Cole Wright

Don't fret. He is not moving on any of that. He just, um, my man, busy, got some family stuff going on. So U flying flying solo today. Um, it's been interesting. So we're gonna add backstage Joe to the mix to kind of make sure I'm not completely flying blind. How are you, Joe? How about you? Not too bad? So listen, you know, uh, a couple of months here, you know, I've been really took the summer. We took the summer off, um, preparing for season two and started

to get some books. I got this thing called table topics a friend of mine, so I got all these topics. And I got this little book. And this book is called the Complete Life's Life Instruction Book, and it has up to last page one thousand, five hundred and sixty little instructions. That's a lot of life lessons right there. So I'll go through one fifty four through fight, fight fairly, give generously, laugh loudly, love deeply, plant more flowers than

you pick. Remember that all important truths. Truths are simple, and include your parents in your prayers. That's pretty good. But let me tell you the quote that really has quote number sixty six, let's hear it. I've heard this before, but I've never really been able to apply it. So I'm gonna apply it. This quotation tickles me. Pink, I'm ready, I'm all about it, all right, sure I think no, I'm good. Okay, buy a used car with the same caution a neck and man uses to climb a bob

wire fence. Oh boy, h m hmm. A lot of interpretations, there, a lot of them. So as I break this down, buying a used car, which is basically, pay attention to everything but the illustration of the caution, because we all know, not just in your private areas, but just everywhere to get over a bobbed wire fence butt naked is a skill that very few people have. I would I would. I would say it's a fair statement. Not a lot

of folks doing that, not a lot. I'm not sure if I've seen it either, well in reading the quote like, I may not know if that used car has something wrong with it after a couple of months. But I'm gonna tell you what you're gonna know right away climbing that barb bar fence if you ain't got any clothes on, that's true. The question is you also, here's the question, would you find out, like the car, that something's broke

during or after you hit the ground. Mhm. My assumption would be, depending upon what part of that car or your body is broken or impelled, you might know right away. But but but you might not. So till this day you can't see it as much. But I am I

lap left quad. I used to have two lines, two scars because a friend of mine, his name was ricky Um, he had they we would play high go seek and there was they had I don't know why, but they had bybed wire to keep people from climbing their trees in their yard, because I would imagine a lot of people climb climbing people's trees inside the fence then yard. Anyway, Um, I had on shorts, let's clothe and I jumped out of the tree and did not see the bible wire

and it sliced my leg. Well, first of all, I'm glad you said upper quad and not thigh. That makes it two guys talking a little bit easier. So thank you for saying upper quad. It's very masculine of view, so I appreciate that. What was I supposed to say upper quad? I didn't need thy Oh, I didn't even think about it. That's that's how what guys do. But so the question was, did you know you were scratched or impaled by that barbed wire right immediately? Yes? Immediately?

Would no, maybe a little bit later some blood. It was no, It was no delay. It was no you know, baby felt the hot stole three seconds after it was It was immediate right now, like burning who. When I was a kid man, I had a lot of I didn't get a lot of Technis shots, but I probably should have had a few of them. I stepped on the nail one time on my big toe, That's that's why we had been gay. We talked about that before that fixed everything. Didn't that been gay? Wasn't I wasn't

hitting on it. It was on my big toe too. I remember, I had to practice. I was oof, didn't didn't go to the doctor any of that dirt on it. Nah, that didn't help either. No, I would a rusty nail. I would go with that. I think you're right, all right. Who we got coming up next on the Cut to A podcast, we have Marquee Sports Networks Cole Right. Cole has worked all over Major League Baseball in several roles

and also spent some time with the NFL Network. Cole is currently with the Chicago Cubs on their Pretty and postgame show, and he's one of the close friends have Cut to It Cole Right on the cut to It podcast, Let you guys have me on and good to see you again is always Joe. Nice to meet you, man, and my pleasure, no doubt about it. Miss you guys, man, doubt Yeah, I miss you too, man. I'm coming out there and uh in a couple of weeks, so maybe we'll grab dinner cool. Our first section here is called

get Iced Up Steve makes these questions up. We don't know what's coming. I have no idea. So as he always says, buckle up, buttercup, and let's get to it. You're ready, okay, let's roll guys, all right? What's your favorite quotation? Oh? You know what I feel like, if if I have to have one favorite quotation, it's uh, you don't have to get ready when you stay ready. As as crazy as it sounds that it does sound

somewhat cliche. If you put in that work and you're always ready when it comes to preparation, I feel like, what when your number is called, there won't be as much scrambling, you know. You's like it's it's it is exactly what it is if you if you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. That's and that's what we see. Who's the most optimistic person? You know? Wow,

I don't know. That's a that's a tough one, man. Um. I mean, can I say myself Maybe I like to say I'm I'm somewhat of a hater, but I feel like you have to be a little bit of a hater when when when when you have you know your ideas and you have your thought processes, but I like to stay optimistic. Like even with my little one, I was telling him, like, if if you think you can get it done, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And that's kind of how I've always operated, because you know,

when I was younger and I talked fast. You've you've been around me plenty of times. Man, I like to I like to speak at a at a heightened clip, and you know, every once in a a while I start, it will come in and uh, you know back in the in the younger days, you know, I like I like to fancy the expletives. So everyone would alwas say, man,

never never gonna be on TV. You know, it's how are you gonna do that with all the stutter and and and all the all the all the all the words that come out, and that you need to put a dollar in the swear jar. But I just I just feel like I try to remain optimistic, and I always had to try to have a positive mindset. So maybe if I had to go with someone else, by default,

I go with my daughter. She tries to stay positive, and I feel like that's just because of some of the seeds that I've planned with her at a young age. So everybody in the whole, in the coal Right household is optimistic. I like that. We try to be. We try to be, not not always, but like I said, my wife says, I'm the biggest hater in the house, but I only hate so everyone gets better. I'm I'm I'm I'm pessimistic, Paul half the time, I'm always no. But Steve, I mean you have to be optimistic, dude.

