D-backs Year-End Award Winners REVEALED! 4 Players Take Home Top Honors
00:00 Four very deserving Arizona Diamondback players are taking home the year and BBWAA awards. And we have more on why they deserve their flowers, plus a few other guys that we want to give flowers to. Also, the Milwaukee Brewers don't seem to be honoring their timeless ticket promotion. And it's now really a time for this during the World Series. We're talking about all this right now. Don't you go anywhere. Well, it is high noon and you know what that means. Welcome in to another edition of the P.HNXDVACs podcast.
00:39 podcast live from Studio K, presented by our friends at Circle K. It is your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia. Thrilled to be here talking about some Diamondbacks baseball and, of course, some very well-deserved award winners, as well as the Milwaukee Brewers potentially bringing on negative energy before they have even started game one of the world series. But got you guys here. Thanks, thanks for joining us. Of course, I'm not alone.
01:11 I got you wonderful people in the live chat. We got our guy, Noah, on the ones and twos today in lieu of Damon. Hello. Hi. Glad to have you here. Thank you for your help. Also, now that Damon's not here, we're going to potentially discuss at the end of this program who my new co-host is going to be.
01:30 Because there is an, let's just say there's an opening for one person, reserved for one person, and that opening is there until the end of time, quite frankly. But we'll get to that eventually. First, we do have to talk about the Arizona Diamondbacks naming their year-end BBWAA award winners. And of course, there are no real surprises on this list overall. I say that because if you have not seen the honors being run down, Gabriel Moreno was named the Diamondbacks most valuable. player. You had Eduardo Rodriguez being named the Diamondback's most valuable pitcher.
02:12 Brandon Garcia took home the BBWAA rookie of the year award. And the Good Guy Award goes to Catell Marte. No, I kid. It's Kevin Ginkle. But yes, when it comes to recognizing this team's top performers, the Baseball Writers Association of America did not pull, I think, any surprises here with every single deserving award winner here. Gabrielle Moreno, takes home the team's most valuable player honor. It's a major recognition for Moreno who established himself as a key piece of Arizona's long-term core. I don't know if that long-term core is going to involve him being here beyond the end of his contract right now. And it would seem that at this point with seasons like he just had, that Gabby's price is only going to
02:59 get more expensive as time goes on. But his importance goes beyond just his offensive numbers and the fact that he was named or he earned the National League batting title, right? Moreno's work behind the plate and his ability to manage this particular pitching staff through this particular season was significant. You know, I think that that's something that that goes unsaid here as far as Gabby's work behind the plate. We've given him, you know, I guess we've given him a hard time when it comes to, you know, throwing out runners and perhaps his tendency to, you know,
03:36 to not, you know, use ABS challenges at times, but he did still have a very high positive usage percentage as far as ABS goes. And I think the bigger thing is, is what he was able to do catching some of the players that he caught this year, not just the established major leaguers on the roster, not just guys like Michael Soroka
03:58 who joined the rotation this year, but the constant revolving door of pitchers having to catch minor league rookies making their debut like Mitch Brett, right, and Cole Drake. These are things that are not easy to do, especially when you factor in that Gabby also was asked to DH a lot more than I think Tori Lavella wanted to, considering that he is their regular catcher. I'm sure Tori doesn't even want him in a game. He'd prefer that his off days were true off days, but with Gabby's bat being as hot as it was, this year. It's hard to argue that not having them in the lineup every day was, you know, was beneficial to this team and was something that, you know, needed to be needed, was needed,
04:50 I should say, as far as this offense was concerned. This offense was stagnant at times, and it felt like Gabby was the only guy that was able to deliver in big moments consistently throughout the season. But, I mean, it feels like now with this award with the batting title, Moreno is becoming one of the most indispensable players on the debacks. Yet, as far as that young core is concerned, he's the only one the Diamondbacks were unable to lock up to an extension. And credit to Gabby for that, because when you look at it that way,
05:20 Gabby bet on himself that he would continue to improve and that he would continue to, you know, be more valuable to not only this franchise, but potentially another one. So, you know, at this point, There are questions surrounding the team's roster and payroll heading into 2027. But what he did last year, if he can find a way to replicate it or at least come close to replicating it, right? It feels like this team is already in an advantageous position.
05:54 The biggest problem, though, with this season was that even though Gabby took that step forward, guys like Catell, Corvin Carroll, and Geraldo Pridomo all kind of took a step. step backwards. So it feels like, and this goes without saying, this is very obvious point to be making, but if those guys would not have drifted the way that they did, the addition of Gabby emerging offensively like he did this year would have, I mean, that would have been enough for this team to easily have made the postseason, right? So while Gabby did step up, others took, you know, a step back and it remains to be seen if Gabby can maintain this level of performance, this level of production for more than one season.
