REShow: Rob Manfred - Hour 2

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The two first round pick a fully or nearly fully guaranteed contract. Today's gasps, MLP Commissioner Rob Manfred, Bucks Linebacker Lavonte David, plus your phone calls, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. 4-4-2-0-4 Rich is the number to dial here on the program. Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is going to be joining us in hour number three.

We just had a spirited conversation over the top five quarterbacks in the AFC when Aaron Rodgers gets traded. Lamar Jackson has been tweeting up the storm, up a storm. In fact, calling himself The Storm. What does that mean? I don't know. That he's tearing things up? That he's creating havoc?

I don't know. I said in hour number one, if this is true, and again the league is sending out a memorandum, the team is saying don't talk to an uncertified individual named Ken Francis that's knocking on doors for Lamar Jackson. And Lamar tweeting out that this guy's never negotiated for him, that I guess Lamar is the one doing the negotiating. I just want everyone to understand that this is a bad look for Lamar if he is having somebody who doesn't know the league and the league doesn't know at all call anyone on his behalf.

I always thought that he would have somebody call on his behalf, but I always thought it would be somebody that the league might know or at least know of even if they were not certified. And I just want everyone to know I am rooting for Lamar. I want him happy. I want him healthy. I think the Colts should definitely kick the tires on him and sign him into an offer sheet and at the very least give the Ravens something to think about. And if they're sitting there fourth overall and it's Will Levis's pro day today and they're not sold on Levis because we're all assuming that if the first three go it'll be Stroud, Young in some order and then you've got on top of it Anthony Richardson. And if they're not into whoever would be fourth, I guess who's available for the fourth overall pick and your net pick next year, Lamar Jackson. I think the Colts should do that. Kick the tires on him and end this cycle of going one and done unless they love Hendon Hooker so much that they might get him later on in the draft.

I'm rooting for Lamar is what I just kind of wanted to say just in case anybody thinks that I'm unfairly criticizing the way that he's going about his business. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. If you're on hold, stay on hold.

Enjoy the conversation we're about to have. I'm thrilled that he calls into this program as much as he has. He's even been here, right? We've had him in studio here. And back in the day when we were part of the DirecTV world in a studio in lower Manhattan, he joined us there too.

And in Washington, D.C. And in Washington, D.C. where I understand he offered you swag and you haven't seen it yet. I'm not going to bother this man's time. He's a busy man.

He's a busy man. He sits atop the flow chart of Major League Baseball. He's the commissioner of Major League Baseball in the aftermath of an incredibly successful World Baseball Classic.

In advance of opening day coming on April the 1st. He is Rob Manfred back here in the Rich Eisen Show. How are you today, Commissioner? I'm just great, Rich. How are you?

I'm hanging in there, man. I got to tell you what a heck of a World Baseball Classic we just witnessed and what we just saw. And I'm wondering how it sat with you, Commissioner Manfred.

Rich, it was fantastic from my perspective. You know, obviously the matchup at the end, you know, Japan versus U.S., a great matchup. Otani versus Trout, unbelievable.

But, you know, there were things early that I loved as well. I think, you know, Mike Trout taking a leadership role in terms of getting the very best players to participate on the U.S. team was huge for us. You know, some of the teams that, you know, from countries that you don't ordinarily think of as baseball countries actually winning games in the tournament.

All great developments from our perspective. And the business piece of it, I mean, we just killed the licensing, viewership, attendance all the way around. And so what do you say to fans who are wondering why this happens?

Why does this have to happen? And obviously fans of the New York Mets and the Houston Astros with Edwin Diaz and Jose Altuve getting hurt significantly in these contests might be the loudest voices in the room. What do you say to those fan bases, Commissioner? Well, look, the WBC is about growing the game internationally.

And, you know, if you look at the level of interest that was generated in Japan during this event, throughout the event we had nights where, you know, over 40%, nearly 50% of the homes in Japan are tuned into the game. That's crucial for us. I mean, unless you want to be, you know, just a North American kind of domestic sport, you have to play in this international arena. In terms of the injury issue, you know, I think it's really important to focus on what the players said, to tell you the truth. I mean, after the injuries, they pointed out, look, people get hurt in spring training, you know? I mean, we don't want to see anybody get hurt. But, you know, people get hurt in spring training, too.

And I think overall, nothing in life is all good. Overall, the massive benefits of this event outweigh the problems caused by injuries. And the players themselves were talking, I mean, Mookie Betts was saying it's one of the greatest experiences he's ever had on a baseball diamond.

