Michael Cuddyer (Transcript)

Robby: You played for a while in the dome to start your career with the Twins and then you moved over to Target Field with the team in 2010. I was your reporter that year. I remember that day like it was yesterday, April 12th, 2010 against the Red Sox. I'm just curious from your perspective, what memories do you have of that particular day, the first ever game at Target Field, and what sticks out to you?

Michael: I mean that particular day, first and foremost, going into Target Field, you're obviously scared and the reason I say scared is because you know what April's like in Minnesota and you're going into the dome and you're thankful for the dome at home in April in Minnesota. So that first series, especially coming out of Florida where you're in 95 degrees and beautiful sunshine, you're nervous and scared about what's it going to be like? Because you're playing in Detroit, you're playing in Chicago, you're playing in Kansas City, you're playing in all these cold weather places, and then opening day rolls around, it's like 65 degrees and sunny and beautiful and the excitement, the fans. I mean, that whole first season was incredible. 40,000 every night. And we got lucky with the weather that whole first year and it was beautiful. Yeah, so I remember that first day just the beautiful sunshine. We're facing John Lester, I believe, is who was pitching that game.

Robby: I'm pretty sure it was.

Michael: And I was able to actually get the first RBI. I got a little jam shot off Lester that scored Span. And what was cool for me personally is I got the last hit in the Metrodome. It was a playoff game, so it doesn't count as regular season, but I got the last hit in the Metrodome and the first RBI in Target Field. And you can go through your whole career and never open a new stadium. So to be able to have your name in the record book, so to speak, was cool. And I believe we won the game.

Robby: We did.

Michael: And I think—I know this isn't answering your question, but the next day I hit a homer off John Lackey, I believe, and it was a ball down the left field line. It didn't foreshadow the rest of the season, but that particular game and that particular at-bat, I mean, it barely scraped right down the left field line right next to the foul pole. That would have been an out at the Metrodome just because of the dimensions. And I remember thinking, "It's great being in a hitter's park," which ended up not being a hitter's park the first two years.

Robby: Morning gave a real interesting answer to this and I'm not that you care what his answer is, but I'm curious to hear yours. What was that modification process of learning to hit at the three different surfaces in right field, the short part in left, the petunia bed—you remember there's that little space between the foul pole and the stands and the concrete that they had to modify with Matt Tolbert at Target Field. So what was it like? Or can you just tell me if there were any—Look, man, you're facing the greatest pitchers in the world. You got to hit the fucking ball. It's hard to do to begin with, but did you have to adjust anything? What was that physical adjustment like at Metrodome versus Target Field? What was that adjustment process like?

Michael: So the last few years of the Metrodome, I had my approach and that was my approach. And we had the baggie in right center. And I hit a fair share of balls off the top of the baggie in right center that weren't homers, but they were doubles and triples. And because it was indoors in a controlled environment, they went off the wall. At Target Field, it did not fly like that. The first two years, it did not carry. So balls that I was hitting to right center were not going off the wall, they were getting caught. So I had to start pulling the ball more in Target Field compared to being in the Metrodome.

Robby: How hard is that to do?

Michael: You weren't leaving center field at Target Field those first couple years. Now guys are doing it pretty regularly, but I think there were only three to four homers to dead center those first two years, whereas in the Metrodome, you hit a ball good to center—even though it was 408 feet—it was going to leave the yard. So my game was center field at the Metrodome, but at Target Field, those were outs, not doubles or homers. They were outs. So I had to adjust my approach, and I had to do it relatively quickly to start trying to pull the ball a little more than I was accustomed to.

Robby: So I watch guys make adjustments in the big leagues whether it's a new position or whether they try to reshape their swing. A guy could have a good year and a guy has a rough year following it. It's hard to do at the big league level. I see guys making adjustments and I'm like, "How the hell do you do this at the big leagues and not in Double-A or Triple-A?" You know what I mean? Some guys could be really good at one thing and maybe a GM doesn't want to lose that tool, maybe he fits your ball club in the right way. Whatever decision goes into it.

So my thing is this: How the hell did a guy like you who had been in the big leagues for that time—I want to say five, six years at least—you had been in the big leagues before that...

Michael: So I'd already been in seven years.

