The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: Friendship Day

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

Is it time the show has its own Friendship Day? David Samson sticks around to share his thoughts on the Barbie Oscar Nominations controversy and the WWE-Netflix contract. Then, we discuss creating Greg Cote's Garage Sale through E-Bayyyyyyyy as he cleans out his old office of stuff he refuses to throw away. Greg explains why he holds onto artifacts from his past as the crew encourages him to sell off his 1967 Encyclopedia, Super Bowl Credentials, and more. Plus, should the steroid taint have kept Gary Sheffield out of the Hall of Fame? Should Joe Mauer have been a first ballot Hall of Famer? Can Dan and Chris squat in a catcher's position? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to DraftKings Network. Welcome to the Big Sui, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not gonna apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants

just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys. I've done it. And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, that face and the habitual liar. Every damn day, my kid's school has some other new event. Something this time it's Friendship Day.

And the other day was like it's 100 day, everyone dress up like you're 100 years old. Or dress up like it was 100 years ago. And I'm like just let them go to school, do classes, go. Sounds like my experience here at work. Your anti-friendship day. I'm just like, why do we have themes? Just let them go to school.

Yesterday it's 80s. Greg, did you have that with Chris? No, I don't recall any friendship day. I'm not anti-friendship, don't get me wrong. It sounds like this whole show is sounding anti-friendship right now. It seems so profluous to have specialty days when your intention is to learn how to read and write and arithmetic. And have friendship and learn how to be friends.

That's really the real reason for school at the beginning is social interactions. We all need friendship. I checked in with the commission, the grid. I'm like, I need to dress up. They're like, you're done with punishments. I'm like, I don't care. There's so much pressure here. So you're complaining about this

because you're getting another text. Put it on the poll, please, dude, you at LeBatard Show. Have you ever heard of anyone being anti-friendship day? They just send too many emails. They just send too many emails, and I'm inundated with all these little PTO events, and they're taking over the internet, and they're taking over, like, a Papa John.

I'm like, I don't, just tell me their grades. Give me their grades, tell me how they're doing in their classes, and we can move on. What do you have to do on Friendship Day? Do they have to dress up for that? I don't understand. I did not even read the email because I was so frustrated and disgusted.

All right, do you want to read it? That's because Jeremy's suggesting in my ear and he's not wrong and he said it in such a sweet, syrupy voice, we should do a friendship day. And I'm wondering what would that look like? We should spend a day just being really nice to each other. I feel like all of us could use a culture reset,

a culture reset, sort of like bringing in Terry Rosear, and everybody's just nice to each other for a little bit. Loser. I agree, let's start with everyone saying something nice to each other all at the same time. Three, two, one. May 91, how long? May 91, how long?

May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long?

May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? May 91, how long? I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I streamed forever. I think this is the first of the big deals that's coming our way, changing just about everything that we've experienced in terms of sports broadcasting. Well, I'd like to propose that the deal with WWE is actually an ancillary deal. In addition to Monday Night Raw,

they really have the rights to exploit the story of WWE as though it's a scripted show, which by the way, it is a scripted show. Now they're gonna say that they're now not just dipping their toes, but flooding their feet in live events because it is live on Monday nights. But if you actually look at the deal,

which is the 500 million a year, it is actually also about all the other things they're gonna do around it, trying to copy what happened with Drive to survive in F1. The advantage to the WWE is that they get this guaranteed income, guaranteed revenue, that they get to bring into their new joint venture that they have. And the benefit for Netflix is they get programming, it's live, and they get all the other content to help people spend $24.99 a month. So it is a great win.

What the leagues will do, including the NBA, is they will approach Netflix, but they will have approached them and would have approached them for their broadcast deal, not mattering whether they had done a deal with WWE. So I don't think it changes anything in terms of the four professional sports leagues, but it is a smart investment for Netflix and a really good deal for WWE. Well, let me understand what you're saying here, because I think one of the things that people don't understand about why ESPN had to pay so much more

than the other entities for the NFL. It's at least in part because they paid, I think, twice as much as Sunday Night Football in America. It's because they need all week on all of their programming to be able to continually show football footage and highlights to make them look big on all of their programs. What you're saying, are you saying that the intellectual property of the WWE is more valuable or as valuable as the live sports that are now coming to Netflix? The NFL will actually sell you the right to show highlights. You just have to pay for it.

