The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Straight Fire - FOX Sports MLB analyst Ben Verlander on Ohtani's Future, the Scuffling Yankees, the Disappointing Mets & More!

Episode Date: July 18, 2023

Jason is joined by FOX Sports MLB analyst Ben Verlander, and the guys discuss Shohei Ohtani's uncertain future with the Los Angeles Angels, whether or not the New York Yankees should take a swing at the two-way star ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, why the New York Mets and San Diego Padres have been such disappointments, how the new pitch clock is effecting older pitchers (like his brother, Justin Verlander) and much more! Follow Jason on Twitter and Instagram. Click here to subscribe, rate and review all of the latest Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre podcasts! #Volume #Herd  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up, Straight Fire, fam? It's the Jason McIntyre Street Fire for Tuesday, July 18th. Got a great guest on today's podcast. I know we got some baseball fans who were like, Jay, you never talk baseball. My buddy, Ben Verlander, Fox Sports,

he's basically Otani's best friend. Can I get away with saying that? He's coming on the pod to talk about Otani, trade rumors, Yankees tied for last, but still in the baseball, postseason mix. Mets, disaster, speed of the game. Really fun stuff with Ben Verlander.

The Otani stuff is interesting. I think we've got two weeks left of trade rumors. I think it's really good for baseball that his name's out there. But if you think of stuff that's not good for sports, let's go with Sequin Barclay and Josh Jacobs. Neither of them gets a deal done on Monday afternoon. Both will have to play on a franchise tag

if they decide to play. This is bad, bad news for the Giants. It is awful news for the Raiders. Both teams rely on the running back. These are two of the top five or six best running backs in the league. The last time we had a running back thinking he could just sit out, and be fine was Levy on Bell and we know that turned out very, very poorly.

Now, Sequin and Jacobs are both younger than Bell was, but the running back shelf life, folks, is extremely short. We're talking like, Zeke Elliott's 28 and he's unsigned. Kareem Hunt 28, unsigned. Like, you've got maximizing earning years from like 22 to like 26, 27. And after that, it falls off a cliff. We talked a little yesterday about Austin Echler being unhappy. I saw Derek Henry got into a verbal battle with a draft guy from ESPN.

It's getting ugly. And running backs, they feel like they're an endangered species. And I just don't like what happened with Barclay and Jacobs. Obviously, if I'm on the team, you know, if I'm a fan of that team, yeah, I would not want to pay them a ton of money. But if I were the Giants or Raiders, listen, I'm not going to pay the guy. He don't want to plan a franchise tag. Let's move him to a team that is. willing to deal with him and the contract demands,

a team that's not paying its quarterback. The Giants made the bad decision. I said it before. I said it at the time, you can't pay that much for Daniel Jones. Just remember Giants fans, the front office had so little faith in Daniel Jones, they did not pick up his fifth year option.

Remember, they didn't. So then they all, wait a minute, wait a minute, he was okay with Day Bowl. You know, we got to the playoffs. We won a game. Let's pay him, and they made that mistake. The Raiders are in a different boat. Jacobs is their guy. He's very good.

I don't, Josh McDaniels doesn't feel like he's long for the job anyway. The front office still feels like a bit of a mess. I don't know. I'm just saying, without Sequon Barkley, I think the Giants are probably like a 5, 6, 7 win team. Without Josh Jacobs, you never want to say running back's worth three wins because the quarterback is really the only position worth multiple wins.

But just the limited amount of things that Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be able to do behind that offensive line that's very bad with one receiver who's already unhappy Devante Adams. It just feels very bleak for the Raiders and the Giants. All right, without further ado, let's get to our guest, Ben Verlander of Fox Sports.

Jason likes to think he knows everything when it comes to sports. I know what sports fans want. But for everything he doesn't, he knows a guy who does. Let's just say, I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows another guy. All right, let's welcome into Straight Fire.

who's a buddy of mine. He is a big-time golfer. He is a, I mean, he's buddies with Otani. He has, I guess, the most popular baseball podcast out there flipping bats with Alex Curry. He is Ben Verlander, Fox Sports. Ben, how are you, my man? I'm great. Jamek, I might need you to do the intro for my show.

