Harold Reynolds UNFILTERED: Rickey's Phone Call, Bo Jackson’s Throw, Rookie Griffey Stories
All The SmokeShow Notes
Matt Barnes & Nick Swisher sit down with legendary broadcaster and two-time All-Star Harold Reynolds live from MLB All-Star Weekend in Philly. Harold takes us all the way back to Corvallis, Oregon, where he grew up one of eight kids, snuck into the gym to watch Pistol Pete Maravich shoot around, and helped Dick Fosbury perfect the Fosbury Flop before it won Olympic gold. From there he breaks down what it was really like stepping into an 80s MLB clubhouse as a rookie, and the vets — Julio Cruz, Maury Wills, Frank White, Reggie Jackson, Jim Palmer — who took him under their wing and passed down lessons that don't show up in any box score. The crew gets into the biggest shifts in the game: why Harold thinks the eye test still matters more than the analytics era wants to admit, how kids are getting priced out of baseball before they ever get a shot, and why coaching today looks nothing like it did when a manager like Dick Williams could put the fear of God in you. Harold also shares what it was like coming up alongside Ken Griffey Jr. and his dad in Seattle, watching Randy Johnson turn into a monster after one lunch with Nolan Ryan, and breaking Rickey Henderson's stolen base streak. There's no shortage of Bo Jackson lore either, from throwing out Harold at home from the wall, hitting bombs from both sides of the plate, benching 400 pounds in street clothes just to prove a point. Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak, Kevin Mitchell showing up to games on his own terms, and Harold's jump from the field to Baseball Tonight and co-founding MLB Network round out one of the deepest baseball history conversations the show has done. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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