be crazy in there. I'm around kids all the time in this studio. Yeah, look at, yeah, I mean, you know.
What do you mean? Seriously. We don't need change, though. What? He just called us a family, guys.
Relax. Everybody, relax. Whoa, it got so tense. I know. It's the holidays.
It's the holidays, man. People get stressed.
Well, this work environment is hostile after all. Yeah, I heard you guys had a the chair feels like a liar was sitting on it. They hosted the liar, liar, pants on fire edition of the Rich Eisen Chair, referring to Seth Rollins. Yeah, man. We'll be discussing that.
Okay.
Okay.
Oh, there's a wrestler looking for you, but I wouldn't let him find you. Um, all right.
Well, we're out of time. Um, it's cliffhanger.
Okay, we're gonna have to talk about that on the Disney Plus only. Uh, and hopefully, um, to wrap up the show, you'll see me tomorrow. Yeah, I gotta have my head on a swivel, I had no idea. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eyes and Show podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
