The Fifth Hour: David Vassegh, Sliding Into Dodger Lore

Hour with Ben Maller and Danny G Radio. In a programming note before we get to the meat of the matter, and this will obviously be dated if you're listening after today. On this Friday, we will be out Friday night in Southern California. A Mallard meet and greet my cell and Eddie Garcia and Danny G Radio scheduled to appear in a restaurant in lamar Rata And if you want more details, it's on my social media at Ben Maller or Ben Maller on Ben Mallor Show on Twitter. You can find information.

If you want to come out, we'd love to meet you. It'd be great. Uh. Eddie wanted everyone to be scheduled, but I know a lot of people cannot schedule things in advance, and this is the last minute, So if you have an opportunity, it's at a restaurant in southern California connected to the holiday inn uh. And again the details are online and I won't bore you with that, but I am so excited right now to welcome in someone that I have known for over twenty years of

my life a long time. I've watched him grow up. He's Mary, He's got kids now and all that, and of course I'm I'm in the same situation with the whole adult stuff. And uh. A guy that dominates dominates the downloads on Dodger Talk. He has hosted that show for many, many years, and occasionally he gets to sit in as a television guy. And not only does he do Dodger Talk on a M five seventy, the flagship of the Dodgers in l A. Not only does he appear on MLB Network, but he also occasionally pops up

on Spectrum Sportsnet as a Dodger sideline reporter. And you might know maybe not. You probably saw it, maybe you don't know his name. If you're not familiar with the Dodgers, but he wound up in a hospital because of Bernie the Brewer's slide. It did not go as expected at the ballpark there in Milwaukee, and it became a viral sensation as he wrecked himself and it was a debacle. It was quite the debacle. And I thought this was such a popular video and I've got so many questions.

Now I could have just text these questions, did David Vasse? But I said, you know what I'm gonna do. I want to have him on the podcast. I want to do a frame by frame analysis of a viral moment on the internet and television. He's ended up in the pages of the New York Post, TMZ, all the tabloid websites. Uh I mentioned Sports Center did a feature. He's been a topic on sports radio across the country. David Vasse known as the Holy Crap Guy, uh, the download King,

all of that. He joins us now here on the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller and Danny g and David. Welcome, and so we'll start with this. How has your are life changed since you went down a slide in Milwaukee? Uh? Well, my arm hurts more than in my ribs hurt more. I'd say that's the biggest change to my life. But yeah, I would say I heard from a lot of people that I haven't heard from in quite some time, and I certainly was touched by the outpouring of concerned by

so many people. I would say over two d text messages, uh from the twenty four hours after I hurt myself and when it went viral. So I guess, you know, trying to put on some good TV entertainment and putting on a stunt, uh sometimes doesn't go quite exactly the way you expected to go. But it certainly was nice to hear from so many people and how many people

busted your chops? How many how many people were sincere and uh, you know, I might have sent a few things in a joking matter of us, and I know some of our mutual friends that initially before the thing went viral, we were like, I didn't even realize you got hurt when I first saw it. And then when when well I saw your your risk, I was like, well, maybe it's not that bad, but then I read you you mess up your ribs. Also like that's uh, how many bones did you break in that thing? Sticks broken?

Ribs to go along with broken right risk. But honestly, Ben, the text message you sent me was the tone of all the messages I got once people knew I was okay, it was concerned and also joking, like you idiot, what were you doing? Um? But I literally I went down the slide once, no problems. Second time I went down big problems. So, uh, I don't know what I did

to it. Now, that's great. So I did not realize there was the first attempt that was successful, and that that you went down twice multiple times, So what changed? Obviously the landing changed, but what when you were going down a second time? It's the one we saw the video that we saw that it sounded like you were genuinely afraid that this was this was not going to end well. But the first one ended fine. So what changed? Yeah,

