Well folks, it’s the read method, insider podcast! We are live on facebook as well as we think linkedin and wherever else we end up and uh.
This is for the 79th episode of the show um.
Our special guest is here with us.
Ready to go, is you’re in arizona right now.
Yes, sir, it’s 4 32.
There that’s right and it’s pitching time in toronto.
Usually, if you guys are starting right about now, that’s right, yeah, awesome! So our special guest tonight folks without delay, is a high performance, business, coach, a best-selling author entrepreneur, keynote speaker and former world series pitcher and a father of five proud father of five.
So every day he works to help his clients achieve unparalleled success in every dimension of their lives, so an astute businessman, a best-selling author business coach speaker, but here in toronto.
We know him as the three-time world series champion, including the back-to-back toronto blue jays 92-93 world series champs and it’s my privilege to welcome back to the show for the third time todd stottlemyer, sir.
I got ta tell you, i’m home, you keep inviting me back.
So i don’t know if it’s, because i’m so bad and you’re hoping for improvement, i’m humbled, i’m honored.
It’s always great to hang out with you, sir.
Well, if you keep writing books, you know that might have something to do with it.
Well, uh.
I tell you i’m pretty excited about this one coming up and and uh not to dig too much into it but uh.
You know it’s really this this book, the observer, that’s going to be released in december.
Um is really a big part of my life that that i wrote in a story form um with with some characters and that sort of thing.
So it was different for me in that aspect, because i’d never done that before.
So that was a challenge in itself, but uh um, but there’s a lot of um there’s a lot of the storyline is based on part of my life story that i lived out so that part of it was easy.
So i could easily fit that in.
But i had to fit it into a character and the main character is a female entrepreneur, so um it was a little bit different too for me.
So i was, i just discovered her.
I was reading a little bit about it, yeah so and i’m definitely gon na.
We definitely gon na dive into that, and i think we’ll probably start with with with that section first, because when you left baseball, what drove you or how did you even decide to go down the path of becoming a business coach after hanging up the gloves, i Mean is this some something that you were thinking about from the dugout? You know in those last couple of years or manifested you know after baseball now.
You know, i think i think first and foremost is, is that you know um, unlike all the other entrepreneur entrepreneurs out there, we build businesses, and you know my partner and i we got a couple different funds.
One of them is a private equity fund um.
That has a number of companies um that we oversee um uh manage um.
We don’t we don’t do too much in operations.
We, you know, we we believe in people and that, if you, if you uh um, you know if you attract the right people, the right people will then build the companies, and – and you know so, along with that – is we’re in the people.
Businessmen, because we’re in the people, business um, you know we’re in the service business to help those people become the best versions of themselves, not only for the company itself, but also in their life.
So my business coaching really starts.
Um really starts with our own companies, and you know you know we have uh, we we, we adopted a small restaurant chain that we’re going to franchise out a a pokey concept called coivito poki.
I saw that things that i introduced in the koi vito pokey was as coibito, university and coibito university is to work with managers and and upper level executives.
Helping them become not only the best people in the business world, but help them become the best people they can in the real world.
So um my you know for me.
My coaching really started with our own companies with our own people and then branched out there.
I’ve been blessed and lucky that you know we, we fielded some phone calls and and people asked me to come, speak and then and then, when i go speak then sometimes some of those speaking engagements turn into coaching engagements with ceos and some of their companies.
So i’ve been blessed and, and that sort of thing and and really and really you know the premise of it is a reflection and it’s not just a reflection on my experiences and it’s not a reflection on so much of what what i, what i did, it’s, What it’s a reflection of how i failed and how i had a group of people, starting with my father and starting with people like ceto, gaston and tony larussa, and all the hall of fame teammates i played with though you know, i think about it.
The robbie, olimars and – and you know, the ricky hendersons, the dennis eckersleys, all of these people that i had a front row seat to watch in and experience with them, um the trials and tribulations of the game, but understanding what they were going through, how it helped.
My game and i take i’ve, taken a reflection of all of that and say: how do we apply that to corporate america and how can we help businesses become better businesses just the same way that the people like cetl, gaston and the tony la russes and and All of those people, as managers tried to help players become better players.
So all i’ve done is really just take a reflection of my past and and those past experiences and those people that i got to be around and then apply it to corporate america.
And i say: have you ever thought of this and they’re like wow? I said yeah well, this is a part of everyday sport yeah, if you think about the sports industry, it’s like you, know those guys it doesn’t matter what sport it is.
What are they pursuing? They’re pursuing uh and they’re trying to look for ways and they’re trying to find ways to literally get better and give themselves an edge by getting better every single day, and just by applying that very simple strategy can open up doors that that seemed impossible before so.
I’ve just taken a reflection of the past and and made it a part of the present.
Oh.
This is this is amazing already so so todd after the after the first book, relentless success.
What led you to take another book that seems you’re taking on another book? That seems a bit deeper, like you alluded to at the top of the show in the observer, and you know about mastering your thoughts and emotions.
