PodCrash with Matt Ebert
PodCrash with Matt Ebert
What 42 Years in Baseball Taught Him About Leadership
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I'm Matt Evert. I turned one collision repair shop into a multi-billion dollar business called Crash Champions. Now I'm sitting down with people who have also built great things so you can build something of your own. Welcome to Pod Crash, everyone. I'm here with Don Logan. Don is the CEO of the Las Vegas AAA baseball team, the Aviators. He spent more than four decades with professional baseball, and his team over the years won three Pacific Coast League championships. One of them was just last year. He also helped bring a state-of-the-art ballpark to Las Vegas, which wasn't easy. It took 20 years of work to get it done. It's going to be a great conversation. This is Podcrash. I saw one spot they called you one of the most influential executives in all not just of uh minor league baseball, but all of baseball. So it sounds like quite a compliment, but a lot of history.
SPEAKER_00That's you know, a long time. Just finished my 42nd season, so that's a long time. But I think a lot of that has to do with being here in Vegas. Okay. You see it right now with CES here. You got 300,000 people from all over the world here. And you know, everybody comes through Vegas, and if you're in the baseball world, you know, you're one call away, and hey, call Don, he can help you get a show or get a room rate or tell you where to go back. Jerry Reinsdorf, you're a Chicago guy. Jerry's mother spent, I think, the last 12 years of her life living in an assisted facility here in Vegas. So I got to know Jerry. In fact, Jerry was in my car before there was Uber, and when you couldn't rely on a taxi, I Ron Schuller was the GM of the White Sox. Hey, can you go pick Jerry up at the airport and get him over to his mom's? He's got about three hours to kill. Sure. You know, he's Reinsdorf. It's coming off all the bull success. And you know, so pick Jerry up with the phone. He had a razor. I'll never forget I bought a razor after I saw him pop that thing open. And he says, You gotta be shitting me. Yeah, yeah. He was talking to David Stern, who was telling him that magic just got uh tested positive for was diagnosed with AIDS. And so I was like, Whoa, that's pretty pretty heavy stuff. So it was you know, one of the things I learned through the years, yeah, and when you you love something like I do baseball, you yeah, obviously I wanted to play, you know, played in college and thought that uh you know I had a chance to play professionally, and you know it's a pretty difficult sport to break it. They're all difficult to break into, but it didn't work. So what musician did you play? Yeah, I feel okay I could hit. I had one skill, I could hit. I and I was okay definitely. Not a bad skill that I could hit. But the uh, you know, either you if you don't play it, you teach it, coach it, or sell it. And you know, minor league baseball, uh, it's a big part of all that. I I actually I did go to law school with the intent of becoming an agent. And then uh they started a triple A team here in 1983. Uh my father was friendly with the governor at that time of the state of Nevada and said, hey, they need they had moved the team from Spokane, Washington here and said, Hey, they need some Nevada people, some Vegas or Nevada kids to help uh promote this team. And you know, you know, Donnie wants to get into baseball. This is a great opportunity for him. Came and met with the guy that owned the team, and he said, Okay, yeah, I'll we'll get you going. You know, you're hired. And then um I said, Well, good. I, you know, I get out of school in uh the last week in May. He said, No, if you're not here, so you know, just jumped in. I really didn't know what the tell I was getting into because it kind of happened real quickly. I I came down here for the interview during the Thanksgiving break, and you know, eight weeks later I'm working, seven weeks later I'm working there. So but it was, you know, you just kind of it's been a great run because I learned I there isn't anything in the business side I haven't done. And because I played, I understand the the on-field elements probably better than a lot of a lot of people. It it that was a at a time when there wasn't a lot of uh I guess sports management wasn't something you could go study at school. Ohio University was like the only place doing it. So it was like on-the-job training. It's kind of like, you know, uh, we were talking earlier that you know you you gotta you gotta get in and learn it and do it. And it's kind of a blue-collar approach. And you know, my family, uh, my dad was a uh principal and coach of a uh high school in small town in central Nevada. My uncle was uh we had an electrical contracting business, and I worked for him, gosh, for 10 years every summer during the holidays. So, you know, I had wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty, wasn't afraid to get up early, wasn't afraid to stay up late, wasn't afraid to, you know, you don't have it. You know, that I think uh some of the educated folks in our industry today, that you know, things are beneath them, and that that's hurt us as an industry through the years, and it it's kind of swung back now where, you know, I think baseball's in a good spot. Sadly, the rumor is that the you know the collective bargaining bargaining agreement expires after next season, and there's a chance that uh you know there may be a strike, which would be really, I think, bad for for the industry, certainly bad for the game. Uh, but we at the minor league level, we're gonna play. You know, they're we're not affected to the level that the major league teams are. So it's just it's been a great run. You know, I again there isn't anything I haven't done, or a lot of, you know, you see through that many years, so many different things, so many different people, cultures. You know, I I mentioned to you the uh uh the thing Venezuela used to be a big, big I think it was the number one uh importer of players from Latin America. You know, the Dominican obviously is now, and Puerto Rico is is some, but there's not a lot of uh baseball players from Mexico, but uh you know Venezuela was it, and then when the you know the country got taken over by Chavez, that really started drying it up by my buddy Ozzie Guinness. Ozzy played here 1984, my first season. In fact, I took Edie, his wife, to the duck. She gave she was her water broke at the ballpark during a game, and I threw in my seven and took her over to the hospital. And little Ozzie was born later that night. He didn't even know it was happening. He was playing now.
