The Great Pivot

of the Ben Mother Show overnights during the week. We actually get to talk to people on the weekends because it's a it's a it's a podcast you can hang out and it's a conversation podcast. We chat with friends of the show and people that we know, people that we like, and we do this eight days a week because obviously four hours a night on the overnight are

not enough. We thank you for downloading, some scribing and obviously listening what you're doing right now, David gascon yet again back this week good unfortually very years like there. So it's nice salvation, I guess it's it's nice. Isn't it so wonderful that you get to drop inside the Magic Radio Box and on your podcasts, you have a world class colleague that not only books guests, but presidents and CEOs and doctors and lawyers. I give you the

Rose Royce of guests. You know well from your Money through Friday show. Take a little bit of advantage of the fact that there's some people that I know that actually went on and became very successful. Not that I have, but these people have become very successful. So you've taken advantage of that. And I'd like to let the court record report show that I I actually know several of these individuals that we've had on in recent days and times and years. Now it's going on what two years

now with this stupid little podcast. Yes, and you wanted to cancel the podcast after a month, I think you, well, I think it's just tradition over the last couple of years we cancel everything, so I cancel this. Well, let's not waste time. This is very important. This man. We actually have one of the longest tenured CEOs in Major League Baseball, the guy who runs the show for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He's been doing it for over fifteen years.

His name is Derek Hall. Now Derek Hall has a very interesting story that's somewhat connected to me a little bit now. He was he was when I first met Derek. He was in the PR office for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early nineties, and he rose up the ranks with the Dodgers and then left. He left the Dodgers and got into sports talk radio at a station I were that he was the morning guy. I was doing the midday show at Extra Sports eleven fifty in Los Angeles, which no longer exists, and he also did

the Dodger pregame stuff. I was doing Dodger postgame at the time, and so we we were around each other quite a bit in those days. And Derek he had left that He'd done TV in l A as well. He left that and then went into private business briefly and then ended up as the executive with the years

on the Diamondbacks. And he's been running that team for many, many years, as we pointed out, And so we're excited to have Derek call on the fifth Hour with Ben Maller and David Gascon and so Derek, why don't we start with this? Is there ever a day that you do not regret leaving the lavish lifestyle of sports talk radio to become a CEO in professional baseball. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk line up in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot

com and within the I Heart Radio app. Search f s R to listen live. Right, you know, Ben, I had a lot of fun, But I think if I had stuck to media or or a personality on radio, I'd probably be unemployed because I wasn't very good at it. So it's good to leave it up the pros lift yourself well. And I mean you did it for a few years. Obviously you started in baseball and then you went into sports radio. And I don't think I've told you. I don't think there's ever been a transformation like that.

You were on TV in l A and you did this sports stuff in the morning and all that, and you making us all look bad. What is the secret? What is the secret to success here? Well, you got a hit and run. You can't stay somewhere too long, right, and they figure you out. It was It was a lot of fun because I had been with the Dodgers for for many years and we had a few ownership changes, and then I had the opportunity to go to you know, the flagship radio station, UM Morning Show. We had a

ton of fun. We had a blast in the morning show, and I out to do as you said, some uh some TV. I did some weekend uh sports anchoring so in and then I did some pregame shows for the Dodgers, both radio, I got to do a few on TV. So for me it was great. I still stayed involved with sports and with with with the Dodgers, but I really missed baseball. So when I had the opportunity to go back to the Dodgers and then and then out here at Arizona, ultimately it's been it's been a nice

mix of both worlds. And to know both sides I think is important too. Yeah, as gonna say, because I'm guessing most of the other CEOs in baseball they have not lived that life. And none of them have you know, both TV and radio from your experience, So when you when you see crazy stories on on on in the on the internet and on radio and whatnot in Phoenix and around the country, You're like, hey, I kind of know wh I know the other side, right, You're familiar

with it. I do, And I also understand the importance of you guys having to do your jobs. You know, that's that's really important to know too. I mean too often people may may get upset or they have sam skin. You can't. I mean you have to know that. You know, everyone has a job to do. And you know I I did it as well, right sitting in your in your chair h for for quite some time. So I

do think it helps. I definitely think it helps. But I think most of the folks in my jobs have been they may not have gone up with the ranks either in media or or on the pr communication side. Most of them have either been the legal side or accounting side. Some actually did a few actually did some play by play, but for the most part, no, no one's had the luxury of being on there as well.