All that said, do you think you're going to still need to twist some arms, figuratively, for the next one, 2026, do you think? You know, I actually think that the fact that players like Mookie and Mike Trout and Adam Wainwright went out and talked about this as being one of their greatest experiences in baseball, that that will entice other players to participate. I also think you're going to see, particularly with respect to the U.S. team, that they're going to be looking to load up and win again. I really do believe that. You know, baseball players are pretty competitive, Rich. I mean, nobody likes to lose. So, I think the event will continue to grow.

I really do. Well, I mean, like I was saying on my show, Commissioner, and I'll just repeat it here, Otani versus Trout was a bring the entire family into the room moment in my household. The entire family was there. We just called everyone in like, let's go see this. And we were just on the edge of our seats the entire time.

I mean, that's what it was. You know, we actually had gone downstairs to get ready to, you know, go on the field and award medals. And I'm standing there and I'm literally thinking, I can't believe this is actually happening.

Literally, it's like one of those things. You could not ask for a better end to the tournament. We've got the commissioner, Rob Manfred, of Major League Baseball here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about the rule changes of Major League Baseball. Which one do you think is going to open up play the most for you? Well, I think the one that is going to have the biggest effect on offense and action in the game is actually the elimination of a shift. I think the one that is going to be the most impactful in terms of making the game more like fans want to see it is the pitch clock. Why do you think that the pitch clock will be one that fans want to see the most? In case the game, I think the single, you know, our fan research suggests that the single biggest issue that fans have with the product that we've put out there in recent years is, you know, long delays, lack of action in the game, the length of the game too. And I think the pitch clock has shown really well in spring training. You know, I've actually been out, I've talked to, met with in-person players on six clubs. You know, the player reaction to the rules has been unbelievably positive.

I mean, they do have little things around the edges that we're trying to address, but nobody's saying this isn't a good idea. People think the pitch, including the players, think the pitch clock is an improvement in the game. Well, while we're on the subject of the pitch clock, let me tell you a couple concerns that I have about it and you just let me know if I should not be or what you're thinking is. First one about it with the pitch clock that I'm concerned about is a game is going to end on a pitch clock violation. That there's going to be an incredible contest that we're seeing play out.

It's going to be a rivalry game. It could even be a playoff game and somebody just loses their place at the moment because they're just locked in and walk off pitch clock violation. What are your thoughts about that, Commissioner? Yeah, look, I mean, you know, we it happened early in spring training. It is a possibility. I do think that there is enough flexibility in the rules, including the capacity of the umpire to rewind the clock that, you know, that's something in a really dramatic situation.

I think our umpires are really good at managing those kinds of situations. So they have leeway to just start the clock? Yeah, they can rewind if they want to. So is there like a hand signal for that?

So I know what it is in football, what it would be. Yeah. Yeah. You'll see them put the finger up and twirl it to rewind. OK. And that takes care of my other concern, which is the Trout-Otani battle to end the World Baseball Classic. If there was a pitch clock, every single one of those pitches in that remarkable sequence where the tension build, the drama built, and then the pitch finally came, every single one of them would be a pitch clock violation. Is there a thought maybe to just turn it off in a save situation in any game?

Is there a possibility of something like that? Look, the most important point, Rich, and I want to make the big point, and I've said this to the players that I've met with, you know, our feet are not in stone with respect to the pitch clock. We want to see how it, you know, we've seen it in spring, we saw it in the minor league, we've seen it in spring training, we want to see it in regular season games, particularly in situations that are high leverage.

And, you know, I think we will talk about what should happen in those situations. And I think that certainly have the capacity to make adjustments on the fly during the course of the season. But the other rules, obviously the bases are the size that they're going to be, and the shift is going to be what it is. Yeah, the shift is going to be what it is. I think it's, and again, I want to emphasize this, the core of the pitch clock is going to be the core of the pitch clock. It's these things around the edges to address unique situations or particular situations maybe is the better word during a game. We'll continue to, you know, get input from players and talk about those.

How much pushback did you get on the shift from, say, the manager class and group? Because every single manager I've had on here, I've been trying to get rid of this shift, you know, where as a fan, you watch the game and you see a line drive to right field and it shouldn't nestle into the glove of a third baseman. You know, it should hit the turf.

And then, of course, it hits the glove of a third baseman who's just perfectly positioned. And all managers have told me, it's like, too bad. Like, this is our job is to get outs defensively.

