Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Joe Siddall: Toronto Mike'd #738

Episode Date: October 20, 2020

Mike chats with Sportsnet baseball analyst Joe Siddall about his years playing for the Expos, Marlins and Tigers, how Jerry Howarth helped him become a broadcaster, his move from the radio booth to television and more.

Welcome to episode 738 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Pumpkins After Dark, save 10% with the promo code. Mike, M I K E D CDN technologies, your outsource it department contact Barb at Barb at CDN technologies.com sticker. You.com create custom stickers, labels, tattoos,

and decals for your home and your business. And Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. I'm Mike from torontomike.com, and joining me this week is Sportsnet's Joe Siddall. Welcome, Joe. Well, thank you, Mike. And I know you're a trooper because it's been raining all day.

And if you had said, Mike, let's do it another day, I would have said, I would have got it. Like I would have understood. But here you are. Beautiful day. It's all attitude, right? Attitude is everything. Nature. It's an off day for me.

So I'm enjoying it. Let's put it that way. And for those who are not watching on Periscope, I'll just say for the first time ever I I realized like one of my great fears in these times when it's rainy is that my gear is going to get wet and it's going to fry and it's going to cost me thousands of dollars and today I had this genius idea like go to the camping gear in the shed and put up a tarp and like I don't know like I'm shaking my head like why didn't I do this earlier like it's a castle it's perfect so thanks for here, buddy. I want to thank Andrew Stokely, my good friend and audio guru, because he introduced us. So thank you, Andrew. Stokes is a good man, isn't

he? You have to say that because you know, he's listening. Stokes, if you're listening, he hooked me up pretty good. I worked those couple of games with the Blue Jays in the playoffs with Buck in the booth there because Dan had to go and do his ESPN radio. So Stokes hooked me up and brought me all my gear, all wiped down nicely, COVID prepared. He likes to give me a heads up when the good ones are dropping by and he said, he assured me you're one of the good ones. I've tricked him, haven't I? No pressure, no pressure. Earlier when my son was here, my six-year-old, and I was quizzing him who's in the World Series?

And he remembered Tampa Bay, and then I had to kind of give him a little help to remember that L.A. is in the World Series. But I find it interesting because we just saw Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup, and we just saw L.A. win the NBA Championship. Like, that just happened, and here they are going at it for the World Series.

Good times in Florida, good times out West. Who's going to win the series? My friend Peter Gross needs to know where to put his money. You know, I've been in a couple of friendly little brackets before the playoffs started, and I had the Dodgers in six over the Tampa Bay Rays. Wow. So I'm locked in right now, but this should be very interesting.

Well done. Okay, well, let's hope you, you, uh, you're, you end up being great. It's good for LA. I always think of the Braves who had all those great teams in the nineties and they got the one, like they got the one, the one chip as you will. And the Dodgers are in that same boat of just like so good for so long. They need their chip. I felt that it has to happen. Like you can't keep getting to the big dance and being turned away. The Rays are so good. And of course we see them so often playing the Blue Jays and the AL East,

and we know them pretty well. I just felt that the depth of the pitching, the depth of the lineup, the depth of the roster, the bench, it goes on and on and on about the Dodgers. I feel that it is going to play a big part. The Rays have unbelievable pitching. I love the big three starters and all of the power arms they come at you with, but they just don't hit as much. And they've found a way to get big hits and big home runs this postseason,

but I just feel both teams have great pitching, power arms, but the Dodgers lineup is way stronger, and I think that's going to be the difference. Most of us baseball fans are just relieved that the Astros are not in the World Series. Me too. It's not just you baseball fans. It's a lot of people. So there was a little rooting from the press box. Is that fair to say? That's very fair. Anybody around baseball should have been feeling that way. Hey, if you're from Windsor, you have to grow up a Tigers fan, right? Is that how it works? Oh, 100%. Yeah, I grew up probably 15 minutes,

10-15 minutes from the border, and Tiger Stadium, just like Comerica Park, was right over the border. So yeah, my older brothers used to take us to ballgames all the time, so I've seen numerous games in my lifetime in Tiger Stadium, and then of course, my dream came true and got to play there as a Tiger,

so that was pretty cool. So many questions, but since we're talking wins, by the way, who was your favorite Tiger growing up? Lance Parrish. Oh yeah. Being a catcher, it had to be the catcher, of course. And I remember, of course, Trammell and Whitaker and the list goes on and on and Jack Morris

and the whole pitching staff. But Lance was for me because of the big stature he was, the figure behind the plate. But I remember, I think I was 11 or 12, it was probably peewee baseball, where I wore the old plastic souvenir helmet. Remember those they give you at the ballpark? Of course, yeah. And I wore it.

I used liquid paper, the white out, to put a number 13 on the back. And I wore it as my catching helmet. And of course, that's illegal because it's plastic and dangerous. It's going to crack. And it was, I think, the second inning where, sure enough, I took a foul tip and the helmet cracked. Well, I got all kinds of heck from the umpire for wearing an illegal helmet. My coach got in trouble for it.

But that's what I did. I tried to emulate Big Lance. That 84 team was unbelievable. The start, right? What was the start? Do you remember? Was it 35-5 or something? It was ridiculous.

Yeah, it was one of the best ever. And what was really cool for me, too, is thinking back to those days. After my playing career, I got to work with the Tigers part-time just helping them out with batting practice and all. Well, then when Alan Trammell took over the team, a lot of these guys were coaching. Lance was on the coaching staff. Gibby, Kurt Gibson was on the coaching staff.

So it was really cool. Very, very cool here. Now I got a question from my good friend, Mark Hebbshire. Hebbsie. Hebbsie's got a podcast, by the way, Hebze on Sports. And if you guys aren't subscribed, you're missing out. Independent sports dot. Let's read Hebze's question.

Ask Joe if he was a Windsor Spitfires fan. And he dropped some names here. Claude Loisel, Paul Lawless, Todd Gill, Keith Gretzky. Ernie Godden. Okay. So I wasn't a diehard Spitfires fan, but of course, if youless, Todd Gill, Keith Gretzky. Ernie Godden. Okay. So I wasn't a diehard Spitfires fan, but of course, if you live in Windsor, you know the Spitfires, and you hear them, of course, lots. And back in those days, they were on the radio every night and still are.

But it was, you know, when I look back, I was probably more so into the baseball and football as a kid. I played hockey, but I wasn't as into it, which is kind of ironic for being a Canadian. You should have been my number one, I suppose. But then, yeah, as you get older and then, of course, with the Roots and the Memorial Cups, they had one back-to-back there. That was pretty cool. But I do remember all of those names you just rattled off. So, okay, there you go, Hebsey. Good question, good question. It's funny, I just mentioned the Braves having those good teams in the 90s and just getting the one chip there. Who's the Braves pitcher who was drafted in the NHL Tom Glavin

Tom Glavin that's what it was okay right okay sorry no I just had this vision of uh I couldn't remember who was Tom Glavin okay uh I'm gonna leave the next question to my buddy uh Brian Gerstein so Brian on Twitter he's a Raptors devotee. I like Brian's questions because Brian was born and raised in Montreal. He's a diehard Expos guy. If you ever see him walk in the streets, he might be wearing his Expos jersey. What was it like to get a standing ovation in 93 after your first big league hit? And did you ever receive a bigger ovation at any point in your career? Great question. I don't think I've ever received a bigger ovation.

I do remember getting my first big league hit. It was off Frank Tanana. And it was just, I think, a couple of days after I got called up because when I was called up for the first time, the Expos were in Pittsburgh. So I got called up to Three Rivers Stadium, but we had come home

because it was a travel day the next day. And it was shortly after that I got the base hit off Tanana, line drive, single left, and I got to first base. And my first base coach was Luis Pujols, who was my catching instructor all coming through the minor leagues. So I knew Luis very well. I didn't really know, and I heard the crowd. And, of course, he's nudging me saying, hey, tip your cap, tip your cap.

So I tipped my cap. Well, later on, and it was probably after my career, my wife has this four-picture frame, and it was the frame of that whole moment. And it was the frame of me at first base, me reaching for the helmet, me tipping the helmet, and then, of course, a big smile, and Louie's there smiling too. So that's pretty memorable.

Any first major league hit is memorable, but that was a little extra special. Is Tadana the guy, I think they said he threw in the 90s and the 70s and he threw in the 70s and the 90s. That's a good way of putting it. Yeah, I say my first big league hit was Frank Tanana, but it wasn't the guy throwing 97 miles an hour. I always remember that line about Frank Tanana.

I don't know who to give credit for. Okay, there's more from Brian, but before I get back to Brian, because he's got a second question there, I want to play a clip. This is a TSN clip I pulled about your Major League Baseball debut. So, here, let's listen to this for, like, 90 seconds. After a week of wondering when, after getting into two games as a substitute, this time Joe Siddle donned the mask for real. This was his first Major League start.