SPEAKER_02He didn't know he didn't care. But the great guy. So sports was intentional then. You've been involved for all these decades, uh, and that was kind of your your dream you know, being involved with one way or another.
SPEAKER_00I wanted to do something that I loved. You know, I I I I got that from a few people. Uh Bob Lurie owned the Giants at the time, and I was in law school in the Bay Area, and I told him I was gonna be an agent. He's like, we don't need any more agents, we need people that understand the business and run the business, are gonna make it a better industry. So the timing was good, and you know, the opportunity here. Everything's timing. You know, there I was very lucky and still am. You know, timing has been very good for me throughout my career. And you know, this market, obviously, the evolution of sports here now at the major league level. We have the Golden Knights and the Raiders. Uh you've got the the best WNBA team in the country here. I think there's six minor league teams, including us now. You know, it's uh it's sports is a big part of the Vegas scene. And didn't used to be. So you've been part of bringing all of that to life. You know, that uh again, I I know your Chicago roots. I think the uh Jerry was very helpful, uh Jerry Reinsdorf, because he understood Vegas because his mother was here and understood how regulated gaming was. You know, you there's it's not the wild, wild west like some people perceived. And you know, Bud Sealig was the commissioner for a while. We had the brewers come here and play in an exhibition game, and Bud wouldn't even come to the ballpark. You know, we had to go meet with him at the Golden Nugget. Oh, really? It was fun. I mean, there was just a a a phobia toward gaming, and uh uh that just gradually dissipated through the years and the the proliferation of gaming around the country, you know, the Indian-based casinos, the the whole uh the river boats and all the things that happen, you know, up and down the Mississippi. You see it now, you know, land-based in some of the major cities around the country. Uh and it gradually people understood, like, okay, it's not this, it's a it's a very technical, very regulated, very uh very business-driven uh industry. And I think when Wall Street started investing, Steve Wynne built this place. I mean, Steve was the visionary that really took gaming national. He went to Wall Street to get investment, started with the Mirage. Well, he owned the the Nugget, but then he built the Mirage, and then he built Treasure Island, then he built this, and then he built MGM. I mean, he was the guy. I mean, Steve really got uh opened people's eyes.
SPEAKER_02So you got to you got a front seat to all that. That's pretty neat. Oh no, and learning about you, um similar. I I grew up in a small town th, you know, till about eighth grade, had 150 people in the town I lived in. Uh and then my parents moved me to a big town with like 1400 people in high school, and then right after that I went up to the suburbs of Chicago as quick as I could right after high school. But small town here in Nevada was Donopah, yeah, halfway between here and Reno. So um did you dream it as a kid? The small town didn't scare you from the big city stuff. Uh huh.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I again I think good upbringing, good parents, you know. I mean, our family, my grandparents both I didn't know either of my grandfathers. They both passed away shortly after I was born. But my grandmas had a big hand in raised me, aunts, uncles, cousins. I mean, the small town culture and the you know confidence in yourself. You get a I think you get a better education. You can't screw up. You know, when you're in a small town and you're an idiot, everybody knows it. So then, you know, that uh you you learn how to behave, you learn how to do the right thing, you learn how to say please and thank you. And that's interesting. You don't put uh you don't always put the almighty buck ahead of taking care of people. You know, the money will follow if you do the right thing. And I think that as much as anything, what I learned that you know, I don't people can think what they want about a small town guy. You know, I I came here, I listened, I learned, I assimilated, I asked questions. I I never assumed I knew everything. You know, I think that's that's a a dynamic that's important. But uh it's it's been a again, it's a great run. It's been so much fun here. I had a lot of chances to go other places, uh, but we had some fun in the late 90s and uh into 2008. Uh Peter Goober, who's now one of the minority owners of the Dodgers and Warriors, we partnered with Peter and we uh bought and built stadiums around the country. We had seven minor league baseball teams, and so I got to travel around to help put those together, so that was a lot of fun. And again, learning that what works in Vegas doesn't always work, doesn't work in Dayton, Ohio, doesn't work in Frisco, Texas. Uh nothing works in Erie, Pennsylvania, sadly.
