PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs Make MAJOR Broadcast Change as Steve Berthiaume Departs After 14 Seasons

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

A major change for the Arizona Diamondbacks is happening as the team parts ways with longtime television play-by-play announcer Steve Berthiaume after 14 seasons. What’s next for the D-backs broadca...st booth, and why did the organization decide it was time to make a change? Meanwhile, the MLB postseason rolls on, and we’re breaking down everything that happened in the ALDS, including the Rays taking a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Yankees and the White Sox doing the same against the Guardians. We are also discussing the fascinating attendance story around Major League Baseball: league-wide attendance is up, but D-backs attendance went the other direction. What does that say about the state of baseball in Arizona and the relationship between the team and its fan base? And finally, we’re taking a trip back to the Super Nintendo era after a genius on social media updated Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball with modern-day teams and rosters, including the D-backs. Because apparently the only thing missing from 2026 baseball was Corbin Carroll running around a 16-bit Chase Field.BECOME A DIEHARD: gophnx.com/join JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/ACE HVAC: If you are having an AC, Plumbing or electrical issue, call our friends over at ACE: (602) 428-9312 , tell them PHNX sent you, they’ll take great care of you!Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX15 at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesGametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 40% 2+ pairs of off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.Circle K:  Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!New DraftKings customers sign up with code PHNX, spend just five bucks, and get two hundred in rewards within 21 days. That’s code PHNX. In partnership with DraftKings. The Crown Is Yours. Gambling problem? Call one eight hundred NEXT STEP. Twenty-one plus. Arizona only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Fifty dollars in non-withdrawable Bonus Bets issued every seven days via click-to-claim for twenty-one days. Bonus Bets expire seven days after issuance. 1 football Boost per customer. Maximum bet limits and restrictions apply. Tokens expire at the end of the final select game each day when offered. Terms at d k n g dot c o slash offer.  Limited time offer.When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Per Derek Hall, the Arizona Diamondbacks are reevaluating their broadcast, and part of that is not bringing back play-by-play announcer Steve Berthewm. We have more on this announcement and who could possibly replace Steve, plus why now is the time to reevaluate their broadcast. And attendance is up in MLB, but not for the Diamondbacks. We're going to talk about all of this right now. Don't you go anywhere? Another edition of the PHNX Diamondback Show, presented by our friends at Circle K,
Starting point is 00:00:45 it is I your mayor of P. HNX, occasionally known as Garrett Montiia. I'm thrilled to have you guys here. I'm thrilled to be talking a little bit about Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunate news that we have, well, depending on the side of it's unfortunate, but unfortunate news in regards to the changes for the broadcast and unfortunate news for the Diamondbacks attendance this year, but still nothing crazy. And no major news yet in regards to Corbin Burns or any other moves that the Diamondbacks might make this offseason.
Starting point is 00:01:15 But I'm not alone. I have you wonderful people here in the live chat. Bark, bark to you, Gilbert. And of course, bark, bark to Damon, Farrell, aka the bad boy, aka the dog around here. Hello? Happy Tuesday to you, sir. And I hope, I hope that we don't have any unnecessary changes this offseason to
Starting point is 00:01:37 our broadcast booth? The voice here in this broadcast booth, Damon. That would be devastating. It would be. I started covering the Diamondbacks about a half a season before Steve Berthume joined as a play-by-play announcer for this team. So it is weird. It is weird to now have for the first time essentially, I mean, I had like from July until the end of 2012 that I covered this team before Steve Berthian was hired as the play-by-play announcer. And yeah, it's weird now that to think that here in 2027, we will not have Berthume as the guy.
Starting point is 00:02:13 calling the games anymore on TV for this team. The D-BAC's confirmed on Monday that they will not retain Steve Berthume as their television play-by-play announcer, ending his 14-year run with the organization. His contract is expiring, so this is less of a firing and more of just not bringing him back. And Derek Hall told the Arizona Republic that the club felt it was time to, quote, take a step back and reevaluate our broadcasts. Berthium did join ahead of the 2013 season, replacing Darren Sutton, at the time and became the longest tenured TV play-by-play announcer in franchise history.
Starting point is 00:02:48 He spent his entire D-BAC's tenure working primarily alongside Bob Brenley, though he did also work alongside Gonzo and Kandiati and Cole Mentor as well. But Berthume acknowledged that he was both surprised and disappointed by the decision, but his statement was overwhelmingly appreciative for his time here with the Diamondbacks in Arizona. He said he was grateful for the opportunity to connect with DeBax fans over the past 14 years, proud of the work the broadcast group did to improve the production and said he's looking forward to whatever comes next. I will say when it comes to Berthume, I always kind of enjoyed his sense of humor. I enjoyed the way he called games. I really did like his style. I was a fan of his
Starting point is 00:03:31 prior to him coming over and becoming the play-by-play announcer in regards to his work with ESPN. And yeah, I think that if I'm being critical of him, the one thing I, I, think is that and and I can speak to this from experience myself now being entirely too old and having no idea how I got to be 45 years old myself and be doing this for 14 years. It's hard to have that same level of passion sometimes that you had earlier on in your career. And I think that that's the biggest criticism I had. Is that why you've been phoning it in on this show for the better part of the last like you know 16 months 18 months here? That's that's that's a that's a that's a That's wild considering that I've taken my shirt off at least twice over that span, Damon.
Starting point is 00:04:18 That's not phoning it in. That's pure adrenaline and, you know, energy. That's excitement. That's electricity. I don't know. It's just disappointing stuff, Derek. I will say that, again, there's times where I felt like his Tim Hovic comedy bit was more exciting to him than calling the game.
Starting point is 00:04:35 Oh, my God. That was one of the worst things of this entire season. No question about it. That was a disaster. The comedy team of LeVolo and Hovick. All right, man. I will say, though, that again, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's things like that that it was kind of endearing, but also off-putting to some of the audience. I think that his experience as a national guy kind of did show through because I know some people didn't like his lack of feeling like a hometown guy when he called the games.
Starting point is 00:05:06 It didn't feel like he was in favor or biased on the Diamondbacks behalf. I don't know if that's being professional or what that is, but I do think that when you are the hometown broadcaster, people want to feel like you're on their side, on the team's side. You're invested. They want to feel like you're invested in the success and failures of the team in a similar way that the fan base is because you are in a way the voice of the fans. I'll give him a lot of credit. He is unbiased.