It's a dream come true. I mean, any kid's dream. Everybody plays baseball when they're a kid, I think. And I think one day in the big leagues. I've been three days in the big leagues. And I think, I mean, it could end today. And it's a great accomplishment. And it was to get greater. Siddle stroked a single in the fourth, his first Major League hit. And then, unexpectedly, a standing ovation. Another reminder of where he was. greater. Siddle stroked a single in the fourth, his first major league hit, and then unexpectedly a standing ovation. Another reminder of where he was, what level he had reached. Yeah, this is the big league. I mean, this is what, this is the dream come true. It's, I think, any, any kid's dream, let alone any minor league player's dream. I think all of our goal is to get to the big leagues, and

it's finally happened. Now, hopefully I can get some playing time in and contribute in any way I can and be here for a long time. To do this you know you do a lot of without turn. But time is against him. It took six years to get to the majors and being third string there's no guarantee he'll stick. We all know he can catch. I think he'll be a big league catcher if he can just hit and hold his own. And that's what we're aiming for is just to get him straight now with his hitting so that he can get in the lineup hopefully and just be himself.

In the meantime, he'll take what he can get. After all, he's a big leaguer now. And if playing part-time is what keeps him one... I can certainly accept that role anytime in the big leagues and, again, be able to contribute any way I can. It's just a matter of staying ready. When you're not playing a whole lot, you have to get your work in the batting cage, get your work in the bullpen catching-wise, so that when you get a chance to play, you hopefully take full advantage of the opportunity. Rob Sinclair, TSN, in Montreal.

So there you go. There's a blast from the past. I said, let's soak that in. I mean, here I am sitting here. I'm like, this guy here, he's been in the show. He's played in the major leagues. Did you ever step back and go, I did it? How many kids have that dream and how many realize that dream?

You know, you probably, my own experience is after your career, you do a lot of reflecting. And I think a lot of the reflecting is in moments like this where you're talking to people and they ask you questions or you pull up an old clip like that that I've never heard before. I sounded 25 years old, didn't I? You sounded pretty good. Pretty good. But it's, you do reflect back. And I think of all of the kids and I ended up coaching a lot of young kids,

younger and then into the high school levels either, and so many kids dream of playing professionally, first of all, or getting a scholarship, going to a college, and then the ones that do play professionally, of course, your dream is to get to the big leagues. So when you think of all those steps for that to happen, I do look back and say, wow, that, yes, of course. And we all know that is quite an accomplishment to get there.

And it's an even greater one to try to stay there and make a career of it because we know a tiny percentage get to the major leagues, but an even smaller percentage stay there and make a career of it. Because as fans, we watch games on TV and we see all the familiar names are guys that are career-type players. And you forget about the million that were like me up and down,

up and down a few times. Now to finish Brian Gerstein's question, he said in 1995, he says, Joe, you hit 300. 300 in the big leagues, three for 10. What was your secret? He wants to know because forever you can tell people you batted 300. The secret was the small sample size. Wow. I mean, let's just skip the secret was the small sample size. Wow.

I mean, let's just skip the detail about the 10 at bat. So just stick with the I batted 300 here. Darren Shanahan, a lot of Expos fans come out of the woodwork when you tell them you're going to have a former Expo on the program here. So hi, Mike. Hi, Darren. Can you ask Joe to talk about what it was like catching the game where Denis Boucher was the starting pitcher?

This is September 6th, 1993. For us here in Quebec, Darren's talking obviously, for us here in Quebec, it was a big deal having a local boy start a game for the Expos. And as a proud Canadian, I loved watching a Canadian pitcher and a Canadian catcher start a game on Canadian soil. Now, before you answer his good question about that game, he goes, By the way, my wife and I had a chance to do a selfie with Joe at a Jays game, and he was a real class act.

Only downfall is that since that day, she keeps reminding me how damn handsome he is, and every time she sees him on TV. So that was a common theme. I want to just say shout out to Dave D who also wanted me to tell you that you're too damn handsome and his wife just is madly in love with you. A lot of information there, Mike. Just maybe if you could ugly it up a bit,

the guys would be more comfortable watching with their wives. I remember that day, I would say vividly, but I would say it was, for me, it was more Denny's day because, yes, I was the Canadian catcher and it was going to be the Canadian battery and all, but we were in Montreal, Quebec,

with the native, Denny Boucher, pitching on the mound. And I just, I remember before the game, we were signing baseballs, doing all these different things. I didn't necessarily think it was that big of a deal until all of these things were coming. We were signing baseballs and these were going to be memorabilia. And then when I went out into the dugout, like I always did, if I was starting the game, I'd be out in the dugout early, just doing my final prep work, even in my head, getting my gear ready and all. And then when Denny came out, the media, there were cameras everywhere. And he did the strut right through the dugout as he made his way down to the

bullpen. And it was unbelievable. And that's when I think I really stood back and went, wow, oh, this is a really big deal. And you know, it turned out to be a great day because we all kind of contributed to delivery Walker, of course, was in right field that day. Denny pitched a pretty good game. I believe he got the no decision, but we all kind of contributed.

And it was certainly to this day day still very, very memorable. Now, another question. Does Felipe Alou deserve discussion as one of the all-time great managers? I feel he does not get the credit that he deserved. What was it like playing under him? As soon as I hear the name Felipe Alou, I can talk forever. So Felipe is the reason I got to the major leagues. And when I say that, right away I kind of take a step back and just think,

wow, like I am forever grateful to this man. And the reason that he is the person that got me to the major leagues is because I was called up in 1993. Three years earlier in 1990, Felipe was my manager in West Palm Beach, Florida in the Florida State League. And that was a team, we remember coming out of spring training, and we called ourselves the suspects because all of the prospects went to the Midwest League, to Rockford, Illinois, or to AA Jacksonville at the time. So we had this, oh my goodness, F.P. Santangelo and Todd Mayo and Ken Lake and Rod Boddy and Dan Freed,

all these names that were probably guys like me, the kind of career minor league types that they were foreseeing, not necessarily prospects per se. And we won like 92 games that year. It was unbelievable. We had a phenomenal season. We went at it with the Vero Beach Dodgers with Mike Piazza and company in the, uh, in the finals. We had a phenomenal regular season. They beat us in the two out of three final, but I caught a lot that year. Felipe loved me behind the plate. He always felt like he was having another coach on the field. Um, he loved the way I handled pitchers. He, I've said, you know,

it wasn't a big hitter offense. It wasn't my thing, but he felt so good with me behind the plate. And I think I learned so much from him in my time that season behind the plate as well. Long story short, and my fast forward three years and Felipe is the big league manager in Montreal, and he's the type of guy in the national league game that liked to have three catchers. And at the time, you know, Darren Fletcher was the number one. And you, a lot of times, if he got on late in the game, you're going to pinch run for him.

Lou Frazier would come in, and then you'd need a catcher. So I think it was Tim McIntosh that got designated for assignment at the time, who was more of a hitting-type catcher than defense. He got DFA'd, and I got called up. And to this day, I still say it's because of my defense. And it's a funny thing because you work so hard on your weaknesses, of course, but you have to make sure that your strengths continue to be your strengths. And that's what I worked hard at as well. And that's essentially what paid off and got me to

the major leagues. If I could hit more, sure, I might've played for a lot longer in the big leagues. It didn't come to me, but I got four different tastes of it. But that first one, if you don't get it, I could have been one of those million career minor leaguers that never got that taste. So again, I'm forever grateful to Felipe. What a great man. You have one more career homer than I have in Major League Baseball. Squirrel nut. So you got one on me, which is pretty good. But can you like bury me in details? What do you remember of the lone Major League Baseball home run that you hit? Two huge details. One was that I hit it off Jeff Fasero.

Jeff Fasero was my teammate in Montreal. So that was kind of funny. And being a left-hander, too, and I'm not a guy known for hitting, and I hit it lefty-lefty off Fasero. So I'm sure he, to this day, is cringing, thinking, are you kidding me, of all people? But he was a great guy. And the second thing, of course, that it was in Tiger Stadium. And that's again, where I grew up watching the Tigers. And as I said before,

I use that term dream come true. And I heard it in that radio clip. So I must've been, I think I've been doing it for several years, but it truly is. I mean, when you, when you get a chance to put on that old English D and then at that stadium that you came to as a kid to watch these big leaguers. And so those in the third part of that is that it was a double header. And back then, traditional double headers, I think 4 p.m., 7 p.m. And I think it happened in the first game of the double header. So there wasn't really any footage. So good thing for the Internet, because my kids would be think I'm lying.