It's like, I'm best friends with show, hey, I'm the best golfer in the world. And, you know, that was great. I golf with Ben once, and he was unbelievable. I had to tell everybody, dude, this guy's probably the best golfer I've ever golf with, or his second best, up there for sure. But also, like, you know, you're in demand now for all these Otani takes. I'll never forget, dude, the stuff you did last summer, I guess, with Otani. And you went overseas.

You are kind of like the point person when it comes to Otani talks. And I got you on the podcast because it's getting down to make or break time for the Angels right now. where are we with Otani's status heading into the trade deadline? Look, if you were to ask me or the strong majority of people that don't matter because Arty Moreno with the Angels owner is the only one that does matter, you got to trade them. I mean, Mike Trout going down, the Angels team, specifically without Mike Trout, is not capable of going on a playoff push and getting into the playoffs.

Trout's going to be out for when it happened about two months. So I think the day that happened is the day that the angels had to look in the mirror and say, we have to get something. We can't have years of this player who's the most talented player of all time and walk away with nothing. We have to get something for him. But if I were a betting man, I don't think they're going to. I think they're going to keep him through the trade deadline and then just lose them to free agency and get nothing. from it. Oh my gosh. Now that sounds just foreign to anybody, even a baseball casual, like,

how could you lose this guy for nothing? That's just bad business. Is there a world where a team Seattle, the Giants, somebody on the West Coast, who knows, maybe even the Mets, package a bunch of draft picks, minor leaguers, whatever, you know, the Angels want in return. And Otani kind of works out of trade before even hitting free agency, knowing that he's going to stay with. with the team that the Angels trade him to? Can that even happen? There's definitely a world in which that happens, yes. But the problem of what you're running into because Artie Moreno in Camp last year decided not to capitalize on that moment with Shohei, where he was under control for another year. Now if you trade for Shohei, you get two to three

months of control and no guarantee that he re-signed. No matter what's said, there's no guarantee ever that he's going to resign there. Does it help your chances if you trade for him and he falls in love with the area and the team? Absolutely. But then you run into the problem if you're the angels of how much is a team going to be willing to give up? And yes, it's Shohei Otani and it will be a lot. But it's only two or three months. I don't think you're going to get everything. I don't think you're going to get the top five prospects in the organization plus two or three big leaguers that are going to help your team simply because you don't have under control for that long. So all of those teams you mentioned, I actually today did a thing in the

top five destinations that I think he'll end up. All of those teams you mentioned were on that list for where he ultimately ends up. Anybody's in play to trade for him. And I had Smoltz on this past Saturday. I do every Saturday. And we talked about this because I said, if you're a team, how much are you giving up for him for just two or three months of control? And he said, if I'm a team like the Yankees, I don't care how long I have him under control for, I'm going for it. If I can get him on my team for two or three months, it makes me the favorite, and I would give up what I need to to get him, even if it's for a short amount of time. So there's absolutely a possibility that that happens. And then there's the world where you've got three months to hang

out with Otani and win him over and show him your town in the clubhouse and the front office and the other players on the team. Like, you basically have an early read on anything he wants to do as opposed to free agency. They can wind him and dine him. That's great. But I much prefer a three-month walk-up, wouldn't you? That's the thing for me, J-Mack. I think if a team trades for him, obviously you get the benefit of having Shohay Otani on your team for two or three months.

But you get the benefit of courting him for a couple of months without anybody else being able to talk to him or do the same. I think it's almost even more beneficial for the East Coast teams because I think in his heart of hearts, Shohay doesn't want to be on the East Coast. He wants to be on the West Coast. That was what went into his original signing. It's closer to Japan. The time difference isn't as much so fans can watch him easier.

But if you're an East Coast team right now, trade for him. He doesn't have a no trade clause. You could trade for him. And then hope he falls in love with your team. If it's the Yankees, if it's the Mets. You got three months to convince him that the East Coast ain't so bad. You're in a huge market. People will love you.