Starting point is 00:05:37 Like he can call a game unbiased despite the fact that he is a doctor. I'm a back's broadcaster. And that is something that a lot of national broadcasters can't do. You hear them lean one way or another towards another team. And that is something that Steve was totally able and capable of and good at. And there were a lot of things that he was good at when it came to calling games. I just think, again, the connection with the team and the fans wasn't as strong as you want with your hometown play-by-play announcer. And again, it really is just worth kind of saying that,
Starting point is 00:06:11 you know, it just is more about, I think, wanting a new energy. There's no controversy here. There's no incident that caused this. There's nothing. I mean, again, he's not being fired. It's just the end of his contract. But, you know, I think this is about getting a new voice in here. And that's the question is who replaces him? The most obvious one name is Chris Gargiola. You know, I told Damon when our guy Jason brought up Chris, which appreciate Jason being here today, Jason is, shout out to Jason. He says, what an incredible day. I get a PH&X podcast and master and commander on his trailer drop.
Starting point is 00:06:48 There you go. You have everything you wanted in life, right? I mean, literally a match made in heaven. A day made in heaven. You can't get any better than that. But Jason made a comment about being excited for Chris, even though we don't know if that's the case. And I was surprised to see a lot of people push back on his comment. And I did not know there were people that felt that way about Chris, Gersiola,
Starting point is 00:07:08 and weren't really excited about that. There's also a lot of people that are upset Bert is leaving. There was a lot of people, including my niece Jacqueline, who has known pretty much nothing but Steve Berthew in her lifetime as being a Diamondback's fan. Right. So she's bummed out about it because she feels differently being a younger person that grew up with him, essentially being the voice of this team for her entire time of watching this team. Right.
Starting point is 00:07:34 But, I mean, again, Chris Gereziola still feels like a really good fit. in fact one of the criticisms I saw was that he doesn't describe the game on radio enough well guess what I guess that makes him a great fit for television but he's been the diamondbacks play-by-play voice since Greg Schulte retired after the 2023 season Nick McCoror reported that Gersiola is expected to be among the candidates for this job and then again it's who could potentially replace Chris Gergiola I know my friend Steve Zinsmeister is an amazing voice and he has already the pregame and postgame host over there. So perhaps he would have a shot of that.
Starting point is 00:08:12 Also, Stefan Carey, another friend of ours is another great voice that was part of this Diamondbacks franchise and community at one time in the minor league system. Not sure if he would be interested, but I would love to have him here in the Valley, just throwing that out there in case he's watching. But again, this does create a domino effect of Gargiola does take over the television role and the Diamondbacks need a new radio voice. another name people have thrown around is Mike Faron, and I cannot express enough how much I love Mike Faron.
Starting point is 00:08:42 I also hate him, and he knows it. But I love Mike Faron, and he's an incredible voice and would do an amazing job. We have some great candidates that could fill in here overall, and I think the biggest thing is that someone like Chris brings, I think, the things, in my opinion, that Burtheum was lacking. And again, not to say that I felt like Steve did a bad job, but I do think that Chris has a different level of enthusiasm and connection with this team,
Starting point is 00:09:09 the exact kind of thing that we are kind of looking for as fans from our hometown play-by-play announcer. But the big thing is what makes this such a big deal that we have to cover this as a story? And again, this kind of goes back to when we were talking about the era, this era of Diamondbacks baseball almost being over, had the Diamondbacks decided to replace Tori, which a lot of people find very ironic that they are replacing Steve at the end of his contract and not Tori at the end of his, right? Like, what did the play-by-play announcer do to be replaced versus the manager who a lot of people felt like has, you know, been mediocre, right?
Starting point is 00:09:50 So that didn't sit well with people either, that this is the action that they're taking versus a bigger action that can actually improve the team. But Berthume wasn't just some guy who had the job for a couple of seasons, right? He was the voice of the debacks through their 2017 postseason run, their 2023 World Series run. He has been here the entire Tori Lovallo era. He was there for the transition from regional sports networks over to MLB's local media model. He has experienced in his time here, multiple rebuild and retool cycles. He was there for the end of the Grig Schulte era.
Starting point is 00:10:25 And again, he came to Arizona here as kind of a big name. I mean, I'll say that from the time when he came over. spent 12 years with ESPN as a sports center anchor, baseball tonight host and play-by-play broadcaster for the Sunday night games and for national broadcast before joining the debacks. So again, it was exciting. It was exciting for Bert to come over here and it's sad to see him go, right? But I think the bigger question than who replaces him is why are the Diamondbacks
Starting point is 00:10:52 choosing now to reevaluate their baseball broadcast product, as Derek Hall said. He specifically used the language of reevaluating our broadcast. opens the door to potentially a much larger conversation about what the debacks want their TV product to look like and sound like moving forward. And I don't know how much control they have over that considering the MLB, you know, tie in there. But I do feel like they are kind of open to be able to operate this as they choose to. And this comes immediately after a season in which the organization has already made major decisions about the baseball side of things, including bringing back Tori Lavello, while owner Ken Kendrick is now talking, about reducing the payroll for next season.
Starting point is 00:11:34 So the broader point here is that Ebacks are making decisions about what the next version of this organization looks like and the broadcast booth is apparently part of that conversation. But does that mean that they move on from someone like Bob Brenley? Does that mean that there are other changes that are going to be made? And is this going to be a larger overhaul of their entire TV production as a whole? Gilbert brought up Darren Sutton. You know, there's, there are some,
Starting point is 00:12:04 there are some great names here in the Valley for sure that are connected to this team, currently broadcast for this team, or, you know, could potentially come over here and be a big part of this organization. I will also say that today I saw a thing online about the Philadelphia Phillies potentially offering their GM, Damon,
Starting point is 00:12:28 a lifetime contract. How would you feel about the Arizona Diamondbacks offering Mike Hazen a lifetime contract? Just curious. Damon? Thoughts? Lifetime contract for the GM in any sport? I mean,
Starting point is 00:12:47 of any team? No, I mean, that's pretty tough. They better be like the goat, I feel like, you know? It better be like Pat Riley. Because, like, that's kind of his deal with the heat, you know? And I'm a heat fan, and I'm not mad at that. but that's pat effing riley he has like 10 rings you know like and this is dave dambroowski for the phillies who apparently according to bob nightingale has quite literally never won a thing that
Starting point is 00:13:14 mattered ever i think was what you were going to say there der yeah yeah you accurately filled in the blank there like tell tell dame d'ambroowski to put his his nine championship rings on the table and then we can talk about a lifetime contract that's unbelievable He will receive a contract extension this offseason, and he has, and a lifetime contract has been offered to him. I mean, he hasn't done nearly enough for that. The Phillies are one of the, what, five to ten highest spending teams in the entire sport? It's not as if he's necessarily, like, doing it like the raise are or like a team like that who's, who has a really good system. them and like you want to the system is what makes the team not going out and signing Bryce Harper
Starting point is 00:14:04 and Kyle Schorber to massive mega extensions because I could go do that. You know what I mean? And those guys are aging stars now and the money committed to those guys is long term. There's talk that the Phillies are going to have to possibly move one of those guys just in order to give them financial flexibility to make any more moves. And I guess the only idea there is that we'll take. We'll take either or. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:28 Yeah, yeah. As much as I hate the Phillies, but like, I mean, could you imagine one of those left-handed bats in this lineup? Please. Hazen, please. I think there's as many letters in Schwabber as there are in Diamondbacks? Come on. That's not right.
