Steve Garvey joins the podcast to talk about #6, his time as a Dodgers batboy, his guest shot on Fantasy Island and more. We've also got our fathers' favorite players, plus Screen Stars, the Hall of Shame, the Heat Check and more. It's the joy of six!
Our Guest
Steve Garvey played 19-years in the big leagues for the Dodgers and Padres in the 70s & 80s. He’s a 10X All-Star, 4X Gold Glove winner, was National League MVP in 1974 and won a World Series in 1981. His number 6 is retired in San Diego where his dramatic home run in the 1984 NLCS propelled the Padres to their first World Series appearance (take that, Cubbies!) Since he retired in 1987 he’s become a highly sought-after speaker and marketing executive as well as serving on the board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a non-profit that helps former players through medical and financial hardships.
0:55 – “Actually it broke in 1916.”
Rudy tests the limits of the term “late breaking number news” with a treatise on the history of both uniform numbers and names on the back of jerseys.
5:32 – “Oh, you kids grow up. I’m tellin’ you . . .”
We absolutely geek out on meeting Steve Garvey, a boyhood hero.
19:06 – “Let’s get into the contenders.”
Name checks of the baseball also-rans for the #6. Guys like Sal Bando, Roy White, Paul Blair and more make the list.
21:04 – “Appropriately we have six.”
Rudy runs through our six baseball contenders for the Hall of Fame. Joe Torre, Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Steve Garvey, Ryan Howard and Tony Oliva.
27:05 – “Since we don’t have really any contenders . . . ”
Football #6’s is a rogues gallery. Jay Cutler, Bubby Brister, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, Mark Sanchez, Rolf Benirschke, etc. etc.
29:44 – “Let’s do it.”
Sentimental favorites and honorable mentions in baseball include a host of Hall of Famers who played forever ago as well as Patrick Ewing, Alfrederick “The Great” Hughes and Bonzi Wells.
30:49 – “I’m gonna tip off with Bill Russell.”
The basketball contenders list is stacked. Walter Davis, Tyson Chandler, Walter Berry, Eddie Jones, LeBron James (in Miami), Julius Erving and Bill Russell.
34:24 – “We’ll do hockey real quick.”
We also hit hockey – Toe Blake and Phil Housley and Mark Martin in NASCAR.
35:56 – “It’s time for Screen Stars."
Screen Stars wearing #6 on the silver screen:
- James Caan as Jonathan E in Rollerball (1975)
- Pete Vuckovich as Clu Haywood in Major League (1989)
- Elvis Presley (car) as Steve Grayson in Speedway (1968)
- Scott Porter as Jason Street in Friday Night Lights (TV Series 2006-11)
- Mario Lopez as AC Slater in Saved By The Bell (TV Series 1989-92)
- Arian Foster as Ray Jennings in Draft Day (2014)
40:24 – “And his name is Luis Pujols.”
The Hall of Shame includes Luis “-5.14 WAR” Pujols. An all-field, no-hit catcher with the Astros among others.
41:34 – “We’ve got Ace Bailey. Great name.”
The Derrick Rose Award for #6 includes the sad story of Ace Bailey, the first NHL player to have his number retired and Bill Buckner, who had a great career tarnished by an error.
43:32 – “We’ve got some Heat Check guys.”
Listen to the pod for the honorable mentions, but here’s the Heat Check list for #6:
- Baker Mayfield
- Kristaps Porzingis
- DeAndre Jordan
- Anthony Rendon
- Johnny Hekker
- Eric Bledsoe
47:30 – “But what is even more awesome is we have our Hall of Fame.”
Hall of Fame list for #6:
- Bill Russell
- Stan Musial
- Dr. J
- Al Kaline
- Phil Housley
- Steve Garvey
Hat tip to Jorge Martin for helping us land Steve Garvey. Listen to Jorge’s podcast here: http://familiaffb.com