Well, a lot of it was because, even after writing, the book relentless success couple things number one is you know since i wrote that book i’ve grown since that book.
So as i change you know, the storyline changes absolutely, but there was something that’s missing out of that book, relentless success, and that is my mess that i really truly went through and that mess is today is my message and and the message and the whole message Around the observer, you know really started for me.
In 1981, i was 15 years old.
I lost my little brother to leukemia.
I had given him a bone marrow transplant um that bone marrow put him in the coma and then soon after took his life.
So, being 15 um and and watching him take his last breath was for me it was like wow, my marrow, my bone marrow just had something to do with my little brother’s death.
So yeah i had traditional sadness, but the thing that i struggled with was i had guilt and it was hard it was really hard for me.
I was like man, you know if my marrow wouldn’t have put him into a coma, and maybe i’m the reason, and so i left that hospital that night with guilt and then i was i had hate and that hate was that you know i hated myself.
I hated the world i hated, god had hate uh in me, and i would tell you that from 15 until i was about 28 years old, you know i carried that guilt and that hate inside of me it was never healed.
So anytime.
Whether i was in a baseball game or whether i was just in everyday life, i was around a situation that i couldn’t control a lot of the hate and the guilt, and the emotion of that would then find its way to the surface.
And what does hate and guilt do for you not much other than destroy you and it would destroy my performances and it was also destroying parts of my life.
So after the 1993 world series, you know if you looked at me from the outside here’s a 28 year old kid back to back world champion, just played on two world championships with the toronto blue jays, making millions of dollars from the outside.
I looked great.
There was one major problem and that major problem was when i looked in the mirror.
I couldn’t stand the person looking back at me matter of fact despise that person i hated that person and i knew i needed help.
So that’s when i reached out to a guy by the name of harvey dorfman who was known, as you know, major league baseball’s mindset, coach and top psychologist, and he helped turned around careers of hall of famers.
And when i reached out to him i called him in the winter of 93 and i said harvey, i said i need help and he said man.
I’ve been waiting on you, oh my goodness, wow, so we booked an appointment and – and i ended up spending 12 hours in a hotel with him over in port, st lucie florida uh prior to spring training in 1994, and i will never forget.
You know in that.
First hour that we spent together, he asked me a very, very important question here was the question he asked me.
He said todd.
Would you do it all over again and i said harvey we’ll do what all over again he says.
Would you lay your life down? Would you give your bone marrow to your little brother, see he’d done all the research he knew.
The battle i was in, i said harvey i’d.
Do it every minute of every hour of every day of every week every month? I would do it every single day.
If i could do it, if it would help save his life, he says well, if you would do it all over again, then why is it that you’re, basically carrying around the anchor and baggage of his death, as if you had something to do with it, and I i kind of set back for a minute and i was like wow and i just broke out in tears, and it was a very emotional moment for me and then he said to me todd.
He says if you would have said no, you wouldn’t have done it all over again.
Then i would have told you to change right now to honor the defeat and the struggle of your past see the problem.
Is people are still carrying around past circumstances as baggage as anchors and and and whether you need to forgive someone else? You need to forgive yourself.
It is time to let go, and it’s a big reason why i wrote this book.
The observer is because, in the last hour, he put me on a seven day challenge and in the seven day challenge here’s what he said.
He said everything that comes up in the next seven days that challenges the way you think or challenges the way you feel he says in any of those situations.
You are not allowed to react.
You’re only allowed to document he said first, i need you to observe how you’re thinking.
Second, i need to observe how you feel, and then third you’re not allowed to react to it.
You can only document in a journal that was the making of the observer see.
That was the moment that day my life changed forever.
Now i would tell you: has it been a struggle? Is it something i have to work on every single day, observing thoughts being able to do thought replacement, observing the way i feel see the observer, the book, the observer, the whole premise around the observer lands right between something that stimulates you and your reaction, and i Want you to think about the world we’re in today, everyone wants to be right, whether it’s a spiritual war, whether it’s a race war, whether it’s a political war, everyone is screaming from the mountaintops, their opinions, their thoughts and their hate, their guilt, their stance and here’s.
What i would tell you it’s like when you look at where we are today in this world? Don’t you think we need less hate and more love? The answer is yeah and i had to start with myself yeah, absolutely.
That was really truly the making of the observer.
So what i realized about relentless success is, i left out part of my mess.
That needs to be my message, but not only that it’s when i look at the world and i look everything that we’re going through today, not only as a country but as a world and all of the different issues.
For me, there was no better time to write this book than now, because i had to overcome hate, and i would tell you there’s people out there right now need to overcome hate.
I see i needed to overcome my mess.
I needed to overcome the guilt i needed to cut overcome.
I needed to forgive myself and let go, and i would tell you that there’s people hanging on to so much baggage today that they need to let go so.
I felt like man, it’s my chance to serve to write the story of this, even though, from the outside it looked like i had everything on the inside.
I was in pain, it was dark.
I was living in hate, i was living in guilt and until i finally let go, i didn’t give my op.
