Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Hazel Mae: Toronto Mike'd #161

Episode Date: February 23, 2016

Mike chats with Sportsnet sportscaster Hazel Mae about the Blue Jays, her career in broadcasting, her time in Boston and what it's like being married to a former Blue Jay.

Welcome to episode 161 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer. I'm Mike from TorontoMic.com and joining me this week is Sportsnet sportscaster Hazel May. Hi. Welcome, Hazel. Welcome. nice little intro there you know kind of cool very hip well you like the song that's ill vibe he's a toronto artist who made that for me oh nice it even drops my name and everything i was gonna say just like tim and sid if you're somebody then you've got like a band or a really cool artist do a song about you. Yeah, they just wish they were Toronto Mike, okay?

I was thinking that's my theme song, but then I'm wondering if when you're walking around, is this the song you're pumping? Oh my gosh. Do you remember this one? You know, I do. And I'm old enough to remember that. But, oh my gosh.

Okay, so Mike Wilner was in here. Right. And I played a bunch of these. And, you know, there was a time in like the late 80s, early 90s, and we loved this stuff, right? but oh my god okay so Mike Wilner was in here right and I played a bunch of these and you know there was a time in like the late 80s early 90s and we loved this stuff

do you remember the Coca-Cola commercials of course I totally remember those they did like a remake of it yes yeah yes

not as good as the original those things are never good as the original but yeah I remember I guess my earliest Blue Jays memory was my mother dropping my sister and I off at Gate 12 or 13.

I don't remember. It was an exhibition stadium. And back then, you know, the world was a different place. You can drop off for young teenage girls by themselves. She would give us, you know, five dollars each to have a drink and a hot dog. And she would drop us off and then pick us up after the game was done. And one day, it was really funny, I thought about this the other day, we had forgotten our money for lunch during the ball game, and the kind people over at the gate let my mother in to find us.

Oh, get out of here. And she was on her way to a baby shower. So she was all decked up with this huge, obnoxious looking brimmed hat. And she was all gussied up. And she remembered the section my sister and I were sitting in at Exhibition Stadium. And she walked up and down the section yelling our names out. And all I can remember is guys in the back saying down in front lady down in front and I looked at my sister I said is that mom oh my gosh we were horrified but um yeah I mean always been

a Blue Jays fan and it really is a privilege and an honor to be um on that field on a regular basis okay so the big news uh am I allowed to mention your bodyguard in this room right now? You can. He's also my chauffeur. So yes, absolutely. Kevin Barker. Who, by the way, I've told you can, anytime you want to get on the mic, I would pull that one over. Just let me know. But he's not on the... He's my detail. He's your detail.

So two things on that note. One is that he's way too big for this basement because these ceilings are way too low for the guy. I apologize. I came down like 10 minutes ago way too low for the guy. I apologize. I came down like 10 minutes ago and it was cold down here. I did put on a heater for you. If Hazel May is coming on, I'm going to have to heat this place. And it's funny because I'm always cold. I mean, always cold.

I'm the one that has the three blankets at night and I'm always cold. But I'm actually quite comfortable. So thank you for asking. You're my first guest. No, you're not. I just corrected myself. Em'm actually quite comfortable so thank you for asking you're my first guest no you're not I just correct me m grinder was on so you know m grinder I don't okay she's she's half Filipino half white okay okay gorgeous right she is gorgeous yes and she was on a couple I don't know about a month ago and I'm like you know I told her the story my daughter is being born next month and she is half Filipino Filipino. She will be half Filipino, half white. And I said, you're pretty.

That's a good sign. And you're my first Filipino. Okay, so do I get like a prize or something? Yeah. I should get something for that. But I'm honored. Thank you. Well, how old were you when you emigrated to Canada?

