OverDrive - Hosmer on the Blue Jays' chase for the ALDS win, Guerrero Jr.'s determination and the Yankees' team perspective

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

Former MLB Infielder and World Series Champion Eric Hosmer joined OverDrive to discuss the Blue Jays' series lead against the Yankees in the ALDS, the batting strength in the series, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s next level, Shane Bieber taking the mound, how the Yankees can bounce back, the Dodgers' commanding lead and more.

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Here's longtime MLB or World Series champ Eric Hosmer back on Overdrive. What's happening, Eric? Not much. I'm excited. I'm excited for the game tonight. I know you guys are excited out there in six. Absolutely. We're jacked for it tonight. I'm curious if you can tell us about what you think the mentality of the Yankees would be showing up tonight. Like how much do they really believe they can still win this series?

Man, I tell you what, well, they're back home. They're back in the Bronx. everybody knows in baseball, you know, weird things can happen in Yankee Stadium. But for me, I think if I'm a Yankee, I'm looking at just trying to get the momentum back any way possible. And I think a shutdown inning from Rodan against the top of that Toronto lineup, and the first inning is huge. And if the Yankees can get on the board in that bottom half, I think that'll get him a little bit of momentum, a little bit of positive energy in that dugout. Because, I mean, when you look at the first two games in Toronto, I heard you guys talking about Vladdy earlier, Vladdy. I mean, he set the tone.

And that big swing, it just seemed like it just took a load of stress off of those guys' shoulders, that whole entire lineup. And they went out and masked after that. And I think that's what the Yankees are looking for when they turn around back here in the Bronx. How much heat you think is on Judge to get something done here? He's a guy that needs to just be the man for the Yankees and get that crowd cooking. So much heat. And him and Vladie are under the same amount of pressure,

and they've played themselves into that type of pressure. I mean, we just saw another season Aaron Judge is probably going to win. the MVP, right around 50-something, 55 home runs, whatever it was, and nobody really cares, man. Everyone's like, what have you done for me now in the postseason? And now when you look at the postseason, he's getting his hits, but he's not hitting for power. And everyone's like, ah, they're meaningless hits. They're not doing, he's not doing much. So these guys have played themselves because they're that good of players into a different amount of pressure. But you know, when you play for the New York Yankees, everybody knows if you're not doing what they

expect you to do, then this is the type of talk that's going to happen. How impressive was the savage performance for you. Oh, man. I tell you what, what was the most impressive thing for me was when Grisham, the leadoff hitter, stepped out of the box, and he just stood right there on the mound and didn't even flinch, man. He got right back in there, ripped the splitter, struck him out, told him to go take a seat, and it was like, if I'm in that Yankees dugout, I'm saying, boys, we just tried to mess with him, throw him off his game a little bit, and this guy didn't even budge, so that was impressive, man. I really was happy for the kid. I don't know him at all,

But to hear him after shout his family out and that type of outing and that type of atmosphere, man, that was impressive to watch. Yeah, body language, like a big part of it. You mentioned that with the Savage where Grisham was trying to throw him off. And Vladdy, when he hit that Grand Slam as well, same thing. You know, it was 2 O'Count, I believe, and he chews on a strike, but he just sat there. And it was almost Juan Soto like. He just sat there and stared at him and said, throw it again, throw it again and see what happens. And he saw what happens.

and like how much of that, you know, factors into the aura that you're talking about. Like the Js have so much confidence right now that is just, it's permeating through the whole group. And a lot of that just appears to be what you're saying. Like they're on their toes and the Yankees are on their heels. Yeah, and it shows. It definitely shows. And like I said, Vladie, he set the tone, like you said, that first swing. It kind of reminded me when Jose Batista hit the ball against Texas and just stood there.

I've seen all the Instagram pictures and all the pictures online. But that's what playoff baseball is all about, man. It's all about getting that momentum and ride it out. And these series, you know, it can happen. The Yankees didn't go out there tonight and dominate, and people can feel like they're right back in the series. So you get the momentum back in your favor, especially at home. That's huge.