I didn’t give myself the opportunity to not only be the best major league baseball pitcher i could be, but to become the best person i can be, and that was the reason i decided to write the observer wow.
So we both write a lot uh books, blogs, produce courses, you know you, you oversee some companies, do you do you like writing and and if so, what do you like about it and is? Are there aspects of writing and this creativity that compares to pitching yeah? So big time, because all my writing is a reflection, it’s a study of my past performances.
Yeah! That’s where i learn is by going deep in my past performances and and and reflecting reality analyzing it re-strategizing it coming up with something new getting excited about it.
Taking it to tomorrow, you know one of the things i always say.
One of the questions i ask myself at the end of every day is: is this the best i can do? Is this the best i can do and the beauty of that question is it gives me something to work on tomorrow? Yes, because most human most humans uh, you know, there’s some science out there and some stats out there and and i’m no expert in this field.
But they say that the average human being only only operates at 40 percent of their capacity and i’m like man, i’m on a mission to help people get into the 60 percent because in the 60 percent, that’s where the champion lives, that’s the seed that they were Born with that’s who that’s, who we’re counting on them becoming so you know for me when i look at baseball when i look at writing and – and it’s really a lot of times it’s about reflecting and writing for me – is nothing more than reflecting and through reflection, I create a different level of awareness yeah, because when i saw that analogy and like you know, i wonder if he’s this is like thinking about what that next pitch would be or what that next batter would be, and that that you know there’s a lot of Deep thought in you know what pitch to change next who’s coming up next and how you you know.
So, there’s all these strategies and deep thought and i’m like you know this is so different from the first book, relentless success and one of the things.
One of the reasons that we align together a bit is we we both play in the personal development and success space, and you come of it from a totally different angle.
Of course, as a world championship, three-time pitcher i mean pitching world series games and so on and it’s a pretty different, but we end up at the same place with almost the same purpose of how to help other people realize their true potential yeah right um.
So in the book you talk about, i think it was uh robert kiyosaki, that, in his review, talked about the concept of the 180 degree mindset and where it aligns the theory of a coin having three sides, you know the two sides and the edge.
So how does that you know explain what that 180 degree mindset is like yeah, so um, you know for me, and there was a guy by the name of sam mcdowell, sudden sam mcdowell.
You know and time he worked with ronald blue jays and it was kind of like this pitch this moment this pitch this moment.
What am i going to do with it and then, whatever you believe, you can achieve right.
So the 180 degree mindset is really understanding.
How we think observing our thought first and if our thought is a negative thought, the 180 degree mindset says that i can turn a negative thought into the opposite thought it’s really truly going from the i can’t to the i can’s in its simplest form, to say: Hey, i can’t do this not to say stop yourself.
If you have this thought – and you say what, if i replace that i can’t thought well, then i can thought and then what, if you change once you become an, i can thought what, if you give it an.
I can emotion, and the emotion starts to see yourself actually live out the i can see what happens with that.
Is it changes instantly and you have the power of a human being to change your state of thinking and your state of emotion, literally on a dime anytime, you want, but it’s a choice.
Yeah.
It goes from saying i’m having a bad date on hey.
Listen.
What good is it by having this bad day? Wow, look at everything.
I’ve learned today that i can apply tomorrow.
Doesn’t that perspective and that awareness and that clarity? It changes everything so the second, the second you know i have a negative thought.
I see what happens with that negative thought.
Is you start to think more about that thought? Well, the more you think about it, the more you focus on it, the more it grows right.
So a negative thought.
I i i can’t tell you how many times especially standing on the mound i had to say time out.
No, yes, i can, and – and you got to go from an i can’t to an i can and from the i can then immediately into an action see when you take something a positive thought, a positive motion and you go get in action.
Then you create something, and even if it’s not positive, you create a lesson.
Oh by the way it that just became positive.
So the whole thing about 180 degree mindset.
It can be mindset.
The 180 degree can also be you can say, hey it’s also emotional thing.
180 degrees can be your vision.
It can be just about anything in life.
It’s like it’s choosing, it’s choosing a different road.
Does it make that absolutely absolutely this pitch this moment? What do i do with it? If you look through the coin, how many sides? Well, we would say: well, it’s got two sides.
No, it’s a three it’s like well, how does a coin have three sides, because it’s got an edge.
You see he took something that seemed very simple, went a little bit deeper and gave it a whole new perspective.
You know because he decided to endorse my book and i’m forever grateful that robert kiyosaki endorsed the observer, but it’s like didn’t.
He just give it a completely different frame of thinking like now.
Every time you look at a coin, you look at the edge and you go, there’s a side yeah exactly and that’s the depth of high performance yeah.
When i saw that i had to kind of you know, i definitely wanted to ask you about that because, like you know, how did he get? How did he gather this perspective? Um, after you know, reviewing the book so um so another one of your former teammates ad leider talks about um how your book embodies the ups and downs and the potential roadblocks in one’s pursuit of success and happiness.
And we know that this is a big deal, because there are a lot of people who enjoy massive success but are also very unhappy correct yeah.