Just like Major League Baseball would as well. You don't have to be a rights holder for the actual games to have the ability to show highlights, but it's incredibly, exorbitantly expensive. What I'm saying is that the what Netflix is doing is they're getting the right. It's not just for Monday night raw And that's what's being reported what they're paying for is the ability to exploit as I said other assets of WWE and there's an international component. We're just focused on the US and international is a much bigger market Internationally they get Smackdown and all the other premium events that are on different channels here in the US. All of that will be on Netflix internationally.

And it's a major win for NikKon and WWE because I think their SmackDown network deal with Fox was in the range of 250 million. This far surpasses that. And the stock market is loving this partnership between WWE and Netflix. I believe it was up 10% Netflix was. So huge there. David, I want to switch gears and talk to you about the Academy Awards because yesterday the plot to Barbie played out right before our eyes where Ryan Gosling gets a nomination and immediately has to apologize for it. I love this and I will bring people to today's Nothing Personal because I had something

to say about this. Margot Robbie was not nominated for Best Actress and I think she should have been. Greta Gerwig was not nominated for Best Director and I think she should have been. Though the other people in the categories are not shleppers. I do not cross the bridge to, oh people don't get the movie, the whole movie was actually about the fact that it's a man's world and look, all the women got screwed. Well, you're not giving love then to Annette Benning, who is nominated for NIAID, who otherwise likely would not have been nominated. Or you're not giving love to Justine Theray, who directed Anatomy of a Fall, who was very worthy of a director's nomination.

So I don't want to draw that bridge. Ryan Gosling was fantastic in Barbie. And by the way, Barbie did get an acting nod from a woman, America Ferrara, who was fantastic too. Sometimes the numbers make it so deserving people get left out and that stinks. But it is not an exhibit of exhibit A of what's wrong with this male dominated country.

I know that sounds terrible for me to say as a white male, but I really don't believe that. Well, it's not a zero sumum game David. You can nominate more than one woman for best director. Absolutely, and I think Reddick Gerwig should have been. I think she should win over Christopher Nolan. Barbie is my second favorite movie of the year. I totally agree with you. I was merely saying that I don't view it as the Academy saying no to women when they said no to Reddick Gerwig. I think that they just got it wrong.

I don't think it was purposeful because of her sex. But I think that there's a difference between a movie getting nominated for Best Picture. And I understand there are only five nominations for director and there are 10 for Best Movie, so someone's got to be left out. But you're rewarding America Ferrera as best supporting actress, and then you're not rewarding Greta Gerwig for directing and making the thing at the top of the pyramid

She was a she was the CEO of the movie essentially and you're saying we're not gonna give it to her But we're gonna give it to America Ferrera so that it we're giving somebody something But we're not necessarily giving it to the person who gave America Ferrera the giving it to the person who gave America Ferrara the possibility of getting it. But it doesn't really work that way because part of the, everyone in the Academy gets to vote for picture but then it's different sex sections of the Academy that vote for the other awards. So it was directors themselves who have nothing to do with supporting actress. So I do hear you when sometimes you compensate one for one but that doesn't happen when it comes to nominations like

that. And in terms of directors and movies, because there's 10 best pictures, there's only five best directors. By definition, five CEOs are left off. This was a far bigger deal when there were only five best pictures and five directors and they didn't match. How could you win? Remember Argo won Best Picture and Ben Affleck was not even nominated for Best Director. That's when it gets sort of strange.

David has been frustrated because he's not allowed to be part of our watch parties and he's hanging out in the YouTube chat. I would imagine that David would love to have an Academy Awards party with you guys, but would anybody come to that party on Friendship Day? Absolutely. Friendship Day? Come on. Oh man.

Just YouTube. I don't want to do it for friendship. I want to do it because I think the audience would enjoy some sort of party that is not about the dolphins and I think that we should do it. And I have asked numerous times and I don't get any responses. So I don't want a Friendship Day. I've got a new idea.

How about a Communication Day? Whoa. Whoa. Game changer for Metalogue Media. day, I've got a new idea. How about a communication day? Whoa. Whoa. Game changer for Metalogue Media. Yeah, I'm telling you. It would be. Please, get me a communication director. Good luck with that one.

