How Former MLB Star Johnny Damon is Still Bringing His A-Game

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Welcome back to the Deal.

I'm your host, Jason Kelly alongside my partner Alex Rodriguez. All right, Alex, you're in Miami. I'm back in New York, and we have so much to talk about. We've got a great conversation coming up with your friend Johnny Damon. He's sort of one of one in the in the world of baseball. One a World Series with your Yankees. Also won a World Series with you know, that other team that plays up in Boston, and we'll get into

Like what's happening?

First of all, is a shot that win around the world. Had more texts and emails than when we won the World Series in two thousand and nine against the Phillies. But what was interesting is there was a lot of questions that there's no way that was true, that had to be AI, and I'm like, no, no, look, there's different angles. So that was really fun. You know, there's nothing like being back in a college campus. I was there because my partner Mark Lori, is an alum there.

We did a ten am talk.

To the student body at the Business school and some of the alums, and then the game started on National TV against Army on CBS, which Jay Wright, the most famous j Wright, many times world champions with Villanova basketball. He was doing the panel in the broadcasting and he obviously mentioned had a lot of fun with it too.

All right, so how do you end up taking the half court shot?

Though?

So basically they've been doing this, I guess for years. And the athletic director said, look, each one of you will sponsor one student. My student was owned from Philadelphia, wonderful young man. And you take as many threes as you take for thirty seconds, and everyone you make you get one hundred dollars. And then the winner of Mark and I and our other partner, Jeordi I made the most,

So it was fun. And the reaction of the kids.

There is something magical of being back in a college campus with all these kids enthusiasm and the energy, and the place just went wild.

I mean, I have to say it was like the real was coming at me from all different directions. I couldn't escape it. There were like multiple angles.

It was wild.

I mean, I've also seen on your socials you've been shooting more hoop over the past few years because of the Timberwolves in the links. I've seen you know, you like on your court in Minnesota. So it's like practice pays off, man.

I guess.

But there's a lot of air balls and the things that I post. This was actually a genuine thing that I honestly could not believe it went in. And boy, that was fun and I'm never going to try it again because that's I'm gonna go one and done.

Yeah, exactly, you're one for one in terms of major half court shots, like you don't need to be hitting logo threes.

You did your athletic thing, all right.

Well, speaking of where you played the game, the game of baseball, ESPN and Major League Baseball a very sudden and kind of ugly divorce that happened. I think it's fair to say what was your gut reaction, and then let's talk about what it means.

Well, it's certainly I mean what happened was for the first time in over three decades, ESPN has had a marriage with Major League Baseball, as they do with the NBA, as they do with the.

NFL and now hockey.

And they basically wanted to walk away because they felt the five hundred and fifty million dollars they were paying them annually was too much. And I think this is a really watershed moment for baseball and for ESPN because this is, at the end of the day, America's pastime. And I never would have thought that in our lifetime, Jason, two organizations as powerful and as blue chip as these two would have a divorce. But I think this gives baseball opportunity to huddle up and restack the chips and

Jimmy Petero, of course to the ceover at the head of the ESPN. So let me ask you this, as someone who has been on ESPN playing baseball as well as been on ESPN talking about baseball, what do you make of the criticisms, because Manfred came out hot. I mean he basically was like, listen, they did us wrong.

Do you buy that? Like, what do you think?

Well, I think a few things.

I think in Rob's letter, what I think was said was that ESPN has gone from just since twenty eleven, from over one hundred million viewers, subs subscribers to you know, somewhere around fifty a little bit off of fifty, which which is quite a decline. And of course ESPN's answers to that is, well, we're building an app to go direct to consumer, so we're good. And look, ESPN throws off a lot of cash and is still at the

You see it in the NBA. We have Steven A.