I don't know. The first one I went down and it felt like I was more under control as far as the speed of the coming down on the slide, and I was able to stick the landing and still roll and you know, do what Shack used to do and do an exaggerated roll into the crowd. I tried to do that the second time, but I was going considerably faster for whatever reason, and I just I couldn't stop myself enough to be able to stop and then drop and roll as they used to save the old

fire drills. So that's where my right arm got caught behind me as I was rolling. That's where I broke the wrist, and then out of control, I ran into the wall. Yeah, it was. It was because it looked like, as you said, you were getting a lot of speed. I was why I watched this as a ruter film style, uh, frame by frame, And there was a moment it looked like you almost were gonna fly off the slide, you were going that fast, Like did you did you worry

about that's pretty high up? Were you conciderning you were gonna go going over the side of the thing, and it looked came close to that. Yeah, you know, honestly, I wasn't concerned about that. I know, looking back, Uh, it does look that way, but the walls were pretty high on the slide where it would prevent you from doing that. But I was climbing up on the side of the wall there. I think that's where I kind

of got stuck. Awkwardly, not to mention my feet were still on that sat that they meet you, that they make you slide down on. So I don't think I had the brakes in the right position like I did the first time. And honestly, maybe I didn't respect the slide the second time. I got too cocky. After I was like, this is no big deal. You know. I

came down. I acted like I was heard and there, and they wanted me to go back down the second time and get a different ang all of me coming down the slide because there was one cameraman, so he got me going from the top. But then the Dodgers social media director and the cameraman from sports Net l A said hey, we need a shot at you coming down the slide. Do it again. And that's where I got into trouble. Words that will haunt you. Do it again?

Do it again? I know, all for telling. See it was radio, you know your radio guy, but you do you dabble and TV. If it was just radio, one take, right, we do one take, and you don't do a Dodger talk on the radio in l A and then redo a segment. Right, you do one thing. That's it. You're done exactly in vivo and I was doing this for our m five seventies social media guy as well. So social media, again is the undoing of many people, and I'm proof of that. But look, Ben, I'm I'm I'm

my own stunt man. I don't get anybody else to do my stunts for me. I do my own stunts, and I'm hoping now that Mickey Hatcher and the rest of the eight Dodgers will allow me to be an honorary stunt man. Yeah. No, Hey, I think there's a whole cottage industry, like Evil Kinevil, Super Dave Osborne, like that kind of thing, like you could make John Knoxville.

I feel like I was more jackass than anybody else. Yeah, but now that you're telling me the story, I think the person to blame not only television and social media, but the great Shaquille O'Neill, because you attempted the, as you said, the little shack role for the cameras, and that's what did you in And you even gave shack you said, I saw the shacking a fool line. That it was a good line, but without with with no, without Shaquille O'Neill giving you the influence though, David, right,

I mean would you have done the role? You were doing that for the cameras, right, you were playing to the cameras, was pointing to the cameras. I you know, if you go down the slide, and you go down and it's I'm drum, what's the big deal? I thought of one of the great entertainers in sports history, Shaquille O'Neil,

and that was his influence on me. And yeah, if I didn't see Shack all those years do an exaggerated dive into the stands going for a loose ball, I don't think it would have entered my mind to try to do what I did. So so walk me through it. So you you wanted to do this for television? Have you really wanted to go down the slide for a long time? Is just something that you wanted to do

or was that exaggerated? Never my aspiration. Never, But they brought that to my attention, like, hey, we'd love for you to go down the slide when you fill in on TV and mil Milwaukee and then our social media guy at five seventy heard about it. He loved the idea as well. So everybody was on board. Okay, I got you. And so when you do this. Did the Brewers tell you anything that they give you advice? Does does Bernie Brewer come over and explain exactly what has

to happen? Or were you just kind of going blind on this. Nobody gives you any advice. They just have you signed the waiver and they say get on this bag and see at the bottom. The only guy asked for advice from Adam mccalby, the Brewer's uh beat writer for MLB dot com. He had gone down in a couple of weeks earlier, and I said, hey, Adam, I'm going down this tomorrow. What are your tips? And he really didn't have any tips. He said, it's just like going down the slide. Just not much to to give you.

