OverDrive - Green on the Blue Jays in the World Series, the matchup against the Dodgers and the 1993 roster

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

Former Blue Jays and Dodgers Outfielder Shawn Green joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Blue Jays and Dodgers, representing both teams in his career, the Blue Jays' quest to the World Series, Toronto's approach to Shohei Ohtani, the 1993 roster and the team comparisons, his career in Toronto and more

That's annoying. What? You're a muffler. You don't hear it? Oh, I don't even notice it. I usually drown it out with the radio. How's this? Oh, yeah, way better.

Save on insurance by switching to Bel Air Direct and use the money to fix your car. Bell Air Direct, insurance, simplified. Conditions apply. Here's a guy that knows both teams well, knows both cities well, former Blue Jay, former Dodger. There's Sean Green. How you doing, Sean? I'm doing well. How are you guys doing?

We're doing very well. How do you feel about this? You know, you're an alumni on both sides of the aisle here. How does this one set up for you? Yeah, I win. I've already won the World Series, so that's good here. No, it's going to be interesting. I'm excited to have the two teams.

I played for four teams, but my 15 seasons that I was up, 10 of them were between these two teams. Or actually, no, 12 of them, because I was up briefly in the World Series year and the year after. So, yeah, no, it's, I think it's one of those things where you get to the World Series and anything can happen. It's who's hot at the right time. The Blue Jays have a pretty scary lineup, and the Dodgers know that. So, you know, I think it's going to be pretty even money.

I don't, I think the Dodgers have a slight edge maybe, but I wouldn't bet against either team right now. Be honest. We're not going to hold you anything against her. Who are you cheering for? There's got to be one team where you're like, I want to see these guys win the World Series. No, honestly, at this point, I was just, right when you guys called, I was just hanging up with Carl Stogato, who's a really good friend of mine. And we're both like, look, we want to be entertained and watch. And I think as the series progresses, and you kind of see, you know, the drama unfold and your heart starts to tug you in one direction or the other.

But going into it, I'm, you know, pretty neutral, honestly. And there's not too many people that I were in Toronto when I was there. I mean, in my last year there was 99, which is obviously like almost 30 years ago. So, but I do still have some friends there, and I love my time there. And, you know, I'm getting former Jay's teammates like Alex Gonzalez, Carlos, we're texting about it. And it's kind of cool to bring that part of our lives, you know, back into the present. So if you're with the Jays, how do you approach?

approach to tony is there any type of you know thought process any type of pre-scout that we all haven't watched this guy put a clinic on for years yeah he's obviously unicorn and does things that no one else does but you know i think the thing that's hardest as a hitter is to have you know even a three-day break is is tough and so there'll be at least a i know seven or eight days off in between series so i would go at him and see what happens and so you start off. And in baseball, as a pitcher, which I never was, but you kind of go at guys until they prove you, prove to you that they can't hit that pitch or whatever it is. So I would say, look, attack him early and see what happens. And if he shows that, you know, his timing's on and he's

hot, then I would back off really, really quickly. And I think vice versa, I think the same thing for the Dodgers. You want to go after, you got to go after Vladdy early and see what happens. you know, if you get second and third with two outs, it might be a little different conversation. But you've got to let them prove to that they're hot because both teams have guys around them that could do damage as well. Well, that's the amazing thing. Like, Otani's going to get the first at bat of the World Series, right?

Like, he's going to step in and we don't know who's going to pitch game one. It may be Gosman. It may be a savage. But it is, you know, somewhat fitting because of the connection. You know, the Js were obviously pursuing them. the Dodgers were pursuing him. He made a great call. He goes to L.A. He's already won a World Series there.

I'm pretty certain. Shohei's happy with his choice, and he probably should be. But the idea of him stepping into the box, let's say as Trey is Savage, like the tone setting, do you believe in that? It's a long series.

Like, it's not a sprint. It's a marathon. But the idea, like you just said, going out of Tani, like the symbolism of that, if you can challenge him, if you can strike him out, if you can get him out,

you know, that first step out of the series, How big do you think that could be for the Jays? Yeah, no, it's a series of momentum. I mean, look at the Jays Seattle series. I think everyone in Toronto was probably, this is over after losing two at home, right? So it does shift. I think it is nice to come at the opposing team, especially their biggest stars and set the tone early.

And, you know, if I'm on the Jays, then that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to say, show you that we can shut your best player down the best player you know all around who's ever walked the earth then that's making quite a statement so um that's why i i don't think i would start off being really careful um until he he shows me that that he's you know he's on time and and and you know hitting the ball hard we're chatting with former blue jay former dodgers sean green um how much of a believer if at all are you in in home field advantage and and the fact that the Blue Jays have it.

Yeah, I'm kind of, okay, so I think certain teams play really well at home, and the Jays are one of them. And other teams play pretty well on the road. I think in baseball, I kind of like the opposite. I like being, though, to start off as the visiting team, because my attitude is, okay, you go in to the visiting park, you win one of the two games, you figure you should go home and win two out of three. Now you're up three to two.

You say, all we got to do is when one of these two games. And you're probably going to get your best pitcher, you know, in game seven, you know, if everything lines up correctly with the, with the days or whatever. So that's kind of my attitude on it. And I know Joe Tori has said the same thing in the past, but I think that changes a little bit when you have, you know, such a home cooking type vibe that the Blue Jays have and love playing your own ballpark. So I would say in this case, it's definitely going to play more to the Blue Jays' favorite. because they have done so well historically at Rogers Center. Yeah, they've been great this year. Like, the 2-3-2 being, I hate it.