The fan base will love you. And yeah, exactly like you said. You got three months that nobody else can. talk to him besides you and hope he resigns with you. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and

corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

So this, we'll get back to the East Coast teams at a second, but this West Coast flavor mariners, giants, do you think the Padres that all are in the mix or no? I think the Padres are in the mix just because I feel like their name's in with everybody. You know, they spent so much money last off season. And then at the very end of everything, you heard that they actually offered the highest dollar contract to Aaron Judge at the very last second. They just offered him more money than they offered anybody else. We hardly even heard about it because he signed like immediately after that with the Yankees.

But yeah, last second, they just swooped in. And then they also signed Xander Bogart's. And they also made the trade for Juan Soto. And they just recently, you know, they spent all this money on Mani Machado, Fernando Tatis. I don't see a world in which. they're not players for him. I think the problem they're running into right now is, Shohei's been vocal about this.

The number one thing he wants is to win. He wants to win. And when you look at the Padres, they certainly have a team that looks like they should win, but for some reason, the culture down there is just not, they're just not winning. So is he going to be the first to sign up and be like,

I want to play for that team when they can't figure out what's going on on their own right now? Let me drill down on that whole winning thing for a minute. It's weird. In the NFL, like, we don't consider Dan Marino, like, one of the best quarterbacks ever because he didn't win the Super Bowl. Like, if you don't win championships and deliver in the postseason, like, it's tough for you to be an all-time great. In the NBA, Charles Barkley, not considered an all-time great. Like, you know, one of the top, you know, 30 players ever, but not top 10, top 20.

He didn't win a title. But in baseball, it's different. Like, it doesn't seem to matter as much if you want. because it's more of a one-on-one sport. You played a lot of baseball. Obviously, you wanted to win above all, but I don't know, can you help, like, casual baseball fans understand that difference? Yeah, one, you're exactly right.

You know, in football, you mentioned Dan Marino. You look at the quarterback position. If you're not winning championships, a lot of that rides on your shoulders. You can be the best. You can be Tom Brady, and your team's going to win. And the NBA, you got five players on the court at a time. If you're LeBron James, you can go anywhere you want, and he did that to Miami, back to Cleveland,

L.A., and you could win a championship because you're LeBron James and you can control the game. And every single time down the court, you can have the basketball in your hands and perform and do better for your team. Or facilitate whatever you want to do. In baseball, let's say you're a hitter. Let's take Mike Trout, for example, who's one of the greatest of all time and has played in three playoff games and lost all three. Mike Trout is absolutely one of the greatest of all time, but the problem is, is he, He can only go up to hit one out of every nine times. You can't hit every inning.

If you could, the Angels would be a lot better than they are currently. And that's what ends up happening in baseball is you can only control the game to a certain degree. And that's what makes Shohay so special is he can control it a little bit more than everybody else can control it because he can also pitch and he can hit one out of every nine times. But winning in baseball is a lot more difficult for, I truly, I believe this wholeheartedly. And it sounds like you agree, but you can't judge a baseball player on how many titles they've won because look at Mike Trout. You just can't do it.

You can't do it all. You can't put a team on your back if you're a baseball player, no matter how much you try. It's about the 25, 26 guys around you and how you can mesh as a team. You would know better than I, but the last guy that I thought really put a team on his back, I think he got the Sports Illustrated cover probably before you were born. Oral Hersheiser. I think it was like the 88 World Series maybe night somewhere somewhere in there but he was just unbelievable in that entire postseason like every time he he was up to pitch like he was just

dominant the opponents could do nothing and I he started three games in that world series didn't yeah yeah yeah exactly so that's how he was like I guess they won four and he he won three of them himself um so could you say a pitcher basically could do that but not uh not really a hitter a pitcher can do it a little bit more because, and you do start seeing it in the playoffs. We are in an era now where you don't see pitchers pitching on short rest in a regular season. Sometimes you're doing a playoff, but even still, when it turns to the playoffs, managers these days just push the panic button so quickly. I remember Blake Snell a few years ago in that World Series against the Dodgers was lights out,