Starting point is 00:14:43 Anyway, I will say, though, that again, it's weird because I feel like they're moving into a phase where it's going to be difficult for the GM to maneuver. The only thing I feel like that this makes sense about is like, well, you made this mistake this mess so now you have to kind of like stick around to figure out how this is going to run going forward because if we brought in a new gm i don't even know how they would they would even begin to fix this team with the aging contracts that they have and i know you're trying to like grass bat straws here because it doesn't really make sense but that's literally that would quite literally be the dumbest logic i've ever heard a team come up with for why they would keep a coach or a
Starting point is 00:15:20 gm and i know it is he made he made this mess so we're going to make him pick him himself up by his bootstraps and get out of it. You're like, but he sucks. Can you get in someone who's better? I just don't even know. Not that Dave Nimbowski sucks. Right. No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:15:33 But I mean, again, if you're talking about, you're, you're, you're, he's had far more success than Mike Hay's in here, right? I'm not even going to act like that's not the case, right? But at the same time, that team has gone from appearing in the world series to losing of the diamondbacks in the CS to losing two division series rounds and then not making it out of the wild card round this year. They are trending in the opposite direction. and the reason why they're trending in that direction is due to the decisions made by the GM.
Starting point is 00:16:00 Not to say that their team hasn't been good, but... I mean, their starting pitching staff is fantastic. They fired their coach, you know, their manager in the beginning of the year, replaced him, and now they're probably going to fire their manager again or not name him the interim or full-time manager. He's been the interim manager this whole season. They'll probably have a new manager come in. So I don't know.
Starting point is 00:16:21 There's just a lot of things there that when you look at the track record, that that team has they've again had far more success than the diamondbacks but it doesn't feel like they're any closer to winning a world series right now than the debacks are at the very least the debacks don't have gigantic contracts to a bunch of aging superstars that are going to be you know in their mid 40s yeah i mean they're paying tray turner jt ralmuto Kyle Shorber, Bryce Harper, you know, like that's a lot of guys right there who are on huge contracts
Starting point is 00:16:58 and are getting a lot older and fast. And then on the pitching side of things, like I said, like they have Christopher Sanchez, they have Zach Wheeler, they have Jesus Lazzardo, like that's an unbelievable front three that you feel like if you get in a playoff setting, like we would love to go toe to toe with anybody,
Starting point is 00:17:17 but it does feel like the Phillies are, their decline is happening swiftly. And, you know, I know that you say that like they've had far more success than us, but they've gotten to the same spot that we have recently. I know that they've done it. They've made the postseason more often. Yeah. But the length, the, the spot that they got to was where we did, which was runner up.
Starting point is 00:17:40 So they clearly aren't like far exceeding what the Diamondbacks are doing. And they only had a couple of games better record than the debacks this season as, you know, they got the last spot and we were the first team out of the playoffs. So I feel like we're kind of, we're kind of close. Yeah. They just, you know,
Starting point is 00:17:58 they do have star power that we do not have necessarily. And it's up to Mike Hazen to figure out ways to kind of close that gap, I guess. 100%. 100%. And when I was saying earlier about the fact that we've had the past three seasons and the exact same way, I had said like,
Starting point is 00:18:17 if the past three seasons, ended with a wild card round exit, we would feel the exact same way. We would feel frustrated. We would be mad. We would want Tori, people would want Tori fired because they would want something new. Like the level of success you reach changes, you know, the barometer. Not making the playoffs three years in a row, four years in a row like that. Yes, that would have been great. And people should appreciate that. But they probably wouldn't have, especially of every time we made it in the same way, which is barely squeaking in with the final wildcard spot. losing in the first round for these three years, people would have been like, get, get these bums out of here. We need to try something new. And you kind of feel like if the same result was even higher, like, oh, they reached the NLDS three years in a row, but couldn't get past that. People would be like, yeah, I think it's time for a change, right? So, yes, the level that you reach, you know, then brings expectations that that's not going to decline that you're going to go up from there. Again, it's why it's been so disappointing since 23 when we unexpectedly reach the World Series. But then that changed the eye level. For fans and people that cover this organization and root for this organization, they feel like the next logical step was in 24 to win it all.
Starting point is 00:19:30 It was such like a silly way of looking at it though and such like a, you know, A to B type of mentality where it's where it's like it's so much more convoluted than that. What a crazy run we had in the postseason. That was wild. And the goal needs to play their asses off. The goal every year needs to be making the postseason. That is. the chance at the very least.
Starting point is 00:19:49 That is the goal. Yeah. And the Phillies, to be fair, they find ways to make the postseason every year. And then they haven't done anything with it. And I'm sure their fan base would be saying our goal is not to make the postseason. Our goal is to win the World Series. Go far into the postseason and win a world series. And so, yeah, each organization is a little bit different based off circumstances who's on
Starting point is 00:20:10 your team and your expectation level. But I think that the Diamondbacks are right there when it comes to not being, you know, not being super far away from making it. Was that me? I agree. I don't know what happened. I don't know what that was. No, but someone,
Starting point is 00:20:27 someone chimed in and is hacking into our podcast. It did sound like your voice. It was weird. All right, well, we're going to take a break while Damon investigates the voices we're hearing in our heads around here. On the other side of this break, we're going to talk about the yoffs and what is happening in the American League.
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Starting point is 00:23:24 from amazing local company. Well, the yafs are happening, and we don't get to enjoy that. But we do get to enjoy it thanks to being, as you know, this is the CHGO White Sox podcast now. And we are White Sox fans around here. The White Sox can't be stopped. They're not going to be stopped.
Starting point is 00:23:43 Both ALDS series are now 2 and 0, which means we could potentially have an ALS LCS that's comprised of the Rays and the White Sox that they both win game three. And what do we have here? We have Saul Bookman's here with presents. Yeah, Steve is gone. The first time. It might be, he showed up with a bag of gifts for people on behalf of this exciting day.
Starting point is 00:24:12 Yeah, someone's happy Steve. Someone's happy. But, yeah. We're having fun, Damon, watching the White Sox. Are the, are the Raisin' White Sox about to completely flip the American League? This is the fun we can have with baseball when there's parity, right? But see, here's the problem. Here's the looming threat, the Dodgers.