That would be great, yeah. David, I'm just wondering how you can be so sure that there isn't any gendered element at all in voting in Academy Award nominees. Like how can you actually say that you know that because the Academy Awards historically have been very focused towards only one group of people, especially in the Best Director category.

I 100% agree with you and it is an absolute joke, the number of women who have won Academy Awards and it should be way more and more should be nominated because they're great directors and great films. What I was simply referring to is this micro example of the person who I wanted to win Best Director, Greta Gerwig, that's how much I loved what she did with Barbie. I'm merely saying that what I think the directors part of the Academy did is they just ran out of numbers.

And I don't think that that's ever a good excuse, except it's like when you're making a top five list, something's gotta give, but no, no matter how many underrepresented people are nominated going forward, it never makes up for the reality of what happened. It would be pretty dope if Warren Beatty just strolls up there and says,

oh, L.I., Greta Gerwig. Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. It's not to be on the wrong side of history here, but isn't it typical that comedies don't get nominated for Best Picture or Best Director? Yeah, I mean especially when it wasn't the volume of nominees that they allow for it there to help the box office. I was done in concert with the movie industry. Let's have

as many nominees for Best Picture as possible. Too many. I mean I think that speaks to the why people feel like the Academy Awards have been so out of touch with what moviegoers like and what really people connect with over the last however long this has been an issue. Yeah, that's a great example. Cause it's never about what moviegoers connect with. It's about art and like, oh, you farted and you made a joke, that's not art.

Art is a single tear in black and white. And that's kind of been the bias against comedy, not to say that Barbie was that kind of comedy. We have less. I think the bias against comedy for me, sadly, is that people think incorrectly that comedy is easier than drama. And I've always been of the opinion

that comedy is actually more difficult than drama. We're out of time. So thank you for being on with us. I was gonna go to your review, but you had to get that last comment in there, and now we're out of time. And I don't think you're gonna want 30 seconds for your review. Okay, go ahead as fast as you can.

Go ahead. 40 seconds. 40 seconds. 45 seconds before the clock ends. Sound of freedom. Go. 38 seconds. Go.

Selling children into slavery is not good. It's a pretty good review. I agree with it. Yep. Succinct. 24 seconds left. With the. I agree with it. Yep. Succinct. 24 seconds left. With the observation. Yeah, not the movie.

Yeah. I feel like I'm waiting for a butt. From him you never know, right? See you later. It was said by the butt instead of it including. He did want make money day. Just want to be clear what Amin was trying to say there. Quite the zag from Amin. God almighty Amin, what's the matter with you? Don Lebatard! Many of

you by the way are writing in and you're saying Dan, quit being so mean to co-hosts that you always deem incompetent. That's the formula man. Me being mean to the co-hosts is what allows Stugatz to take a very wealthy vacation right now. Stugatz! It's a winning position for everyone but me. Haven't you guys not figured this out yet? That's the whole thing, is me being a rotten straight man as everyone else gets to be incompetent, and I yell at them for being incompetent, and here's the miracle of it,

it's the magic elixir. Bad, which is the only thing Greg Cody can be becomes good and lovable and it's because standing next to obnoxious strident me makes everyone look that way. Yeah and the brush with death helped. Yeah that was planned by me the whole thing was contrived. This is the Dunlebatar show with the Stugats. Presented by DraftKings fantasy sports check out with DraftKings has to offer the season with code dan because life's more fun when you're in on the action. DraftKings the crown isSports, check out what DraftKings has to offer this season with Code Dan, because life's more fun when you're in on the action. DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Gambling problem, call 1-800-Gambler, age, eligibility, research, supply, void, wear, prohibitancy, DraftKings.com, for details. In part of my mania and crazed, stress-soaked, mental health challenging last two years, I have insisted in our company at Metal Arc Media that we get younger and smarter, younger and smarter. And Greg Cody bobs in here today and says he's trying to sell his 1967 encyclopedia set. set Which is very important in the encyclopedia selling game? It has to be a complete set and it is man. We're going a through z. I believe there's two accompanying dictionaries

It's the new standard brand 1967 and and I want to say for the year I want to say they're in mint condition and I don't want to get rid of them because I'm a rack pat I get rid of nothing but I'm in the process of redesigning my 1970s era office and turning it into a podcast studio slash office and so I'm having to throw away stuff I'm going to have I've got I rarely use a stapler anymore. I've got like nine boxes of staples. I don't even want to throw those away. So I don't know I'm I cannot throw my encyclopedia away. I just can't. My parents bought them for me

when I'm like 12 years old and they mean something to me and I'm thinking of selling everything and giving it to Ron McGill's charity or something because I will not throw away stuff that is meaningful to me but I will sell it I've got so much I will sell it though I will this is a Christian doing you a favor because my grandparents when they passed away we spend oh what no this is important what she's saying I'm being serious 100% serious shit that I would have had to deal with he's passed away they they What? No, this is important what she's saying. I'm being serious. This is 100% serious. No, I'm totally not. Shit that I would have had to deal with, he's dealing with for me.