I mean, think about how many people when you were coming up, we're saying, well, this is what you think you're gonna be able to do with your with your life and your career, And how many doubters did you have? And how many times did you say, I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna show this cat or whoever it may be, why they're wrong and I'm right. So you had to maintain an optimistic co right, Meet Steve Smith,

Steve Smith, meet Cole Right. Well, now you don't now that you put it in that fact, I think I've been doing this a lot lately. It's sometimes, uh, you know, sometimes I think we don't realize what the true terminology of of the word is. So I'm gonna see what what optimistic you know, a feeling or showing hope for the future. So that's what optimists optimistic. Yeah that that's according to uh Websters Webster manual Websters. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

I see how you did that. But since you're in Chicago, let me go ahead and uh let me go ahead and or Papadopolis you huh oh you see that? Huh yeah? I like, yeah, right, yeah, I got throw the other show into Punky Brewster. Alright, Okay, what was Punky Brewster's dog's name? Though this is our podcast cold, we don't have to answer questions like we make sure we put the questions out here. That's how this goes. What was the dogs? I don't know, And normally I would know something.

You used list information. I did not know on that one. I didn't know that. All right, last one, last one. This this, this is gonna throw you in a tizzy because I know you're gonna be tough on this, all right, deep This Chicago style style pizza or authentic Mexican food from Cappy. Here's the thing, Steed, when you come to Chicago, you you'll find out as you drive through the city. A lot of people may not know this, but Chicago

is the second most populous Hispanic city in America. More Mexican Americans live in Chicago than any other city outside of Los Angeles. The Mexican food in Chicago is next level when it comes to deep dish pizza. Oh yeah, there's a there's a Mexican spot right across the street. I'm here at Brigley right now. Our offices are right across the street and right next door two doors down, there's a place called La Mexicano. Every day, Like, hey,

what you're doing for dinner night? Tacos? I guess again, let me get three out pass doors three carna as side is, I probably don't need that, but I probably should have just went with four instead of six. But I'm a sucker for tacos. However, the Chicago native in me loves pizza. But being back that I'm here full time now, you can't just go around eating deep dish pizzas, you know, once a week, twice a month, because guess what, you have to get a readjustment on some of those

custom suits real quick. So I I like to go with the thin crust cut tavern style Chicago style, you know, in the squares you get the buttercrust, little saucy green pepper onion, and you call it a day. You get the same taste as that Deep dish with with less calories, if that makes any sense. Less carbs. Man, You know we're you know, we're trying to look spelt in the in the slim fins. Are you trying to telling me

you found a pizza with less carbs? It has less carbs in the deep I do go extra large, lou mall Mighty's thin crust well done, so it gets that extra little crisp on it. But I feel like I haven't ordered a whole bunch of thick crust since I've been back. Like if I go to my mom and dad's house and they're like, my Mom's like, oh, well, we're gonna get pizza tonight. What do you want you?

She'll go with deep dish. But even her over the years, my mom and dad they've even gravitated towards the thin crusts. So it is so heavy. So is So what's the difference between Deep Dish Chicago style and Detroit Pizza Because they're kind of for the untrained eye, they look the same somewhat, but Detroit style pizza. They make it in

those in those square pans. And I heard this just not too long ago, that the reason they make them in square pans is that there was a surplus of those pans at whether it was GM or four one of the automobile manufacturing companies, the oil pan. It was nuts and bolts and all the small and all the small pieces. So they had a whole bunch of extra. So he gave it to a place and they started making pizzas in those pants, and that was the birth of the Detroit style pizza. But there's no sauce on

Detroit style pizza. They put cheese all the way to the edge and then they poured the sauce on top. That's the biggest difference though, So so it's it fair to say that Detroit and deep dish Chicago style is a bootleg version of sicilia. It is the bootleg version. I feel like Detroit style pizza is the great value of pizza. So it's like pizza old lay away, like, hold on a second, I'm gonna come back next week. Let me let me get my cheese and dough, but

the the sauce next week. Yeah, it's it's if Chicago style pizza. If if they're Transformers Detroit style pizza, there their gobots go. The Tigers just texted me that's it. They don't need you up there at any point in time. Soon. Yeah, we'll be all right. What Chicago is one of those places, Uh, if you've ever been in the summer, uh, you used

to it. I've been to Chicago a number of times, but I'm always shocked when I walk around there because I never really come in the summer, and I'm like, man, this is a place that I need to come all summer. Still haven't gotten it. Still still haven't gotten there. Tell me why Chicago is a fantastic place to go in the summer. I mean, all you have to do is just go back and look at Kanye lyrics. He said,

what did you say? It feels like Atlanta, It feel like l A, it feel like n Why summertimes shy Uh? I thought, yeah, I mean that's that's all you really need to know. I mean, summertime in Chicago, block parties. I mean the weather, it's fantastic. This this this summer we had, I mean an unbelievable stretch of weather but barely any rain. It just felt like every day you'd wake up and it almost felt like it was l

