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Dodger legend Steve Sacks is joined by your favorite Dodger pregame host, Tim Kates. If you want to talk Dodgers, get in on the show on eighty six six nine, eighty seven two five seven now. While the Dan Patrick Show streams on the Ihearts radio app. We've been banished to the Internet until this Dodgers playoff run concludes. Here they are broadcasting live on AM five to seventy LA Sports. It's Tim Kates and Steve Sacks.
Our two Saxon Kates in the AM here on A five to seventy LA Sports. Thanks for being with us on this Wednesday morning, October sixteenth, twenty twenty four. You're Los Angeles Dodgers in getting ready for a Game three showdown against the New York Mets. Series tied at a game of piece. Morongo Casino Dodgers on deck. We'll get it all started. At four o'clock this afternoon. First pitch from City Field had five eight power by Zenchi, sushi, fast,
fresh and easy. Walker Bueller on the mound for the Dodgers saxy and I swear six weeks ago, if we were talking, he would have said Game three, pivotal NLCS matchup, and Walker Bueller is the guy Dave Roberts is going to entrust with the baseball I would have laughed at you, walked away and thought you were absolutely crazy. Walker Bueller during the regular season didn't have any implications, indications that he would be a guy the Dodgers would rely upon
come this postseason. In fact, we wondered if he'd make the postseason roster. The rotation was starting to get good. You had Tyler Glass now and Gavin Stone, and you had Jack Flaherty and Yamamoto was coming back. You had four starters, and he had Clayton Kershaw pitching.
Well.
Then he goes down with the tow injury, but you kept thinking he was going to come back. All right, we got four five starters. We are good to go for October baseball. Walker Bueller's role could be as a bulk inning guy, a reliever for the Dodgers out of the bullpen. Because of his success in postseason playing fast forward now six weeks later, the injuries that hit this
Dodgers team. Three of those five guys I just mentioned aren't even on the postseason roster because of injuries, and now they're relying upon two starters of three with Larty and a bullpen. And one of those three starters, gulp, is Walker Bueller.
Yeah, it's okay. I mean what's gone is gone. I mean Walker Bueller did not have the year we all thought he could have. I mean, coming back from injury. People come back from Tommy John and it's some people react differently to it takes longer for some, shorter for others. And some guys come out of the gate and they're just barns, They're just barn burners. But not the case here. He was one and six with a five three eight e R during the regular season, but he did pitch
better In his last start of the regular season. He had a tough outing, giving up those six runs, but he was able to notch a bunch of zeros after that. Let's remember what his his pedigree is though. Look in the past, Walker Bueller has got a three four oh e r A and about a good sample size almost eighty five innings. So he has been one of those guys that's known to step up in postseason. And remember he's still on the mend, if you will, and coming
back from from that injury. So let's see how Let's see how he does now in game in Game three. You have to have your stars step up in time of need, and this is one of those times. He notches this victory for the Dodgers and they're good shape.
This is arguably his biggest star probably is yes, And for Walker Bueller, he's got a lot riding on it as a free agent at the end of the year. If he could finish strong here during a playoff World Series run with the Dodgers, it would only amplify what he'd be worth on the open market come this offseason.
The guy coming off that second Tommy John surgery showing that he could overcome his struggles in the regular season, he can probably ride it off, is still trying to get right, come back, get used to pitching again, and then by the time they got to October he was back to form. That's sort of what he's hoping that will be the case going into free agency. And you mentioned that start in San Diego. He gave up the six earned runs over five innings put up the Zeros
after that big inning that the Padres had. But that big inning they had could have been completely different. If he got some help behind them defensively and some balls go his way, he could of got out of there with a lot less damage. And that outburst that he had in the dugout after that big inning that the
Padres had. David Vasss talked about it with us here on Scam about how that fired up the team and his rant, if you will, throwing the bubblegum box and the water ruler to show his frustration maybe with himself, but certainly with the guys behind him not helping him out. You know, maybe that's the fire we need out of Walker Bealer tonight.
Yeah.
Well, in all the prim and proper nature of professional sports that you got to have, sometimes you got to have something like this. I like the pure nature that you're seeing with Walker Bueler, him coming out there and letting that fire come out that there's nothing wrong with that. I'll take that in a guy any day of the week as to a guy that I got to push and try to prod him to get him to show some excitement and enthusiasm a guy like that. I'll take a guy like that any day.
Yeah.