Like, I just hate it. The team with a better record, it seems like you're getting screwed, man, with that. I just cannot stand the 232. Drop that first game seems like such a disadvantage. Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm with you. I just, it just seems like having those three in the middle. Like, that's where the, as long as you don't get start off down 2-0 or,

you know, O2 or whatever, those middle games have really set the whole series, right? I mean, that's where everything's at. So if you win two of those three middle games, you should win the series. Well, and we just saw that, even though it's unconventional, the Jay's lost the first two at home. They won two of three in Seattle, you know, and set up that momentum for them coming home with Sean Green. So, you know, you mentioned you and Carlos Dogato talking and Alex and, like, how often do, who else would you expect to maybe hear from, you know, between now and, I guess, the end of the World Series?

Yeah, I could see hearing from, you know, Pat Hanken, Darren Fletcher. You know, we had such a great group of guys. And I was briefly on that 93 team, but I was, you know, 20 years old and just got called up. Went 0 for 6 so Joe Carter can get a couple days off, you know, to stay ready. So I actually helped because he might have gotten hurt and not hit that walkoff, you know, World Series winning home runs. So, you know, maybe I deserve the ring that I got. But, yeah, no.

It's always, you never know who's going to pop. I was texting with Kevin Malloy, who's now the visiting clubhouse guy. And it was one of our home guys when I was there. So, Dr. Copeland, he was our team doctor. He still does some stuff for the team. So it's not just players, but it's also, you know, people around the organization. Everyone's excited. You know, the World Series is always, you know, such a great event.

It's not like, I think, some sports, you kind of know, who's going to win or you have a really good idea who's going to win going into the championship series and baseball is you know i think a lot of people think the dodgers are going to win but you just never know in baseball well and you know that 93 team you mentioned you you showed up late got in for a couple of games late that team is what the dodgers are today they were coming off the world series in 92 and when you stepped into that clubhouse could you feel it immediately could you could you you know we always talk about culture and winning culture and championship pedigree, like, did it feel somewhat tangible in a way when you actually showed up and walked

into that clubhouse? It did. I mean, I didn't have a frame of reference coming, you know, from the Meyer leagues and being so young. But, you know, there's just such a level of confidence and professionalism. And then you add late in the season, you had a guy like Ricky Henderson, who was like, you know, people were shocked because it was such a strong lineup already. It's filled with all-stars. Now you get, you know, a shirt.

Hall of Famer coming in to lead off. So, yeah, I mean, I think when you have a team, every team that I've been on, and I haven't, you know, I lost game seven with the Mets to get to the World Series. I've never played in the World Series. But every team I was on that had a rock-solid bullpen, I think, added a level of confidence. And that's how that 93J's team was with Dwayne Ward and Timlin. And, you know, it was just really solid. And, you know, it seems like, you know, both teams have some question marks in the bullpen right now.

So, you know, we always feel like if you can shorten the game to six innings, then you're going to win a lot of games and you have good offense. And that's why I think the teams line up a little bit better than people expect. The Dodgers have kind of have a little bit more of a bring in Sasaki into the bullpen has helped a lot. But that was a weak spot for them. And I think the Js have kind of had, you know, some fits and starts with their bullpen as well throughout the season. So it's going to come down to, you know, what hitters are hot.

And, you know, I don't think either team's going to let pitchers go super deep into the games. Were you there? This is such a random question, but we referenced this all the time and we play the clip. Were you there when Joe Carter prank Derek Bell and brought his car onto the field? Were you there for that? I was not there for that. I think that was 90, that was 92. Okay, that was 90.

So I was, yeah. Yeah, because I think Derek was gone in 93. I could be wrong, but I'm actually getting text from another, from crew chief, another Blue Jays club here and I was watching this or, you know, listening to this right now. Awesome. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, all my, all my Blue Jay homies are coming out.

No, but that was, that's one of the, all. time greatest pranks for sure how busy would the world series be for the players like every organization every family says we want the athlete to be like focused on the task at hand like there must be people crawling out from the weeds saying i need tickets i need this i need that like how busy of a time would it be for the players where you got to tell people like don't even think about asking me for this yeah i i wish i could tell you but never never having played in it and i know the all-star game was was like that for sure you know the playoffs are are pretty tough. I think that's one of the areas where having the experience and the amount

of postseason play that the Dodgers have had is comes, you know, plays to their advantage because they know how to set those boundaries. They know how to compartmentalize the chaos that comes with all this with actually playing the games. And, you know, that sounds trivial, but it's actually a pretty big thing. You know, it's all the other, even like opening day for me, always hated opening day because you have skydivers, you have jets flying over, there's like all the times are changed when you have batting practice. So all those things throw you off your rhythm a little bit. And, you know, the World Series, I'm sure, is that times 20. So, you know, I'm sure the Js are trying to make sure the players are prepared

and can handle and support the guys so they could avoid that as much as possible. But I'm sure that's a challenge for them yeah it will be and again it's something that um the dodgers they got that experience they just collectively all went through it they've been of the world series a lot over the years this is uncharted territory for the blue jays um but we'll see where it goes they got home field it starts friday night he is sean green he somewhat conflicted i guess neutral right now but we'll see how the series plays out neutral right now neutral right now yeah yeah we'll see what happens all right no i mean look the blue jays fans are awesome so you know it's hard not to see them get excited and get another championship.

Well, exactly. I can tell you, as you know, people up here are pretty jacked up. So we'll see how it starts off and we'll see how it plays out. Enjoy it, Sean. Thank you for doing this. All right. Pleasure, guys. Enjoy the series.

You got it. There is Sean Green, former Blue Jay, former Dodger. The biggest songs in the world. You've heard them countless times. Now, learn the details of how they came to be. join ruby car for encore the stories behind the songs you love new interviews and newly unearthed archive footage make for a fascinating weekly deep dive stream encore the stories behind the songs you love on iHeart radio or wherever you get your podcasts