and Kevin Cash goes out and pulls him early in the game and he was dominating and ended up costing them. Like managers now just manage completely different in the playoffs. There's not that like, there's not that ability to have a pitcher throw game one and then say, hey, I'm good to go in game four and then a quick turnaround in game seven. A lot of times because managers don't allow it. But you do see it a little bit more. You do see pitchers wanting to come back on short rest. You hear about it a lot more. So definitely much more of an ability for a player to affect the game on the pitching side. Look at Show Hay specifically in the world. Baseball Classic when he was, he said, hey, if we're in the World Baseball Classic Championship

against Team USA, I might have just pitched. I want to close the game. I want to come in for the ninth inning and we all know what happened against Mike Trouton. But, but yeah, absolutely, pitchers can do it more so. If memory serves, the World Baseball Classic had monster ratings, I guess simply put, does the MLB postseason need Otani? Yes. That's, it's been frustrating as a fan of show. is and a fan of Mike Trout to not have them in the playoffs. The game of baseball is better when the best players are on the biggest stage. And we saw that last year with Aaron Judge and what he did.

And they were able to get into the playoffs. And then we just don't see it on the other side of the country with two players in the same team and Mike Trout and Shohei Otani. The game will be better for it. So, you know, knowing Shohay and knowing the person he is as well, I do think there's a bit of him that wants to win with the Angels. That's the team he committed to. That's the team that committed to him and gave him his chance.

But at a certain point, how many chances do you give a team to prove that they're able to win? And they haven't been able to do that. And again, this year it looks like they're not going to be able to do that. And he deserves to win. And as a fan of the game, and all fans of baseball, deserve to see Shohei on a winning baseball team and hopefully hopefully we get that. Yeah, it's weird. In basketball and the NFL,

almost all the best players always are in the playoffs, right? It just, that's how it happens because it's a lot of different structure, but you're right. Baseball, we don't necessarily get that. Now, I want to go back to what you said about the East Coast teams in Otani. My Yankees, I was born in New York, Yankees fan, obviously, and

you know, we're in last place. We're recording this Monday afternoon before the night's games. Yeah. Is there a world where Yankees fans start to say, hey, guys? we don't want to miss the postseason. This would be an embarrassment. We just signed judge. Things look good.

Come on. Let's make a play for Otani. Let's give up three or four prospects. Let's roll the dice. Give a percentage of chance you think that happens. I mean, I don't think anybody on their bingo card had Yankees in last place middle of July. I don't think anybody had that. Yeah.

Okay, they are in last place, but they're just a couple of games out of a playoff spot. The AAL East is just a different beast this year. It's remarkable. So, yeah, everybody can laugh. look at the Yankees and say, oh my God, the Yankees are in last place in the middle of July. Though that's true, they're still, and they're not playing great, but they're fine. They're right on the cusp of a playoff spot. And I just, as I mentioned to you earlier, I had Smolts on the other day.

And he actually mentioned the Yankees and said, if he's the Yankees, he does everything in their power to go get a guy like Shohei because it automatically makes them the favorite. Think about a team with Garrett Cole, Shohei Otani, and Carlos Rodon as the starting pitchers in the playoffs and then Shohei Otani and Aaron Judge back to back in the lineup. I mean, it's just remarkable to even think about that. And it clearly would make them a favorite to win over the Astros who've been to six straight ALCSs. I mean, I think if you're the Yankees, even if it's just for a rental, you have to do it. Yeah, I think I saw Brian Cashman trending on social media. And I wonder if it was like Yankees fans like, guys, come on, this makes sense.

Judge and Otani back to back. I mean, goodness gracious, can you think of a better one-two punch in the middle of a lineup in recent years? Like that's pretty formidable. Two of the best hitters in the game. Exactly. I can't even fathom the two of them. I mean, just think of it. I saw this today.