But I love it. I'm just wondering how much pushback you might have gotten from the managers. You know what, not a lot to tell you the truth. I think that, you know, our managers are kind of of the mentality, tell me what the rules are and I'm going to figure out how to give my team the best chance to win within that construct. You know, a lot of the guys managed for years and years where the shift was not that prevalent.

They know how to do it. And I think that people do appreciate, including field managers, that the shifting had a disproportionate impact on certain types of players and a negative impact in terms of the amount of action in the game. Rob Manfred, baseball commissioner, in advance of another playing season coming up right here on the Rich Eyes. Let's show a few more minutes left with Commissioner Manfred. So where do we stand on umpiring and potential automation of it?

Where might that stand right now as we talk? Well, you know, we're continuing to test in the minor league two versions of the automated system. One version, the umpire wears an earpiece and the system calls every pitch.

The second version is essentially a challenge system where the pitcher, catcher or batter can challenge a certain number of times during the game. And, you know, the umpire instantaneously gets the answer, again, through an earpiece. You know, the system is tremendously accurate.

It really is. Unlike the pitch clock, there is more potential for consequences that we need to really study. You know, you think about it, the umpires right now call essentially an oval strike zone.

If you look at factually what they call, you know, the automated system calls the rectangle that the rulebook sets out. And you've got to understand and we need to understand thoroughly what the impact of that is before we go any further. The second thing I'd say to you, you know, we're digesting a large amount of change this year in an institution that has not been particularly embracing of change. You could say that.

Think about that a little bit. Okay. Just in terms of timing, you know, when do you bite off another issue? That's a good way to put it, that there's a lot going on this year. Let's see how it all lands. And then so that's when you'll maybe address this down the road after you see everything that you put in place here. But, Rich, I got to, I mean, just I would be less than candid if I didn't say, you know, I have a lot of advocates in the game for the automated system. I mean, there's no question about that. And, you know, the system is very good and very accurate.

We just need to make sure we understand everything it does. Commissioner Rob Bamford here on the Rich Eisen Show. One of the last things I want to bring up with you is the owner of the New York Metropolitan, sir. And his spending is a way that we, I can't recall anything close to what Steve Cohen has put out there. And the luxury tax system, it does appear that there's an owner in Major League Baseball that just doesn't particularly care. I mean, I know I'm talking about another man's money here, but there's a nine figure luxury tax bill. And that's larger than some payrolls of entire teams. And I'm just wondering how that's landing within the ownership group that you might be willing to share with us, Commissioner. Well, look, I think it's important to start from the proposition that, you know, we made an agreement with the MLBPA that puts a certain system in place. That system is designed to create certain disincentives to spending at certain levels. But everything that Steve's done is completely within the rules.

He has every right to do what he's done. And I think that it does when, you know, you have somebody who steps out that far, it does highlight an issue that, you know, we have worked to manage over, you know, the entire time since I started in baseball in 1988. And that is the disparity in revenues between our markets and the consequential disparity in payrolls. You know, we sell competition. We want everybody to be able to compete. And at some point, you know, the level of disparity, you know, raises questions about people's ability to compete.

So, you know, I think that those two thoughts kind of bound the issue for me, one side and the other. And, you know, we're going to continue to try to make adjustments to our system as we move forward to make sure that we preserve that perception of competitiveness across our markets. Commissioner, I appreciate the time here on the program. By the way, I love the new spots that you put out with Brian Cranston, Sebastian Maniscalco, you know, Tim Anderson, I think I saw with Blake Snell, another one about the new rules. My favorite one is Vogelbach thinking of stealing a base now because of how large the bases are and Buck Showalter saying don't do it.

Daniel has some kind of personality that really comes through in the spot. And, you know, they're not the whole group of them taken together are probably not your traditional baseball spots. We think that's a good thing. Well, I remember about the commercials about the long ball and who used to dig them. I remember that back in the day from when I was on ESPN. And, you know, we were thinking of airing some of these spots on this program, but my my my crew is pushing back saying we don't have the rights. So I figured I'll ask the commissioner here for express verbal consent.

Just air one of them today. Can I tell you something? If you need it in writing, we'll get it for you in writing.

You want to show the spots, Rich? We're good. OK, just want to make sure. OK. No, I don't hear a word from us. I promise you that. OK, sounds good.

I just wanted to make sure because I hear I hear that disclaimer all the time my entire life. I figured, well, I have the commissioner on. I just get the expressive verbal consent and we're cool. OK, you can assume we've taken care of that, OK? Thank you, sir.