Oh, geez. My father came first in the early 70s. And, oh, excuse me, the late 60s. And I think I was, I want to say four or five when we came to Toronto. And it was my sister and I first. And unfortunately, you know, my father was a new immigrant. And he had two kids that he had to leave behind in the Philippines because he just didn't have the money to bring us all. So he sent for my sister, my mother and I back in 1974, 75. And then when we got established, he sent for my younger brother and my younger sister. You know, I just, for children of immigrant parents

of this country, this country is so wonderful. It was so welcoming to my father and my mother and my brother and my sisters and I. And we've all, we all have children now that have been born in this wonderful country. And it's just an honor to be able to make a living here in this free society and to do something that you love to do

because how many people can really say that what they're doing now is something that they've always wanted to do and make a good living at doing? No, awesome. And it's important guys like me who kind of take it all for granted. We were just born here, and we've always kind of been here. It's important we hear these stories, especially now with the refugee crisis going on and everything that we hear about, you know, the trials and tribulations of like a new Canadian coming over and having to kind of

acclimatize and leave their family behind. It is. And, you know, I guess I don't remember, you know, all I remember is home is Toronto, home is Canada. But when I talk to my parents about home, home for them is the Philippines. And they talk about their friends and, you know, what it was like back then under the Marcos rule. And you got to really, you know, feel very lucky that you grew up in a country like Canada and, you know, in the United States as well. Yeah, wicked awesome. The wicked awesome. How's that? Uh, it's really busy. I don't have a lot of time with you. Uh, so if people wonder why this isn't going to be another two hour episode, you will come back. But the, um, the fact is there's lots going on

in blue Jay land. So really quick, uh, I'm wearing my, uh, bat flip t-shirt because you're coming. I didn't even know Kevin Barker was coming, but I'm like wearing the bat flip t-shirt to say that you need to tell your bosses that this is important. Are you writing this down? That Jay Bruce is not Jose Bautista. No, and I don't think, you know, and I've been following Shai Davidi's excellent reporting there on sportsnet.ca.

I really don't think the move to try to acquire or trade for Bruce has anything to do with Jose Batista. I mean, it's a nice little, you know, I don't know if it's an insurance policy for at least another year because Bruce has an option in 2017. If things don't go well, maybe this is kind of gives him a little time to figure out what a long term solution is in right field. a little time to figure out what a long-term solution is in right field if you know if jose doesn't come back um i know i'm in the minority um i know on social media i was taking a bit of beating because that's normal because um i feel like that's a rite of passage i'm new to the twitter community i've been on for like a year i was late to the party but uh haven't watched jay bruce um i've been lucky enough to to see a lot of his games in Louisville.

And I know that he didn't spend a lot of time there. And that's a good thing because he was so talented that they called him up to the Reds right away. But having watched him through those years and those successful years in Cincinnati and covered the Reds when I was with MLB Network. I'm looking at his career, his body of work. And here's a guy that would thrive in a place like Rogers Center, although Great American Ballpark is, you know, a hitter friendly park as well. But a lot of people are saying, you know, he's not a great defensive guy. His metrics, his analytics don't add up. For me personally, I feel like numbers and stats and analytics only tell part of a player's story. They are helpful, but I feel like you really got to look at his body of work.

I've watched him, and he definitely is not going to hurt you defensively, in my opinion. He's a left-handed threat. Here's a guy in his walk year. You know he's going to absolutely try to kill it this year because he knows he's in his walk here. And I think for Jay, in Cincinnati, there was a lot of pressure on him. I think here, if he was ever to become a Blue Jay, he's not the man here. I don't think there's going to be a lot of pressure for him to be the guy. I think working alongside his former hitting coach in Brooke Jacoby is going to help as well.