When my grandparents passed away, they had staples that were important to them, that they never threw away for 80 years. And it's important to start kind of whittling through the things, because otherwise you leave your, and Greg, I expect you to be alive for a very long time, but this is going to take decades for you to do.

So I'm glad that you're starting now, because otherwise you leave a ton of work for your kids and they'll just end up tossing it, which is sad, because my grandparents had the exact same set of encyclopedias that you do. I'm not quite sure how accurate they are now. Jury's out on what they say about evolution, for example, but they were amazing to flip through. It was so fascinating. Truly nothing exists like that now.

You can actually feel in your hands and just look up anything you want. I agree. Put it on the poll, please, Juju. And I wonder how our audience will skew on this in terms of age. Have you ever seen an encyclopedia set? Because I'm assuming there are all sorts of young people

out there who may not even know what the hell an encyclopedia is because it's not Necessary anymore. We bought my family bought an encyclopedia in 1995 Talk about like a terrible time to do that It was a great gag gift back in the day like when I was like seven or eight I remember my uncle once uncle Richard RIP He for Christmas was like hey, here's a bunch of encyclopedias. And I was like, no, I'm a kid. No, my mom's brother was named Uncle Richard.

The more serious Uncle Dick. We had two dicks. Yeah, he was a dick too, I think. More than that. Windows 95 dropped two weeks later. Now we have Wikipedia, which is great. I don't know, I'm kind of into the idea. I'm gonna bid on these if you do put them up for auction Greg.

Well, wait, I, well, this is, hold on. Because on 1967 in Cyclopedia? Can we just give them to Jeremy Dad? I mean, what are we doing here? No, but Chris, well, I'll tell you what we're doing here. I am telling you that if you put that for sale right now for Ron McGill's foundation, you will raise a ton of money from our audience,

somebody who would like Greg Cody's full set of fossilized books. People wanted Mike Fuentes' old shirts. Like why? I do not know, but several people asked for them from Mystery Craig. So Greg, there will be buyers for your site. No, do me a favor, please. Make Bimel, our COO, useful out there. Tell him to figure out, go out there and tell him to figure out how go out there and tell him to figure out. He can hear us. How do I know? Yeah, I'm well aware.

And then make him useful why I really landed. Let's get him to sell Greg Cody's Encyclopedia to show people. He's on the Zoom call right now. Should I go out there and be like, hey, make yourself useful. Yes, yes, interrupt him, whatever he's doing. Yes, tell him to stop what he's doing and sell Greg Cody's encyclopedia set to our audience because I do believe that this has a legitimate value and it's got a sentimental value to Greg Cody. You're going to be taking something of an heirloom of Greg Cody's and I know it sounds like a cash grab. I know it sounds

skips out there too. Tell Skipper to help us sell these encyclopedias as well because I believe our audience will pay a lot for Ron McGill's foundation I'm her the more we talk it out. Honestly. I want to sell them by the end of the show I want I want to bid I want people to bid on the thank you Jeremy. Thank you I'll be a part of this. I love this. I think this is awesome I I would love to get an encyclopedia set like that. Five dollars. How else? How hard would it, how hard?

Man, do we need that much help? Can't we just do it on eBay? Like, do we need that much help doing that? Well, then Greg might have to actually send out all of it himself. Let's start eBay. Let's see where we just sell crap from our show that nobody would actually want let's Mike Ryan Please go out there tell skipper and bimble to start eBay

Where it's just selling It is a Greg Cody it's a Greg Cody yard sale. Yes, it's a Greg Kody yard sale. Well, we just sell crap. That's correct. And I have so much, I wanna have a full fledged auction cause I have so much else. I covered 20 Super Bowls in a row. There's so much crap in that office, Dad.