Robby: What was your big league debut? It was 2003?

Michael: 2001 I had a September call-up. So I would say 2002 to 2009, yeah.

Robby: So that's my point. You've been in the big leagues for eight years at that point and hadn't made an All-Star team yet. So what was that adjustment process? How the hell do you do that at the big league level?

Michael: And fortunately it was later in my career, so I understood how to make those adjustments. And maybe those adjustments are you're looking for different pitches to be able to now capitalize on the ballpark and how to capitalize on the ballpark. Maybe instead of being able to sit on that slider away to be able to go to right center, I got to jump on the fastball middle-in earlier in the count. Things like that. Not necessarily changing your swing, you're more changing your approach and what you're looking for at the plate and the pitchers that you're trying to do more damage with that I didn't necessarily look for or have to look for in the Metrodome.

Robby: Let me ask you this. The first right fielder in the history of that ballpark for home games, you had three different surfaces. You had the padding that took you up to about maybe six or seven feet. Then you had at the top the limestone, and in the middle was another green surface which was like wood, I think.

Michael: It was like wood. I think it was wood.

Robby: So what the hell was that trying to play balls off the wall that are hit over your head that you have no chance of physically getting to? How do you play defense from that aspect that first couple years?

Michael: Yeah, that was tough. There were a few things that were tough playing right field at Target Field compared to the Metrodome. Number one, I got really good at playing the baggie. I got really good at understanding where I could play, knowing what kind of ball was going to go over my head and knowing what it was going to do off the baggie. And I got really adept at knowing if I needed to be close to the baggie because it was just going to fall and die right there, or playing it a little far off because I knew it was going to hit the rubber turf warning track and bounce to me where I can make the one-handed play and throw him out at second base.

Target Field completely got flipped because if that same ball that was high off the baggie was going to hit the limestone and just shoot to second base. So I couldn't get close to the wall on that type of play. And then I had to learn the trajectory. If it was a medium fly ball, it was going to hit off the wood and that was going to play more like the baggie where it was just going to die. And then the line drive that was hit into the gap was going to hit off the pad and it was going to shoot towards center field, which you never had to worry about that off the baggie because even the ball that hit where a traditional fence would be, that was still a baggie in right field. It was still a soft fence.

So yeah, having to learn that was difficult. But even more difficult than that was early in the games when the sun would set behind Target Field—it would be behind home plate, but it would reflect off of the buildings behind me in right field, which would then reflect off the sky boxes behind home plate. So for three innings, the sun was straight in your face, but it wasn't the actual sun. It was the reflection off the two buildings.

Robby: Reflection off the buildings—I know the buildings you're talking about. Yeah.

Michael: So the line drive was really, really difficult to see for the first three to four innings of every game. Really difficult to see, and something that I had to try and get used to as well.

Robby: Like your Cowboys buddy CeeDee Lamb not seeing the football the other week with that touchdown pass across the middle where you could see he was squinting—he couldn't see the ball.

Michael: Yeah, yeah. Which I mean, it only affected one player and it was the right fielder. So that was difficult and I don't know if it still is like that because obviously other buildings have been built around there. I don't know if it's still getting reflected, but those particular two years that I played there, that was something that I really had to adjust to just being able to see. I would have to put my glove up as the pitch is being delivered just to be able to see the ball when it was hit.

Robby: Just to track the ball off the bat. Cuddy, first of all, congratulations to you, well deserved being in the Twins Hall of Fame. What is it like? What is it like having your name in that place to be remembered for the career? And dude, we all know what kind of human you are. We know how you impacted the community, the time you took, how generous you were to all of us, but you're a damn good fucking baseball player. You got there because you're a good player, not because you're a good guy. What is it like when you step back in there knowing that you're going to put that blue jacket on every time they have an induction ceremony?

Michael: It's pretty surreal, especially because of my path to that. Being a first round pick and having expectations of a first round pick, and every player's path is different. And you're going to go through adversities and you're going to struggle and you're going to have successes, and mine was a big-time roller coaster. Getting called up, having success in the playoffs in 2002 and then getting sent back to Triple-A in 2003, to being a role player in 2004 and 2005, getting a chance to play every day and not really grasping that opportunity. And so it was just up and down.