SPEAKER_02That was a tough one there. Couldn't couldn't get things done.
SPEAKER_00We we got it going. We we ended up selling it. But uh it was fun just to to get around the country and understand that you know you you gotta you you you have to have a pretty open mind about how things go. And and you gotta really work with the local fans, with the local politicians. You gotta become a part of the community and you gotta have somebody there running it on a day-to-day basis that's one of them. That becomes that if they're not one of them, they become one of them.
SPEAKER_02Trying to build one in a in a in a town where the mayor or the local board doesn't want you, you're not gonna do very well. Um and and the collision shop isn't something people immediately think of as something they want in the in the main street of their town. We we make them very, very nice, so um, that helps.
SPEAKER_00But you gotta get the reactions aren't great. Vegas gotta be a great market for it, because I can tell you this is a melting pot town, people from everywhere. And you bring people that can't drive. You bring the Californians who are predominantly coming over here, and they're used to the freeway system down there, and speed limits just a suggestion, and a a blinker is an option, and you know, they and it's ridiculous the amount of collisions that happen around here. Yeah, we have several shops here. It's quiet. I appreciate we appreciate nobody getting hurt, but wrecked my golf game about four years ago. I was taking my daughter, what no, three years ago, I was taking her to the airport. She came down for Father's Day, and right in front of the what was it's now the Virgin Hotel, some guy was on his phone, slammed into the back of us, jacked up my back. I can't hit a drive 240 anymore. Like the guy killed me, but uh wow didn't total the car, so that was good.
SPEAKER_02Back trouble's tough. Oh, stick with you. No fun. So you know it's so the your ballpark. I know that that's something you're really proud of. Um I hear it's beautiful. It took a long time to get it done. Yeah. Um any any kind of story there? Why, why so long to get it done? It would seem like it's so there's something outside of looking in. Why wouldn't the town want it? Yeah um, or why why why was it so hard?
SPEAKER_00And well, I I think that's part of the reason Peter got involved, Peter Goober got involved with us, is that then we knew that the old ballpark where you know you saw the Sox play the Cubs back in the day, it lacked the amenities that you have to have to make the business really viable. And you know, our goal was to get a new ballpark and get have the right points of sale for concessions, have enough restrooms, have the ingress and egress uh in the area, easy to get into and out of, uh, have something around it where you could go before the game and after the game. And you know, we worked really hard for about seven years. And honestly, uh Peter was at a at an event, I think it was at a bar mitzva in LA, and he ran into Steve Wynn, and Steve said, Hey, we're gonna become a major league town. I'm not sure that a minor league stadium works. Well, I didn't believe that. Now, Steve Wynne tells you you should believe it. But uh so shortly after that, we sold the team, and uh, you know, I stayed here with the team and began really grinding to figure something out. And some of the things we learned through those years, and you know, Dayton we built downtown and I'm right across from an old GE battery plant, and it's you gotta have it's gotta have its own media market. You know, that's a a key part of it. Uh Frisco was different than that, but Dallas was such a growing area, and sports is a big part of the Texas scene. You know, we went out there, we were partners with Tom Hicks, who owned the Rangers and the Stars at the time, and we did that. Uh so you know, through that, I I you know, I think it showed me as I looked around this market, there was kind of two places we had to go. We had to go to Summerlin, which is where we are, or go out to Green Valley, which we we could have actually done something out there. The uh guy, Jim Gibson, now the chairman of the county commission, was then the mayor of Henderson. But uh the Summerlin deal came together with the Howard Hughes Corporation. There's a mall right across the street that's got, I think, uh 11 restaurants and got to have an Apple store in today's world. It's got Apple and uh Victoria's Secret, but it's busy, you know, it's got big bucks, uh, it's got Dillard's, it's got Macy's. It's it's a you know, putting it out there, it's the a newer area, you know, it's less than 30 years old, the whole thing. Freeway is great. There's multiple access points to get in and out of the stadium. And then, you know, we spent a year, we traveled all over the country and we went to major league and minor league stadiums and tried to steal some ideas from what worked, what didn't work, uh, create destinations within the ballpark. You know, baseball isn't a game anywhere where you other than the World Series, maybe, but you don't sit for nine innings and just lock in like you have to at football or hockey or basketball. You know, you kind of, well, let's go get a hot dog. Okay, well, let's go have a craft beer, let's go see what kind of barbecue they got outside here. You know, it especially if you bring a young kid like that. Oh, yeah. And that's who we want. You know, that's the that's our target is the families and uh working family, keep it affordable. Uh, that's one of the things I think you know, the A's are coming here and we're gonna continue to play. And everybody's asking me, you know, what's that gonna do to your business? Uh I you know, our price point is so much less than theirs. Uh and you come to the to our game to have fun. You know, now yeah, when the Yankees come here, I'm gonna go want to watch Aaron Judge. And you know, when the Dodgers are here, everybody's gonna want to go see Otani in person. Uh, you know, you there's a an element to Major League Baseball that's different at the minor league level. It's more about the game and what goes on, how you wrap the game up from a uh a presentation standpoint. And you know, we've got uh the largest scoreboard in minor league baseball. We use it a ton during the game. You know, we it's a a vibrant, but not not banging your head like the NBA. You go to an NHL game, you you can't talk, it's so loud. Uh it's you know, we you know, I think we uh incorporated a lot of things that make it a comfortable, really easy place for people to go to, and then they once they go and enjoy it, they come back. And we've uh we're the highest grossing team in the history of minor league baseball. Uh and that's you know, a tribute, obviously, great market, growing market, great location, great stadium, great fan base, and uh you know, a lot of things came together.
