The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Tony's Infamous Head Nod (feat. Adnan Virk)

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

"Cops can be wrong sometimes." Tony regales the crew with a story involving his father-in-law, a seatbelt, and DEFINITELY not a fanny pack. Zas, Izzy, and Mike pick up the TV show talk. And on this week's episode of The Pitch Clock, Chris and Jeremy stumble upon one of the most electric moments in show history as Adnan Virk joins Jeremy as our MLB Analyst. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Look, every football game is a grind, and if you're like Dan and the crew, you know there's no such thing as one size fits all. Your sleep should be just as custom as coach's game plan. That's where sleep number comes in. You get to call your own plays. Softer, firmer, cooler, warmer, your side, your comfort, change it whenever you want. No more feeling stuck like a busted play. And for all the late night fights over the thermostat, climate series cools up 20 times faster than the competition. True temp betting kicks heat and humidity to the sidelines so you can.

actually stay chill all night long. Bottom line, sleep number is like having a sleep coach in your corner, adjusting to you all night because your best game starts with the right rest. Why choose a sleep number smart bed? So you can sleep just the way that you like. The only bed that lets you make each side firmer or softer whenever you like. Your sleep number setting. Sleep number's biggest sale of the year is here.

All beds on sale. Up to 50% off the limited edition smart bed, limited time, exclusively at a sleep number store near you. Sleep number, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL, see store or sleepnumber.com for details. This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stucats podcast. So, Tony, why are you getting pulled over when you're not even driving? It was the most insane thing of all time. Respect to all the boys in blue and ladies in blue and doing a great job, right?

The issue is, you're good. I was on the turnpike, thank you. Someone had to say it. Someone had to say it. Nobody said it, I had to say it. It's good, though, because Israel's a big supporter of the North Miami Police Department. Right, but this was more down south, so not in the same jurisdiction, obviously. It was actually state troopers, so I don't know where their jurisdiction lands as far as the support.

The entire state. Because they're not in blue, right? They're in a back area. They're a step up. They're always friendly. Not super. So, we're driving down. It's my father-in-law driving the car, me and then my nephew in the back seat.

We're going down and pick up some food. We're on the turnpike heading south. Love a good father-in-law chat. Yeah, so we're just hanging out. You're in the front seat, just talking life. Three generations. Exactly right. Just doing our thing, just hanging out.

Kids watching something in the back. Me and the old man are talking about stocks and bonds and that kind of thing, right? My father-in-law always wants me to buy silver. Not cold, huh? Silver, he's a big silver guy. Yeah, those conversations on a bit of an uptick lately. So we're driving, and I look over to my right, and I see a car got kind of close to like the window and I look over and it's a state trooper so I kind of look over and

kind of give him a head nod lower the window thumbs up no doing great didn't even just just kind of look I'm gonna do it to where's my camera it's that one right here right so I look over then that's it just so it's suspicious right a head nod all the sudden he slows down you blow a kiss at me all of a sudden he slows down hits the lights out of nowhere so my father was like what is this about him I don't know I just looked at him I don't know so he pulls up He gets behind us, right? Walks into the, walks up to the front, knocks on the window. My father-in-law...

He said, pull over. We can't pull over any further. Sorry. Literally. So he looks in, and he's like, license of registration. And my father-in-law's like, yeah, like, we were going into the speed limit. Like, I don't know what the issue is like, what's up? He's fighting back.

No, just just asking because he's like, why'd you pull this over? You'd shut your mouth if you knew what was good for you. Now, did he witness the head nod or... Did my father-in-law or did the cop? Father-in-law. The follow-in-law didn't see the headnone. So he had no idea what was going on. So he had no idea what's going on. Right.

So on all of a sudden... Now, you wouldn't have given the head nod to anyone but the state trooper. Like, if you make eye contact with the car next to you, you're not given a head-knon. No, no, no. Unless they're looking at me and then I could actually kind of give a head-knit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you lock eyes, sometimes that happens. You have to do it.

You have to look at them? If I lock eyes, I'm mortified. Yeah. Miata. So I kind of just give them the head-knit-knob, whatever. So State Trooper walks up, says license registration. I get the registration. in the license, he goes, no, no, no, sir. His.

Wow. And I look over and I'm like, I'm like me. Are they even allowed to ask you? I'm like, me? He's like, yeah, you weren't wearing your seatbelt. Literally wearing my seatbelt. I'm like, I wasn't wearing my seatbelt? Sir, I'm wearing my seatbelt. And he goes, you argued

with them? Not an argument. Just the obvious. I'm wearing my seatbelt. If he says you're not wearing your seatbelt, you're not wearing your seatbelt, Tony. Just leave it alone. You have the ability, I think, in that in that instance to be like, no, I was. I'm physically literally wearing. You're a liar.

Also, do you need a license to be a passenger? No, no, it's insane. So he takes my license, takes the registration of the car. That's not mine. It's my father-in-law. I don't know what he was doing with that one. This has not come back to you. Took it back to the car.

