Frank The Tank | Frank Walks
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00:00 New Jersey trains almost screwed me again.
00:03 I got to the train station, Secaucus train station.
00:06 I got there just before nine and we got on a train.
00:09 And now it usually takes 10 minutes to get on a train
00:12 from Secaucus to Penn Station.
00:15 But this train was going five miles per hour.
00:17 In fact, they had the guys who actually like doing the pump.
00:20 (mumbling)
00:22 Just had the guys like, with the hand crank.
00:30 I made it to the Park Lane Hotel just in time.
00:33 And I'm here to walk with New York Yankees legend,
00:36 Don Mangley, former captain, has his number retired.
00:40 Should be in the baseball hall of fame.
00:41 I think the momentum is moving for him.
00:44 He's gonna get in within the next few years.
00:46 There's definite momentum, especially with players
00:49 like Harold Baines getting in.
00:50 But it's gonna be a great walk.
00:54 Don Mangley is here with the Toronto Blue Jays.
00:55 He's currently their bench manager.
00:57 So this is gonna be another great walk.
00:59 So stay tuned, Frank walks.
01:01 (upbeat music)
01:04 - How much weight have you lost?
01:15 - 50 pounds since I started the walks in September.
01:18 - How many walks have you guys done?
01:19 - This will be 190.
01:21 - 190?
01:22 - 190 straight days.
01:23 - Oh, wow.
01:24 Oh, how many different people have you walked with?
01:27 - Well, we did a couple of soprano actors
01:30 that hasn't premiered yet.
01:31 Alan Houston's gonna premiere Wednesday.
01:34 JJ Watt, Mike Francesa, Scott Van Pelt,
01:39 Dave Portnoy, and Saquon Barkley.
01:43 - Okay, I heard the JJ Watt from the guys at the field.
01:47 They said the JJ Watt one was awesome.
01:49 I don't know if they've seen all of it or not.
01:51 - That was actually the first one, JJ Watt.
01:53 - Oh, yeah?
01:54 - Yeah, JJ Watt was the first one.
01:55 - Yeah, very cool.
01:57 - And they're getting better and better.
02:00 I'm getting more comfortable at it, and it's great.
02:04 I think we're making some real good momentum with it.
02:07 - Right.
02:08 - Especially the Scott Van Pelt one, Mike Francesa.
02:12 You know Mike Francesa.
02:13 I'm sure you're familiar with him.
02:14 - Yes, yes.
02:15 - I read, I think that was the least amount
02:18 I've ever talked.
02:19 - Oh, yeah?
02:20 (laughing)
02:21 He's running the show?
02:22 (laughing)
02:23 - Yeah, it really felt like the Mike Francesa show,
02:25 but that's what makes it great.
02:27 That's what makes Mike Francesa such a legend.
02:29 - Yeah, Scott Van Pelt too.
02:32 I love Scott.
02:33 - Yeah, that was probably the best,
02:35 most picturesque one so far.
02:36 We did that in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial
02:40 by the reflecting pool.
02:41 - Oh, okay.
02:42 - So that was a great one.
02:43 - So it's all been here in New York?
02:46 - No, we did one in Lake City.
02:48 - Okay.
02:49 - We did Mike Francesa up by his little place.
02:52 We did the St. Quentin Barclay in New Jersey.
02:55 And of course, Scott Van Pelt down in Washington, DC.
02:59 - Oh, okay, cool.
03:00 Cool.
03:01 - So we're going anywhere, everywhere.
03:03 - I like it.
03:04 - That's the best thing about it.
03:06 I mean, today, when we're walking,
03:10 we're walking, it's just about the,
03:12 Yankees home opener's gonna be tomorrow.
03:14 - Yep.
03:15 - And you're here with the Blue Jays.
03:16 - Yep.
03:17 - I mean, of course, anytime you go to Yankee Stadium,
03:21 you always get the attention.
03:23 It's number 23 is immortalized.
03:26 - There's a lot of immortalizations over there, right?
03:29 - Yeah.
03:31 I think they might've gone a little too far
03:32 with some of them, personally.
03:34 - No, it was a lot of great, you know,
03:37 when you had that run, like you had,
03:39 - Yeah.
03:40 - You know, with Jeet and the boys,
03:41 O'Neal and all those guys,
03:43 that's what happens, right?
03:46 - I mean, if it keeps up,
03:47 the Yankees are gonna have to go to triple digits.
03:48 - There you go.
03:49 That'd be good.
03:51 I got a feeling that Juan Soto is just made to be a Yankee
03:56 and it kills me that he's made to be a Yankee.
04:00 - Why?
04:01 - Because I'm a Mets fan.
04:02 - Oh, I got you.
04:04 No, Juan's great.
04:05 He's been great since he's been young.
04:07 You know, right away, right out of the gate,
04:09 this dude's been awesome.
04:10 - He is the left-handed, just super power,
04:13 does everything hitter the Yankees have been waiting for,
04:17 for a decade.
04:18 You know, they've had a judge who's alleged himself once,
04:23 that left-handed power stroke into those seats,
04:28 it's just gonna be, it was made for him.
04:32 - No, Juan's the-
04:32 - And he's such a good overall player.
04:35 I actually think, if I'm,
04:39 and I did it in one of my fantasy drafts,
04:41 if you had the first overall pick,
04:43 Juan Soto would be my number one pick.
04:45 - First overall, you went with Juan, huh?
04:47 - Yeah.
04:48 - With Tony's out?
04:50 - Yeah, especially since he's not pitching this year
04:52 and he's stuck in that D8 position.
04:55 - How about Mookie?
04:56 - Oh, he's very good too.
