Takes

Aaron Judge is the face of baseball right now

With Mike Trout being hurt, Mike Trout being on the West Coast, the New York market is just crazy about baseball. ... it's hard to say [Judge] is not the face of baseball right now.

The MLB All-Star Game sucks because the teams don't have enough time to haze each other

The my theory as to why the All-Star game sucks is that the teams don't have enough time to haze each other so there's no team building before the game starts. You don't get to like tape a guy to a wall... there's not enough buy-in on the team.

I have never been as wowed by home runs as I was watching Aaron Judge at the Derby

I have never been wowed by home runs like I was... Aaron Judge's home runs made me just sit there like holy shit. How can a human being look so effortless and hit the ball 500 feet?

The MLB should determine World Series home field by interleague play record

What they should do is whichever AL NL, whoever has a better record in interleague play. Boom. Problem solved. There's a little National League versus American League pride now.

The Cubs might not have won the 2016 World Series without the Game 7 rain delay

I actually don't [think they win if the rain delay didn't happen]. They had that look in the dugout... Aroldis Chapman pitched the most impressive inning I've ever seen after blowing it in the eighth... It's impossible to know the answer to that question, but I think they had the right guys coming up.

Every great pitcher needs to have a streak of being an asshole

I think every pitcher, if they're going to be a really good pitcher, they need to have a streak of being an asshole.

Starting pitchers deserve 100% of the credit for no-hitters, but catchers deserve more recognition

The pitchers deserve most of the credit. Look, it's their ball and it's their game at the end of the day. But I wish the catcher would get a little bit more credit.

Catchers and calling the game are more important than hitting or throwing

Number one is catching and calling a game no matter what. You have to be able to call a game, know the right pitch, know your pitching staff, know when to call and what to call at certain times... throwing would have to be last, and probably hitting and then throwing is last.

Hawk Harrelson is the best announcer in baseball

Every time [Hawk Harrelson] calls me, it's a great feeling to know that the best announcer in the game is calling me.

Shoeless Joe Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame

You think Joe Jackson should be a Hall of Famer?... Yes, I do... He had a pretty good World Series for someone trying to throw it.

St. Louis Cardinals fans are the classiest in baseball, followed by the White Sox

Rank the classiest fan bases... Well, St. Louis is number one. You could be 0 for 100, and they'll tell you you're going to get a hit tomorrow, even though you know you're not going to... For me, the White Sox, too, probably. Braves, three.

Bartolo Colon's obesity is a genius life hack because nobody suspects fat people of using steroids

Bartolo Colon, I'll tell you, that guy, he is a walking, talking life hack. ... when you're that fat, no one ever thinks you do steroids. So he just made a fucking 20-year career in Major League Baseball.

Tim Tebow just needs to have sex to fix his baseball issues

Tim Tebow just needs to have sex. It's gotten to that point, Tim. That's too much aggression. I mean, a bat going into the first five rows, that happens. A bat going into the second deck. That's a guy who needs to have some sex. Just come once.

College and high school baseball coaches belong to the same 'phylum' as football strength coaches

College baseball coaches and high school baseball coaches are under the same phylum as football strength coaches. They're very similar. They're very similar species... They share 98% of the genetics, but the 2% that they don't share makes them a little bit different.

A guy named Bryce has never won a fight

Bryce is not a tough guy. Bruce Harper does not lose fights. A guy named Bruce I don't think has ever lost a fight. A guy named Bryce has never won a fight. That's sabermetrically how it works out.

I am a staunch defender of adults wearing baseball gloves to games to catch foul balls.

I've always been a fan of and a defender of the baseball glove at the baseball game. Why wouldn't you wear a baseball glove? ... People think that grown men wearing [them is ridiculous], but I'm on your side.

Derek Jeter's face is starting to look like a baseball glove

He's slowly becoming a member of the Fat Face Club in retirement. That face, it's starting to get basketball shaped a little bit... His face looks like a baseball glove now.

Professional athletes who are 'disability check fat' like Bartolo Colon are the best

Jim Brockmire's favorite is Bartolo Colon. Because you have to love any professional athlete that is very nearly disability check fat.