He's there for like three or four minutes. And what's the conversation like with you with your father-in-law? And we're like, this is the most insane. Like, am I being punked? Is your father-in-law skeptical? Like, did you just put it on? No, he knew that I had it on. Did you turn around to your nephew at one point, say, when we give the word, you run.

I told him, watch this. This is life. This is real life. Things like this happen. Cops can be wrong sometimes. So you got a ticket? That's okay. You got a ticket?

No, hell no. So what happened was he brings the thing back around on my side, tells me to lower the window. I lower it. But you know how sometimes cars, it takes a second for it to kind of like go down. So it kind of stays up and then goes down. Drops my ID in there, lets it fall on the floor. And then walks back. And I'm like, okay.

So I told my father-in-law, let's not move just in case this guy tries to pull some funny business. He gets back in the car. So I think he's doing something radioing back to whomever. Did he say anything? They're always radioing. Didn't say anything. Describe him. Just there's just there on the back of the computer, whatever.

We got a 14-94. Exactly. So I'm like, the last thing we need is for us to pull away and then him to stop us again saying, I didn't tell you to leave. And then somehow you get out of the car, you're coming with me. The perp wasn't wearing a seatbelt. We got a 187 over here. Wow. You know what that means.

1-8-7. 1-8-7. It's dangerous. Murder death kill. He loves it. Murder death kill. So he gets on the speaker. You can leave now.

And then we just pulled up and walked away. He was embarrassed. He was embarrassed to walk back. It was insane. It was insane because I told, I literally, I'm going through the window like this. I'm like, sir, I'm literally wearing the seatbelt. Head out the window is a power move. No, no, no.

But this is across my father-in-law, who's in the middle. I get what you're saying. So the guy's there, and he's like, yeah. And I'm like, yeah. I'm wearing it right now. And he's like, oh. okay and then just let us go but it was have you ever been pulled over not driving for something that you did do but he said you didn't do i've been pulled over before just for speeding and then

somebody in my car didn't have the seatbelt on so the cop walked up and ended up just giving them a ticket for not having their seatbelt on tony what do you think happened there do you think he went back to the car and then realize shit did i see that wrong did he have for sure all the whole time and then he's got pissed off damn it he had to have because it's like the most like like innocuous thing like no no sir that guy's ID let me have it it's like what are you running me for like a warrant or something you should have asked him it's like so if i didn't acknowledge you with a head nod would i still be getting a ticket here because i feel like that's the only reason he looked at you yeah would you have stopped me if i didn't give him the head nod maybe the sea was a little low maybe he didn't see it but here's

the kicker there's a kicker this is why i know this guy was full of shit all right are you ready I had this bag on on top of the seat belt so not only did I have those seat belt on but I had this thing on double strap well how we described this for the audience

this is a sleeve bag like a bag across my shirt that's a fanny yeah it's a fanny pack it's like a chest fanny he's trying to call it something different to make a cooler he took a fanny pack and threw it across

it's a cross body bag people do this these days this is not a tony solo thing but it's a fanny it's a cross body bag But essentially, if you were looking at Tony, you would think he's wearing two seatbelts. Exactly. I have two criss-crossing seatbelts.

No one has more seatbelts than Tony. Thank you. And then this guy said, I didn't have any. And I was like, buddy, what are you doing? Also, he's like, do you have guns in that bag? And I was like, honestly, I think the head nod, I think he's like, something's up with this guy. Right. Let's see what's what.

And then he. Saluting the cop? And then he walked over, and he's like, I got nothing. Seat belt. Don't do it. Any guns? I don't salute a cop. I mean, wouldn't someone who acknowledges a police officer,

be someone who is not doing anything wrong. But I'm telling you, he's painting this as just a head nod. There was probably something suspicious going on with that look. I mean, if you got that heroin under the car seat, you're not giving the head nod to the stage. You're like looking awkwardly straight. Like, don't look at him. No, I don't know. I think you do actually if you have the heroin, right?

Really? You got to play cool. So you have to act like you don't have the heroin. Yeah. Yeah. I think everything's cool. I think the seat belt violation was so outdated because cars these days are so obnoxious with the sounds that you make. One time I was in an Uber and that was out of town somewhere and I thought the dude was deaf because the entire time it's beep, beep. And I'm like, are you crazy? Like what is happening? You just go and like and drive this way the entire time and it was a 20 minute drive. The beeping the entire time. I don't understand it. The dude was clearly insane. I'm working on the suey's right now and Dan admitted in Revelations this year that he didn't wear a seatbelt in his life until 2002. That's a little bit.

crazy because like in the major accident who was it was it was a Derek Thomas there was some big in the early 2000 yep he claims that he never in his life wore seatbelt until that there was a stretch where sorry Mike there was a stretch where the seatbelts would just come on automatically as soon as you close the door that was

kind of cool it's kind of wild for Dan to be like Princess died nope we're not at that Jerome Brown that was even earlier right not the typical poor several accidents before that one yeah Toti I fide I don't know not there yet though

Derek Thomas. That's the one. I get in so much trouble if the state trooper catches the heroin under your car seat. And he didn't catch the heroin under the seat, so bad on him. But the point is, I always usually, you know, people in service cars, right? You got the cops, you got the firefighters, the ambulance drivers. You got them a little head knot. Thank you.

