E35: 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees & Jerry’s Five Baseball Pet Peeves

Cooperstown is about to get loud, crowded, and emotional and we couldn’t wait until Monday to talk about it. With Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Sunday here, we take a bonus lap through baseball history, starting with a trivia question every fan should have in their back pocket: who made up the original Hall of Fame class in 1936?

Then we dig into the 2026 inductees and why each one sparks real Hall of Fame debate. Jeff Kent finally gets his call through the Eras Committee after falling short on the BBWAA writers ballot, and we unpack how you can be the all-time home run king at second base and still wait years for Cooperstown. Andruw Jones earns his spot as one of the greatest defensive center fielders ever, which lets us talk about how defense, WAR, Gold Gloves, and late-career drop-offs shape a player’s legacy. Carlos Beltran rounds out the class as a true five-tool star, but his résumé also forces the uncomfortable conversation about the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal and how voters weigh greatness against controversy.

To keep it fun, we also count down Jerry’s five baseball pet peeves, from calling RBIs “ribbons,” to metal bats, to shaky umpire cams, to the ghost runner in extra innings, to the rising trend of mic’d up players during live action. If you’ve ever yelled at your TV during a broadcast, you’ll have opinions here.

Listen now, then subscribe, share the show with a baseball friend, and leave a review. What’s your biggest baseball pet peeve?

Email us at fungosandfastballs@gmail.com

Transcript

Bonus Show And Trivia Setup

Jerry 0:01

Hello, listeners. Welcome to Fungos and Fastballs. Is it Monday yet? No. We typically release an episode every Monday, but today we have a special bonus episode coming to you because this Sunday, July 26, 2026, is Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Sunday in Cooperstown, New York. We thought we'd talk a little bit about the three inductees that are going to the hall this year. But first, we're going to open with our trivia question. It's a classic one for baseball fans, but very appropriate to the Hall of Fame topic. Who were the five who were the first five players, the original class of inductees, into the Baseball Hall of Fame? This was way back in 1936. Keep listening, and we'll go over that answer later. And since we're covering the best of baseball, I figured we'd open today's show with a counterpoint of the worst in baseball. Well, that's not really fair. But listeners have gotten to know over these 35 episodes my opinions, my quirks. Quirks, right, Brooke? Oh, they're quirks, all right. I thought I'd do Jerry's pet peeves about baseball. So maybe not the worst in baseball, but stuff that really irks me.

Brooke 1:19

Would you say I'm a persnickety guy, Brooke? You have your commentary. Did you at least limit this to a certain number? We're going to go over five. Oh, thank goodness. Okay.

Jerry 1:29

I'm sure if I thought a little more, I could probably come up with a whole list of things.

Brooke 1:35

Okay, perfect.

Jerry 1:36

But we're going to do five. And we are going to pepper them in between the uh the three candidates because just all that beef, all that, all that negativity, you know, that that that's not how we want to have our own.

Brooke 1:47

Not at all. All right, let's have fun.

Pet Peeve Ribies

Jerry 1:50

All right. Well, we'll start with number five. This is one that's totally on me. I may be alone, maybe not, but it's just it's just a quirk of mine. I don't like runs batted in termed as ribies. It's it again, it I to me, it just sounds dumb. I don't know, maybe like a frog or two cutesy. I always say RB. And the term ribbies, when I hear it on TV by Sports Cancer, it's just like nails on a chalkboard, which is is is getting to be a dated, a dated uh commentary. Yes. Term. We're losing chalkboards, right?

Brooke 2:30

I don't think they're well, we did see one at graduation for for our son.

Jerry 2:34

Yeah. But you know, go watch Jaws and watch Quint do the nails on the on the on the talkboard. I I was trying to figure out, I don't remember people saying ribies as a kid in the 70s, but apparently they did. Many people think the term came out in the 50s. Willie McCovey used to use it in the 1960s. Again, maybe just me. I don't think I'm alone because way back in the 60s, New York Post journalist Leonard Schechter felt the term was unimaginative and inane. Now, a little bit of a callback. Scheckter edited Jim Bowton's book, Ball Four. Oh, right over your shoulder there. Yeah, which we covered in a past episode.