We'll check that box. I appreciate the time. Thanks, Commissioner. We'll talk to you again. Same to you.

That is the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred here on The Rich Eisen Show. All right. We have express verbal consent. Yes. Does this apply only to the commercials or can we show baseball clips now the whole season? What, like with John Boy? Pretty much, yeah.

Pretty much. Because he just said he's not going to. No, he said if it's the commercial spots, then we're good.

See, I heard him say, Rich, use whatever you want. That's kind of for the rest of the season. That's how I interpret it. I don't know if we're going to do that. I don't mean to.

I thought you said you was OK, Spider. That's right, yeah. You want to take advantage of my relationship with the commissioner of Major League Baseball? How dare you? You didn't ask about that. It's not again, Rich. It's not the swag, no. I'm sorry. It's not for us.

It's for them. I did ask about the Metropolitan's owner. Yeah. About Steve Cohen. And his answer's like, you know, I mean, I don't think he would share that, yeah, other owners are kind of pissed right now.

I understand. There's an owner of Major League Baseball who does not care. That's on them.

They've got to step their game. According to, is it spot track? What is it? Spot track? I say spot track. I think we all say spot track. I don't know.

I think it's because it's supposed to be sports, right? So it's spot track. I would call it spot track.

By the way, by the way, you can go either way. I was today years old the first time I heard it was called VRBO and not V-R-B-O back in the day. VRBO? Yeah. So the Mets' current tax bill is $100,070,000.

What's that? And 249 cents. That ain't nothing.

He made that today. According to this website, that is more, the Mets' payroll tax- Is more than how many teams? Is more than, you want to guess? I'm going to say- At least 17. 12.

You want to do Price is Right rules closer without going over? Yeah, always. All right. So you say 12.

Mike, you say? You say? 18. Eight. 18? Okay. You see 12, 18. What do you say?

My initial bid was 17, so I'm going to stick with that. Okay. The actual retail teams are five. Oh. Oh.

I should have done one. Royals, Reds, Pirates, Orioles. The Oakland Athletics' current payroll is $61,000,000. I don't even want to joke.

What are they doing? Oh, I wanted to. I was the opposite. And so the league average is $175,000,000 of payroll. Wait, really? Yes. Wow. Or $75,000,000 more than the Mets' payroll tax.

So if you've got an owner, just- To what tax? I don't care. I mean, everything goes back to movies and pop culture for me. And I know I'm making a very, very arcane reference here. I don't know if you ever saw the Woody Allen movie, Broadway Danny Rose. I don't think you ever saw that. There's a scene where there are two wise guys arguing with each other about money means nothing to them. Like, what?

They start ripping up $100 bills. That's what this owner of the New York Mets is. Doesn't care. Doesn't care and would have gone even more if Carlos Correa's physical came back a certain way. He was ready to throw more on it. Yeah. That was the baseball gods telling us to hold out for- Enough. Enough's enough. That was telling us to hold out for- Hold out for Otani.

Got it. I mean, and that's the sense that everybody's watching the World Baseball Classic and saying when he decides to finally leave the Angels, which is a supposition, the Yankees have a ton of money. The Dodgers have more money than you know what. The Dodgers have reset their luxury tax. Their luxury tax right now is just a mere 2.8 million bucks. And apparently, I was told that's the reason why the Padres went all crazy. Their luxury tax bill is 10 million bucks despite going all crazy, giving 13-year contracts out to everybody. And you know one's coming for Juan Soto at some point.

You'd think. They have a two-year window. And the reason why the Padres went for it this year is they know that the Dodgers weren't going to spend like crazy because they were resetting their luxury tax.

That's the way it was described to me. And then the Dodgers are set for Otani. But it doesn't matter if you've got a guy who just will basically rip off any check that it matters. If anybody could pay him $600 million in over 10 years, it's this guy.

Or $600 million over eight. That's why I wanted to ask him. And of course, he's not going to sit there and say, you know, owners are pissed. But he did say everything that he's doing is by the book.

Yeah. Real-time net worth of Steve Cohen, $17.5 million. What's $100 million to Cousin Steve, you know what I'm saying? In an unrelated story, Bobby Axelrod's character is coming back to Billions. Let's take a break here on the Rich Eisen Show. And in our, I'll just say for the radio audience, in our Roku channel only segment, the Daniel Vogelbach commercial, we now have expression, verbal consent to run. Fright nights next here on the show.

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Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Let's go to our phone lines. Turzo and I will all rise.