And then 2006 I was finally able to take advantage of the opportunity. I'm not going to say it was my first opportunity because I had opportunities previous to that, but it was the first time I took advantage of that opportunity and then became a mainstay after that. But for three to four years, it was up and down. So for that to culminate into being the only guy that played on every one of those playoff teams from 2002 to 2010. I was the only one of Gardy's era getting to the playoffs that played on every one of those teams. It meant a lot because to be quite frank, I didn't think I was still going to be around after that 2005 season.

Robby: That's crazy. Again, I want this answer from a player's perspective. I obviously know what it means from my perspective covering it in the media. When Target Field was built, what did that do? Let me tell you something. Perk—so you and Perk gave interesting answers and they're kind of different. You thought it was amazing. The dome you liked because you were hitting and playing the baggie. Perk hated it. He's like, "Man, when I went in at one o'clock, I was not seeing daylight the rest of the day and I fucking hated it." Right? That's what he said. So what did Target Field mean to the city of Minneapolis and baseball in Minnesota in general? How did it impact it in the stands? I mean, I'm sure it impacted on the field too because the place was packed every night and I'm sure the players love that. So what did that do for that city and baseball in Minnesota?

Michael: It was literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air. I mean, that's what it was. It was that generation—much of that generation had never seen outdoor baseball at a major league level. Not many of those fans at that time had been to Met Stadium at Metropolitan Stadium. They didn't know what a game outside looked like. If you weren't fortunate enough to go to Chicago or Kansas City or any other stadiums in that region, you didn't know what it was like to watch Major League Baseball. You didn't know what it was like to see a white pinstripe Twins uniform in sunlight and sunshine and have grass.

So it was literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air. And those fans—I mean, it didn't matter if it was 120 degrees. It didn't matter if it was raining. It didn't matter if it was beautiful sunshine. They came to every game. And that was really cool because unless it was playoffs, at the Metrodome, you're playing in front of 20,000. And even on our good teams, just because like Perk said, if you have an opportunity in June to go to the lake when it's 80 degrees or go into the Metrodome, you're going to go to the lake and watch the game on TV. You're not going to go in the Metrodome and watch the game indoors when you only get three months of beautiful weather. So for it to be outside, the fans really responded and it was fun to see the excitement and the buzz. And we were good.

Robby: So I have another interesting question and this is a blank platform question. If you don't want to answer it, you don't have to. But I want fans to understand what the answer is to this question. How would you first of all, what is "the ass" and how do you describe it?

Michael: What is the what?

Robby: The ass. Somebody has "the ass."

Michael: Like getting "the ass."

Robby: Yeah, we've gotten some interesting answers so far and I'm just curious what different players say about what "the ass" is. Because a lot of people don't realize in baseball, he's got "the ass." You know what I mean?

Michael: Number one, frustration. "The ass" can come from a lot of different ways, different reasons. There's a lot of different motives to getting "the ass." I didn't get "the ass" very often. I got "the ass" if I wasn't prepared or my teammates weren't prepared. I didn't get "the ass" toward fans very often because everybody's got different things going on in their lives. You're not able to just study the game every second of every day. So if I went out and got booed, I didn't get "the ass" because they're just literally there that day watching the game, and if I sucked, it didn't matter what I did yesterday. They were there to watch that game. So I never really got "the ass" at fans. I got "the ass" if teammates or umpires weren't prepared, because at that level, if you're getting paid at the rate that we're getting paid, you should be prepared. And if you weren't prepared, that would give me "the ass."

Robby: That's a great answer. I've heard all different kinds of things and some are hilarious. Some of them are good. Like Jack Wilson, if you remember Jack Wilson, you played against him.

Michael: Yeah. Absolutely. Played with him—he was coaching me on the USA team.

Robby: That's right. He gave an interesting answer. We're at my brother's house—we have our cousin passed away, so we're going to a funeral here as soon as this is done.

Michael: I'm sorry to hear that.

Robby: Yeah, sad deal. Kid was 17. Sad deal, man. Dealt with cancer.

Michael: Horrible.

Robby: But anyways, Jack Wilson's answer was, "Hey, it's like if you go through the drive-thru and you're starving. You go to the drive-thru and they screw up your order and you don't realize it until you get home." That's basically what it is. You're not going to drive back, but you're so pissed off that you're missing French fries or whatever it is.