Smith, you have the NBA Show, the NFL program, NFL Live and all of that. And the probably the complaint, which I think Rob has a fair point here, is is there enough baseball being spoken about. On the other side of that is you know what the NFL does so well is they have dynamics scheduling, so they're always thinking about entertainment first. They just happen to be playing football. And I've heard Roger Goodell say this multiple times. We are an entertainment business that we use football as a

Why we had the Yankees and the Dodgers.

Well, that tells you that you have to chase these dream matchups and create some of this during the season. Look, I'm still very bullish on baseball long term. The headwinds short term continue both at the local level regional sports network deals having financial issues, and now they get hit at the macro level with the national TV deal. So I think when you have moments like this, it allows you to have to be flexible and change certain things

I think they should have to continue.

Yeah, I mean, when I read Manfred's comments, this whole notion of the other leagues have just lapped MLB in terms of allowing us to get to know the players. And we don't know the players. They are not the cultural icons that they were. Candidly, even when you were playing. And by the way, that wasn't that long ago. I mean here I'm treading into some territory, so you know, like just take it as where one could argue, we knew too much about what was going on with you.

But like on.

We don't know anything about Aaron Judge, he's a mystery. All we know about Shoho Tani is like the trouble that his guy got into, like gambling with his money. It's like, we don't know these baseball players. And so I do like I hear what Manfred is saying in the sense of we don't have this like deep emotional connection to the players playing the game, and that is where a lot of this good content could come from.

Yeah.

Look, I was right in the middle of it, so it's definitely not self serving for me to say this. I think a lot of the trust was broken back when Bud Selig was a commissioner, and you know, I ran into my issues and other players run in some issues. So I thought that was again, that was a watershed moment where fans were going, oh, maybe there's other sports to go look at.

So that's one and I think too, I think.

What networks you're looking for they're in the business of eyeballs and they've got to grow, and they have tremendous pressure to shareholders quarterly meetings. You look in the world that's decreasing very aggressively year over year. So if you're Major League Baseball, you have to say, Okay, what could

With the Joneses.

And then on the on the big league side, more is better, right, And we grew up Jason and less is more. They told us you don't want to be in page six. Obviously I did not listen to that. But that's a good thing that Aaron Judge and Otana you're not in page six. However, could we have some you know, NBA just came out with the starting five?

Can we come out with the starting nine?

And everyone came out with their content, which has transformed hundreds of millions of people around the world. Baseball has that same opportunity, and I think baseball has to have a new model.

Fortune favors the bold, and you got to be bold well.

And again, as you said, Yankees Dodgers was unbelievable, just an unbelievable scene.

Everybody was talking about it.

And I just take so much from that lesson and your point.

That was the dream matchup.

All right, So, speaking of the Yankees, before we get to our guests, you were at training camp.

You put the uniform back on.

You told me off here that was your same uniform, which I'm very impressed by.

I am too.

I was scared that I was going to have to go up a couple sizes, but actually my thirty six longs pants pinstrups fit. My number thirteen is still fit. And boy, I tell you, Jason, I mean, I don't want to be geek and nerdy here, but it felt really really good to be invited back by how Steinbrenn and Brian Cashman first time in about ten years, and to put that uniform on, to be around the fan base and to be connected to what I believe is still the greatest organization in sports around the world.

It felt awesome.

Yeah, well, we're going to talk about some of the things that are changing with the Yankees. I'm going to hold off asking you because I want to ask you and Johnny.

Together, especially about.

One of the most famous rules that is no longer a rule for.

The New York Yankees.

All right, coming up, Johnny Davin, all right, Joy, This now is Johnny Damon, a familiar face to so many of US baseball fans, and you know, former Major League players like my partner.

He's, of course former.

MLB outfielder, won a couple of World Series with that team in Boston and our team here in New York.

Really excited to have you here, Johnny.

Yeah, thanks for having me. Guys.

It's always great seeing one of my favorites right there. He is my favorite, Alex Man. It's always great to see you with a great teammate. Man, And I'm glad you're doing fantastic brother, Thank you, Thank you.