And you know, part of the whole makeup of the pitcher of the player is, you know, the physical restraints that he's going to have coming back from the injury, if there is any, and getting back on track to where he was and was one of the most dominant pitchers and the reason why he was on a couple of All Star teams. That's what you want to get back to. But the other part of it is is the personality and the human being part of it. The guy in the uniform that matters tremendously and he's got
that in space. Walker Bueller is a top not human being. And I bet on those guys. I bet on those guys, and I bet on him.
I think you said it.
We've heard it said repeatedly over the last two weeks during this playoff run that for Walker Bueller mentally, emotionally, he feels like the Walker Buller he always has been. It's physically the body's just not quite there yet. And that was part of the struggles during the regular season,
and you could see it on his face. As you mentioned a guy who shows a lot of emotion we saw in the dugout and when things weren't going right, Saxy, when things were unraveling on the mound, and maybe it was his fault, the defense behind him in a start during the regular year, the lack of control walking guys, the frustration, and also the fact that he would just get upset because in his mind, hey, where is that fastball,
where's that gidea up on that? Where's my control? Where's my mechanics Because mentally it should all be there because it's never left me.
But my body just won't do it right.
And his expectations are so high for himself. He raises the bar of expectancy all the time. You know, he's he's expected to be that guy. You know, every time he goes out there. I mean, when you're hitting. It's weird hitters the same way they think they're going to get a hit every time up. I mean they believe it. They Walker believes he's gonna get every guy out. I mean, that's just what you expected as a professional athlete, a
guy that's done the things that he does. And that frustration that you're seeing Tim, I don't really think that's he even had a microsecond if it come in his mind about I don't screw those guys behind me, they're not. It's probably, I would bet it's probably most likely. Undeniably, I would say that it's all in the frustration with himself where he thinks he can get every guy out. He can probably strike just about every guy out. And that's his approach, and you know what, that's the only
approach that he's got to have to be successful. You can't have a Mealy malleja prode, will you know, I'll kind of do this here, kind of no, no, give me the ball, get the hell out of my way, and let me just mow these suckers down, because I know I can't. That's his approach and it's a perfect one.
Yesterday, Walker Bueller was at City Field during the Dodger workouts talk to the media. Here's a little that conversation from the Dodger right hander.
Do you feel like you have just personally kind of reached another level as to where you like to be, especially in October?
Yeah, I mean hard hard to say yes to that question, you know, coming off six eor and runs, But yeah.
I feel good.
I feel confident, So you know, I think that's probably was one of my biggest strengths for a long time, was my confidence, I guess, and you know, at times this year that's kind of wavered somewhat, and you know, the past six or eight I've kind of felt like had been building blocks of some kind and uh, you know, hoping to keep that going.
Wealker when you talk about like the you know, your confidence wavering and stuff, and you know, right during the regular season there were periods where the results is.
Kind of didn't come.
Like where would you go to, I guess, like mentally to kind of convince yourself, you know what, this is still in there, I can do this.
Yeah.
I mean, there's there's not a whole lot of easy ways to kind of sum that up or answer that question.
I guess.
I think the biggest thing is just, you know, at some point the health was kind of part of it. My hip didn help, and I think for me kind of honestly going away for a few weeks and coming back, I think things have started kind of started trending a little bit different then, and then through a bullpen in Saint Louis that kind of started getting everything really rolling. And you know, not that I've been setting the world
on fire since then. But at least my body feels like it's in the right position a lot of the time and kind of have an idea of where the balls headed. So yeah, kind of credit Mark and Connor and Jack was a was a part of that bullpen as well, So yeah, that was a big day for me and kind of you know, if I had to pick one thing that day was probably it.
A lot of guys talked about the three innings you had after the second inning last week, how important that was just in the overall kind of arc of the series to you, like especially to the confidence point, Like how much did those three innings mean, and just kind of how you felt in the last week since then leading up to this one.
Yeah, I mean, if you look at my year, I've I've had a lot of struggles just having kind of clean innings, and obviously that second inning was was a little squirrely, but I had four pretty clean ones outside of that, So.
Yeah, it definitely helps Bentley.
But at the end of the day, I got to go pitch good tomorrow, no matter no matter what.
Three innings I limped at the end of the game. The other day, it was Sierra all the way on the lefts in the back.
You talked about how you thrive in these rowdy type of atmospheres.
Is that something that you've grown to love or have you always been like that.
I don't know if thrive is the right word.
Obviously I've given up some big homers over the years, but I certainly enjoy it, and I know our team likes playing in environments like that, and it just makes the game a little bit different, a little bit more fun.