Derek Jeter is jealous of the massive business success of A-Rod Corp

I think that's the bottom of it, is that Derek Jeter is jealous of all of the business success A-Rod Corp has had... They've signed nonstop baseballs. They sold like 50 golf shirts... Meanwhile, Derek Jeter can't buy the Marlins. Derek Jeter, classic blogger... probably taking pot shots at real businessmen.

80% of MLB players in the '90s would have preferred greenies over steroids

To me, if you ask guys in that era or ask guys now, would they rather have steroids or greenies, I guarantee you it would be 80-20 greenies.

Barry Bonds is by far the best player to ever step foot in a batter's box

Barry Bonds is not even remotely close. Remotely close is the best player that ever stepped foot in a box. That guy, when the ball was an inch outside, he knew it... I watched a guy one day go one for one with four walks and swing the bat one time and it was a homer. That shit doesn't happen. I don't care. Steroids doesn't give you Superman eyes.

Wade Davis is better than Aroldis Chapman if he can stay healthy

Wade Davis is better than Aroldis Chapman if he can stay healthy. And I know that's a big if... if he can stay healthy, he is probably the best closer in baseball.

Clubhouse character and camaraderie are essential for winning in MLB

All of a sudden, [Dayton Moore] brought this culture in, and he wanted guys that came up through the minor leagues together... all of a sudden, character became very, very important. And I really believe that's one of the reasons that a team... all of a sudden, we go to the playoffs... next year, win the World Series. And so that's when I became a firm believer that character does play a role, the camaraderie in the locker room.

I would have hit 40 home runs in today's era with modern training

Do you think if you played right now and you had they had all the technology and how these guys train relentlessly... do you think you would have hit more home runs? Yeah. [Big Cat: 30 was your highest year... you'd say like mid-30s to 40 guy?] Oh, you know, I think it depends on what park you play in, too... Home run might have gone up.

Noah Syndergaard needs to leave the Mets because their medical staff is terrible

Noah [Syndergaard]... maybe go to a different team because it seems like the Mets doctors probably aren't the best... Any name with silent letters in it. Weak. I don't trust it.

The 1990s Atlanta Braves are a dynasty with an asterisk because they only won one World Series

The exception to this rule is if you play in a conference that you dominate for a long time but then keep getting your ass kicked in the finals. So I'll give you an example. I would say the Atlanta Braves 1990s team is a dynasty with an asterisk on it.

Improvement in pitchers is less suspicious than hitters developing late-career power

With pitchers, pitching is such a funny thing that I kind of am not suspicious when a pitcher all of a sudden gets good... But for a hitter to suddenly develop power... It's definitely weird to see guys improving at age 36.

I am not a Hall of Famer by my own standards

In my Hall of Fame, no. I think I was pretty good. I think I was better than everybody in the history of the game in October. Was I a Hall of Famer? In my Hall of Fame, no.

Modern starting pitchers are soft for only throwing 180 innings

Today it's going to be harder [for pitchers to get in the Hall] because they're doing less. You've got starters who go out and have a full season and have 180 innings. I mean, that's the equivalent of having a vagina. As a starter, your job is innings.

Lenny Dykstra was the second smartest hitter I ever played with

[Lenny Dykstra] was probably the second smartest hitter I ever played with... When he was playing, he built those car washes, and he built them up into being a huge business.

Minor league teams should hold a 'Coke Night' promotion featuring cocaine-themed relay races

Minor league teams like to have fun with all sorts of wacky promotion nights, right? Why not have a Coke night? ... You give the mascot a vacuum, you give the little kid a vacuum, and then you see who can suck up the foul line the fastest on the way out to the outfield.

The biggest competitive advantage in baseball today is understanding players as human beings rather than just data

The ironic thing about that is it's kind of swung the pendulum back where I think the biggest competitive advantage now is actually understanding players as human beings, what makes them tick, getting the right kind of guys, building the right kind of chemistry, and then treating them the right way so that the team can take off.

The 'clutch gene' exists, even if it can't be proven with numbers

You can't prove that it exists by the numbers because guys have tried, but I know intuitively there are guys I want up in the big spots, and it's not just the best hitters. There are guys who just keep their heartbeat low and kind of thrive in those moments instead of backing away. ... You can kind of tell who's scared and wants that big moment over with and who actually wants the ball.