And I had no idea you guys have not just a professional history, you go way way back. So, Johnny, do you remember the first time you met Alex.

Yeah, the first time I met Alex. We were in.

Euclid, Ohio, and Alex was the best in his class.

I believe you were thirteen, or were you fourteen?

I was a year behind you, so I was like fifteen.

Yeah, So we all go to Euclid, Ohio.

Now we have Todd Helton on the team, we have Danny Canell. We have an all star team, and we call out ourselves Bergen Beach. We put together a great team. And at that time, I mean, Alex, you know, I was a baller. I was the guy who hit tons. And it was like I feel like I was coming into my own and getting ready for the draft and getting everything situated on my end before my long career.

And Alex was.

Absolutely leaping out of the gym that entire trip that we had.

So he's a year older than you.

You guys are both from Florida or from Miami, and Johnny, you're from sort of Orlando area, Like, so, what's your impression of this like slightly older guy who you must have known about him?

Right?

Oh?

Yeah, I did.

And he went to Doctor Phillips High School in Orlando, which is a very famous high school. And Johnny's reputation preceded himself because once you become a junior in your head into a senior. He was one year ahead of me. I mean, one year makes a world of difference. And when I first saw Johnny, I said, holy smoked. I mean, Johnny was six foot three, one hundred and ninety pounds,

I may be a little hungover, but it doesn't matter. I'm still going to be on base four times, and just just smack me in smack.

And he always just brought such I honestly say that as pre Johnny and post Johnny. In New York, when Johnny came in and he brought a swagger, we were such an uptight team. We were like a bunch of Goldman Sacks guys. And I say that in a good way. We were just really buttoned up. And Johnny'll be like, hey, let's loosen up. We have a big game tomorrow and so on, let's go karaoke and let's go have a good time. We're better than them, so we're gonna win anyways.

All Right, I love the requisite Goldman Sax reference here on the Bloomberg Podcast.

I really like that.

All right, Actually, let's take a beat to talk about what's happening right now because you talked about the Goldman sacks of it all, Alex, I mean, what two better people for me to ask about the massive change in Yankee culture? Then now you can have a beard like Johnny. What is happening? And it feels like the world is turning upside down? What did you think when you heard that?

Well, it sure is and I definitely I'm even going to George Steinberner Field tomorrow to do an appearance.

And what do I do this morning?

I wake up and I shave because I feel like it's tradition and whatever George Steinberner.

Wanted, I was going to do.

And the biggest thing with the boss, he wanted to hear that you wanted to be a Yankee. So you knew what came with being a Yankee. You are automatically an all star. You already know you're going to shave, You already know who's going.

To pay you top dollar to have the best players.

So it was never a question for me when I signed with the Yankees.

I knew what I had to do.

It's a different organization, but then again, we don't own the team, and I'm not sure how many free agents they've lost out on over the years because a lot of times the Yankees going to get the best players, and the best players understand and the best players have expect for the game.

So, Alex, what did you think would We haven't really had a chance to talk about this.

Well, Jason, you kind of have two more perfect guys to be talking about this. One has the world's greatest beard in Johnny Damon, and I've been trying to grow a beard.

For thirty years and I can, so I don't have a choice.

But I think Johnny's right, like, this is really about honoring the great late George Steinbrenner, And I thought, what a small price to pay to play for the greatest organization in sports around the world.

He's going to pay you the best, Johnny's right.

He's going to surround you with the best resources and talent, coaches, personnel, you know, folks from the medical department, you name it, the stadium, everything. So my philosophy always was, if you're not willing to shave to be a Yankee, then we don't want you to be a Yankee anyways. But give how credit. This is a world that's moving very fast. This generation of young men are very different and if how who's the general partner and the men in charge.

Yeah, what was it like for you guys to play together as pros? It's one thing, you know when you guys are like chopping it up in Euclide, Ohio. But it's like you play against each other and then you play together. I mean, like, what was going on there?