So I'm looking forward to it, all right.
There's Walker Buelder. He mentioned it earlier there in his press conference. There was a stretch from middle juneish till after the All Star break that he was on the injured list. He was away from this team, and at one point, as he said, he got away from kind of baseball and went down to Florida and got his hip right and worked us on his mechanics, and I think it was more of a mental reset and mechanical
reset for him. And then came back and as he said, it just took one bullpen session and it clicked and everything was in sync again. And you know as a picture how important that is. And all of a sudden, he's right, and he said after that he felt good and the results may have not been there. Game to game, he had games where you give up five runs on nine hits, and then he give up two runs on three hits over six innings, and then one run on five hits against the Padres at the end of September.
It was kind of up and down, but at least mechanically and mentally, he's in a good spot.
Yeah, And you know, it isn't common for a team to be confident in their starter with an ERA that's over five during the regular season and then coming off, you know, a postseason game where he gives up six earnies. But listen, this, this young man has earned the respect over his career, delivering in big performances in the biggest
games in postseason before. So he's earned that. And you know, you notice there's never anybody an he talks about in these press conferences and whatnot when they're talking about Walker Bueler, about commitment and dedication and the will to go out there and be the best that he can be. There's never ever a question about the character part of this man.
And that's something that you can really you know invest a lot in because you know, we know the abilities there, we've seen it, and he usually is a man of the moment, So I would say that this is a good bet that he's gonna give us a great performance tonight.
The other thing that sticks out in hearing all the Dodgers over the last two weeks is the confidence in the postseason. Granted they've been here and done this the last six seven years, depending on if they've been around this team or not, or even guy like Tay Oscar who's had postseason performances before but now has the extra confidence with this Dodgers team this year. The moment isn't too big for this Dodgers, whether from its a Max
Monsey to a Walker Bueller. To hear how calm Walker Bueller is before Game three start the day before talking to the media. You know, a couple of years ago, maybe he's a different pitcher, Maybe he's wind up a little bit more, wound up a little bit more emotionally, and you know, is more careful what he says. But this is a guy and a lot of these Dodger players because they've been here, I think Saxony and been in this situation and been in front of a podium
and all the media, yeah and done this. This has sort of becomes second nature, so the moment isn't.
Too big now as fans. If you were to follow around a Walker Buller or a Dave Roberts or somebody that's really in the spotlight for all this thing, you would be amazed at the amount of pressure, the cameras that are on them, the focus, the billboards when you're in around the city, and just the screaming fifty thousand people. You would be beside yourself. To follow these guys around and go through the game and see what they're going through, you wouldn't believe it.
You'd say, how do.
They possibly able to manage their emotions with all these expectations? And yet for these guys, they do it every day they play in front of Dodgers players play in front of fifty thousand people all the time. They're used to this. This is like painting the fence. To them, it's like a little bit of yard work. As far as the pressure, the moment will not get them and they won't get
the mets. They won't get either one of them. This is second nature to these guys, you know, it's a it would be a huge you know, enveloping the wow all this stuff together. Yeah, if you follow him around, but this is nothing to them.
Yeah.
I bring this up again because we talked about a last hour watching the Guardians implode on themselves, you know, watching the two wild pitches in Game one. Try catching the ball with two hands and dropping an infield pop up yesterday leading to the first run of the game for the Yankees and really opened the door.
I'm judging Stanton and the rest of the guys.
Wasn't it windy? Wasn't it kind of windy you know in New York a little bit, but yeah, it was Wendy.
Try using two hands. Yeah, the moment has gotten too big for that.
I'm telling you.
That just burns my backside big time.