And let's keep in mind, in 2014, he was derailed by knee surgery. 2015, his numbers really took a dive because he was playing like crap the final two months of the season. So my opinion is based on having spoken to his former teammates about what kind of guy he was in the clubhouse. And as you know, Mike, Alex Anthopoulos left with a clubhouse as tight as they could be. And analytics will never tell you what a good clubhouse guy or a good teammate can be. Okay, but now that you're doing the defense of Bruce there,

now aren't you afraid the Twitter guys are going to say you're a Roger Schill? Isn't that the next move? But no. Because you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't, by the way. It is, and believe me, I have not seen Michael Saunders play as much as I've seen Jay Bruce. So I'm not going to say, you know,

start pretending that I know all sorts of things about Michael Saunders because I haven't seen him as much as I've seen Jay Bruce. I wish, you know, if it turns out that Michael Saunders is our starting left fielder, I think that would be great. We know what he's done with Seattle. If it turns out to be Jay Bruce, I think it's a great move. I really think it's a win-win. And I know people are just looking at the stats going, he's had a horrible couple of years, but I'm

looking at it as a total body of work. When I hear the name Jay Bruce, I think of Bruce Keeson, who George Bell drop kicked in 85. George Bell was my guy. Yeah, 2016 Jays, we'll leave that debarker here. We're talking 85 Jays, okay? That was my team. That was my guy, George Bell.

I was a big Garth Orge fan. He had the batting stance where he was almost parallel to the ground. And you know what? When I was lucky enough to... I was a big Garth Orge fan. I love because he had the batting stance where he was almost parallel to the ground. And you know what? When I was lucky enough to, I was doing 30 clubs in 30 days for Major League Baseball Network. And they assigned me to the Brewers. And at that, I just, I looked over at the first base coach and I thought, geez, that looks a lot like Garth Orge. And it turned out to be Garth Orge. And I immediately turned into the 12-year-old girl that was like, oh my God, it's Garth Orge.

Fun fact, in the 85 World's ALCS, Garth Orge's mom was rooting for the Royals because Dane Orge was on the Royals. And I heard an interview with the mom and they said like, how do you cheer? And I remember her distinctly because I was only like 10 years old or something. I remember her saying, I hate to say it,

but I'm cheering for the Royals. So Garth's own mom rooted against him in the ALCS in 85. And real quick, because she platooned with Rance Mullenix. I don't get to a lot of games, but I was at Rance Mullenix's last game as a Blue Jay

and where he recorded his last Major League hit. Wow. Just Rance Mullenix. I just wanted to throw that out there. It's funny because my girlfriends and i they were all in love with kelly gruber like everybody because he had the flow he had the mullet and he was the blonde he looked like a california surfer and then i i come in i'm like i like garth orge with the really messed up stance they're like really and i just really like

the way he played the game the players don't look like Rance and Garth anymore. They look more like Barker here. Those guys look like they should be math teachers or science professors. Who had that all-dreamy team? We were in New York City for the baseball awards, and I'm trying to remember. Do you remember who it was, Kevin, who got up and talked about the all-dreamy team? Oh, it might have been Mark Mulder or Tim Hudson.

They were up for an award and they were talking about the All Dreamy team. And it was, you know, Buster Posey, it was Bryce Harper and all these like gorgeous guys, according to them. But I thought that was pretty funny that they had an All Dreamy team. I distinctly remember my mom saying one day that Dave Steeve was good looking. And I was like, I never looked at ballplayers like this. Maybe it's a stash.

I'm never going to do a half an hour episode with you if we go so deep into the Bruce trade here. Actually, you give me the signal when to go. Give us a two minute warning

and then I can... Give us my chauffeur's telling me to go. It can't be your hands around my neck. That can't be the signal no the um so just last night with batista i know he gave like a the great legend came out yesterday like he said here's the term i want here's the number i'm not negotiating and then he hasn't heard in two weeks the writing's on the wall i i don't have to tell

you goodbye jose which is uh the fans are hate this. You thought the AA thing was messy when Batista walks. I know there's a press conference today, and I didn't hear it or anything, but I find it interesting. We all go live to Ross Atkins to hear the update, and he will say absolutely nothing. You are saying more in this call than Atkins would say. You know, you got to think that, first of all,

if he's in any type of negotiation at all, he can't say anything he really can't so he has this conference is for him to tell us all he can't say anything I guess he was probably getting a whole lot of media requests for him and he thought you know what I'll just come out and say nothing for nine minutes and maybe they'll go away which they won't Alex was more charming when he said nothing I'm just throwing that out there. You know what? That is true. He was a lot more engaging

and then you walked away going, wow, he said nothing. But I thought it was a lovely press conference. He's got more charm when he does it. It's true. It's true. And I also think, in all fairness, Ross, I think, is still trying to feel the media out here. Still trying to figure out... He's still looking for