That's been It was great for me. Yeah. And now fun fact here that when you you were doing stuff with the Dodges, but when you were named as the morning guy at Extra Sports eleven fifty, I think it was because like Steve Mason and got to New York, somethody they needed, they were looking for someone they and you were the guy that they went with John Ireland, as I remember and we we were myself and Dave Smith,

we were on there. We found out about this and we talked about it on the air and we got in so much trouble, Derek for for spilling the beans on that before it was like generally jumped the gun. You went out to early on it. Yeah, we were, we were like filling in on the morning show and uh, and we were like this is interesting, you know because we we've both known you and then uh and then we talked about it. Oh my, the management, Oh they came down. They were very upset with this Terry, but

we were. We were very happy before you. I do recall that. And it was with John Ireland, who's obviously a very good friend, and then and then he left for a while I was alone, and then it was with you know A and then um, you know, there was a time where where I was also with Terry Bradshaw.

He was coming in. He had like the show after me, so he and I had this crossover show and yeah, he's still I don't think he ever said my name right for the few weeks or months that we were on together because they didn't know who I was, but still doesn't to this day. The guy that you got Terry Bradshaws, because I did the show after Terry. The benetib Show was after Terry for a little bit. Uh, and and Terry did not really want to talk about

sports very much. It was it was odd. It was like he wanted like there was one I love Terry. There was one day he came in and just read like a Jeff Foxworthy book because he was friends with Jeff Foxworthy the comedian back in the day. And uh,

it was. It was tremendous. But the amazing thing about that is that that station there, which you worked out for a few years, and now you've obviously gone everyone who worked there, almost everyone has gone on and done uh, pretty cool things, either still in the media business or elsewhere. You with the Diamondbacks, and you know, we had a guy that was like a producer, board op intern, guy that went on to coach Texas college football. Of all.

I mean, there were a lot of people from that that kind of a small sports station that went on and did pretty cool things. I can't believe it's been that long though. And what what was also great about that is, you know it doesn't always happen, but I think we were a pretty good family. It was like everyone got along and you know, still to this day

we're all good friends and stay in touch. It was very unique, you know, for for that setting, for all of us to have started something and took pride in it and still get along to this day. It was very cool. Yeah, absolutely, And now I also must address now having you on here today, it's very important. All right. So when you were working with the Dodgers in the PR department, with the great Jay Lucas, you both more lighted as umpires in the media baseball game. Now, this

was a big event for me. I was morbidly obese at the time, but one of my great athletic accomplishments. And I don't you probably don't remember because you've got much more important things. But I, for some reason, everything lined up for me, All the plans lined up, and I connected. I was using unfortunately a wooden bat, not

a metal bat. Uh, And it was like, actually, I remember a Corey Snyder bats or nineties six or something, but I used a Corey Snyder bat and I hit a ball that somehow went off the wall at Dodger Stadium. Now you were the umpire and because of my rather large, oversized body. I thought the ball was going out, and then I of course didn't run, and there was a

play at second. Now I was clearly safe there. You called me out when you admit, now after all these years, that if there had been instant replay, I would have been safe. You no, no, you you were You were out that and you were showboating it. I mean you were watching it. You thought it was gone, and I do remember it like it was yesterday, and I could not believe that you wouldn't run the basis. And then once you realized that wasn't gone, you tried to high

tail it and you were out. You were clearly out. It was I was safe. I I snuck in there. I'm telling you, I still can't to this day. I had the option member because you guys they brought out they had wooden bats and they had metal bats, and I was like, well, I'm in the major league ballpark. I'm gonna use a wooden bat because I wanna. I wanna, you know, be like a big league I do. Hopefully if you had used the limitum, it was clearly over

the wall, it would have been gone. And I think you still thought you connected you thought you had it. I did. I did. I mean, that's a big you know. I I'm used to playing literally fields up until that point, but it was pretty cool. Now I have some fun memories of those those media games. Do you guys do that in Arizona? Do you have some kind of setup like that or is that kind of archaic at this point? You know it is. It's somewhat our kid, but we could do it now. We never did it in the

past because we were so worried about our grass. Now we don't have grass, you know, We've got our our synthetic grass, so we probably could bring that back. We ended up doing it with some legislators here this year. We used to have an owner's clinic where we let people play, but the grass just got chewed up. I think we should we should bring it here. It is a fun event and lots of you know, guys like to get out there and play, and we're just always

worried about the injuries. Yeah, I know, especially a long time well back in those days. Uh, you know, I can't believe it's been as long. But remember the late great Student Nahan would manage the media game and Stu. This was so serious that he would bring in ringers