I mean, I get, your drawer full of credentials, that's a cool drawer. Cause you've got, you probably got credentials there from the 80s. No, I do. I save all my major credentials. But I also have super bowl satchels

that they used to give out to the media every year you have a bobble head that doesn't look anything like you hear me is saying jeremy is saying you know how antiques roadshow it's one of the finest shows also a great example of just historic white privilege you had what worth what in your garage right you have with your credentials you have something that people would actually want that represents Super Bowl artifacts like from a different time when football didn't sell out Super Bowls you have precious heirlooms that I believe the audience

would now I don't think they're worth anything but they're priceless right they've never been used like Like they're brand new. Well you went to the games, the credentials were used. I'm sure you used them. Well the credentials were, but not the satchels. Like the computer bags. Hold on, you accepted a gift from the NFL, Greg? I did.

The rules were under $100. You weren't allowed to accept any gifts journalistically over $100. You should have looked in Edwin Pope's trunk. No, but. Back in the ocean. Wow! I mean, you know, just like,'s trunk. No, but. Back in the ocean. Wow. I mean, you know, I mean, it's that cat out of the bag.

I don't know who that is, but it's funny. Too soon? The body's still warm. You know what's ridiculous about that whole thing, about the media not accepting gifts and everything? It's like, because I got a satchel that I've never used in 40 years, all of a sudden I'm gonna write a very flattering column about the Super Bowl.

Right stadium was an amazing host. I got a $25 satchel here. You know what? What a great run league. The commissioner is wonderful. The best game I've ever seen, I'm gonna actually change what I write because somebody gave me a sheep gift that I've never used.

We're running out of breath. Were you allowed to, back in the day, my dad would come home from a game or like a road trip and he'd have like one of these like stat books. Like not the, not like printed out paper, but like an actual like media, like were you stealing those? He's got all the media guides. He's got every historic media guide in his desk.

That's another thing I've got. And they don't give out media guides anymore. They're all used to come home and I love it. I'd like flip through. I'd be like, oh, there's Zach Thomas. Yeah, that's another thing I've got, and they don't give out media guides anymore. They're all, You used to come home and I love it. I'd like flip through. I'd be like, oh, there's Zach Thomas. Yeah, that's another thing I want to sell. But Greg, correct me if I'm wrong,

cause I'm not often in the press box, but this is all mostly digital now. Whereas like, I remember like 10 years ago, they print everything out like every quarter of a basketball game or anything. They're still doing the quarter sheet at basketball games. Oh, what a waste of paper. That is a waste of paper.

They also have a screen with all the stats up there, so it's like, what do we do? But it's amazing if you're a head coach that doesn't want to make eye contact during a press conference after you've blown a 3-1 lead. That's true. If you're Doc Rivers, in other words. Can you guys get eBay off the ground, please?

Because it's a flea market. I'm telling you, as a yard sale, this this stuff has value and you would raise a lot of money for Ron McGill's endowment if we sold some of your stuff and as Jessica mentioned you're just doing something thoughtful for your son before you die. Seriously I don't think I'm asking too much of him to throw away all my shit considering the. No but what means something to you is another thing like you want him to respect the things that meant something to

to at his daughter's grandfather right like you you want him to be able to explain to the the granddaughter that brings you tears of joy now you we were just talking during the break gregan i uh... and if you i mean i love greg codie uh... for whatever it is that uh... issues crop up over fifty years he is a person i love and he was talking about at this age he gets more emotional unreasonably about things

because he's feeling i'm sure his mortality the granddaughter has brought up all sorts of emotions where he'll just break down weeping thinking of his granddaughter what jessica suggesting is accurate it's. Yes that you would want her to remember Her grandfather in ways that are meaningful and you don't want Chris throwing out shit that means something to you correct I mean you're not gonna be around to file an appeal Every time I go to my dad's house, and I'm like I just look in his closet like 20 years from now I'm gonna have to throw out a DVD copy of a fish called Wanda

He's gonna be bothered by it, come on. Greg, correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, you're a lot younger than my grandparents were, but they grew up during the Depression and they had a real attachment to things that were to us junk. And they wouldn't throw away anything. I mean, they had the same appliances for literally 70 years.

Eventually we were like, you need to get a new oven because you're gonna light your house on fire. But they wouldn't get rid of anything. And so their accumulation over the years, their house in Pittsburgh was filled to the brim with things that were just like rubber bands from the 1950s. We don't need those, grandma and grandpa.