Brooke 3:13

We did, we did. So that that that's it. That's number four. That's number five. Four more of these to go. You got four more. Four more. So buckle in, listeners.

Jerry 3:21

Yeah, maybe we should open the show anything.

Brooke 3:23

Good

Cooperstown Travel Memories

Brooke 3:24

idea.

Jerry 3:24

Hello, and welcome to Fungos and Fastballs, the podcast of baseball history and trivia. I'm your host, Jerry Dines. Let's jump into today's episode. We've got to go back to Cooperstown. Our family went there once several years ago. It was not crowded or chaotic. It's a small, quaint town. I have no idea how they fit all those people, including media and players and fans on Hall of Fame weekend. You liked it though, Brooke, right?

Brooke 3:54

Oh, yeah. It was a beautiful, it's on a lake and it's up in New York State. So very trees, beautiful houses up there. We when we went to dinner at one of the restaurants, they were explaining how packed it gets. And everyone who lives in Cooperstown pretty much leaves and they're they Airbnb their houses. But yeah, it was beautiful. I'd love to go back.

Jerry 4:13

Yeah, we were at the Haunted Hotel.

Brooke 4:15

Yes, that was that was fun with the kids, the Haunted Hotel.

Jerry 4:19

I mean, Cooperstown labels itself as America's hometown. Really, only there's 1,700, 1800 people there. Again, I don't know how they fit all those people. Well, those houses were pretty big that were there. Some of them. And the hotel we stayed at was huge. And and I don't know that we fully went to all the places. We did not play in the barnyard swing mini golf course where we're big mini golfers, which is a western theme. How did we miss that? In nearby Hartwick, there is Jerry's Place, which is a 50-styles diner. We didn't go there. We did go to the tiny Cooperstown Diner on Main Street. It's been there since 1921. Yes. Just fun. If you can fit in there. I don't know how they're fit into the country.

Brooke 4:59

Yeah, us and ten people. I think that was uh that was it.

Jerry 5:02

Well,

How Hall Voting Works

Jerry 5:03

as I mentioned, there will be three new players inducted this Sunday, July 26th, in Cooperstown. Before we get to these players, a brief review on getting into the Hall of Fame as a player. Remember, there are managers, executives, umpires. The first criteria you have to play baseball. All right. You have to play Major League Baseball. I thought I'd get more laughs from my uh producer there. Obviously not. No, I'm off screen. You're off screen. But not only do you have to play Major League Baseball at an excellent level, obviously, but you have to be in the league 10 years. You have to be retired five years. And then the Baseball Writers Associated of America sports journalist, last year, 425 voters. They each cast a vote for 10 players. To get in on the writer's ballot into the Hall of Fame, you have to be on 75% or more of the total ballots. A player has 10 years to stay on the ballot unless they get 5% of the vote. If they get less than 5%, they get knocked off the ballot. And let's be let's get to our three players. But before we get to our three players, number four of Jerry's Pet Peeves.

Pet Peeve Metal Bats

Jerry 6:11

Oh, goodness. We're back. Okay, we're back. Metal bats. Yeah. Now we're down here in Louisiana, college baseball country. I know college baseball plays with the metal bats. They love it. I don't mean to alienate local fans. I hate the sound of metal bats. It's not just that. They have a larger sweet spot. They're more forgiving. They can hide the mistakes of a less than perfect swing. It changes things. You can hit farther and faster, so outfielders have to play deeper. It's strategically different. Look, if you're a hardware store sponsoring a little league team and you only have money for two bats, get the get the metal bats. I'll be f I'll forgive. The kids will love it because they'll make loud noises. But baseball deserves a wooden bat. Give me ash, give me maple, give me the sound of a wooden bat.

Brooke 7:02

Don't they do pine too? Pine? I don't know. Now I'm gonna have to put that, I'll have to look that up.

Jerry 7:08

I I know the big one these days are maple, and ash is is is more traditional. Probably pine.