A type weather. And Steve, I mean, you know l A has some some pretty solid weather when you can go down and get mail out of the mailbox in middle of December and just some gym shorts and that's it. Some flip flops. You know you're doing everything right. And you know the weather so far this year and even all the way into September. We'relost in October and I'm sitting here at Brigley feeling some khakis in a in a golf shirt and I'm like, man, I wish I

would have war some shorts out here. It's i mean, mid mid eighties right now. So here's my present. The way you you proposed this. You know, my son was he played briefly at the Paul. Okay, and so you know the Paul's in downtown absolutely okay. The way you just summarize Chicago. You summarize Chicago kind of like the place I played in Baltimore, where like they in the Harbor. Yeah, it's nice, but you ask and get robbed too. You

just get you get robbed anywhere. No, not the not the way they're robbing you in Baltimore and Chicago, there's levels. It's it's almost like when the wintertime comes, like Cat Williams, you get your cold, we're here from here. I feel like it's I feel like there's a myth perpetuated some you know what I mean? Boy, stop lyon, I've never been you know what. I take that back. I did get my car broken when I when I was going to get some dinner, went to a fantastic Italian prestant,

came back. So let me so, let me so. Let me so. You went to Italian restaurant and came out with an Italian job. Yeah, yeah, they did a number. I felt like that. And Norton and don Che we're driving off from Mini Cooper's after day after just lifted everything out. I like his movie ref knowledge right there. That was nice. You know. The funny thing about it, though, is that I feel like they were amateurs because they

didn't even get all the best stuff. I mean, they got my work bag with the computer, they gotta watching some cash out of the middle console, but they didn't get my baseball glove and they didn't get my scooter. Where was that where in the back in the back hast. Come on, Steve, you don't have an electric schooler to get wherever you need to go in the back of

the car Lamborghini's I guess, don't have scooter room, Huffler. Well, first of all, I don't have a Lamborghini, okay, And second of all, when I was in Baltimore, I had a scooter, but I didn't put the scooter in the car. Yeah, I had a electric scooter. See here's the thing, Okay, So our offices are right across the street. I lived downtown, so I would just drive my scooter everywhere because I didn't want to pay for parking as absolutely, and I

mean think about it. By the time you get in the car, out of the car, senter a few stoplights, and you're gonna get somewhere quicker with the scooter. But you got the scooter in the car though. In the back I got the third row. It's laid down, scooter always there because we had to park about two blocks away. I'll tell you what, there's nothing worse than getting done with the late game that went maybe a rain delay,

extra innings. You walk to the car and you patch your pockets like I think this about some man I left my keys on the desk, so then you have to walk all the way back two blocks go back, and I'm like, you know what, I'm just gonna take the scooter that no one uses at my house. That's my scooter in the first day. I'm gonna take it, put it in my car, and I'm gonna ride it into work every single day. So I ride every day from the parking lot to our offices. And then I

just let me ask you a dad question. Don't lie when you have forgotten to charge it. Who's the kid you blame for not charging it? Me? I blame myself. It's funny because my daughter, she came in the house to the day I was sleeping. I had a day off, and she came in and she's she's my first thing was like that scow it was in my car and take this thunder out of my car, and she's her knee and elbow were scraped up. And I'm like, guess what, I like, you know how many times I scraped up

my knee and elbow. I'm like, get after it and keep it moving. And my wife is like, well, she's hurt that that wasn't very optimistic. She's a very optimistic that you didn't give her hope. Well, I was hoping that she would be a little bit tougher in that situation. That's kind of hope that I was trying to provide them. Like here a catcher. I'm like saying, if you if you take one and off off the shelds, I'm like, you gotta be ready to go. This would happened during

the game. You gotta be ready for that. That That didn't land very well with the it did. My wife was like, but my daughter she got just like, yeah, I'm all right, I'll be good this weekend, and she was okay. The only bad thing about the story is she got the blame for for the like, O, you took the stood out of my car and you almost messed the steed up. Come on down. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe and you can follow us on

social media too, Smithie where where at? That's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At cut to It Facebook, cut to It featuring Steve Smith sing your what about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for. A brother cut to a podcast dot com. Where are you from

and the place you call your hometown. I'm from Chicago, man, I know, being from the suburbs of Native Chicago Winds that grew up inside the outline of the city. They're like, well, you're not from Chicago, You're from the suburbs. But you know, when you move all on the country, people ask where are you from? You know, I tell them Chicago. Where I'd say, you know, Aurory, Illinois. You know you've seen

Wayne's World Aurora, Illinois public Access TV channel six. There really was no Public Access six with Wayne and Garth on and but I am from Aurora, Illinois. I was born in Joliet. I spent all my junior high high school years out there. And you know, it's be be able to be back home and work for a team that you know, I grew up cheering for. You know, my dad and my mom and I we came, we came to Brigley Field and came to games. And even

when I graduated college. I lived like ten blocks away from Brigley and we would do whatever we could if we knew some people that that waited tables with us, that worked in another establishment would say, hey, can you get us some tickets? What can we do to to come to games? And the fact that now I get to come, I mean, my badge would get me into