All right, but you got out unscathed. Got it unscathed, but it was like... Were you shook like, was one of those? Wow, I can't believe that just happened. Yeah, I was like, how dare he? I was wearing two seatbelts. But you weren't scared. No, I wasn't scared.

But like, it was just more of like, how do you tell me that I... It's annoying. Didn't do something when I am literally doing the thing that you told me I wasn't doing. Two Americas, am I right, Roy? Three Americas, actually. Did father-in-law suddenly have some questions? Like, wait a second. Why is Tony getting the attention from the police?

He's not doing anything. I think he'd probably questioned you a little bit more. A lot of questions being asked, my nephew, what happened? And I'm like, buddy, sometimes cops are wrong. And that's okay. You got to respect them. But sometimes they could be wrong. They make a mistake.

Look, every football game is a grind. and if you're like Dan and the crew, you know there's no such thing as one size fits all. Your sleep should be just as custom as coach's game plan. That's where sleep number comes in. You get to call your own plays. Softer, firmer, cooler, warmer, your side, your comfort, change it whenever you want. No more feeling stuck like a busted play. And for all the late night fights over the thermostat,

climate series cools up 20 times faster than the competition. True temp betting kicks heat and humidity to the sidelines so you can actually stay chill all night long. line, sleep number is like having a sleep coach in your corner, adjusting to you all night, because your best game starts with the right rest. Why choose a sleep number smart bed? So you can sleep just the way that you like. The only bed that lets you make each side firmer or softer whenever you like. Your sleep number setting. Sleep number's biggest sale of the year is here. All beds on sale. Up to 50% off the limited edition smart bed, limited

time exclusively at a sleep number store near you. Sleep number, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL. See store or sleep number.com for details. You start off thinking your little day-to-day purchases don't mean much. A coffee here, take out there, no big deal. Until one day your credit score is out here looking like a struggling batting average, the Mendoza line. That's why something like Chime makes sense.

If you're trying to get your credit together without dropping through hoops, head to chime.com slash Dan. With the Chime Credit Build a secure Visa credit card, folks can build credit using money they already have. No credit check, no annual fees, no interest, just regular spending. and on-time payment. Simple as that. And it's not just a card.

You also get credit tracking tools, personalized tips, and automatic credit reporting to help you stay on top of it without overthinking everything. If I had something like this earlier, let's just say things might have looked a little cleaner on paper.

Make everyday purchases count with Chime's secured credit builder Visa credit card. Get started today at chime.com slash D-A-N. Chime, feels like progress. The Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card is issued by the Bank N-A or Stribe Bank N-A. Chime checking account required to apply.

Money added to credit builder will be held in your secured deposit account is collateral. And is your credit-builder cards available to spend amount. This is money you can use to pay off your monthly charges. Out of network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score. Results may vary. Go to time.com slash disclosures for details.

UFC 319 hit Chicago for the first time in six years. Bet the card with Traff King Sportsbook, the official sports betting partner of the UFC. New customers bet just five bucks. Get $200 in bonus bets instantly. We've got a banger of a main event. We've got Drikas Duplice versus Hamza Chimayev for the middleweight world title. It's going to be crazy. Don't miss out on any of the action at UFC 319.

Download the Drafking Sportsbook app now and use code Dan. That's code Dan for new customers to get 200 bucks in bonus bets instantly when you bet just five bucks only on Draft Kings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-Hop-N-Y or text Hope & Y in 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for Problem Gambling. Call 888-78-7-77 or visit ccpg.org.

Please play responsibly. Hill Casino and Resorting Kansas. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction, void in Ontario. Bonus bets expires seven days after issuance. Four additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio.

Don Lebertard. To us residents. Oh, wow. That's pretty good. I think I haven't been practicing? Stugats. I didn't realize we had a substitute complicated legacy.

Brought to buy a headquarter of Toyota. 441 and Powerline Road. second out of nine this is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugats Mike I brought up yesterday a couple of shows

that I'm into on TV right now I'm watching the bear I'm finishing the bear season four I love it I know you don't Oh can I ask you a question on the TV shows that you're watching Did you finish your boardwalk empire rewatch

No, it's not rewatch. I've never seen it before. So did you get to the season two finale? I think I'm early in season three, so yeah. So you stuck with it? Yeah, what was so bad with the season two finale? Are you guys remembering correctly? I don't want to ruin it for him. Isn't that where the big thing happened?

Be careful, I don't think he saw. Does something big happen at the end of the season? Jimmy Dommer? Yes, yes, yes, yes. He takes out so-and-so. Bad news for you. Never recovers from that. Oh, really?