I searched for it. I couldn't find it. Can't find it. I searched for it. I have audio. I wanted to play it so bad right now. Oh, you know what? I have the audio of Frank Beckman and Jim Price on the audio call, the radio call from WJR Detroit. And, uh, but that's all I have. There's no video. And, uh, it was the first game of the doubleheader. I think I hit it in the middle innings. It got us back in the game, but yeah, it's, uh, it's, it's something I still

remember to this day, but probably the biggest things is being off Fisero and, of course, in Tiger Stadium. And, I mean, it's one of those funny things. When you hit your first career home run, you never think as you're rounding the bases, I might never do this again, right? That's not something you'd think. And, you know, before I go on, small detail I probably left out.

So I hit it to right center field, and it hit the facade of the upper deck, one of those beams, and it came back on the field. Well, it was against the Seattle Mariners. The Seattle Mariners center fielder was Ken Griffey Jr. Right. He picks up the ball and he flips it into the upper deck, into the stands, just giving it to a fan.

Well, little does he know or do those fans know, the first major league home run, oftentimes the team personnel will go out there and get the ball for you. Right. So they did, but the person that had the baseball would not give it up. Oh, because Ken threw it? Ken Griffey Jr. threw it to me. and I will go out there and get the ball for you. So they did, but the person that had the baseball would not give it up. Because Ken Griffey Jr. threw it to me. So apparently there was a lot of negotiating over the next day or so.

I have never to this day thanked Ken Griffey Jr., but apparently he signed a ball on a bat or something. I got my baseball, and to this day I have not thanked him. I have not seen him, so if I ever run into Ken Griffey Jr. If he's listening, Ken Griffey Jr., that was a classy thing to do to get Joe his ball. It's pretty special. I have two baseballs. My first major league hit off to Frank Tanana and then that home run ball.

Nice, nice. Marcus, so yeah, I'm going to get you back to Montreal because the Expos fans are just very passionate. They're passionate. My heartbreak, it'll come up in the next question, but for this question, it's about Ottawa. Okay, so Marcus. Marcus wants me to ask you about your playing days in Ottawa.

He saw you play there once his brother Dennis got him tickets. His old neighbor Dennis got him tickets, and he went and he saw you in Ottawa. What do you remember from your playing days in Ottawa? First season in Ottawa, my first season in Ottawa, was the first year of baseball and it was awesome because it was brand new. It was a brand new stadium. And of course the weather was freezing early on, but we had several, I think they were in the teens sellouts of like 10,000

plus. So it was really cool. And, um, at, at that time, of course, a lot of American teammates, a lot of teammates from the islands and from Caribbean. And of course, I think there were a couple of opening days where we had snow on the ground and it had to be cleared, but those are probably the biggest memories of the cold starts, but those sellout crowds were pretty awesome. Fast forward a little bit to 95, which was my second big league call up with the Expos and my teammate FP Santangangelo, was called up before me. So when I got called up in September, he said, why don't you just crash with me? You're only here for the month of September. So I did. Well, we finished a game in Montreal one night and the Ottawa Lynx were in the playoffs, our team that we were with them earlier in the year. And there was a rain delay.

So there's a rain delay and then we hear they're finishing it. So we're flipping on the TV and I think we were watching like a footage, some footage footage or maybe it's just the news that was showing it and anyway the word came across that they won it was pretty late it was probably after midnight it was late we were home from our expos game already just sitting watching and as soon as that last out was made of course fp looks at me and he said what do you think and i didn't know what he was talking about he's like let's go i was like oh my. We got in his car and we drove to Ottawa. Got there. And of course, Howard Darwin was the owner of the club at the time.

They had the whole restaurant up top and all reserved. And I think we rolled out of there about four or five in the morning. And it was a lot of fun. And we had to make our way back to Montreal. But it was something I'm really glad we did. Because when you get to the big leagues, there's one thing you want to remember about being in the minor leagues, and that's the old remember where you came from.

And there were a lot of guys there that I think really appreciated what we did there. And it is important because you're no different than them. You happen to catch a break and you got to call up to the big leagues. We were very fortunate for it. But that was a pretty cool thing, the great idea by FP, and then executing it was perfect. That's fantastic. Now, okay, back to Montreal.

And Brian says he has a friend that to this day, since the 1994 season was never finished, this friend of Brian's cannot watch a baseball game. So that was it when they canceled the 94 season there. When they play poker, this is Brian and his buddy, they're not allowed to watch baseball. No baseball on that television when they're playing poker. Baseball is dead to this guy.

Other sports are fine, but no baseball. So Brian's wanting to know, in your opinion, Joe, how much damage to Expos fans did that collapse of the 94 season due to the labor dispute cause? I'm sure it did a lot. You know, if you go on and you win a World Series or you compete and have a great season, then maybe the fans continue to come out the next year.

But I think ultimately that was the big downfall was the attendance and not necessarily drawing very well. It's too bad that, you know, a work stoppage will do that. Oftentimes time does heal. I know a lot of people, myself, friends that said the same thing after that, but of course, a few years later, they're back in loving baseball again. That was the, when I got called up in 93 and, you know, we had heard that, you know, they didn't draw very well. And I got called up in 93 in August, end of August, I think we were 12 or 13 games out of first place, and we made a run, and that was my first big league call-up. Very cool, and as I described earlier with Felipe,

I was inserted into a lot of games late and got to catch late in ball games and important ball games. That was my first taste in the big leagues, so it was really cool. Well, the crowds were coming, and it was pretty cool. I mean, I remember some pretty good crowds, especially if I remember correctly, Atlanta was in for a weekend. There must have been 20-plus thousand each night, especially if I remember correctly, Atlanta was in for a weekend. There must have been 20-plus thousand each night. So that was awesome. So I'm not sure if it was you needed to win for the fans to come out or what the culture is there,

but we all know that attendance was a big issue there, and it's really too bad, though, that they did lose the franchise. And I, just like many of our listeners, I certainly would love to see baseball back in Montreal. Do you think that'll happen? I do. I think it can happen. I think it might take some time. I do believe that baseball would want to get to 32 teams just to get back to that balanced schedule. And Montreal would be a perfect spot. I don't know all the, you know, money is a big driver, of course, and I'm not sure where that's all at. But if that is a possibility at all, I don't see how Montreal wouldn't be considered

as well as any other city in the world, quite frankly. Okay, so let's put a bow on your illustrious Major League playing career before we get into the broadcasting side. Illustrious is a strong word. I don't break that out for just anybody here, Joe. Okay, so we have the Expos, and you mentioned your debut in 93. You also make an appearance in 1995. Then you become a free agent.

You sign with the Marlins. This is in 95, and you appear in 16 games in the 96 season. And you end up back in the Expos Minor League organization in 97. Then you sign on with your beloved Detroit Tigers, because that helps you fulfill a dream, as you like to say. You sign late 97, and you make your final Major League Baseball appearances in

1998 for the Detroit Tigers. In 99, you play for the Tigers Minor League Organization. And then it looks like your final season of Pro Bowl is with the Boston Red Sox minor league organization in 2000 I'm gonna turn it over actually I'm gonna uh I mentioned to you I think before I press record that I've been chatting with Jerry Haworth about your appearance and he says the nicest things I think he might be the nicest man I know and he you know, takes one to no one. I would say like he's, he's just the, the things he's telling me about you are wonderful, but I actually,

uh, had already pulled a clip cause Jerry's been on this show and he talked about you and I'm going to play that clip in a moment. So I'm going to play a clip from Jerry Howard, but I just need to take a moment to just thank some Toronto Mike partners here real quick. So, and you,

uh, it's public. If I could say that you're a celiac, I know I just said it now, but it's not private health information I'm disclosing. I got to watch what I eat. Well, no, listen. So you're not to eat the lasagna,

but for those who are not, celiac, is that the term? Okay. The best Italian food in Canada is at Palma Pasta. They're in Mississauga and Oakville. So palmapasta.com. Thank you, Palma Pasta. And thank you, Great Lakes and Oakville. So palmapasta.com. Thank you, Palma Pasta. And thank you, Great Lakes Brewery,

Fresh Craft Beer, not too far from here. So I always say they're down the street from the Costco, not far from like rural York and Queensway. But of course you can find them in LCBOs and they deliver. So get your Great Lakes beer.

Fantastic. Thank you, Sticker U. I have a Toronto Mike sticker for you. It's raining out here, so I didn't bring it out. But if you're looking for stickers, decals, temporary tattoos, badges, stuff like that, StickerU.com is a great Toronto company, and they'll take care of you. I'm co-hosting a webinar with Barb Paluskiewicz from CDN Technologies.