to beat the writers. He had. Remember one year he had a kid from Long Beach State that was like a player at Long Beach State that somehow snuck finagle his way way in there and we were trailing late and then one of the media games and Stu tried to have the guy changed jersey so he could bat again. Uh, there was a lot of shenanigans going on. He was. I missed Stu a lot. And he actually would try and get our BP pictures to go in and face

you guys. He tried to get players to go in disguise. Um, and he would usually because it's with Tommy too, as you recall, yes exactly. And I also remember yeah, because yeah, Stu felt we had an advantage because there were so many former players that were working in the media, so he wanted to get there. Yeah. Yeah. He always want to get Rick Monday to play. And uh, and then you brought Fernando back and that whole thing. But crazy,

it's all right. So now now you are you are the CEO of a major League baseball I've been doing this a long time, and congratulations on your success and all as we said, but the day to day grind, like running the Arizona Diamondbacks. How many fires are you putting out on a on a daily basis? There too many, that's really these days, you know, with what we're facing. Um. But but it just depends on what the what that fire is for the day because there's so many different

areas that we're focused on. I never had to them in the past when I was there in l A. But now, I mean, one day it could be government affairs issue. The next day it could be a pr issue, the day after that, it could be a community issue. There's so much and when you have three and fifty full time employees and and uh, you know, it's it's a full time organization. Most people wonder, well, what do you do in the off season, which we call our

season without games? As you know, um, but it's NonStop and you have a number of people who who wants or need your attention, and and uh that I'll tell you what. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I absolutely love it. But it's stressful, and especially in a division like like this one where the Dodgers have just dominated you know, us and every team really for

that matter, for so long. Um, but it's a it's a it's a fun division and everything that I learned with the Dodgers, trying to bring that mentality over here, having worked large market and now a smaller market and having ownership when I first began at the Dodgers, it's very similar to ownership here where it's a family and um, you know, a lot of emphasis on culture. It's been it's been great. Yeah. And it's been about a year since everything went haywire in the world, not just the

sports world shutting down. You guys were in spring training, Um, you know a year ago at this time when the news came down that they were shutting everything down. What what was that like at the time and nobody knew anything, but you were there and you had to make decisions and whatnot along with the people of baseball. But what what was that experience like a year ago? I remember watching when you know, the NBA shut down, and I thought, Wow,

that is crazier. They're going too far with this thing. And I think it was probably two days later because that was the eleventh, I believe in on the thirteenth, we we shut down and and send everybody home. And I thought it was gonna be a couple of weeks. I sent a note to all of my staff at night saying, hang in there, be safe. We'll see in a week or two when we feel like we can

open back up. You know, it was a year. I mean, it was a year that we weren't in the office that either Chase Shield or saw River Fields, which is where our spring training home is. And uh, it was bizarre. And then to have the the abbreviated season like we did with no fans and the piped in sound, it just was sterile. It wasn't real. And I still can't

believe what we've gone through. Yet we've learned so much from it, and I think, you know, hopefully we never encounter anything like this again, but if we do, we're all going to be better prepared for it for sure. Yeah, there no fan thing. I know fans are gonna be coming back now at least a little bit. But you know what, you got to go to those games. I mean, you were obviously the CEO the team. What was it like why I didn't go to any I know in the media I could have gone here in l A,

but I didn't go. What was it like watching the Big League game without any any It must have been just bizarre, right, It's crazy. It was. That's a that's a great, great word. It was bizarre. And I sat there for these games and just I didn't enjoy it. I mean you could hear, you know, foul balls rattling off chairs and uh, you know, you could hear every word said in each dugout. It just it didn't feel right. It wasn't right because it's you know, our games are

made for fans. But I think our our crews and our our stabs did a really nice job of trying to make it seem like it was normal and like it was natural. To make sure that the endgame entertainment was still somewhat there, and they're in our case we call it dB t V, but your your video board was still you know, interactive and engaged, and everything became more virtual. It was it was bizarre, but they did a nice job making it seem as if nothing was different.