Brooke 7:13

Yeah. What happened to those big like submarine bats they started, was that last season? The torpedo bats. The torpedo bats, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Jerry 7:20

They uh at the beginning of last season, the opening, the the Yankees hit like 12 runs against the Brewers, and everyone was like, Oh my gosh, it's the torpedo bats. And they had been around for a while, but they were just focused and and they're still out there. Okay. They didn't make people adjusted. Got it. Yeah. Are you done with this one now? That's number four. Very easy.

Brooke 7:39

Metal bats. I actually like the sound of metal bets, bats. It makes me think of uh sailboats with the the rigging hitting them, the aluminum masks on the if it actually wound up being in Major League Baseball, I might stop watching. We'd have to mute every time someone's up there.

Jerry 7:54

Exactly. I'd watch it on mute, exactly. It's just no it's not it's it's history. The wooden bad is history. Got it. Okay. Hall of Famer. Go ahead. Let's get back to our first Hall of Famer.

Jeff Kent And The Eras Committee

Jerry 8:05

After all that discussion about how the writers put in these Hall of Famers, the first person we're going to talk about today actually did not get in that way. He went through a process now known as the Errors Committee, kind of like Taylor Swift and her errors. But we're talking about Jeff Kent. Now, Jeff Kent first appeared on the ballot in 2014, uh, but got only 15.2% of the vote. And over the 10 years he was on the ballot, the support went up, but only to 46.5% in his 10th and final year. So he did not make it in. But such players do have a chance with the Errors Committee, which formerly was known as the Veterans Committee. It's a 16-member panel of Hall of Famers, executives, media members. And and you need 75% of that committee, but it's only like 12 more than 12 votes. And there are errors committees for contemporary, 1980s to the present, and classic prior to 1980. So let's talk about Jeff Kent. Jeff Kent with the Eras Committee got 87.5% of the vote, and so he's going to Cooperstown. For those who don't remember Kent, he was one of the top power hitting second basemen of all time. He is going to go into the hall as a San Francisco Giant, where he played from 1997 to 2002, but he also played for the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Astros, and Dodgers. In his 17 years in the major, he had 12 seasons of more than 20 home runs and eight seasons of over 100 RBIs. He actually holds the record for most home runs by a second baseman with 351 of all time. He's also third for second baseman with RBIs. He won an MVP in 2000. He was a five-time All-Star. So why the delay in getting in? Well, he's not felt to be stellar defensively. It was a pretty crowded ballot those 10 years he was on. And also remember, the baseball writers are voting you in. And Kent was a bit cantankerous with the media during his playing career. Of course, he was nowhere near as crusty as the man he will be over forever tied with at the Giants, and that is Mr. Barry Bonds, who is not in. Kent hit behind Bonds in the lineup, which definitely helped with some stats in RBIs. They definitely did not get along well, as evidenced by a fight in the dugout caught on TV in 2002. I love this quote from San Francisco Chronicle reporter Ray Rato. He said, quote, the one who lives longer will attend the other's funeral just to make sure he's dead. Ouch! Now both in interviews seems to have softened about softened on that relationship. I think both of them are in that post-career rebranding that so many players go through, like uh like A Rod. Kent, interestingly, was also on reality TV. He was on an episode season of Survivor in 2012. I'll always remember the great car wash injury injury, in quotes, of 2002. He broke his wrist and he said he was doing it washing his truck. You know, some of those trucks are very tall, Brooke. You got to climb on them. I see him. I see him. I drop behind it. Yes. Unfortunately, it came out that he was popping wheelies on his motorcycle. I bet that's a no-no. And that was not a good look with the press. Uh he missed spring training. He really actually was a great year for him. He only missed four games. He had a great batting average that year, 33-13, 37 homers. And that year, the Giants won their first pennant in 13 years. But no doubt Kent was a powerhouse hitter as a second baseman. And so welcome to Cooperstown. Next pet peeve, number three.