Indians who want to... Cleveland Indians who want to come over. Yeah, he's trying to figure out, you know, who can I trust? Who can't I trust? What is this guy's angle? How can I duplicate the success I had in Cleveland? That's what they're doing right now. This beer in front of you is not just to look pretty,

even though it looks so pretty. You and your husband can enjoy this tonight. Great Lakes Brewery. So Great Lakes Brewery, that's local to here. That's like rural York and Queensway is where these guys are. Like, you know, there's a Costco there and there's like a Harvey's. It's a little bit like south of there before the highway. I may or may not know about the Harvey's there.

I'll never tell. Combo 2, but I'll never tell. Combo 2, it's exclusive. Thank you. Thank you, Great Lakes. And there's, yeah. So bring that home and enjoy it. They're good people and it's good beer.

And everyone listening, Hazel wants you to help crowdfund this podcast. So go to patreon.com slash Toronto Mike. Like Tom and John and Greg and Cameron and Robert and Matt and David and Julie and Stephen and Pete and Norman and Ed and Moose Grumpy and Al and Hamilton Mike and 1236 and Marc Asor and Steve Leggett and Elle Miller and Mark and Rixie and Oakville. Join that list of people who support this podcast. Hazel will be happy if you do that.

I will be very happy. Thank you. I feel like someone for being here. You know you're a somebody when you get the call from John and Mike. I get the call. Barker's still waiting for the call. Maybe if you keep your rise in the market, you might get that call soon. Who knows?

If you're as big as I am, you might be on Toronto Mike. Maybe. Maybe if you're lucky. I told your husband quickly when you came in that I loved biking to Baseball Central during this post... Well, basically after the trade deadline. Right. The fever.

I got the fever, as most Torontonians did. And I was insatiable. My appetite for Blue Jay content was insatiable. And if I went for a bike ride at noon, I had to listen to whatever,

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker. And then the minute the hockey season started, when the Jay stuff was just getting excited, they switched it to Hockey Central. I know what Rogers is doing. They invested like $5 to Hockey Central. I know what Rodgers is doing.

They invested like $5 billion in hockey. And I understand the business reasons they have to go all hockey. But it really does suck when you've got the Baseball Central and you kill it right when the fever is at its peak. Well, the appetite for for Blue Jays. So we came up with Blue Jays this week, and we did it once a week, I think every Wednesday. I think Barry Davis, who's down there right now, I'm not headed down there until Friday, but Barry is down there. I think he's going to do Blue Jays this week there from Florida. But, boy, I can tell you, I felt it during that run.

I could talk to you about the thousands of people, hundreds of people that have talked to me about it on the street. I think everybody got caught up. Whether you were a baseball fan or not, it was hard not to get caught up in the euphoria and the excitement. You and I actually remembered the 92, 93 years, right? So, you know, it's, to me, it's different, right? Yeah.

Because I remember that I always said, like, there's post, like, touch them all, Joe. There's that moment and then everything after. And, you know, I've been waiting for something like that since. It's interesting you say that because my husband was born in Virginia and grew up in the United States. And I plucked him out from there and kind of relocated him against his will to come. No, I'm just kidding. We moved back to Toronto from the United States in 2011

and I was trying to explain to him, I said, you know, 92, 93 was so different. It was just as exciting, but for some reason, and it could be that I was actually more involved this time around. But I wasn't. But I'm telling you, I just felt that it was different. It wasn't better. It wasn't worse. It was different. And I don't know whether it was because there were two decades that went by and that there was this need and longing for this

particular team to do well. I don't know how much of it is social media and how much is it that we're sort of connected. It used to be like you got your Toronto Star in the morning or Toronto Sun. And you did list, yeah, we had the Fan 590. But it was different. I have trouble explaining it when I talk to my kids about this. And even though we lost in the ALCS, we lost in the ALCS, even though we won two World Series, somehow it felt bigger.

