Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Catching Up With Mariners Broadcasters Aaron Goldsmith & Gary Hill Jr.

Episode Date: September 6, 2024

Ty and Colby are joined by Mariners broadcasters Aaron Goldsmith and Gary Hill Jr. for a lengthy discussion about a plethora of topics, including why Aaron decided to stay in Seattle instead of going to St. Louis, what they reflected upon in their last-ever trip to Oakland, what makes Cal Raleigh so special, how Gary and Aaron first met, and of course, Colby's "worthless" endeavor. Ask us questions!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!TonaITonal is the world's smartest and most effective strength training system that helps get you stronger. Right now, Tonal is offering our listeners $200 off your Tonal purchase with promo code LOCKEDONMLB. That’s Tonal.com, and use promo code LOCKEDONMLB for $200 off your purchase.   Liquid IVNo more thirsty summers when you indulge in hydration with Liquid I.V. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LIQUIDIV.COM and use code MLB at checkout. SupplyHouseSupplyHouse.com is the reliable way to get parts fast. Shop for your next plumbing, h-vac, or electrical job and get fast shipping from coast to coast. PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB and use code lockedonmlb for a first deposit match up to $100! eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we have a very special episode for you. Mariners Broadcasters, Aaron Goldsmith and Gary Hill Jr. join the show for a lengthy discussion about baseball, friendship, and of course, Colby's worthless endeavor. You are Locked-on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ahoy, sailors, it is Friday, September 6, 2024.

This is tiny gonzalez for the Lockdown Marers podcast, part of the Lockdown on podcast network, your team every day. On today's show, Colby and I sit down with Marin's broadcasters, Aaron Goldsmith and Gary Hill Jr. For a very fun discussion, we cover a lot of stuff, including a really cool story on how Aaron and Gary first met. What makes Cowell Raleigh so special? And of course, we had to revisit one of the best moments,

if not the best moment in the history of this podcast and a whole lot more. Before we get into all that, shout out to our title sponsor today. Prizepicks. Go to prizepicks. dot com slash locked on MLB and use the promo code locked on MLB. That's LOC, KD ONMLB, all lowercase to win $50 instantly when you play $5. And if you want to hear from me and Colby even more and help support the show, check out our Patreon.

The link is in the description. And you can sign up for a free seven-day trial. All right. Let's visit with Gary and Aaron. Joining us now from St. Louis is not just one voice of your Seattle Marrars, but two voices of your Seattle Mariners. Long time friend of the show, Gary Hill Jr. making his second appearance here on Lockdown Mariners, Aaron Goldsmith.

Gary, Aaron, welcome back. Thanks for doing this. So, Aaron, I want to start with you because you guys are obviously in St. Louis, like I mentioned. This was a place that I think a lot of people assumed you might have ended up at long term, but that wound up not being the case. And I want to go back to when you made that announcement. I think it was last year, maybe 2022. I can't remember exactly.

But you said, no, I love being in Seattle. My family loves being in Seattle. So I wanted to specifically ask you, thinking back on that time and just thinking back on your time in Seattle, is there a moment, a memory that you can pinpoint? Because obviously, I'm sure there was a lot of logistical and financial reasons for staying in Seattle and staying in Washington. But from an emotional standpoint, can you pinpoint? maybe like a moment where you went like, yeah, this is where I want to be long term. Well, Ty, I don't know what you're talking about.

This is my first time in St. Louis. Right, right. This is all more, yeah. No. Are you even in St. Louis? It's just a curtain back there. There's no way to know. I could be anywhere.

I could be in, I could be down the street. I could be in Canada right now, for all you know. That's right. Maybe you're just in the other room right here. You know, there is one moment that does stand out. when I was going through that decision and my family, my wife and I were going through it. And that is, I remember I was just scrolling on my phone one day trying to escape reality.

And I stumbled on randomly a highlight. You guys probably remember it. It was two years ago when the Braves came to T-Mobile Park in September. And the Mariners won two out of three. and there was that one game in particular where Julio had, I think it was the first multi-homer game. He hit one off the manual scoreboard to tie it up off of Kenley Jansen. The Mariners walked it off.

There was a highlight from that game that I just happened to scroll on. And it was a sold-out Team Mobile Park, and the place was going crazy, obviously. And it was a big moment like that Julio home run. And I remember seeing that highlight and thinking, oh, this, like, that would be really hard to not be a part. of anymore. And obviously there are great crowds in other ballparks and great energy and great moments and all those things. But I, like Gary does, I feel felt and still feel so much attached to all of that,

right, all of the emotions of that being the team that you cover and follow and that you're a part of and that your kids root for and that the ballpark that you show up to work at half of the season. And I don't know if that moment tipped me over, but it was definitely one of the things that really stands out in terms of just further solidifying in my mind the connection that I feel in Seattle. Listening to you and Blow on the broadcast yesterday, I think Blow came up with the idea that he wants to highlight some Cardinals players with you. And that gave you pause a little bit there. Like I know he mentioned Albert Poulos and he were like, maybe because I think you wanted

to do more of like, you know, Cardinals players that not a lot of people know about or maybe I don't have forgotten about whatever you, but you did mention Stan the Man. And this reminded me of something. Colin Snyder, who of course is pitching out of the mayor's bullpen right now, was on a TikTok video with our friends, T.J. and Lyle from Marine Layer. And I can't remember what the prompt was. I think it was some sort of trivia or something. Maybe they were asking about nicknames.

They brought up Stan the Man. Colin Snyder was like, who is that? So, Goldie, you're going to need to put Colin Snyder on game. I thought you were going to lead us down a path of like Colin Snyder, grew up idolatism. Nope. Nope. He doesn't even know who the guy is.