06:40 Could be very similar to Geraldo Perdomo where he had an MVP caliber season and then regressed because baseball is the way that it is. But again, no surprises at all with most of these awards. Like I said, Gabriel Moreno, obviously the Diamondbacks most valuable player. And if it wasn't going to be Gabby, it was going to be Eduardo Rodriguez. So him being named the Diamondback's most valuable pitcher makes all the sense in the world. He was not only the Diamondbacks most consistent pitcher throughout the entire season. He stayed healthy.
07:10 He was their ace. He found a way to have a resurgence back to some of, you know, his best seasons in Major League Baseball. And it just feels like overall that Eduardo Rodriguez had the exact kind of season, that one genius that hosts this. this show predicted he would have. I believe in Errod, this is no surprise to me at all. So now is the time when I get to brag a little bit more because I don't have much more time. And there's not a lot of time left for me to brag about this, Noah. The 20-26 season is over. There's not very many times where I'm right before the season and I just get to brag throughout
07:52 the season without it ever derailing and then end up at the end still bragging. But it's going to fizzle. So I just have to. have to get mine in while I still can overall. But Erod was tremendous for this team. No surprises there that he was the team's best pitcher, right? Eduardo Rodriguez put up not only outstanding numbers, his best numbers in a Diamondbacks uniform, right? But Erod put up in this season some of the best numbers just overall of his entire career.
08:23 So it's it was an outstanding time for it. It was a needed time for it. And Erod is, as we've said about some other guys, he was the biggest reason why this team was in the playoff race at all at the end. Gabby Moreno and Eduardo Rodriguez, these two guys are it. Right. So it's not surprising at all that they're taking home these year end honors. And again, not only was this Erod's best season in a,
08:57 a Diamondbacks uniform, but like I said, first season he ends up with a sub three ERA. Is he going to be able to give this to the Diamondbacks next season? The hope is yes. The hope is that the changes he made, especially during the World Baseball Classic, continue to yield the results that they've been yielding. But Erod also kind of gassed out a little bit at the end of the season. So that's kind of unfortunate, and it did kind of. feel like at the end he didn't get a chance to really be recognized for his entire body of work
09:33 because just like this team when you come up short a little bit at the end that's kind of where the focus lies more versus on on how incredible he was this season right but Rodriguez's performance is going to be an important part of evaluating what the club already has in place for 2027 the pitching rotation is in such a better position this off season than it was last year, when we didn't even know what their five-man pitching rotation was going to look like with the injuries they had. So the addition of Michael Soroka was great, even though he did spend some time injured. He also was probably the best value the Diamondbacks got out of anybody. It'd be him and Jonathan Loisica, I think, as far as what they paid to bring those guys on.
10:24 onto this team and what they got out of them. I mean, Soroka was putting up numbers that he's putting up with the Atlanta Braves in, in, you know, his first seasons in baseball when he was just a phenom. So I appreciate what he did for this team. And again, as far as a runner up for most valuable pitcher, I would put Soroka up there.
10:45 But this team now has, you know, five starting pitchers for 20, 27, without the addition of bringing Soroka. Quebec and it feels like Erod being as good as he was last year helps you have confidence that that five man pitching rotation that would feature Brandon Fott, Ryan Nelson, obviously Merrill Kelly's still a part of it and Corbin Burns hopefully a full 100% Corbin Burns. You feel like that starting rotation is competitive. And again, a big reason why you feel that is because of the way that Erod performed in 2026. Another pitcher that I absolutely stepped up for this team is Brandon Garcia who earns the rookie of the year honors after emerging as one of the most important pieces of
11:28 the bullpen, aka the Latin Kings. And he as a lefty was a godsend, especially considering the injury to AJ Puck, the re-aggravation by Puck and the fact that the Diamondbacks most likely won't have Puck back in a Diamondbacks uniform. It gives you a left-handed reliever in your pen that was lights out at times. He posted a 1.93. ERA across 51 and a third innings. He had 60 strikeouts and just 11 walks. He also converted all five of his save opportunities and
12:00 recorded 18 holds this season and he established himself as one of the Diamondbacks high leverage options going forward along with Juan Morillo, along with Justin Martinez, who is currently closing games out in the Lidom. So you feel just like
12:16 that Brandon Garcia is possibly the one guy that went from not making the opening day roster to turning any the opportunity he was given when he showed up in May into one of the most successful seasons we had from any rookie right i mean brandon garcia again still a rookie and yet he became indispensable as far as this bullpen was concerned um and he it feels like he is a foundational piece of a young bullpen that could be very good for the diamondbacks for years to come um
12:52 And I mean, it fits the need. They don't have to go out and fill this need with an expensive free agent this offseason. They have an affordable, dependable, left-handed reliever that they feel like can handle pressure in high-leverage moments. Not only that I feel like he can handle it, he's proven that he can handle it. Let me, excuse me, let me correct myself there. He's just an incredibly valuable asset to this team. And honestly, it just goes to show how important. making those trades and having prospects come up and join your team and become productive major
13:30 leaguers is for this particular organization, as it is for many organizations across baseball that don't have the spending power of the top teams in baseball. But again, it just goes to show that you sift through, you find some guys. And again, those guys, every once in a while, one of those trades, one of those prospects that you hit on becomes this, which is, you know, one of your most reliable relief pitchers in your bullpen. And that all happened very suddenly for Brandon Garcia. So it's very, very exciting for him. Last but not least, Kevin Ginkle, the BBWA, good guy, recognizes his professionalism, cooperation with the media and positive presence. I will say that there is no guy in the clubhouse that I personally can attest to that deserves this award
14:20 more than Kevin Ginkle. We all have, like, bad days at work, you know? I come in, I yell at Noah, scream at him, go back and apologize later, tell him, I'm sorry, it was traffic. It just made me upset, and I had to come take it out on somebody, right? Kevin Ginkle's never had a bad day. Kevin, like, I've never seen Kevin Ginkle, frustrated, annoyed with us, annoyed with situations.