And that's certainly what Toronto did, man. That seemed like a hostile environment at the Rogers Center. And it seemed like those guys were feeding off their fans. And it certainly showed through the TV, and it looked like it was an electric factory out there in Toronto. It was. It was amazing down there, both games. in terms of Vladi they just again they can't get them out like they're not even getting deep in accounts

like he's all over them could you see them pitching around him starting tonight or is the rest of the offense so potent right now for the jays that you can't maybe you can't take that approach if you're Aaron Boone going into game three tonight I tell you what if I'm Aaron Boone I'm telling them I cannot let Vladie Jr. beat me I understand he's red hot right now he's also got great numbers off of Rodon. And at the same time, Kirk is back there. Alejandro Kirk is protecting him in the lineup. And I'm fine. If Alejandro Kirk beats me tonight, that's okay. But the way Vladdy's swinging the bat right now and the way he's had, his numbers have been off of Rodon in the past, it just does not seem like it's a good idea. It's a good matchup for Rodan to attack him.

So I would not let him beat me if I was Aaron Boone. And I would be okay with Kirk beating me at the end of the day. And that's just my game plan. And I think if Vladdy Jr. beats him in the Bronx tonight. That's not the smartest move Boone can make. Yeah, I got to believe that's something they're thinking about tonight. Just avoid them all together, at least try to get them off his game to an extent with Eric Hosmer. You look at the first two

pitchers for the Jays, Gosman, and Savage, both through nasty splitters. The splitter for Savage was particularly gross. I mean, they had no idea how to hit it. And now you got Bieber on the mount tonight. He does not obviously throw that pitch. He'll throw, you know,

the four-seem fastball, slider, cutter, what would you expect out of Beaver tonight? Like if you're the Yankees, how excited are you by the idea that you're facing kind of different repertoire of pitches because the splitter in particular just killed them through two games? Yeah, they did.

Like you said, both those guys, north and south guys, you know, heavy velocity at the top with that splitter. Bieber's a guy, I think that Toronto's probably going to want to try and get two times through the lineup and then set their bullpens up from, you know, the fifth inning on to match up. A couple lefties here and there.

righties whoever it is against judge in that high leverage spot but man i tell you what watching those guys and watching that one at bad against judge one at bad first game against gosman i mean judge you rarely see him chase outside the zone and like i said with gosman he's a north south guy you know that fastball's going to be at the top of the zone and he's going to try and throw that splitter down south on top of that so you really want to zone him up and i know judge knows that they like to work him with that fastball high and that three two count gosman threw him a splitter that kind of started low and away and was never a strike. It went just even worse down in the zone,

and he went and chased at it, and you never see Aaron Judge take abats like that. And to me, that just kind of showed me or told me that this is the first time I've really seen number 99 put a little bit more pressure on himself, and I think that's the first time it's shown with that at bat. So hopefully tonight, or not hopefully for you guys, but as a baseball fan, as an Aaron Judge fan,

I'd like to see him kind of get back into his own zone tonight in the Bronx. But I tell you what, man, you can tell he was not the same in those at bats in Toronto, and even in the field that showed a little bit. What do you make of Toronto's relief pitching? I mean, you know, I wouldn't say the Yankees made it at least interesting last game, but they did get to, after the Savage came out, they did get to some of the pitchers after that.

Yeah, I think they're in the same boat, similar boat as the Dodgers. I think they're not really fully confident in their bullpen, at least the bullpen they used throughout the regular season. You're starting to see some of the guys that were starting, making starts for them throughout the year in the bullpen. I know they went to Lauer and a couple other guys as well. So I think now that's kind of the toughest part for Schneider to do is piece together and get creative. And I think this is where you kind of, you really did to use your eyes.

I know they've leaned down heavily analytics in the past. But if you go out there and look at Bieber and Bieber two times through the lineup, if that's what you plan on getting him through and he looks good and his stuff looks good and he's getting some bad swings like the, you know, that judge out bad I was telling you the other night, this is a situation where you got to let your eyes and trust your eyes and let him ride a little bit longer because, you know, they don't really have that shut down guy in the ninth, eighth inning that has proven themselves right now in the postseason. So I think they're going to try and get creative. They've been trying to get creative, but that's, in my opinion, that's not as tough as part as the manager is kind of mixing a match in those pieces down there.