And I think that's something that might need to be rectified here. Maybe you can help out with that. As Gary knows, I do a great Stam Musil batting stance impression. So I think maybe I'll have to break that out. You can start right there. Yeah. out on the field earlier later today. Now,

speaking of players that were born in DeNora, Pennsylvania, Ken Griffey Jr. was there with you guys the last couple days in Oakland. I know both of you guys got to visit with him. Now, Gary, I saw a picture of you from our good friend, Shannon Dreher in the booth of you and Ken sitting next to one another on the mics. How was that?

Probably just normal, everyday work stuff. You know, you go to work and King Griffey Jr. Just a couple of stuff. It's just next to you on a random day. Which for anyone my age that grew up in Seattle, that never gets old. You know, just talking to Ken Griffey Jr., hanging out with Ken Griffey Jr. And I know Aaron feels this way, too. We ended up talking to him forever, just about baseball.

And it's the coolest thing in the world because it's, Ken Griffey Jr. And I just, I love it so much. One of my favorite times was a couple years ago when we went to Tokyo. And Ken Griffey Jr. went as a part of, he was the ambassador for the Mariners. And Ricky Henderson was the ambassador for the A's. And my wife went to, and she still talks about this every day. There was a big reception right before the game.

And, you know, there's people everywhere. and we just ended up in this group. And King Griffey Jr. is just telling one story after another. And my wife who also grew up in Tacoma and we met in high school. And so we have the same sort of Griffey experience. And it's something that no matter how long I do this, no matter the people I run across, and stuff becomes normal. Like you, you see Logan Gilbert every day and Cal Raleigh every day.

And there's a normalcy to that. But when you run into Can Griffey Jr., there is that moment that takes you back to childhood, to a kid, to pinch yourself. And I think there are players, people like that for everybody, no matter your stature. There's people like that for Can Griffey Jr. And it's one of the things I love the most about this game is yesterday I was, hanging out with Ken Griffey Jr. Tomorrow I'm going to go to a Jose Okendo signing at Bush Day, which is almost as cool.

For Goldie, that's cooler than Griffey, obviously. Gary, Gary's love for Jose Okendo is, I got to say, it's pretty impressive. It's pretty impressive. So who are some random cardinals that you would, Now that you've actually had maybe some time to marinate on Blow's prompt for you yesterday, there were some random Cardinals that you might want to highlight the next few days. Yeah, by the way, for those who missed it, and many people easily could have,

Blow just randomly started inventing this game in the middle of the broadcast and like throwing it out to me, like I knew the rules of what was happening. And then it was basically just like, I want you to do a ton of work. work and then report back to me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I could hear the, the surprise and the confusion and all of that.

I was, and another thing of the remember is that I was trying to call a game while keeping up with all of this. So, yeah, but apparently he wants like to hit on one like franchise icon each day. Is that kind of what you guys picked up on? Sure. Sure. Yeah. It seemed like you more so wanted to talk about guys who are more like forgotten or, you know,

what have you, right? the guys that you really liked like the unsung heroes essentially of the cardinals yeah i mean like the funny thing was that um which i don't know how entertaining that would be for like anyone watching to be like it as a nerd i'd like it yeah sure um yeah mike my throughout albert apple pool's as a name and as i think i said i'm like well we all watched him play as of like two years ago um and truthfully it was really hard for me because that was my king griffy junior like my, when I became really aware of baseball and like being a smarter baseball fan, as smart as you can be when you're in middle school or early high school,

like that was right when Albert came on the scene, right? Like right when each year old came on the scene for Seattle is when Albert came on the scene in St. Louis. And I didn't know how spoiled I would be watching him. And so Albert is the closest that I have to King Griffey Jr. as a fan. And it was really hard for me to watch Pujols turn into what he turned into in Anaheim and then having to watch that as often as we did or as I did in the division and watching him run on the grass to first base because his feet hurt so much and he couldn't run on the dirt.

And obviously he still hit home runs. And when you would see that Poole Hulls swing and that stance and when the ball would jump off his bat and being able to watch them count down to 600 home runs or count up and then to 700 home runs. Like that was really cool. But I never, I remember talking to Gary about this over the years when Albert was in Anaheim. Like, it never felt like I was watching the same guy that I rooted for as a kid. I had like a, I had a pool holes cardboard cutout in my room as a kid. And I really separated like the St. Louis Albert and the Anaheim Albert.

And, but that was the guy. I mean, that was the clear, it's the chalk answer, but then again, Griffey's the chalk answer for the millions of Gary's in the world, and as it should be. I mean, they're two iconic players. But yes, I think we're getting, Stan, like Stan the man is the all-time, all-time guy. And I do love Stan because I think in part, I just would love to see a guy that does everything like Stan Musial play in today's game and just see what that would look like. but he was one of the greatest hitters of all time, obviously. I think we have to touch on Lou Brock, especially since we were just in Oakland,

and we're talking about Ricky and all the stolen bases, like Lou is a guy, and then Bob Gibson would be the other, like, kind of just total pillar of a franchise icon. So I'll be honest, I need to learn more of the rules before I know which one we're going to run on first. Blow did, and Gary heard this.