14:49 Kevin Ginkle in the clubhouse always has a smile on his face. He's always saying hi. He's always cordial. I mean, and again, there's plenty of players that I, you know, am friendly with, for instance. And Ginkle was on this show and studio. So he is definitely one of those guys. I would classify as that, but it's nothing particular to me.
15:10 It's just the way that Kevin Gingle. Ginkle is with everybody. Even the way that he handled the Cotel Marte's situation was handled with honesty, I mean, being straightforward and professionalism, right? I said that when Kevin Ginkle gave his straightforward answer about how people on this team felt about that Marte situation, I felt like he didn't think he was saying anything controversial or wild at all, that Kevin was simply just stating a fact about, you know, a feeling of disappointment and a feeling of, you know, of the rest of them putting in the work and
15:46 having that incident not really sit right with some people in the clubhouse, right? So overall, it's been an amazing eight seasons that Kevin Ginkle has been a diamond back and he's built a reputation as a dependable member of the bullpen and an electric arm in big moments, especially coming into games with runners on base and having just the worst circumstance a reliever can be thrown into and somehow battling his way through it and out. With Ginkl entering free agency here, there's obviously indications based on his Instagram post that he's not going to be returning to Arizona. And I think that it sucks. I mean, this definitely feels like it's a farewell honor for Kevin, but a deserved one, not just because, he's leaving, not just because he's been here for eight seasons and was a huge part of that
16:40 team that went to the 2023 World Series. But he's just, you know, he's a guy that if he is, if this is the end, he absolutely deserved his flowers. And I don't think that there's another award that's more fitting than Kevin Bingle getting the good guy award. So appreciate you, Gink. And again, I hope that there's some resolution that brings Kevin Ginkle back to this team. But I also understand that this might be time for him to move on and overall might be time for, you know, the team to move on and continue to evolve their bullpen as well. They still have some very young, good arms in Herardo Carrillo and a few other guys that they can look to for next season without needing to really go out and, you know, rearm themselves through
17:28 free agency and spend a lot of money on relievers there, right? But they have more than just Kevin Ginkle, right, that is could potentially not be returning to this bullpen as well. Loisica, aka Johnny Lazzania, he might be another guy that has priced himself out and might be moving on as well. But we have some more flowers to give. We're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to do that. So don't you guys go anywhere. You are watching the P.HNX. Diamondback show. I cannot express enough how much fun I've been having on whatnot and you should be checking it out too. I love whatnot in so many different ways. It took me a minute to fully grasp where everything was and how to utilize everything.
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20:32 I hate goodbye. and I also feel like when I read his comment, I feel like it says ginkled, no. That's how I feel like it says. But it definitely felt like goodbyes when it came to the Diamondback sending out, you know, this communication about their year-end B-B-W-A-A awards. And also just kind of taking us on a little bit of a trip down memory lane for the 26th season, which, you know, you can have conflicted feelings about. I know I do.
21:01 in reading some of the accomplishments that this team made this season, it's kind of baffling how they didn't make the playoffs. I still don't know what a playoff run in an early exit would have felt like. Ultimately, we're looking at a World Series here that features the two top teams in baseball. Top team in the American League, top team in the National League. It's probably how it should be, right? the team that proves itself to be the best over 162 games is able to sustain the playoffs and prove that they are the best of the best to make it to the championship game, right?
21:43 But all that aside, it still feels like looking at a team that had the National League batting champion on it, Gabrielle Moreno taking on the crown with his 311 batting average becoming the first diamond back to ever earn the National League batting crown? I mean, that right there feels like it doesn't make a lot of sense overall, beating Luis Arise and finishing second in the majors to Yordon Alvarez from the Astros. We also had four relievers with sub three ERAs, and the diamond bat, it was the first group of four players to post a sub three RA in a season in team history.