So how did you? How did you address this in the book? Well, it’s a lot of fun because you know money.
What is money and what is success and what is wealth and a lot of people um, you know if they define success.
Unfortunately, they define wealth or they define financially.
You know they create them yeah.
That’s that way, and and the problem with that is it just makes you more of who you are right.
So this this book is it’s it’s more than just financial success.
It’s about lifestyle! Success! It’s about family, it’s about being wealthy with your family, it’s about being wealthy with your friends and your relationships, it’s about creating more than one form of wealth, because uh and, i believe, there’s eight different forms of wealth, but all of those wealth combined create kind of Your inner circle of who you are right and, and who are you it’s like because it’s more than financial, we are so much more than finance, look money comes and goes, it comes and goes and here’s what i would tell you my my one of my mentors By a guy by name of robin sharma – and he really really got me to dive deep into this, and and as i dove deep into this thought, i came up with the reflection, and this is kind of how the observer arrived was because robin got me to Dive deep inside of me, he said he said to me todd he said.
Success is not based on outside it’s based on an inside game.
He said all success.
The the door to success swings from the inside out.
I can thank my mentor, my friend robin sharma, for that and i see see because, as i studied that he was absolutely right, he said you see until and not until i address the inside of me that hate and the guilt.
Why could i allow myself to actually even be happy on the outside see? It was all an inside out game.
So i talk about this inside out game and this inside out philosophy throughout the book see a lot of times.
What we got to do is not fix the situation we got to fix ourselves, see they don’t fix ourselves, guess what the situation also changes.
The perspective also changes and and a lot of times you know what we see is what we buy into instead of what we feel and what kind of communication is going on with ourselves from the inside out.
So the book, the observer.
But you know the beauty of it is.
It goes through about 50 different models, 50 different principles and here’s.
What i would tell you each and every one of them had influence over.
My life had influence on me becoming who i am today.
The the the fun in this is.
Is i’m unfinished? I’m no expert, i’m no guru.
I work on these daily.
Here’s the the neat thing is: i have them in a toolbox.
Yeah, it’s like man.
If i’m struggling, i can go to the toolbox and what i’ve tried to create with the book and observer is to help people create a toolbox, something to try.
You know it’s like i’m, not that guy that says: hey do this, and this is what’s gon na happen.
No try this shoe on see if it fits see how it feels see what your perspective is by the way, if it doesn’t work, take it off and try a new shoe for god’s sakes.
Love it love it.
You know so in this toolbox that you referred to um there is seems to be faith.
Resilience.
You know, habits, mindsets yeah, so um are those.
You know what else is in the toolbox.
You know so faith resilience habits.
Mindset are any of those, the go-to ones.
Um, what’s what else is there for people to to expect in the audience? I’ll give you an example? So let’s say i was struggling with the relationship, i’m not going to call my financial coach, [, Laughter ].
Why not? Well, let’s say i was having a problem with my faith yeah.
Well, who would i look to see who’s in my board of directors? Well, pastor of our church, he’d probably be the expert that i would go to and say: hey man, i’m struggling.
How can you help me you see, so when i look at all of these things, it’s kind of like you know, i always, and i talk about a little bit in the book, is – is creating and developing a board of directors around the different forms of wealth.
So you got relationships, you got family, you got business and career, you got finances, you got spirituality, you know you got lifestyle, you got personal development, you got health and fitness.
Hey, i’m not gon na go to my pastor and talk to him about health and fitness.
Not that he’s not healthy and fit yeah, but i want to go to an expert.
I want to go to some expertise that can direct me.
I always say to people i say: look your shortcut to success.
Is the expert in your trench, helping you succeed.
That’s the coach, that’s a mentor! That’s a working partner, someone who’s done it, someone who can who has experience that can share with you to help.
You shortcut your success, so you know there’s so many models, you know and there’s and there and there’s just so many principles that are spread out through throughout this.
How you treat people, you know it’s kind of like here i’ll, give you something very simple it: how how hard is it and it takes? No talent see you know, here’s the other thing most, if not all, of the models and principles take no talent, which means everyone can do it think about it.
How hard is it to be kind? How hard is it to be the kindest person? You know what about the golden rule treat others how you want to be treated right, that tr? How do you treat others, how you want them to treat you? What about that golden rule now take a look at the world and tell me: that’s: people are practicing the golden rule yeah.
I think you might be missing the golden rule.
What if we focused on the golden rule and make it a 30-day challenge that every single day all i can do is treat others? How i want them to treat me? Would i treat them differently for the next 30 days? I probably would yeah and if, if people did that, you know it could change communities, families, cities, simple, simple, simple, yeah, you know what work you know what always works, not something complex, something that’s simple, very, very much.
Even in business in life in business, they always say well, go back to the basics.
Yeah you know or keep it simple.
Hey talent is great, but i want to take someone that’s going to go.
That’s going to go work, the process you know now.
If you got some talent, you know you can look at some there’s some i mean obviously throughout sports and that’s kind of my reference all the time you look at there’s some unbelievable talent right, look! Lebron! James! Look at the michael jordans, you look at all those talent, but wait a minute look at how those guys work.