He, like, harped on the bus back to me yesterday, as to staving stand for the final game, like to end on the highest note. So maybe that's that Sunday's day game. But I'm learning, I'm learning this one as we go, just like you guys. More from our conversation with Goldie and Gary in just a moment. But first a reminder, this episode of the Lockdown Marys podcast is brought to you by I Bata. Are you taking that dream vacation this summer, but dreading the cost. With I Bata, you get cash back on all of your purchases so you can spend more time making

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Just go to the App Store or Google Play Store and download the free I-B-B-B-B-B-O-T-O-T-T-A-L-T-A-N-L-B. So you guys just got back from Oakland, of course, like we just talked about with Griffey being out there. That's going to be your last time out in Oakland. Obviously, that city has meant a lot to the sport of baseball, to the sports world in general. And now they've seen all of their teams leave, essentially. Now the Warriors are right across the bay. But for the most part, yeah, all those teams are gone now out of Oakland. And that ballpark, you know, well, you know, over the last however many years,

there aren't many flattering things you can say about it. That ballpark obviously has a lot of history. in it. So, you know, I'm sure you guys did a lot of reflection, both over your times, you know, just covering the Mariners there. But just about what that ballpark and what that city is meant to baseball in general, you know, what was going through your minds in the booth? And I'll start with Gary on this, just kind of thinking about Oakland and all that. Mostly the fans in Oakland.

That's who I've been thinking about. And I think for Mariner fans who went through this with the Sonics, I think we can all identify with the feelings and the bitterness and the anger that they are going through right now because it is not their fault. Oakland has a very good baseball fan base, a very passionate baseball fan base. And they've seen a lot of history there. 21 playoff appearances in the time they've been in Oakland. And they've seen six World Series winning four of them.

And think about all the great players they've seen down through the years, from Reggie Jackson to Ricky Henderson. The Mark McGuire go down the list. Dave Stewart, there's been a ton of them. And it's so sad to me, knowing that I have kids that have nothing to do with the Sonics. No memories of the Sonics because they've been gone the entire time they've been alive. So they have nothing to do with the NBA or basketball in general. And so I think about that next generation where they,

they have no major league baseball. So all these stories, you know, the father's sons and mothers, daughters, that's not going to be passed down to the next generation. And that's who I was thinking about the whole time. The building is not great. We know that the situation is not great, but the fans are the ones in Oakland that are getting the harm in all of this. And I think it's too bad.

And my thoughts were entirely with them the entire time we were there. The fans, obviously, you're getting the short end here. the ballpark has a number of memories for me. It was the first big league game I ever called was at the Coliseum, which there's no better ballpark to make your major league debut in the Coliseum because it never looks better to anyone than when you're making your major league debut there. Like you don't realize how horrible it is because you're just so geeked up that you're in the big leagues, man. And so I vividly remember Felix pitching against the A's opening day of 2013 at the Coliseum.

I remember Frina Rodney being locked in the bathroom in the dugout there. A number of years ago, the press box elevator broke in the afternoon. And so to get down to the field, you had to walk the steps from the press box up to the upper level behind home plate and then walk the steps. a different set of stairs all the way down, or get on a separate elevator that was working and walk it all the way down. And I found it just such sweet poetry that on our final night,

so after the second game at the Coliseum, wouldn't you know it? The press box elevator broke down. And it was like, it was just a long, sweet walk with Gary. Back with us. And I just, I really, I soaked in. that walk, you guys.

I also remember there was a getaway day there where the bathrooms, like the sewage got blocked and started coming up into the clubhouse. So our guys had to shower in like the Raiders locker room or something. And I might have had to shower with the A's. So it's a horrible building, but it's also been completely ignored. And a lot of buildings would be horrible if they were ignored. for a decade plus but it is there are there are some kind of fun vibes unique vibes and the fans make all those happen at the coliseum and so that is rotten there's no other way to put it absolutely

colby you got anything for these guys on oakland no um you know he's moved on from oakland well no like my thing with oakland is that like yeah i've never been to the ballpark so i can't you know i can't speak to that but you know i have once and it was it was fine right like there was nothing that like really like stood out or anything that broke that day or anything it was a pretty uninteresting trip there yeah i mean like for me my memories of the oakland coliseum are just those early 2000s teams we now call them the money ball teams uh where you just you know shavez and taata and zito and molder and hudson uh but uh my memory of of oakland is always going to be the star war's throw uh it's my favorite knee house call uh the the throw of each row nailing taryn solong

at third base as kind of a, you know, welcome to the big leagues type of thing. That's my memory of Oakland. Like, so having never been in the ballpark, I can only go off of what I've seen on TV. But, yeah, my enduring memory of Oakland is those really good 2000, early 2000s teams. And then each row just absolutely one of the best throws I've ever seen, just nailing Terrence Long. That's my memory of the Coliseum. So, yeah, just never been there. And, you know, I can't say that I, I, I, I'm.

I'm upset about that, but also I've seen that building with playoff atmosphere and like playoff games. And I was sure would have liked to be sitting in the stands for one of those because the energy that, you know, fans bring, uh, Oakland A's fans bring to the ballpark when they have a reason to show up, uh, is it's incredible. It's, it's right up there with anybody in the game. So from that standpoint, yeah, I'm going to miss the Coliseum. But, uh, you know, it's, it's just a shame that, uh, you know, the, uh, the ownership group down there. It doesn't care as much as the fans do because that could be something really special down there. And I hope Major League Baseball finds its way back to Oakland because I think Oakland deserves a couple teams. They've been screwed over enough as a city. So that's my thoughts on Oakland. That's all I got. Yeah, 100%.

