Tom McCarthy, Philadelphia Phillies TV Broadcaster

Throughout the 60s and 70s, the free Odyssey app today. We continue it as a Zach Gellp show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. The fall classic is almost here with the World Series tomorrow night. Get it underway in Houston between the Astros and the Phillies.

The game one matchup will be Aaron Nola going up against Justin Verlander. So let's head down to H-town right now and welcome in the TV play by play voice for the Philadelphia Phillies. And that is Tom McCarthy. Tom, appreciate the time. How you been? I'm great, Zach. How are you, buddy?

Well, I'm doing fantastic. So we all know the big story with the Phillies. They got off to that slow start. Joe Girardi got fired, and now Rob Thompson has them four games away from winning it all. What was the biggest difference from Joe Girardi to Rob Thompson?

You know, I think it was pace more than anything else, Zach. You know, it's Rob has this sort of presence about him that's not too high and it's not too low. And I think he exudes that to the guys and the coaches around him.

So, you know, I love Joe. I mean, I love everything about Joe Girardi. And I think he's going to be a heck of a manager again when he gets another job. But I just think that this team needed somebody to allow them to establish their personality in the clubhouse. And I think Rob has been able to do that. I think that's the biggest thing. You know, we all know times when we have bosses that you can sense how they feel, whether it be good, bad, or indifferent. And I don't think you can sense that with Rob. I think it's just a constant calm. And I think the players really feed off that.

Well, he was a spark plug. There's no doubt about it because all throughout the year, when you got to June and they made the move from Girardi, I would look at this team and I said, if they could just get to October, they're built for October because you have the two studs in the rotation, Nola, and then also Wheeler. And you look at these bats, you know, this is a long ball game now.

Yeah, absolutely. And I also think that once they got to the postseason, they were so relaxed. You know, the pressure was getting to the postseason and erasing the 11-year absence from the postseason.

So once they got there, I just think they played relaxed, like they just played without any care in the world. We know Bryce Harper has been in the public spotlight for a long time ever since he was a teenager. If he could finally hoist that World Series trophy, that piece of metal, as Rob Manfred would call it, what do you think that would mean for the sport? I got to tell you, Zach, he has been so good for this organization.

So I look at it in a lot of ways. I look at it, obviously, in baseball terms. How good has he been as a player? He's been great as a player. The fact that there's a DH this year meant that he didn't have to have surgery on him, Tommy John injury. Because if there wasn't a DH, he'd have to have Tommy John. But even beyond that, the marketing part of him has been, I mean, through the roof for this organization since he first put a Phillies uniform on. You know, he's embraced the fanatic, he's embraced the city, he's embraced everything about being in Philadelphia. And to me, that's a huge deal. So for him to be able to raise the trophy, even raising the nationally MVP trophy, I saw the sense of relief in his body and in his mind.

Talking to his parents, I think they felt the same way. So I think he's gonna play really free for this. And I do think that it'll add to his legacy if he can win a World Championship. We all know about the Astros cheating scandal. A few years later, I really don't care about it going into this World Series because they've had sustained success now with the new regime. We know they haven't won a World Series since, but at bare minimum, they've been to the ALCS each and every year. Is the cheating scandal being talked about a lot leading up to this World Series or not so much? No, I think it is, but I don't think it's from anybody with the Phillies. I think that more than anything else, it's people outside of Philadelphia who are saying, hey, we're rooting for you guys because the Astros cheated.

You know what I mean? Like that's the only thing that it's carried over. It wasn't mentioned at all today in any of the press conferences. Now, David Robertson's had to answer some of the questions because he said some things after the Yankees lost to the Astros in the 2017 American League Championship Series. So, you know, he's had to answer a couple of those, but that hasn't been a big deal, honestly. But, yeah, I think it's more people outside of the organization that really have talked about it, people around the country that have said that they're rooting for the Phillies because of that.