Pet Peeve Umpire Cams

Jerry 11:54

All right, this is more dealing with the baseball broadcast by but umpire cams. And I'm gonna throw in base cams too, you know, the cams that are in the base that catch those slides. Those are completely useless. You and people slide into base, you get the whoosh of dirt, and uh that's just ridiculous. But the ump cams, you you can't get any sense of it. They're attached usually to the mask, and they're bobbling around, and they're just ridiculous. I'm sorry.

Brooke 12:21

I I'm gonna agree with you on that one. They get me a little uh motion sickness sometimes when he's turning his head a lot.

Jerry 12:26

Okay, so if you're counting at home, Brooks not really agreeing with me on the ribbies, ribbing. I don't I don't care one way or the other. And the metal batch, she likes the sound. I do like the sound, but no bump cams.

Brooke 12:37

No unnecessary.

Jerry 12:39

Well, with number three out of the way, we get into our second Hall of Famer that's going in, and that's Andrew Jones.

Andruw Jones Defense And Delay

Jerry 12:47

Andrew spelled A-N-D-R-U-W, as you probably know. He played for 17 years with teams like the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, Yankees, and for the final two years of his career with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles over in Japan. He's most remembered for his 12 years with the Atlanta Braves as a great center fielder, and he uh he will be inducted as a brave, again, play there 96 to 2007, and he gets in with 78.4% of the votes on the baseball writers ballot. It took nine ballots or years for him to get in. I you know, these are great players this year. No slam duck, none of them went in on the first ballot, no Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter kind of players. Jones is the first Curacauan player in the Hall of Fame. So have a Mai Thai to celebrate. Great diving in Curacao, Brooke. Brooke and I are divers, and we've never been down to the ABC Islands, Bonair, and Curacao.

Brooke 13:51

Any day. Yeah.

Jerry 13:52

I'm gaming.

Brooke 13:53

Any day tomorrow.

Jerry 13:55

Let's go.

Brooke 13:55

Book a flight. I'm free.

unknown 13:57

Yeah.

Jerry 13:57

Next episode.

Brooke 13:59

Wait, I'm booking the flight now? All of a sudden I'm booking the flight. Oh, I see how it is.

Jerry 14:03

I have a feeling next episode we will not have Tanson.

Brooke 14:06

I have a funny feeling you are correct.

Jerry 14:08

So Andrew Jones was one of the best, arguably the best, defensive center fielders in history. He won 10 gold gloves. Uh, and another trivia alert, only two outfielders won more gold gloves than Andrew Jones. That would be 12 with Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. Ken Griffe, Ishiro, and Al Callian won 10 along with Jones. So a great defensive center fielder, and really actually the greatest defense war wins above replacement of any outfielder in Major League history by about 3.2 points. The Braves, of course, would lose the 1996 series to what team, Brooke? The Yankees. If I sound that delight, there's probably the New York Yankees. That's right, exactly. And another trivia alert about Jones. He is the youngest player to home run. He hit a home, or excuse me, in a World Series. At age 19, he beat the record of a young 20-year-old Mickey Mantle. Now, so why the delay in Jones getting in? You know, great fielders don't always get the attention that great hitters receive. We saw that with the delay in Bill Masarowski, for example, at second base there in the Hall of Fame. There was also a steep drop-off in Jones's last five seasons. But Jones is only one of four Major League Baseball players with more than 400 homers and 10 gold gloves, you know, defensive prowess. He's there along with Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Mike Schmidt, and of course Andrew Jones. So pretty good company there, right? So congratulations, Andrew Jones. Welcome to Cooperstown.

Pet Peeve Ghost Runner Rule

Jerry 15:50

And now, number two on Jerry's baseball pet peeves.

Brooke 15:54

Are these in order of a ranking or just you're just throwing any out there?

Jerry 15:57

No, I'm counting down from the least onerous to the most onerous in my mind. Got it. Got it. And and so number two, and I am certainly not alone on this, it's the Ghost Runner or the Manford Man. Hey, I'm not a Luddite. I love some modern changes to the game. What? What are you not? Luddite. I'm not a Luddite. A Luddite? Yeah. Our our listeners will know what that is. Well, okay. Intelligent population.