He is Steve Sacks, I'm Tim Kates and Saxon Kates and the am here on a five seventy LA Sports. Coming up next hour, David Vasso, Dodger Insider Live from New York, will join us. We'll get Steve's keys to the game three NLCS. Your phone calls as well at eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy eight six six nine eighty seven, two five seventy Up. Next, former Dodger Rick Dempsey, part of the eighty eight World
Series championship team. Twenty four years as a catcher in Major League Baseball, ten with the Orioles, three with the Dodgers, doing lots of great things outside of baseball as well. Now we'll catch up with Rick Dempsey. Next, it's Saxon Kate toon the AM seventy I Sports. Saxon Kate to the AM. Are your home of the Dodgers, Your home of showy Otani A five seventy LA Sports Live and
local here till nine o'clock this morning. They'll turn things over to Colin Cowherd Rogue, Rodney and Noon Petrol Some money or flex back Starting at two pm this afternoon Marongo Casino Dodgers on Decades Our cover started at four pm. First pitch from City Field at five eight Walker Buehler
and Luis Severino. The pitching matchup. We heard from Walker Buehler last segment showy Otani, we talked about in the first hour of the show, and heard from the Dodger designated hitter coming up next hour, David vas Say, our Dodger insider from New York will join us as the Dodgers get ready for a pivotal Game three of this NLCS as the winner will face either Guardians or the
New York Yankees in the World Series. And talking to people around baseball and just kind of hearing the chatter, what's the take on things, Saxy, everybody's assuming it's gonna be an La New York World Series, and certainly Major League Baseball Rob Manford and the guys in the suits in New York would love to have the two biggest markets in the country East Coast, West Coast square off in this postseason. Have these superstars on the biggest stage.
Because as good as the young players are, like the Bobby Wood juniors in Kansas City and the young talented Cleveland Guardians are, you know, the biggest stage, you need to have your biggest players. And to have Otani and Judge squaring off in a World Series, I mean, you couldn't draw this up. This would be magical.
It would be unbelievable to have those two guys in the World Series. We've been talking for how long now to couldn't wait to have Otani on the big stage. When he was with the Angels and now here we are. But you know, we can still have some good World Series even if it isn't the most prolific teams. You remember, we talked about this before when we had the Cubs in Cleveland in the World Series a few years ago, I mean several years ago. It was a magnificent World Series.
And you know, it always seems to bring out the best and no matter what teams are there. But I'd love to see it. I mean, you kidd me Otani and Judge. I wonder what the viewer ratings would be on that thing. It'd be through the roof.
It'd be monstrous. I already saw the numbers for the NLCS are the biggest numbers they've seen for NLCS series, like in ten years. With this Mets Dodgers first two games and one of those games with the day game at Dodgers Stadium on a Monday. It just tells you what people are clinging for. And that's the superstars in the postseason joining us. Now Zaxy, one of your former teammates twenty four seasons in the Big Leagues, ten with the Baltimore Orioles where he was a World Series champion,
a World Series MVP. He's a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame. Three seasons with the Dodgers in his career that was nearly three decades. You can see him at Rick Dempsey twenty four on Twitter also Rickdempsey twenty four dot com partner with the Baseball Warehouse. He is one of the good guys. He is Rick Dempsey and he joins us now here on Saxon Kates and am on a FI seventy la sports.
Rick.
Good morning, how you doing.
I'm doing well man. You guys are late getting to me. It's I'm always up around four thirty five o'clock. What's up, Dipper, I have plenty of time to warm up.
You appreciate you coming on with this this morning. It's the Dodgers and Mets in this NLCS the first time since nineteen eighty eight, and your guys magical run to a World Series championship, and now that these two teams are squaring off a lot of great memories for Dodger fans in the nineteen eighty eighth and what you guys beat the New York Mets. When you see these two teams playing, now, what kind of memories do you get? Back from that nineteen eighty eight run.
Well, I remember, how you know, we were very concerned because the Mets just actually kicked the hell out of us all season long. I think we only won one game against them during the season. But you know, going back to those days, I remember we did a lot of little things right that really worked out for us.
When when we weren't going so good, we weren't hitting the ball well, we'd have a lot of team meetings and everybody threw their two cents worked in And I remember the team meeting we had going to New York to play the Mets, and everybody was talking about, of course, we needed to make better pitches to all the big boys in their lineups, and we obviously knew that part. But I remember one thing that Tim Belcher, who lived in my neighborhood, were talking about on the way to
that meeting. I said, you know, Kimmy, I said, that crowd that the Mets have is incredible. They had so many avid fans, and these people were just out of their heads when we went to play. They were screaming and hollering. They got so much momentum from their crowd that it was really hard to even think out there and keep your pictures focused on throwing strikes. And I remember the last thing I said before, I said, you know, guys,
you know we've thrown the ball over the plate. We've had some pretty good runs, I think, but we cannot be intimidated by the crowd. That's one thing. When that crowd starts to get loud in New York and starts screaming for their team, that's when we need to stop the game, walk to the mound and just sit there and talk to the picture until that crowd burns out. And you know what, Zaxy, I know you remember it. It worked. We took the crowd out of it. At
least we had a little time to think. We made better plays on defense, We made some great plays in the outfield. You know, everybody was just able to focus a lot better. And I think that really gave us a little bit of an edge because we really had guys that were having great seasons and.