04:57 The Dodgers are loaded.
05:00 - Yeah, Mookie does it all.
05:01 - The Dodgers are loaded.
05:02 Yeah, Mookie's very good too.
05:03 - Mookie has so many great players now.
05:05 You know, Seager, right?
05:09 Another one that changes the landscape.
05:12 - Well, the Rangers getting him changed everything.
05:17 - I remember telling Andrew Friedman,
05:20 when I was out in LA, I said,
05:22 "I seen Seager young," and I said,
05:24 "Man, I would not trade this dude for anybody."
05:28 And he basically said there's only like one guy,
05:33 and that was Mookie.
05:35 So it was like, he had that, he loved Mookie,
05:38 but both great players.
05:39 - I didn't-
05:42 - So, hey, can I ask you a question?
05:44 - Yes.
05:45 - Right, so now my boys at the ballpark,
05:46 you know they watch you, or they hear you.
05:49 But my boy Vogelbach, you get on Vogie I hear.
05:55 I don't want you yelling everything at me,
05:59 but my boy Vogie's a good dude.
06:02 What's up?
06:03 Why do you don't like Vogie?
06:05 How do you not like Vogie?
06:06 - Because he stood there and played too often,
06:09 and just like, there was one game in particular
06:13 that like bothered me, where he stood there
06:16 and three straight pitches right down the middle of plates,
06:19 and he just like watched them.
06:20 - Yeah, this dude's got a game plan.
06:24 He's pretty good at it too.
06:25 But I do, he is sometimes looks passive,
06:29 but he walks up there with like a game plan.
06:32 - And that's what bothered me,
06:34 and I'm just so frustrated about the Mets all the time.
06:37 It's just, I am an angry, just like broken Mets fan.
06:42 - Broken?
06:44 - Yes, broken.
06:45 They have broken me.
06:46 The Mets have ripped the heart out of my,
06:48 it's kind of like Indiana Jones
06:51 when they rip the heart out of your chest and they laugh.
06:54 I picture Mets do that to me every year.
06:57 I mean, that's-
06:59 - I love it.
07:00 - It's just being a Mets fan is just,
07:02 you see what happened is,
07:07 I was nine years old in 1985,
07:11 and that was the first year I really fully got into baseball
07:14 and I could have been like my whole family
07:16 and been a Yankee fan, but no.
07:19 I had to watch Dwight Gooden and be amazed by Dwight Gooden.
07:24 So I went to the Mets.
07:26 Oh, shoot.
07:27 I almost slipped.
07:31 Yeah, I almost slipped there.
07:34 But I went there, Dwight Gooden basically became a Mets fan.
07:39 And it was great being a Mets fan.
07:40 '85, for my money, was one of the best baseball summers
07:45 for either the Mets and the Yankees.
07:47 I mean, both teams in the Panthers
07:50 raced last week in the season.
07:52 Both won in the '90s.
07:54 Both would be wild cards if they had the current format.
07:57 - Right.
07:58 - And Dwight Gooden just like being dominant.
08:04 - Yeah, the Dockers.
08:06 He was something special.
08:08 They had Dock and Straws.
08:09 Was Lenny there, Dykstra on the end, Keith?
08:11 - That was actually his rookie season.
08:13 - Okay.
08:14 - Dykstra didn't, Dykstra had an okay rookie season.
08:17 - He was probably a year or two later, kind of got going.
08:19 - Yeah, '86 was when he started like
08:22 to really establish himself.
08:24 And of course, in the second year I'm a Mets fan,
08:27 '86, 108 wins, the wildest, craziest team ever
08:32 to lace up the cleats.
08:35 And it was fun to be a Mets fan.
08:38 '87, they had a little bit of a letdown
08:41 because of injuries.
08:42 And '88, they won 100 games
08:44 and they fall apart in the playoffs.
08:46 And ever since then, it's been one disaster after another.
08:51 (laughing)
08:53 - Yeah, I like to say I follow it like that.
08:56 I probably follow it near as closely as you did.
08:59 And only like the New Yorkers do, right?
09:01 - Yeah.
09:02 - They follow their sports and the passion
09:05 they have about it.
09:06 That's kind of a cool thing for me.
09:08 That's what I kind of enjoyed, I think, as much as anything.
09:12 Just the craziness of the fan
09:14 and kind of getting into it.
09:17 - I mean, yeah, the Mets were the Mets
09:19 and people don't really think about that today.
09:22 It's the Yankees are now Kings
09:25 and the Mets have subjugated the throne long ago.
09:30 And, but in the late '80s,
09:31 the Mets were the story in New York.
09:34 They had the back pages.
09:37 And the only, like, you were basically the Yankees,
09:41 the whole Yankees existence back then.
09:44 - No, the late '80s were pretty good.
09:46 You still had some good teams.
09:47 - Oh, yeah.
09:48 - The very end, right?
09:49 We had some teams that got kind of discombobulated
09:54 when we traded Willie Randolph and Ricky and Winnie.
09:58 And we kind of got rid of all those guys.
10:00 - Well, Ricky Henderson, when he came to the Yankees,
10:04 I mean, that '85 season with Ricky Henderson,
10:09 that was something else.
10:11 - I think Ricky's the best player that I ever played with.
10:15 Yeah, and I say that due respect to like Winnie
10:17 and those guys, but Ricky just changed the game.
10:21 Like when he was rolling from getting on base
10:25 to hitting for power, hitting for average defense,
10:29 disrupting the game, just changed the game.
10:31 - Ricky Henderson, when he got on base,
10:35 if he walked, you basically walked a double or triple.
10:39 Nobody could steal dirt base the way he stole dirt base.