Oh, I know. When I was cleaning out my desk drawer, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of paper clips. We can throw those out. I can't tell you the last time I used the paper. What's the item that made you most emotional? Like you threw something away and you started weeping? Well, there were just a bunch of things that used to be household items that aren't anymore.

You know, letter openers. Okay. This doesn't have value. Ah, the staple or the thingy little. Yeah. You think letter openers. Okay, this stuff doesn't have value. Ah, the staple or the thingy little. You think letter openers are valuable, Jeremy? I think someone will buy that, knowing it was used by Greg. I think that's the part of it,

that like we talk about the dedication of this audience, knowing that money would go to Ron McGill's foundation and knowing that this was in Greg's house for the last 40 years or whatever. I think the hell is someone gonna do with my dad's staple remover? You'll find out when they get on it. You'll find out what my sweat does as t-shirts.

That's what I'm saying. Exactly. Chris, what you should do is your father should personalize, like write a note with each one to make it special. We'll figure out. That kind of staple. eBay.

We'll figure out how to do that. But Jessica, you have just made me want to go with my mother and father to their home and go through some of this stuff, but one of the things that we come- Would they have a copy of Joe's apartment on Laserdisc? One of the things that makes that difficult is I don't think any of us want to actually think about the reason that we're doing that. It's worse doing it after they die, trust me. What Jessica said I can relate to, my parents did go through the depression and my... This is Inul and unimproved Dan Lebatard show

with the Stugas, gamble on by DraftKings. Dan Lebatard! I got somebody here making fun of me, how old do you have to be to reference Sheki Green? Man, I went comedically there with the funny name of a comedian. That's on you for not knowing who Sheki Green is. No, you gotta know who Sheki Green is. You don't have to know who Sheki Green is, but I- Here's your ally. No, no, I don't like my allies here.

The thing of the borscht belt. Stugatz. Um, I have the soul of a borscht belt comedian. I should be in the Catskills in 1945 Opening for Shaggy Green. That's why I was destined to be this is the Don Lebatar show with his two guys We can't hear you or so I do want to know the bar of soap would get to be a sliver almost to wash your hands with Yep, and he would save it. He never In my mother at one point would melt soap, scraps of soap.

Into a new bar? Into a new bar. Wow. Wow. Because they grew up so poor and lived through the depression. And my father never made any money. He was a carpenter and then a janitor, a custodian at a school. And you never get over that, you know, those those kind of

tendencies. I mean, yes, I same same situation. It was it was going through their house was like a weird museum. It's terrible. You got to be terrible. Greg, we are going to keep this running even though you don't know when we're on air or off air because that story was so good and I felt legitimately bad that we cut you off again. I'm surprised, well I'll tell you why. If they played it back, you would see me wincing to try and alert you that you were headed into some emotional space talking about

your depression era parents and I was going to feel, everybody would have seen on my face that that one I felt bad about. But in trying to keep the conversation in a place where Greg Cody wants to talk about the things that Greg Cody wants to talk about, his Hall of Fame ballot is something that is very important to him. He takes it very seriously. Stugatz is texting me nonstop about why Joe Maurer shouldn't be in the Hall

of Fame. He is wrong on every front. He couldn't be more wrong, but he continues to text me. I was bothered that Gary Sheffield is not in the Hall of Fame. He was so very clearly, I don't even need to look at the numbers. He was so very clearly among the best and most feared at what it is that he did. He should be in the Hall of Fame, but he's probably not because he was a bit of a jerk and there are some steroid taint near him even though nothing has been proven. Your Hall of Fame ballot. That's the best way to take it, by the way. Your Hall of Fame, I don't think that's accurate Mike I

think that's not I cheat thank you well try to find the tracks you'd like that with a bunch of experts I voted people are making fun of me because I both use a check mark and fill in the square yeah the check is useless you know I like this is a scantron, this is the actual ballot. I hadn't seen this in a while. They took mine away. Todd Helton you voted for. Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Manny Ramirez, Billy Wagner, Gary Sheffield, and Alex Rodriguez.