It was satisfying almost. It has to be. Really great point on social media. I'm sure it has a lot to be. Back in 92, 93, you'd pick up your rotary phone and call your aunt and say, oh my gosh, they won, blah, blah, blah.

But now you get almost like a second by second update on injuries, on what this player is doing, what this player said. I think it brings a lot of people closer. Something about when Batista hit the one of my shirt, the backflip homer, because originally I literally collapsed on the floor when he did it. It was just this weight off my, I was just going to cry in joy. And then I tweeted something like, I don't know, holy shitters. I can't remember anymore. Something like that.

Something about organic reaction. And I'm flooded. Like, all of my Twitter feed is people sharing their moment, that moment of elation. Right. It's like, where were you when... It's like, if you could tweet when Joe Carter hit the homer, what would that have felt like to see that and be a part of that? I was at a basement house party when that happened.

You're at a basement house party right now, Hazel May. It's a really weak one. I guess it could be, right? But that's where I was with Joe Carter. But you're right, that bat flip will always be, you know, where were you when kind of moment. And I was lucky enough to be on the visitor's camera well when that happened. And I keep telling people this. I know it's probably hard to believe, but I felt the concrete at Rogers Center move. I believe it. It was deafening. Well, there's a lot of concrete.

It was deafening. It was just electric. And it's one of these things I'll always remember for the rest of my life. I think I was in disbelief. I was happy. I was in shock all at the same time, if that really could happen. Wonderful moment.

It was. And I'm going to do something impossible, which is I'm going to spend five minutes to come through just kind of like, because you had your first tour of duty here and you disappear and you come back. Yes. So you went to York University.

I did. I took a course at york university yes yep a true exclusive you do not have a degree from york do you i can tell by how you phrase that i do not i do not here's here's a so i've always wanted to be in sports so who as sanaya superji who's a wonderful writer, was the sports director at York University Radio, CHRY, which is no longer there. But I remember thinking, as a female minority wanting to get in sports, how the heck is this going to work? And I remember someone telling me, did you know that the sports director at CHRY Radio is a female? And I thought, oh, my gosh. If anybody's going to want me to at least give this a go, it'll be her. So I went and spoke to Sanaya, and she was brave enough to take me on. And that's how this kind of all got started.

I auditioned for Jim Lang, who was at Sportsnet Ontario Radio. This was years ago. I made $75 a shift. That's good money today, though. They don't pay that well anymore. I made $75 a shift, and it was usually $75 a week because I was on like once a week. And then I waited on tables to kind of pay the rent. And from there, someone in the building said, who's that? And someone said, she's the new radio girl. And at the time, they were looking to make some changes. And they said, well, let's give her an audition and see how it goes from there. So I've been really lucky coming up in very an unconventional way.

So you're on Sportsnet News on Rogers Sportsnet. Well, no, I was on Sportsnet. It was Sports Central AM. And then it turned to Sportsnet News. And then I left to go work for the Boston Red Sox. And then from there... Okay, so Boston though.

But you were there. So you were there for the 07 World Series. I was there for 04 and 07. You were there in 04? Yeah. Okay, so my crack researchers are messing up left, right, and center. 04 was, I wish I could tell people that, you know, when I first came to Boston, I thought,

you know, why the angst? Like, why the 86-year curse? Why is that such a big deal? Because I just watched the Blue Jays win back-to-back World Series. I'm like, what is the deal? But these people, it is ingrained in their souls, this Red Sox organization. And not until 04 when they won it

did I really come to realize how important it was for them. People were going to the cemeteries after they won, where generations and generations. Right, because their grandpa never got to see this. A lot of people flocked to cemeteries

with bottles of champagne. And it was just, there were photos of tombstones with Red Sox paraphernalia draped all over them. It was so surreal to me. I remember, I've always hated the Yankees and Red Sox passionately. But even I remember when they were,

I think they swept or something. And I remember it was inevitable. And I remember having, almost like I had to come to acceptance and I came to grips. And then I realized I was almost happy for Red Sox fans. I was almost happy that they got to have that moment or whatever. It's tough.