Eric, what's your gut telling you? You think the Yankees get back in this and make it a series, or you think the Blue Jays can show some stones here and get the job done? What's your gut telling you? I know a lot of the, you know, Jeter and the boys on the panel the other day were saying this is over. Like, where's your head at? Man, I tell you what, I want to see a good series, you know, obviously, whoever wins or loses, I'm not really pulling for one way or one team each way. But to me, I'm going to be looking early, man, at that momentum.

Like I said, if Toronto gets out there and scores in that first inning, it's going to be tough for the Yankees to bounce back. And at the same time, for the Yankees, you know, if they can go up and put up a good amount of runs there, win this game tonight, you've got the young kid Cam Schlitter that went out there against Boston and made a name himself and then you you go turn around with whoever it is free to whoever in game three game five that can anything can happen at that point so um i'm looking at that first inning to steal

the momentum but i tell you what man i've been saying it all along the toronto blue jays make you play baseball you know they make you defend your position they they don't give away 90 feet they're going to try and take advantage of an extra 90 feet on the base pass and the yankees you know they have not proven that in a couple years that they can be fundamentally sound defensively or even on the bases. So that's a lot for them to clean up. And, you know, I don't know, man, the way Toronto's feeling right now, if they can go in there and score that first inning, I think it's going to be real tough for the Yankees to bounce back. With Eric Hosmer, how does that apply to the other two O2 series? I mean, Phillies and Cubs chasing it, and at least Chicago's going home, but Philly's

got to fly across the country to L.A. down O2. Do you give either the Cubs or the Phillies a chance of getting back in those series? no i don't man honestly you know you're if you're looking at the philly series aranola has been great but he has been struggling this year he's had a great career in philly that is so he you put him against yamamoto out there in l a road west coast that whole deal that's a tough match up for them and then you look at milwaukee and chicago man there's a lot of you know a lot of hidden i don't know what you call it beef within that series you know council month before the season last year goes to chicago gets the big pay

day. Pat Murphy ends up taking over. He was the former bench coach, actually coach counsel in college at Notre Dame. And at some point in time, during this regular season, you saw both teams get into it at Wrigley after the game, and Murphy was chirping at their dugout over there. So it seems like Milwaukee is kind of living in Chicago's dome right now. And I tell you what, every time they pan over to that Chicago Cubs dugout, counsel's got his hat off scratching his head, and he looks like he needs a cigarette, man. So I think Milwaukee's fully got the mental game over Chicago Cubs right now and I don't see I don't see any of those series really bouncing back and I hate to tell you guys this especially you know out there for my homies in Toronto but

the only chance of a team coming back I think is the Yankees in this O2 series it's gonna be hard it's gonna be hard I don't say that it's gonna be hard but the other two I think the other two teams I don't think they have a chance I really don't yeah I mean that wouldn't that wouldn't be I'm with you and in terms of those other two series and I wonder how Craig counsel's feeling that council was up there right in Milwaukee it was like get me out of here Chicago's calling I'm going to the Cubs

what do you think is running Yeah you can't blame him man He got 8 million He got 8 million reasons why So you can't really blame him But I mean when I look at the players too I mean Contreras hit the home run the other day And he mocks him

With picking up the phone to the bullpen And just hangs it right up So that tells a lot of the story man But I tell you what Pat Murphy's a guy I was actually signed to go to him To play for him at Arizona State and this guy knows how to motivate his players, man. So I know he's using every ounce of motivation

that he can internally with those boys, and it's showing on the field, man, because they are playing with no fear and they're executing everything they want to execute right now. Awesome stuff. Eric, it's always great catching up with you, man. Enjoy the games tonight, and we'll do it again soon. Thank you for this.

All right, likewise, fellas. There he is. Eric Osmer, World Series champ, and longtime MLBier. Seasoned gamer or just video game curious, This Week in Gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games, from basics to beyond. The hottest gaming news, insight and industry leaders, and more weekly.

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