What was the vibe? What was the vibe?

Johnny Man, Alex always tried to recruit me whatever team I was on. I got traded from Kansas City and went over to Oakland, and that whole year he knew I was going to be a free agent after the season, and I have a relationship with John Hart, who was the GM over in Texas, and he.

Really wanted me. Alex really wanted me.

Unfortunately, you know, Alex made most of the money on the team.

Players we'd love to pay. We literally have no money left.

Yeah, so they had to shift money around.

I know, Carl Everett got traded to Texas for Darren Oliver and that opened up me going to Boston and it was that's a great run great four years of you know, having lots of fun coming into my.

Own So Alex, wait, take us back.

I mean, this is the deal, Like, how did Johnny fit in from a business and sort of a playing perspective.

Yeah, baseball is just like business. It's all about people and leadership, right, and no one checked the box better than Johnny in both of those situations. Look, we had Cesars Sabathia, we had Mark tis Chera and Aj Burnett come in and they were like a paradigm shift and talent in our clubhouse. But Johnny was really the missing piece because Johnny was the one that walked the walk every single day.

He had tremendous confidence. He played every day.

And I've always said, interesting things happens when winners show up, you win, And that's exactly what we did in two thousand and and nine. And there's two moments in Johnny's career that really jump off the page. One was good and one was bad. For me, I'll start with a bad one and two thousand and four, you know, Hobby Vascuz comes in with the bases loaded and Johnny hit a first pitch grand slam and as I saw the ball, say over the right field fence and right field at the Old Yankee Stadium.

My heart dropped to my ankles and.

I just looked at Johnny and as much as I love him, I wanted to strangle him when he but it was such a conflicting thought. And then the other one was when we won the title or No. Nine, two outs, nobody on late late in the game. You have Lidge on the mound, who's a closer for the philadelph affilities, and Johnny works one of the most magical

No way.

Do you feel the same way, Johnny. Was that a big moment for you?

Yeah, that was a huge moment because Brad Lidge came into the game and that's woe was the first hit or he struck him out. Jeter was the next guy struck gether out, and I actually got a single. Alex like, yes, I know, Walser.

Field right a short stop, I remember, yeah, yeah.

So I also knew that they came back, had a big inning against us, and if we didn't score, I think we would have been in trouble in that game and possibly for the series.

So I knew I had to.

Be aggressive on the bases, and I always had that in the back of my head because tike Shara doesn't like to have guys still bases when he's hitting. It sometimes confuses him. So I always saw the third baseman playing really close to second base, so I always had it at the thought of my head, and I knew if I ever had that opportunity to take.

Two bags on one play.

The Phillies have strong outfield arms, and scoring from third base is a lot easier than scoring from second wild and field single any which way you can draw it up. So got to third base, and I know after the game I talked about I'm glad that I had my track speed still at the age of thirty five at the time. That's one thing I could always do. I could always run and people are shocked with the size that I am.

But it worked out. Alex had a.

Big clutch hit, and you know, maybe because I took second and third takes away that tough slider that Lidge was actually thrown.

To the other hitters. So yeah, you'd like to.

Take advantage any situation you can because baseball is tough as it is, and when you can erase that slider in the dirt, it kind of helps.

Yeah.

Let me add to that, Johnny, because I'm gonna nerd out a little bit on baseball stuff.

What Johnny said is exactly right.

So Brad Lidge's best pitch is his devastating slider. Well, if Johnny, who has walk class speed, is at third base, now you take that slider away and.

Too dangerous, just to explain, it's too dangerous to throw because it can get away from the cast because.

If you bounce it.

Look, the best slider is usually in the dirt. Yeah, and if you bounce it, there's the ballgame. Right, Johnny scores and we probably win. But I think he says something. Johnny says something very very key that I think translates very well in business, and it's the following you have to know who your teammates are. So I think there's a bit of a blind spot in analytics and the numbers game that they don't understand the continuity of a

And that's a really important point.