10:41 - No, he was something.
10:42 - I mean, he broke the record against the Yankees,
10:46 the all-time record.
10:49 And people don't realize this.
10:50 Ricky Henderson also has the career record
10:53 for most lead-off home runs.
10:55 And it's by a wide margin, too.
10:57 - Yeah, I got a guy, George Springer,
11:01 who's making a small run at that.
11:04 He's probably a few back,
11:05 but George is another one of those guys
11:07 that hits that lead-off spot and hits for power.
11:10 - George Springer, that's another guy
11:13 I think the Mets should have been a little more aggressive
11:16 in on a couple of years ago.
11:17 Disappointed the Mets didn't get him.
11:20 But yeah, he's good.
11:22 I like George Springer.
11:24 - No, George plays hard.
11:26 He does it right.
11:29 - Now, how are the Blue Jays this year overall,
11:31 would you say?
11:32 - Well, right now, we're three and four,
11:35 and we haven't really been very consistent.
11:37 We've kind of either been scoring runs
11:40 or not scoring runs, or pitching really good,
11:43 or not pitching. - Or getting no hit.
11:45 - Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean.
11:46 Like, we score nine, we score eight,
11:48 we score zero, we score one.
11:50 But hopefully that's just the beginning of this season.
11:55 - How do they have too good a lineup, too?
11:59 - No, I feel like we're gonna level out.
12:02 George is gonna go, Bobichet's gonna hit,
12:05 Ladd's gonna hit, Justin Turner's amazing.
12:08 - Well, one guy-- - What he brings to the table.
12:11 He was another Met guy you guys let go.
12:13 Justin Turner, you guys just gave him away.
12:17 - Yeah, that was a decade ago.
12:20 - Yeah, it was a long time.
12:21 - I look at Justin Turner, I never thought he was anything.
12:24 And then, it's like the Mets don't have an eye
12:27 for talent or player development.
12:30 That players that go to the Mets,
12:32 or come up through the Mets system,
12:34 come up like unprepared sometimes.
12:37 - Yeah, you know what, Frank, here's what I think on that.
12:40 I think sometimes it just takes guys a while.
12:43 You know, there's guys that take off right away,
12:45 like Strahl comes and he's just good right away.
12:48 And other guys, you kinda gotta fail a little bit here.
12:52 And that's anywhere.
12:53 It's like it's no different in different places, right?
12:56 Guys come up, they kinda struggle, they go back.
12:59 All of a sudden, they figure it out and then it's over.
13:01 - Well, New York's hard to play too.
13:03 'Cause they're the pressure and the spotlight.
13:06 And I guess guys like me sometimes don't make it that easy.
13:09 (laughing)
13:10 - You're the one causing all those issues.
13:12 - Oh, Trevor May says that.
13:14 - Trevor May blames it on you?
13:15 - Trevor May says I'm toxic.
13:18 - Toxic?
13:19 - Yes.
13:23 He actually mentioned me in his retirement Twitch.
13:27 - Oh, yeah.
13:27 (laughing)
13:30 - Hey, Trevor.
13:31 Wanna go for a walk?
13:34 - He should take you for a walk.
13:36 So you can talk through all this.
13:38 You guys can work it out.
13:39 If you have any interest in working it out.
13:44 - Hey, I worked it out with Scott Van Pelt.
13:47 - Scott and you and Scott were on bad terms?
13:49 - He always seemed so happy when my team's loose.
13:52 (laughing)
13:55 - You thought he took joy in the match losing.
13:58 - Yes.
13:58 Let me just put it this way.
14:02 I am a broken match fan.
14:05 It's not even like...
14:06 - I don't believe that.
14:11 'Cause if they go off and start winning here,
14:13 you're gonna be jumping right back on that bandwagon.
14:16 - I just don't see it coming anytime soon.
14:19 - Oh, they got a chance.
14:21 Everybody's got a chance.
14:22 It's early.
14:23 - I mean, I don't wanna see Pete Alonzo in another uniform.
14:31 That worries me.
14:32 - That worries you?
14:35 - Yeah.
14:36 - Yeah, I can see that.
14:37 - I just think that he's a guy who did 500 home runs
14:41 and we're all wearing the match uniform.
14:43 - Yeah, he's been pretty amazing too.
14:46 - That would be special.
14:47 - He has been special over there.
14:52 I kind of seen him at the beginning
14:53 when I was managing in Miami.
14:55 And it's like, you couldn't really tell,
14:56 is he gonna be a swing and miss guy?
14:58 But he has figured it out.
15:02 And is actually very dangerous.
15:04 Like he's one of those guys you fear
15:05 when he walks up there.
15:06 You feel like he's gonna be dangerous.
15:08 - The one player who has been a bright spot so far
15:11 for the match this year is Francisco Alvarez.
15:14 - Oh, the young catcher.
15:15 - Yeah.
15:16 - Yeah.
15:17 - I like him.
15:18 - Yeah, he's got a nice swing too.
15:19 - And I think he's got a lot of...
15:21 - Be careful here, Frank.
15:21 - I think he's got a lot of leadership
15:23 and a lot of leadership and maturity issues.
15:28 He's already 22.
15:29 - Okay.
15:30 I don't know him like that.
15:31 I don't watch him like that,
15:32 but just kind of seen him as a player last year.
15:35 - But yeah, well, I like the fact that
15:37 he spent the off season making the effort to learn English.
15:43 And that to me shows me,
15:45 hey, look, I'm a catcher.
15:47 I have to be a leader here.
15:48 I'm gonna have to talk to the press.
15:50 I want them to hear it in my voice.