Is that there were fans there, but you knew better when you were there in the in the ballparking. You just couldn't wait until the day to get fans back through the turnstiles, which fortunately we're going to have this year, Derek, I gotta jump into the fray here with what happened last year with Major League Baseball of the adjustments to some of the rules, and you being around the game so long, did you like any of the implementation? You know, runners,

obviously a doubleheaders things. Did you like any of that? That's a great question. And I'm a traditionalist and I'm a Nation League guy, so I never liked the d H. I don't like to change the game or mess with the game. And I have to tell you I liked every every experimental rule we had, I really did. I like the expanded playoffs, I like the extra hitting rule,

and I liked the d H. UM. You know, I'm surprised that that we don't have one so far for this upcoming season, but I actually did, and I know that we're going to try some experimental rules when it comes to minor league baseball. I believe in triple A. I think that's a good thing. You know that if we just say we can never change this game, you know we're we're we're not being We're not being wise. I mean, I think every sport tends to to look at ways to improve their sport. And ways to protect

their players from injury. And if all that can be done in a way that's going to speed it up, create more interest, more interaction, uh, and more of a following, we should do it. And I think I think they

worked pretty well. But do you think the game is better because it feels like from from a certain standpoint that in any league, whether it's Major League Baseball, the n b A, NHL, and maybe a little bit in the NFL, but everyone's drunk on saber metric launch angles, eggs of velocity as opposed to making contact and going

the opposite way. No, No, that's and that's different, and I think we'll address that, you know, whether it's uh, if we're going to address the shifts, or we're gonna address you know, the way the baseball has made or the dimensions of the ballpark, all of that does need to be looked at because I think our fans, if it's just strikeout a home run, you're exactly right, not as um not as good as as more action in

the game. And I think all that will be looked at because we do want more people following the game, more people excited about the game, and more you know, youngsters that are able to play the game and for a longer period of time. Now day, the samer metrics thing, this is fascinating because it seems like everyone in baseball is doing it to one degree or another. But is it possible? And you're the perfect guy ask because you run a baseball team, is it possible if you had

a team approached things old school too? You know, you don't come leately forget about saber metrics, but you you choke up with two strikes and you you know, hit behind the runner, the things, some of the small stuff. Yeah, maybe occasionally bunt. You know, is it possible that by playing the what many would say is an outdated style of baseball that you would actually have some kind of advantage as opposed to the team's many of them today they just try to go up and it's like Beer

League softball. You're trying to hit home runs and all that. I wonder if it what do you think? Do you think that a team that plays the old school approach could actually have success in the modern baseball world. You could definitely make an argument for that, which is why ben people say that there should be a balance and and I know it sounds like, you know a lot of a lot of words, but it's true. You really

need to balance it out. And I can tell there's now more of an embrace from the old school guys that are sitting in the room or the old school Scouts. They embrace more of the analytics now and they they intertwine it in their work. And by first thing, you hear these individuals that are maybe shout of college and that are so into the analytics, but they're listening and learning and embracing what you know. The Scouts are treating or teaching them as well, and some of the older

instructors and coaches. I think you have to have a balance, and I can tell you, um, you know, I'm not as much into the analytics, and that's why we hire people to do so. And we have an entire department, which we never had when I first came here. Um. In fact, you know, when I left the Doctors, we really didn't have an analytics department either. But now you have to and it's got to be a part of

your game. And you know, I think instincts take over and and so you know, style takes over at some point. I sit there like you probably and with the question alone and the way we were taught how to play baseball and the way we grew up playing baseball, I'll sit there saying, why are we not? Why are we not bumming right here? Right? I mean, it's it's it seems like common sense to me because that's why I

came up through the game. But enough people will tell you, no, you don't here, and here's why they think differently, And it's fun to have those debates, and it's to here why not? But I think there needs to be a balance, and I think we have enough people in every organization now that that do balance it out. The days of either one way or the other, I don't think we're

seeing that really anymore, Derrek. Do you think it hinders major League Baseball with a little bit of the stripping from the minor league clubs just because of where we were to where we are now? Do you think that hinders the game and the sport as a whole with with the consolidation? Um? I think you know. I think what they're what the attempt was is right. Um, when we looked at the quality of ballparks, of the travel involved, the number of players that never made it I think

the intentions are right on. It's trying to make sure that there certain levels of quality that we expect that each of the ballparks now where our players are going off to when it comes to an affiliate. In addition to that, you want to make sure that these players that that inner professional baseball actually have a chance to make it to the big leagues and that they're not just spending so much time, you know, in buses on

airplanes with their travel. So for all those reasons that they did that, I'm you know, I agree with that, I really do. And um it's I'm excited because we've got so many affiliates now close to close to us. We didn't have a an affiliate in Texas before, which we do now and and with you know, Hillsborough and Baselia and Reno, it makes a lot of sense for us to have have those teams so close now, Derek, I do need to give you the heads up since you mentioned Vicelia. UM, I'm gonna put it on the