All rise. Turzo and I are back here on the Rich Eisen Show. How are you, Turzo? I'm doing well, guys.

I'm doing well. Hey, Rich, this story with Lamar, man, it's just kind of make me shake my head. You know, I'm all good for anybody going out and trying to do something on their own without any help. But the thing is, without having an agent and asking for that help, you're asking some random guy to go and do this. And it just puts such a bad taste in my mouth that it's like you're throwing your great brand just away for something like this.

I just think that having that agent there, hell, I'd go take the test and register to do it for free for him just so then he could have a little credibility there. I hear you, Turzo. And again, I kind of went all in on the subject matter in the first hour. And look, I just saw the film Air, which is terrific. We're going to be all over that movie over the next week in terms of helping promote it and having some folks in studio and zooming. It really is a terrific film.

And in it, basically, Michael Jordan's mom negotiates the shoe deal that Jordan got from Nike. And we have Sonny Vicaro coming in studio, and I can't wait to ask him about how it word for word went down. But it's a great story.

And I appreciate the call, Turzo. It's a great story. And if Lamar's mom and Lamar can figure this thing out on their own and make him one of the top paid quarterbacks in the NFL, fantastic. Let's make a movie about that one day, too. I think it's great.

It's wonderful. And there's a reason why, though, the NFL Management Council sent out a memorandum to everybody to say you can't talk to an uncertified individual who is Lamar's, I guess, friend and business partner in a fitness equipment company. And I hope Lamar makes a ton of cash, and so does his friend Ken Francis in this company. But the way things have played out for Lamar is there's now a commemorandum that's gone out that makes it seem like Lamar doesn't know what the hell's going on or doing. That's a problem for him.

Really it's branding when you're branding within your own league here. That's a problem for him because when you go to another team and you knock on another team's door and you ask them for an offer sheet for your services to say, I'm willing to play for you, whether it's you doing it or your mom doing it or a representative of yours doing it, certified or uncertified, when you knock on that door, you're knocking on a door of somebody who needs to, because you got the transition tag or the non-exclusive tag, now has to change their plans, has to change their concept of what they're going to do at the quarterback position, has to forfeit two first round picks, has to go to the legal department to say, let's draw up an offer sheet, has to go to the ultimate man or woman in charge and say, you need to scratch me a check for fill in the blank. We got to assume it's for more guaranteed money than Colin Murray took, 180 something million bucks, got to assume that 200 million, whatever.

That person needs to have the firmness of their conviction and put their own jobs on the line and go back to their own livelihoods and their own households and say, I have made a new play at work. What'd you do? Well, I convinced my boss to scratch a check for $200 million over a span of four or five years and also I don't, I've got to sit in the draft room this year and next year when everybody's on the clock and the owners in the back of the room say, yeah, we don't have a pick here because it's for the guy that I just acquired. Oh really? Who is it?

Lamar Jackson. Oh, great. Terrific. I think we got to, you know, we got a winner. Yeah. Okay.

This is what you have to convince that individual to endeavor and if it's somebody they've never heard of, if this is what's happening, that's bad news for Lamar. 844-204-rich number to dial here on the Rich Eisen Show. Kathy in Philadelphia. Look how her name has been spelled. C-A-T-H-I. Changed it.

Yes, indeed. How are you doing, Kathy? I had no idea you were a C-A-T-H-I until I saw your bracket in the Rich Eisen Show March Madness pool.

I am, and as I'm sure TJ can attest, the struggle to find your name on a souvenir license plate is real. Never have found it. Never.

I'm 40, Rich, and I haven't given up hope, but it's not looking good. Okay. What's on your mind, Kathy? By the way, you're in the mix here. You're in the mix? I know. Well, last week, for the first half of the 32, I had actually gone all the way up to three, so I was eyeing the mug. I was eyeing the Rich Eisen Show mug, but unfortunately, I went with Marquette as the overall winner, so I don't like my chances.

Yeah, that's a bummer. But I will say that this tournament did teach me something, Rich. It's a lesson that I really appreciate, and I think I can carry over for future calls to the Rich Eisen Show. In solidarity with your Wolverines not making the tournament, I decided to not choose that other Michigan school, which did not serve me well. The lesson that I learned was to not stand in solidarity with Rich Eisen moving forward, and I think it's better for everyone.

I like my outlook, and I think it's going to work. Well, Kathy, once again, you're on brand, which is to bring some energy to this program- So there's the ruckus. While showing me the back of your hand attached to a body whose name I know how to spell now, and had you known, though, that I was actually rooting for Michigan State to go deep in this tournament despite the spite that I normally have, maybe your bracket would have been a little bit better. That's fair. That's fair. I needed to make my intentions better known. That's a my bad.