Look at their work ethic, look how much they pour into their talent.
Now guess! What’s funny, we never hear about the guy with all the talent that never made it no and by the way, how do we know how? How do we know there? Wasn’t a basketball player or a baseball player, a football player or a businessman that someone that had so much more talent, but yet we’ve never heard of them, because that talented person might not have done the work you see yo.
You guys still got to do the work and – and you know that’s a whole nother training and a whole another session.
But you know at the end of the day when you look at these talented people – and you say well ma’am yeah, but look how gifted they are yeah.
Well, look how gifted they are, but without the work, without the simplicity, without the practice, without the reflection without the studying of past performances.
If i can give you something tonight that everyone can do just go study your past performances by the way it takes no talent to reflect.
No, but yet, through reflection, if you’ll give an honest reflection and you’ll be a hundred percent authentic.
With that reflection, how about the awareness you’ll create, but not only that the lessons you’ll grab from it, but not only that it’ll give you something to work on tomorrow by the way.
What i just said takes no talent, but yet, if, if you do these things little by little you’ll start to level up your performance every single day, yeah, it’s those little things, man, every day, persistence.
You know consistency yeah, reflecting on yourself, like you said you know, keeping it simple, being kind treat others like you want to be treated uh, just those simple things and uh.
It comes back to you, and especially in in the world we’re living today, like it’s so necessary todd that people just treat each other with respect and kindness.
It’s such a big deal.
So let me ask you when you were done, writing the book and you said: okay, that’s it.
I remember i remember when i was done.
Writing my first book and i couldn’t believe i was done.
I it was like this epiphany and um.
So when you were done, writing this book, the observer, what was that feeling like for you like when, when you put down the pen, you know or click the last button and you know full stop on the manuscript? What did that feel like so here’s? What i’ll tell you first of all um i changed it and went through it nine different times, wow and you know you know, i wanted to make sure that every sentence made sense.
I wanted to make sure that it was clear it was.
You know.
The message had clarity so um.
It wasn’t an easy book for me to write um.
It was rewarding – and i think that on my ninth time and i got together with the team, the editors, the publisher and all that – and we said, that’s a take done – that’s it at that moment.
I was like.
Oh thank look thank the lord and then something funny happened and they said now it’s time to promote it and i’m like oh [, Laughter, ], i’m like i’m tired man um, i got ta.
Tell you something, though uh uh, i will without question um, and i tell all my friends and and all the people that are close to me.
Um, i’m gon na promote this one um ten times more than i promoted the last one and because of the message yeah because of what’s in that book, because the meaning it’s everything i wrote about in that book had some.
I had some experience with that or with that chapter and because i did um, i also had life change and you know, and and as i look at it and i and i look and and and i see what’s going on – it’s like man, i’m going to Do everything i can i’m going to do everything i can to get as many people on on on becoming see? I want people to become the observer yeah because it was in 1994, the winner of 1993.
It was with that moment with harvey dorfman when he said seven day, challenge can’t react, can only document can only observe the way you think for me it was life-changing for me it was life-changing for me as an athlete and and and it kind of goes along With the 180 degree mindset, i observe what i think i don’t like the way.
I’m thinking great, i got the 180 degree mindset.
I got that in my tool chest.
Let me pull it out and what’s the opposite of this thought, okay, now let me go meditate on that thought and get emotionally ingrained into that thought and then take my next action.
You know what it keeps you from doing.
It keeps you from doing making a lot of mistakes and having a lot of sleep at night prior to 1994.
I can tell you that i emotionally responded to a situation that then caused me to have a sleepless night, and i was tired of it.
Man, yes yeah! I was responding absolutely so so so with that said, and – and and you know, the books now uh, i think the release is december.
Yeah december 29th.
Now, okay, so i notice it’s uh.
You can pre-order so uh.
So what we share with the audience right now before we get into the next section where they can get the book all right, so um, barnes, noble amazon, all those places.
The easiest thing to do is go to my website toddofficial.
com.
I have a link right on there and then you can order the book from any of your favorite place, or you can just click the amazon link or the barnes and noble link.
And then we also have a link for people that want to buy bulk orders.
Where they can get up to a 35 discount, if you buy x amount of books, you can get a major discount, but then there’s something else yeah – and this is part of the service of this.
I decided to launch a book club with this book.
Now.
It’s totally free cost, it doesn’t cost you a thing to join the observer, um book club on facebook.
So it’s the observer, modern fable to master in your thoughts and emotions, and – and what do i mean by book club and here’s what i mean by it.
So after the release, so in 2021 there’s 37 chapters of the book and i’m going to take 37 different weeks throughout 2021 and i’m going to go chapter by chapter and i’m going to explain the chapter.
What i was thinking to write the chapter.
But more importantly, i’m going to talk about how that chapter influenced my life and what it meant to me.
My hope and prayer is by sharing through the book club, that’s totally free by sharing through the book club people.