When I first got there, there was a lot of resistance against me being there because a lot of people thought, well, she's from Toronto in Canada. What could she possibly know about baseball? It was such a cliquey thing there. Red Sox. But boy, I tell you, when they embrace you, they will stick with you. But they're okay that you're not white? They were okay with that? Because I've heard Boston stories. It's interesting. Carlos Delgado, who

was just a wonderful person to deal with, he said to me when he found out I was going to Boston, are you sure you want to go to Boston? You're a Filipino woman playing in a diehard, you know, Red Sox nation kind of thing. And I never really just didn't understand what he meant by that. And, you know, you kind of learn that they had kind of a checkered past when it comes to people that aren't exactly blonde hair and blue eyed. But I will say that once they embrace you,

they stick by you, very loyal. I still have very kind people from Boston that always check in on Twitter every now and then. Well, they loved you, right? Because you were considered for first president of Red Sox Nation, right? What the hell does that mean, by the way? They have a first president?

They were holding an election for first president of Red Sox Nation. I guess Red Sox Nation to them was just every Boston fan imaginable. And they had nominated me for that. I have no idea why. I always tell people, people always say, you were so popular there back in Boston. And I said, well, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I was there for 2004 and I was there for 07 and that for that particular city and New England has been, you know, so joyful and their memories were so happy that anybody that was connected with the team at all, you know, they hold very dear. That's why I think so fondly on Fergie Oliver.

Tony Kubik. Absolutely. And the late great Don Chevrier. Come on. Love that voice. Yeah. That voice. That's great Don Chevrier, too. Come on. Love that voice. Yeah. That voice. That's great.

Tommy Hutton. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I remember all those guys. See, that was my era. That was my era of the Blue Jays. Come back later. We won't even record it.

We'll just talk about the 80s Blue Jays. We'll just talk. Oh, my gosh. And my really funky hair and my leg warmers and all that stuff. I got to see that. So why did you leave this wonderful Boston? Because you moved on to the MLB network. Right. So I was in Boston for four and a half years and my agent got a call from Major League Baseball and they said, we are thinking of launching a network.

And when you work in places like Boston and New York, even though it's a regional station, Boston and New York, even though it's a regional station, it's pretty national just because of the franchises that you're with. A lot of people know who you are. So some kind soul, Major League Baseball, thought I would help them launch the network. So we got a phone call and my agent said, how would you like to move to New York? And I thought, great. It was nice to get in ground level at a new venture and to try living in New York. It's thought, great. It was nice to get in ground level at a new venture and to try living in New York. It's always one of my favorite places to visit. But I thought, let's try living there. You know, if you could make it there, you can make it anywhere. I think there's a song. If there's not one, I'm going to write one because it just rolls off the

tongue. All right. And then this is the million dollar question. You come back, you come back to Sportsnet. So why'd you come back? Well, I had been gone for almost 10 years, eight, nine, 10 years. And, um, we were in contract negotiations with MLB network. They wanted me, um, to stick around then out of the blue. And I don't know whether it was, I don't know, an omen or whatever. I have no idea. Scott Moore called my agent in New York and said, you know, what would it take to bring her back home? And it just so happened that, you know, I had been thinking about coming back. My parents are getting older. I had new nephews and nieces that were being born that I wanted to spend and get to know and spend time with. And I just thought, you know, this was the right time to spend more time with my family and

especially my parents, to me, was very important. And I wanted to have a family and having grown up in Toronto, raising kids, in my opinion, in Manhattan. No, you wanted, you were not like Antonio Davis. You wanted the metric system. You're like, I can't deal with this system. I couldn't picture myself having a family, raising them in Manhattan. And I know plenty of people do. Just for me, I just thought the timing was good to make a move.