Brigley Field when on day's where it's closed. My agent came to town and you know, my my general editor would we brought him and his fiancee brought him across and there was nobody in the field. And it was crazy for me for a place that you know, I used to you know, cling to for the rare opportunities where I get to come to, and now I get to you know, I can't say I have my run of the place, but it's pretty cool to see how

things have changed over the years. And I'm sitting here in the press box when it's it's it's family the day for season ticket holders, and I'm sitting here talking with you. I I envisioned it because I tried to stay optimistic. But sometimes you just don't know, you don't know where that path is going to actually take you

and for this path to bring me back home. And Steve, you and I talked about it, you know, before I left an NFL network and I Steve, like you you you dealt with things from a business side in in the NFL. I'm like, what are your thoughts? What do you think I should do? And you know, you and

I we had some long conversations about it. Man. So for me to be able to come back home and work for the team that I grew up cheering for, and have my parents so close, and and be be able to be in my daughter's life every single day, I mean, it's it's pretty special, man. So a Chicago kid coming back to the shot being able to work for the Cubs, it's it's it's pretty surreal. I know for myself. I you know, there are times where because of wearing the sports world that you don't really appreciate

going to Wrigley Field every week. I'm in the new stadium, I'm in a new city, in a new hotel. But I get to see, as they say, how the sausage is made because I'm at you know, a game that's at a game that's had maybe eight o'clock at night. As an announcer or an analyst or part of the pre part of the pre pre game, halftime and post game, you know, eight o'clock game, Mom, I'm there at sometimes

two to thirty. Right, we do thirty minutes of of of television and I'm off and then I got you know, a couple of hours and then we're back on, and we're back on, locked in from probably two o'clock till midnight. Man, it is extremely hard sometimes to really sit here and go and appreciate the stadiums, the access that we have that people pay hard earned money and sometimes give up

mortgage payments to experience. And we got badges that that on off that gets us in right, and yeah, but the pandemic really kind of put us in that space where you kind of like, I didn't really miss it as much because it was it became such a daily routine.

You know. It's funny you make mention of that, Steve, because I was just talking with uh one of the guys who is a new employee with the Cubs this year and he's still a college he's the voice of Ridley Fields named Jeremiah pap Rocky young brother who's you know, from Chicago, grew up as a fan of the Chicago Cubs.

And you know, we did the Q and A with with the seats of ticket holders and the president of Baseball Operations, Jed Hoyer right downstairs, and before everything got ramped up, I was telling Jeremiah, you know, one thing you never want to lose sight of in this business is that how privileged and lucky we are to be able to do what we do, because there's only a handful of cats that that get that access and and get that interaction with some of these guys, Like you know,

the fact I'm sitting here and chatting it up with you is it's just it's something that you know, you a lot of people take it through granted, and when when you're thinking about it, we get to go to these ballparks, we get to go to these stadiums, we get to go to these special venues, and a lot of people want our jobs. And Steve, like you said when you were playing, like, as long as I'm on the field, as long as I'm getting after it, not today,

You're not taking that job today. So that's kind of how I like and look at it as if it's a privilege. And when some of those things when they don't excite you as much, when it's not a big deal to be around the Hall of Famer. Like I did a show the other day when we call the Icons of the IVY where we had five the five Living Cubs Hall of famers, Ryan Sandberg, Gergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Police Smith, and Andre Andre Dawson and we sat in the room and talked for two and a half hours.

We made a whole bunch of different shows out of it. And I feel like there's some guys who might be like, Okay, this just comes with the territory. It's the job. It's what I knew. But the first number I ever got to pick out a baseball diamond was number eight. That's

Andrey Dawson. For me to be in contact with those guys, it's it is a big deal, man, you know it's it's I feel like it is a privilege, and we're rewarded for for, you know, what we do in our services by being given the key to the franchise, so to speak. But I feel like when when people start to lose sight of of how special that is, but just think about it. I mean, you were you were there,

as a player. So I feel like sometimes I'm it's lost because you're there to accomplish a certain missions task and you're going out there you're trying to rip the heart out of the opposition. That's what you're trying to do, So you're not really sometimes focused. Can you can't really you can't take in the festivities as you could agree with. I'm sure you get to take a step back and and see those fans cheer for you in addition to

the guys on the field. And like I said, I just I just as a kid who spect you know, more pore times than not in the in the principal's office. To be able to sit here and you know, and be able to do what I do, I feel like I never lose sight of it, and I'm always appreciative, and I feel like having that relationship with my parents and how I can see how proud they are. That's

one of the reasons why I never lose sight. Once in a while when I'm when I feel like, okay, not that not that big of a deal, my mom will tell me a story how well someone came into work and and she was telling them, how well, that's my son on the TV show before the Cups come on. So I think that that that puts things in perspective for me to it makes it and it makes it just that much better. It makes you want to go out and get after Let me ask you what is and I and I want to give true essence of

the authenticity of your job. So what is the good and the bad of your job? When it comes to the good and the bad, I feel like there's good and there's things that aren't as good, not not necessarily bad. I feel like it's just things that come with the territory, whether it's you know, especially with baseball, because it's not like football. It's a it's a game where there is no clock and you're you're at the you're at the

mercy of the temple of the game. And what when you do a hundred and sixty two of them as opposed to seventeen in years past sixteen games? You know you're there and you're waiting and then okay, rain delay and then okay, a rain delay game just turned into extra innings. And you know, a game that was on track to be two hours and forty five minutes is now just extended to four hours. And thirty six minutes. Sometimes you get home a little later than would want to.