Absolutely. So Dan Wilson's now in the clubhouse. And really, that's your former coworker. Now he's managing a big league ball club. what was your guys's reaction? Goldie, I've talked to you about this privately, but I'm sure people would love to hear your thoughts on that, as well as Gary is just like,

where were you guys when he found out that, you know, obviously Scott gets fired and that sucks, but also, hey, Dan is going to be the manager now. How did you guys feel about that? Gary, you want to start? Pretty wild. And I feel like I think Gary and I are both, the same boat where there has been an adjustment period just because we have gotten to know Dan

so well over the years. We've worked with him so closely. He's been, he's spent a lot of time with us up in the booth. The fact that he is in charge now is pretty wild. You know, I think Aaron and I've talked about this a lot. And if a move was going to be made, I think we both agree that Dan is the perfect guy to step in and try and steer this thing to the finish. at the end of the season because of just his instant credibility with everyone involved, whether it's players or coaching staff or anything else. I'm not sure when he was hired if people fully realized like he has been around this entire time. He spends weeks at a time and all the minor league affiliates.

That's why he has such a great relationship. A lot of the coaches who've come up through the ranks of the Mariners. And he obviously has known Cal Raleigh since the very beginning and Logan Gilbert and go down the list. So from that standpoint, he's kind of the perfect guy to try and navigate, which what is a very difficult situation. It's still kind of funny. In fact, I just saw him right before this call running from the arch as we passed each other. He going one way, me going the other. There is. Slow motion. Merritt is manager. I was in slow motion. Yes, he was moving much better than me.

And Aaron, where were you, you know, what were your thoughts when you found out the news? I was mowing the yard. So I was surprised like everybody that Dan would be the guy coming in. I mean, for context, you know, for all the games that I've called with Dan on TV, we've stumbled into this great pregame routine and tradition where I generally, physically assault Dan prior to the game. Like there's, there are,

the video from Ryan Dennis, yeah. There are, like, and that didn't even show the body blows. There's sometimes there's dead arms that are given, like very severe, very severe, like,

knuckle pounds, but it's more like, instead of a pound, it's like, if you punch someone else's knuckle at the exact same speed, angle, and time,

you actually don't feel much of anything, but it looks super hardcore. And Dan and I did that. Like, it's very weird. It's very weird to now have him be in the captain's chair, essentially. And, you know, Dan, I can speak to it from his former job that involved Gary and myself. When Dan shows up at the ballpark and comes up to the broadcast booths, he is the ultimate uplifter. It is incredible energy without being forced, just his natural persona.

It makes everybody feel better. It makes everybody happy that they're at the ballpark with Dan. We felt that. And you don't even realize it until you kind of stop and go, oh, yeah, today does feel different. Like, this is awesome. Dan Wilson's here. And we're going to hang out and talk about baseball for a few hours. So with that in mind, I completely understand and echo what everything Gary said, why they would want him in the dugout and in the clubhouse.

And it's even for a baseball lifer like Dan Wilson, who is as ingrained within the organization in so many ways, I can't imagine what kind of learning curve is going on right now. And not so much of the X's and O's, but just learning the personnel, the personnel, the personalities, the structure, the processes, all of that, while also trying to balance, things obviously weren't going well. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. But how do I come in here and affect change without just completely tearing things up and starting from scratch when there are, at the time, call it 30 some odd games left, having to learn what's happening while also trying to keep an eye open for implementing a change,

a tweak here or there? because something has to change, right? It's a ridiculously delicate balance that I think would be very hard for anyone. But if there's anybody in the Mariner universe who could do it, it would be Dan Wilson. Our chat with Goldie and Gary continues in just a moment, but first, a reminder,

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second on the list for most home runs of any catcher through the first four years of their career. That's insane. Now, I'm not saying that he is on the trajectory of becoming a Hall of Famer, but I mean, the things that you hear him doing and the company that you see him in, that kind of does seem like, you know, this guy is pretty special, right? And then you add in how much he posts, how much he's gotten beat up, and still posts in spite of it. You know, the broken thumb a couple of years ago. Gary, you told us about when he went down to the clubhouse in Toronto after the wildcard game. And he had his, you know, hand wrapped up in a club and all that. You know, he played through a broken tooth in his face down in Texas this year.

You know, he just got beat up in Anaheim and has cuts on his hand. And he's playing through that. Like and there's so many other things that have happened to him all the balls that have have kicked up and hit him in all kinds of areas And he still still still plays almost every single day plays the by far the toughest position in the sport every single day And and obviously you know we know what he's meant to this pitching staff as well so you know when you watch cow rally at this point you know now that you've seen him for these you know for parts of at least these last last four years. Do you see someone that's a bit more special than just your average major league? Yes, because that position, the context of the position, that is not a position

right now where you're getting a lot of offensive production from when you look up and down major league baseball. And the fact that Cal I think is going to win the gold glove in the American League, which is great on its own. He's going to win the gold glove and hit 30 plus home runs in the same season on top of the everything else that he does with the pitching staff. He's going to lead, I think. We'll see how it ends up. But he's probably going to lead the team and plate appearances. Think about that for a second.

Like a catcher leading your team and played appearances. That's wild. And to me, it's just it just says what he is all about. the guy posts at a position where it's brutal to post. And it's funny because I hadn't thought about him. You mentioned him in Hall of Fame trajectory. And I've been thinking about catchers in the Hall of Fame because I feel like I've had to adjust how I look at catchers in Hall of Fame.

And mostly because of Sal Perez, because I've been thinking about it in regard to him. Because honestly, I have not thought of him as a Hall of Famer. But as I think about the context of that position and that position moving forward and just the lack of production that we see from that position. Yeah. Over over multiple years. I've had to kind of readjust how I look at Sal Perez, for example. And now I'm starting to think, you know, maybe he is a Hall of Famer.

