All right, we'll see this is okay.
Then all right, let's see if this works.
Breath deep, breath everybody.
Ross and I were just.
All right, well, we'll explain it all later because we want to get right to right to our guest. So, and by the way, I'm Ross and I was going to have Randy Cromwell with me. Randy is just amazing, but he was busy.
Uh.
I got Andy Connell here instead, And we're gonna have hell of a lot of fun like we do every Rockies opening day.
Actually, yes, because baseball is my favorite sport and Ross is my favorite talk show host who's not me?
So there you go, and Mandy's my favorite talk show host maybe even including me. H. And another person whose favorite sport is baseball, uh is the one and only George will And we had George on two years ago for just an amazing conversation. We missed him last year, and he kindly agreed to join us again this morning.
Hi, George, how are you? I'll go anywhere any Hello, we know we know that. George.
When did you first become a baseball fan? What is your first memory of baseball?
Well? I became a baseball fan about age seven, nineteen forty eight, I became a Cubs fan, and that was the year that Cubs ownership took out ads in the Chicago papers to apologize for the team being as lousy as it was. But as you said, you all know, once you start as a child, you can't turn back. You've done the suffering. You want to wait for the reward, although it may take some waiting. I saw my first
major league game in nineteen fifty in Forbes sealed in Pittsburgh. Wow, they were playing, as we remember, they're playing the hit song of the day, which was good Night Irene. I'm dating myself. But there you are, And who are they playing?
Who are the pirates?
There the Cardinals? They beat them? Not nothing and waste like kiding.
Parents ram home.
You remember to me.
Brand because that's a pretty impressive thing.
Well, we've got all these synopses firing in our brain. Why do I waste mine on knowing that Ted Suzuski played for the Cincinnati Reds. Just start with information I wrote anyone but.
Me, you know, mainly, And I talk like all day every day, and so a lot of stuff goes in one air and out the other. And I don't tend to remember a lot of things. But I remember last time we did this, you said, line, I'll never forget that that you do all the political stuff just so you can afford to do the baseball stuff, because you really, if you could afford to do just base you would, Oh.
Absolutely. My primary email is office at baseballhabit dot com because I do this to support my baseball habit, which is more intense than anything cocaine.
To you, George, there have been a lot of changes to the game over the last few years as baseball works to capture shorter and shorter attention spans, and they've really enforced the pitch clock, which is sped up the game. And I have to tell you, I'm kind of a curmudgeon a little bit about it. I enjoyed the slow, slow pace of baseball. But do you think these changes
are going to have the intended effect. Do you think that they're going to bring the next generation along to continue the fandom of Major League Baseball.
Well, they're already having that effect because they've taken twenty five minutes of otherwise dead time out of the game and reversed a seven consecutive years of attendance decline and that really doesn't affect the Rockies because the Rockies has some of the best fans in baseball, as it's demonstrated
night after night by the wonderful attendance figures. But baseball had a problem less action spread over a longer period of time, and the fans were staying away in droves and in business model that will be studying in business schools for years. Baseball diagnosed the problem, experimented with solutions
such as the pitch clock and the larger bases. All the rest in the minor leagues implemented them smoothly, partly because eighty percent of all pitchers had already played with the pitch clock in the minor leagues before it came to the big leagues. So baseball is, i think, on the upswing with tremendous young talent. You've got an example
of it playing Tovar playing shortstop for the Rockies. This is a Baseball is getting more athletic because the shift required people to be able to move more after the ball is put in play. So baseball is getting younger and more athletic and better.
For board baseball, I'm sure you know it's already George Will every year, I don't know for how many years it's and does an open Day quiz. So if you just go to the Google and type it George Will Opening Day Quiz, you can find it over at the Washington Post. George, I have one triput question for you, and then I know Mandy has a question for you about in their potential change baseball. Uh, George, who has and will give you? Give you three choices for the answer.
Who's thrown the only no hitter in the history of Corus shield and your choice is Randy Johnson, Hideo Noma, Pedro Martinez.
Oh gosh, I don't know the answer. The best picture there is Pedro Martinez, but so I'm going to guess that's not him. So I'm gonna say Nomo, and.
In fact you are correct, it is. It is Nomo todayo Nomo is throwing the only no hitter in Corus field history. And that's why you're George Will and I'm not all right? So what I know you wanted to ask George about another potential change.
George, I've had a chance to go to spring training this year and I got to see the new automatic balls and strike system, the ABS system in play, and I got to tell you, after the second time of seeing it, I thought, bring it up now to the majors. Do you think technology entering the game in that fashion is net positive because it will clarify those sort of shifting strike zones that players have had to deal with since the beginning of the game.
Yeah, for years we've heard umpires say, well I call my strike zone. Well them strikethone doesn't belong to individual umpires defined in the rules. And what amazed me I spend a week at Fanex's spring training, as I always do, how much the fans love it. It's about a five second interruption of the game, so it doesn't prolong the game.
The answer comes up on the scoreboard and there's a little moment of suspense, and it's just anything that increases the engagement of the fan and the action of the game is to be welcomed, and this doesn't.
Well, the thing I really liked about it is it sort of takes away the ump here the problem, you know, yelling and screaming after a call, because it clarifies whether they were right or wrong. And in the four challenges that I saw, the umpire was right all four times, and I thought that was kind of interesting.
That's one thing people are going to learn is just how extraordinary good most major league umpires are. And in fact, if in a tight game, let's say the eighth inning tie game, it's the difference between two balls and no strikes and a one ball on one strike count can be game changing. So let's get it right, particularly since it doesn't take any time.
George, last question for you, just about out of time here. If you had to play some wagers, who do you think will be the American League champion? Who do you think will be the National League champion? And who do you think will win the World Series?
Well, once you get into October in the postseason, randomness takes over because in a short series, randomness can be decisive. It isn't even out over one hundred and sixty two games. I'm going to surprise you a little bit. I think I think the team to watch in the National League is the Arizona Diamondbacks. I know they're in a tough division. They got the eight no Dodgers and the seven to
no Padres, but still watch the Diamondbacks. And then in the American League, I have no idea but if the Yankees and their torpedo bats keep this up, we're going to have yet another chilli fall in the Bronx.
I'm kind of shocked that the rest of the teams aren't handing out torpedo bats to all of their players yet. That seems a little short sighted. As long as they're legal, take advantage.
Of it, right, Yeah, And I'm kind of surprised that George didn't mention the Rockies in you know, in the hunt. Yeah, all right, we got to leave it there, George will thank you so much for making time for us. I really appreciate it. We love talking baseball with you.
Always enjoy being with you, Tucky next year, all right, yeah, yeah, you got it.
All right, We'll take a quick break, Mandy and I'll be right back on k away.