Other than that, though, I don't think really anybody's talked about it too much. Talking to Tom McCarthy, the TV play-by-play man for the Philadelphia Phillies. How about this pitching matchup tomorrow night in Game 1 of the World Series? We know how good Nola is, and then Justin Verlander.

It looked like his career was over because of injuries the last two years, and then he just put on one heck of a season. I got to tell you, Zach, I mean, he's amazing. Isn't he, Verlander?

I mean, just think about that. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. You know, we marvel at Brady, which we should. We marvel at, you know, people that play deep into their 40s like Jamie Moyer. But at this level with Verlander throwing 99, 98 miles an hour still, he's going to win a Cy Young.

And you know what? He's not going to be done after this. So, I mean, we marvel at Scherzer with what he's been able to accomplish at his age and to be able to make the money he's making. I think Verlander has some retribution in this series. You know, his numbers are not great in the postseason, which is very weird.

But I love the pace of Aaron Nola. I love everything about him when it comes to his ability to kind of compartmentalize. He doesn't get, I mean, he's pretty chill. I mean, he really is. I mean, he doesn't get too phased about a lot of things.

If you get, yeah, that's really cool. From Aaron Nola, you are really getting the pulse of Aaron Nola. But he's an unbelievable competitor.

That's what they, he's an unbelievable competitor. When you look at the Astros, what concerns you the most about them that could cause some concern for the Phillies? Well, you know, last week I said it was Yordan Alvarez just because I saw him when we played them the last week of the season. Honestly, it's Alex Bregman.

That, to me, is the concern. I think you could pitch to Alvarez in certain spots that he has not had a great, he didn't have a great American League Champions Series. To me, it's Bregman.

I think you have to be able to, you have to be careful with him. I know it sounds strange, but I just think that he, you know, he has that ability to turn a game unexpectedly. I also think Al-Touve has become a post-season star in a lot of ways.

I mean, think about it. He's got the second most home runs in post-season history. The Matty Ramirez. So I think those two guys are my biggest concern. I think the pitching probably would be my concern, but I really think the Phillies' pitching has matched up against their pitching. How about the bullpen for both teams? I think the Astros' bullpen has more depth, but I don't think it's deep depth. I just think that there's one or two guys more than the Phillies have, but I also think that the Phillies have more veterans that have had some post-season experience that could help them out if they can rise to the occasion. I'll be interested to see what the roster looks like if there's a change in the bullpen at all, but I do think that the Astros have a little bit of an edge when it comes to their bullpen.

And you mentioned Al-Touve. We know the Astros haven't lost the game yet this post-season. He's only had three hits. Like, it seems like, and maybe he's shown in the final two games of the Yankees series, that he's just going to be due to break out and have a monster world series. Yeah, I mean, but I look at his overall numbers.

I mean, doubles, homers, hits, you know, average. I mean, he is the active leader in all those categories. So, you know, to me, you got to be careful with him.

You just got to be careful with him. You know, he's a remarkable talent. And, you know, I was stunned when I was looking at where he ranks among post-season players. I realized that Ruth and Garreg and those guys didn't play as many games, but my goodness, the fact that he's number two to Manny in home runs, that's startling to me. You being the great baseball person that you are, Tom McCarthy, being around the game for a long time. We talked about what this world series would mean for Bryce Harper. Just how about Dusty Baker, because he's one of the good guys in this sport, perfect manager for this team, taking over what they had to go through.

And we know it's been a long time coming for Dusty. You know, honestly, Zach, I mean, he's one of the best people I've met in this game. We've had some really cool conversations. Our last conversation was about the fact that, you know, he took this photo in the Houston Chronicle after, right before the football season began. It was he, Lovie Smith, and Silas from the Houston Rockets, three blackhead coaches in the three major sports. And to talk to Dusty about that and how proud he was of that.

And he said, you know, listen, Lovie and I have been really good friends. We've done this before in Chicago with Bill Cartwright. But to see the emotion on his face about how he said, I can't believe how much this means to the people of Houston that there are three blackhead coaches that are in charge of the three big sports.