15:52 I want them, I want to make inroads here.
15:55 That really shows that this guy wants to be a team leader
15:59 and has like a serious bend.
16:01 It's gonna be really good.
16:02 - Okay.
16:03 We'll see then, huh?
16:04 - I like Alvarez.
16:05 - All right.
16:06 - He's, but...
16:09 Now when you were at the Met, you were with the Yankees.
16:14 - Right.
16:14 - Now, of course,
16:15 you had the up and down.
16:18 You had that big stretch of your career, 84, 85, 86, 87.
16:23 You're arguably the best player in baseball at that time.
16:28 You were winning MVPs,
16:31 could have won back to back MVPs.
16:32 - Right.
16:33 - There was, you finished second, I believe in '86, right?
16:36 - Right.
16:36 - And the '85 season, you had, what was it, 146 RBIs?
16:43 - Yeah, somewhere in that range.
16:45 I think it was 145, but who's counting?
16:47 (laughs)
16:49 - And '87, you tied the Dale Long record.
16:53 - Right.
16:54 - Eight consecutive games of the home run, six grand slams.
16:57 Now, why couldn't those teams take the next level back then?
17:03 - Well, I was pretty young back then.
17:06 So like at the beginning of your career,
17:08 you don't really look at the teams,
17:11 like how are we being built or what are we doing?
17:14 So you kind of just play in.
17:17 And careful of the step right here.
17:20 So you're kind of just playing.
17:22 But I think in general, we seem to be more offensive
17:25 than and didn't really go in on the pitching as much.
17:28 I feel like Gator was a guy that we-
17:34 - Well, he had a good year in '85.
17:36 - Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
17:37 He was kind of the mainstay of it.
17:38 And he was towards the tail end of his career,
17:41 still doing well.
17:44 - We don't get kicked by some horse.
17:47 But I think in general, in general,
17:51 we always invested in hitting, the Bronx Bombers.
17:57 - Yeah.
17:58 - And we obviously had some great players.
18:00 - Jack Clark.
18:01 - Yeah, Jack, but I mean, all the guys,
18:03 Don Baylor and obviously Winnie, a Hall of Famer,
18:07 and Ricky, forget about the Claudel Washington's
18:11 of the world that are really, really good hitters.
18:16 And so there was a lot of offense
18:19 and probably not as balanced with the pitching side.
18:22 - Yeah, I remember that.
18:24 You'd struggle often to find a great pitcher.
18:27 I remember Ed Ritson was like a-
18:31 - Yeah, you tried, right?
18:33 They tried the guys and some work out, some don't.
18:36 And we did have Rigetti then.
18:37 He went from being a starter to a really good closer.
18:41 - Well, people forget that he held a record
18:43 for a few years for most saves in the season, 46 saves.
18:46 - Yep, yep.
18:48 So he was special.
18:50 And I think in general, probably the balance,
18:53 just the balance of offense and pitching.
18:57 - Yeah, you got Rick Roden.
18:59 I remember you made that trade.
19:00 - Yeah.
19:02 - And it was just like the Yankees,
19:03 it's like no matter who, what pitcher they brought in,
19:05 it just didn't seem to work.
19:07 I was the one who always just remembered about the Yankees.
19:09 And then George was just always frustrated,
19:11 was constantly frustrated.
19:13 - We also think about it.
19:14 It was a little different landscape back then too.
19:17 You had to win a division.
19:18 - Oh yeah.
19:19 - And so your division-
19:20 - Well, I mentioned it before that the,
19:22 you would have been in the wild card
19:23 if there was a wild card in '85.
19:24 - But I mean, think about it nowadays.
19:26 Like if you did it every year then,
19:28 'cause I mean, you're in a division with Boston
19:30 who's gonna had some, you know,
19:34 obviously really good teams, Milwaukee.
19:38 Toronto '85.
19:39 - Yeah, Toronto, the '85, Baltimore, Ripken,
19:43 and Eddie Murray and those guys.
19:45 So like, and you had to win your division
19:48 and it wasn't like, you know-
19:50 - You had the '84 Tigers.
19:52 - Three teams getting in, like last year,
19:54 in at least, right, three teams got in, right?
19:58 So the year we went '85,
19:59 yeah, the '84 Tigers is a great example, right?
20:02 '35 and '5 to start the year and now you're like, okay.
20:04 - I mean, your division's over.
20:05 When it's '35 and '5, the division was over.
20:08 It was just, that '84 Tiger team was just like,
20:13 just kind of such a great start.
20:16 Then they basically, the rest of the season,
20:18 they coasted and in the playoffs, they just crushed everyone.
20:22 They went, they swept the Royals
20:23 and needed only five games to take out the Padres.
20:26 - Yeah, I don't know if they coasted,
20:28 but it's kind of like predominant all year long.
20:31 It was one of those years, right?
20:32 - Yeah, it was just like, it was like,
20:34 they were so far out in front, it was never any, like.
20:37 - No drama with the pin it race.
20:40 And that's where I like, though.
20:41 You like the wild card?
20:42 I kind of like the wild card.
20:43 - I like the wild card.
20:45 I'm not sure if I like adding a fifth and sixth yet.
20:49 - Right, you're talking about the way it is right now.
20:51 - Yeah.
20:51 - Yeah, I don't know, though, man.
20:53 There's some good teams.
20:53 I feel like we were a good team last year
20:55 and there are good teams.
20:57 When you play in a tough division, like in the East.
20:59 - I look at what's happening in the playoffs
21:01 the last few years, where these one, two seats
21:04 who have to buy are like flat
21:08 and they're getting picked off by the wild card teams.
21:12 I think you're going to see eight
21:13 with not too long for now.