As of right now, Shohay's on a better pace than Judge was on last year when he broke the American League record for home runs. On a better pace, Aaron Judge was hitting about 270-something. Show-hays hitting over 300

with the exact same amount of homers. And yes, Aaron Judge went off last year in the second half of the season. But just imagine a world in which you have the best hitter in the game right now and Aaron Judge. I think that's fair to say. When healthy, Aaron Judge is the best hitter in baseball. But right now, Shohei Otani has been unbelievable and obviously what he does on the pitching side. Take that out of it. Shohei had the best June of all time in the history of baseball. I did a deep dive on this. You go back to Lou Gehrig, Bay Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Sammy Sosa's month hitting 20 plus. He had the best month of June.

in the history of baseball, when you add in that he pitched well as well, just think about having those two in a lineup together. As a fan of the game, and I know you, especially, thinking about Shohei on the New York Yankees with Aaron Judge, it would do wonders for the game of baseball. It would. I'm sure Angels fans are ticked off right now. We don't need them on the Yankees, but what that would do,

the platform, you know, the TV, like it would be massive. I want to ask quickly about the Mets. I don't care about them as much. but, you know, I think they have the highest payroll in baseball history this year, correct me, if I'm wrong, Ben? Yes. You know, is what's happening with them kind of, think about this, good or bad for baseball, because I think a lot of people are kind of laughing at them. Meanwhile, Steve Cohen's like, you know, I don't care, I'm going to keep spending. It doesn't really matter.

Is this good or bad for baseball? That's a good question. It is, it's frustrating to see. I said this, it was actually today. if the Mets don't make the playoffs, which it's a long shot at this point, it will be the biggest disappointment of a season in history. You can say of baseball, for sure, arguably of sports. The biggest disappointment of a season in history.

You spend the most money on a team that's ever been done before and you don't make the playoffs and you're below 500. How is that possible? I almost think it's good for baseball to have. They're the laughing stock of baseball. And that sucks to say because my brother's on the team. But everybody's laughing at the New York Mets because they spend all this money and they're not very good. And you have the same thing happening on both coasts.

With the Mets and the Padres, you have these two teams that spent the most money possible and seemingly built these power teams, these juggernaut teams, and neither are on pace to make the playoffs. And they have become a laughing stock of the league. And I would say rightfully so. I mean, I watch Mets games right now, and it's just, it's, it's embarrassing the way the whole team is performing with a, with a roster the way it is. It is, it truly leaves you scratch in your head, and it gives a lot of fans that aren't Mets fans a reason to laugh. Yeah, I got to ask, I've seen you post the videos of your dog, you know, going up to the TV screen when your brother's pitching. Have you, have you been able to talk to him a lot, or are you just like, you know what, I'm going to give him some space?

he's going through some crap. You know, he had obviously the highs earlier in his career or even in recent years. And now it's like, ooh, this is a tough one. How do you handle that, like, dynamic? Yeah, I mean, we talk all the time. We talk sometimes about baseball and sometimes not. Never really about the team and the morale. I mean, he can deal with that in the locker room and doesn't need to talk about that when he leaves home.

But we'll always talk about his pitching. And, you know, the good news of late for him, unfortunately, he missed the first month of the season. But the good news, the last two months, you know, he had a, he had a month-plus stretch where he pitched to a 1.80 RA and rolled into the All-Star game looking good. And then the one start after the break, he four and two-thirds against the Dodgers without allowing a hit and then ended up running into some trouble. And he walked the bases loaded and then had to face Mookie and Freddie. But, you know, he's certainly feeling good, feeling better. was throwing 98 the other night at 40 years old. I mean, he's looking good. He's looking better,

but, you know, he'd trade that all for the team. You know, it's about success of the team. And he would tell you that he's disappointed in his season so far. And I think that holds true for pretty much everybody on the Mets team besides maybe Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Alvarez, and David Robertson, everywhere you look, every player on that team has been underperforming. And, That's not a good recipe for success if you want to win baseball games, and they're not doing a lot of that. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversation. with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio, app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tough one. I said we could wrap up on this. I sent you a screen grab I saw. I don't know if it was a tweet or what, but apparently the length of the games has shrunk so considerably this season. Baseball's been sped up so much that it is like one of the fastest seasons ever recorded going back. however many years. And I just wonder, like, I've definitely heard people tell me, like,