SPEAKER_02I'd be in your camp too. I think you'd two different, two different audiences, two different price points, two different experiences. People are gonna go, you're gonna go, but you can't.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, you just can't do it.
SPEAKER_02So didn't plan on asking you this, but I kind of smiled because I was thinking about it. What is it, what do you think of uh uh a business like the uh the bananas in that organization?
SPEAKER_00You know, Jesse is a guy. Jesse came to uh one of the guys that worked for me, one of my sales managers on our ticket department, worked with Jesse, I think at the Vermont, whatever the hell they are. I don't remember their nickname, but they worked right out of college, they worked together there. And Jesse and his wife. And uh so he started the bananas concept and seems to be quite popular. Oh, it's unbelievable. And but what he did, he really got out in front of technology. And he, you know, the thing is it's a we the first time we did it here, it was we had two games. We did a Friday and Saturday night. They were sold out in a day, damn near. Now, again, it's Vegas, but you're talking people from all over the country. Here's a reason to come to Vegas. And he had they had such a following. I don't know how many millions of followers he has, but I mean it's completely driven, you know, the traditional marketing, it's it's all internet marketing. And then what they do, they take, like I mentioned, like we, you know, we put on a good presentation, and and again, the game is still fundamental, it's the primary part of the entertainment. But what we do, you know, on the scoreboard, dot race, some of the stuff on the field, the music, uh, he took it to a new level and incorporated it into the game. And then this guy played, right? And the guy, the players are good, you know. A lot of those players, most of them played college baseball, some of them played professionally. And, you know, the dancing part of it, the umpire kind of being the spoof, you know, they kind of pick on him a little bit during the whole thing, which everybody wants to do. Uh, but Jesse's just created a a juggernaut. And you know, I think he has six teams now in that uh in his group. Uh we've got two of them. We don't have the bananas coming this year. They're doing major league stadiums only, but okay. Uh we're gonna bring the the party animals uh big time now that he'll qualify. No. You know, and that the thing that under uh we really helped him a lot. I understand kind of the I think uh some of the markets it's gonna work better than others. And uh, you know, it it's again, it's you they just they hammer them. Uh they they get to them digitally and people come and they have a blast, and it's a finite amount of time. You know, it's two hours period. In that two hours we'll do more food and beverage. We have 10,000 people for a bananas game, 10,000 people for our game. We'll do 20, 30 percent more in food and beverage. He keeps all the merch. I have no clue how much he does in merchandise, but it's ridiculous on each each event. And he's great. And he's a showman's showman. He's out there in a yellow suit and a yellow top hat and running around talking smack on the field. It's a really fun thing. And what it does for us, it brings a non-traditional baseball fan to the ballpark. And then they get to our park and they see how nice it is and how easy it is to get in and out of, and how clean it is, and the food offerings we have, and the the you know, you we've got low end, high end, you can sit on a berm on the grass, or you can come up in uh into our club area and you know, have a $30 cosmopolitan if you want. But then they come back. So the bananas really do help uh spread the word to a family. That you wouldn't traditionally get to. So it's it's been great. I mean, I I give Jesse a lot of credit. I'm still pissed at him for not coming last year, though.
SPEAKER_02So um shift gears a second. What's it like w working for you? What's it like to work for you? And you know, what are what are things that are super important to you? What are things that aren't?