Yeah, I know his on-based percentage isn't great. But think about all the other things at that position that he has done. and if he's not going to get in who is going to get in from that position so to your point Cal is a special player doing special things and he's a great dude on top of everything else

and he is fully connected to the fan base he is everything you could possibly want as a teammate in the player right obviously has one of the most iconic hits in the history of the franchise as well you know the nickname the aura in general of of Cal Raleigh, the big dumper in general.

Like he just kind of checks every single box in that way that makes him, again, to me, more special than just, you know, a good player, right? To me, like Cal Raleigh is kind of just beyond that. And, you know, like you mentioned, with the, with the on-based percentage, you know, of Salvi and like this year with Cal, like the batting average isn't really there. And, you know, I see all the time, you know, people talking, well, he's just a 2-10 hitter. And it's like, you like do you see what this guy is doing and also with catchers like you kind of have to grade on a curve when it comes to offense like catchers more often than not they're not going to hit for a high average they're not going to get on base a ton but what else do they bring to the table cal hits a ton of home runs he might also get 100 rbi this year we'll see you know we're again talking about the company that he's finding himself in what he's doing behind the plate how he works with a very diverse group of pitchers it's it's really really really really

really special stuff. Goldie, do you have any thoughts on Cal? Yeah, I think to add to that is just really difficult to measure a lot of what he does. I mean, Gary mentioned that he very well could win the Gold Glove. And fortunately, we do have some measurement now in terms of what he does defensively, specifically with framing, which is huge. But like, you don't, nobody watches the game and realizes, oh, that strike that Cal just made a strike, maybe just got the Mariners out of this inning a batter sooner and strands the big thumper, whoever the home run hitter is who's on deck who would represent the go-head run, right?

Like there's so many tiny, small, very difficult, if not impossible things to measure that he does that just come along with his position. The game calling is something else that we can't measure that. And you can't tell me that a Mariners pitching staff that generally, for the last, last call it now three years has been among the best performing pitching staffs in baseball and there's been one mainstay behind home plate you can't tell me that there isn't a correlation there right like you can't just grab quad a catcher throw him behind the plate and have the exact same thing happen transpire on the mountain from the mariners like that just wouldn't happen and i don't know how

he swings a bat after going through physically the things that he goes to goes through. But he almost does a disservice to himself by making all of us kind of feel like, oh, well, he'll just be in there tomorrow because he's always in there tomorrow. And we don't know how much that hurts. We don't know how much time he's spending in the train's room, but it's a ton for both. And to have it at a premium position like that is almost immisurable. And to Sal to the Gary's comp with Salvador Perez, you know, who knows? what the long-term future holds for Cal Raleigh. Hopefully he's a lifelong mariner and can be a franchise icon. And if he was and he kept this up, he would be the best catcher in franchise history.

I don't think there would probably be a whole lot of debate at that if he maintain a career long track like this or something to it. But there is just enormous stability within your organization when you have that guy at that position year after year after year. It was Yadir. Melina in St. Louis. Perez in Kansas City, Posey in San Francisco. It's just, it's huge for a franchise.

So hopefully we're talking about Cal for a long, long time from now, but it's been just another pretty amazing season for him. And anybody wants to talk about his batting average, you should go put your head in the sand. Like you'd like, okay, what you wanted to hit 2.30 with 15

home runs? I mean, come on. Like what he does, he does a couple of things exceptionally well. And it impacts the game on a pretty regular basis. Absolutely. I also want to ask you guys about Victor Robles, who's someone that came in at really the perfect time for this team. And has, maybe you guys feel differently about this, but from the outside looking in,

feels like he's quickly become the heart and soul of this team. And that's pretty. pretty abnormal for a guy that again, I mean, first of all, had gotten not just DFA, like outright released by the team that he developed within, had essentially hit rock bottom in his career. Now you fast forward like two, three months later, he signed an extension in Seattle. He's become a fan favorite. I mean, we see him climbing the wall and right field signing autographs in between innings and all this stuff. As you guys, guys have come to, you know, maybe interact with Victor and get to know him a little better. You know, what's just your general feel for Victor and the impact he's had on this clubhouse? And Gary, well, I remember when he signed, Aaron and I were talking about this. And it was so easy to predict and see this all coming. We have this whole thing, this whole trajectory of the type of player he's been with the Mariners.

It's been remarkable, really. It just goes to show, too, like you never really know with a guy. And sometimes it can take a change of scenery. Sometimes it can take connecting with the right person. Sometimes he just, he looks like he's having the greatest time of the world. Like he's just free and out there having so much fun. I wish we could all be the same in our job. But he's made a massive.

difference. It's hard to imagine where they would be about his contributions this year. And I just really appreciate somebody who, man, things were not going well in Washington, right? I mean, we all saw the numbers and we when we saw the struggles. And as a person, like, he had no idea what was going to happen next, right? He is in baseball limbo. And when you're in that situation, you're a DFA'd, you don't know what's going to happen, where you're going to end up. Will you be on a major league roster? Will you ever play in the majors again?

Like thoughts like that have to cross your mind in that situation. And to fast forward, like I can't think of another situation where a guy has been DFAed and 70 days later, is, it gets extended by his new team. That is not something that happens. It's just remarkable. We need Alex Mayer to look that up. Has that ever happened before? I'm just going to say it only that never happened. Yeah.

I just, I love the whole story. I love him around as a guy. I'm someone who believes you need all kinds of different personalities in a clubhouse. And it's just having him around is just a ray of sunshine all day, which is great. Speaking of Alex Mayer, though, I have to ask, because I mean, Yeah, we all see the mayor game winning stat on Twitter, and I always give him a hard time about that every time he comes up with something insane. I mean, he's just, he's out of his mind, right? Like some of the stuff that he comes up with is ridiculous.