Scott Moore made you an offer you couldn't refuse. That and, you know, coming home. Coming home was nice. I know my husband has said, you know, we'll do the move, but eventually we will, you know, go back to the United States. Is that right? You want me to rough him up a bit? Because you've got to stay here now.

I think that's the deal. Yeah, we'll see what happens. I promised him, I said, you know, make this move and we'll negotiate down the road. Unlike Jose. We'll negotiate. You just put a number and a term on the table. Yeah, just give me the years. By the way, mad props to Jose.

A lot of people are giving him flack for this. Like it's an arrogant move. You know what? I love it. There's no one smarter that I've ever interviewed or have to deal with. No one's smart. He knows. I think every move he knows is calculated and not in a malicious way.

He knows what he wants. He knows what it's going to take to keep him. The only thing that I was kind of disappointed is that, you know, he said that there would be absolutely no negotiation. And I think for a franchise that, you know, did sign him to a career in a five-year, $64 million, $5 million. I think they deserve at least the courtesy of,

hey, let us try to keep you. Who knows? Who knows down the road he may soften on that stance, but I think contract negotiation means you negotiate. But it's brilliant that we don't know the number. We don't know. We're all guessing. Oh, it's 525. Whatever that we don't know the number. We don't know. We're all guessing. Oh, it's 5, 125, whatever.

We don't know. Which is amazing because if that number is really high, someone's leaking, Rogers is going to leak this. I'm surprised you didn't let it slip. I'm surprised they didn't say, Hazel, on Toronto Mike's podcast, you leaked that number. I, like many people, rely on our insiders and people that have these sources that are embedded in the walls of the Blue Jays' war room.

Because the PR disaster, and I know we started off like this, but I'm warning you two, warning you now. No, I know. If Jose walks, that guy is beloved. It's been a long time. I mean, you can talk about Delgado. We love Delgado. But there's something special about Batista, something different about this guy. Well, unfortunately for Delgado,

who was a terrific ambassador for the team and had a terrific career here in Toronto, he wasn't on a playoff team here in Toronto. Like Halliday, too. He's another gentleman, class act, you never got a playoff game. We, as in the media, have been really lucky to have such cover class acts.

But yeah, I don't think they hold Carlos in that same regard. No, we don't want a statue of Carlos. We love the guy. Yeah. I want a statue of the Batflip outside of the rock. I actually think that's a great idea. Can we remove the Ted Rogers and replace it with the Batflip? Well, if I want to work again, I'm going to say no.

Oh, he's dead. It's okay. No, no. I'm sure there's plenty of places where we can put it. Okay, we're going to put it somewhere else. I think that's great. I think having a bat flip statue is awesome. Is awesome.

Today we see you as the, what we see on Blue Jays broadcast, of course, and your anchor of Sportsnet Connected. Well, Sportsnet Central, 6 o'clock, is no longer. Tim and Sid are on that time slot from 5 to 7. longer. Tim and Sid are on that time slot from 5 to 7. Given what the team has done, boy, last year, I moved over to the Toronto Blue Jays

broadcast team on Sportsnet. You'll be seeing me and Barry Davis and Jamie. I heard 5 million people watch the backflip. Is that possible? It was like 4 or five million people. And I honestly think

it'll probably, if they do that run again, I think it'll be more than that. Well, imagine we actually got to a World Series. Can you imagine? Oh, that would be...

But if we missed, if by some chance we missed the wild card by half a game, Shapiro, we're going to have pitchforks. I'm already starting,

the mob's already ready. We're going to have fire, you know, like the olden days when. We're going to have fire, you know, like the olden days when you had your mob. I really kind of feel for those guys because the season hasn't started and they've already been chastised. For me,

I'm going to reserve judgment. I'm going to wait till the season starts and see what kind of team they put together and see what moves they make, you know, if they have to make any drastic moves because things either haven't gone on, gone off to a good start or not. I'm just going to reserve judgment. I'm not trying to be another Rogers. I'm just going to be fair and I'm just going to reserve judgment. Ask me in like three, four months. I will. But right now I'm going to ask you about