21:16 - Yeah, I think it'd be fine.
21:18 - It's inevitable.
21:19 - Yeah, I think that'd be fine too.
21:20 - It's inevitable.
21:22 - I think the more teams get in, fan bases.
21:24 - Well, I think what's going to happen
21:25 when you have expansion,
21:26 I think baseball is going to probably go to,
21:30 - Go to 30.
21:31 - Well, it's going to go to 32 teams.
21:35 - 32?
21:35 - Yeah, so you're going to have eight, 14 divisions.
21:39 I think that's the, eventually going to happen in baseball.
21:42 - Okay.
21:43 Talk to the commissioner on that yet?
21:47 - I just said since I get.
21:48 I think that's what he actually wants
21:51 because once the A's are in Vegas
21:55 and that's a whole different subject,
21:59 but once the A's are in Vegas,
22:01 they're going to add two new teams.
22:02 - All right.
22:03 - And Nashville is a lock to get a team.
22:07 - I hope so.
22:08 I think Nashville would be a great place for a team.
22:10 - You're a double A team, right?
22:11 - Yeah.
22:12 - The Nashville Sounds.
22:13 - Yep.
22:14 - With Buck Showalter.
22:15 - Exactly.
22:16 - Buck Showalter is your teammate.
22:18 - Buck Showalter, yep.
22:19 Chasing Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni.
22:22 - Steve Balboni, yeah, there's.
22:24 - The minor league chain, right?
22:26 Bonesy was always a year ahead of me.
22:28 Just kind of like he was hitting 40 bombs
22:30 and I was hitting four.
22:32 - Steve Balboni was just,
22:34 and then he won the home run title in '85, I think.
22:38 - '85, I was thinking.
22:40 You know, it's kind of like,
22:42 you don't talk about,
22:43 there's so many great players,
22:45 but Bonesy could really hit.
22:46 He was smart.
22:47 Swung a big old bat.
22:50 - Yeah, I remember him.
22:51 - Oh my gosh, thing was heavy.
22:53 I don't know how he did that,
22:54 but today's game's a lot lighter bats.
22:58 Like most guys are probably under 32 ounces,
23:02 32 or below.
23:03 - Yeah, they didn't handle, right?
23:04 They didn't handle the big barrel.
23:07 - Him was like a P89, I think.
23:10 Steve Balboni.
23:12 - Because I've always heard that like the.
23:12 - Bam Bam Club.
23:13 - The favorite bats,
23:16 at least when I was growing up,
23:17 they were all talking about the Al Kaelin model.
23:20 - Okay, what was Kaelin, K55 or something?
23:22 - Yeah, I think that was like,
23:25 everyone liked the Al Kaelin bats.
23:28 That was like the popular model they always talked about.
23:30 'Cause he had the thin handle, big barrel,
23:33 and everyone loved that.
23:35 You know what bats I like?
23:36 And the new ones,
23:38 the, Kyle said they have like an ax handle.
23:42 - Oh yeah, the Axe bats?
23:43 - Yeah.
23:44 - I like those too.
23:45 - They look like they could do damage.
23:47 - Yeah, I like the Axe bat.
23:49 Kind of puts a bat,
23:50 throws it out in your fingertips a little bit.
23:53 For sure like that.
23:54 - Now you have your big years,
23:58 and of course, 90, you had the back issues
24:00 started to creep in.
24:02 - Right.
24:03 - And personally, I think you should be in the Hall of Fame.
24:06 - Well, I appreciate that.
24:08 - I mean, I think that a lot of people have been overlooked.
24:12 And we consider that you're,
24:14 for at least a four or five year period,
24:16 the best player in baseball.
24:18 I think that should be going to account.
24:21 And so I think Keith and Andrew should be in,
24:25 for being the greatest defensive first baseman ever.
24:27 If you look at the stats,
24:29 all the most gold glove winners in every position,
24:34 except first base, are all in the Hall of Fame.
24:37 - Really?
24:37 - Yeah.
24:38 - I didn't know that.
24:39 Keith was fun to watch.
24:41 He was another water puddle here, Frank.
24:44 - Well, it's been,
24:47 this is our first break of rain in like the last three days.
24:49 - I know, nice.
24:50 I was worried.
24:51 - I was excited, starting to build an arc.
24:53 - I thought we were walking right into,
24:55 I thought I was going to be walking in the water today.
24:57 I was going to be complaining, running shoes.
25:01 - But at least it's not, it's somewhat nice.
25:04 - Nah, it's nice.
25:05 - We quite haven't had spring release, hasn't sprung yet,
25:08 but we're looking forward to that here.
25:12 - Oh yeah.
25:13 - But late in your career,
25:14 you finally got a chance to go to the playoffs.
25:17 In '94, the strike ruined,
25:21 well, I think it was a good Yankee team.
25:23 - Yeah.
25:24 - I think '90, I think '90--
25:25 - That was a fun team.
25:26 That was one of my most fun teams to play on, Frank.
25:29 - I think the '94 Yankees,
25:30 of course, I think they were the best team
25:34 in the American League.
25:36 - Yeah, that was a fun year.
25:38 And I think for a lot of reasons,
25:40 like a lot of good guys that played hard.
25:42 Buck did a great job of putting that,
25:44 Buck and G. Michael did a great job
25:46 of slowly putting pieces together with that team.
25:49 - Well, G. Michael, he's one that,
25:51 I don't know if he gets the credit he deserves.
25:54 - He for sure does not.
25:56 - He is the one who made the Yankee dynasty.
25:59 - Him, I really believe that.