I've seen his little, like, you know, notes that he takes sometimes and all of his crazy diagrams and all this stuff when he's researching all this stuff. I know you guys have been in the booth with him at times. What does that whole thing look like? Does he look like a mad scientist there in the booth? Like kind of paint the picture for us with Alex Mayer. It's actually very neat and tidy. He does have his little black book of stats. I have seen numerous times of like multiple posted notes maybe being utilized at one time.

But it's pretty organized. It's not like this mad chemist with, you know, vials everywhere. It's pretty buttoned up. Alex is a total unicorn. I'll be honest, I can't express how fortunate Mariner fans are to have somebody like Gary who is as multi-talented

in doing everything from play-by-play to producing, to podcasting, to hosting, and then also having somebody like Alex who I've literally never met anybody like him before. and I don't think I will. There have been times where he has asked Gary and or myself, guys, should I go home tonight and look this up?

Because I will. It'll take a couple hours, but I'll do it. But do you think it's worth it? And almost every time we say, no. I don't want you to look up the last 20 people to have cycles off of someone whose last name was a state capital in that state that the capital is in. Um, you know, but like the thing, the thing that Gary and Alex have in common that we all strive for is that being able to come up with that note is one thing.

Yeah. It always starts in the same place. It's having the thought to ask the question, right? There's so many times that Gary or Alex will come up with something. And I'll think, oh my gosh, that's great. I never even thought to ask the question that would get to the answer. And that's the key. And it's being a really critical thinker, a creative thinker, certainly.

And then being able to have the ability to actually find it, which is admittedly, certainly a skill in and of itself. But none of that is worth it if you can't think of the question in the first place. And Mariner fans are really lucky to have both those guys because of that. Right. I mean, like, what was it, a couple of weeks ago? Randy or Rosa Rana is like the first player to hit a home run against his former team when his name includes his former team's name. Like what? How do you how do you think of that? Like what what is that? It's incredible. And I very much appreciate it by the way. Like I want to make that very clear. But what in the world?

And like I think it's I'm glad you brought that up because I think it's important to make the point that I think Alex has kind of. two tracks. He has maybe what I would call like the carnival track, which is what that would be. Okay. And it's just, yeah, baseball is fun. This is fun. Let's have some fun and not take ourselves too seriously, right? Which is spectacular. And then there's the, oh, that's actually really incredible and an impactful note, nugget, stat, whatever. Like he did me a huge doll. it didn't come out to bear any fruit, but Cal homered in the final game in Oakland from batting left-handed. And then he appeared, his next step bat, I believe it was, batting right-handed. And Alex texted me, and he said, hey, reminder, if he Homer's batting right-handed,

he'll be the first catcher in baseball history to Homer from both sides of the plate three times in a single season. The last player to do it, regardless of the position, was actually Anthony Santander did it four times in a recent season. But something like that, like, I will never think to ask the question. I also have no ability to look that up. And so, like, that isn't, I was ready for it because of Alex. Like, if that, if he had homered batting right-handed, that would have made the call. And it would have been really cool.

And so he has the ability to do both. which I think given given the game right sometimes games call more for the carnival stuff sometimes games call more for the actual like hardcore baseball note but to be able to do both is in part what makes them so unique yeah and again I greatly appreciate it it's always always look forward to it there's always something to look forward to after the games now so guys I you know I started this interview asking uh Goldie about uh you know, what, it was that moment that that made you fall in love with, uh, with Seattle. But what about when you guys first met? Can you tell us the story about that? Is there

anything interesting about that when you guys first met general vibe of one another, all that stuff? Well, we talked to each other on the phone before we ever met in person, actually. Really? This is unbelievable. We didn't realize it to later on. Yes. So I was in, uh, Dallas calling. games for the Rangers AA team.

And the Mariners and the Rangers made a pretty substantial trade. They made the Cliff Lee deal. And there were multiple, I think three players from

the team that I was broadcasting for, the Rangers AA team. There were three players, most notably Blake Bevan who was traded from Texas to Seattle. And I get an email in my A. Goldsmith at writersbassball.com email account from some hack named Gary Hill Jr.

And he said, hi, I am doing the pre and post game show for the Mariners. I would love to do a phone interview with you and talk about the players that the Mariners received in the Cliff Lee deal. Do you have some time? And so the first time that we ever spoke was actually in this very, well, Gary, it's great to be with you. I'm going to tell you about Blake Bevin. And since I'm heard in a major market, my voice will be especially deep right now. Yeah.

So Gary and I spoke over the phone for an interview primarily about Blake Bevan, Matt Lawrence, and somebody else. Someone else. Yeah, which is pretty funny. And then Gary, what were your impressions of this young, 20-something-year-old Aaron Goldsmith talking about Blake Bevin and, you know, whoever else? That's what's funny is like, no offense, Aaron. But, you know, we had the conversation and the Mariners season moves on. And I did not think about Aaron Goldsmith again. No, you weren't like, hey, Seattle Mariners.

this guy is great you should totally hire him yeah for sure I was I brought him to town right no it's funny because I feel like we only realized this well after Aaron had been in town for a while like oh yeah I actually still have the audio too which is great I should play it sometimes because oh we need it yes please do yes yeah yeah the funny thing like Gary and I I think it was kind of like a slow burn when I first got here. Gary was kind of moonlighting doing pre and post. I was just totally underwater trying to figure out what I was doing, calling Major League Baseball for the first time.