Hazel May Design. Oh, yes. What's Hazel May Design? You know, quickly, having been in New York City, and we're so lucky, women in our business, we have stylists and people that dress you. So in New York City, I was really lucky enough to have, to warn really nice designer dresses and whatnot. And when I moved back to Toronto, really nice designer dresses and whatnot. And when I moved back to Toronto, not as big fashion-wise, and we do have tremendous Canadian designers, but I didn't have as many options here in Toronto. Too many lumberjack jackets. I came home one day and I said, Kevin asked me, you know, why are you so down? I said, I just can't find this, this, this, this. And Kevin said, well, why don't you just make your own? And I looked at him and I said, well, that's just the dumbest thing you've ever said to me. And I thought about it,

ended up making a couple of dresses. The women around the office, you know, like them, asked me where I got them. I told them I made them. And we thought, hey, if this fills a need for me, I'm sure it may fill a need for some Canadian women out there. So we're going into our fifth collection in April, Shameless Plug on the Shopping Channel, Shameless Plug again. And, you know, knock on wood, it's gone really well. Well, plug away. Yeah, really.

Be as shameless as you desire as you drink that Great Lakes beer in front of you. Just plug, plug, plug. So we're doing that. And I will break a little bit of news on your show. Yeah, of course. Let's go. I'm working on a Blue Jays line.

I think I can say that we will have some female Blue Jays gear out there. My wife is always looking for Blue Jay gear that's kind of feminine. Yeah. And you know what? It's not to say we're trying to do away with the Blue Jays jersey, but I know your wife can probably appreciate if you're out there in July, those tan lines on those Blue Jays jersey are great. So we're trying to find, you know, more fashionable, sporty.

Gotta remove those sleeves. Sporty look for women. You know, unlike the NHL and NFL, particularly in the northern states, you don't have as many options. But because baseball's in the summer, you've got a lot more opportunities to be a little bit more fashionable, a little bit more comfortable when you go to the ballpark. So that's what we're trying to do. So keep it here, and I'll tell you when it comes out. And you'll come back.

And I get another half an hour when you come back, and I'll ask you everything else. You do, and your beautiful wife will probably get some type of clothing from me. Oh, wow. That's cool. Do you make baby clothes yet? I need some baby clothes. Not yet. You need some baby clothes.

Not yet. Let's take care of your wife first. Last question, though. Is Kevin Barker a good guy? Be honest. Like, wink if he's not. Just wink at me. Listen to me.

No. He, I have to tell you, I am one very lucky person. He is an unbelievable father, a great husband. He's, he's not bad looking. I will tell you that. And he, a lot of people don't know this. He has a heart of gold. He would do anything for a friend. So, and I'd say that when he's not even sitting right next to me. One day he's getting the call from Toronto Mike to come in for an episode, so make sure he's ready. He'll probably come in.

We're very competitive, just so you know. So competitive. I'll compare the download numbers. Oh my gosh, so competitive, the two of us. That's a whole other story. That's a whole other story. This was a terrific conversation. No, thank you for coming on a busy Blue Jay News day

where Atkins doesn't say anything, but there's still a lot going on. But get that statue done, and this will be well worth it. I can't wait to go take my kids to the Dome and say, do you remember the bat flip? There it is. What was that? Was it the seventh inning that was crazy? It was the seventh inning, yeah.

Because we re-watched that seventh inning a hundred times. We watched the seventh inning. That's amazing. And the television screen shakes just as much. That's awesome. You know, all these months later. And that brings us to

the end of our 161st show. You can follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike and Hazel is at the Hazel May. Not yet. No?

Someone took the other one. Hazel May, I know. I tried looking at him going, wait a minute. I'm Hazel May. That's no good. So going, wait a minute. I'm Hazel May. That's no good. So it's the Hazel May.

The Hazel May. See you all next week. You've been under my skin for more than eight years. It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears. And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you But I'm a much better man for having known you Oh, you know that's true because Everything is coming up rosy and green

Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow Wants me today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away.