Brooke 16:25

I don't know. Maybe you are a Luddite.

unknown 16:27

Maybe I am a Luddite.

Jerry 16:28

From the from the country of Luddus, Ludland. No. I do. I like modern changes in the game. I think the pitch clock has made the game brisker. I like the limit in throwing over to first base twice, or then you have to get them. The three-batter minimum before switching pitchers has been great. The Tampa Bay Rays were annoying the stana to me. Dave Roberts in 2016 had a record 606 pitching changes over that season. It was getting ridiculous. But in 2020, to help games stay at a manageable length, and this was before the pitch clock, a designated runner, as you know, was placed to second base after the ninth inning in a tie game. Well, so from the 10th inning onward. Aside from me enjoying the term Manford Man after Rob Manford, because it of course sounds like the musical group, the Manford Man Band, it's it's just a new rule that has to go bye-bye. The games are now shorter because of the pitch, the pitch clock. And extra innings are just such an exciting game, part of the game, and just giving someone a free runner at second. It's strategic, but you almost have to score first. I hate it.

Brooke 17:39

So with the Manford man, is it a batter that is put on, or is it just some like is it one of the is it whoever was next in the batting order? Who was last in battery?

Jerry 17:53

Yeah, who was last at bat in like the nine.

Brooke 17:55

So they just can't pick their fastest player on the battery.

Jerry 17:57

You can put a pitch runner in, but then of course you lose that player. Right, right, right. Yeah. So it's just I I I again I know I'm not alone in this. So okay.

Brooke 18:07

I I I don't mind it because it gets the game over. I mean, if you've really sat for not that long anymore. Come on already. I know it's exciting.

Jerry 18:18

The greatest part of baseball is that in theory, there's no clock. So unlike soccer, football. There's a pitching clock. There's a pitching clock, yes. But the game in theory, in theory, go on infinitely. You could watch a five-year game if no one if it stayed tied.

Brooke 18:35

Yes. The longest game, 3 a.m., but they called it for the night. We already did that. We covered that in the episode.

Jerry 18:41

They came back for one inning. Well, let's get to our final inductee in this year's Hall of Fame class.

Carlos Beltran Greatness And Scandal

Jerry 18:47

He played 20 years in the league in the outfield, like Andrew Jones, also primarily at center field. That would be Carlos Beltran. Uh 20 seasons. Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, Rangers, a whole bunch of team. He's going to enter the hall as a Met where he played from 2005 to 2011. He is only going to be the third Met going into the Hall of Fame after Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza, the catcher, the cat who was in our recent catcher countdown. Since I've mentioned the Mets, and I'm wearing my Mets hat today in honor of that. But since we're talking about the Mets, I do want to mention the news of the passing of a Met, Ron Hunt, earlier this week. He was the first Met to start in a star in an all-star game back in 1964. He also holds the modern record for number of times being hit by a pitch in a season with 50 times, second only to Oriel Huey Jennings 51 back in 1896. So rest in peace, Ron. But back to Beltram. Look, Carlos Beltram was an incredible player. A five-tool player? Should we go over the five tools? Hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, fielding or defense, and arm strength. And no, not all players are great at that. Obviously, people like Willie Mays were. And Carlos Beltran was a nine-time All-Star Rookie of the Year in 1999. Not a slam duck as far as his stats. He didn't quite make 3,000 hits. His 435 home runs is 48th on the list. There are guys like Adam Dunn Dunn and Dave Kingman, as well as some PED suspected people who are above that and not in the hall. But he was a consistent player over a long career. He also had the best success rate for stolen bases in the live ball era, 86.4% success in stealing bases. There are only eight players with both 300 homers and 300 steals, also called the 300-300 club. Baseball gets a little wacky with stats, obviously. But Beltram's on that list with people like Willie Mays, A-Rod, Steve Finley, Reggie Sanders, and the father-son due of Bobby and Barry Bonds. Beltran's also eighth in career wins above replacement for center fielders. Some great names up there. I mean, Mantle, Mike Trout, Griffey, DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb. Beltran's fellow classmate, Andrew Jones, is 14th on the list. So uh so definitely deserving. Uh, and unlike the other two inductees, Beltran has a World Series ring. This uh ironically may have contributed this series ring into him not getting in until the fourth ballot, the fourth year, granted with 84% of the ballots. Uh, yes, he was on the championship Astros team who beat the Dodgers in 2017. If you've forgotten, that is the season. Where the Astros were found to have violated the league's rules on using electronics with stealing signs. He was the only player definitely named in the investigation. He was retiring, so it was clean. The other players were protected by the Major League Baseball Players Union. He was also probably, though, a key veteran in organizing this. Now, this caused Beltram, the Mets manager's job. He was all set to take over in 2020 when the story came out. I was actually surprised, though Beltran was a tremendous player, that he kind of got in quickly. The writers were were willing to overlook a lot that. So hey, congratulations, Carlos Beltram. Welcome to Cooperstown. I do imagine some alt-baseball metaverse history, because Beltran was actually up for the Yankees manager in 2017. That was before the scandal, you know, right after his retirement. Now, if the Yankees had hired him, I mean, you know, what could have happened? Instead, they hired one Aaron Boone, who, as you know, is still the manager of the Yankees. Now, if the if the Yankees had hired Beltran, I mean, he would have been three-year manager by the time the scandal broke. He might have been able to keep his job, you know, because he would have been ensconced.