This is Thursday at noon, and Barb's going to dress up like Elvira. You remember Elvira? And she tells me she's got the Elvira dress and everything. So it's just free admission. Get your ticket while you can. Go to cdntechnologies.com, and then under Resources, there's a Webinars tab. And just register for free and check us out. I'm going to interview Elvira for this webinar Thursday at noon.

And last but not least, it is the final month of Pumpkins After Dark. That's a very pandemic-friendly drive-through event in Milton, Ontario. It's a huge park with giant sculptures and tunnels and jack-o'-lanterns and stuff that's been carved and it illuminates the night sky. It's a fantastic Halloween event,

because who knows what's, I know they, it's a whole side, but there might not be trick-or-treating. At least don't go to the door, but maybe if you can safely get the treats to the kids. I have a plan of a shoot from 10 feet away. I mean, they'll have to come and arrest me, because I'm totally safely going to give chocolate to kids who want chocolate on Halloween night.

But what you can't go wrong with is getting tickets to Pumpkins After Dark. So go to pumpkinsafterdark.com, but make sure you use the promo code miked, M-I-K-E-D, because that'll save you 10%. And do it now because the time slots are, as you can imagine, they're quickly disappearing. We're well into October here. This is prime Halloween time. Now, this is a pretty lengthy clip. I think we might be talking a few minutes here. But it's the voice of Jerry Howarth,

and I think it's good at this time of year we listen to some Jerry anyways. And it's all about you, Joe, so I know you'll be interested. So here's three minutes of Jerry Howarth on Joe Siddle. Joe Siddle, a great partner. My last four years, I was fortunate to work with Joe, a great analyst. Catchers make great managers and broadcasters, and Joe caught 13 years for all

of 73 major league games with the Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, and the Florida Marlins, then the Florida Marlins. And Joe was just a great partner, and I've always believed that a two-man booth with an orchestrator, a play-by-play man, working with an athlete, especially a catcher who provides insight for the crowd, is a great opportunity for fans to learn more about the game. And working with Joe, I learned a lot about the game too. And I'm happy that he's still with the Blue Jays, working with Jamie Campbell on television. But those were great moments.

And that was one of them. I was happy to sit in that seat, but I would have traded it all to have Tom come back and continue his long career. Speaking of Joe, Brent had a question. He wanted me to ask you about Joe Siddle's first spring game. Is there a story there? Joe's first spring game? Well, there is. Sadly for Joe, the reason why he ended up with the job, I had read in the paper, and I had known Joe just a little bit going to Tigers games at Comerica Field. I heard that he was a former

catcher, a Canadian from Windsor, so I just would go over and say hello to him, but not much of a friendship. And in February, six years ago, Bob Elliott wrote that Joe and his wife Tamara had just lost their fourth child, Kevin. He died a week before his 15th birthday of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. So I said to Bob, send me his email, and he did. And I sent Joe an email and just said, Joe, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family to lose your son like that. And we went back and forth with emails that evening. And at the very end, he threw in a throw-in line that said, well, Jerry, maybe someday I'll see you in the broadcast booth. Well, at that point I was without a partner, Jack Morris. My recommendation was going back home

to be with his wife and son. And, uh, there were a couple of broadcasters. Jeff Nelson was one CJ Nikowski, another who thought about joining me, but neither could do it full time. So I said to Joe, how about now? Two weeks later, they hired him. So to answer your question specifically, it was February, I think it was February 24th, 5th or 6th. And the first time we ever worked together, it was a webcast before the next day's first spring training broadcast with Jerry and Joe. And with the webcast, I could tell that Joe was good at what he did. He was going to get better and better, but he was natural, he was articulate, and I really loved working with him. And then about the seventh inning, it started to rain,

and the Phillies had just taken the lead, with a pitcher the previous inning having been called in from the bullpen. As we waited there for the rain, I began to think, and I said to Joe, just kind of casually, I said, Joe, do you realize if this game gets rained out, who the winning pitcher is? And he said, no. And I said, Kevin Munson.

Sure enough, the game was called about 10 minutes later. Kevin Munson won the first broadcast that Joe Siddle ever did with his son Kevin watching from above. Wow. Yeah, Joe, well, please accept my condolences, my sincere condolences on your loss of your son Kevin. I can't imagine. And please, did Jerry get most of those details correct?

He's got details better than I do. Jerry's got it to a T. It was, you know, where I thought that was going was when the question was asked about the spring broadcast. What I remember about that spring broadcast is meeting Jerry at the Dunedin Stadium because the Blue Jays were playing the Phillies, but at Clearwater, which is not very far away, just a quick little ride away. And we met because the Blue Jays oftentimes take batting practice at home before they head out that way. So they were doing that.

And I was down the right field line with Jerry, just kind of hanging out in foul territory as batting practice was going on. And he was quite literally giving me the broadcasting 101 tutorial in about 20 minutes before we went on the broadcast. And what I mean by that was I'd never done this before. So he was just giving me the little tidbits of when I come in with my comments, when I get out, make sure I allow him to announce the delivery of the pitch by the pitcher. And it was all the little tidbits that would just get me started. And it was very helpful.

So I thought, I'm listening like a hawk, and I'm going to make sure I do every one of these to a tee. And then when we went over to that ballgame, I do remember that, and I know Jerry remembers it very Collins, the production director at 590 The Fan. He talked about doing the game. He said, great, how is tomorrow? Good. So I want to do another one. After that game, he said, can you meet me for dinner? And I'm thinking, oh, this could be really good or really bad. I don't know, but sure, I'll meet you there. And I was offered the job. And I was offered the job because this process had gone on for a while. When Jerry talked about that initial email, he sent me this email of condolences,

and he described our relationship pretty well there. I was just a Canadian. He knew me as a Canadian that played in the big leagues, and I knew him as the legendary Blue Jays broadcaster. So he knew me, I knew him, but it's not like we'd communicated a whole lot. Said hello on the field in Detroit. And when I got that email from him, yes, I wish I could dig up the old email because I think it was something like that.

I just said, thanks very much. I appreciate your condolences. Look forward to seeing you guys when you come to Detroit in June. And then at the very end, it was like, or maybe in the broadcast booth one day. And to this day, I don't know why I wrote that. I wrote it because he's a broadcaster. I had no intention of being a broadcaster. And I think the response came... Is that right? You never even, this wasn't even on your radar to go into the side of the mic? No, I had finished my

playing career and I was home kind of being the dad thing. My wife Tamara and I had the other three kids after this had happened and I was working in Detroit with the Tigers part-time just going over, helping with batting practice and all. Thinking that maybe when the kids get off to college one day or older, maybe I'd like to work in baseball with a professional team or something. I didn't really think of it. Like as a coach? Yeah. Interesting.

That was my thought. Time means everything. It is. It's unbelievable. He replied right away and his reply right away was like, how about right now? And I think I looked at my wife, we were in the kitchen and we were still in a fog. This is, I think a week after the funeral. And I looked at my wife, I said, I might have a job opportunity. We were just both, we were out to lunch. It was just crazy. We were thinking, what are you talking about? So one thing leads to another, and he puts

me in touch with Don Collins and Don calls me. He says, he's going to give you a call Monday morning. And while I'm like, yeah, right, whatever. Well, sure enough, Monday morning, my phone rings and it's Don. So we talked about a half hour, but we talked more about what had just transpired in our lives, more about broadcasting. And I remember at the end, Don just saying, you know what, Joe, it sounds like you've got lots on your plate right now. Why don't you sit tight and maybe you and your wife can come to Toronto one day during the summer. We'll show you how the broadcast works and all that sort of stuff.

So it was several emails, several phone calls later that I ended up getting on a plane to Florida. Yeah, that timing though. Yeah, I guess Jack Morris. And then to hear Jerry talk about, you know, his preference to have somebody who played the game in the booth. I always find that very interesting because forever we heard Tom and Jerry.

I don't think either played the game, right? So that's kind of interesting. But, you know, you think about the great catchers who make great, you know, broadcasters, be it Buck Martinez or whoever, because they make good coaches too, right? They make good managers. I always found, just from our perspective behind the plate,

the entire game is always in front of you. That's one thing visually, but I think it's more between the ears because you are thinking every pitch of the game. You're thinking of your pitch sequence. You're thinking of what your pitcher's strengths are, what the hitter's weaknesses are, how you're going to get this guy out. Do we pitch to this guy depending on who's on deck?

What might they do if he gets on? Will they be bunting here? Of course, we don't see that a whole lot anymore. Right. But there's so much going on, so much at play. First and third bunt defenses, all the different things that happen on the field, you're kind of in charge of.