And that type of continuity brought us home the World Series in on nine.

Yeah, and a lot of this stuff with analytics it really doesn't bring things out.

Because Geter and I I was one and Jeter was two.

For my first three years I was with the Yankees, Well, we switched that year when he went to the World Baseball Classic. And the big reason is Derek's going to hit into a few more double plays than I will. I hit into maybe three double plays a season. Derek gets into more. And Derek also likes to be free to go up and swing the bat whenever he feels comfortable. So if these wings at the first pitch makes it

So that's a lot of stuff that the saber metrics of the game does not tell people.

Yeah, all right, we talked about, you know, the big facial hair decision, which you know is an important one. I'll note also the other big Yankee news this week for fans and maybe for players will be interested in you guys perspective on this is New York New York. It's now only for winners. If you lose, you don't get New York New York. I have to say, like watching this, it's like it feels like, you know, these little textural things that seem insignificant do add up to something?

Well, it makes you want to hear New York New York every single night. It gives you incentive to go out there and say, you know what, as much as we've heard this song, we want to keep on hearing it because that means we're winning. I think the Yankees are in a great spot. I actually think the Dodgers and the Yankees are the two best teams in each league right now. I feel like both of these teams can get back to the World Series. And I think the Yankees are a little bit better. I think they

Alex, what do you think?

Yeah, on one end, I agree with Johnny like, look, there's some nostalgia going on because you want to keep tradition what it is. But in another way, you got to tip your hat because hopefully it could be a microcosm of what baseball needs to do to keep up with the Joneses. And when the Jones I mean the NFL, I mean, you know, NBA, WNBA, soccer. There's a lot of competition and you have to be able to pivot and move and be able to check the ego and say, okay,

All right.

There was one more thing that I wanted to ask you about, sort of it from your era, Johnny, and I was thinking about it as you guys were talking, and you mentioned Jeter and you know, when we sat

Yeah, well, it was definitely a very tough decision for me on being a fan favorite with the Red Sox winning a championship and buying a new house there because I was.

Told I was going to be there for a long time, and.

Unfortunately you have young studs coming up, say Jacob Elsbury, who you know, you can start saving some money with me and you can add a young player for a number of years. I think at the end of the day that Red Sox really wanted me for one, maybe two more years and let me walk because they are into the numbers game. So making that move to New York, I was mostly thinking about the fans and my teammates, but I also knew that I had to make a decision.

You can't leave the Red Sox and then go sign somewhere out.

West where people on the East Coast aren't going to watch you. I respected the way the Yankees played the game, how they hustled, how they carried themselves, and you know, it just made too much sense for me. They needed a leadoff hitter and they needed the center fielder. And spring training was only an hour away from a house.

So I had six more weeks.

Of spring training that I was thinking about that I would make that drive every single day. And it's very important. I mean, I have a lot of kids, a lot of young kids. Now I have eight kids, and I always wanted to have that extra time at home with them.

So the move going to New York was Yeah, I loved it.

Johnny.

This is a business podcast, so I do want to ask you a little bit of the blend of business and sports for your personal brand. I've never met anyone that's played with you or that's gotten to know you that doesn't love you right, because you are really everything that's right about life and enthusiasm and the way you carry yourself. My question to you is for Johnny Damon's

How is it similar?

Yeah, those are great questions. I think being a Red Sox was huge for my brand.

I think once I got over to New York, Well, you got the King of New York, you got Jeter, you got the best closer in the world, you got Mariano, and then you have one of the best players who ever put on.

A uniform and you.

So the star power wasn't necessarily there for me, Like I feel like I should have made three All.

Star Games when I was with the Yankees. I've made zero. And the big reason because.

Of it was we had tons of superstars on the team and therefore my All Star Game selections or down to two in my career when I feel like I should have been seven eighty nine easy and yeah. And then going to New York, I also understood that I was going to be a part of a great team and that whatever I did, I was going to mesh with the players of the Yankees. I understood it wasn't

And it was never that for me.