But I said, it all comes from the territory because at the end of the day, you get to go out there and I get to talk about baseball, and I get to talk about something that I know, I like to think very well. And whether it's that or whether it's still still doing football stuff. You know, whether whether you know I'm out there making picks for Fan Duel or you know, jumping on the podcast with you guys, I feel like they're I always like to think about it.

It's like I always say, I'm not laying bricks or running the jackhammer, because those jobs is the certain skill set that our job requires, Like the only reason we have calluses on our hands because we like to get to the gym. We're not doing any real hard work. I mean, it's like I said, it requires a certain skill set. But I mean, I mean, there there's hard jobs out there. My dad, my dad sold cars, and he sold cars in Chicago, sold cars and sold in shirts.

But in the wintertime, guess who cleans all the snow off the cars? The salesman. And when I got done with when I got done with college. I had a bunch of clothes from my internship dress clothes, and I told my dad I was still looking for a job on TV. And one day we were driving somewhere and I said, you know what, I think I'm just gonna sell cars until I get that first TV job. And he's like, oh, really, okay, that's that's interesting. So so where are you gonna be living in And I was like, huh.

He's like, you ain't living at my house selling no cars. That's like, you ain't live in my house selling cars, man. And I think it's because he knew what went into that, how hard that was. There's upstairs downs, there's ebbs, there's flows,

and he did that so I didn't have to. You know, essentially, if that makes a lot of sense, he crawled so I could walk and absolutely make no, it absolutely makes sense cold And I just want to challenge you one second and not you don't need to sell yourself Short or Steve Short. I know the hard work that you put in and he puts in behind the scenes. It's not like you just walk into that stadium and just start talking, right, you know, you know. Six to les Kano,

we go back to old school players. You know, some of those names are hard to pronounce. Right. You gotta know your stats. You gotta know when a three one count his tendency is to throw a change up. I mean, so, you gotta do your work. It doesn't matter what job you're in or what profession you do, you gotta be good at it, right. You gotta love what you do,

no matter what you're doing. When when you went to sell cars, or if you were going to sell cars, your father was trying to teach you a lesson, like, yo, you're actually go out there, walk around in some dress clothes and some fair gamo shoes and act like you're somebody. He was gonna make you get after it like every other salesman to put your dues in. So you guys

do work hard. And as a fan of baseball and a fan of football, when I sit back and I hear you guys are like little kids because you're so excited to go to work every day. You know, Steve so excited to go to work. It's refreshing to hear because on the outside looking in, some folks are like, oh, colds, guy are easy, right, he just gotta go in there and talk about baseball. So to hear you guys, to be so passionate about what you do, it's really cool

for our listeners to hear that. Man, I still love this. I don't have bad days. I have some days not as good as others. But it's really really cool to listen. And and one question I want to ask you, go on back, what drove you to baseball? Like, you know, I'm sure you were like all of us, we all played multiple sports as a child. And but what set in your mind like hey, I'm gonna go give this

a shot and be part of baseball. I mean, for me, it was just grown up in Chicago, And I feel like you don't see it as much with the kids, whether it's Chicago or even even in warm way the locations, kids don't play in the neighborhood as much. Like that's why the travel teams they pay practice, they have to put in so much individual work because there's not a field where you know, seven, eight, nine, ten kids get together and play and pick up game of baseball like

when we were kids. Okay, right fields out, two dudes had to go home because it was dinner time. You know, they don't they don't have that anymore. And I feel like for me, you know, I always we changed sports with the seasons change. I mean, you played whiffleball, you played rag ball. You know, if you can find a place where you know you can get out and play a little hardball in the neighborhood as a kid, that's what you did. And then when the leaves started to change,

guess what you're playing? Tackle football, notepads. And and my my boy listens my homes and his side of his the side yard of his house. And then once he got cold, you know, you were went sledding. And then once once all the snow thought out, you were playing basketball. I remember specifically, like playing dribbling a basketball and someone's driveway and there's still a frozen little puddle and you dribble on and it breaks the ice, and then the

basketball's went. You gotta dry it off, and it just it seemed as if our season's changed with the seasons, Like I feel like the leaves on the trees where the indicators of what sport you should be playing in the neighborhood at that time. And for me, yeah, I didn't, I didn't know I was gonna be this size. My mom is five six. My dad is five ten. I'm

six four, two twenty pounds. I sometimes look back and say, man, you know, if I would have know I was gonna be this size, maybe that would have taken football a little more seriously. But I feel like baseball, for me, that was the sport that I really picked up because I could as a kid, I could swing it. You know, my defense was terrible, but and guess i'd bet that dude you talk about playing right field. I remember in

Little League I played right field. But at any of the runs that I let through, chances are I was gonna get us a few extra until you tell me your war was pretty good. Your war was pretty good? Is that what you're trying to tell me. I mean, it was all right, but I feel like it was the It was the the the offensive firepower. Like one of my buddies, he got drafted by the Red Sox and played. He was in Double A for a long

time behind Nomar. And you know when when we were on the same team together, I mean, all we did was win, and we had a bunch of hitters on that team. But I feel like at a young age, defense comes when you see a kid that is well beyond their years. Defensively, that's special. But I feel like the one thing that the most important thing, you know, when you're gonna be playing your literal league years up

until like right before high school. I feel like, if you if you could handle yourself in that batter's box with that stick, all to everything takes care of itself. And I feel like that was my biggest thing for baseball in the manner, no matter how bad my glove looked at times, until I really dedicated and made sure that I was a sharp defensive player, I feel like the bat was always there, and it's all we did was play with football and just play in the neighborhood.