Yeah. I was bummed when he's up. I'm like, wow, that's probably my favorite character on the show. No, it was everybody's favorite character on the show. It was the only guy with, like, a redeeming quality. Why did they do that? The guy with the glasses, though, come soon. Yeah. That guy was cool. He's going to be, what? You're

telling me that he's getting killed soon? No, no, no, not killed. Oh, is that guy already there? The guy was like the, the face. Honestly, the end of season two, end of season two, watching Boardwalk Empire was as bummed as I've ever been about a character's... Yeah, I didn't expect it.

You know, that, that, I was just... Why did they kill him off? This guy, he had such... Great hair. Mine was happy to get more two, my wife. You know what I do find interesting about the show is like some characters are made up and some characters are real. Yeah. Love that. Like the characters who are real, is any of what happens in the show real? Like, based on true story?

Or just, hey, let's use the real character. We're going to do whatever we want. Creative license a little bit. You can piece some things together. Wow. So I'm sticking with it. I mean, I'm early in season three. Best of luck to you. I couldn't. But you're telling me the first couple seasons are best. You know what? I finished it off. Good show. Let's talk about this. Love a scotch. That's what I'm talking.

It doesn't matter what time of day either. This is what happened to the Walking Dead. Well, a couple of things happened to the Walking Dead. Walking Dead is the first time I have ever bailed on a show that I once liked. I couldn't do it anymore. First season was great. Of Walking Dead? Yes.

The first few seasons are great. Yeah, but then they did the thing that Boardwalk Empire did, which is like, you know, they kept pushing it and it took over pop culture when some beloved characters, you know, they bet the dust. And then there was that one episode where a lot of characters bit the dust and one character in particular, which is like, whoa, we love this guy too much. And that's like the moment in time where people were kind of done with that in terms of being a pop culture phenomenon. And it's just like every episode, it's the same thing. I get it. There's zombies trying to stay alive. It was just on too long.

It clearly had a jump to shark moment. Gray's Anatomy did. Is that show still going on? It's like 20-something years. That show with me, they had one episode. They started singing everything. I'm out. I immediately stopped watching. So what were you saying? I'm sorry.

Well, I was asking about your re-watching, but I think you were headed down the path of some new shows that are out there, which is Alien Earth. Yeah, so I brought up how Alien Earth, Stugat. That just came out. The first two episodes came out. It's coming out every single week, and it's the alien universe if you didn't get the hint. It's called Alien Earth. Be stupid if you don't understand.

But right before, you know, right before Ripley is like in the U.S. universe. So this series takes place before the movie Alien. I believe two years before Ripley is shot out into space. Now I haven't seen it yet. I think I'm going to start it tonight. My younger son wants to watch it with me. I think we're going to watch the first two episodes tonight. But you watched last night. I loved it because I love this franchise. Me too. One of the greatest sci-fi, really one of the greatest movie franchises ever. And I was reinvigorated with it because Alien Romulus, I think is so good. We covered that last year. My favorite movie. I'm

I'm not saying best, but my favorite movie of last year was Alien Romulus, and it got me right back into this universe, and I was so excited for Alien Earth. And good cast, I watched the first episode, but now aliens getting to that part, and it wasn't really always like this with the alien. You had Xenomorce, and you had Ripley, and you kind of knew what was what. But Romulus started tapping into the lore, the Waylon Utani stuff, and now you have this shared universe with the Predator franchise. Is that canon? It would, yeah, because the new predator... You know what canon is Israel? That's a great question.

I do not. I've been wanting to ask Mike this question a lot. People throw that thing around. Then I just use context clues to figure it out. So Alien versus Predator, those two standalone films, not canon. Not a part of the alien earth. The lore. But there is...

Canon means official. Right. Ah, so just official. But you have to keep in mind, there is a new predetermin. movie coming out in which the Predator is a hero for the first time. It's on like the Predator's Planet, right? And he is teamed up. Home court advantage?

He's teamed up with a synthetic from the Wayland Utani Corporation, which is, of course, the corporation behind all these missions in deep space in the alien franchise. So I'm in on this. I like that alien now has a lure, but it is a little confusing. And part of it is, like, I can't, like, it would have been all right i gave it two and a half at a five for the first episode i hear episode two is great i'm in on this i'm still going to watch it i love the artistic direction that they took with it it looks like it's in of the time of alien

so like all the haircuts still makes sense i'm sure at some point we'll find out why all the buttons are analog that far into the future and we don't have like these super fancy hologram dashes and whatnot but there's so much lore now with his alien franies You know what lore is Israel? Yes, that one I know. I do know that one. Do you want to know a show that Tony and I have been watching? We've been hot on.

Well, hold on, Mike. I was very clearly in the middle of something. I mean, my bad. My bad, he asked me a question. Alien hurt. He asked you what if you know what lore is. Yeah, it's just a simple one. We're going to boomerang it back.