22:31 We've never had that. Remember, we sacrificed, we made a deal with the devil to sacrifice our bullpen for 25 years in exchange to have Randy Johnson come out of it to win a World Series title ourselves. So now that that 25-year curse has ran its course, we finally have some good relievers. in our Latin kings.
22:56 And our Latin kings are Brandon Garcia, Juan Murillo, Jonathan Loisica, and of course, Taylor Clark, the fourth Latin king, Taylor Clark. Brandon Garcia posted the 1.93 ERA. Juan Murillo had a 2.24 ERA in 70 games pitched. Jonathan, aka Johnny Lazzania, had a 2.42 ERA in 67 games, and Taylor Clark posted a 2.93 in 69.
23:23 games. Nice. Usage being a problem there overall. You had Morillo hitting 70 games and plus 70 innings. You had Taylor Clark well over 70 innings pitched. And it came down to, you know, this team needing to lean too heavily on the best relievers throughout the season. It, you know, it, again, it was effective and it worked. And this, this bullpen was very good. But again, as we got close to the end there. It, you could tell this, this bullpen was gassed out, especially guys like Taylor Clark, who were incredibly reliable throughout the season, but, you know, just had himself a few bad outings to end the season because he, like I said, he was well over 70 innings pitched,
24:13 which is a mark you don't typically want to cross with your relief pitchers in a season. But still an outstanding job there. Loisiga and Taylor Clark. both free agents, and I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with Killer Rex here, where if there was one guy that I'm focusing on bringing back from this bullpen, it's Jonathan Loisaga, because he was steady for this team, incredibly steady. And with the fact that he was a non-roster invitee to start the season, I feel like he deserves a bump in salary as a free agent as well.
24:53 So I think that there is part of a culture for a team, for an organization, for a franchise, where you do have to start paying players for doing what they did for you. Maybe not when they're past their prime, maybe not when they're, you know, into that part of their career. And maybe the Diamondbacks have done that too much with guys like Lordus Guriel Jr. and Zach Gallin and Merrill Kelly. but I will say Jonathan Loisaga was incredible for this team this year and he absolutely deserves to be brought back and to be paid in a way where he's kind of repaid a bit for how good he was for this team this year. I know the Diamondbacks need to cut costs and find ways to save money, but when you're talking about a guy that had a 2.2, 2.42 ERA as a non-R.A as a non-R. or invitee in 67 games, give me more lasagna. I want a second helping of lasagna. Give me another square piece of lasagna and make it bigger than the first one. All right.
26:03 Also, I will say that this, you know, again, this this bullpen found a couple of guys like that. Let's not forget Derek Law, who has the best name in the entire possibly MLB. And, and again, they have a solid group of guys returning. So they don't necessarily need to go out and bring Johnny Lazzania back, but man, I think that would be the move. And again, hating to agree with this man over here in the live chat. But I agree that there comes a time where you need to pursue someone like Lwiza go over bringing back Kevin Ginkle just based on feels and nostalgia and how long he has been a part of this franchise. All right, get his comment. I don't want his comment on my screen anymore. I only want to look at his stupid avatar
26:51 which makes me feel back, because now I'm saying I don't want to look at Tori. So he wins, he wins. He wins by getting his way there. Also, Corbyn Carroll's triples three Pete is a first in MLB history. Corby Carroll is the first player in MLB history to lead or tie for most triples in three straight seasons. He became the active triples leader. He doubled up on the rest of the chumps as far as triples were concerned. And again, had himself an incredible season as far as those extra base hits go.
27:18 but this is why this team not making the playoffs. All of this is upsetting and confusing still and something that I still can't really wrap my mind around. Il-Demar Vargas was named the DeBax-Louis-Gonzalez Award winner, which makes all the sense in the world for Vargas. And again, what he was as essentially a utility role player that came in and for the first month of this season was the hottest player in baseball. Somehow. You had Corbyn Carroll and Eduardo Rodriguez being named National League All-Stars this year.
27:55 And then you also had Corbyn Carroll taking home the Roberto Clemente Award nomination for the Diamondbacks and Nolan Aronado, taking home the MLBPA Heart and Hustle Award nomination. And man, when you're talking about the words heart and hustle, I cannot think of another player that deserved it more. just like I was saying about Kevin Ginkle being the good guy, then Nolan Aronado deserving this award, right? I mean, from day one, when we first had our very first media interview with Nolan, he was discussing how he already had sent video over to the Diamondbacks coaching staff to improve his, you know,
28:36 his at-bats, to improve his stance, to improve his swing, to improve anything that they could give him, you know, tips on or start helping him out with. And, you know, he had a resurgence here. He led the team in home runs. And again, he was also the best defender on the field at times. And he did it all as an unk under the unc classification. So give some credit to us old guys sometimes, all right?
29:03 I'm 45. I'm in the best shape of my entire life. Oh, that's all I'm saying. I mean that too. I mean it both weight-wise and physically. I mean, I could drop dead of a heart attack tomorrow. And nobody would be surprised by it at all. but I still feel like I'm in the best physical shape of my life.