So it's just, yeah, it's like, you know, I was a quarterback when I played football, so I kind of likened it to that just kind of being in charge yeah good analogy there good analogy so uh it's safe to say you had a great experience working alongside jerry howarth is that what i'm unbelievable unbelievable i am so fortunate to have embarked on a broadcasting career with somebody like jerry because he did teach me all the tricks of the trade. And we're talking, I can get into some minutiae because it's great. He would, I still to this day, remember this one, little things that I might say that he would want to correct me. And he would tell me all the time, the reason I'm doing this is because you're already here, like

up here, you're already up here. And you're, the sky literally is the limit with you because you're just starting out and you're already doing really well. And I said, well, I appreciate that. And I want to do well. I want to be better. I want to speak more clearly. I want to be more articulate and express my thoughts. One of the things he would do is he'd have little file cards, index cards. And one day I walked in and he, he hands it to me and it says going to in quotes, the words going to, he said, gonna is not a word. So he put it in front of me. So during the broadcast, I've got this index card and I'm telling you to this day, I try to say going to, I'm not gonna go beyond the body. I'm going to be on the podcast with podcasts. So I continue to do

that. And there were other examples, but that's just one that he would continue to try to make me better. How many outs are there? There are two outs, not there is two outs. Little things like that. So again, to this day, I think about it when I say, and I probably still mess up a little bit, but his thing was if you think about it in everyday life, when you speak like that in your everyday life, it becomes your everyday language.

You can't have an away from the field language and then a good vocabulary when you're on the air. I think I need Jerry Howarth to coach me on podcasting because I do a lot of that. It was fantastic. So I'm very fortunate that I came into it with somebody like that who was basically taking me under their wing and teaching me everything as I went,

which was great. And I was so fortunate at Sportsnet that they also right away early on, I filled in on the TV side with Buck when Tabby went on vacation or whatever. So I filled in. I don't know if I did 10 or 12 games. Well, Buck was the same way. I got a guy that's been doing this for years, so he could help me out.

I remember we were taping one of our opens, and we just, you know, it's a two-minute taping, whatever. Got a couple notes down. You know some viz is going to come up. And I was starting to, and I think I butchered it two or three times in a row. And he looked at me and he said, look in that camera and just pretend you're talking to your son about baseball. Like, keep it casual. And I was like, I think I just took a thousand pound weight off my shoulders.

I was like, does that ever sound good? And I did it. And, you know, ever since then, I've tried to think that. Don't script things so much. And it's hard. I think anytime we script things, it sounds very structured and very robotic. And I'm continuing to try to learn this on the TV side. Try to just let it go.

And you know what? Sometimes you stutter with your speech. Sometimes you lose yourself. Just pause for a second. Jerry was a big one on that. Pause. Because pauses are wonderful. And I have found that when you pause, you think you're pausing for an hour.

But that couple second pause, it's nothing on TV. It lets the game breathe, right? Yes. Or even like on TV and what we're doing now on the desk. It's a great thing. It's really helpful to stop things, slow it down for a minute, regather your thoughts and just go on. And it's much more natural. And you must've done a hell of a job in those opportunities you had on television because when they were looking for somebody to take over for greg zahn uh you got the tap on the shoulder you know

i think being in the on the tv side in the booth it's very much similar to what i was doing on radio the difference being on tv as an audience you can see the picture so i didn't have to be as descriptive on the radio right logically we're trying to paint the picture for you. And that's what Jerry would always kind of teach me in terms of breaking down a swing or that throw to first base, you know, describe how he planted on that back foot. Whereas on TV, if they're showing the replay, you can see that so I can be a little less descriptive and not have to talk

maybe so much. And that's been, you know, from, from the very beginning, as you can tell already, I'm a guy that I talk, I get going and sometimes it gets going too fast. So I've continued to this day to work on slowing that down. I will say, to praise you a little bit here, because why not, very articulate. I'm listening to you in the cans right now, and I'm listening, and extremely articulate.

You're a very well-spoken chap. Well, thank you. It must have come from all those playing days when you're the catcher. They always come to the catcher for the post-game interview. And I always enjoyed this. I had no problem with it, especially when I was talking about a pitcher that just did really well.

So Mike Lynch is a listener, and Mike Lynch wanted me to just ask you if there was, how much pressure, if any, did you feel when you were picked to be Greg Zahn's replacement? Because there were a lot of eyeballs on you. Any additional pressure there? None at all. Now, it's funny you say that. None at all. I, um, you know, when the job came open, I had, you know, I had done some TV with them doing the broadcast. So I had just, um,

let them know that, Hey, I'm interested. I've always wanted to think about moving onto the TV side some more in the future. You know, I had just done four to four years on radio. And, uh, so I was invited to come to one of the auditions and I still still to this day don't know how many people they auditioned. But I drove up literally from Windsor one day. I put my suit on, got in my car, and I drove three and a half hours right to the One Mount Pleasant at the Rogers Studios. And I did the audition, and I got in my car, and I drove home. And I thought it went really well. The difference, of course, on TV, kind of like the earlier one I was referring to that going to the TV side, is everything is so time sensitive too. Like when you're on the TV broadcast, you have to make sure

you get your comment in because now this, and then the replays come in and there's a lot of, now there's more multitasking and you have to be in and out with your comments because the pictures are right there and you have to kind of finish up. So when I was doing the studio job there and that audition, that's when a lot of that came into play. So you've got the producer talking in your ear now. You're going to talk about your topic. Some viz is going to come up on the screen that I'm going to speak to. And then you kind of wrap up.

So everything's very time sensitive there. But I felt all of the preparation I had, four years on radio plus filling in on TV. Oh, my goodness, did it ever help me. And I thought I was more than prepared for that audition. And I think it went very well. So you've told us about what it was like working with Jerry Haworth. I need to know about working with Jamie Campbell. He's another gentleman who's been over here and we had a great conversation. I'm a big Jamie Campbell fan. What's it like working with him? It's easy. It's really easy. We have a lot of fun.

And I say it's easy because he knows that he can go anywhere with me. There are times we might have to dance before a commercial break. And he knows he can ask me anything. And we'll just go somewhere and make it a conversation. And he is masterful in his own right. Because what Jamie will do is he can turn 30 seconds when I'm thinking, we still have 45 seconds. Oh, he's going to come back with another question.

He might, or he might just kind of wax poetic and go to the boards and he'll, and it'll just be, you talk about a symphony. I mean, it's just very smooth. And that's another thing I observe in him and try to continue to learn from him is I love the way he slows things down. I love his pauses.

I love it because those are the things that I continue to this day, I think, need to keep reminding myself of and getting better at. So, again, I talked about role models. I had Jerry, I had Buck. And now on the desk here, I listen to Jamie every day and continue to try to take those things from him because he is a true professional at what he does. And you always felt you could be yourself, right? There was never any pressure because you, I mean,

you're, I would say you're filling the shoes of Greg Zahn, but it's more like those suits, right? You didn't have to wear those suits either, right? But, but he's a very different analyst than yourself. If there is anything that I believe in, in this life, it's to be yourself. I've always joked, I, my kids have this funny line. I said, be yourself. It's who you do best. And it's because it was in one of those little bazooka Joe bubblegum wrappers. When I was in the bullpen one day in the minor leagues, I don't even know where I was or what year it was, but I remember seeing it and I saved it. And it's just something I always remembered. And I think

it's a great thing. It's the same thing for you. Like be yourself. Don't try to be me. I'm not going to try to be you. So when I got this job, I was going to be myself. Now, who am I when it comes to this job? I think you can be very critical, but I think you can also do it professionally. I played the game. I know how hard it is. I'm not going to bury a guy because he's two for his last 21. What I'd rather do is provide insight to you, the audience, and what I'm seeing in his swing and why he's two for his last 21 and how I think he's going to get out of it. So that's who I am this year. Sure, there are a lot of things. Last year, there were a lot of things to be very critical about the Blue Jays,

whether it's a lineup, and that's fine. I think it's very fair, but it's just who I am. The way I do it might be differently, but that's the way I'm going to continue to do it. I've always said I'm not going to be somebody else, and if I'm done with this job because that's not what they want, then I'm done with this job. I'm not going to be somebody else just to stick around.

And they didn't give you his old suits to wear. I have my own collection. They take care of me very well. Yes, it's very nice. All right. Real talk is one of the trademarks of the show. So I got to ask you at least one real tough question, which is have you ever pulled a criticism of the organization or management because you have this memory, you realize,

oh yeah, the same, the same company that owns this team and this deal here is also my boss too. Have you ever pulled a punch? I have not. I don't feel like, you know, one thing too, I don't know if people, they probably think it's a little more orchestrated. I have never once, my radio days and even this job, never once had a Blue Jay representative, anybody from our station or network say, be careful when you go here, tiptoe here. You should slow down with this one because I think there's a lot of people out there who think, oh, Rogers, there's a bit of bias at play because they are in, you know, they are the team, they are the network. But this is important. So you've never had anybody say, be careful when you go here.