So when you you sign the waiver, is it is it a massive waiver like you know, you do some certain things at the carnival you have to sign a you know, ten page waiver or was it just like a one page standard boiler. It was a two page waiver. Two page waiver, okay. So so even if you wanted to file a lawsuit you could not based on on the waiver. And and so you're you're you're going down and what was the reaction when people realize that you

actually broke bones. Were people freaking out with the Brewers? Were? I know that It sounds like the Dodger guys were all laughing, having a good time. But where the people from Milwaukee were They a little concerned here that wait a minute, what have we done? All right? So I go down the first time and I act like I'm hurt. I'm not hurt. Second time I come down, I roll into the wall in an injured way, and they're like, they think I'm joking again. They think I did a

great show, and they're like, Ah, he's okay. And then somebody I hear somebody say, no, I think he's really hurt. I think he's really hurt. And I said, I am really hurt. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't catch my breath because of the ribs. Um. So I let them know. I said, like, I'm really hurt. I need the trainers. So Wanderrato, who was the Dodgers pr man on the trip, called the trainers and they took me immediately to the Dodger Clubhouse, where the trainers came outside and checked me

and uh, that's where I is. Uh, That's where they realized, like, no, this is serious. He needs he needs to go to the urgent care. They checked to see if the X ray technician at American Family Field was there yet, and it was about two forty five when all this is happening. So the X ray technician isn't there until six o'clock.

So Thomas Albert, the Dodgers head trainer, calls ahead to a local urgent care in Milwaukee, and the cameraman for me and so for sports Net l A in Milwaukee drives me to the urgent care and then picks me up after I'm done at the urgent care. So I can't say enough to make h to McK gordon. Who who did that? All? Right? So you go get x rays? And then were you shocked when you found out how many different bones you had broken? Did you? Did you know right away that your ribs were I've never broken

a rib. I've heard it's very painful. Uh did you know right away that your your ribs were broken? Or did you was at a surprise, no doubt, Ben. I knew as soon as I couldn't breathe when I got up that my that my ribs were either severely bruised or broken. And while I was waiting for the trainers, Justin Turner, David Price and Austin Barnes and Cody Bellinger brought me into the clubhouse wipe my face with a towel. Um,

got me water, got me food. And when I went to uh the urgent care, the nurse was skeptical as well. She was maybe trying to make me feel better because she said, nah, I don't think they're broken. And then we take X rays at the urgent care she comes in six broken ribs, broken wrist, and multiple pieces. So, um, yeah, it didn't go as well as I thought, as as wild haul from going down a slide. That's that's insane. And so you still did the game though, I I

you see your radio guy. That's one thing you know. Real TV person does not do the game. They're like I does. I got six broken ribs and the broken wrist, but the show must go on. You literally went out there and broke not a leg, but broke a risk. Did you consider not doing the game that night, David or what? You're always planning on doing the game no

matter what. No, I was planning on going back. I knew it wasn't going to take too long at the urgent care unless there was some significant damage that they needed to send me to the hospital. Outside of that, I had no doubts in my mind. I was going back to that stadium and doing the job that I was hired to do, and that was to UH to do the game for sports net l A and the interviews I do on Sports net l A gets carried on five seventies, so it was somewhat of a postgame

simulcast that I needed to be there for. So in my mind that never was going to There was nothing in my mind that said I was going to tap out and go to the hotel and just wait. I I was determined to go back. I told the players when I left the clubhouse, I will be back. You'll see me on the field after the game, and I'll be interviewing somebody on the field and Mookie Bett's face time me while I was in the urgent care, and I said I'll be there. I am going back, and uh,