Look at that. I'm good with that. Moralizing, Greg Cody is allowed a steroid person into the Hall of Fame. Okay, here's the thing. Multiple. Okay. I have this weird thing. I will not vote for a steroid-addled reputation on the first ballot. I did not vote for A-Rod on the first ballot,

even though his numbers obviously make him not only first ballot, but a unanimous choice, if not for the steroid cloud. But after time, and this affects on that ballot, this affects A-Rod, Sheffield, and Manny Ramirez. In the case of Sheffield, he was in the Mitchell report. He was named in the Mitchell report, but never failed a drug test. So he's in a little bit of a different category than many rumors and a rod my attitude as a voter on all of those guys is it shouldn't be a death sentence okay the fact that you weren't perfect that you use steroids that you did uh... they have a little bit of a bump

uh... in in either your longevity your ability to uh... get over injuries or your power output that should not be a life sentence a rod deserves to be in the hall of fame now by this time uh... you know he's paid his price and uh... i also believe with guys like that that the hall of fame plaque should tell the whole story that if a rod ever does get in the hall of play

uh... hall of fame plaque should mention for all time that he did have this cloud over him. Jessica, are you familiar in any way with the rumored photograph that A-Rod has over the bed in his house? No one has ever proven it. It is not.

It's just urban lore and myth. Was the bed part of that rumor? Yes, it was over the bed. It was over the bed? Or did we just want it to be over the bed? Yes, I do know what you're talking about. It is him as a centaur, and the lower half of his body, this is how Josh Allen plays football.

The lower half of his body is the body of a horse, but the upper half of his body is A-Rod's body. A-Rod was on South Beach sessions, and we gave A-Rod to prove that the steroid taint should be off of him now. We gave him a gift. Let's play that clip real quick. Come on, man. This doesn't look anything like him.

This doesn't look anything like him. Here you go. Oh my gosh. This is the... This is ridiculous. I mean, first of all, I wish I had that had that body and second I wish I was so handsome that looks nothing like it in the face. It could not look less like you but it is rumored and reported that you had one of these

like... By the way, let me see that. This is actually really funny because you don't know how many times in my career I had to answer that I had something like this above my bed and it's so infamous a story and I almost don't deny it anymore but I think it's actually kind of fun. You can now have it over your bed. Now I can make it a reality.

He left with it and where did he put it? Do you think it was in a dumpster before he left the Elser? Over his bed. You think maybe? Here is Stugatz coming after me via text. Joe Mauer is not a Hall of Famer, Hall of Very Good maybe, but not the Hall of Fame joke. Placido Polanco had more career hits than Mauer. So does Jason Bleeping Kendall. So does Juan Pierre and BJ Serhop. Jim Fragosi hit more home runs than him. So did Sixto Lescano. First ballot, this is an outrage.

I expect you to address this today and if you don't I will address it and you for four hours. I'm appalled. Sixto Bleeping Lescano. Jason Kubel had a better career. Bonds had more HRs from 2000 and 2002 than he had for his 15-year career.

Do something about this. One 20-home run season, never had 100 RBI. Do something about it, Dan. Jose Reyes, more hits and homers, do something. Rupert Jones, more homers, do something about it. I have high standards for you. Do something about it. I can explain Joe Maurer making the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

He's a Hall of Famer? Catcher. That's the word to explain it. That's a whole deal. That's the whole deal. Catcher is seen as a different position altogether. You put Joe Maurer's career stats and he's a corner outfielder. He doesn't come close to the Hall of Fame, let alone on his first ballot. But Catcher is just a different position.

So you guys ever tried crouching down for three straight hours? Oh my god. I can't do it for three minutes. I don't know how they do it. Like, I'm good with him getting in. He crouched for a long time. I will say Joe Maher was the last box I checked on that ballot, because while I think he's a Hall of Famer, because of his position in the context of his position. To me he's not a first ballot guy, which I hold sacrosanct. I don't vote for any first ballot players unless they're extraordinary and free of a

crowd. I did this poorly yesterday. I was talking about Rendon. Rendon, who signed a $245 million contract, was complaining about the length of a season. And I was talking about seeing the traveling secretaries come in in August and everybody's exhausted on a baseball team. Everybody who works for a baseball team, but I hadn't even thought about it. I'm talking about pop-up slides all season.