Maybe, you know, be a bit gentle here because whatever. Yeah, it's funny. It's funny what the perception for the audience is. Now, when you're in the broadcast booth and you're traveling with the team every day, sure, it's a little bit more difficult if you're going to be critical. And you know, Jerry had his moments where they, you're very critical of different players and things, and it gets down to the team and you're flying on the plane with them. So it is very different.

But I always felt that with who I am, just the way I'm going to be critical, and I've had moments. I've got a great Jose Bautista story for you in a minute. But there are times when you're going to be critical. And I've had moments. I've got a great Jose Bautista story for you in a minute. But there are times when you're going to be critical. I would hope that because you're down on the field every day, you're in the clubhouse every day, you're around these guys every day, that if they got a problem with me, I would hope somebody would come to me and say, hey, what you said about that inning I pitched last night, what was that all about? And I have had people, I've had players come up to me, but I would hope that they would do that

because I'm not going to shy away from by saying, oh my gosh, you know, I'm on the plane with these guys after the game and the last thing I want to do is say something that's going to rub somebody the wrong way. I can't work my job that way. Part of my job is to be critical when things are not good or when somebody's not good. Okay, I can't wait to hear this Joey Batts story.

Real quick aside is I was just reading the, there's a book about Nick Kiprios. So Nick Kiprios, I was surprised he wrote a book because I'm not sure he could read a book, but I can say that. He's episode number 700, so I have a license. But shout out to Perry Lefkoe who helped him write that book too.

But there's a little, there's talk about when he started, you know, analyzing Maple Leaf play. I think he was critical of Maple Leaf, Wade Belak or something. And his, you know, former teammates, because he played for the Leafs before he became a broadcaster, Ty Domi was

phoning him up and saying, take it easy. Basically, what the hell is that BS? And he was getting... I would wonder, have you ever had a player contact you and be like, that was uncool. Back off or something like that. So before I get to the Bautista story, Sean Reed Foley, a couple of years ago,

he came into a game, maybe it was last year. He came, it might've been last year. He came into a game and it was at the Rogers center and he was scuffling and pitching coach went out to speak with him. And when we had, we were at the set down the left field line at the Rogers center and I'm watching on the monitor and he's like staring off into space as his pitching coach is talking to him. And I'm thinking, I saw that as being very disrespectful. I mean, when somebody speaks to you, you look at them in the eyes, right? And here's a pitching coach going out of his way to go out on the mound to help him out.

He's in a real jam. Things aren't going well. Going out to help him out, and he's not giving him the time of day. So, of course, in my fourth or eighth inning update, whatever it was, I talked about it. Well, the next day, I'm down, of course, on the field for batting practice around the dugout, and he comes up to me, and he said, got a minute?

And I said, yeah, sure. So right away, I knew it was going to be about that, but I had no problem because I had no problem with the way I criticized. That's what I felt. So that's what I said. And he said, have you ever seen me on the mound when pitching coaches come out and talk to me? I said, no, not a whole lot.

Actually, I haven't seen you play much. Raised in AAA a whole lot. I just said it pretty frankly like that. He said, well, when pitching coaches come out to talk to me, that's what I always do. I don't look at them. I said, well, that's interesting because as a catcher, I think that's pretty disrespectful to the pitching coach.

I said, I've been out in a lot of those meetings. And if the pitching coach was talking to you, coming out, helping you in a catcher, I think that's pretty disrespectful to the pitching coach. I said, I've been on a lot of those meetings. And if the pitching coach was talking to you, coming out, helping you in a tough situation, and my pitcher is staring off over into the bleachers, I'd be nudging him and saying, look, I'd be doing something as a catcher. So he said, well, I just have never done that. And I said, well, maybe it's something you should consider then. We had a conversation. So it started out somewhat harsh.

We ended up talking for about 15 minutes. At the end of it, he said, nice talking to you. And I said, I'm glad you brought it. I said, thanks for bringing it up. You got a problem. I love that. When guys got a problem, they bring it up. Don't let it harbor for weeks and weeks. And we ended up talking about his slide. By the end of the conversation, we were talking about his slider. It was great. So a real negative turned into positive. Bautista, he got rung up on a pitch in like the sixth inning of a game in Toronto. And it was against the Orioles. It was a 1-0 game or 2-1 game, one run game.

And, you know, Jose, he starts walking back to the dugout, but he's jawing with the umpire. And the umpire finally gave him the hand and kind of gave him that hand with a push motion to say, that's enough, like last morning almost, right right because they've been going back and forth and you know of course jose couldn't do that so he just kept walking and kept chirping kind of thing the umpire ejects him so on the broadcast with jerry i had said that jose that can't happen i said this this is an integral part of the game it's a one run game his spot in the lineup is

going to come up again and probably a key spot. You need to walk away there. You need to walk away and think about your team. So it had to be later that homestand, maybe five, six, seven days later, and nothing was ever said to me. He never said a word to me. I was coming through the clubhouse and I still, sometimes guys will be at their lockers and you just go, hey, nice job yesterday. Or you might strike up conversation and talk about something. And it might even be something you use on the air. Well, I saw Jose at his locker and I was walking by. There's hardly anybody else around.

And I was going to stop and I thought, nah, forget it. You know, it's kind of like whatever, Jose. And for some reason I turned left and I said, hey, Jose, nice job yesterday. I think he had a two home run day or whatever it was. He had a good game the day before. I said, Jose, lock in a day and a nice job yesterday or whatever. He said, what do you care? You don't think I want to play anyway. I said, pardon? I was taken aback because I didn't know what he meant. You didn't remember that comment. I forgot about the moment because it was like five or six or seven days earlier.

And he said, I said, what do you mean by that? He said, you know what I mean. I said, actually, I don't know what you're talking about. He said, earlier in the week there when you actually, I don't know what you're talking about. He said, oh, earlier in the week there when you said that I didn't want to play, that I should, I said, I didn't say you didn't want to play. Yeah, I heard it. I said, well, I'm not sure what you heard, but I'll tell you what I said. So I told him that I didn't say you didn't want to play. I told him that what I thought he should have done was gotten out of there because he was an integral part of this lineup and his spot was going to come up again later in the game, which it did. And taking yourself out of the lineup like that

by getting ejected hurt the team. So we went back and forth again, kind of like the Reed Foley moment, a little heated at times as the conversation went on again, about 15 minutes later, ended up nice chatting, parted ways. But what I do remember about that conversation, in fact, it was a while back. It might've been my first year. It might've been my first year. And because what I remember about it was when he said that to me, my brain and my inside started crumbling and turning and saying, okay, where do you go here? Do you go A, apologize? Or B, stand pat and say, no, this, and I chose that for some reason. I chose the latter.

I just stood my ground and said, no, like I, this, I believe in what I said. Just because he's a superstar player and doesn't like it. Oh, well. And, and this is back when, as, as a broadcaster on the, on the radio or TV broadcast, you're, you're traveling with the team, you're on the team charters, you're around the team a lot. But my point is, that's how I felt. That's what I said, and I don't care if we're near each

other on that plane and he has something to say to me, it doesn't matter. And that was a perfect example. He brought it up with me, stood my ground, and we talked it out. And I do think players, and I was a former player, never really had a problem with media people, but especially if it's a star player, I think they respect that a little bit. The issue me might have been it might to this day be i

didn't play in the big leagues for 10 years i got a couple cups of coffee right i was up four different times and so when i'm analyzing on tv or if i'm criticizing some it'd be easy for somebody to say what are you talking about hitting for would you hit one home run you and i get that i get it it's just unfortunately that's who i am I didn't play for that long in the big leagues like a lot of the analysts. But I hope with my insight and analysis, you gain that respect from your audience and from players that you do know what you're talking about, that you didn't necessarily have to.

I can't tell you what it's like to play in the ELCS. I never played there. But I can tell you an awful lot about pitch sequences and the swing path and a lot of other things. And that's probably something that I'm not saying that's something I'm always going to fight, but I just, I didn't do those things.

I wasn't a 10 year major leader, but as you know, you were a major leaguer and you did play the game. And I always wonder if, would you have any, any like similar license to be critical of these players? If you never played the game professionally? What if you were Jamie Campbell?

No, that's going over the line, I think. That'd be like me criticizing him about broadcasting. I mean, that's not my cup of tea, really, right? And Jamie would be the first one to tell you. There's no way he can tell you about why he didn't swing at that curveball or why he didn't, because he hasn't been there. He doesn't know what that's like. And that's going back to your comment

about Jerry and having a former player in the booth. I think that's why some booths like that because you do get that perspective of somebody that has been there in that batter's box and can give you a little insight on why he took strike three right down the middle right there. It's because he was looking for an off-speed pitch.