Starting point is 00:24:35 No matter how much fun, because remember how much fun last postseason was with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners and everything else that we had going on? That was a blast, man. And then it got ruined because who won it again, the Dodgers? And I think that's what Sully's the fun of the postseason. Look at how many teams here are in it. You have two, three teams still in it right now that have never won a World Series. And then you have the White Sox that are by far the most exciting fun story in baseball this year. You have the Guardians in it, which the Guardians are just kind of this franchise that has somehow found their way back to, you know, relevance over the last years.
Starting point is 00:25:12 And they've been one of those teams that have made the playoffs time and time again, it feels like. They could potentially get over the hump, but they are down now to nothing to the White Sox. You got the Tampa Bay raise here about to potentially sweep the Yankees. And then meanwhile, on this other side, you have the Braves and the Dodgers, which is tied at 1-1, and the Padres right now that are on the brink of elimination themselves. And they could be eliminated today with that game three happening between the Brewers and the Padres. By the way, the Padres are trying to get into the Brewer's heads pregame. Damon, they were playing elevator music outside while the brewers were warming up.
Starting point is 00:25:54 And I won't lie. That's kind of infuriating. As talking baseball pointed out, it was kind of electric ASMR. It was like electric ASMR for baseball. It was not a bad experience. It was actually very chill. And I don't know if that's going to work the way that the Padres are hoping for it. Really?
Starting point is 00:26:10 I think I would lose my mind if that was happening. See, the Diamondbacks have this thing where they allow the starting pitcher. of the day to choose the playlist in the clubhouse. And when it is Brandon Fotz day, things are very relaxed in the clubhouse. Things are very chill. His playlist is extremely chill. So I don't know. What's he playing? I won't lie. A lot of artists I don't recognize. Oh, you're too old. You're too unk. It's not that. It's not exactly 90s hip-hop. So if it's not 90s hip-hop, I probably don't know the artist. But if it is 90s hip hop, I recognize even the one hit wonders that I'll tell you exactly who they are and when I watched them in concert. But yeah, the Padres fans are losing it.
Starting point is 00:26:55 He says, Jason says Padres fans on social media hate roofs. And I said it. Yeah, they all, in protest, I think they're all going to get rid of their roofs on their homes. But Tampa Bay, again, beat the Yankees five to two. They broke open a one tie there with a four run fifth inning. and you got Aranda and Caminara once again having two hits in each scoring a run. You had Richie Pulasios delivering the biggest blow with a two-run single, and the Yankees just played terrible defense, committing four errors, including three errors, Damon, in the first inning. Ben Rice was the only Yankee that was trying to win this game.
Starting point is 00:27:35 He had two solo home runs, but Ray's reliever Ian Seymour was outstanding, striking out four while just allowing one hit over three innings pitched. So Tampa Bay is now won their first two games, one nothing and five to two, and they are making the Yankees look sloppy in this series. The Yankees have their backs up against the wall now with a series, with game three starting here Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox now have a two-o lead on the Guardians. And Miracami is, I mean, I can't, I couldn't possibly love him anymore,
Starting point is 00:28:11 and then he continues to do stuff that makes me love him more. I might buy a Miracami jersey, Damon. Derek, I hope that would be allowable. No, I've been talking about it. I will allow that because, I don't know, it's just something different about it not being, you know, the Cubs or the Dodgers specifically. I get it.
Starting point is 00:28:30 They're in the American League. We barely ever play them. But I wish the White Sox still had the City Connect Southside jerseys or else I probably would have already bought a Murakami Southside jersey. I'm sure there's a, there's some shop on online that you. you can get that from. Yeah, but I'm at the stage of my life where I'm over fake jerseys. Oh, I'm so over fake jerseys.
Starting point is 00:28:51 I'm only a real fitting poorly colored fake jerseys. And that's no disrespect to anybody that's a fake jersey guy. I used to be a huge fake jersey guy. I had all the fake jerseys. Never cared for a real one. I thought you were a chump if you bought a real one. I bought this one for $25 on eBay and you paid $200 for you. And now I have my pinky up and I'm just, I'm kind of a snob.
Starting point is 00:29:14 at this and I don't know what to tell you like a lot of money but you probably got it at your special secret I did don't tell people that though it's 120999 that's fine anyway um yeah that's definitely something that you're right about I also hate that now I can so readily identify fake jerseys as I like walk the concourse of diamondbacks games fake fake fake fake that one's cool legitimate throwback Randy Johnson one with the teal that's real yeah that's good um but Yeah, the White Sox, again, they just find a way to win, man. They are still undefeated in the postseason here. And that's with Cleveland starter Gavin Williams striking out 11 white socks.
Starting point is 00:29:55 It was an impressive day. They just, they feel like a team of destiny. They feel a little bit like the 23 diamond bags, you know? And I mean, it's, I think it's- They have Tommy Fam. When you have Tommy Fam on your team, people fear you. Did you see that Tommy Fam ball that he hit yesterday, by the way? Did you the John Boy did a great breakdown on it.
Starting point is 00:30:19 It was the only ball this entire season hit 105 or more off the bat with a 30 degree launch angle that wasn't a home run. And it not like not only that, but every other one that was hit at those specific measurements was a home run by about 50 plus feet over the fence. Like it wasn't even remotely close whether or not they were all no doubt home runs. And the wind in Cleveland just pulled that baseball back into the ballpark and, Tommy fam is literally like watching it and he's, they show the video of him and he's like taken off his batting gloves after he got out and he's just staring out into the outfield. And he goes, he's like, he can't believe it. He's like, I've never hit a baseball that hard in my life and it's not been a home run.
Starting point is 00:31:03 Yeah. But just a funny thing. And the White Sox win anyways, which is good to see. Randall Gritchick also played a role in that victory yesterday. So big, all those guys played key roles in the rally, Braden Montgomery, Chase Midroth. And now, again, 2-0 lead. They have a chance to finish the job on Wednesday, and that could be fun to see the White Sox advance.
Starting point is 00:31:26 I don't, I don't know. I don't, the raise in White Sox, that's one of those series that I just want to see. I feel like that's the future of baseball, and I feel like that's, that. I mean, that's what the casuals want to see, but then not the casuals. That's what like the baseball purists want to see.
Starting point is 00:31:45 But nobody, but the casuals don't want to see that. And the, you know, Major League Baseball in particular probably doesn't want to see that. Every single one of those games is going to be on at 2 p.m. our time locally here on one of the TNT channels. You know what I mean? Well, while they put like Dodgers, Padres on like 7 p.m. Yeah, absolutely. Or a full pregame show and all sorts of stuff. I know that's unlikely because the Padres are likely going to lose.
Starting point is 00:32:10 But I was just making out. Let's hope that happens. But anyway. All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break. And speaking of baseball games and watching them, we are going to talk about MLB attendance being up this year. Yay, except for the Diamondbacks, which is down.