29:19 And again, Nolan came here as a guy that essentially was a salary done from the St. Louis Cardinals. And the Diamondbacks did an amazing job of not only bringing him on at an incredibly affordable salary with the Cardinals eating the majority of what was left on his deal, but also helping him become, you know, this, which was one of the most productive players on the field. There's a lot of comparisons to Evan Longoria, but I mean, Evan Longoria, I don't think ever really was this as far as like, you know, being one of the best actual best players on the field, both offensively and defensively at times.
29:59 So again, great stuff by Nolan this season and another big reason why this team came as close as they did to making the playoffs. But unfortunately, those 47 comeback wins and everything else that we've discussed was not enough to get them into the offs. And, you know, again, who knows what would have happened. I think that at least is the key is that we really don't know what would have happened, don't know what kind of, you know, hot streak the Diamondbacks would have been on had they reached the postseason. But it still feels hard right now looking at these two teams and how good they've both been to imagine the Diamondbacks, you know,
30:39 having made it through the brewers to get to the World Series, right? But again, give us a chance. Let us in the dance. Let us see what we can do. But speaking of the brewers, this is insane, Noah. We're going to talk about their timeless ticket debacle and why now is like the worst time any team ever could be bringing this kind of negative energy onto. themselves when they need everything to go the right way, especially in the game of baseball. We're going to talk about it on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching
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33:40 have some really bad timing when it comes to just actions taken by the franchise and things we bring upon ourselves. But I will say, I mean, and I know we haven't been there very many times. But when we are participating in a championship game, I feel like at the very least, Arizona sports teams just mind their piece and cues and try their best to not bring on any kind of negative energy, negative juju, negative any, what do you want to call it? No, I need a name for this that I'm calling it, but it's just, it seems like bad. It's a bad omen.
34:19 It's a bad omen. It's a bad thing because you want the baseball gods to look down upon you, see these two teams that are participating in the World Series, see that both of them are going to potentially win their first one in franchise history and just kind of maybe give you, the edge, you know, if you believe in such things as baseball gods. It's mostly, you know, like Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth and they just, they're like, they're like the, you know, the ghosts from Star Wars, right? But they're in the sky and they look down. They're very judgy. They still like when, you know, you hit batters for flaunting too much and all
35:01 that kind of stuff, right? But the Brewers here being in the World Series, have a little bit of a controversy on their hands with their timeless tickets. And you might have seen this on your timeline. You may have seen some stories about this, but if you aren't familiar, in 2015, the Milwaukee Brewer sold a thousand of these beautiful tickets that you see right here with your name engraved on this, again, timeless ticket. A thousand of them were sold in 2015 for $1,000 a piece.
35:33 This promotion allowed the person who purchased the ticket to redeeming, it for one future Brewer's home game, including postseason games and the World Series. And the team had advertised that these tickets could be used for a game as far into the future as 2050 or even for game seven of the World Series. Now, with Milwaukee reaching their first World Series since 1982, there's hundreds of timeless ticket holders that obviously want to turn in their ticket for a chance to go to the World Series and watch their team in the World Series. The promotion promised that when you went to go buy your ticket with your timeless ticket
36:20 for any game at any point throughout the end of humanity, this ticket was supposed to be good until the end of time when such things as money wasn't even a thing anymore. I mean, there was going to be an argument in 2193 with you using this ticket because money isn't a thing. We're just on a credit system anymore and your credits are in your eye. And now they can't process the ticket because they don't have that technology, right? That's what this promotion was promising. However, fans said that when they went to go redeem their tickets for the World Series, they were only allowed to purchase tickets in the 400 level upper deck section or standing room only.
37:04 which is an insult to anybody my age that I'm going to standing room for a three-hour baseball game. Excuse me? Absolutely not. And again, some ticket holders discovered that better seats appear to be available through the general public ticket sale, which means that the brewers were specifically limiting these timeless ticket holders to the 400 section. And Eric's right. It's a golden ticket. It's literally a golden ticket. the only thing is that instead of finding it inside of a $1 chocolate bar, they had to pay $1,000 for it back in 2015. But it's a good investment.
37:40 It's a sound investment because if you are doing this for the purpose of your team that's never won a World Series one day reaching the promised land, you want to be able to go. And you want to be able to afford it because you have no idea what future ticket prices are going to cost. So a $1,000 investment in 2015 is actually quite a smart thing. Not to mention you got that beautiful actual golden ticket. But there it is again.
38:08 Look at that thing, right? Isn't that awesome? Like I would pay like $200 just for that with my name engraved in it. I don't know. I'm crazy. Noah's looking at me like I'm insane. Maybe like $10. Oh, no.
38:19 No. Come on, man. That's things like solid, what, stainless steel? There's no way it's really gold. Right. But anyway, overall here, it's fans that have waited over 10 years to use this golden ticket. felt they deserved better treatment. And considering the details of the promotion, they're not wrong.