That's an MP, not a YP. Okay. And Kathy, I promise you, you will find five Kathy keychains before you find one that says Temujin on it. I promise you that.

That's fair, but I've seen Kathy with a Y, C-H-H-Y, never with an I. Very good. Thanks for the call, Kathy. Greatly appreciate it.

Always great to hear from one of our favorites, Kathy in Philadelphia, you're on the show. All right. Let's take a break. There's lots I want to talk about. Will Leviss has shown up at his pro day with the aforementioned cannons, and also before Levante David joins us, top of hour number three, I want to revisit this whole concept of more stolen bases because the bases are bigger. Because you, sir, shot me with a little side-eye while I was talking to the top of the flow chart of the Major League Baseball.

I don't think it's going to make much of a difference. Okay. 844-204-rich number to dial. We'll hit that when we come back right here on The Rich Eisen Show.

Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-rich number to dial on the program. So we played the commercial about 20 minutes ago that we got the express verbal consent from Rob Manfred himself at the end of his interview here on this program to show Daniel Vogelbach in that commercial with Buck Showalter to highlight the fact that there's going to be more stolen bases this year that a fire hydrant, human fire hydrant like Daniel Vogelbach would even think of stealing this year because the bases are so big. And there they are. You could see it on the screen right here. I'll describe to the radio audience the old bases on the left. The new base looks like there's a pizza inside of it.

And on the right side of the screen in the bottom part of the screen there. And so the idea is, I mean, how many bang bang plays? We just saw the World Baseball Classic, that bang bang play with Otani that went to replay. Otani would absolutely be safe with a bigger base.

Absolutely be safe with a bigger base. Mookie Betts played too. The Mookie Betts play, they were both ruled out and then overturned on, well, Betts was ruled out and then ruled safe. And then Otani was ruled safe. And then was he ruled out or was too damn close to call?

Right, they couldn't overturn it. So the reason why I bring this up is I think there's going to be more stolen bases. I love, by the way, I love the fact that the shift is gone.

There's another great commercial with Tim Anderson. The hat blows off of Blake Snell's head and it lands on the right side of second base and Anderson's at his shortstop position and refuses to retrieve it for Blake Snell because the new rule is that you can't go on that side of second base. It's a funny spot. And so I cannot wait because this world baseball classic was, they had the shift. Yeah, it was bad. It wasn't bad. There was a lot of scoring in the world baseball classic. I don't like the shift. Well, I'm just talking about the final game. I love, as you know, I've been railing against the shift and I understand Ted Williams had a shift against him and that the shift has been around since old Ross Hadburn or whatever.

Old Hoss, Radburn, whatever you want to call him, and I understand I'm botching it. I can't wait till that opens up. You're going to get more people on base. The pitch clock's going to move things along and you're going to get more people on base. And I do believe there's going to be more stolen bases. More people are going to get on base because of those bang bang plays are going to be safe as opposed to out. And then more people are going to be safe when trying to steal second base or even third than before. Could you imagine Ricky Henderson if there was a bigger base for him? He might have had 200 stolen bases.

You're talking about just like two inches on either side. So how, what percentage more steals do you think they're going to be? How many steals were there last year? You want to guess? No, I wouldn't even know to guess. Go ahead. Almost 2,500.

Okay. So there's 2,486. 2,486. So even if you're talking about 10% more, that's 2,700 steals. So 10% more would be another 250 steals. Let's round up. Right. I'll take it. That's a large number.

That's a large number. I will take it. I will take it. Well, you know, Vogelbach's getting five.

I already said that. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it.

I just don't see. We're going to see. I don't think we're going to see much change in terms of steals. Will there be more base hits? Will there be more run scored?

A lot more action? I do believe so. Yes. But stolen bases just seems like, I just don't think that's a. It's still, it's still a philosophy issue and it's still a personnel issue. It's still a philosophy issue. It's just not how today's game is played. I know.

80s, 90s. It was a much more. Sit back. Don't get, don't get caught stealing because someone's about to hit a home run. Right. So I just don't think that the mindset is going to, I still think that we're going to see a shift.

I still think that I, I know I might be wrong here. I still think it's going to be more, but could you imagine more balls in the gap? Well, that's going to have more hair to see more guys scoring from first base on a double.