26:02 That's when they held with,
26:04 and even look at the,
26:06 I mean, just, you kind of have to give the farm system
26:09 and player development credit,
26:11 because, I mean, all of a sudden you walk out of there,
26:14 you got Bernie who comes out of the system,
26:17 Jeter out of the system, Posada out of the system,
26:20 Nick Johnson out of the, I mean,
26:22 as this thing kept going, right?
26:24 - The famous story is that Bernie Williams
26:26 was struggling early in his career
26:28 and George wanted him traded.
26:30 And G. Michael basically knew he wasn't gonna trade him,
26:34 like, "I'll see what I can get for him."
26:36 And he came back and he says,
26:37 "Look, nobody wants him.
26:39 "We might as well just give him a try."
26:41 - Oh, I don't know about that one.
26:43 That could be folklore,
26:44 but 'cause Bernie was a hell of a player, man.
26:47 But all those guys, they got Pettit came up,
26:49 you know, they really did a nice job
26:51 and they held onto those guys.
26:54 A lot of times--
26:55 - Yeah, well, G. Michael is the one who basically did that.
26:57 G. Michael would basically hear George say,
26:59 "I want this guy, I want this guy, I want this guy."
27:00 He went, "Yeah."
27:02 And he says, because he knew what he had
27:04 and that's basically what helped the Yankees.
27:07 G. Michael actually had the courage to say no to George.
27:12 - Yeah, I don't know how--
27:13 - And in the end--
27:14 - You never know how that works up there, right?
27:16 You really don't.
27:17 - And in the end,
27:17 that ended up being the best thing ever for George.
27:20 You know, these great owners,
27:21 they spend a lot of money.
27:24 You need someone to go no to you every now and then
27:28 and have that courage.
27:30 And it makes you look better.
27:31 It makes the guy look better.
27:32 I think George Simons should be in the Hall of Fame
27:34 as an owner, too.
27:36 - Yeah, George is tremendous.
27:38 - And for all the hell--
27:41 - Yeah, the bad stuff, right?
27:41 - For all the hell he gets.
27:44 And he did a lot of bad things.
27:46 With Dave Winfield, that was awful,
27:49 the way he treated Dave Winfield.
27:51 There's no doubt about that.
27:52 That's well documented.
27:53 And I know that he somewhat made up with Dave Winfield,
27:58 but that was just bad.
28:01 But he did a lot for charity and a lot of good work
28:05 and helped out a lot of people,
28:06 especially Darrell and Doc.
28:08 When these guys are going through older problems,
28:12 he basically, they come to the Yankees
28:15 and he really tried to do the best to help them out.
28:19 And that was--
28:20 - Careful right here, we got a little mud coming.
28:22 I don't want you slipping here.
28:24 - And of course, Darrell and Doc are just two players
28:29 that are just my all-time favorites.
28:31 I'm kind of a little melancholy.
28:34 They never had the success they had
28:37 and their troubles that they've had.
28:38 But whenever they're like,
28:39 that Darrell's like doing really well now.
28:42 And Dwight slowly seems like he's doing well.
28:45 He's going to retire his number.
28:47 - Oh, cool.
28:48 - They're retiring both numbers, actually.
28:49 - Very cool.
28:50 - They're retiring Dwight in April
28:52 and retiring Darrell in June.
28:55 - Yeah, I love both of those guys.
28:57 We kind of all came together.
28:59 Darrell and Doc and myself kind of all came in
29:02 the same time.
29:04 - That 86 and that team is just,
29:06 I hear the stories of that team.
29:08 It's like, I can't believe how crazy it was,
29:10 but it's just so, it's just like--
29:13 - Different time, right?
29:14 - Yeah. - Different time.
29:15 - Couldn't do what they did today.
29:17 - But you know, you mentioned Mr. Steinbrenner too.
29:19 I think that's really cool
29:21 that people realize all the good things
29:24 he would do for other people,
29:27 not only just like players,
29:29 but I think just his communities
29:33 and things like that in general
29:35 that he didn't get attention for
29:36 or didn't want attention for,
29:38 just would do it out of the goodness of his heart.
29:40 And I always think that's cool
29:42 when you don't really necessarily
29:44 want the attention for it, you just do it.
29:46 - Now, speaking about communities,
29:49 now what do you do?
29:50 I know you do a lot of stuff for Indiana.
29:52 - Yeah, at home in Evansville,
29:54 our foundation is basically trying to help
30:00 the most underserved kids in the toughest neighborhoods.
30:03 And it started off, to be honest with you,
30:07 with a lot of sports, right?
30:09 You know, baseball, athletic things,
30:12 which I feel like I learned a lot of lessons from,
30:15 and it was really good,
30:16 but I think over time, it's really went to education.
30:20 - Oh yeah, that's good.
30:21 - You know, reading programs, STEM labs,
30:25 just trying to help out.
30:26 We're a pretty small foundation actually,
30:28 but we're trying to be more of a bridge from,
30:31 'cause there's a lot of,
30:32 obviously there's a lot of nonprofits out there
30:34 doing things, but we always,
30:37 I think Lori and myself, we look at it like,
30:41 we want to help the kids that the most underserved, right?
30:44 And give them a chance,
30:45 'cause there's a lot of talent in those areas.
30:49 It's unbelievable, these kids are brilliant.
30:51 - It really is about directing them
30:54 to find the best avenues to direct their energies
30:58 instead of negative and bad things that might happen.
31:01 I agree completely, doing it with sports.
31:04 I think that, especially in the worst areas,
31:08 you need to get as many fields.
31:10 I mean, all these broken apart, empty lots,
31:14 turn it into a field, put up more basketball courts,
31:18 make rinks for roller hockey, ice hockey,
31:22 get people to learn touch football, tackle football,
31:25 soccer, anything, any athletic endeavor.