Brooke 23:20

Yeah.

Jerry 23:21

And Yankees fans might have been spared uh playoff mediocrity, gobs of poor bullpen uh decisions, World Series, Nestor Cortez, cough, cough, and some embarrassing injections, which we uh know and love Aaron Boone for. So yes, why don't you tell us how you feel about Aaron Boone? So we never did get the Yankees never did get Carlos Beltran as a manager. Oh well. So those are your three, you know, Jeff Kent, Andrew Jones, Carlos Beltran. And again, if you're watching MLB TV this Sunday, you can tune in for the ceremony. Brooke's always a sucker for those uh those uh induction speeches. I am you know who will cry first.

Brooke 24:06

Well, I like that we better.

Jerry 24:07

I don't Calci Brooke. Bet on uh bet on predict who will cry first of those three. That's it.

Brooke 24:12

Sobbing versus just teardrop. I think it might be Beltran.

Jerry 24:15

I'm guessing that.

Brooke 24:16

Right. Well, uh I like that you've covered these because they've knocked three uh three people off our list.

Jerry 24:23

Keeping up, keeping up the list of Hall of Famers we've covered. The list will not keep growing as long as we have these special episodes.

Brooke 24:30

I know I was sneaking and taking a look at the list, and this takes us to we've done 15 and only 339 more to go.

Jerry 24:38

Aaron Powell It seems like we've done more than 15 Hall of Famers, just because we've talked about so many.

Brooke 24:42

We have, but you told me it doesn't count unless we get into some stats on them.

Jerry 24:47

Well, with that done, let's go to the number one of Jerry's baseball pet peeves.

Pet Peeve Mic’d Up Players

Jerry 24:54

This one, kind of like the umpire and base cam, is probably more due to the broadcast of baseball rather than the game of baseball. Is that fair? Well, they're so inter entwined, so I'm gonna allow it. Uh, my number one pet peeve, as Brooke and any of my. I can attest.

Brooke 25:11

Anyone who watches a baseball team material.

Jerry 25:14

Yes. It's bad enough managers are interviewed mid-game in the dugout. Managers don't want to be there. They say the most insipid comment, yeah, I really like their stuff out there. Yeah, we got to score more runs to win this game, blah, blah, blah. Their contracts require it, but micing players, especially at these night or the streaming services, when they're playing the game is just the worst. You got a whole dugout full of players doing nothing, waiting to go at bat. Talk to them. Don't talk to people in the field. I think last year was ESPN had a game they mic'd second baser Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees. I think he blew like one or two plays. Double play. Yeah. Yeah, he blew a double play. This year during the All-Star game, they actually mic' Kyle Schwarber while he was at bat. It was ridiculous. It was embarrassing too, because his his earpiece fell out while at bat and he had to fix it in between pitches.