Starting point is 00:32:24 Boo. We're going to talk about this on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the pH next Diamondback show. Well, the football season is heating up, and with every week it feels bigger and bigger with Drafking's sportsbook, the number one sportsbook for live betting.
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Starting point is 00:33:48 to return to Phoenix Raceway. October 16th through the 18th. I am returning from a vacation early just so I don't miss any minute of this weekend. That's right. Ho savar. Oh, savar. See, this is the kind of relationship we have now
Starting point is 00:34:05 where he just accurate, he just goes out there and acts like he has been watching racing. Is excited for Phoenix Raceway, the heat of the chase? No, no, no, no, no. You're not doing. You know exactly what you're doing. I'm fired up. You're picking a bad guy.
Starting point is 00:34:20 to get behind. I've been trying to tell the good people that if you want to enjoy the chase out there at Phoenix Raceway, October 16th through the 18th, you need a driver. And that driver's name is Ryan Blaney, right? Fake mustaches, having fun, having a good time. We're not wrecking people and causing havoc and destroying the hopes and dreams of people who are in the playoffs while we are a chump like Damon and his driver, Carson Hosebar, are not in the chase, right? but again, the chase is NASCAR's version of the playoffs, and it is heating up. So do not miss out on the freeway insurance 500,
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Starting point is 00:35:16 that you add on the best. access in all of motorsports, go inside the garages, walk the track, meet the drivers, meet Ryan Blaney, tell Carson Hosevar he's a bad guy, and catch the pre-race concert with Desert Diamond Casino Infield Experience. Do not miss out on all of the action. Secure your seats now at PhoenixRaceway.com. That's phoenixraceway.com. How dare you? How dare you be a pro Carson Hosevar guy? I don't even know. I've always, I told you yesterday on the show. I've been a Carson Hosevar guy for years and years and years.
Starting point is 00:35:49 Before he was even in the professional ranks, when he was on the go-kart track as a kid, I was like, this host of our guy, he's got it in his bag. He's got something special. Well, I'm deciding right now that I'm an Arsenal guy. I don't know. I'm an, I'm Arsenal. The thing is, I know you're in Manchester United, so you can't just switch up like that. Those guys are rivals, by the way, as well. I know, I know, but I wanted to be somebody that was better than you in the stand.
Starting point is 00:36:19 and not someone that's worse. Anyway, well, MLB attendance is up. MLB attendance rose for the regular season for the fourth straight year to 71.75 million fans reaching its highest total since 2017. And a big part of that was a boost from the Tampa Bay Rays who were very good and returned to Tropicana Field
Starting point is 00:36:41 and not only returned Tropicana Field, but with a new kind of revamped, revamped, refurbished Tropicana Field a little bit there. but teams did average a lot of a lot across baseball, a lot of fans. Teams average 29,000 fans per game, which I know the Diamondbacks were nowhere close to that on their average. But 13 teams had increases, 17 teams dropped, and the Diamondbacks are one of those teams that dropped, unfortunately. Tampa Bay did have the biggest increase, obviously, going from Steinbrenner Field last year, home. But five clubs did top
Starting point is 00:37:20 3 million and of course the Dodgers, they increase the White Sox. They had a huge increase in attendance. They rose from 540,000 fans that attended in 2025 and change to nearly 2 million fans in 2026.
Starting point is 00:37:40 See what winning does for attendance? Winning helps. Toronto coming off in AL Penant 25 increased from 488,000 thousand fans in 2024 or excuse me 2025 to 3.3 million fans and Seattle also rose from 345,000
Starting point is 00:37:57 fans to 2.8 million so they were packing out those stadiums for those teams that made it close to the World Series last year and that made a lot of sense. The Mets had the biggest drop they declined
Starting point is 00:38:13 they dropped 472,000 They dropped 472,000 fans. And then the Diamondbacks are in the range that dropped the least amount, but still Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Colorado, and Philadelphia, all experienced decreases of 100,000 to 200,000. Overall, that's no surprise. I do think that the Diamondbacks had a big boost from the 23 season. And I think that when you're talking about three seasons later with no postseason appearances. and not a ton to be excited about, as far as some fans are concerned,
Starting point is 00:38:56 it's understandable for there to be this attrition. I actually think it's less than I expected it to be overall for the Diamondbacks. But I do think that not changing things isn't going to help attendance. I do think that as much as we on this show are in favor of them bringing Tori Lavello back on the two-year deal that they're bringing him back on, I don't think that that's going to help attendance. I do think that the idea of bringing back the same manager who hasn't had what fans feel like is a efficient amount of success over his past 10 years, I don't think that's going to bring people to the ballpark.
Starting point is 00:39:32 I think there'll be some fans that are so off put by it that they, in fact, stop coming. I understand that. I saw some responses in regards to the Steve Berthume firing or not firing. I'm not even going to call firing. Steve Berthiom not being brought back his contract, not being picked back up now that it expired. And the responses, some people responded that they're not going to go to Diamondbacks games anymore.
Starting point is 00:39:55 They're canceling their season tickets. And people are absolutely allowed to feel that way. I don't think that there's any doubt about that. But it does go to show that, you know, in some cases, especially when it comes to attendance over the course of 81 baseball games, 81 home games over a season, you are going to have people that, you know, are going to essentially, like, comments on the condition of your franchise with their money, their decisions are going to be based on, you know, what you do or your decisions. I guess you should say, I should say for the franchise, it's going to dictate if they want to
Starting point is 00:40:31 spend their money on your product or not. One thing the Diamondbacks very much have to figure out is a way to get people to come out and watch this team play baseball. That's it. Coolbro says the ballpark. part being noticeably run down also runs people out, and he's not wrong about that. This stadium situation is growing very tiresome as far as the lease situation and everything that we've been through as far as the public vote to put tax money towards that building.
Starting point is 00:41:03 The Diamondbacks have put their own money into that building to renovate things. Certain things are great. The new scoreboards, great. The ribbon boards, although they are kind of not in the greatest spot. They've helped the experience be more exciting and more fun to be at as well. There's just a lot of infrastructure issues when it comes to that building that they still need to address. And part of it is, yes, cool bro's not wrong. Chase Field does look very run down.
Starting point is 00:41:27 It does feel very rundown. And as time goes on, that's not going to change considering how old that building is. There's only certain things they can do to continue to renovate it. Hopefully it does become a point down the road. and Damon back me up on this. Stadiums can last for long enough that they become endearing again, as long as they're properly cared for and maintained. Oh, for sure.
Starting point is 00:41:54 I mean, the oldest stadiums in the league. Remember when baseball stadiums used to look like this? This place is great. Like there is something to that that Chase Field could potentially kind of figure out there. Yeah. I mean, there's for sure an element of, I think, you know, I'm trying to think of the word for it. Like.