And I quickly realized in talking with Gary, just in the booth when he would be doing pre- or post game, just kind of like his depth of knowledge, his creativity, how he thought about the game, his ability to research. And I was realizing like, okay, this isn't the Texas League anymore. And like, it's a friendship that's 100% born out of baseball. And then we just kind of year by years would spend more and more time with each other.

And then we had a chance, I remember, we called a game together. and it was, I don't know, my second or third year. I don't think it was the first year, but it was relatively early. And I remember we went to break during the game. And we were pretty good friends at this point. And we take our headsets off and it's a beautiful day at Team Mobile Park and we're looking out on the crowd. Kindry Morales probably just hit a home run. and I say to Gary, I'm like, hey, when's the last time you did a Mariners game, man?

And he looked at me and he said, this is my first one. What? I was like, oh my God. Like, this is a big deal. And of course, now I've seen Gary, you know, called 60 Mariners games a year at some point. So it's been, he's my best friend now and has been for a long time. and we spent basically every waking moment together during the baseball season and we still talk constantly during the off season. But yeah, it all started with a phone interview from Seattle to Texas, oddly enough.

I love it. You know, I actually wanted to ask about, you know, both of you kind of finding your way in this and maybe doing that a little bit together, right? because like, you know, like you just said, it was, you know, your first couple of years, you know, doing play by play of an actual major league baseball team, Aaron. And then for Gary, you started doing the, you actually started hopping on the broadcast. Did you guys maybe, you know, play off of one another, you know, maybe help each other kind of figure out your lane in doing that? Anything like, like, were you guys able to help each other along the way as you started to get more comfortable in doing that? Oh, it's constantly for me. Aaron has made me better in every way possible and not just on the air stuff,

our conversations off the air. Because I think the thing that we have in common, which I think is really important for what we do, is just a curiosity about what is happening. And it can be big stuff or just the littlest tiny thing. And we are constantly talking about what's happening on the baseball field, But also we're constantly talking about the craft. Like we both really love play by play. And we both strive to be as good as we possibly can be.

And we have, I think, found each other to be great sounding boards on talking situations through, whether you make a call and generally we're never thrilled with a call we make. So we're like, how could I have done a different? you know, it's those kind of conversations that have made me, I would not be where I am today without Aaron. There's just, there's no question about that. And seeing the way he goes about it has just made me so much better over time. And it's, and we just have fun too, which is a great element to what we do, right?

I mean, baseball should be fun. And it feels like, at least I hope people feel like, that they are with us. They're on the inside. You know, when there's an inside joke, I mean, you're part of the joke with us. You know, you're having a good time with us. And I hope people feel that way. Yeah, I think when I started, Gary and I had, I wouldn't say separate strengths, but we had separate levels of experience.

Like I had probably called more innings lifetime than Gary because I had done a number of years in the minors and you just you just you just you just accumulate innings. And Gary on the other hand, what he didn't have innings, he had a much better feel for the game. And additionally, and more maybe more specifically, the Mariners, right? I mean, he's the ultimate mariner resource. And so I think as the years have gone on. on and we've both kind of shared our strengths with one another or like maybe where one of us was like had a hedge head start than the other it's become more neck and neck now gary will always have 1979 mariner knowledge over me i don't think that's that's a debate um but like now

we've gotten to the point where we we really are on the same wayne blank generally on so many things and my favorite part of the day is we do this utterly stupid five-minute segment on the pregame show and it's so dumb it doesn't even have a name and we've done it for two years now um and yeah if anyone has any thoughts on a name feel free fire up it's like Chloe and I on our Patreon we do we do like a we have like tears on our Patreon of course right and so for like our tiers twos and threes we do uh an addition to me show and we at first we were just like we're just going to call it control the zone Mondays right because like that's just it comes out on Monday that's what it's going to be we'll figure out a name eventually three years later it's still CTZ Mondays well next year will be year three for this segment and so we're desperate looking for something and it I know it doesn't sound like much for people from the outside who and by people from the outside I'd mean literally anyone but Gary and myself who don't host a five minutes segment every day for six months essentially.

But there are times in a long season where you're like, what are we going to talk about for five minutes? Because we've talked about everything that we possibly can and we're out. And maybe the Mariners are in a bad spot, right? And it's like, well, where are we going with Nets now? That's totally not relatable whatsoever. Yeah, you guys can't relate to that. And five minutes is a lot of air time.

if you can't hang with your partner and you don't have anything to say. And I would say five days out of seven, when we sit down and put the headsets on at, call it three or four o'clock in the afternoon to tape this segment, one of us looks at the other and almost always says this, I've got something that'll get us off the ground. So, okay. And sometimes we tell each other what it is. other times we just kind of air drop it on them. But the point is like, we just need to take flight.

We literally just need to get the plane in the air. And once we get it going, we've got enough between the two of us that not only can we survive five minutes, but like hopefully, people are like, oh, that was really fun. That was a great five minutes. And of the five minutes, 90 seconds is usually one of us just assaulting the other one verbally. about something, which is great. I mean, like, it's great when you work with somebody and you know that, like, you can basically say anything to this guy.

And we were both on the same team. Like, we both love each other and we know that we're just having a fun time. So it's my favorite five minutes of the day. There's almost never been a time where we've pressed the red button to press stop. And then we've said, that was terrible. I'm sure. It's happened. But it's just, that's what anybody can relate to it.