It will be reflective to them, they’ll actually they’ll get it they’ll, understand it and then it’ll be really more.
The book then becomes more relatable to them.
Gotcha, i i would tell you you can and and then the other thing we’re doing and and because you know it’s about right now, it’s just about how many people can we serve is um.
There’s also, if you go to my website toddofficial.
com, you click on pre-order.
The book there’s also a thing there that says, send me my free gift and what i did is uh um.
I an audio training that i did with my inner circle people.
I did a training that that’s called what makes a champion and there’s a lesson in there from tom brady there’s a lesson in there from my father mel stottlemyer, it’s about a 45 minute to an hour, mp3 audio and it’s like pre-order.
The book get your free gift.
All you got to do is put your email in there and we’re going to send you today we’re going to send you what makes a champion that mp3 audio.
So look, i’m i’m going to pour i’m going to pour everything.
I’ve got into this, so we just shared it.
Uh robert moore is watching.
I think you know robert, my man, robert moore, by the way, he’s awesome, he’s an incredible author and and himself and – and i just love the you know he has.
He carries that same spirit as us and it’s like man, let’s serve and let’s help, and he just shared the link actually to your website way to go boston and uh.
So that’s great and uh.
We have anthony santangelo, who i believe, uh met yeah.
We were together on the show and then you met him yeah, that’s exactly right and and we had a chance to meet in person out in colorado and yeah.
I heard philadelphia philly.
Oh trust me yeah.
He was uh yeah.
He was talking a lot of stuff there on the show about [, Laughter, ] and uh, one of my co-workers adrian he’s watching um.
I have a couple other uh fans on here.
Delish uh is watching uh, so uh, some some great um feedback and uh.
We certainly uh appreciate you coming on the show again so so folks, so far that we’ve we’ve been talking deep here, some great stuff with todd, solomire, three-time world series champion and uh.
Of course, our favorite back-to-back world series blue jays.
He was on that 9293 team.
You know i remember going downtown that night that first night loading up a big van with a whole bunch of people and then once we got down there, we couldn’t get back home because there was nowhere to drive for cried out loud.
So that was like the first, i think the biggest crowd any ever in toronto and uh.
It was certainly fun um.
You know i was a true baseball fan back then i didn’t miss a game and it was.
It was exciting.
So i want to touch a little bit to baseball yeah for sure and uh.
You know get into a little bit of the fun side, but so right now um – and this comes from one of the listeners actually uh hall of famer reggie jackson recently commented on on fernando tatis’s tatis jr celebration in the game.
Um.
What are your thoughts on whether that level or that extreme level of celebration is, is, is relevant or is acceptable or okay yeah? So let me just let me say this um look things change.
First of all – and you know, and then you got the perspective of change, you got some people don’t like to change some people, love to change and here’s what i would tell you you know um, you know the dream of playing major league baseball started on a Little league field for all of us, i was no different, you know now i got.
I was really lucky because i got to run around yankee stadium, so yeah my dream was actually probably more empowered and you know 10xed and, and it was more real, but for the most of us it started somewhere as a little kid.
Eight, nine ten years old.
Now i want you to think about that for a second that dream that started it and then you get in your twenties and all of a sudden.
Maybe you have a bigger bat in a game, that’s in a postseason game or this, and that and that celebration, a lot of times is not thought of like like hey.
If i hit a home run, this is what i’m gon na do.
No, what happens? Is it just comes out, it’s the release of all of that emotion in that very moment yeah.
If i, if i go back to my playing days and i hit or did that to me, did i like it? The answer is no, but i would tell you and i’m as hard as there is anyone like look.
First of all, i don’t like hitters [ Laughter ] straight up.
I don’t i don’t like.
Let’s just be straight up, i don’t like them and if you look at my playing days, you know i throw at somebody just quick right.
It’s like i wasn’t playing around up there.
Yes, we we, we saw it first hand, yes, but i also understand the emotion part of it and you know: we’ve seen bat flips and we’ve seen all these different things and all of these emotions and here’s.
What i would tell you you know these are men playing a kid’s game that as a kid they had this dream and now they’re performing at the highest level.
I mean look that would that would be like saying: hey.
If you won the lottery, would you jump up and down? I mean look for some of these guys.
It’s like playing major league baseball is the lottery number one and then number two playing in postseason and then doing something doing something productive that helps your team in a big situation.
All that emotion then ends up coming out.
Here’s what i would tell you tatis or any of these guys.
I don’t believe that they’re doing anything that is happening.
I don’t believe that they’re trying to show up the picture all right and look i’m critical um, but at the same time i just believe that it’s just emotion coming out.
So, hey, look, i understand, i’m you know reggie and obviously i tip my hat to reggie’s career.
He had a great career, you know and he’s a hall of famer and he’s you know his perspective is hey.
If i would have done that, when i played they would have taken my helmet off the next time at bat, true, because if reggie would have done that would have they thrown at reggie in his day.