A great great first of all, good to be with you.
And another great way to take that crowd out was the places John Shelby was making in centerfield. The home run that Mike Sosha hit in the ninth inning off of good and and then Gibby hits the one in the twelfth. There was ways that they took the crowd out, and I think that's what we're seeing right now with these Dodgers. They have to do those things. They have to have that big home run in the ninth inning like Soshia gave us. We got to have, you know,
events like Gibbey had given us as well. And that's where the Dodgers are right now. Dipper is a catcher twenty four years. I mean, look at his resume. Go on Baseball Reference and look at his resume. It's so long, it's incredible. The amount of things that Rick Dempsey had done in his career amazing. Rick break down a little bit if you can where Walker Bueller is and what you see in him and how that translates into something great for the Dodgers in Game three.
Well it would have been. This kid has all the pitches, he's got a great fastball, and when he first came to the Dodgers, I remember how well he was locating the ball. We weren't quite in this era saxone where you know, everybody goes to one knee, the catchers back there and they give the target tie and the strike zone. Oh my god, Saxy, you would have hit six hundred with that high fastball if he keeps it up there.
I mean it's something. But now, I mean Buehler got hurt a little bit, and then now he's coming back from that, he has to stay focused on keeping the ball down in the strike zone. Yes, and I think when he first came in, that's the way catchers were orchestrating their games. Now, I don't know, he can't pitch up in the strike zone. He's got, you know, three
pretty good pitches. The breaking ball is outstanding, the change up is pretty good, and the fastball he's got a little bit of movement on it, you know, not quite like Oral Herscheizer. But you know he's in and around the strike zone all the time. So if he can, if they can just score him a few runs and let him get confident out there on the mound, you know he's going to be like he used to be. He can shut a team down.
Yeah, Rick, we hear about catching nowadays, and you open the door there for me to ask you about this and the way catching is here. In twenty twenty four, we hear about framing pitches and stealing pitches that aren't strikes on the block to help out your pitcher. It's not like you guys weren't doing this in the days of the nineties, the eighties and seventies, of the sixties. They act like it's something new for catchers to start framing pitches is a drive you nuts seeing the way
catching has evolved to what it is now. You mentioned the one knee on the ground. Nobody he blocks the ball anymore like you're supposed to, And now we act like the framing pitches is the newest thing in baseball.
Well, a month ago, I was looking at some stats where it said that there's more than a thousand more stolen bases at this point in Major League Baseball than there was before the analytical era came in. And you know, you're taking a lot of the strength of a lot of really good catchers away from them when you want them to go to one that if you can imagine in your mind now a catcher going to one knee and sitting in the middle of the plate with the
target up. But as the pitcher gets ready to throw the ball, you move your target outside the strike zone with your left hand and then as it's coming towards the outside corner, you just catch it on the way to moving it into the strike zone. Oh my god, I did that accidentally one time when I first came
into baseball with an old umpire named Nestor Shylock. I don't know if you guys ever remember that name, but Nestor tap me on the show, he says, young man, if you want to stay in your first game in the major leagues very long, you will never do that again. Now framing a pitch, I said, yes, sir, mister Shylock, and framing a pitch is entirely different. I was taught by a lot of the greats before I talked to Yogi Bear when I was a Yankee, you know Phil
Roof when I was Minnesota twin. And it's all done with your hands. You just set your target down on the outside corner, right at the knees, like Palmer always want me. You know where the pocket of your glove is now sitting on there. You see a ball coming, It's going to miss the outside corner by a couple inches. So what do you do? Pull your hands straight back, And as you pull your hands straight back, let your hand, meet the ball wherever you catch it, and just bend
your wrist to the strike zone. It gives you six to eight inches. If you need more than that, you can't pitch. Gotcha, got so, you know, I learned to frame pitches like working on the inside. You use your elbow. You see that fastball outside, I mean yeah, outside the left side of the plate. He might be inside to a right hander or a way to a left hander. You let your elbow stay outside the ball, and when it hits your pocket, just let it bend your hand
back into the strike zone. Oh, powers appreciated it back in those days, you know, and being able to block the ball. Nobody blocks the ball very well anymore. But it isn't right, Adam. They can't block it two or three feet outside. And let me tell you what I mean. I know Major League Baseball loves to see guys in scoring position, but going to one knee and giving them that opportunity to steal that easy and then and giving
up a base hit. Your pitchers don't like ras that are five and six, But some of them don't care anymore so as long as they make it through a game and they're a little bit successful. At winning that game. You know, they think they've done something really good. Well, I got news for you. You know, the era's the good era's ought to definitely be in the three point oh to three point nine right in there is pretty darn good in today's game. But they don't have that anymore.