I hadn't thought about what it's like to be a catcher in like Texas. Texas, where you're playing all summer and it's 110 degrees and you're crouching during day games. I don't know how those seasons are that long and you what you say, Chris, how long if we had a competition, if I don't make me do it, I'm terrible at this. Well, I think I want to do it with you. I think I want to if you want to do it, I would be you in a wall sit. If you guys want to do a crouch right now, I'm willing to do a competition in the back of this room. We can allow Greg Cody to talk about his 1967 encyclopedias

and see if we can make it to the end of the segment here in a competition of who can crouch the longest and stay crouched. Who wants to do that competition with me? I'll do it. What's wrong with you, Matt? No, that's horrible. I don't want to do that.

It's a bad visual. I'm good doing it. It's the wrong with you, Mike? That's horrible. I don't want to do that. It's a bad visual. I'm not doing it. It's not a great angle for me. I put on some LBs like me in that spot. My belly kind of sits in between my two legs. What's the funniest visual, though? Between Chris and Dan.

You think between... Let's have a competition. You and me, Chris, and Mike and Jessica and Jeremy can do the show. And we'll just be in the back of the room and see if we can make it to the end of the segment, trying this. The crouching is the easy part. It's the getting up from a crouch that would get me. That's true, Greg. It really is. Yeah. It was a good point you made, Greg, about Maurer though because toward the end of his career, they tried to move him to first base because he had dealt with so many concussions and Justin Morneau was no longer on the team because he had dealt with so many concussions. And Justin Morneau was no longer on the team because he had dealt with so many concussions.

But that made Maurer sort of an irrelevant player. So toward the end of his career, he was no longer dominant. But when he was at the peak of his powers, in 2009 when he was the MVP of the league, I think he hit close to 370 as a catcher that was playing every day. It's almost, his Hall of Fame argument is almost similar to Sandy Kofax,

where it's like, no, did his longevity really make him a Hall of Fame argument is almost similar to Sandy Kofax where it's like no at Did his longevity really make him a Hall of Famer? So is his counting stats there? Maybe not necessarily But at the peak of his career He was so far and away the best player at his position in such a tough position that that's what gets him into the hall Right and and and there are examples of that in all halls of fame the hall right and and and there are examples of that in all halls of fame Barry Sanders in football had a had a very brief career relatively speaking Barry Sanders is probably well out of the top ten in all-time rushing because

of that and yet he was the best at what he did same with Jim Brown Gale Sears there's a lot of players like that but in in baseball catcher is just a different position it just is and it looks like Chris Cody's feeling that right now The kneecaps appear to be stretched quite thin Are you are you guys holding his ankles? I Don't think you're allowed to rest You're in like a four-point stance, I don't think you're allowed to do that It's Greg joining You're in like a four point stance. I don't think you're allowed to do that. When I see people crush like a catcher, I can go,

hey, ho, freeze! Hey, ho, freeze! Where's he going? Where's he going? Can you throw up Greg's ballot one more time? I wanna ask Greg about his ballot real quick. So you have how many votes available to you, 10? 10.

10, and you filled out seven? I'd have to count. Yeah, I think so, yeah. All right, so guys like... I don't vote 10 just to say that I did. Andy Pettit, what's the argument against him? I mean, the generic argument is that obviously I don't think he's quite a Hall of Famer.

You know, I... It's Eric's! And Dan, that does not look like a catcher approach. He's cheating. He is cheating. There you go. Yeah, that's better. Okay.

What do you mean? I mean, you had your hands on your ankles. What are you doing? But, Pettit was always in the discussion for his era. He was one of the best guys going. You just don't think he's good enough? Right. Well, the postseason matters.

Of course. I mean, you gotta draw the line somewhere. The Hall of Really Good has thousands and thousands of people in it. There are people there that I almost voted for. We looked like we're shitting. Squatty potty. Yeah, you guys do look like you're shitting. You could probably sell this paper, Greg.

Who's the toughest person to leave off? I considered Carlos Beltran, for sure. Feel the burn! I'm trying to think of who he was. Was he the toughest person to leave off? I would say. So, Pettit, I considered Andrew Jones. He has so many fans in Atlanta. Every time a ballot comes out, I get hate mail from Andrew Jones, he has so many fans in Atlanta. Every time my ballot

comes out I get hate mail from Andrew Jones fans. And for his defense I consider him every year but you know I think there's degrees of... This is Inu Alun improved on Levitar Show with the Stugas. Gamble on by Raph Keens. The first ballot in Hall of Famer has to be an all-time great.