And then when we when I moved, we go find a broomstick, you tape it up, and then we played fast with the tennis ball. You know, we probably play stickball. I mean it wasn't the traditional stickball that you see cats playing, you know, out in the Bronx or whatever, but it was our suburban form of stickball. You know, we got out there, we had our broomstick, we had our tennis ball. We play on our tennis court, and we got after it. So I feel like that's that's

what it wasn't I just love playing baseball. I mean, maybe I would have loved football, or maybe I would have loved basketball as much if I would have been as as solid or had the same skill set, But I did it at that point, and I think that's why baseball for me, it was always the one that really was the clubhouse leader minute. So so your parents were they any drive for that or was it all relying on you and watching you navigate which sport you

wanted to do. Mainly, I feel like my parents that they are they're huge baseball fans, and my mom and dad gigantic Cubs fans. But I feel like that's all a byproduct of them going to baseball games from the time I was six until the time that I was done, until until the day they told me you're no longer playing baseball. But one of my mom, my mom, and my day they were there. Like the last time I

was able to pitch competitively was a tryout. He was a trial for the San Diego Badres and I had, you know, I tried out earlier in the summer at a camp and what the Illinois scout told the guy from Idaho falls and we really want to see you pitch. And he sent me a packet information packet, so you had Austin signed it all up and then send it back to them for the Troy out that was in Chicago, right outside of the suburbs in an independently field. And I sent it back the day of the deadline. This

guy calls me back and don't even bother coming. You know, you waited till the last day. I bet you the kind of cat that sends his taxes in at at midnight, which at that point in time, I was. He was right, you know, I was. I was that guy that used to, you know, put put something off today that that could be done tomorrow. You know, did you see it as if? That's where I was at as a as a youngster.

And then when I wasn't able to go, it was on a Monday, and I was still flying back home anyways, So I said, you know what, if I'm not gonna be playing, I'm not gonna be pitching dependently, I'm just gonna get back in the gym and started lifting. Because when you're a college that's that's that's what you're all don't have to, you know, Taylor, make your routine to just to be sports specific. You're like, Okay, we're gona get back in the gym and be ready for the summer.

That's what I did. Eventually, I went back home that day and and that end of the week I found out that they still wanted me to go to that tryout. I lifted weights heavy all week long. I wasn't able to get that velocity up there. It was, you know, well below where I normally was at. But it's just that when you think about all the things that happened, do things happen for a reason. I'm a firm believer

in yes. You know, say, if I would have been a d percent losing, would have thrown nine three to nine five, which I could have thrown on any given day, maybe things would have changed. Maybe I would have gotten even picked up. Maybe I would have been a draft pick the next season. Who knows, Like there's all those

intangibles that you never really know about. So, you know, just I feel like being a guy who was able to, you know, hitch his trailer to the game of baseball, if you're like, for me, that was that was the best the overall development and the maturation process because my first not my first job. But you know, I mean I remember getting pulled over. My driver's license was expired. I called my buddy who owns a restaurant here. I

used to work with them. Okay, man, like you guys got any bartending openings because I think they might be getting rid of me. So you really thought that was it, that was just from speeding. You thought they were gonna let you go. Yeah, I mean, well, I don't even think I ran a stop sign, but the fact that I didn't, my license wasn't up to speed. And you had all that stuff, yeah as a young kid. I mean,

and it wasn't because you were negligent. It's because you didn't have the money to go get all that stuff renewed. And you know, it's like, okay, if I gotta get get my driver's license renew and to get a new insurance,

that's gonna cost this, that, this, and that. So you're processing everything, you're processing You had it all that actually, so then you think, like, so what costs more happen to deal with that ticket or happening to pay all this, and then you just make these these ridiculous, like youthful decisions. But like I said, everything always happens for a reason. I feel like, by the grace of guy, everything has helped out and worked out for me. Good do it, good,

do it. That's getting down to do it. Good. Hey Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean? Oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. You have talked about your dad being a sale a car salesman. Car salesman back in the day, came across a certain way. Now that's your pop and

your snicker, and that's your papa. When I read car salesman, my mind goes to you know, you know me, Me and you were very similar. You know on TV. You gotta you always gotta quick thinking, right man. When I read car salesman, my mind went a hunter mouse in a number of directions. And I'm not trying to you know, I know you well enough. You're not taking this way. But when I hear car shelves man, I think of your dad, but I also see you. How was it

being raised by a car salesman. I feel like, you know one thing that my pop's always said to me, and I feel like there is that connotation where okay, you know car seals and they're they're slicksters. You know, they're always trying to put get one over alls. And my pops told me this man I remember as a kid and it was always it was huge to me because he was a top sailor. He saw buis when I was a kid coming up. Remember he was going by. He sold those Nobiles too. My mom had a sky

My mom had a skylark. Uh it was. It was a four door and she had a foa miss flow on the license plate. It was clean. It was super clean because we rode on the bus for about seven years, so she saved up for that. So I know you were ready to get the beast to be rolling in that skylark when you when when you got it. But the thing my pop's always always told me is that everyone always thinks that the car salesmen are trying to get over. And my dad said to me, I don't.