38:40 They didn't really deserve to get regulated to the 400 section or standing room only when the, you know, when the description said you could use it for the best available seat at the time when you're purchasing it. And the Brewer's president of business operations, Rick Schlesinger, Slessinger acknowledged that the operation mishandled the process and said that internal communication errors affected how the team fulfilled these redemption requests. He admitted that the team has failed to live up to the spirit of this promotion
39:12 and apologized to everybody that felt like that they, you know, have been taken advantage of here. So they've given fans another chance. The Brewers announced that eligible fans who redeem their timeless tickets already for those 400 sections. World Series tickets could keep their World Series ticket and retain their original timeless ticket for a future game. And again, this is probably the only right course of action and it feels like probably a good
39:42 correction. There doesn't seem to be any, you know, any more regulations on how this ticket is used in the future. Though it does seem like it says for a future game, like almost off putting it like it might be into the future future, right? Like, yes, yes, yes, we'll give you your timeless ticket back, but you can't use it for this World Series. And we don't know when we'll be back in another one of these.
40:07 But the decision, I think, kind of did make things right, in my opinion, Noah. But I don't know how that decision to relegate people that had purchased a ticket under the stipulations that they had laid out themselves as a franchise thought they could go back and keep them just in the cheap seats, essentially. Yeah, it's, and, uh, I'm looking it up to the owner of the brewers have, has had the controlling stakes since 2004. Right. So this is not something where it's just like, oh, yeah, these guys decided.
40:44 Now we're stuck with it because we bought the team. We're like, oh, we didn't even know about it. Like something like that where it's a carryover, you're like, oh, sorry. Oops. And you're like, maybe a little bit more understanding. But like, this is something where you. you laid the bet. Yeah.
40:59 Yeah. And you just have to make it right. And the fact that you thought that I think it's like the sneaky nature of it. Like the reason why this became a controversy was due to the complaints of those fans. There's only a thousand people that hold these tickets, right? Not to get morbid, but there's probably a good percentage of them that are no longer with us anymore. And then on top of that, you have the fact that not every single one of these people probably all tried to use their golden timeless ticket for game one. So I feel like this is a very.
41:26 small group of individuals that you screwed over here. And again, I mean, luckily they made enough noise for you to correct it, but they were small enough that it might have been very easy to overlook these people and just kind of let them not get what they paid for. A thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend on essentially the promise that at a later time you're going to let me use this thing to redeem it. We all know how stuff works, right? Like we, we all have probably sitting in our house right now, at least one gift card for a store that doesn't exist anymore. That $25 you got for your birthday that one time,
42:07 it's gone. It's gone. It's never getting back. You don't get the thing. The people that spent the money on it don't get their money back. It's gone forever, right? So I feel like $1,000 was a fair price for what they are promising this ticket to be, but only if you honor the deal. And that seems easy. I mean, it does feel like these fans that get both the World Series ticket that they turn their ticket in for and an opportunity to redeem it again do kind of come out on top. But it should have probably never gotten to that point in the first place.
42:40 Like, you probably should have thought this through better overall that someone could potentially have spent $1,000 in 2015 for a ticket to a World Series that now costs somewhere in the $10,000 range, right? 10,000 plus. In fact, let's get into it because I know some people are probably wondering when it comes to this. The price, according to our friends at game time, for game one of the World Series, has skyrocketed to an all-time high for a game one of a World Series. Now, these are obviously not from the box office. these are after market, or these are, you know, from sellers. But ticket prices for game one, the cheapest get in price for game one right now on game time is $2,932,
43:37 which crushes, according to this report, the previous game one record, which was set back in 2016 of the World Series between the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago Cup. You remember that for a very important thing happening for the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 100 years. That price to get in at that point was $1,125. The game one get in price right now on the aftermarket is more than double of that. Nearly $3,000 to get in. So just from that perspective, this was a brilliant move for these people that bought a $1,000, timeless ticket back in 2015 and are able to turn it in for something that is far more costly, right? But I still think that that redemption needed to allow them to open up the tickets,
44:32 the ticket app, go find the best available seat, no matter if it's in row one behind the dugout, row one behind, you know, the backstop right behind home plate. Like it doesn't matter where they should have been able to find. Find a seat and turn that ticket in for that seat and have the price at checkout be $0.00. That's it. That is exactly how this needed to work. And the fact that it doesn't is on the brewers for mishandling this so terribly. What were you going to say no?
45:08 I also, I just want to point out something that I've noticed coming from Michigan, I've been lions, bad franchise. A lot of teams that haven't won. a while. Right. As soon as these bad teams start winning. Yeah. They're like, oh, we're going to make these the most expensive tickets.