Everybody's all excited about four point five and four point now, are you kidding?
You know?
They're changing the game too much. I mean I love the players. The guys up there there stronger than we used to be. I mean, they weight lift and they do all things that are really darn good. But the durability I don't see. And especially with the pitchers having to use five or six games, I mean, how often does that happen where you see five or six guys
go into games and they all pitch. Well, it's just somebody's going to put a little stress on the on the bullpen or the starting pitcher at some point another and it's just it's not that that good. Yeah. I like to see the home runs too, but there's nothing wrong with twelve to fifteen hits in the game, which the Dodgers used to do. When they have this little guy named Steve Sam would get on base all damn times.
You know, I wish, Hey, Rick, I got to ask you about the totality of the way defenses are today, and part of that is, Yeah, they can't block the ball because they're on one knee. And you know, I talk to you about this at nauseum when we get together. I can't believe that they're trading off blocking the ball because they think they're going to get a lower strike in the strikes on. It is what it is, and especially with the automatic balls and strikes coming.
It's not going to even make a difference.
So get off the one knee and get back to blocking the ball. How often do we see it?
Now?
Listen, I don't want to be like, well, we never did that, and we played, sure we did. I mean we miss cut off man, we swung get bad pitches like everybody else did. But have you seen the inordinate, inordinate amount of times where a batter gets a base hit doesn't even bother to look or break it down at first base. He just keeps going because he knows that outfielder is not going to hit the cutoff man, and he's you know, you can throw people out at
home plate through the cutoff man. But we don't see a lot of that anymore. And then we saw it on grand display just last night. There's a high pop up to the infield that judge hit and I'll be that Brian Rochio tries to catch the ball with one hand and it's windy. What is this deal about the non professionalism that's openly, you know, put on display by trying to catch a ball with one hand?
Are you that cool?
Why one hand?
Well? Brooks she there is no focus on defense anymore at the major league level. And people don't come to see defense, great defensive games. They come to see home runs. And this is what I think most of them are focused on. Let me just go back to last night about that pickoff play at second base in the Yankee Cleveland game. It was the second pickoff of that inning. I remember the guy comes halfway, the ball goes to second.
They got him in a rundown and he just the throw was so lucky that it was wide of the base runner and short hopped the third baseman. He picked it and tagged out the runner. But you know, a rundown isn't throwing the ball back and forth where you are. It's forcing the runner to commit to one of the bases, either second or third, and then throwing the ball at the last second and tagging the die out. But that's throwing it back and forth like they were doing. It
was an accident waiting to happen. They got away with it this time. But you can tell there's nothing about keeping the double play in order. When you're behind home plate, you cannot afford to let a blockable ball get by you or allow that runner to get the second base. You have to block it. And sometimes you got to go two or three feet to your right or your
left to block those wild breaking balls stuff like that. So, like I say, they're taking a a great part of the game away from the catchers by going to one knee because you're locking them into a space. Let me just go back and talk one second, Saxy about a guy that I caught from the White Sox who got traded to the Oriel Steve Stone. Steve never won more than twelve games in his life. He's in his first game, he's up three to two in the ninth and he got men on second and third, and for some reason
they're leaving them in the ball game. You got a right handed batter up and he's a right handed pitcher. Two strikes and no balls, and I called for a curveball in the dirt. He gets all mad and calls me out to the mound. I said, what do you want, Steve? He says, Man, if you think I'm going to throw a curveball there, it's going to go to the backstop, the time run's going to score, the winning runs, going to second phase. I'm just not going to do it.
There's no way I'm going to do that. I said, listen, Saxy, you're not that good.
No, no, stony.
He looked at me. What are you talking about? I said, you're not that good to throw your curveball by me. Okay, so you just throw the curveball in the dirt and I'll block it. You'll get strike three and we'll go get the last out together. He says, okay, but if you mess this up, he says, you're going to be the one talking to the media. So he throws the curveball on the dirt. The hitter swings at it. I block it, I pick it up, and I throw it back at him as hard as I can. What the
hell is wrong with you? I said, you haven't gotten the third out yet. He gets a fly ball and left. You know, he wins his first game with the Orls. How many games do you think he won that season in nineteen eighty Somebody take a quick guess.