Starting point is 00:42:15 Nistalgia? Yeah, for sure. I think that's a good way of putting it. I mean, when you have something that's older that's been around for a while, people care about it more. At the same time,
Starting point is 00:42:24 it needs to like almost have that classy old feel to it. And I feel like Chase Field is still new enough where it doesn't have that. Right. Right. But it's starting to like feel old and it doesn't have like the classy part about feeling old. It was like, I wouldn't shut up about this. You remember when we came back from Texas,
Starting point is 00:42:45 one of the things I really liked about Globe Life Stadium because it's very similar to Chase Field. One is the natural light being led in by the amount of windows that they have, right? I like that. But the other thing is, is that they brought over a lot of the Texas Rangers history and they put it up everywhere.
Starting point is 00:43:01 And I know we don't have that history, right? I know we don't have that same like, oh, we've been around since like the 70s and look at all these fun old logos we used to use and signs that used to be up. in our ballpark but like there's a way to kind of create a faux back kind of feel there where you know instead of it being more about oh hey remember when the diamondbacks used to have this stuff like create a fake identity of what they would have looked like in the 60s or 70s and put some
Starting point is 00:43:28 stuff like that up around the block of park I mean find find a way to create some sort of identity for that building but more importantly just make it a more pleasant overall experience where the air conditioning works properly. And again, maybe you make some of those changes. Maybe you get rid of those panels that have to be opened in order to let in the light and replace them with some windows. I know people like the panels. I know that's kind of part of Chase Field when they turn open and the roof opens and everything.
Starting point is 00:43:54 But considering how many games we play with that stadium being closed up and the roof closed, I think that more natural light, especially facing north that isn't going to be, you know, sun pouring in and pouring down on people is it would be. would really help open up that ballpark and make it feel a little bit more like a baseball ballpark, right? But overall, yeah, there's there's there's just maintain maintenance things. You know, it's it's the classic thing of like letting your house go, right? I get complimented when people come over. I live in a very small tiny house, but one thing that we try to do is maintain it and fix stuff and, you know, all that kind of thing. And then I have friends that come over and
Starting point is 00:44:35 don't do the same thing with their homes and then, you know, kind of ask me about like, oh, wow, you put like brick up on the wall and you did this. Yeah. Like sometimes it's about maintaining your space. And I think that if the Diamondbacks want it to be a place that people come and spend their money, then they need to figure out a better way to maintain it and a better way to update it. But first they have to figure out this lease situation because it almost feels like we still are not guaranteed that this team is going to stay in Chasefield. and that that that sucks that feels awful i don't like that we're still having that conversation when it comes to this team right but there's a lot of things that they could do to increase attendance and uh cheaper beer prices as i think gilbert suggested is never it's never a bad idea i will say
Starting point is 00:45:24 damon i was kind of shocked to go to a cardinals game and find the prices at a cardinals game to be more reasonable than a diamondbacks game is that Shocking to you. Beer price is lower. That is pretty shocking. Giant concession items to be lower. I mean, there's only,
Starting point is 00:45:40 there's only, what, eight of those games, right? Like, you would think that a football team would charge way more for concessions,
Starting point is 00:45:46 considering you only have eight home games versus the 81 games that a baseball team has. For sure. I think that, you know, the one thing that needs to be said about the D-BACs games
Starting point is 00:45:57 is that if you are looking to save money, you can do so. But there, There's a very like one route that you can take to that. And it's value dogs, value beers. And a lot of people don't like the value dogs because they think they're bad and like undercooked and just bar as hot dogs in general. Not very not not not the most appetizing to some people.
Starting point is 00:46:20 Brand redacted hot dogs. Sure. And then, you know, with the value beer, it's, you know, you get put in a box. You get like one or two options that you can take there. But those are cheap. And those are five dollars. Those are, that's a good price. right for a draft beer.
Starting point is 00:46:34 It's still the same thing though. It's like, yes, but I don't want a little plastic cup of light beer. I'll take that over a tall boy that costs me $20. That's the thing though is like a tall beer at a Cardinals game cost me I think $13. Again, not trying to be comparative, but again, there's far less football games than there are baseball games. You can take the cheap route, but there's not very many options when you do do that. So if you go to a lot of debaX games, you're probably sick and tired of doing that all the time.
Starting point is 00:47:00 And then when you branch out, that's where you start running. into these issues where everything gets to be extremely expensive. And so on the one hand, it's like I appreciate the value offers that the debacks have because a lot of teams don't do similar things. A lot do as well. But yes, it would be nicer if maybe some of, if they could just bring us down to earth a little bit on the prices, we all know that'll never happen, though, because nothing ever gets cheaper.
Starting point is 00:47:27 It only gets more expensive and the world is a disaster. I thought the value hot dogs at Chasefield in general. just the concept of them was one of the best values that could be found. But I'm with Cool Bro. Cool Bro says, yes, we have the worst hot dog sold man. And let's get a different hot dog vendor. I do not, I agree. I do not like the hot dogs.
Starting point is 00:47:45 I didn't enjoy them. Was not having a good time eating the value hot dogs. I went to the concert that I somehow recovered from nicely on Sunday night. Boy, it was, it was, again, eight o'clock start time for Bone Thugs in Harmony and Wu-Tang Clan. I had no business being there. But neither did anyone else who was in the building. I know, you're right. You're right.
Starting point is 00:48:07 And it was past. Can we start this thing at 6 p.m. guys? I mean, aren't we all? Are we doing? Aren't we? Yeah, exactly. Every single,
Starting point is 00:48:14 at least me and every single member of the groups on stage are all in our 40s. So there's no reason. You're telling the guys in bone thugs like, hey, fellas, don't you want to end this thing? Like more around like 9.930. Busy was like, this is the first time I performed with these guys in like 27 years. I'm going to get all of this. Method Man had so much energy. G, Damon, I have no idea how this man still does it as his age.
Starting point is 00:48:36 He's amazing. I've seen Mootang Live. It was great. It was a great time. In Tucson. You know what made it better? $2 hot dogs at Talking Stick. Wow.
Starting point is 00:48:46 $2 hot dogs. Now, what did I think? When I heard $2 hot dogs, I was like, they have to be bad. There's no way that they're not bad. And I saw a guy who got the hamburger combo and proceeded to add on an extra $2 hot dog. Pro move. Pro move. As he walked past me, he had put ketchup and mustard on his hot dog and was eating it. And I had to ask. A, is that the $2 hot dog? First, he said,
Starting point is 00:49:12 Shh, don't say that so loud. Making me look cheap. And he was like, yeah, it's good. Get one. And it's walked away. Was it good? I got two and they were amazing, Damon. Wow, better quality than Jay's field. So much better. They were just real hot dogs. Like, yes, they weren't gigantic. They were like the ones you make at home, basically. But were they terrible? no, they were delicious. And again, that goes back perhaps to the hot dog vendor aspect of things there more. But again, value stuff isn't necessarily like enough to bring people coming back when it's not good or when it's not really like, okay, yeah, I got $5 beer. So what. I mean, I can go one of these places downtown during happy hour and get a $5 beer and it's three times the size of this. Not comparing, but again, we want to get people in the building.