Kitty L.A. son. My wife was asking me too many questions. Oh, that's it. Wow. Man. She does that all the time. And I don't know, man. I've never been.

one to watch shows by myself, but honestly, shut the hell up. You can just say that to me, too, by the way. You can go and re-watch the franchise, if you'd like. So now I'm just sending IG reels that kind of just encapsulate everything that she wants you to catch her up. And my daughter does the same thing, too, because we're doing a Spider-Man re-watch. Because I wanted to get the payoff of the most recent Spider-Man movie where all the Spider-Men come together and fight, like, all the villains.

What a moment. You tell her to shut the hell up? Yeah. Really? Yeah, because she watched Spider-Man 3, which is one of the worst superhero movies of all time. And she, to be fair, it was what I was thinking the first time I saw that movie, which is, where's Venom? She asked that every five minutes. Is that Venom?

Yeah, he'll be Venom. Where the heck is Venom? I understand, but we don't need articulate. Just watch. You're missing important plot points here. Let's pretend like we're both watching it for the first time. That's another thing. It's bad enough when it's something that we've seen before I'm getting questions.

If I'm watching for the first time, I don't know. have the answers. I'm trying to follow along just like you are. And since you won't shut up, I can't find the answers. Is that the end? Back to you, Izzy. But are you looking for that spot, though, as a father where you get to pass something along and explain it to your child?

I would love to, and I was doing a hell of a lot of explaining. How's the matter with you? I'm like, yes, the core problem with this third sequel is that Venom doesn't show up, and then he's massively underwhelming. We don't need to keep covering this. So underwhelming. Back to you. Who is he?

Sorry. Thank you. This show that Tony I have been watching, Hard Nyes. Good show. Good show. It's got better? Well, we didn't watch the first. That first episode was a bore.

Second one, the writers were on their shit. They were almost on like, it's almost sunny levels. It was this one part where they were showing the five-star resort that they're at and they're just like play White Lotus music. And I'm like, wow, look at that. That's so smart. And I'm like, oh, that's why they're doing it. Nope.

Cut immediately to Mike White. Backup quarterback, who's also. the creator of White Lotus. I was like, that's good. You guys. Kitchy. Oh, I see what they did. You see what they did. All right, that's not getting me to watch, though. No, no, just a little clever writing like that doesn't do it for you. Josh Allen telling you Mike White's got zip on his ball doesn't get you going?

No. What about Frank Gore's kid? Oh, man. That guy hits it like his old man, North and South. North and South. Brandon Bean said that high at a time, yeah. High at top when they were playing the Giants. Reeling me in with this nonsense on hard knocks. Wait, wait, I got it for you.

I got it for you. They start off by saying no team has better storylines. Overcome injuries. Overcome cancer. Overcome death. You win. Let's go to pitch clock. Colgate Total is more than just your favorite toothpaste.

It's dedicated to advancing oral health. The new Colgate Total Active Prevention System features a reformulated toothpaste, innovative toothbrush, and a refreshing anti-bacterial mouthwash all designed to work together to fight the root cause of common oral health issues such as gingivitis,

plaque, and tartar. Use the full routine twice daily and be dentist ready. Shop the Colgate Total Active Prevention System now at walmart.com. Don Lebertard. Can I tell you something? I don't know, it was maybe like a month ago.

And I decided to watch pitch clock and I told Jeremy Stugats. This is a good show. you're doing? This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stoogads. Welcome to the pitch clock. Here's the pitch. A two-part baseball segment combining a nostalgic baseball trivia game and an interview with an expert. This is the pitch clock. The pitch clock. It's back. Hi, everybody. Couldn't be more excited to be back with you guys. We're

here in August. Things are really heating up and major. League Baseball. We'll get to Adnan and Verk in just a moment as our 2025 MOB expert. Hopefully you are watching this on YouTube, on our YouTube playlist. If you are just listening, you can go watch every single one of these episodes on the Levitart Show YouTube page on a specific playlist for the pitch clock. Go watch all of them. Taylor, now deliver our game. The game I saw, this was inspired by J.M. Baseball, the John Boy Media guys. It's categories where it's based around a letter and every correct.

is worth the number of points you guess. We'll do three rounds. The highest score at the end of the three rounds wins. The game's category for all three rounds is going to be career war, with each of you coming up with five names per round. First round will be players that start with a C. So come up with five players that names start with a C. What are names that start with C? I don't know any names that start with C. God, I don't feel true. The thing is, it's just striking upon a first name, where I'm like, oh, that's a first name. No, that's exactly right. I'm just trying to think of actual names.

Make this seem like this took less time. Two hours later. All right. I've got five because we have to end this at some point. Got it. Got five. All right. All right.

Chris, if you have any of the same, just say it. And then that'll be easier. All right. Chris Carpenter. Have it. Chris Carpenter's career war that you both will get is 34.2. Pretty good one, I think. Carlton Fisk.

Carlton Fiske, career war, 68.4. And that'll do it. Carl Yostremski. Oh, my God. All right, I give up. Don't give up. How did I just think of? You have one there.