Fifteen z.
He won more games than Palmer ever won in a season. He was twenty five and seven most. He started the All Star Game and he got the Cy Young Award, and he has been ecstatic ever since. But he learned how to pitch out of the strike zone. In today's game, sexy, they do not know you guys, you know how to pitch when they're ahead in the count. You got to throw some ball in the dirt sacks. You know they did it to you on purpose. They did it to me on purpose. All they tried now is throw the
ball up in the strike zone by everybody. Some guys will swing at it. But you know, look how many more walks they have in the game now. It's ridiculous. It puts too much pressure on the starting pitchers. That puts way too much pressure on the bullpen guys coming in because they're only there for three or four hitters. And if you have a couple of walks, you're in serious trouble. But that's the name of my game.
You can find out more about Rick Dempsey what he's doing now on Twitter at rig Dempsey twenty four Rick Dempsey twenty four dot com. Talk a little bit about the baseball warehouse, You're involvement and what's what you're doing with you on baseball players out there.
Well, we're trying to teach a good catching mechanics factor. I have a lot of catching clinics and everything with young kids starting out eight, ten, twelve years old. You know, I'm just teaching them how to give a good target, how to catch the ball back there. The footwork that it takes to throw a ball to the bases is going to take a couple of years before they get that lockdown because you know, Zacho that they don't even
hold the ball yet at that age properly. So we work on little things like that so that they don't hurt their arm and join that percentage of players today have had so many Tommy John operations, it's ridiculous. We're trying to spread that out. But we work on some hitters. There's some great hitters in the game, but you can tell but saxy they are just so hell bent on swinging as hard as they can. They need to learn to hit first, and then when they get older they can adjust to swinging harder.
Yeah, hey, Rick, my last one for you. I wanted to ask you just about that. The approach to hitting today. You know, I see so many players they don't even try to move the ball over to the right side. We saw a great example of doing it the right way with Mookie when he punched that ball to right field and playing Pepper with tattoos. But you don't see a ton of that today.
I see it in.
Triple A when it all the games here. You know, in the Sacramento Triple A team is a guy in second base, nobody out. They're not even trying. They got the second basement behind second. They're not even trying to hit the ball to the right side. What about that approach and what about swinging up on everything?
It's not good, Brooks, I mean, Saxy, it's not good because you know, you've got to learn how to have back control. Today, all the scouts tell these kids just swing hard, swing hard, see how far you can hit it. You know that it's not playing the game the way it should be paid more games are won by getting guys over and getting guys in than by hitting home runs. And they're never going to understand that because it's all
about the money. Saxy. Oh my god, would you be like to be playing second base doing what you did as a leadoff hitter making about three hundred million?
Ugh, don't tempt me.
Wes them. They make the money. That's okay with me. I wish, but gosh darn it. You know, do the little things you need to do to win baseball games, and then I'll be okay with all of them making it ye.
Rick Dempsey twenty four seasons in the Big Leagues, a World Series MVP, remember of the Orioles Hall of Fame, Three seasons with the Dodgers, including that magical nineteen eighty eight World Series title, catching the final out from Oral Hrshcheizer in Oakland to win that World Series. Rick, great catching up with you. Fans listening can find out more at Rick Dempsey twenty four dot com. Thanks for the time and joining us this morning.
Thanks Rick, Thank you guys very much too. Take care of my boys. Saxy man, he knows the game.
He does, he does. We appreciate it.
Rick, Thanks for joining us this morning here on AM five to seventy LA Sports. It's amazing all your former teammates like you, Saxy.
Hey, it's amazing what bribes will do?
You know what I mean?
Serious, Well, come back and get to more of your phone calls. Thanks to Rick Dempsey. David Vassa will join us in about thirty minutes from New York. We're leading you up to Game three the National le Champion Chip Series. You're a home of show A, Tani and the Dodgers. Hef I seventy EL Sports, Sax and Kates and AM on this Wednesday morning. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for Rick Dempsey talking baseball twenty forty years in the big leagues. Alleged has got Baltimore Ores got some stories.
If you got you know, six seven hours and you.
Want to listen, he's got some. He's man, he's got a lot of them, and they're really good. I mean, just think great storyteller.
The players that he came across, played against, played with from the sixties and you know, from from Thurman Munson's to the to the Dodgers of the eighties to any everybody in between.
You know, with the Baltimore oril is A.