The guy gets it in every sense of imagination. You know, he interviewed for the job when Joe Girardi got it. And he and I sat and talked in the lobby for about 20 minutes when he was going through the interview process. I love the guy, you know, one of my favorite people of all time is Gary Matthews, the Sarge. And that's his best friend. So, you know, that's why I'm so connected to him.

Just a really good person. And I hope he doesn't get his, get the World Series Championship. But if he does, I mean, I'm not gonna sit there and poo-poo at all. I think it's gonna be the cherry on top of the Sunday for a Hall of Fame career. What determines this series, in your opinion? I think games three and four will determine this series, honestly. You know, the Phillies, I think, will get a split here in Houston, but three and four. How can Ranger Suarez pitch against whether it be, you know, whoever it's gonna be for the Astros? And how can the Phillies piece together game four from a starting pitching standpoint? To me, that's gonna be the key.

Games three and four are gonna be the key to this series. Wrapping up with Tom McCarthy, does the TV play-by-play for the Philadelphia Phillies and also catch them on the radio throughout the postseason? The NFL, you're working for CBS. This is the big question we've been having. We know that Buffalo, Kansas City, and the Eagles, and whatever order you want, are the three best teams in the NFL. Who would be your fourth best team, then? Boy, that's a really good question. You know, Buffalo is still my favorite team.

Boy, that's a really good question. I don't think we know what the Rams are as of yet. I don't think it's the Giants, even though they only have one loss. And I'm not poo-pooing what they're doing.

I really am not poo-pooing what they're doing. I still think it's probably somebody like the Rams, because I think they're gonna get better as this year goes on. But I do think the NFL is top-heavy right now with those three teams. And I'm entertained by the fact that those three teams, we're gonna see a lot of them when it comes to the postseason, quite frankly. You know, but I still need to see more of the Giants to see what they're doing. Here's the thing about the Giants. Texans, Lions, coming up in the next three weeks. Obviously, those are winnable games.

They can ascend up to the top. I'm not gonna put the Cowboys at number four. I'm just not gonna do it yet.

What about Minnesota? I hate to say it, but I just, I'm not sold on Kirk Cousins as much as I love Dalvin Cook. I just think that the Rams, to me, are still a work in progress, and I'm still gonna give them the benefit of that.

I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but that's what I was thinking about the other day. Well, it's the craziest thing is before the year, the NFC conversation was it'll either be the Rams, Green Bay, or Tampa Bay, and the Super Bowl. We'll see what the Rams do this weekend against the 49ers. Green Bay's probably gonna lose to the Bills, and the Bucks play tonight against the Ravens. It's nuts how you may have two out of those three, maybe even all three, probably two out of three, because the Bucks still play in the NFC South, miss out on the postseason, potentially.

Yeah, and I'll be honest with you. I mean, you mentioned the Ravens. I mean, the Ravens could be the fourth best team in the national football league. Yeah, they just can't finish a game.

They really could. They just can't finish a game, and it's all about him. It's all about Lamar, really, more than anything else, and I think the Andrews injury, I think that's gonna be a key, also. Last thing I'll ask you, I have to give you some congratulations, because I read an article that you had a little conflict for game four of the NLCS. I heard your son, Pat, got married. Is that true?

He did on Saturday, yeah. So when we planned this a couple years ago, there was not supposed to be a game this Saturday. It's just one of those things that you don't plan a lockout and you don't plan an extra wildcard when you put these things together, so you kind of got to just roll with things, and I'm really fortunate.

I mean, I work for an unbelievable organization, and that organization kind of lets me, you know, I don't want to say roam, but they do let me roam a lot, which is awesome, because they can let me do a lot of different things. Now, your son's a broadcaster. I know him well. Did he say, dad, you can miss my wedding, or was that even on the table?

No, he said, dad, you can miss the rehearsal dinner. That's all he said. Well, Tom, enjoy the World Series. Thanks so much. I appreciate you carving out a few minutes.

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