SPEAKER_00You know, I'm a results-oriented manager. I've always, you know, when I first went to work, we had to wear a tie, I mean a shirt and tie to the office, and it's in June, it's it starts hitting the hundreds every day, and we'll have a hundred consecutive days of a hundred degree temperature. I I convinced the then owner that once we hit it hundred, we could at least go to a a polo with the logo on it, obviously. But the salespeople, you know, they have a goal. We we just we've done our budget. We know what the ticket guys are supposed to sell next year, how many season tickets, how many group tickets. We know how many suites we want to sell. My sponsorship guys know how much revenue we want to generate in sponsorship. And I turn them loose. You know, I I don't have a weekly sales meeting. I I try to, you know, this time of the year while I'll meet with them every couple weeks. Uh Elon Musk did a great service for me talking about, you know, don't have too many meetings. And when you do, make sure you have a an agenda, you have a goal, and get it over with quick. And then get everybody out doing what they need to do, which is, you know, to sell baseball in this market. And, you know, if you live not close to the stadium and you got a meeting with somebody about a sponsorship deal, just go straight from home to the meeting. You don't need to come sign in, you don't let need everybody to know you're there. The results tell you who's working and who's not. And I I tell people that and they cringe, and then COVID happened and everybody started working remotely, and now nobody wants to go to the office. So it uh I I think that as much as anything, I figured that out because I treat people the way that I wanted to be treated and when I was, you know, learning the the business. And I you know, and I don't uh I don't panic, you know, I don't uh things go wrong every day, you know, somebody doesn't show up, uh you know, the bathroom overflows and third base side, and oh my god, what are we gonna do? You know, yeah. You just you deal with things pragmatically, you deal with them as best you can given the situation. And you don't point fingers and you, you know, I don't lose me, I don't have much turnover, hardly any turnover, frankly. I lost a couple people when the Golden Knights came here and they went over and then they came back and told the people that had stayed with us how much better the culture was at our place and how much more they enjoyed working for us. So it it obvious it's worked, obviously to do it this long, it's worked pretty well. What does keep you up at night? Anything? Or it's uh Carter. Uh my my grandson now he had his first he had 102 temperature. That's the first time I woke up in the middle of the night in a while. So uh new grandson, by the way, yes, Carter James. Seven months ago, six months, yeah. Same thing. Great. Everybody should do that once. It's uh I had no idea. Congratulations. And no, keeping me up at night. I you can't let it own you, you know. And when I walk away, I I play golf, you know, I don't do anything. I used to run, you know, I used to travel a little more than I do now. Uh my wife's mom is here, she's 90, she takes care of her every day, so it's it's hard for us to get away. But you know, I it when I I leave the ballpark, you know, there's always something to do tomorrow. I know that, but you know, walk away and uh don't let it consume you. Uh I think that's you see guys that worry and are having a heart attack or go from job to job to job because they got they're always looking for Shangri-La. Well, it doesn't exist, you know. That uh years ago, my uncle was an old he was a contractor, electrical contractor, and uh he said he called me Logie. He said, Logie, remember the grass isn't always greener on the other side, the grass is greener where you water it. So take care of your grass and you're gonna be fine. That's good advice.
SPEAKER_02He was a brilliant guy. Competitiveness. Um, you know, your your role executively is handling a lot of things you've been talking about. Quality of the team on the field and pride in it. Um everybody wants to win, so I feel silly asking the question, but how competitive are you?
SPEAKER_00I'd say very you I don't think you can be successful at anything unless you're competitive. And I again you compete with yourself. You know, you challenge yourself to let's do better, let's year over year, let's figure out a way to make 26 better than 25. We just had a great year. Well, what are we gonna do? We're an A's affiliate. Uh just won the Pacific Coast Championship, just won the championship, but we've got a bunch of good young players. You know, one of the the good things about the A's now is that they had such a dry spell. They picked at the top of the draft. You know, they were picking the top five picks for like five years in a row. So there's good players coming. Yeah. So they there's good players and we treat them right. You know, I don't skimp on. I mean, they're they're pampered to a degree, but uh it's again, it's a great market, it's a great town. We take they like to go play golf in the mornings, they like when their families are here, they like to come down here and see shows. We have you know, we have things arranged to to make their stay here comfortable. And I think that big part of AAA baseball is what's called six-year free agents. The guy that's been playing professionally for six years, he can sign with anybody. He's not here an indentured servant that way for a period of time when an organization drafts you. But six-year free agents like to come here and play. Obviously, the weather's good, the airport's great, it's easy to get in and out of here, bring in their families and friends, come to see them, and just trying to be as accommodating as we can. I think that from a competitive standpoint, it you know, our guys know, and then you know, when the lights go on, let's go get it done. We've got a uh great manager, Fran Reardon. In fact, uh he's a Buffalo guy, he just blew out his ACL Sunday skiing with his family. So I don't know if he's gonna be uh running around too good end of March when we have to start. He says he is, but we'll see. But uh, you know, the the competitive part of the play, he just has to, but he's great, and that that's a key key part of it. The the leader, you know, you'd you think a lot of times you get an ex-Major League player that everybody knows about. Uh we had Larry Boa manage here. And Larry was waiting, we won a championship. Larry was his picture on the front of the uh of our pocket schedule that year was him in a Cubs uniform playing short.