Used to ask him all the time, what was it like, you know, against this picture, what was it like to you know, who is quiet at plate? Which is a great trait for a hitter. That's really good. Guy's really quiet at the plate, you know. And he would tell me and go through these renditions and these these little, you know, nuances about all these players, and I was like fascinated to hear all these stories, you know, because I don't care how long you play. You can talk
to Derek Jeter or whoever you want. They're all fans of the game still. They they love to hear these stories, and you know, I love to hear him too.
Yeah.
Absolutely so we appreciate him catching up with us. David Bastable joy us after the top of the hours. Go out to the phones. Thanks for being patient, Bob and long beach Sean x A five seventy LA Sports.
Hey doing Bob, I'm doing great, guys. How you guys doing good?
Hey?
Just real quick?
Ah, good man, I'm feeling good, just really real quick.
I feel like the Dodgers need a sense of urgency.
Man. We know what happened last year with Arizona. We know what happened with the Padres two years ago. I feel like the Dodgers, they're just like we were here.
We're gonna show up.
Everything's gonna walks out, believe it or not. These guys are stealing slumps, man, Old Tony bets that even though they've been hitting a couple times. Man, so so like we need to put it on man, because I don't want to happen again with the mess. The Mets are serious, man, this thing may not get back to La.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, a little fire your belly, I see where he is going with this, A little excitement out there, base hit, get the doug out excited. Do your old hand waves to the the dugout and the bullpen, get you know, get everybody fired up. I need something out of somebody besides ta Oscar Hernandez as far as excitement, and I'm not just talking about the waving back and forth and
the hand gestures they do. I need a little yelling, a little fire in the belly, and a little a little primal scream after a double to the wall or a home run or something. Get the bench and get this team fired up and keep as Rick Dempsey said, keep that crowd out of the game tonight from the get go.
Yeah, hey, look how many stars are on this team? I mean, would we be really surprised if all of a sudden it wasn't a star. Well, let me say this, let me rephrase that. Not biggest star, not a biggest name, but sure somebody like Will Smith, who I think he's a star.
But Will Smith.
Could come up and have a two home run night and Mookie steals three bases and then all of a sudden, here we go. You know, but maybe the main person on the docket here that's doing a great job is somebody like Will Smith. Maybe it's a Tommy Edmund, somebody that's u you know, not the biggest name on the team, but certainly very very capable of turning this thing around. I mean, how long can you hold down a whole team of just really good players. I don't see the
Mets having the ability to do that. Whether it's Sean Maniah or whoever else is out there, somebody's gonna click on this team, and I would put my confidence in that.
Reggie in La Reggie joins us here on a FI seventy LA Sports.
Good morning, Reggie, Good morning, guys.
First of all, I want to say, whoever thought of having you guys on during Dodger season deserves a race. The second thing is when I heard you guys talking to the Dempsey over there about defensive plays, I think you're just seeing guys not going after fundamental plays, but they're looking for that highlight defensive play to get highlight
cliffs maybe on social media or ESPN. And the last thing, what does sex think about the Dodgers having a goal you know, going versatility of Oways switching out who this shortstop is versus having a specialty crew that you know, who is your shortstop and your second basement and things like that.
Just want to hear what you guys think on that.
Thanks guy, Thanks Regie, appreciate it.
Yeah, they've got utility players that can play multiple positions. Tommy m and Chris Taylor, Keyky Hernandez Miguel Rojas is primarily a shortstop. The Dodgers would love to have, I guess, at everyday shortstop that they can have out there for one hundred and sixty two games, but they just don't have that. They've got guys that can play multiple positions and it hasn't been a problem yet.
Sex.
You haven't seen a huge meltdown Defensively, you haven't seen mis cues because of the lack of playing time together, So it hasn't been an issue yet.
No, it won't be.
They come to spring training with three different Doug gloves for three different positions. That's the way it's played today, and you don't really sacrifice anything on the defensive side, so it's working. Ninety eight Games Speaks Volumes.
Two hours down, one to go, Your phone calls coming up. David Vasse will join us from New York City, Dodgers and Mets from Queens, New York. All eyes will be on this game three tonight. Will the stars show up? Will show Hey Otani on the biggest stage yet of his career, be a player in Game three tonight, a difference maker, a home run hitter, an X factor, a major contributor for this Dodgers team. Tonight, we'll break it on down. It's Steve Sacks, Tim Cats and you on
this Wednesday morning. Thanks should be with us. A FI seventy ice Sports