I had that. I think you're right then. I think in radio, you have to go back. Radio there's no excuses. So that's why maybe that was instilled to me because I'm a radio guy, but that's that's what was happening. I was going back. I was done at the Urgent care at about six thirty Central time. The game was starting at seven o'clock Central time. Nick came back to pick me up after he was done filming Dave Roberts and batting practice. I came back. It was around the

fifth inning of the game. Um Alex Tores, the great clubhouse manager for the Dodgers, helped me put back on my shirt and tie and get me together for me to go back out there on camera. I walk out in between innings, so as the Dodgers were going out to play defense in either the bottom of the fifth or bottom of the sixth inning, and Mookie Bets and Trade Turner and Ready Freeman, the big three as I coined them, stopped me and said, hey, are you just gonna walk by us? They want to make sure I

was okay. And then Mookie said on the field, asks me, can I have a hug? And I said, of course, I gave him a hug. They went out played the rest of the game, and I went on camera with Nomar and Joe Davis and the rest is history. Yeah, yeah, that this will live on for years and years and years. We'll see. That's the code of the West, right. And and you're around my age, were around the same age, so you you always finished what you started, and you

you finished what you started and all that. It was great. And I got to ask you about the the language, Uh, David, because I give you credit. I curse. I not on the radio, but I curse, and you you said your line over and over again was holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. You did not mix in the F word. You did not mix in any of the great words that we're not supposed to say on television or radio. Were you told not the curse? Where did you decide on the holy crap line? Because you said it a lot.

It was great, But I would have mixed in an F bomb. So how did you show restraint in that moment? That was just spontaneous. Uh, it came out. It might have come out because my wife says holy crap a lot around the house. She doesn't curse a lot, and we have two young kids, so I tried to temper the cursing. So that was very spontaneous. When I was going down the slide to try to you know, give some effect of me being a little frightened going down the slide. Never in my wildest dreams, and I believe

it was going to end the way it did. And holy crappy, as uh popular as it became when it went viral, you're quoting your wife. So you should have told your wife, I'm quoting you. This is this is Yeah. I was just concerned about telling her. I didn't want to. I was hoping i'd be allowed to come back inside the house. Yeah. What was the reaction when you made the uh not the walk of shame, but the call of shame announcing that you had broken seven bones on

a television bit Like, what was your wife's reaction to that? Uh? This is how it went, Ben. When I'm at the Urgent care, I call her and I explain what's going on, and on the other end of the phone, I hear mm hmm. Okay, that's not good. Okay. So you know, when I go back to the stadium after I do the postgame interviews in the clubhouse, I asked David Price when we got back to l A, can I stay with him in case my wife doesn't let me? And he said, no problem. You could stay with me. That's well,

it's like my wife has been. In all seriousness, my wife has been awesome. She had lost her grandmother in Milwaukee. That's why she was there. She's taking care of two kids and I put this on her plate too. And she's been so awesome. I can't say enough about her. She hasn't been one of those wives that you know, keeps score every second. She's been awesome. But on the list of jobs, I hope she's listening to this podcast.

I hope so too. And and she needs and he needs to come to one of the ugly sweater parties. You I know you. But anyway, David, when you think of jobs that are of high risk, you think like military, law enforcement. But television, sideline reporter, not on not on the list. They're not very How do you think this is the last time the Brewers will allow media people to go down the slide? Or will they Will they be open minded to it in the future. That's a

great question. J p aren Sibia, who's the analyst for the Marlins and former Major league catcher, he was planning on going there on the Marlins next road trip and he's upset. He he told me at Dodgers Stadium. He's concerned that they may not allow him to go down. So we'll have to wait and see if they opened

the gates again to Bernie's now Vasse chalet. Yeah, and have you talked to the Dodgers about adding some kind of stunt at Dodger Stadium, like maybe a slide from the the general admission section down to home plate or something like that that you could that could they could call the Holy Crap Slide and and they could have a photo of you, and then that could add a

new feature to Dodgers stand, Like didn't they they? I know in Boston they had a uh in the winter, they had like a ski ramp they put in Finway. Maybe they could. Obviously doesn't snow at Dodger Stadium, but there's gotta be something they could do here. There's a marketing opportunity. I said, I text you this. They've got to have next year on the promotional schedule, a holy Crap bubble head, David Vasse bubble head. The Dodger marketing department has to get on that. They've got to get