I don't make things up. I don't. I don't tell lies because if you if you, if you lie enough you're gonna start thinking that's the truth, and you're gonna forget what the actual truth is. And when someone corners you wanted you have to be and then you'll be Uh. It's like my dad said, don't don't tell. Don't go out there and tell any lies because if you do that, you're gonna get caught. So I feel like he was a car salesman, and he was, like I said, he

was a top salesman. I remember him having billboards around the you know, the or An area I grew up, and he was outside of Chicago, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, my kids facing on a billboard for selling all these cars and and I just think that that was his approach, you know, the don't don't don't tell any lies, be honest and do that in everyday life. I feel like, if you if you're dishonest or not not forth some people want to know that man. And I think that that comes

out and people know you. I mean, do you work with plenty? How many phony cats have you worked with, whether it be in football, on TV and media afterwards, and you're like, yeah, that's how they are on TV. But yeah, I'm cool with them. I'm cool with them as opposed to I don't really feel like doing anything with them because they're not really who they come across as and who they appear to be. And I like to think that I come across as genuine because it is just me and that's what I do. I do.

Do I love covering football, yes, do. I love covering baseball, absolutely, And I mean I was goo Throun, like I know how to wait tables and do and do what I do and right, and you know, so I feel like that's what set me up for what I do now

because I was able to wait tables. And I feel like when I could give any advice to the youngsters, they always asking what should I do, I'm like, well, when you get down to school, I'd almost say, don't get a job waiting tables for a little bit, especially people that you went to school to be on TV, because I feel like a table. It's almost like someone that you're interviewing. Some Some tables want to talk more, some tables want to talk less. You're gonna have those

interview subjects that you know you're gonna ask. You're gonna ask a question. A great, great game today. You know what the game plan looked like, as you know you got ready to go into battle. Well, it was they'll give you a one word answer or they'll keep it real short, so you have to be ready to always fire off. And I just feel like it's just all those little building blocks. And I said, it started with my dad, started with my mom, and my mom it's

done to me. You know, anything you start, make sure you make sure that everything is is done the right way. And if you do everything the right way, you don't have to worry about looking over your shoulder. Col's live at Wrigley right now, so when you hear this podcast, hear some background. No, we just want to make sure everybody understands where he's at. I remember we worked at the Super Bowl together when it was in a lama, and I remember looking looking at your notes and all

your notes. You had done the research of how many street names in the state of Georgia had the word peach in them, and you had like researched it. Why so many so many people think and I get all the time people tell you what to say. So many people think that we are given things to say. Now, we are given topics to talk about, but our research,

our ins and outs. The meat of the conversations at all generally organically made up by production meetings and also arguments that happened in production meetings based on whatever topics the analysts or or host or co host are really passionate about it. Yeah, And I mean, and you know too, sometimes when you're in a free show meeting, if you say too much as an analyst, maybe another analyst, my my jack those thoughts about, oh there's some there in some stealers of stuff. I've had a guy and I'm

not talking about Michael Irving. Everybody wouldn't sue him. I'm talking about right, I had a guy one time on when I was interviewing and doing a live show we did we would redo the whole we would rehearse the whole show before the show, and my man took my line from the appreciate meeting, and when we did the rehearsal, I was stuck, like stuck, I was stuck between my pen pan game was strong because that individual is on the right of me. I'm like, this dude took my life.

Do I slap them? Do I make something up off the cuff about hell and we were still going, so it was only really like a three second conversation, but it ended up being seconds of me not saying anything. But once again, like you said, I wrote out all these streets with Peach Street, how many different streets? Movie. When we did the Super Bowl in in Minnesota, I tried to get I had a print out of all ten thousand lakes, and I was gonna as the week unfolded, I was gonna try to get in. I mentioned of

every single lake. Wasn't able to do that, but that's what that's what I was trying to do. And and you know, it's it seems as if, like you said, when someone still is that nugget of information or or something doesn't go the right way. When you have extra stuff in your back pocket, that's when it becomes easier.

When you have but you've done all that extra research, when you you don't have to get ready, when you stay ready, Like I said, my favorite quotation yet, it's if you have all that extra stuff and you had auxiliary information, I feel like it just makes it that much easier to do your job and bring things up and up the conversations. So how about I got to here's how I got the guy though, you ready, So we were so we went live and then rehearsal. He got to go first. When we hit live, I got

to go first. Reversal boll. I took that thing. I said it and looked at him. It was originally yours anyways though right, I know, but it was it was always good to just snatch something back that was rightfully mine. Didn't looked at him your turn, sir. Oh, it was amazing. If he had them ten thousand lakes written down, he either had something sad and yeah, I remember Steve working

in it. We had another assignment a meeting, a pre show meeting with another former wide receiver, and he was he was very tight lipped during during that meeting and he's like, we got none. Like you didn't say much. I mean, you have more to say on the shows. Oh yeah, I just didn't say much because I knew that cat that was sitting off to my left. I knew if I said two months, he's gonna write down notes, he's gonna say the exact same thing. So I try

to beat me to it. So it's it's funny when when you talk about that and just and getting ready and being prepared, and I mean, you know, you put it, You put in the work, and it's it's just like when when game day was right around the corner, when you had to get after it on the field of play, you knew that, guess what if that route doesn't work, sometimes I I gotta improvise. Be like sports in in broadcasting,