Yes, they would, but things have changed and based on the change, you see different changes happen and – and i’m not going to be one of those guys – i’m just not gon na, be one of those guys all back when i played this and that listen back when I played look, i mean it’s, it’s already been done, it’s already been documented, hey did i ever get kicked out of a game i got kicked out of the eight of them.
Did i ever get suspended? Hey did i ever get accused of being in a bean ball? Yes, i did.
Did i ever charge a dugout? Yes, i did that too.
I’m like look.
I i don’t need to talk about yesterday, but i will tell you this.
It’s like and by the way, i’ll move away from tatis and and come to the toronto blue jays.
For a second yeah and look tell me you don’t love the young talent and the way they played and by the way i tip my hat to him because they played the game right.
They play the game with respect, they play the game all out and i’m telling you right now: toronto, blue jt fans.
You better be buckling up because i believe i believe that with the nucleus of this club they’re not that far away from maybe potentially winning another world championship man and i’m i’m i’m uh, i’m hoping that would be outstanding to witness be awesome, you know them winning The championship in three different, you know almost 30 years apart, but that would be like insane time again man.
I know it’s it’s time.
We need it.
It’s due they’re overdue for crying out loud.
So so with that said, when you hear the name, so let’s think back now to 9293 season, when you hear the name dave winfield.
What first comes to mind leader, okay, um, paul molina, oh leader, champion paul motter’s, one of the best at that time was one of the best right-handed hitters in baseball.
Would you say that um paul mulder, more led on the field and dave winfield led in the locker room, yeah dave, winfield um yeah pro uh? Well, you know, i don’t take anything away, i mean you were there, so i’m just says yeah i don’t know, and i don’t want to take anything away from what dave did and and how meaningful he was in our lineup that year in 1992.
But you know uh look, i love dave winfield and you know one of the things he did when it came game time uh.
He made sure that everyone that was wearing a blue, jays uniform was in that dugout for the first pitch and you know dave winfield is you know just an incredible hall of famer uh.
He was incredible to have in the lineup.
I got a cool picture.
I don’t know where that picture is now ah shoot i’m looking around, but i got a cool picture with me and dave winfield yeah.
Looking around my wall, you must have a lot of pictures up there yeah.
I got a picture with me and dave winfield when, when right in the middle of the game, i went from our dugout and charged the minnesota twins dugout, and it was so funny as i got over there and i’m charged with the dugout and everything.
And i realized that not one of the minnesota twins was coming out of the dugout and i realized that it had nothing to do with me.
I had dave winfield right behind me, [ Laughter ], so no one wanted to go.
Get a piece of dave, winfield.
Believe me that so oh that’s too funny um! Okay! What about ricky henderson superman? You know i played with ricky.
You know not only in toronto, i played with him in oakland and – and i pitched in a game in oakland and ricky was on, had been on the disabled list and um.
You know he he.
It was his first day back off the disabled list and – and i pitched in a game – and i left the game tied – i think it was after eight and um and i was walking up the tunnel to the locker room and ricky was walking down and it Was his, it was literally his first day back and he hadn’t even taken batting practice in two weeks and ricky.
As he’s walking by me.
He says i got you, i’m like all right.
Ricky go get him they.
He he went up to pinch, hit first pitch.
They threw him, he hit a ball out of the ballpark to win the game of the most incredibly talented people i ever played with super yeah.
He could do it all and you also shared the on the pitching staff with dave stewart right, yeah yeah, that’s my um one of my best friends, not only in the game but out of the game.
We talked to this day wow.
He was a guy that went there, man holy smokes, he played in oakland and when i was with toronto prior to him coming to toronto um, you know i used to study him because my father told me he says, watch what this dave stewart guy does.
So i used to watch all of his games and some of his games on tape and my dad had told me he says you need to be more like him.
He says because when you look watch him pitching in a game, he says you can’t tell whether dave stewart’s up by 10 or down by 10.
, because he doesn’t float in motion and he says you need to be more like that and then and then for dave To come over and join our club in 93 and and to uh, you know, dave not only become you know, one of my best friends in the game and out of the game, but also like he was my mentor and he was my working partner yeah.
All i can remember is that stare down, because the camera would look straight at the picture.
They had that camera that, oh, my god, like you’d, want to get up off your chair because you’re scaring you sitting at home in the world, though, but man he looked mean out on that mound.
Oh yeah, he definitely looked mean um.
So, let’s, let’s look at that? Let’s talk about cedar gaston.
What does that name? When you hear that name, he was my canadian.
I called him my canadian father, [ Laughter ], you know, sido was um, you know and matter of fact, there’s a lesson in the book.
The observer that comes directly from cedar, gaston really and you know, ceto ceto meant and still does means the world to me and um.
He helped me he actually, you know it’s.
It’s really very strange, but all his lessons um helped me become the pitcher and they helped me become the man that i became after i left toronto.
See because it’s you know, it’s like everything that ceto had poured into me in toronto didn’t actually show up on the surface until after i left toronto.
You know i’m not a person that regrets, but if i had one wish, i wish i that i wish i would have pitched in toronto.