45:26 They can't wait to jack the price up, right? Okay. Yeah, you're the Milwaukee Brewers. You're like, we're going to make the most expensive tickets of all time. Screw you. Your team's shit for 40 years. And all of a sudden, you're like, no, this is our only chance. So we're going to make it worth it.
45:41 It's like, how about you just be better? Right. Then you, I don't know. And obviously the, the, the, that makes me upset. The question of. about this World Series as a whole, Noah, is the viewership, right? Is like how are ratings going to be for a Milwaukee Brewers versus Tampa Bay Rays World Series? Now, like, again, we should all love it because this is exactly what baseball should be.
46:06 This is the parody. These are the small market teams being good. It is them being the number one teams. It's a team like the Tampa Bay Rays winning not only the American League East, which is already tough enough to do, but winning the American League as a whole. And same thing with the Milwaukee Brewers. Their division isn't nearly as tough, but they have some tough competition there overall. And they still, you know, finished with a season, you know, or franchise record number
46:31 of wins this past season and were the number one seat overall. So both of these teams deserve their flowers. But you're right. Like, it's kind of crazy to think that Milwaukee Brewers as an organization are going to do all of this. not just the timeless ticket thing controversy but what you're describing
46:51 the essentially the raking the fans over the coals and they're going to do it to their own fans because yes you're going to have dozens of Tampa Bay race fans that fly in for this but that stadium in Milwaukee is going to be filled with rourers fans so the people you're doing it to are your own fans it's your own
47:08 fan base and that's the part that sucks but the problem is is that it's been so long that the people are going to spend they're going to pay for it they're going to they'll pay for it. They'll pay for it for sure. You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. They know that. But the ones who shouldn't be paying for it are the ones that already paid for it back in 2015 when they bought a $1,000 golden ticket. And overall, this just says something about a long-term investment in, you know, in a team overall. Like, again, this pays off for these guys. I think it should pay off overall for these guys. But it's like, am I going to be hesitant in the future to do something like this? Perhaps. I mean, perhaps. I mean, perhaps. I, I,
47:46 am after seeing how this went with Milwaukee and realizing that a promise now is not a promise, you know, 10 years from now in the way that they were intending or the way that they were promising. A lot of promises, a lot of overalls, a lot of words I'm saying multiple times. So I think it's time for me to reset my brain. Let's take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we are going to say goodbye to MLB intentional talk, one of the best shows about baseball and we're going to wonder a little bit about what the hell MLB network is doing. Most importantly, we're going to offer Sierra Santos a seat right next to me on this show. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PH&X Diamondback show. I got to give a shout out to one of the
48:31 greatest beers in all of Arizona, perhaps within the entire United States, because that beer is the chestnut sports club. Have you joined the club yet? Have you? Because if you have, you would be singing its praises in the same way I am. It is an Arizona-born logger that people are calling the playable beer just because how light it is, how crisp it is, and how easy it is to drink when you're doing anything from playing around to golf to barbecuing outside to hanging out with your friends, to be in like these wakadoos that all have their basketball rec league, no matter what. It's a citrus, a light citrus logger brewed with real lemon zest. Again, it's crisp, it's refreshing, and it actually has flavor. And that is something that as an I
49:14 I can attest to. I hate light beers because they taste like water to me. It's not my fault. My taste buds might permanently be damaged by all of the IPAs I've consumed, but that is why chestnut sports club stands out. It is delicious. It actually has flavor and it's only 90 calories, light enough to enjoy during the game without weighing you down and light enough to drink a few of and you don't have to worry about all of those calories. Plus, again, it's delicious. It is a light beer that actually has flavors. So do not miss out on trying this new, wonderful creation. You can grab it at fries, total wine, AJ's finds foods, sprouts, and more. Plus, it's on tap at locations around the valley, including cold beers and cheeseburgers, postino, grass clippings, and
50:00 Cornish pasty next door. So next time you're at the store or out on 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 of course, welcome to the club. And Noah, I got to tell you, I am thrilled that basketball is back because my first love is the NBA and the Phoenix team here we got. I can't tell you how excited I am for their season to start happening here. And with the most NBA player props and a simple, easy-to-use experience, drafting sportsbook gives you more ways to stay connected to every possession. NBA fans, this is it. This is your sign to take another look at drafting sports book, an official sports betting partner of the NBA.
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51:39 More bad takes from Killer Rex in the chat. absolutely. And no, I did not say they taste like water. In fact, they taste like some of the most delicious light, crispy, I guess, I guess a citrus beer that I've ever had. But I, again, I'm an IPA drinker and I'm normally just a snob, I guess, is what most people call me. I'm also a snob about my MLB shows and why it's going to be even harder for me to find a new one now that MLB Network announced yesterday that intentional talk would be ending its run after 16 years. The show will still be on through the World Series and we'll have one final broadcast on November 4th. But it's unfortunate, man.