When you're just hanging out with your friend and you're just talking about something you both like talking about, like, more times than not, it turns out to be pretty okay. Absolutely. We work similar in that we kind of work this as a lifestyle, this job. Like we don't prep for a game necessarily. We are always curious. we're reading and listening and just always paying attention to not only what's going on with the Mariners, but what's going on with other teams and with the game and everything. We both kind of operate that way, which just lends itself to, I think,

some really good conversations along the way. Absolutely. So I can't in this interview without, Colby's going to hit me for this. Without, like, he's already, he's already making the face. Goldie, the last time we had you on, you, you didn't know this, but you provided us with the greatest moment in the history of this show. All right. And it was when, and by the way, that's, that's not just me speaking, by the way. That's a lot of our listeners mentioned this.

It's mostly me, but we all, we all pick on Colby around these parts. So Colby has been collecting the cards of each Jerry to Poto acquisition, right? And he mentioned this to you. He brought this up to you. And you said you couldn't think of a more worthless endeavor than that. And you could see the joy just drain from Colby's face live on that show. Trying to do something that made me happy, man. I thought it was cool.

So we've made the joke. because when we got Gary on last time, Colby mentioned it to Gary. And Gary was like, yeah, that's awesome, man. So now Colby considers Gary his best friend and you, his mortal enemy. Well, Gary, we know if this hasn't been established in the last hour, Gary's just a generally better person. Just a warm, kind human being. I mean, he's a kid from Tacoma, for goodness sakes, right?

And, you know, I do stand by what I said. That's not terrible. But Colby, out of genuine curiosity, not just as a baseball person one to another, but as someone who, I hope one day you can consider a friend. How's the collection going? I'm about 80, 85% of the way there. And, you know, obviously, Jerry's not going to stop making moves. So it's as long as he's here, it's a never-ending project. But, yeah, not too bad.

Until recently I found out there is not a standalone. Justin Topa card anywhere on this planet. But it's not. But it just happened. I saw that it has happened, didn't it? This year? I have not seen there. Come on, Toby. The only, the only, the only, uh, baseball card that has Justin Topa on it that I have seen is a team picture of the Seattle Mariners, uh, from, uh, 20, 23.

So, first of all, not good enough. Well, that's what I'm saying. Do better. Yeah. Second of all, I, not that I track Justin Toppa, a trade. cards, but I saw, I think he retweeted, like, probably at this point, like months ago, something about maybe it was Tops. And he said my first ever baseball card. So let me help you with your worthless endeavor.

There we are. What's your last, what's your last card to the collection? Who are we talking about? Oh, they just picked him up from Baltimore. I just recently got the card. Taron Vavra? Yeah, who's no longer even in the old. York, but he played in the big leagues and he was acquired by Jared of Poto, so I do have to get the

card. That's the last one I got. And what are we, are we going, are we going hard case here? Are these what's on the wall behind you? What are we doing? No, no, no. These are in sheets. They're in a binder. And then, yeah, I've got him in chronological order. So, yeah, it's, it's been, it's been something. And are you, is this eBay, your primary means of purpose? Mostly, yeah. And so somebody's selling a Nick Rumbolo card on eBay for $1 thinking, and it's been on, it's been on eBay for five years. I'm helping people small businesses, yes.

Who is the one guy that you bought for like the shipping was more than the actual cost of the card? Oh, that's a lot. That's what I was thinking, like he must, I was thinking the exact same thing. Like he must have eaten so much money in shipping over the actual cost. of the card. But I think we did, I think we did the math and it actually would have cost, like the person paid to give you the card essentially. Yeah, because it was free shipping. And I only paid like a nickel for the card.

Buy it now. 10 cents. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. It was actually like a fairly like decent, like recognizable player. It wasn't the Ryan Straussberg card. I looked so hard. Oh, yeah.

Wasn't it like Colin Calgill or someone. Yeah. Yeah. That's it was. Yeah. It was Calgo. Yep. there you go.

Yeah, you should hear some of the crazy names. He mentions to me. He's like, I got this card. I'm like, who? Am I supposed to be excited for you? I've been wanting to play a game for a while where it was like, hey,

I'm going to read you this name. And you tell me, this is either somebody I went to high school with or this is a Jerry depoto acquisition. Yeah. It's a good game. Yeah. Well,

yeah. So I had to, I had to bring that up because Colby had a bone to pick with you. And I couldn't let this, this whole record. I just. likes to be an instigator is what it really is that's true too i also do love to do that yeah colby does seem aggressive by nature so i am right i'm i'm a little scared right now but yeah so i couldn't let this

whole whole uh whole recording go without i'll mention that's uh yeah goldie you are in the uh locked on areas hall of fame just for that moment alone i'm so happy about that i'm sure there we go we'll We'll hang the banner. Well, guys, I want to thank you so much for doing this. This was so much fun. I was looking forward to this all week because, obviously, I love the work that you guys do. Love listening to you guys, both on the broadcast, both on the radio. And Goldie, obviously, on TV.

Would love to hear you guys or see you guys both on TV sometime. We need to find a way to make that happen. But thank you guys so much. And, yeah, good luck with the rest of the year. We'll see what happens with this team. the final few weeks and uh yeah so thanks guys it's been great thank you guys yeah thanks guys and that's gonna do it for our show but before we get out of here a reminder that locked on has launched the first ever national sports 24 7 streaming channel on youtube and now it's also

available on amazon fire tv and the free fire tv channels app locked on sports today is here for you 24 7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every league find locked on sports today now available on the free fire tv channels app thank you so much for joining us here on the top the Lockdown Marrars podcast for Colby Patnode. I'm Tiding Gazzalas. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Marrers. You can follow me at Tiding Gisalice and Colby at C-Pat 11.

That's C-PAT-1-1. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. Now head on over the Lockdown Seahawks to get all the latest on the Hawks before the season kicks off this Sunday with Corby Smith and the gang. And tell them Ty and Colby sent you. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day. And we'll see you next time. Peace.