Starting point is 00:49:57 It feels like we're moving in the wrong direction as far as that's concerned. It feels like concessions are getting more expensive. It feels like the tickets are getting more expensive. That's because Derek, and we talk about this all the time, but this is a thing that, like, it's one of my, like, living and dying creeds that I, that I, like, it matters so much to me, but nothing will ever change because this is the country that we live in. And this is how the people that make these moves and make these decisions operate is how can we get as much money out of each individual as possible in one setting? Yeah. And it's like, why not build a fan base? Why not build a rabid group of individuals that will continue to come back over and over and time and time again because your prices are reasonable and they can afford to do so.
Starting point is 00:50:46 Won't you make more money in the long run if you get someone that brings their family to 10 games over the year versus two because bringing two kids and your husband and wife, your partner ends up costing $350. total for the day when it could cost 150 and then you hypothetically could be going to three times as many games over the course of the year. I think that that concept is so lost on the powers that be where it's like you will make more money in the long run. If this fan base gets built up with people that want to go to these games and fill seats because they want to watch Dback's baseball, that's how you end up making money on all your concessions. But don't rob people of every single cent that they can possibly pay you in one sitting because then they won't come back the next time because parking costs them 50 and the meals that they wanted to get their
Starting point is 00:51:42 kids cost them you know $25 per person and the cotton candy costs 12 and it just starts adding up to such an unreasonable amount of money like look at the falcons Derek have you seen their concession prices that Arthur blank charges their fans a burgers like 550 a soda's two dollars. Those are Starliner diner prices. Dude, a beer is like six bucks. The Falcons are like, yeah, we want to have butts in C. You want to have a home field advantage. And we want to have people that can go to every Falcons home game over the course of a season.
Starting point is 00:52:14 And it's just, I just don't get it at all, man. I never will. Never will. Aren't you probably going to spend the same amount that you would have spent if the food was cheaper? Yes. Right? Because you're just going to go get two.
Starting point is 00:52:26 You're going to get two burgers, maybe. Or you're going to go get three beers instead of the one beer you were going to get. Again, I'm not advocating getting smashed at a sporting event. That's another thing I witnessed at Cardinals games. But I will say that, yes, it's a thing that you're more likely to still spend your money in other ways if you're able to save your money on certain things, right? You're able to get free parking. You suddenly feel like there's 30 extra dollars plus in your pocket on any given night, for instance.
Starting point is 00:52:52 So I don't know. I mean, I agree that the idea of building repeat, returning customers feels far more lucrative and far more of a path to success, especially considering how much the players talk about liking, having that building filled. Yeah, whenever it's a big game. You're keeping the home fans away by not making it a pleasant experience.
Starting point is 00:53:14 100%. The fans of the away team are going to come regardless because that's their one chance to come see their team here in Phoenix for those three days. So they're going to come regardless. I mean, Derek, you're preaching to the effing choir over here. It's literally,
Starting point is 00:53:29 It's like we're figuring it out in real time why our stadium is so upside down. 100% for a big series. That is 2AT, the truth. If you're a Guardians fan and they play one series a year in Phoenix, you're coming. You're going to every single game if you're a huge fan of the team, no matter what the prices are, because you can afford it for, you know, three times a year. But when you are a fan of the debacks and they keep making prices so on a, as opposed to, in relation to what cost of living is in your city, which does absolutely matter, I think, into this conversation.
Starting point is 00:54:08 Because, you know, someone that makes New York City money, they come to Chase Field. They're like, this is the cheapest thing in the world. But that doesn't, that's not, that's not a well-adjusted conversation that you're having. We're talking in the context of the cities that you live in and it's just, it doesn't feel like it's the appropriate pricing. to charge Arizonans. And it feels like it's keeping you and holding you back from building a true and, like, passionate fan base that can help you down the road, whether that's in, you know, big games, home field advantage, or giving you more money that you can go spend on better players in the long
Starting point is 00:54:50 run. Like that stuff is, it's so in baseball in particular, more than any other sport because of the salary rules as they are right now and maybe they get changed. But it's such a like you scratch my back, I scratch it two type of situation. And it feels like the debacks are just like fully like, well, we're trying to make as much money on each individual as we can the one time that they go to a game all year. And then they'll never come back for the rest of the year. And then we'll try to get them back for two games next year.
Starting point is 00:55:18 And you're like, okay, well, what about building a fan base? That's what I'm about here. And that's what I feel like has been like my, it's almost my life's mission on this show. producer slash co-host is we are building the D-BACs fan base from the ground up. No more Dodger takeovers. No more Padre takeovers. No more Yankee takeovers. I'm sick and tired of opposing teams.
Starting point is 00:55:39 Opposing fan base is taking over our ballpark. Where do we start with this? We stop doing giveaways that help our opponents fill the park. And we stop, you know, trying to outpriced the EBAX fans. I think that those are great places to start. We built this. None of this was here before we did this. Anyway, we're going to take a quick.
Starting point is 00:55:57 quick break. On the other side of this break, I'm going to talk about the one thing that's giving me joy in life right now. The White Sox? No, it's definitely not fantasy football or driving in traffic. It's this video game mod that we're going to talk about. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the P.H to next Diamondback Show. Well, Ace is Arizona's comfort experts, and you might recognize the name Ace, but they have a brand new look. They are now Ace, cooling, heating, plumbing, and electrical. And what are they here for? They are literally here to help you. They are here to help you with any problem you have. They've been serving Arizona for over 30 years now. They are trusted local experts and they are here to help you when you need it. They are an all-in-one home
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Starting point is 00:57:40 And what was staring right back in me was a glorious six-pack of chestnut sports club beer. Oh, I bet you wanted to crack into it. I wanted to dive right into those bad boys. That's the feeling that I get when I see it at Chestnut Sports Club, because it is a light citrus logger. and being a pretentious IPA drinker, I never thought I would see the day where I'd be so excited to drink a light beer.
Starting point is 00:58:01 It is light because it is the playable beer. It's an Arizona-born logger that people are calling the playable beer because it is there when you want to play 18 holes of golf, maybe throw some frames there bowling or just hanging around the house, doing some barbecueing and watching football. It is the beer for you.