record here for you. Ben Maller did direct me back in two thousand and sixteen to leave to leave Fox Sports Radio and joined the Bakersfield Blaze. So I worked in High a affiliate ball there for a year, and I invited him and his entire lame show out for a night of the ballpark and and and Derek, hand to god, he throughout the first pitch, and then a month later Bakersfield Blaze were closed down. He closed down a minor league ball club that was in existence for

sixty five years. Yeah, we're putting We're putting it on bed Dave. That's good. Did he throw a strike though he locked it in. I don't know if it would have gotten to the place. I was a lollipop. It was a lollipop itch. But that's a strike there, because you know that can be a strike. You can throw a high Yeah, it's all about location, not velocity. I found that my you know, year, year and a half, two years in minor league baseball is huge for me.

So I'm sure you had the same experience, but but for me to get to know each and every fan and and do everything from you know, pulling the tarp when it rains, the stock in the shelves, to you know, doing the promotions. I had a blast in minor league baseball. And I tell a lot of young um students who are asking for advice that it's not such a bad direction to go to to get started in a minor league baseball. Now, when you shut down a franchise, that's

not good. And I will put that on Mallard too, Yes, clearly. Uh, well I gotta also, I mean there you talking about you know, minor league baseball, all that you worked at that world. But one thing about you that and you still and you've done it in Arizona. I've read stories and people have talked and told me things with the fans like, you're so good about that. So many of these CEOs just want nothing to do as far as

the interaction, but you make it a priority. And it's so smart because my experience with listeners, I don't it's obviously not the same thing. But people that are upset something I say, normally, if you just respond to them, they're kind of are happy about it and they're willing to, you know, calm down a little bit. But what's it been like in relation you you make it a priority to interact with the Diamondback fans and and uh and how's that going for you? That's yeah, you said a

couple of things that really resonated. First Off, when I was on radio and we were just starting to get you know, email back then. And after after the morning show, I would go home and I would just get blistered by by some fans and and it it It hurt, right, And so I decided I was going to respond to each and every one of them, and I would write them back and tell them, you know, with the reasoning for what I said. And and I think you're exactly right.

My experience, as I recall, was they just wanted to hear it, and you responded, they felt great, they became a fan of the show. Uh And and you started talking with those folks, you had a relationship. It's no different with the fans. And for us, it's every fan counts. I mean, it's not as if we could just open up our gates and get two to three million fans every year. We gotta work hard in the market like this.

So it's it's one fan at a time, and we answer every email, every voicemail, every text, um, you know, and that that relationship is important. So I I do communicate regularly with with fans. I have chats once a month with the fans, um, you know, just walking around talking to them, hearing what's important to them having roundtables and town halls. That's really vital, and especially in a market like this where we we have to hold on

to every single fan we get. We have to earn everyone. Yeah, absolutely, and uh and Derek, just before we we wrap up here, I mean, you guys didn't have a very active offseason. But people listening that found this podcast that are curious and what are the reasons to be optimistic for the one Arizona Diamondbacks. Well, yeah, as far as active, you know, the Dodgers were extremely active. The Padres were active obviously, and so we've been asked, you know, why weren't we

so so active? We really were the last couple of years before that, and we felt like we had the team in place that that we thought was going to compete and perform um. You know, take last year out. It was. It was an awful season for us. We did not play well, We had a lot of injuries. We moved a couple of players at the trade deadline, but for the most part, that team is still there. So for us to fill a few holes this offseason, but try and keep that team together and see if

they can compete. Maybe we put the wrong team together. But we'll see, you know, hopefully in a hundred and sixty two games season. But but for us to compete more consistently and sustain a model of success, we're going to have to do it a different way, the right way.

We can't compete necessarily in the free agent market. We're going to have to scout, properly, develop those players, retain them through arbitration years in some of their early free agency years, and make sure that we have a pipeline of talent in our farm system ready to So we've taken our farm system from the top three or bottom three, absolutely worst in baseball to the top five now in baseball.

That's who we need to be. And I would just tell you know, fans or people interested in baseball to hopefully watch a team here that's going to compete. For us to have been in the playoffs in oh seven, two thousand eleven, two thousand seventeen, way too sporadic, too many years of not getting there in between. Well, Derek, thanks for coming on, ma and I look forward to the day of the Diamondbacks when the World Series with

you as the CEO. So I can more, I can brag more about you, Derek and I. That'd be great. I brag about I brag about you guys as well, and uh, I look forward to seeing you. Thanks for having me on I would love to do it in person. Sometimes too, I miss you. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live.