So those things do come into play for sure. Great, great stories. Thanks for sharing those because I'll never know what it's like to have that kind of interaction in the broadcast booth unless you ever need somebody to come in there, fill in for Jamie Campbell. Let me know. I think I'm ready.

I just, again, gets back to being yourself. And I'm not the type of person that is ever going to critique someone where I just tear them down and spit them out. That's just not who I am. So I'm not going to do it on my analysis of a bad player, a bad team. Is it like when you criticize a player, are you thinking in your mind that you need to be able to look that player in the eyes at some point and explain what you meant? So that sort of saves you from yourself. Like, you know, whatever you're going to say on the air, you'd be willing to look them in the eyes and say it to them.

Yeah. I don't know that I ever really think about that, but you will hear a lot of broadcasters say what you just said. They'll say like, when you're talking from the broadcast booth, think about that player sitting right next to you right now. Would you, if he was sitting right next to you right now, say that? And I guess it's a good analogy. It's a good way to kind of guide yourself, but I don't feel like I need that to guide me. I just feel like I'm going to be myself. And I think there are times that I've been very critical and I will continue to be, especially when I see a lineup comes out and I, how is this, this guy hitting third or how is, you know, pitching

changes? And that's our job. That's our job is to analyze the game right right some questions a few more questions Vince wants to know do you miss the broadcast booth and in Vince's opinion he says

he thinks that's where you belong because of all the great knowledge you have well thank you Vince I love both I enjoy doing the radio I enjoyed filling in on TV

I love this job in the studio with Jamie oh not this job as a guest with Jamie. Oh, not this job as a guest on Toronto Mike. And that too. This is very enjoyable. And I'm getting back to do the two postseason games this year with the Blue Jays and the Rays. I got back into the

studio there with Buck. We were doing it from the Tim and Sid studios because Dan Schulman had to move on and do his ESPN. Too bad it was only two games. It was there and it was gone. It was. And not only two games. It was too bad it was only two games. It was there and it was gone. It was. And not only two games, it was a great first game,

but that second game was a bit of a stinker that was over kind of fast too. What was your, I can't remember your analysis, I was watching, but the whole preordained, this is not a starter, this is an opener,

and he's going to pitch the three innings no matter how it's going. What was your analysis there, real quick, before I forget? I'm still steaming over it. Well, first and foremost, I think the whole issue

with Ryu not pitching was it's just who he is. And I think as a Blue Jays fan, just get used to it. He's probably going to be in every fifth or sixth day. Or maybe he was hurt, maybe. I want to give him an LQ.

He was terrible. I don't doubt that a bit that he wasn't 100% because we know that he had asked for an extra day in September a couple of times. So I don't think it was 100%. So there's a lot at play there. But in terms of the Shoemaker thing and bringing Robbie Ray in, I hate to use that. I'm not going to use that term old school

either because I don't like that. I think it's baseball. I think of Matt Shoemaker's cruising. I would have left him to give him that opportunity. And hey, it's an elimination game. There's a quick hook for sure. But if you could have saved robbie ray everybody says it was the right decision well what if shoemaker goes five or six scoreless what if robbie ray is available the next day to come in for ryu so there are so many scenarios there but i'm one that is going to ride my starter let him go i'm i i understand the analytics of the third time through the order. I understand all those things, but I would still roll with him. Sure have somebody ready, but I can't pre-script a game before it starts.

I just can't do it. There's too much that you have to adapt and adjust to on the fly. And now I do remember you and Buck talking about this. I just remembered now you guys in your exchange about this and there's got to be a human element to the game right that's how i feel uh the game has changed dramatically though it is 2020 and we know that a lot of the information that they have gathered and it's all great information but i still think you have to read what's in front

of you now remember two shoemaker had an outing against the race before two that he was cruising through three and then all heck broke loose and he gave up a bloop single a walk and a three run homer so it can change fast when those hitters start to see you that second or third time i get all that and it is elimination game but i've always felt too just because you go to the bullpen it doesn't mean is that guy better than what you have right now and of course the leadoff hitter hits a triple off robbie ray and turn the ball game around right it's funny we uh in the story of how you came to be a broadcaster, uh, Jack Morris was a Jack Morris.

Yeah. Jack Morris was the guy you replaced on the radio broadcast. And, uh, just imagine, you know, not that you would pull him after three innings, but just imagine coming to in a game like that,

Jack Cruz. And, uh, let's say it's the eighth inning. Let's say like, imagine the, go into the mountain and say, okay,

Jack, give us a good job. We're going to bring him. He'd punch you in the face, right? I understand both sides. I do. And unfortunately, I think us fans and broadcasters that are a little older, we reflect back

on the way the game's been played for a number of years. I am very open to all of these numbers. And I continue to say that because it's almost like I have to prove to people, yes, I am. Honestly, I am listening. I understand of these numbers. And I continue to say that because it's almost like I have to prove to people, yes, I am. Honestly, I am listening. I understand the numbers are important. Right.

But you can't, to me, prescript something before a game starts to say, this guy's going two or three innings, you know, one time through the order. Then we're going to use this guy one time through the order. And then we're going to do this, this, and this. Well, things can go sideways in a hurry. And to me, it's like catching a game. I mean, when my starting pitcher starts his game, if he's cruising along through the first inning

and then the second inning, and we haven't used the secondary pitch a whole lot, and then we break out a few sliders, but we haven't gotten to the changeup yet, I mean, you have to continue just on the fly. Now, if you want to be aggressive with the fastball early and they're right on you, you better go to plan B in a hurry.

So that's what I mean about adapting. And I think you have to do that because you never know what you're going to get on a given day from each pitcher. You never know. What if he doesn't have his best pitch? What if he doesn't have his slider? Well, guess what?

That wristband that tells you that pitcher or that hitter isn't good with sliders with two strikes, throw that wristband out right now because my guy doesn't have his slider. So you've got to go to plan B. Paul Hockyard. I always like the name Hockyard. It's a good last name, right? Hockyard.

I think it's a cool name. Okay, so he says, hey, Joe, and I don't think that's, he's not singing a Jimi Hendrix song. There he goes. Hey, Joe, great job on the broadcasts. What is your regimen during the off season and anything specific you do to get ready for the season? And he says, stay safe and thanks for all your work. Very good question. I thought he was going to ask what my regimen is during the season, like on a game day, but we'll go off season first. It's when this World Series ends, I will literally get in my car and drive home to Windsor, which isn't very far. So that's kind of nice. But my wife still works three and a half days a week. So she's in and out and we have three

children now. One is still home with us. He's actually coming up to Toronto to start work pretty soon. We have a daughter in town that lives with her boyfriend, another daughter in Europe. She's married with her husband and he's playing basketball over in Europe. So it's really going to be the two of us. This is changing each year, but it looks like it might just be the two of us this winter.

So I'll do a lot of just putzing around. And to be honest with you, I'll do, you know, in our climates, we can rake leaves from September to December, but I'll do a lot of outdoor stuff. My daughter and her husband bought a house just around the corner from us, not too far. So I'll putz around them.

The problem is I'm not a real handyman at all, but I can rake leaves and clean eavesdrops and do things. But yeah, I'll just putz around. I love working out. My wife and I'll always go get a good walk in or bike ride. We like to play tennis. So we're pretty active. As the weather cools, we do some more activities indoors. But yeah, it's a lot of downtime.

Unfortunately, with COVID, it'll prevent us from taking some trips. We usually do a trip or two each winter, usually around Christmas with the kids. We've always done a family trip. It's something we've done since the kids were really young. And we've done some really nice ones over the last number of years. But that's probably going to change this winter. But yeah, it's just a lot of downtime. We have some family in town that are around,

and we enjoy time with them. And in terms of preparation, it's usually around the new year you start getting the whole scorebook out and gathering some of the rosters and stats and things and just slowly prepping for spring training because what I have done over the last number of years is I've gone to spring training and usually worked a few of the games on TV with Buck.

So you prep for some of those. You prep the whole Blue Jays roster and where they might go, and you've got all the new additions and such. So it's more about that. But once the new year rolls around, I'll start doing that, and I usually head to Florida around March 1st. So I've got a couple months, January and February, to prepare for spring.