The way i pitched from 1995 to the year 2000, when i pitched with the oakland a’s and the texas rangers and st louis cardinals, i wish i could have give toronto those years, because that’s when i was at my best, but the reason i was at my Best had a lot to do with the man cedar, gaston wow, that’s good! That’s that’s amazing credit to him and he’s not in the hall of fame either because yeah um, you know it is so hard you think about it.
It is so hard to win back to back and for him to be the manager of back-to-back titles, but not only that is so hard when you look at all the characters that were on that team and all the superstars that were on that team and your Job is to manage those guys and get the most out of them.
That’s who ceto gaston and he did it with two different teams – yeah, because he actually got the best out of everyone because of who he was yeah, and i thought i think the thing i admired most was even though these were top end.
You know a great athletes and men grown men.
They all respected him.
You know i never met anyone that didn’t respect him yeah, it’s just amazing yeah yeah um.
So i have a little bit of fun here.
So i i only have two more to go.
So one i’m sure you um the the philly mayor, i don’t know his name but don’t need to know his name.
I just know today [ Laughter ], so i go into pitch gamma pitch game four.
So in the world series it works this way they they talk to the starting pitcher and do a press conference with the starting pitcher the day before the game.
It’s the only time by the way that the starting pitcher that that does interviews before he pitches yeah to go through this whole press thing.
I and i heart i’ll, never howie starkman who’s.
The pr director walks me in i sit down at the booth.
You know and microphones and media is everywhere and they just start firing.
Questions about the philadelphia about the mayor and and and the mayor said this and the mayor said that and the mayor said, the blue jays must be throwing the series.
How could they be pitching? You and the mayor said he could hit you and it was like this verbal thing and then i was just like you know here.
I am this young guy and i took the bait and that’s what it was.
It was bait and i took the bait and i said well tell the mayor to go, get a helmet and a bat and let’s get this thing over and this whole thing started to build steam.
Now here’s what happens right! You go back to this for a second thoughts.
Now, i’m all i’m thinking about is the mayor, emotions.
I have all these bad feelings.
All the hate and guilt shows up.
Now i go to pitch the game.
The next day, i’m physically and emotionally worn out now.
How am i going to pitch in the world and by the way, how i performed it was one of my worst performances ever right and i just pitched by a pitch terrible right that, which is why, when i got home, i said that’s enough, like i got To change like i pitched terrible because of all the emotional bs that got caught up that was outside of the game and i was like, and i and i remember my father saying man toddy got you, you took the bait, you know and it’s like and and And i was like man – i i’m gon na fix this, how to? How is it that i’m okay with that – and this is where thoughts and emotions feelings all these things? It’s like man.
I got to get this under control, so i can be the best version of myself, so that was a good time that would have been a good time for the 180 move.
The 180 turn yeah yeah.
The problem was, i was stuck in my mess.
Yeah see what happens when you’re stuck in your mess.
You stay in your mess yeah, but it isn’t until you heal the mess that you can perform at a higher level than your mess wow.
So the last uh last one i’ll i’ll.
I still don’t like that.
Guy, though, with a smile now hey you can’t do it can’t do anything now, it’s gone um so uh final one and uh, it’s your dad.
I know, since we last, i think, a couple: how long has it been now? Yeah? It’s been a couple years.
A couple years – yeah yeah yeah, so i i know i mean you spent a lot of time with him at yankee stadium.
I mean, i don’t know anybody else that spent you know so much time there and met so many of the best greatest names ever in baseball at the most popular stadium ever yeah right um.
Let me leave you with this, so it was uh.
This is difficult.
Yeah, you know uh really really tough uh, but i got the blessing of spending the last week with my father in the hospital with him and around the clock and at that time unfortunately, you know he couldn’t talk and and and i’d you know we didn’t know.
If he could hear us, but the doctor said, keep talking to him, so you know i just kept telling him.
You know all week how grateful i was and, and how thankful i was, you know, to be his son and and for everything that he had done for our family and and um.
You know when it got to the last moments.
You know it was.
It was myself my older brother, mel junior and then my mother.
We were all in the hospital with him in the last.
You know: um, 10-15 minutes and and uh.
You know i had my left hand on his heart and you know, as we were, going down to the end and my right hand on his hand, head and and my brother had his right hand on his heart.
Well, i had my left hand on his heart and, and then you know he had the opposite hand on his on his head and we stayed there locked together and and uh.
You know i’ll, never forget his last breath because his last breath he was still fighting and uh, but here’s what i would tell you is when he took that last breath it was, it was really it was.
It was really tough.
It was obviously very sad because you know he was, he was more than my father.
He was my hero and he was more than a hero.
He was my best friend and, and he was more than a best friend – he was my coach and he was more than a coach.
He was my mentor and, and he left one hell of a legacy, but i also remember that night, just being so unbelievably grateful for his life – and you know over the next 72 hours as major league baseball got the news.
You know there were so many players and coaches and owners from the game that were paying tribute to my father and – and i just remember telling my mom i said wow i said you know, the baseball world really thought a lot of dad and uh and my .