baseball games are way better to go to, much easier to watch. Are you hearing a lot of chatter out there in the circles you run in about the speed of the game? Or do players just not like it because everything's sped up? So this is a fun conversation to have because when the rules first came out, and this is the case for any change in any sport ever, but especially with baseball, which sometimes struggles to adapt and change because, oh, this is America's pastime and we need to play it the same way. Well, that's just not true. And if you want to evolve, you've got to adapt to the times. But these new rules come about, and they were honestly about, they were received about 50-50 heading into the year. I remember doing a poll at the beginning of the year. And it was about 50-50 whether

people liked them or didn't like them. And now I think Major League Baseball just did a poll, and it's about 80% love them and 20% are still not on board with it. So in the first year for that to be the difference and how much it swayed people's opinions, I think that tells you everything you need to know. As just done with the All-Star game and heard a lot of people talking about this. A lot of the MLB folks, a lot of fans and a lot of players. There's not a player that I've heard that outwardly says like they hate these new rules. Pitchers are liking the pitch timer. I think it affects older pitchers a little bit more just because they've never had to deal with it. A lot of the younger pitchers did have to deal with it in the minors.

Time of game, every player loves. There's 162. If you can play it in two and a half hours as opposed to three, great. So I think it's doing wonders for sports or for baseball. First game I went to this year, I was really interested in it. It was actually at Dodgers Stadium. And my thought going there was great. It's going to take me two hours to even get up the hill and into Dodgers.

stadium and then an hour to even get out of it. And then the game's going to last two and a half hours. But I was sitting in my seat and it just feels awesome. It doesn't feel rushed. It doesn't feel slow by any means. It doesn't feel like you're out of there quickly. It just feels like there's constant action, which is what the game needed. And that's what it is.

That's what these rules are. It's not speeding up. It's not taking out any of the game. It's putting the same amount or more action in a more condensed amount of time. And I think it's done wonders for the sport. Yeah, that's good. So the pitch clock, your brother, have you talked to him about that? I don't think he was in the minors when they had the pitch clock.

Not to make him tell. Yeah, I don't, you know, I'm not even sure I was born when he was in the minors. But, you know, I haven't asked him about it, but I can tell. You know, I've watched my brother since the day I was born. And I look at him out there and he's sweating harder than I've seen him sweat before. he's doing things I've never seen him do before. I've seen him recently come set before he gets the sign, and he's like shaking as he's coming set.

So you can see him trying to figure out how to adapt to it on the fly. But it really does affect conditioning. And, you know, pitchers don't run anymore as much as they used to. When it came to pitchers, you used to just run, run, run, run, run. And now you don't see it as much anymore, but I almost think you need to. So I definitely think those older guys that have never dealt with it before and they're just older and physically the body changes as you get older. I can see it. I can see it when I watch him.

I can see it on his face. You know, it'll be early in the game and he's already drenched and sweat because I think you're just having to work that much more to get guys out and to get through an inning. And then you start dealing with quick innings and then you're, you know, you're right back out there. So I really do. I do believe the older pitchers that affects them a lot. But every pitcher I've had on my show this year, rants and raves about it and says they love it and think it's great for the game. So it's been an interesting conversation this year.

Good time for baseball indeed. All right, Ben Verlander flipping bats, continued success. Ben, by the way, you've been playing any hoops lately or no? No, I haven't played hoops since the last time I play with you. I golf all the time, J-Mack. We got it. We'll do a home and home. You'll come golf with me.

I'll go play basketball with you. How about this? I'll do a top golf. I can hang there. I'm just hacking, grip it and rip it, going for the end wall. But you're getting that with like your light work, right? That's not. You're not a grip and rip kind of guy.

You don't give your golf game enough credit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's too nice. All right, Ben, take it easy. Thanks a lot, buddy. All right, J-Mack, thanks, buddy. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing huge. human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a hear. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network

on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human