those made right now. I will be there that night fast. I will be there to get your bubble head. We need a vasse bubble head next year. Okay, don't know about that then, but maybe at the next Petros and Money Uh summer tour, maybe they'll be like a water slide or something. But I think my steep slide days are over until until I can at least get out

of this cast. But I'm sure there's gonna be another moment in time where the Dodger players try to challenge me to do something ridiculous and you'll see me doing it. What other I'm trying to think around baseball? Are there any other stunts like that? I guess you could battle the Philly fanatic. Maybe on getting a boxing match with the fanatic. I I don't know. If there's a slide in San Francisco that coke bottle, there's a slide inside that coke bottle, maybe I'll do that. There you go.

That's perfect. So as far as the whole viral thing, you were on Sports Center, you were a topic on sports talk radio everywhere. Yeah, I was getting calls and my buddies back, he'sa They were talking about you and doing topics on you know, crazy things you do in life for work whatever. But Uh, you were on all the sports radio Internet. The thing, the video has been seeing millions of times and all that. What was the most surprising viral thing that took place during that last

week when you went down the slide? I just couldn't believe that it went global. I don't know, Like honestly, Ben, I had. I was aware of everything that you talked about, but I was just trying to survive, you know, trying to get through Milwaukee. And uh, I knew it happened, and I was cool with everybody having fun with it. I mean, that's the reason why I did it. There was an opportunity where it never would have made um, it never would have aired. They asked me, are you

okay with airing this? I said, of course, this is why we did it, So of course I'm okay with it being aired. Um, But I wish I could have enjoyed it more. But I was just in survival mode to be able to do my job for sports net LA and five seventy Now you mentioned your wife kind of giving you a hard time but supportive. What about the kids? I say, were your kids busting your chops? There? Were they? Like? Were they blown away that this became

a global thing. Like where were your kids at on this? Yeah, my kids were telling me, uh, I stopped being so silly and doing silly things. So they had a great spirit about it too. So your kids are giving you growing up growing advice, which is outstanding. But by what is this? I mean for those that don't know David. Of course he those Dodgers talk. But you dominate, you get more downloads. I think you're one of the top people at all of my heart on that Dodger tip.

What is what is your secret sauce, David? How are how are you able to dominate the downloads on that? Because you are a monster. My everyone, everyone at the companies like, how did this? Vest say? Is unbelievable with these downloads? How do you do it? Number one? Then I think it proves that it's Yankee fans are Red Sox fans that are the most passionate fan base in baseball. It's l A fans. They get a bad rap. And number two, I just keep it real. I'm not a homer.

People listen because they know it's not just gonna be the company line. So that's the secret sauce. Keep it real, don't be you know a player hater like Ben Maller, and don't be a homer like other broadcast post game shows. No, I call it like it is now. Listen, I already removed I think it was back in June. Craig Kimbrell as the Dodger closer. For some reason, Dave Roberts has not listened to me. Uh say, I'll get you out on a couple of Dodging questions because you are the

Dodger guy, the Dodger insiders. So here we sit in late August, heading into the final part of the regular season. Do you trust Craig Kimbrell. I don't trust him. Do you trust him? Did the Dodgers really trust him that he's gonna be out there? Okay, they don't. And what are they gonna say? Kimbero will not be closing games in October for the Dodgers, And who's gonna be closed? You don't have to worry about it. Then they have a twenty game lead right now, they have the luxury

they need his arm for right now. When Blake training comes back, it will be a different story and he will not be closing games in October. I promise you all right, you heard Davids said it, and you mentioned that Dodgers making a mockery there. They've been hovering around fifty games, give or take above five d They're dominating. This is one of the great Dodger teams I've ever seen. They've had. This is the glory days of Dodger baseball

the last few years. But I I gotta tell you, though, all right, I'm a little I'm a little concerned because I know last year against the Braves there's a guy named Eddie Rosario who looked like Pete Rose or Ty Cobb and the playoffs, and I'm concerned that that same nonsense is gonna happen again. It's a totally different world, as you know, David, in the playoffs. So is this team designed for that? And they've got a lot of guys that strike out at the back of that lineup.