And I love to hear the stories because I'm like, I wonder if this is a made up in the media or whatnot.

But it was never for me.

But I also understood that I didn't need it, you know, I didn't need that pat on the back.

You know. I kind of just went out did my job, you know, went about my business.

Well, Johnny, I'm going to interrupt you because I'm going to give you your flowers right now, because I've had so many people ask me to tell me who's the best player. Who have some of the best players EVE ever played with, and very quickly, I think people are bit so prize when I say one is John o'lude, two is Johnny Damon, and they're like, well, we'll say.

More, say more. I said, that's why.

One of the reasons I think you're gonna end up in the Hall of Fame, where you should be in the Hall of Fame, is because you're one of the most undervalued, undappreciated players I've ever played with, because they don't understand that all you did is win.

Wherever you went. You made it a.

Better clubhouse, a winning clubhouse, but you really moved the scale a lot. And I saw both as a teenager when we were teammates and then of course in New York when we brought the title together.

So that was pretty cool.

Thank you, brother, Appreciate you.

All right, So let's talk a little bit about business.

Talk to us about your philosophy sort of moving more seriously, you know, into business in your post playing career. What did you think about how do you go about kind of figuring out, you know, what you want to work on.

Well, you got to try to be like a rod.

They're absolutely crushing it, you know, and I'm very happy for him.

And you know, right now I have my A game drink out there.

We're in five thousand stores out there and we're doing very well. You always have to bring your a game for every single thing you do. And the best part of me being chairman and CEO is I'm honest with people. There's nothing that's going to be a secret with my team. And it was like that in baseball and it's like that in my life. I feel like if you're honest with people, you can get a lot done.

Sometimes you have to do all this stuff.

To make your team succeed, and that's what I've been doing and we've been doing a great job and I'm very happy with my team.

Everyone's bringing their a game and yeah.

This is going to be a big year for US. We have Gary Breca just locked in with US. We have Tyler Adams, he plays in the Premier League on the US national team. Bodies with Bourne myth right now, catub Downs won the national championship.

With Ohio State.

Yeah, so we're moving in the right direction. Bo Jackson's been part of my team for a couple of years now. But we are clean or artificial flavors forever.

Chemicals, and that's why we have guys.

Like Gary Brickett very interested in helping change the game with hydration because every ingredient works for you a lot of the stuff and other drinks.

They're just not good.

And you see make America healthy again, how they're getting rid of the red dye for these and all this unnecessary stuff. And yeah, like I said, we're very clean and you can check us out at Drinka game dot com.

So Johnny high Level, maybe explain to our viewers what is the business model? I mean, how much are you trying to scale this business? You mentioned five thousand stores. Where do you see this in one, three to five years? And how do you exit a business like this?

Okay, I would say in a year from now, we are going to be in about ten thousand stores.

We are rapidly just getting in.

Front of the right People's the toughest thing poll their beverages up in Wooster Masks.

There are partners and when you have a.

Company that's been around for about one hundred and fifty years, they know what they're doing. The Crawley family, they're absolutely amazing and they're going to help us get to the next level. I've got a strong team around me that I trust, They trust me, and there is a lot of ups and downs in this business. I mean we're out there working our tails off and there's always another company every single year who's trying to get better than the next guy.

And we've created this years ago.

Back in twenty twelve, there were a few kids dehydrated football players who passed away.

And we do not want to have that.

You know how hot it gets here in the South during the summer, and we wanted to make sure that every ingredient that we had.

Actually worked, nothing fought each other off. So yeah, that was a goal.

My childhood friend created the formula and here we are now and it's going to be a big year for us.

And so, Johnny, as you look at the competitive landscape, you know obviously you know, you see Gatorade, you see power Aid, you see you know body armor.