Like I just think we're going to see more of that. And then, you know, we're not going to have to, every game is not going to be two and a half hours. Let's be honest. We get more runs scored, longer innings. You're still going to get three hour games. But as long as we're seeing more action, more hits, less strikeouts, there were 40,000 strikeouts in major league baseball last year. That is absurd. I know that. It's too many. And that's why you need to see, you need to see fewer of them.

You know, no doubt about that. But I mean, I, and the interesting thing too is, you know, you take a look at how fast things may go, right? You're taking a look how fast things may actually go, but you might see strikeouts come faster too. Well, wasn't it, we saw what, a 20 second at bat that resulted in a strikeout. Max Scherzer strike a guy out in 20 seconds or something in the spring. Good morning, good afternoon, good night. You come pretty damn fast.

You know, me personally, here's what I'm looking forward to for the three of you. On Monday, June the 19th, we come in here after the Red Sox and Yankees play and we get to actually show clips based to the expressive verbal consent the commissioner gave us, and that's going to be great. Wandi Peralta actually of the Yankees had a strikeout in about 10 seconds. He got the ball back and he threw it fast, like boom, boom, boom.

See ya. But did it sound like the commissioner said they're going to, the home plate umpire could just by discretion, keep the play clock wound? And what happens if that happens in the ninth inning? Because my concern is again, that confrontations, pitcher, batter confrontations like Otani versus Trout at the end of a crucial game are going to be pitch clocked out of existence because it's got to go fast. And that a player needs, like you could see like Trout's used to taking his time to focus and Otani was used to taking his time to, I mean, it was Otani's first closing situation since 2016 or first save since 2016 when he was in the Japanese leagues. Even he was just taking his sweet ass time, getting back to the mound. And I didn't think a second of it until CJ Niekowski tweeted out the next day to say, hey, every pitch of that sequence was a pitch clock violation. Did it sound like that Rob Manfred is like, look, we're not setting stone here. The umpire has the ability to just reset the clock. Is that the way they're going to work ninth innings? Because I would appreciate it. I hope that's true.

I think everybody would appreciate that. Especially in big games. I think one of the proposals, because there was an article in The Athletic talking about how they were going to make a bunch of tweaks to some of this stuff. And one of the proposals was like, look, if the game's a blowout, then yeah, let's keep the pitch clock going. But if it's a 3-1 game in the ninth, then let's maybe just kind of ignore that for a second. Certainly if we get to the ninth inning in an hour and 45 minutes. Yeah.

You know what I mean? Like, where are we going? We're already ahead of pace.

We can afford to lose pace. Yeah. Although, you know, don't you want a game officiated or umpired in the same way in the ninth inning as you do for the first eight innings? In theory. Isn't that the way you want it?

In theory, yeah. But it's not like that in all sports. I mean, you don't want the whistle swallowed.

Do you? Well, baseball being the king of unwritten rules, I think we all just kind of hope that – I don't know. – unwritten rules states that no umpire is going to call this. Or just make it easy, because you know if this is the way it's going to go, we'll just see how it goes, then, you know, one game where, wait a minute, I got pitchclocked out of the batter's box, you know, in the second out of a ninth inning of a close game, same night as some other umpires, like, let's build the drama here.

Like, Joe West – I know you're retired, but how would Joe West handle all that? Well, Joe West had a strike count violation, because he took his sweet-ass time to actually lift his arm. You know, can we put a clock – you going to put a clock? Yeah.

One. Strike. You know what an unintended consequence of all this, guys, is the shorter games, is – you know, I was thinking about this the other day – you know how they cut off beer sales in the seventh inning? Yeah.

The seventh inning is, like, 90 minutes into the game, and suddenly you only get an hour and a half? I don't know. Well, then you drink some beers, and then – I guess it goes someplace afterwards. What are we doing? Get a peanut.

A couple bags of peanuts. Unintended consequence. Which is – Lower beer sales. At games.

Just buy two at a time. Get Manford back on the phone. Yeah. That's important. Swag and beer. Yeah, we definitely have to ask about Mike's free beer. Swag and beer.

I'm with Brockley. Just saying. I thought about that.

I don't know. I mean, I went to the – when I took Cooper to the Clipper Knicks game a couple weeks ago, and I was online, he wanted one of those pretzels. Oh. Big jumbo pretzels.

Well, no, no, no, no. One of those – whichever ones with the – where they – Oh, they dip it in all kinds of stuff? Bacon and butter. Oh. What is it?