I feel that they do go hand in hand. And I don't feel like you necessarily had to be a former athlete to do what we do because most of us there at least they are in my room, we're not former athletes to a certain degree. You know they some did not play in college, some did not play after college, and you know, some somewhere they knew that they that their trajectory was, Okay, I'm running the school newspaper, but I'm in seventh grade and in high school, I'm

I'm part of the school TV. Uh, you know, the TV station. Whatever it may be. That that wasn't the case for yours. But we were you a whole lot longer than I was. But I was trying to find out how I can stay in sports on the field as long as possible, and then once that time expired, how can I still stay close to the game. I thought about being an umpire like real talk. I thought

about going to window stand umpire school. And then I thought to myself, Well, if I'm back behind the plate and I can still throw harder than dudes out there on the pound, am I gonna be calling games the right way? Or am I gonna be a little bit of a hater? Be a little soft? I didn't get my show. Don't know what's the school? What'senhaving that umpire school? Harry Wendel stand he's an old time umpiret and and I love the fact that you just had that, like, hey,

you got a piece of going. Oh yeah, yeah, you go. You just had that locked and logan. Oh last question, Man, if you could change one thing in baseball heading in, what would it be? I would change this the overall approach I would I wish a lot of these dudes would say, you know what, lonch Ango exit velocity? Who cares you hit one out great? Who cares how hard it went out or what the angle was? All I need to know is didn't didn't leave the yard. Absolutely,

I'd like to see a more consistent approach league. Ye know, I've worked with too many Hall of Famers or too many guys that have two thousand or more hits, and none of them tried to swing up like you see all these hitting gurgurus and all these guys who are saying, the first thing you do is snap that elbow up. And Ryan Sandberg was telling me a story this the other day where they were in Cooper's town and they were all talking about the subtle nuance of the game.

And in this conversation, Robin Young said, all the things that these guys try to do today is exactly what I was trying not to do. Like, you don't want to lift that elbow, You want to keep that elbow, keep it in, and take that top hand to the ball and keep the head on it and just a level swing. The longer you can keep the barrel that bat in the hitting zone, the better opportunity it gives you to put the hit. A ball on the line,

you let it travel back. You have two strikes. I would like to see swings look different from even the most accomplished hitter. A swing with two strikes should not look the same as your swing with zero strikes. And that's what I see all around. Makes League Baseball, whether it's on the last place team or a first place team. I'd like to see a little bit less of later.

You know what's interesting is my son Boston was playing baseball for a little bit and and one of the things he was not really I thought he was not a heavy kid. Right, so he doesn't have he doesn't have the weight of um of his pop right, so his backside he he ain't caring a lot. He got no bat all actually, um, no booty right. And but one of interesting things is because of his speed, he really worked his hitting coach really worked on utilizing his speech or just get on base. But while he was

playing baseball, they was more concerned about hitting. You know, he needs to hit harder. And so that one of the interesting things that I I sent him a thing on each year old when it came out a couple of years ago, which was, man, this is the type of player that you can be because this is a dying breed, a guy that can place the ball on any piece of the baseball diamond where you can hit the ball in any hole. Because let's be honest, baseball players are not really active. They they they are not

really trying to run all the time. In the outfit, and I just find it interesting that they don't really emphasize getting on basies more of getting home rung. So you're rather get out swinging for the fences then get on base, because the last time I checked, it's about the team with the most points. Yeah. No, and it's our our announcer who has just jumped out with the cups of this season. Man. I mean, I know you've heard many a game, whether it's college football or major

league base ball. He's a he's a fine broadcaster. And one thing he said that's always stood out to me. It's it's a run scoring contest, not a hit contest. So that's that's one of the biggest things. It's like, it's it's all about how many runs you score and how can you do that? And everyone always says, well, you don't. You're giving yourself up a sacrifice bunt or stealing basis that's your that's that's an out x amount of times. And once again it's going back to all

those numbers. Are you're gonna use all those numbers to your advantage or you're gonna sprinkle them in? And I say, sometimes outs in baseball. That's baseball currency. You have to spend out sometimes in order to score it runs. And if if you have to lay down a bunt, and if you have to get things down and you get those guys, get them on, get them over, get him in.

That's what needs to be done. And like you say, an eight year old, I mean he he could hit bombs, but he he said, you know what, I'm gonna see, I'm gonna wrack up as many hits as I can. If you wanna shift one way and you're gonna allow a big hole on, that's so I guess I'm gonna do. Let it travel back a little deeper in my stance. I'm gonna poke it that way. I see the defensive shifted that way, I'm gonna do it like this. And I think that's a that's a that's a big on here.

We don't see that as much in baseball, and it's it's sad to see and we we almost don't even rays are fun. Buns look like look like smash line drive hits in the book, and there runs even better. Yeah, well, I appreciate your time, brother. It was cool fun anytime. It was a pleasure getting on talking with you guys. You are a unique person. You are well worth it,

you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. Cut to It with Steve Smith Singior That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltoe Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, Singer, co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking man Joe Fusci, social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show from Balto

Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevic and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec. Production Coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard am about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all