Are they ready for playoff baseball? Because it's a much different animal. Hey, I think they've proven that beating up on Sandy al Cantata and also Corbin Burns in the last uh in the last week. Then so yeah, I think they are all right. And and as far as the starting pitching, now, the other thing here. You know I'm a concert You called me a negative even on your podcast. You're so negative. I'm not. I'm a realist. I keep it real, essay. That's what I do. I

keep it real. And I love Tony Gonslin. I hope he should win the Cy Young Award. He has been great. The guy is got moxie on the mound. I love watching that Guy's my favorite Dodger pitcher right well, other than the fact guy in the open, but him, and uh and Tyler Anderson. Uh. These guys have been insanely good. I looked the other day the Dodgers have when those two guys pitched. Not their record, but they're the team's record. They have an eight hundred plus winning percentage when Anderson

and Gonslin pitch. But here's my thing, essay again, from watching the playoffs over the years, and I've seen guys that are great Cinderella stories in the regular season and then we get the playoff baseball and they take a ride on the vomit comment. So, what is the level of confidence that we will not see that happen to these two guys, because that is the rock of the Dodger rotation. These guys have been amazing. It's it's it's

insane how good they've been during the regular season. So, uh, do these guys have the the intestinal fortitude of essay to get it done in in playoff baseball? Yeah, I would say so. Tony has done it before, and Tyler Anderson has shoved people down trying to, you know, run into him on a tag play. I forgot who that was. But Tyler has got a lot of country in him and he's not gonna back down from anybody. So I think at this point in time you have to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know, for a

player hater like yourself, that's very difficult to do. But think at this point you have to give everybody on this Dodger team the benefit of the doubt, except for Craig Kimball, who has been erratic, but he's been able to get the job done with three or three or four run lead in the ninth inning. One run a lot different, but he has served the purpose this year during the regular season, so I think you have to give him credit for that too. Well, again, you keep

calling me a player, but I'm a jaded realist. Okay, that's how I'm gonna promote your show after Dodger Talk coming up next. The player hater himself, Ben Malla, a jaded realist. I I go by the begging. Stop begging for me to promote your show. No, not at all. Why would I do that because you get eight billion downloads? Why would I want you to? Why would I want that at all? But no, I go by the Missouri motto. I'm in the show me state of mind. Besset listen.

I want the Dodgers, you know, I want them to win. I've been around the Dodges a long time. I love when they have good teams and they win. But I gotta see, right, I gotta see. I'm a skeptic. I am unconvinced, unbelieving until I see it. And I don't see another. I'm having nightmares about Eddie Rozzario again from last year in the NLCS. Alright, we'll get you out. We we wasted enough of your time, David, anything to promote at all, anything at all, any future viral videos

that you have planned. You're have you thought about going on TikTok David, because well, I have thought about it, but I'm not on yet. It's amazing how you brought up my social media for thirty minutes, but you haven't plugged it once. No yet, you want me to plug your your show. No, it's gonna be in the in the see the way the podcast game works, and you should know this because you're the king of the downloads.

But the way the podcast were in the description, there will be a glowing review that will be slobbering all over the legend that is David Vasse, who at one point I knew as the guy at Costco that was pushing the cards, but now is a global phenomena and you just like everyone else if I say, you have

zoom passed me in the broadcast world. And so we will put all of that in the profile, including uh, well I know your Twitter, I don't know your first No wonder you don't get anybody to come on this podcast. You don't plug anything. What are you talking about that you don't plug anything. No, we had Brent Musburger on the Great You're Looking Live Fred Musburger legends living legends on this podcast. Anyway, All right, thank you, David, take care,

good luck and how long? How long until your wrist is healed? By the way, do we know how long that's gonna take. I don't know. It's day to day, day to day, all right, Thank you David, thank you Ben,