SPEAKER_02But great fielder couldn't hit that well though, don't he?
SPEAKER_00He could hit a little bit. But Larry's a Larry is obviously either Larry's a dude, though, man. He there was all in every day. Let's go, let's we're out here to get it done. Uh a guy right after that, nobody would know. Steve Smith coached in the major leagues for 25 years after that. Uh Jim Riggleman, you know, that the leader of the team, the manager is critical. And like today's game, we're city business style. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But we used to have a manager and a pitching coach and sometimes a hitting coach. When we were at the Padres, we just had two. Now we've got a manager, we've got a pitching coach, an assistant pitching coach, we've got a hitting coach, an assistant hitting coach. We got a strength and conditioning coordinator, we got an assistant strength and core conditioning guy, we got a trainer, we got an assistant trainer, and you gotta have a video guy to so you I mean it's it's a whole different industry today, but everybody being on the same page, pulling you know in the same direction, that's a big part of it.
SPEAKER_02How much does the big league club affect how you do things?
SPEAKER_00I think the biggest impact is how how they treat uh movement of players. Okay. Like uh you're a Cubs guy, so you know uh if Danzby Swanson fouls a ball off his foot, there's some organizations that would immediately bring up the triple A shortstop just in case he's not ready to go the next day. And that has a ripple effect. So we lose, say it's Swanson, we lose our shortstop for because they think he might need to jump in and fill in. And then a lot of times they fly to, you know, say the Cubs are home and the the Iowa Cubs are in Des Moines. So he'll buzz over to Chicago, drive or fly, and get there, and Swanson will get up the next day. Ah, I'm fine. Oh, then the guy turns around, but he misses a game. You know, it it uh and then you you whet the guy's appetite, you know, the the disparity in what you get paid. Not for a lot, there's guys who get paid real well at this level, but the the chance to play in the big leagues and to fly charter and to stay in first-class hotels and to be a bigger tease that doesn't I think the A's have been that's one of the things that uh that Dave Forst and Ed Sprig and the guys that call the shots there have done. You know, they they don't panic, and that's helped us maintain stability. Uh and again, we've got good players. You know, you gotta if it's the it's the Jimmies and the Joes, not the X's and the O's. If you have good players and you have a good leader and you have a good plan, things come together.
SPEAKER_02So the A's are coming to town uh 2028, right? I think is what how excited are you? How do you think it's gonna affect the city, baseball?
SPEAKER_00Um you know, I've often thought in this actually in this building at uh when when was running it. I don't remember the specific year, but there was uh we had hosted the A, the A's are the Raiders were moving from LA back to Oakland, and the Coliseum wasn't ready for the beginning of the year. So they played their first two home series here at the old ballpark. They played the Tigers and the Blue Jays, and that kind of sold out real quickly. A lot of people came out, and shortly after that, there was uh they had a meeting here that uh there was a chance to bring the San Antonio Spurs here, and they were struggling in San Antonio, they needed a new building down there. Uh, you know, wind could make anything happen in this market and thought that it might be a good idea. Uh the guy that owned the Spurs at the time, I think it was a caterpillar guy, I don't remember his name. But they had discussions and we, you know, we talked about what's gonna, you know, what is it gonna work? Can it work here? I mean, the market was half the size it is now. We we might have been around a million people. And, you know, my feeling then was the the first end is gonna win, you know, the first major league sports team that comes here has got the best chance to succeed. Uh, I think this was '98, I believe. And so right about that time, you know, they had uh David Robinson, you know, they had a marketable club, but uh they drafted Tim Duncan. And it just it took time to try to put the deal together. Well, Duncan showed up next to Robinson and Mono Genobli, and bam. I mean, that team real easily could have been in Las Vegas back then. And that really started the examination. You know, the A's uh did a market analysis in 2004 about moving here then. They didn't like the deal with the Raiders at the Coliseum. It it it deteriorated over the years. Uh it took 24 years for them to get here, obviously. But the uh, you know, I think the uh baseball has the the the Golden Knights have done phenomenally well. They won a Stanley Cup. The Raiders have a great facility, obviously on the field that's not been what they want it to be, but it's still a great place to go watch a game. Uh I feel here everybody who follows the team when the team plays here a dedicated following the game. And that's what's right, that's what Vegas is all about. So we're not you it you're not just a market of two million people. You know, you're gonna have uh the Chiefs were here playing the Raiders last game of the year, both teams are out of it, but it's Kelsey's supposedly his last game, and I I heard it was more like a Chiefs home game than a Raider home game. There's you know read everywhere. And that's good. You know, that we've got 150,000 hotel rooms, we've got the best dining, we've got the best entertainment, we've got the best shopping. You know, that's what Vegas is all about. So, you know, I