How do you differentiate?

Is it partially who you recruit to represent you like, take us inside sort of your strategy and the things you think about with your team in terms of, you know, making sure people know that this is a different sort of product.

Oh, it's so awesome when you have friends who puts a post out.

Mark Wahlberg, great friend of mine.

He shot a post with a game and man, instantly we had a lot of people check out our site, purchase our product, but you're right, you have to think about all the influencer out there.

It's a whole different ballgame.

Then when you hit fifty home runs a year, you know people are paying attention. When someone has over a million likes, that's a big thing right now. Yeah, with our generation, and so you know, I've got to keep talking to my friends, keep going out there and doing the very best I can do, and just keep on plugging away. But we do want to try to first come in and take one percent of the market. We know Gatorade, Empower, Raid body Armor, those guys.

Are going to be around.

Then hopefully we take that one percent and rise to three percent over the next three to five years.

We're gonna wrap it up with our lightning round. This is five questions alex and Ile bouncing back and forth.

Keep it tight. Just the first thing that comes to your mind. You're ready, let's go, all right.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received on deal making or business?

You have to have your heart in it.

You know, it's being a baseball player if you're not committed, or even being a manager.

A few people asked me if I wanted to get.

Back into baseball and with all my kids very young, I can't be one hundred percent committed. But what I'm doing right now, I'm one hundred percent committed to my drink and also to my family.

Who's your dream deal make partner?

Oh, you guys know this one. This is Donald Trump. You know he's been a guy for over twenty years. Man, he's the best.

Glad I could call him my friend of over twenty years and his family. Yeah, I always have his back and he knows how to structure a deal.

What's the most nervous you've ever been?

Probably when I signed with the Yankees. Yeah, that was a tough one.

My wife was buying a new puppy up in Jacksonville, and here I am talking to cash man. I'm one end of the phone and I'm talking to her and she's excited about the new dog.

But no, I was.

I was nervous. I don't think I was nervous about joining the team, but I was. I have a heart, and I felt for the fans of Boston that it's time to say goodbye, and that's.

It's very difficult.

What's your favorite hype song before a big meeting or negotiation?

Oh, Man, five finger death Punch was always a great one.

American Capitalist, what's your advice for someone listening who wants a career like yours, which I have to say is an utterly unique career.

So I don't know what your advice would be, but we'd love to hear it.

Oh shoot, you have to have fun and everything you do.

I mean I always carry that smile on my face when I played the game.

I love it, Johnny. But Jason, real quick, before we go home, I want to tell you that you and Johnny have something in common because you've been peppering us with what we have in common. So Johnny is connected to our boss, Michael Bloomberg. Okay, no way, So where you work every day and the great building of Bloomberg. Johnny was one of the first buyers there at the Bloomberg Building.

Yeah, no way, you lived upstairs, No kidding.

Yes, we lived upstairs and I show Alex it one night and his eyes lit up and I was like, we better hurry up and buy this before Alex comes in.

Yeah, but I mean that was absolutely amazing.

Yeah. You know, Alex and I have filmed promos in that courtyard. It's his home away from it.

He did the next best thing to buying a place here, which was he just sort of came to work here. So you know, we all get in this building whatever way we can, Johnny, You know, all right, listen, man, this was really really fun and as promised, I mean, Alex and I came into today so excited to talk to you, and we really really appreciate your time. Best of luck with a game, and hope our past cross again soon.

Thank you sounds good.

Thank you again, Johnny.

The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly. This episode was made by Annamazarakus, Stacey Wong, and Lizzie phillipp Amy. Keen is our editor. Our theme music is made by Blake Maples. Our executive producers are Kelly Laferrier, Ashley Honig, and Brenda Newnham. Sat Bauman is the head of Bloomberg Podcasts. Additional support from Rachel Carnivale and Elena sos Angeles. Thanks so much for listening to the Deal. If you have a minute, subscribe, rate and review our show.