31:28 Put them in clubs, put them in different things,
31:30 just so they get involved.
31:31 - 100%, not just, I mean, sports, great,
31:35 but anything, right?
31:36 - Yeah.
31:38 Engage them.
31:39 - And give them access, more than anything,
31:42 I think it's choices.
31:43 - Yeah.
31:44 - So hopefully they know they have choices.
31:46 You may be an electrician, right?
31:50 - Yeah.
31:51 - And make a good living, a solid living,
31:53 and be able to afford a home and everything like that.
31:56 - As bad as it might seem like a terrible job,
31:58 but plumbers, they make great money.
32:02 - There's all different avenues, it's not just sports.
32:05 I love sports from the standpoint of team,
32:07 and you have to learn to, you basically learn to fail.
32:12 - Yeah.
32:13 - Right, you're getting your butt kicked out there,
32:14 and then you have choices like, hey, do I want to do that?
32:17 Do I want to keep working?
32:19 You have to make choices in that area.
32:21 - It's engagement, it's getting people involved.
32:24 I personally think that idle minds and idle time
32:28 only cause trouble.
32:30 - Yeah, when I'm idle, I get bored, bored to death.
32:34 - Yeah.
32:35 - And I start going on walks with Frank.
32:37 - Now--
32:43 - Frank, what a city, man, look at this place.
32:45 We're in the middle of New York City.
32:47 - There's nothing like New York City.
32:49 It really is, especially Central Park.
32:51 Central Park is awe-inspiring.
32:55 Oh, there's so many architecture these days.
32:57 I don't know about that building.
33:00 - I don't know if I want to be on top of that building.
33:03 - They say when it's a windy day, that building sways.
33:07 - Ugh.
33:07 - I would not want to, and I hear that place,
33:12 it's like $60,000 a month, or maybe even more than that,
33:17 to rent an apartment in that place.
33:20 It's like, incredible.
33:21 It's like, and then you got some of these,
33:23 like around here, you got some like million-dollar
33:27 apartments and penthouses that are like,
33:30 the rich and famous all live there.
33:33 - There you go.
33:34 Yeah, this park, you're right.
33:37 My little one come here, he wouldn't be crying
33:39 in these rocks, trying to do everything.
33:41 It's cool that it's here in the middle of the city.
33:44 - Of course, according to Cosmo Kramer,
33:48 it was created by Joe Peppertone.
33:50 - Created by Joe Peppertone?
33:53 - Yeah, there's an episode of "Seinfeld,"
33:54 I don't know if you're familiar with "Seinfeld,"
33:56 where Kramer's like on the horse,
34:01 and he's giving a tour of Central Park,
34:02 he goes, "Hey, we're going into Central Park,
34:04 which was created by Joe Peppertone
34:07 to train Troopstorn to civil war."
34:09 (laughing)
34:11 - That's funny.
34:11 - It's like one of the funniest lines.
34:13 - I've seen a lot of the shows,
34:14 I did not see that one, did not see that one.
34:17 - Well, my father is a big Yankee fan,
34:20 and he grew up, his favorite player was Joe Peppertone.
34:22 So every time I hear that, it just makes me laugh.
34:25 And he was a character.
34:28 - Joe Peppertone, he was going around the minor leagues
34:31 when I was coming through, and I think in Nashville,
34:36 he was there in the instructional league,
34:37 taught me some things about first, just footwork-wise,
34:40 it was really good, I love Joe.
34:43 - Well, you won a bunch of gold gloves yourself.
34:45 - A couple.
34:47 - I mean, and first base,
34:50 they always get the, "Oh, you're the worst position,
34:54 the worst players at first base."
34:56 No, you actually need a good glove at first base.
34:58 You see those doubles, you still throws are in the dirt,
35:03 keep the outs from happening.
35:04 I mean, I always want a good first baseman.
35:09 - Well, I think you want to be good defensively,
35:11 right all over.
35:12 But it does get, probably gets overlooked
35:15 'cause it looks pretty easy, you just kind of stand there
35:18 and catch the ball coming across, anybody can do that.
35:22 Tim Wallach used to tell me that all the time,
35:24 anybody can play first.
35:25 And I always felt like anybody could play third, myself.
35:29 I don't know about you, but.
35:30 - I know when my limited baseball,
35:37 they put me behind the plate.
35:38 - Oh yeah?
35:40 - Yep.
35:42 Well, you know, you always put the fat kid
35:45 behind the home plate.
35:46 - So tell me, how many pounds again you've lost?
35:51 - At my worst, I was over 500 pounds.
35:55 - Holy cow, Frank.
35:57 - And that was like 2016.
36:00 I had an illness, I had MRSA.
36:02 I got through that and I think that knocked,
36:05 knocked about 70 pounds off me.
36:09 - Okay.
36:10 - Got under 400 and then the pandemic hit.
36:13 And the pandemic, I shot up to about 450 again.
36:18 - Okay.
36:19 - Started walking a little bit back then,
36:23 got back down under 400, got as low as about maybe 360.
36:28 And then I just made some bad habits
36:32 and got back up to 383 last August.
36:37 - Okay.
36:37 - And starting in September, started walking
36:41 and now this is 199 straight walks
36:46 and my last weigh in, I weighed 333.
36:50 - Good for you.
36:51 - So that's 50 pounds.
36:53 And I've gone from a size 69 waist to a size 58 waist.
36:58 - Good for you.
37:01 191 straight days?
37:03 - 190, yeah.
37:04 - Wow.
37:05 Good for you.