where I think baseball really is gonna be effective for the market is because we play in series. So you're not coming for just a game. The weekends, we don't need as much help filling those rooms on the weekends as we do during the week. So with baseball, you're gonna have in fact we're hosting some games this year. That's our part. Think about that. NFL's like a Sunday game thing, and it baseball's every day. Yeah, and we've got the Brewers coming in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So that's gonna be there'll be a ton of brewer fans come here from Milwaukee or wherever they're from. Uh then that weekend we got the Rockies. I think it's a test balloon for us to see if we can sell the Rockies. That's hard, but it will, it'll work. Uh but you know, that I think because we play in series, because it's the summertime, uh, kids are out of school, it's gonna be easier for families from wherever. People want to see, even if you if you live in LA, yeah, you can go, you know, the Yankees are there every other year playing the Dodgers, then they're there every year playing the Angels. But it'll be a and come here to watch the Yankees play the A's because you get not only do you get to see the baseball, you want to see, you get to see Aaron Judge in person, but you get to stay at a place like this. You get to eat at Carbone or you get to eat, you get to go shopping that you get uh you get, you know, our golf is spectacular. So we we've just we've got a this is a destination that is made for major league sports, what it's become. And the fact that the visiting team is going to be a huge part of that is a good thing for the market. And I think it's even better for baseball because we play in series. So that's that's the I think the the reason it'll do well.
SPEAKER_02What are your thoughts on, and I don't know this subject well, but I've heard more than once people saying the fan base for baseball is old. Um, you know, it it the young generation doesn't like it as much. It's not gonna survive. I I don't know that I believe that, but just curious because you're sitting here with me, your thoughts on that.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think, you know, that's off base to a degree. I think the you know, you look around the country, kids are playing T-ball and coach pitch and little league, you know, they're the participation of boys and girls, because softball's really grown. It's it's huge. Uh obviously soccer is too. Uh those are the two sports that have the most participants uh in of youth participants. The I think that what happened in baseball is the perception that it was too slow or that it was it's boring. And that's part of the boring part, I think I I touched on it earlier. That's up to us who run the teams and and host the games to make sure that there's plenty for fans to do when they come out to the ballpark besides watch the game. You know, that that's a big part of it. I think that the the other thing that and and I give a lot of credit to uh Commissioner Manford on this, you know, he nailed it the you know, the pitch clock, you know, speeding the game up. Uh the little things, uh, you know, the the the plays at second base now, uh the bigger bases have made the stolen base a part of the game again. Uh not uh having a guy come out of the bullpen having to face three hitters, that's a good thing. And the biggest thing that's gonna be the the challenge, and I think again it's gonna be good, is ABS, automatic balls and strikes, you know, and the challenge system that we've been using here for the last couple years. That is that creates another reason to come out there.
SPEAKER_02Uh is that gonna be where an umpire's not calling if it is.
SPEAKER_00What it is, you get a challenge. Uh the way we do it is you get two challenges a game. If you're right, and the only one that can challenge a pitch is the pitcher, the catcher, or the hitter. Okay. Can't be challenged from the dugout. Uh no communication that way. But you know, it it's done. We have what's called the Hawkeye system uh in every stadium now. We know if it's a ball or a strike immediately and goes up on the screen, and it's it's another reason to watch the game. It's added an element that didn't exist before. Uh a lot of times a guy challenging in the first inning, you know, he's not very smart, that he's not a team guy. You want to keep your challenges till later in the game. But that's cool. The pitch clock's very good. The the bases uh, you know, that we've baseball caught up technologically. And again, to Rob Manford and and all of his crew, that they they put a lot of time and effort into it. A lot of ex-players participated in focus groups and trying to help, you know, change the way things are, and that that's been a big plus for us. And again, it's baseball. I think the you know the the Otani effect is phenomenal. Uh the the judge effect, having a guy that big and that talented. And you know, just the the history that baseball has, it's you know, it's been around forever. I I'm not at all worried about that from a entertainment standpoint. I think it's only gonna get better.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I agree the effect of the players, all the things you mentioned are great. I remember like the strike when I was a lot younger, um, and fans were really, I mean, they missed the whole season, right? It seemed like and then came that home run, that home run race between you know Sawyer and Sosa. And um, you know, and it's funny that they all got because the performance enhancing stuff all got hated on, but they really brought baseball back. Like it did. You know, I'm uh the you know, that watching that was pretty amazing.