All I thought of Carl Everett. How do I think of Carl Evert and not Carl Estremsky? Carl Yistremski is going to be... I thought of two Carl's, not Yistramski. The top C name in terms of war, 96.4. Yeah, baby. We could just end this right now. 96.4.

Two more rounds. There's two more rounds after this, too. I have on top of this, this one's for you, Taylor, Chuck Knoblock. Chuck Knoblock, sneaky good career war, 44.6. Wow. And then I added this one just simply because I figured, he might have compiled over the years. Charlie Huff. Charlie Huff's career war is 38.4.

Yeah, better than Chris Carpenter. Interesting. Yeah, just because he played a thousand years. So, Chris, you had Chris Carpenter. You also had Carl Everett, right? Yeah. Carl Everett's Career War. 24. 20.4. Yep. Wow. Wow. That is really close. I'll give you the other Carl. Carl Povano. No. You're not gonna love the Carl Pavano answer.

16.4. 16.4. No way. No way. What was that? No way. You didn't look it up. That happened for real.

What in the world is going on? I said 24, but it was 20.4. What's the . Four for Carl Everett. It was 20.4. What is happening? Oh, I'm gonna keep cooking here. All right, 16.4.

Now this is the new game. Can Chris just hit right on the head? What was that? All right. I feel good about this. Ready? All right. Next one.

Carlos Delgado. I think his war is 36.8. You're going to be off on this one. 44.4. Wow. 44.4. I just figured it's a first basement. Yeah.

D.H. You wouldn't get as much. That means he was a pretty amazing interview. Who's the last one? Carlos Correa. Oh, that's a good one. It's no. It's not a long enough career yet.

It's not Carlton Fisk or Carly Stremsky. Well, Carlos Correa, 45.0. He won that one. We can move on. And now it's time to get to our 2025 Major League Baseball expert, as I presently have a 1-0 lead over Chris in our trivia game. It's Adnan Verk, our most consistent guest here on the pitch clock. He's also a consistent guest on the hockey show, but I know he likes us better.

I'm not going to deny it. I know he likes us better. Adnan, it's great to have you here. Jeremy, it's great to see you. I'm thrilled to you and Roy for keeping me alive right now in the Metalark family. MLB drew nearly 1.6 million fans over the weekend to games. That's the most for an August weekend in 10 years since 2015. So let's play a game here.

Big deal, not a big deal, Adnan. I think it's a big deal, Jeremy. Honestly, it's been a couple of years and the baseball has been enjoying this resurgence. And a part of this says absolutely full credit to Commissioner Manfred with regards to pitch timer. It's absolutely revolutionized the game. No one's going to complain now, 305, 310. These games are two in a hook. It's been a really particularly strong year for the sport.

There's a few reasons for that. One of them is that big market clubs are really good. It's important to have Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, all seriously competitive and really good teams. But you've also got smaller cities who are having strong years. The podgers are second in attendance right now. It's been a competitive year as well. The American League, there's no prohibitive favorite, even in the nationally. We thought it would be all Dodgers.

It has to been. The Brewers have the best record in baseball. That's a great story. They just packed in 40,000. They've had seven straight sellouts. Pat Murphy says a lot of us have ever heard that crowd. They just had serious flooding the Milwaukee area. People still show up there.

So I'm with you, man. This is bona fide success as we head into players weekend, which is always fun. The combination of the pitch clock and also that third wild card has made it so that you have quick games and more teams competing. You know, we were just talking before we started recording about the Marlins' potential wild card hopes, which we will get into in just a second here. But when we were talking about that, right, that series with the Yankees, reason that you have back-to-back sellouts, yes, there's a ton of Yankee fans there, but you also have some Marlins fans who were motivated to get out there and see a team who was

hot that actually all of a sudden was playing their way back into a playoff conversation, which would never be the case if it was just the one wild card. So a couple of great moves to keep things competitive, to keep things interesting all across the country throughout this year. There's really only five or six teams that by this point of the year have nothing to play for, and that's something that's really exciting. as hot as the Marlins were, one of the hottest teams over the last six weeks or so has been the Cleveland Guardians. And I looked up the numbers. Back on July 6th, they were 40 and 48,

they were 15 and a half games back at Detroit, six and a half back of a wildcard spot. Since then, they're 21 and 8 and are just six and a half back of Detroit, one game back of a wild card spot. How did they do this? And as these two teams are, about to play game three of their series that is happening right now that we don't know what the results of yet the guardians and the marlins which is more likely an al central win for the guardians who are six and a half back of the tigers or a no wild card spot for the marlins who are six games back of the meds well listen i don't want to no just be honest i don't we sleep with the fishes here but i can't see the marlins making the playoffs i get it

there's no question about it of those two i would take cleveland winning Jose Ramirez is always a great player. We got that. The one that has really stood up more than anyone is Kyle Manzardo. I looked at his numbers over the stretch. He's hitting like 360. He's slugging 490 over that stretch. He's been unbelievable.