Starting point is 00:58:18 It is a light citrus logger brewed with real lemon zest. It's crisp, it's refreshing, and it actually has flavor. that's my favorite part. I can't stand light beers because of the lack of flavor. I don't want to drink alcoholic water. I want to drink something that tastes good. And not only does Chestnut Sports Club taste great, but it only has 90 calories. It's light enough to enjoy during the game without weighing you down. And you will have that it's actually good moment that I had when you take your
Starting point is 00:58:45 first sip. They of course have already won some awards. They won the best logger in the valley from Phoenix Magazine in the 2026 Best of the Valley Wards and they are available all around the state. You can find it at fries, total wines, AJ's, total wine, AJ's fine foods, sprouts and more or on tap at your favorite restaurants here in the valley. So next time you're at the store out of the town, grab yourself a chestnut sports club, the great tasting light beer you've been looking for. Look for that beautiful green can and welcome to the club. I love being inclusive, Damon.
Starting point is 00:59:19 I love welcoming people to the chestnut sports club. I mean, I don't feel like I'm necessarily in charge of memberships, but I'm a brand ambassador. And my job is to welcome everybody to the Chestnut Sports Club. They have some badass merch too. Oh, they do. I need to get my hands on. I love their merch.
Starting point is 00:59:36 It's honestly going to be priority number one when we get done with this podcast. I'm walking out there. I just, we're having some conversations. I need a delicious beer. I'm thinking about the Sun Devils crew. They're going to be out on Saturday, hanging out, drinking beers. They're going to have a tailgate. They're going to have a tea party.
Starting point is 00:59:51 It's going to be a fun time. I'm not included in it. I'm definitely, once again, Squidward looking out from the vent, but you can join the boys out there at Glen Rosa Bar and Restaurant at Grass Clippings, Rolling Hills Golf Club presented by Kona Big Wave.
Starting point is 01:00:05 The tailgate is free and begins at by the outdoor bar at 5 p.m. And the tea party includes a driving range, Bay beginning at kickoff at 7.30 p.m. Unlimited balls for the entirety of the game. Drink tickets for Kona Big Wave, and you die hard to get 20% off that. Price can also enjoy the Sun Devils crew doing a pregame and postgame show on site.
Starting point is 01:00:26 The link for that event is in our show notes and on our events page over at go phnx.com. The journey just arrived. He's late. It's good to see you, though, better than ever. He's got dad duty to take care of now. So we understand sometimes you have to run on someone else's time. And we appreciate you for being here. But you're here just in time to learn about a person who couldn't be more a combination of everything Damon and I love. There's a genius from Tucson, Arizona, Damon, who also happens to be Puerto Rican. And this man, this genius, went ahead and did something that not everybody is brave enough to. Not everybody has the courage to.
Starting point is 01:01:12 And not everybody gets the proper recognition for. But this man is Nicholas Dalyon. He's a senior reporter for Consumer Reports. Big, big tech guy. But he's also a guy that loves baseball video games as much as we do. And what he did should win awards. He should be acknowledged. He should probably win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Starting point is 01:01:35 He went back and modded the great Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball Video Game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to include modern day teams. current rosters and even current baseball stadiums. You heard me right. Ken Griffey Jr. baseball for SCNS is back. And this man,
Starting point is 01:02:01 uh, inexplicably for free, no payment. No, he didn't, he didn't want the flowers. He didn't want the adulation. He did it for the love of the game.
Starting point is 01:02:12 And when I say the love of the game, I literally mean the love of this video game. Damon, if you wouldn't mind, let's take a look. 1994, young Derek playing this game every single day
Starting point is 01:02:22 until the cartridge literally didn't work anymore. This game now includes all 30 teams, all 30 teams, including your Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona and Tampa Bay join this game
Starting point is 01:02:35 along with the Washington Nationals. All of the modern logos for all 30 teams have been updated in this game, modern names for each team, including again, the nationals are now in there and the,
Starting point is 01:02:46 Cleveland Guardians are in there as well. Miami Marlins. And the Miami Marlins, right? And then again, we got, look at this. Look at this. Look at little digital Geraldo Perdomo, David. Look at Michael Soroka in there for the start. Are you kidding me?
Starting point is 01:03:01 I don't even want to sit here and do this podcast anymore. I'm going to wrap it up just so I can go play this. New uniform. Sedona Red, Navy, and light blue are all in the game. That's right. Sedona Red is an official color now in Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball. I don't know why people spend their time doing these things, right?
Starting point is 01:03:20 It's not their job. He's not selling it. He can't sell it because then he would get in trouble with the people that created the original video game. But you got Aranda hitting home runs. You got Diamondbacks winning the pitching duel there. I just, I cannot. I cannot wait to literally stop doing the show and go play this game. Coolbro says it feels like a free promo.
Starting point is 01:03:39 But let me tell you, it's not. This is just the fact that our beloved Arizona Diamondbacks, Damon, are now in a video game that is from a day where we didn't exist. The journey asks, do they have the Perpientas jerseys? Damon, I'm going to say no, no Perpientas jerseys. But that's all right. We got them in this game. Going back to what I was saying, like, the fact that someone would go out and do this
Starting point is 01:04:05 just for the purpose of doing it, you got to love the internet. You got to love that people still do this stuff. Because I don't feel like it gets acknowledged enough when someone, and just update something for all of us to enjoy in this manner without any financial compensation or anything other than just wanting it to exist for himself. So he made it himself. Michael Dixon said, do you remember that if you sat and waited, the umpire would knock on the screen and say, play the game kid.
Starting point is 01:04:33 Yes, I very much do. Ah, great stuff. Great stuff. So again, shout out to a person who very much is in both of our wheelhouses as far as being from Tucson and also being Puerto Rican. you can head on over to his is a page i think um michael dixon is saying how do you play he is at nicholas de leon on twitter uh and again go over there he has a link to the mod to do all of this stuff and again i think it's all free so uh go get in and play some little digital diamondbacks baseball uh 16 bit style so
Starting point is 01:05:07 anyway we thank you guys so much for your time appreciate you stopping by appreciate that man for his hard work for no reason other than making us all happen be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show at least one of us will. The other person here feels like he needs to take Wednesdays off for some reason. But it's my break from Derek. It is. I mean, honestly, after what he said yesterday about Lechona, I don't think him and I could even be friends anymore. But you can follow me on Twitter and social media. I'm at cap underscore Kman of the K. Damon is at Damon Dog with the DAWG. And as always, we're all Damon's dogs. bark bark our show is at p h and x underscore dbacks but is always all roads lead to at p h and x underscore
Starting point is 01:05:45 sports on twitter instagram and facebook see you guys back here tomorrow until then have a wonderful rest of your tuesday enjoy yourselves and remember kids baseball is fun but it's so much more fun when you know who the new voice of the diamondbacks is going to be

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