SPEAKER_00That was as good as it got, you know. I I saw 30 for 30 on that recently, and it was great, you know. And Maguire actually Mark's one of the roving instructors for the A's, you know, and started his career there. So it's fun to see that. And I again the home run is back. Uh, you know, the way the eliminating the shift, that's another thing that they did. So you you're you're bringing, you know, it's bringing more offense into the game. Uh pitchers are throwing more fastballs. It's it's you know, there's more strikeouts, but there's more home runs. Uh it's just there's a lot more going on than there was five years ago. And I think it's only gonna get better and better. That the players, you know, that back in the day, the big one of the keep me up at night, back in we had a team here in the late 90s that couldn't wait for the games to get over, so they'd get out on the town, and you never know who they're gonna you know what they were gonna do. They're gonna get in a little activity. The they're gonna get in a you know, scuffle here and there, they're gonna hit on somebody that's married to somebody they don't know, or they're it was classic. Car wrecks, that was that's a regular occurrence. And uh, you know, that these players today don't do that. I mean, they're they work out, it's a business food. They eat right, they're they all do supplements. I mean, everybody's taking rehydration. What is it called? You buy the Costco, you put it in your water, and it makes the water better for you. You know, energy drinks are kind of frowning. There's just more of an emphasis on taking care of your body and working out. I mean, guys work out every day. You know, they might take a day off, but there's uh it's just a whole different dynamic today than there ever than I've ever seen. So it it's it's a better game because of that. Uh the talent level is it's better. I think the today's kid is softer, you know, and that's just a result of society. There isn't anything you can do about that. Uh, but you're not gonna succeed long term in baseball unless you get tough. It's too 162 games is too many. If you're if you're a wimp, if you're not willing to go play when you're a little dinged up, uh you're not gonna play very long.
SPEAKER_02Makes perfect sense. You know, not to put you on the spot here, but you've been at it a long time. You know when you're done, what do you what do you what do you think about your legacy? What do you what do you what are you most proud of and what do you want to be known for?
SPEAKER_00I don't know that I'll ever totally be done. I don't think you can do something as long as I have and just walk away. And I think you know, my relationship with the A's and with John Fisher, the owner of the A's, who's really a good guy. He takes a lot of heat and unnecessarily, he's a good man. And uh I think there's a role for me, you know, as long as I want one to have to be able to go to the ballpark and be involved, e even with the Triple A club as well. And I think I'm most proud of the longevity. I'm most proud of the the low amount of turnover, just having a great group of people that I've worked with for a long time, uh, you know, seeing their kids grow up and seeing their kids have kids and the ballpark that we built when nobody thought we could get that done. Uh major league sports working here when I I I felt that as you know a long time ago, back in '98. Uh being right about that, that not that you needed to be right, but I just I think I understood this market because I worked so hard to understand it. So, you know, the legacy is just that, you know, I was a good community player, I was a good community partner, uh, you know, did the right thing. You know, again, my uncle taught me that you do the right thing, the you'll the money will find you, and it it certainly has. So it it, you know, we've done really well because I think we just do things the right way.
SPEAKER_02Well, this has been a ton of fun for me. I feel like I talked to you for a couple more hours, but I don't want to keep you forever. Um, you know, we always close this. Uh we're all about championing people, and so we always close with a question if there's a person you could champion and throw a shout-out to right now, who would it be and and why?
SPEAKER_00Uh you know, uh, I would I just mentioned it, but uh really I think uh I gotta do two. John Fisher, okay having the guts, a Bay Area guy, a Bay Area Blue Blood, owns the owned the earthquakes, the the soccer team at San Jose and owns the A's, and worked tirelessly for years to try to get a a stadium deal done of the Bay Area and didn't come together. And it it was hard for John. I know it's really hard. It's hard for Laura, his wife, it's hard for his family to to see how he just got vilified and hammered and to have the guts to say enough is enough. Come down here, make a deal, uh, build a state-of-the-art facility that's gonna be the the rage of Major League Baseball. I I I really, you know, I tip my hat to John because that was not easy. The other guy who a mentor of mine for years, he was the president of our Pacific Coast League. I was the chairman of our executive committee for 24 years, Branch Ricky III. Branch is uh the smartest guy I know, the most fun guy I know, uh the most balanced. His turn, you gotta be balanced. And you know, he never panicked. We always figured out how to get things done. Again, putting people first, doing try to do things the right way. But uh, you know, those two guys are very special, you know, always will be to what I've seen him do, uh, and of course, branch for so many years. He's like my big brother.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Thanks again for the time, Don. Wish you all the best and hope you hope you win again next year. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_01I hope you enjoyed this conversation. If you want more podcrash in your life, which of course you do, make sure to like, follow, and subscribe to us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Catch you next time.