And, I mean, this particular playoffs, I personally have really enjoyed the no-day-offs. I've enjoyed it every night I know the game's on. It's just neat. I know you must be exhausting you, potentially. It's been a busy week this week. You know, when the schedules came out because of the whole COVID thing and everything,

they were playing consecutive days in these series, I thought it was a great idea. And the reason I liked it was because I thought this is going to benefit the better teams, the deeper teams, the team that has more talent because now you can't have that day off for those relief pitchers because I always said that in a playoff series

you only need a couple of relievers because they can pitch a day or two, have a day off. So that was great through that first series, but this last series seven games, both of them yeah and that doesn't happen i thought both teams looked pretty spent even the rays illustrious bullpen there looked like they had some warts they were getting gassed so i'm glad the world series is going back to two three two with the days off in between because it just allows everybody's

bullpen to kind of reset reboot get that extra that extra day. And then truly, I think you're going to see hopefully the best team win or the deeper team win. So when was your last day off? I had a weekend off last weekend. Oh, okay. That's not very long ago, Joe. Right, right. So it was just this week. Like a regular person. That's right, yes. We just worked

Monday to Sunday and they were pretty well all double header days except for yesterday. Okay, well I'm glad you're spending your day off with me. I'm honored. And only a couple more questions here. And if you're cold, I can move the heater. I'm good. You're okay?

Oh, it's good. Because I feel like I'm hogging the heater, but here I am in a t-shirt. I hear it, yeah. You're like an idiot. So, okay. Kirk. Kirk says, I'm interested in the Windsor baseball program for kids and teens. My cousins and uncle were part of it around Joe's time,

and it always seemed superior to what I played in the GTA. Was it influenced by having Detroit across the border? So what say you about the Windsor baseball program? Is it better than the Toronto? Well, I don't know if you can compare like that, but I don't necessarily... Kirk thinks it is. Yeah, I don't necessarily think it's that the Tigers are right across the river.

It's, it's probably more that, you know, when I was a young kid, I heard this, I heard like baseball, Windsor being the hotbed for baseball in Ontario and in Canada. And I guess we've just had people in charge that have continued to kind of pass the torch and some great people. The, um, Bernie Sawyer is kind of Mr. Baseball for us in the Windsor area. He's done an awful lot with Baseball Canada over a number of years as well. And we have a lot of good local associations where I've worked on those boards and trying to continue to make baseball the best product it can be in our area.

We do battle what we have. We have the OBA organizations and also Little League. And that's hard because kids are torn where they're going to play. And that makes it very difficult as a coach and with young kids. And some kids will say they're coming over to play OBA and they're back in Little League. And a lot of kids like the Little League thing because they get a chance to chase the Williamsport dream

when they're 12 years old. Sure. But I don't know what the answer to that is other than the fact that we've had a lot of very good people, very passionate people. And to this day, even when I finished playing, I was back coaching our kids and running organizations with the Windsor Stars, but playing against other organizations in our area that were very well run. And again, I think the word passion comes to mind because when I think of these other organizations, people have to, these passionate people love the game

and they love making the game the best it can be for these kids. And it's almost like as these, a lot of these people grew up and their kids grew up through an organization, whether they stay or not, the new people coming in have that same passion. So it must be passed on from each generation. And I guess it's been, geez, it's been great since, well, 30-plus years ago when I was coming up with the Windsor Selects and Bernie was in charge. He's still doing it.

Now I see this next question from Mike. I stole a lot of the thunder on this question. So I'm sorry, Mike. I copied and pasted the question, and then I sort of blew it when I was asking you about Shoemaker and the three innings and stuff. But Mike says, Joe, what do you think about the way teams are handling their pitching staffs in the shortened season and playoffs? Pulling your starter after three or four innings

just can't work over a 162-game season, right? That's right. You're exactly right about that because if you're going to do that over 162, you better have a lot of relievers, and you better have a lot of optionable relievers that can go down and call somebody up and back and forth. October's a different animal. I think you can pull whatever you want in October.

If Blake Snell goes three and a third, then you bring that stable of arms in that Kevin Cash has for the Rays and try to finish the game off. Now, even that though, and we saw that in this past series, being seven games, you go to your bullpen a lot in game one, in game two, in game three. You've used guys, and Corey Seager had a comment the other day about that.

He saw those relievers early in the series and not necessarily having to use them, but they did, Atlanta, and they exposed them to the hitters. And those hitters, you use that information later in the series, and it can help. Corey Seager, for one, hit that home runoff. Max Freed, well, he saw him earlier in the series. Now that's a starter that's going to come back. I get it. But when you're using relievers that way, it's dangerous. And I've always felt, too, that there's nothing better than having a good starting pitcher that can give you,

I used to say seven innings. Let's say six innings now, can give you six innings. It keeps them lying, keeps moving. There's no more Roy Halladay's, right? It might be below five now. But you know, the more relievers you call upon, it takes one of those guys to have an off day and you might give up three

runs and it ruins your whole game plan. So I think in the regular season you need guys to go. So Tanner Roark next year is going to have to, you gotta leave him out to give you five innings. It might be five innings, five runs, but you gotta do it. Otherwise you crush your bullpen remember when r.a dickie was here of course gibby always said about r.a dickie whether you love r.a or you hate him you didn't need your

bullpen a whole lot the day before you didn't need it the day he pitched so the day before you could do what you wanted with your bullpen and the day after you can that's a luxury for a manager so you know we talk about the rays and their concept and their approach and they invented the open all these things well guess what they also have they have three stud starting pitchers now they might not go seven and i don't think it's blake snell's fault that he hasn't gone six very much it's because his manager's on that top step when the third time through the batting order comes through. Now, it's October. Very little room for error. And if that third... I think we're going to see

it with Kershaw. I guarantee you Kershaw's not going deep in this game because Roberts is going to be scared to death. He's going to be scared to death to leave a man too long. And so he should be, by the way. I think. Yes, I know. It's true. We're closing with the final question.

I love this question. I pulled a little clip. It's very. We're closing with the final question. I love this question. I pulled a little clip. It's very, very short. So listen to this, and then I'll ask you. Game in a moment. Boozer with the 2-1. Siddle swings and crushes this one to right. Hartong looks up, and that baby is out of here.

Brett Siddle with a two-run smash to right field. The route is on with the Snappers leading 10-1 in the top of the eighth. I was going to say, I don't remember that, Homer. So the question is from Phillip. So Phillip says, ask Joe about his son, who may turn out to be a better Major League Baseball player than his dad. Brett, he's actually finished his career now. He was released by the Oakland A's a couple of years ago and he tried to come

back last year and it didn't work out this spring. And now with COVID and all for all minor leaguers, of course it was awful. So he's moving on. Okay. And he's gotten into the, he's gotten into the fitness industry. He's not sure what he wants to do yet.

I think he would love to work for a major league organization. He's into a lot of the strength and fitness, and he's also into hitting, so he'd love something kind of combining the two, and he's actually going to be coming up to Toronto and working in that area. So that's a nice start for him. He can get some experience in that area,

and if that's something that he wants to continue to pursue or maybe even with a major league organization down the road. But yeah, he was a very good hitter, and he still to this, teaches me a lot. And I'm not going to lie to you. I'll come clean on another one. I talk to him an awful lot before I do a hitting demo on my show. I'll confirm things.

I'll ask him things. And it's great insight because he played the game just recently. He was in AA just a couple of years ago. And he can tell me, like he was joking during the playoffs, Frambois Valdez from Houston, he sent me this clip and it was the scouting report on him and how he did off of him. So it was pretty funny. We had some laughs, but yeah, he's not far removed from the game. So, you know, when I ask him about some of these high velocity pitchers with good curve balls, he can give me some pretty good insight because

we don't have access to players this year, right? We haven't been able to see the Blue Jays players. They were all Zoom conferences. So I bounce a lot of things off Brett to this day, and he's pretty in-depth with his knowledge on hitting. Now, if we never had this terrible pandemic strike, do you think Brett would have hung up his cleats, or do you think he'd still be at it? He was going to continue to try.

When he got released, he went and tried a couple of independent league teams just to try to keep going and maybe get another job with an organization. He tried that before spring training, and he still didn't get any offers. So he was probably going to move on. If he got an offer, he probably would have played this summer for sure. But it was not to be. Well, Joe, I'm glad that this was to be, that you would make your Toronto Mike debut.

You did a great job, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, man. Thanks for doing this. My pleasure, Mike. I would love to know what you text Stokely. Like, why did you get me into this nonsense? Or is it going to be a thanks for introducing me to Toronto Mike? Stokes is too good a guy. You came with a good recommendation.

Good. I'm glad that there's a good rep out there. So thanks to Stokely and thank you again, Joe. That. I'm glad that there's a good rep out there. So thanks to Stokely, and thank you again, Joe. That was awesome. And that brings us to the end of our 738th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Now, Joe Siddle is actually at Siddle Joe.

You just flipped it. So follow Joe on Twitter. He's a good follow. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies. And Pumpkins After Dark, they're at Pumpkins Dark.

See you all. I was going to say see you all next week, but I'm actually going to be out here again in less than two hours with Ben Rayner, who's going to update us on what's going on with his career, and we're going to kick out some jams. So come for the nightcap. Ben Rayner, see you all soon. This podcast has been produced by TMDS

and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RomePhone.ca to get started.