They always need a Robin to the Batman that is Jose Ramirez. And Manzardo's been that guy for Cleveland. He's been awesome. Secondly, their bullpen's been amazing. Over the last three games, they have the best bullpen in the American League. They've been absolutely lights out. And the third reason, which is the biggest reason, easy schedule. Going to the All-Star break, they had the easiest schedule

in all of baseball. So I think honestly, for Cleveland, it's a great story. I don't disparage them. I'm shocked. It's only six-napp games back. Considering hard back they were. But they've really taken full advantage

of feeble competition. And it's a bullpen men's order and, of course, the great host here are mirrors. The wheel has landed on the letter M. Hmm. Hmm. Oh, I'm cooking right now, dude.

Yeah, I feel like I'm just trying to slow myself down and not, I'm trying not to go too fast. Don't you be looking over here. I'm not. looking don't you look at mine come on think of old like a legend i mean i trust me don't worry i got the one you got all right yeah i know you did i am going if i don't win this one i have the five best ms in the history of baseball there's no this is a crossed out and then there's a first name mike piazza i'm not even going to say right oh he's on yours oh that's good you enjoy that one

because i got five better oh okay so oh so you you just crossed out yeah mike piazza is just like not good enough for this list wow how is that even all right yeah i guess we'll find out together Jeremy, reveal your list? You want me to reveal? Okay. Mark McGuire. What? No, I don't have him, but I'm still very confident.

Mark McGuire's career war. It's not going to be a crazy war. 62.2. Sorry. You have Piazza, right? He doesn't. He crossed it up, but I do. I have Piazza.

I have Piazza. Mike Piazza's career war, 59.6. This is, you're done. You love where you're at right now, Chris. I mean, this is a pretty. amazing. Mark Grace. Yeah. Mark Grace.

Mark Grace. Make this. Mark Grace is going to make this. Let's. I really, I can't wait to know what yours are. Mark Grace's career war, 46.4. I mean, cute. He's Carlos Correa.

You'll like this, you'll like this one. Movon. Oh, dude. That's not a good one. I am taking your lunch. Now I feel better about Chris. Does it help? Does it help that I am taking your sad turkey sandwich?

your sad turkey sandwich. Yeah, my sad turkey sandwich. Did it help that I replaced Mike Cameron with Movon? Movon's career war, 27.1. Better than I thought. Matt Holliday. 44.4. All right.

Let me just rattle off my five names, and I guarantee you guys won't have to look it up. You'll just be like, okay, he wins. I mean, it's fine. All right. Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Miguel Cabrera, Mariano Rivera, and Manny Ramirez. Okay. Those are all pretty good.

We're going to go through the scores that Chris Cody gave. All right. Mike Schmidt's probably my worst one. I bet he's great. Schmidt or Piazza was like who I was

decided. Schmidt's a great. So Mickey Mantle first off the bat, 16th all time in career war. He was going to say 1,600 and like something like

1.10.3. That's crazy considering he had a shortened career. Mike Schmidt 18th all time on career war. 106.9.

Okay. And then I had Miguel Cabrera. Miguel Cabrera's career war, 67.2. That's honestly surprisingly. Yeah. Mariano Rivera and Manny. Manny Ramirez's career war, 69.3.

Then Mario Rivera for a closer, kind of ridiculous. 56.3. Let's wipe our hands of that one and move on to the third. I want to move on now, Adnan, to a conversation that we, We had not you and I, but myself and David Sampson coming into the second half of the year because he predicted ultimately that the World Series would be between the Dodgers and the Red Sox. And now here, over the last month, month and a half, the Red Sox have been one of the very best teams in baseball led by guys like Roman Anthony, who's been a really awesome story.

But the Dodgers have been kind of mediocre. Which of these two teams in their recent play has your antenna up more? the way the Red Sox are playing well or the way the Dodgers really haven't? Well, I think the Red Sox are a genuinely good story and it's amazing. That dexterous trade happens and I'm thinking of myself, Jeremy, okay, they just trade their best offensive player. Like they're going to be around 500.

They'll let the kids play. It'll be an important transition year. Maybe they'll contend next year the year after that. No. Instead, Roman Anthony blossoms into the star we all think he's going to be $130 million extension and their offense is genuinely robust. Now, I wouldn't be quite as bullish as Samson as far as a world's prediction. I don't love their starting

pitching enough after Curret Crochet. Bayo's been pretty good. But at the deadline, you trade for Stephen Matt's in Dust and May. That's not enough for me come playoff time. But certainly a good story. And I do think they're going to be a playoff team. And right now that that first wildcard, huge series, by the way, coming up with the Yankees. I do think the Dodgers, they're sleeping giant in some ways, Jeremy.

Because now Glass Now's back. He's a 182 ERA this year. Are they not the team we expected? Sure. Like Otati's still great. 41 home runs. OPS over 1,000. Freddie Freeman could win a batting title at 305.