Brooke 26:06

I s I remember when, oh gosh, what was his name? Help me with his name. He was a Yankee. He had to shave, he had the big bushy beard, and they made him shave two years ago. Red hair. Oh, uh, Alex Verdugo. Alex Verdugo in the outfield, and he wore these huge chains. And so every time they they were talking to him and he'd run and be like, uh singing in the rain with the pearls going on.

Jerry 26:30

Too much noise, too much in the microphone.

Brooke 26:32

Ridiculous. And then we just saw the other night Bryce Harper, they uh mic'Bryce Harper at first base. And although we weren't rooting for him, we were just like, let him play. I mean, it's first base.

Jerry 26:41

Yeah, if you want to mic a left fielder, that's fine. Right. It was it was ridiculous in the all-star game. And again, I know it's the all-star game, they actually mic' pitcher Dylan Cease along with the catcher Shay Lane Galiers. And uh it it was so funny and embarrassing to John Schmaltz, which I didn't care at all because I'm not a big fan. But they would be like, So what pitch are you using here? And Cease just wouldn't answer. And and there would be this pause, you know? Uh and and Dylan Sees would be like, Oh, I'm gonna step off the mound now. And that why are you doing that? And he wouldn't answer. Oh my god. So the broadcast was ridiculous. Miking the player is ridiculous. It is an unnecessary during the next collective bargaining agreement. You know, the whole salary cap issue and you know, salary. They should fight against this.

Brooke 27:29

I actually like it. Because Who am I married to? I know, I'm sorry. Because uh it's a it's neat to hear, but uh honestly, I'll be with you. I wouldn't mind if they mic someone in the bullpen. Talk to the guys in the bullpen. They're not doing it. Not the bullpen not the bullpen or the bull. Yeah, and then let them explain what's going on or what the expectation is. It's in the field. I give you the in the field.

Jerry 27:51

It's it's really now do you have peeves out there, listeners? If you have pet peeves in baseball or disagree with my pet peeves, or agree with them, as I'm sure most of you do, because I'm a very very savvy guy. Email us, Fungos and Fastballs, Fungos and AND fastballs at gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you. Phew. I am glad to get those off my chest. Clearly, I need to you know spend less time here at home with you, Brooke, and more time in sports bars where I can I can work this out like therapy. Feel free. Loudly and frequently.

Brooke 28:23

I I will not object.

Original Hall Class And Closing

Jerry 28:25

Now it's time for the answer to our trivia question. Who are the five players in the original class of inductees? Yes, the first class chosen back in 1936. This one comes up frequently in baseball trivia circles. It bears knowing. The five of them are Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Brooke, we have not done an episode on any of those five. I think we're slacking.

Brooke 28:52

Well, I think we're nervous. I mean, doing something on Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, it's not one episode. It's it's they're such huge players.

Jerry 29:00

Plus, we find these non-Hall of Fame gyms like Marvelous Marv Thromberry and Pud Galvin. Well, Pud Galvin is an Hall of Fame. There you go. But we should do an episode on one of those five.

Brooke 29:08

All right, line it up.

Jerry 29:09

Now we will be back on our regular schedule this coming Monday when we drop our episode on Catcher Roy Campanella. Uh, you heard a bit about him on our Catcher Ranking episode. Monday you'll hear a lot more. I want to once again uh thank Brooke, my producer. You're welcome. And shout out to our friend Kevin Martin, who assured me he'd be listening. We know another number of Kevins uh there, Brooke. Uh our Boston buddy got an earlier shout out this season. He did with an uncle. Well, again, any of our listeners can email us fungosandfastballs at gmail.com for comments, accolades, show ideas, just to say hi. We're always happy you're listening and watching. And uh hope you'll keep doing that. And subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform. Heading back to the locker room, this is Jerry Dines and Fungos and Fastballs.