37:07 That's awesome.
37:08 - But yeah, it's been really good
37:10 and it's fun that we're getting to walk with people like you.
37:13 I mean, diametrically, I mean, I'm a Mets fan,
37:18 but of course you were the Yankees to me.
37:21 - Well, I appreciate that.
37:23 Yeah, I appreciate that.
37:24 - Although, funny enough, even though I was a Mets fan,
37:28 I kind of tried to copy the Dave Winfield swing
37:31 that when I was out in the backyard with the wiffle ball bat,
37:35 I just liked the way Dave Winfield swung to that.
37:37 - That's a, talk about a unique dude, right?
37:41 I think he got drafted in all three sports?
37:43 - Yeah, he got drafted.
37:44 - Baseball, basketball, and football.
37:45 - He got drafted by three teams in four leagues.
37:47 - Tremendous person too.
37:48 - No, no, four leagues and three sports.
37:50 'Cause he also got drafted in the ABA.
37:52 - Oh, wow, cool.
37:53 - Yeah.
37:54 - I didn't know that.
37:55 - Yeah, you got--
37:56 - Learned something today.
37:57 I will say this with Dave,
37:58 and I've told this story a few times,
38:01 but during the batting title race,
38:04 I was a rookie and Dave was a veteran guy.
38:07 - That was--
38:08 - I mean, it was fun for me.
38:09 It was pretty non-stressful at all.
38:13 I was not really stressed over that at all.
38:16 You're in the big leagues for the first time
38:17 and you're doing well.
38:19 - Yeah, '84.
38:19 - But Dave handled that.
38:21 He treated me so good during that.
38:23 I have so much respect for the way Dave handles himself,
38:27 not only himself, but the way he treated me.
38:28 - That literally went down to the last day of the season.
38:30 - Yeah.
38:31 - And basically, what would you be,
38:34 maybe a couple of points?
38:35 - Yeah, I didn't know what it was,
38:37 but I certainly remember that part of it.
38:40 I remember more of the, you know,
38:43 Dave and how he treated me, right?
38:45 And how he made me, you know,
38:46 he could have been a lot worse.
38:48 (laughing)
38:53 So that's kind of what I remember about it.
38:55 You know, some people may remember it one way,
38:56 but when you're in it,
38:58 you remember different stuff about it.
39:00 But Dave was cool.
39:02 - Well, I always liked Dave Winfield.
39:05 I'm glad that he made up with George at the end,
39:08 at the ending, he was able to forgive George.
39:11 And Dave Winfield's a class act.
39:14 - He is.
39:15 - He was a class act.
39:16 Even though I'm a Mets fan,
39:17 I always appreciated Winfield.
39:20 - Yeah, you know what you said too,
39:21 and I think that, you know,
39:22 you used the word forgiveness, right?
39:24 - Yeah.
39:25 - What a great word, right?
39:26 'Cause I think in this world,
39:28 we hold so many grudges and we get,
39:31 we, you know, we get mad about something
39:34 and like forgiveness, man,
39:36 is like, is just such a powerful word
39:39 and powerful thing if you can forgive people
39:42 that have like, feel like done you wrong
39:44 or said bad stuff,
39:45 but also like stuff that may be in your life, right?
39:48 You gotta forgive yourself at times, right?
39:51 So that's a cool thing.
39:53 I love that word, forgiveness.
39:56 - Well, this was a great walk, you know,
40:01 thank you for doing this.
40:02 I mean, it shows you what a classy guy you are
40:05 and how much you mean to New York.
40:08 And thanks a lot.
40:10 This was a pleasure.
40:12 - Well, I appreciate it.
40:13 I really do.
40:14 - And I hope.
40:15 - It's been fun.
40:16 And like, for me, you're inspiring.
40:19 I'm sure you're inspiring.
40:20 I'm not a big social guy,
40:22 so I don't know what's going on out there,
40:24 to be honest, in that world,
40:26 but you gotta be inspiring people, man,
40:28 and keep going.
40:29 - Well, thanks.
40:29 - Do you have a goal you're going further?
40:31 I mean, is there just kind of keep walking and keep-
40:33 - Just keep walking.
40:34 I'm setting small goals.
40:35 It's like my goal, my next goal is 325 pounds.
40:40 And then you set the next goal.
40:42 - All right.
40:43 - You set that goal.
40:44 - I like it.
40:45 - You don't go, I think you don't set,
40:48 you don't try to climb Mount Everest.
40:50 You try to climb a Pike's Peak first.
40:53 - Get to the base camp first, right?
40:54 - Yeah.
40:55 (laughing)
40:56 You try to get to Pike's Peak first.
40:58 - All right, it's been fun.
40:59 Now you stay off my boy, Voguey.
41:01 All right, you stay off my boy Vogelbach.
41:03 - He's in Toronto now, so.
41:05 - All right.
41:05 - And may he'll forgive me one day.
41:07 It's just, he just drove me nuts, isn't that fantastic?
41:10 (laughing)
41:12 - I'm sure there's a lot of guys, right?
41:14 - Yeah, there are a lot of guys that drive me nuts.
41:17 - You'd love Voguey.
41:18 You guys should go on a walk together.
41:20 You and Voguey should go on a walk and talk it out.
41:22 - I'm game for that.
41:24 - Yeah, he's awesome.
41:25 He's an awesome dude.
41:26 He might come out of the hotel right when we walk in.
41:28 - That would be funny.
41:29 (laughing)
41:31 Frank, thanks a lot.
41:32 - That was awesome, man.
41:33 - Appreciate it. - Thanks a lot.
41:34 Frank walks is powered by Body Armor.
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