The Cubs would not have won the 2016 World Series without the Game 7 rain delay

I buy it. I don't think we win the World Series without that [rain delay], but you can't prove it. ... If you blow a lead late in any game, it's hard to then come back and win... our players were shell-shocked... and that rain delay... they rallied each other.

I am much faster than people think I am.

Would you say you're faster than people think? Because I attest to that. I think you're much faster than people think. [Kyle Schwarber]: I would say so, yes. Yes. [Big Cat]: Agreed. Strong agree for the comment I just made.

I would hit three home runs per game in a 16-inch beer softball league.

How many home runs do you think you would hit if you played in my 16-inch beer softball league? ...probably like three, so three a game. ...And the fourth would just be like a double?

Bat flipping is appropriate in high-pressure situations, but doing it while winning by several runs warrants a beanball.

You've got to know when it's appropriate and know when it's not appropriate. In my mind, that's an appropriate time. You're in a high-pressure situation. You just crush a ball, and you're putting your team up three. It's a big run. I feel like that's appropriate. But, like, if you're up by, like, three and you crush it and you bat flip and you're popping the chains... You deserve to get one right in the ribs.

I convinced Japanese baseball fans to love America during the WBC

I think that they [Japanese fans] were very surprised how warm and nice Americans were to them... when they came to the United States for the very first time, they were shocked... and the next night they came here and they were more passionate for USA than many of the USA fans were against Puerto Rico.

Foul Ball Guy (Zack Hample) is a peon compared to me

Now he's [Foul Ball Guy] a peon compared to a giant.

Tommy Lasorda is mentally sharp but his physical stature is overrated

Tommy's fine. He's upright. He's around. He's mentally very spry. Physically, he's not at the top of his game, but mentally he is... Overrated. He's sharp. You know when you get older and they have that row of 20 lines that they can go to in any situation, you can't beat them at anything? He's at that stage.

I love when hitters celebrate and flip bats, even if it's against me

Actually, I like hitter celebrating, even if it's in a way that I don't agree with. Just do it. Do your thing. I'd be okay with it.

I'm fine with having dementia in 30 years as a result of my baseball career

Yeah, you just keep it out of your head as much as you can and just know you're going to have dementia in 30 years and you're okay with it.

Tim Tebow's performance in spring training proves he only knows how to contribute

He grounded into a double play, but he drove in a run... All Tim Tebow does is contribute. I think that's one of those things that you have to look at and be like, you know, this is one of these intangibles that we talk about.

Baseball players' stupidity has become a charming part of the sport

I love how baseball players, it's become charming how stupid they are. I mean, it's just really, they're just a bunch of stupid people and everyone says, 'Oh, isn't this so funny?'

Major League Baseball is the easiest sport to win money on

I would say Major League Baseball is the easiest sport to win. No issue about it. Because, again, think about it. The longevity of the cycle of the season gives you the advantage. Like college and pro football are the two hardest.

Benchining a player for being too fat isn't discrimination if they were already heavy when they signed

They accepted [Pablo Sandoval] as being a loud ass when they signed him. He was heavy. So they didn't discriminate in the beginning. And so they will accept him the way he was, but it turned out that he couldn't hit his weight.

The ban on rookie hazing is killing masculinity in this country

Well, I see where Major League Baseball is coming from, but the fact that they're not letting guys dress up like girls is killing masculinity in this country. It's just sick.

The Rangers' hazing incident where a teammate was 'jerked off' is just standard locker room talk

I know that a lot of people are like, wow, that's horrific, but guess what? That's locker room talk. That's guys just jerking each other off. What else are you supposed to do? How am I supposed to know that you have my back when we're playing a baseball game if I've never jerked you off?

Chicago is the 'Parade King' city with the best fans in the world.

All I know is that we parade cocked everyone else... Chicago Parade Kings, best fans... Chicago one-upped it [Tampa Bay].

Steve Bartman should decide when he returns to the spotlight, not the media.

The media has a weird fascination with getting Steve Bartman back involved with the Cubs now. It's so stupid... Steve Bartman gets to decide if he wants to come back, not the other way around.