52:26 I mean, I don't really know what's going on over at MLB Network, but as someone that very much likes to consume baseball content, it feels like that network over there has gone from something that I use. to watch like all day long to a network that I have very little interest in. And the ending of intentional talk, I don't know the reasoning behind it. It seems sudden. Kevin Millar, who has been with the show since its inception in 2011, said on Monday, I got a call a few days ago. I'm still processing. I've cried. I've taken walks. I don't know how to handle it yet. I don't know what the future is going to hold. I don't know. This is all new. and this is all real.
53:12 And again, that part broke my heart watching the trio of hosts of Sierra Santos, Ryan Dempster and Millar struggle there through the opening. I thought it was, you know, it was a bit heartbreaking overall. And I'm very grateful that we have had the opportunity to watch that show, see all those great interviews, see all that great insight. But I don't know what is going to replace it. And I don't know what MLB Network is doing with these decisions. Overall, I just feel like this is, I mean, it's a show that so many people have enjoyed,
53:50 a show that, quite frankly, could have multiple iterations. I mean, the early years featured Chris Rose, who left the show. And I mean, the early years of MLB Network at least 10 years ago was much more content that you're finding than you're finding now, right? I guess I'm grateful that you guys are here. I'm grateful that, again, the MLB network fumbling that show and ending that show after 16 seasons, hopefully just means that more people are seeking out other baseball content. And selfishly, I am hoping that they find their way here.
54:27 And I'm hoping that at the very least, if there's anybody out there that used to watch that show regularly can, you know, come here and find, you know, some solace and find a new place to talk about baseball with us, especially if you're a Diamondbacks fan, but even if you're not a Diamondbacks fan, we welcome you here and we're happy to have you. More importantly, though, since Damon isn't here, I feel very okay with saying that this seat next to me is open for Sierra Santos anytime she wants it. Money is no object because I'm not the one that's going to be providing said money, but I'm doing this completely without the approval of ESPO or anybody here in this office.
55:15 I'm just straight up offering Sierra Santos a job on this show. You have an open job. Hold on. I got a microphone. Another microphone. I got a second microphone right here. That's for you. I'll get my crap off the desk.
55:30 I'll move all my stuff around. We'll change the directions, the decor. We'll do everything. The show will have a new format. I literally don't care. But again, I know I probably should have been running this past several people. Damon included, since he's not here, though, I'm just, I feel actually free, more free than I ever would feel to put this offer out there.
55:54 So, again, if as much as I love the entire crew, I need Sierra Santos on my television screen in some way. and if offering her a position to come here and co-hosts with me and eventually kick me out and just usurp the show and make it hers, I'm all on board with it. I'm literally on board for anything, as long as it involves Sierra Santos. But yeah, that's pretty good. All right, Killarex is fine. I'll stop something. But overall, it's more of the fact that I think that once again, if you are a fan of sports, it's becoming a bit harder to find enjoyable programs that cover the sport you watch. So shout out overall to all of the people out there that, you know, are going to miss intentional talk. And I just wanted to say I'm one of you. I definitely think that, again, especially when it comes to getting, you know, our players on that show. It was always a pleasure. It was always a joy. And it always brought out a different side of them. One that, again, we local beat reporters, if that's what you want to, the pool you want to throw me into,
57:02 can't always get you know they we can't always bring out that side of those players that that particular show was excellent at at bringing out in interviews and and um you know pregame stuff all the time so uh intentional talk you will be missed melb network i have no damn idea what you're doing and yeah let's just hope that um we can we can get some more good baseball content out there shout out to john boy our friends over at john boy for uh picking up to slack quite a bit when it comes to that baseball content. Glad they are in our lives for sure. But I am glad you guys are in our lives. We thank you so much. Tito Man. Thank you so much Tito Man for the super chat. Tito, I think, caught the show for the first time today, live. So great to have you here. And again, we are always
57:51 open to any feedback as far as when shows work for everybody. I'm always down to do a later show or move things around, especially considering we're here in the off season. But speaking of the World Series and our schedule, we are going to be doing some watch-alongs, Damon and I, so make sure to join us for that during the World Series. And more importantly, make sure you come back here tomorrow at 12 p.m. We will be here once again talking about throwback Thursday and reminiscing about some good times from 2023. So until then, you can follow me on social. I am at cap underscore caveman with a K. Noah is at Noah Wolbrick, but he wants you not to follow him or acknowledge his existence on social media at all.
58:30 That would be what he would prefer. Our show is at PHNX underscore DBAX, but as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore Sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Appreciate you guys. Michael says PHNXDbacks greater than John Boy.
58:45 Love that. Love that. I'm not trying to, look, I'm not trying to cause problems here at all, but I love that. Thank you so much, Michael. Appreciate you all. Thank you again for your time.
58:54 It's your most valuable commodity. So, as always, we can't thank you enough for sharing some of it with us. We'll be back here at 12 p.m. tomorrow, so make sure to join us for that. But until then, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your Wednesday. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it is so much more fun when you give the players that earned it their flowers.
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