But Mookiee bets OPS down 200 points. where it's been in the past. He has been better lately. He had a really good series against the Blue Jays. Hopefully he turns a corner. But to have Mookie at a sub-700 OPS is pretty stunning. Let's talk about superstars for a second because it's time for our golden era star of the week. And I want to highlight two different guys out in the A.L. West because these are two really

interesting conversations, Adnan. First, there's Carlos Correa, who was having an okay season, you know, pretty solid. And now it goes back to the Astros and has been lighting the world on fire offensively since returning to Houston. You could choose him to highlight, or you could look at former Marlin and seemingly everything else, Nathan Evaldi, who a lot of folks don't realize he had a pretty rough start on Monday night where he gave up five earned runs. That ballooned his ERA to 1.71. The guy started 20 games this year, and he has a 171 ERA. It's insane with the Texas Rangers.

Him and Jacob de Grom leading that rotation. And Adnan, between Nathan Evaldi and Carlos Correa, who do you want to highlight as our star of the week? I got to talk both, you're both phenomenal stories. You know, Correa's are my favorite guys to talk to. He's very charismatic. He's well-spoken. He understands analytics, understands the game. I've always rooted for him.

I love those big moments, his flash with the Astros. He goes to the Twins. The Contra just hasn't worked out, right? I looked at his batting averages. Around part where I'd normally is at 267. The fact he was willing to make the move, though, say, I'll go to third base. No problem. Pain is a short, stuff.

I want to go back to Houston. It could not have worked up better. hitting 405 and nine games going into Monday night's game. It's awesome to see him revitalized and rejuvenated. Good Carlos Gray is good for the game of baseball. And it just seems so much more comfortable there in Houston and back with the Crawford boxes. So I wish him nothing but the best. But I'm with you on Evaldi.

All along I kept thinking, Scoobal is going to win the Cy Young and Skeens will win the Cy Young. And I love Zach Wheeler. He's always the bridesmaid. And look at Nathan Evaldi. Big game, Nate, 138 ERA going into that start. As you said, gives it five runs, balloons to 171. It says been unbelievable. going into last night start with six innings shy of qualifying for the ERA title.

He's now just one inning shy, so he'll be in the mix there now. I think he's so underappreciated, Jeremy. I remember being at that World Series in 2023. There's a reason why he's big game, Nate. He's always great under pressure. And, you know, he's kind of like the Jose Ramirez of a starting pitchers. No one talks about it. This is a two-time Tommy John guy who's having a scintillating season.

I'm with you, band. Big Game Nate is awesome. It's so cool to see for a guy who has really stepped up in special moments all the time. Another guy who steps up in special moments, that's Adnan and Verk. And he joined us here on the pitch clock. But we'll see. It's tied 1-1 right now. We'll see who wins ultimately between Chris and myself in this game that Taylor put together pretty much just to torture me.

Please buy my book. Send a file. Available August 26. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. Support Adnan. That supports all of us.

Thanks, Adnan. The deciding game are. Boom. Cooking. I love the silence. They're absolutely dialed in right now. I'm just trying to make sure that I've gone through all the Arnames. I have four ones I feel really good about.

There's got to be like a legend. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to think of. That's what I'm trying to think of. Got it! Baby, we got it. Five names? I'm trying to debate right now. Man, I feel good once again.

I have six, and I'm trying to. to get rid of one. I have four and a half Hall of Famers. Wow. All right. And the half is because I, because he did steroids. So he's probably not going to get it. All right. So you're done? Yeah. Yeah, me too. All right. I have that same one for sure. Yeah. Okay. So we'll release with the first five I wrote down. This time we'll go one by one. And if you, if Jeremy, you say name that Chris has, Chris, you could just say I have. Okay. So at the top of my list, first name, Randy Johnson. Got it. Baby, I got it.

101.1. It's Ricky Henderson. Yep, have that too. Ricky Henderson's career war, 14th all-time, 111.2. All right, so I'll go here. Ryan Braun. I have it. All right.

You both have Ryan Braun. Yeah. Ryan Braun's career war, 47.2. Did your next name Wag a finger? I don't know. I don't think so. Interesting. This could be...

The Kimbe Matumbo? I know who he's talking about. Raphael Pomero. Yeah, that's mine. No, that's not mine. Interesting. I feel good about this. All right, who do you got?

I have Roger Clemens. Oh, fuck me. So you have Roger Clements? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, you're going to win. Roger Clements. I'm saving my absolute legend for the end. You won.

Roger Clemens has got to be way up there. Roger Clemens' career war, 139.2. No! I'm gonna go Raphael Pomero. Yeah, that was gonna. Not even close. You're not gonna hate it, 71.9. That sucks.

Chris Cody, fifth name. Roberto Clemente. That's another one I'm gonna shoot myself on the foot on. Roberto Clemente's career war, 25th all time. 95.0. Jeremy, what was your fifth name? My last one, RIP, Ryan Sandberg. Not a bad guess.

84th all time, 68.0.