What is it? A Wenzel's pretzel? Are you one of those? I think that's what I was going to say. That's what the guy ever does. That's what the guy ever does. Well, whatever – Crypto.

That's what – Auntie Anne's – that's what calls my name in airports. Oh, yeah. I mean, seriously. It's a smell. Oh, you could smell it. It's the butter.

It's the butter. Yeah. I was online for that.

And I know that's the New York phrase. Some people say they stand in line. We're in line. I was waiting. Okay. And in the middle of my wait, somebody from Crypto.com walked up and said, beer sales are over. Because it went from the third to the fourth quarter.

Oh, you're online? That's very over. And I think they basically said, that's it. Or anybody that comes on after it's over and they had to notice – you know what they should have is like a rope. Yeah.

I got one they can use. Or they could have – you know, like when you're separating your items in the checkout line. Oh, yeah. One of those things. But I don't need this cashier to think I'm buying your arugula, sir. So I know that's not an issue that you would have, Mike, where people would think that you're buying arugula.

I would think no. Lifestyle change, Mike. So. What are those things called? Is there a technical name? Is it just the divider? Divider. I don't know.

Give me the bar. Yeah. You know what I'll ask if I go to the store today. I mean, I used to have – when I was a checkout guy at Wall Bounds and Pathmark to try and pay for the prom back in the day on Staten Island, by the way, double coupon days nearly put me in the hospital.

Now that I didn't even do that, you enter your phone number and all the coupons on it. Oh, by the way, and I had no idea what the difference between a gala apple or – Oh, the apples? I was produce. I had no idea. I could have schooled you.

I had so many Staten Island schools. Red Delicious. What do you mean? What do you mean you don't know what a red apple is? Green. It's red. It's an apple. Bring it up.

You got to look at those little stickers as they go off. We used to have – they used to give me just like a wooden round stick right there. It wasn't like plastic. And you were in control of it. Yeah. Oh, I didn't – oh, yeah.

I don't even remember. And then you'd pass it along. You'd pass it along and pass it down. I couldn't work a register, Rich.

You know. They wouldn't put me there. So – Yeah, Del Tummo couldn't work a register because he talked to everybody.

They kind of checked out. Then the line would be packed up. I was produce crushing pineapples and selling pineapples. We had a pineapple thing that would scoot like – A pineapple thing.

Scoot whatever. Oh, yeah. You told us it'd be – Yeah. The line would never end. No. What's more likely? Coming up on hour number three, Levante David as well.

And we'll talk about Will Levesis' pro day in a moment. Still here. Did you guys ever work at a cashier anywhere? I did not. Did you ever work as a cashier anywhere? I know you were putting on Jordan 1s on people's feet. I mean, the only time I was ever a cashier was at Foot Locker when I was – Did you ever sell the Air Jordans to somebody? Of course.

Yeah. Is that where you finally found your love for shoes? Is that where you finally – is that where you were – Now, my love for the Jordans started back with the Jordan 3, which was Spike Lee as Mars Blackman. At money, it's got to be the shoes. That whole era, that's when I really – so that's why Jordan 3s, Brockman will tell you are my favorites.

I probably have about 15 to 20 pairs of those. Well, here's what we're going to do, because the reason why TJ's shot is as wide as it is on the Rich Eisen show is he'd like to keep showing off his kicks in hope of getting a deal out of it. Which happened. Okay. Kind of.

So, again, right now we have planned for our big dance special that we're going to have here on the Roku channel at some point in the next week or two. Sonny Vicaro is coming in. Can we just flat out ask him to get you a shoe deal? I mean, well, doesn't Sonny work with the Davis now? I think he works with Adidas now, doesn't he?

Oh, does he really? I don't think he's with Nike anymore. Oh, he's gone? He's not with Nike anymore?

I could be wrong. I've been away a long time. He's bounced around a bunch. He don't sell shoes anymore. He don't sell shoes no more. No one sells – Okay. So you don't want that anymore? Never hurts to ask, though. Of course.

You wouldn't want them? I mean, yeah. Sure. Oh, my gosh. If we can make it happen.

We'll have your mom negotiate the deal. No one in the wrestling business has experienced the trials and tribulations, along with redemptions and longevity, quite like Jeff Jarrett, come along for the ride on the My World with Jeff Jarrett podcast. They didn't really brand belts in the heyday of boxing. You know, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, I mean, they had them, but along comes sports entertainment and professional wrestling, and now it is truly a part of pop culture. They've just branded what it looks like to be a champion. My World with Jeff Jarrett, wherever you listen.