Michael: Yeah, because they weren't prepared to give you the order.

Robby: You're not going to drive back, but you're so pissed off that you're missing French fries or whatever it is. Kind of what it is. All right, couple other things before I let you roll. Are you good on time, by the way? I'm not going to take all day.

Michael: I got all day. It's fine.

Robby: I'm not going to take all day. That's for sure. But hey, I want to ask this. Jack raised an interesting point which makes me want to ask—when he played for the Pirates, he bought tickets behind home plate for his family because he wanted his sons and his daughter to kind of be close and they wanted to while they were old enough to watch him play. Does Casey remember your career? I would assume your daughters probably remember it as well. Do they remember your playing career?

Michael: They were only three or four when I retired.

Robby: So maybe not then. But Casey remembers when you played in the big leagues, right?

Michael: Yeah.

Robby: What is that dynamic for you now having played the game as a big leaguer, had a son cheering you on, now the roles are reversed. You're going to be the dad in college watching his son play baseball. What is that dynamic like for you as a former big leaguer?

Michael: Number one, it's way more nerve-wracking. I'm more nervous at a Tuesday high school game against a lesser team than I was playing in the World Series.

Robby: You're not the first to say that. Really?

Michael: Yeah, because I don't have any control over the outcome of the games. The best way I can describe it is if I failed—if I struck out bases loaded, we're down by two in the ninth inning and we lose the game—I knew I could handle the questions from the media. I knew I could handle the comments from the fans. I could handle everything, all the negative things that come with that. I could handle it. I knew I could handle it. I was confident that I could handle it.

When it's your kid, you want to protect them all the time. So you don't know how they can handle the adversity. You don't know how they can handle bad publicity or people talking shit about them. You don't know how they can handle it. So you're nervous about their responses and protecting them mentally, not the actual outcome of the game. I obviously want my kid to succeed and do well in whatever they do, but it's more I don't know how they're going to be able to handle that. And I had to go through it in order to be able to handle it. But you also don't want to see your kids in those situations. So that's why I'm more nervous because I don't know how they're going to respond.

And that's also—and I think you can attest to this—why I was so willing to speak to the media, especially when things were bad. I was always at my locker willing to stand up and answer any questions because I knew I could handle those questions and I didn't want to put those responsibilities on Justin or Joe or any of those other guys that I needed them to be able to go out and perform and we needed them to be the engine that carried us. I didn't want to put that on them. Although they had to handle their responsibilities, I was going to handle all the extra bullshit because I knew I could handle it and still go out and play.

Robby: That leads me to a great point, Cuddy, and that's the truth. Every single day, whether you went 4 for 4 or 0 for 4 with four strikeouts or 4 for 4 with three homers, whatever it is, you were at that locker every single day. And we knew—and we tried not to burn it—but hey, he's going to give us a good sound bite. He's a good player, he's great for us in the media. And I always believed that as long as you keep your criticism strictly between the lines, I've always felt that's fair. I've always felt that was a fair question that was on the table even if the outcome did not go your way. I'm not going to fucking bury a guy, but I always felt it was fair to ask, "Hey, what happened on that play and what did you see?" And then leave an open platform.

So with that said, I know you agree with that sentiment. Why were you there every day to answer the bell when you had two superstars? And that's not ripping Joe or Justin because they were both very accessible. But Joe's DNA reminds me of Brian Reynolds of the Pirates—he's the best player on the team. Brian Hayes, they're not camera friendly. It's just not in Joe's DNA to be like this happy-go-lucky guy in front of the camera. It's not who he is as a human. But he's such the nicest human being you'll ever meet on planet Earth and he'll give you his time. He's just not the most entertaining guy on camera that we can joke with or be serious with. Why did you answer the bell every day for the media boys?

Michael: I think the first thing is understanding every cog in the machine. You need the beat writers. You need the ticket takers. You need the umpires. You need the front office. You need the players. This is a big machine that has a lot of cogs that need to spin in the right direction in order for the whole thing to go. And as a player, I understood the job of the beat writers. And I'm with you—I like the beat writers. This is not a knock on columnists. Columnists need to sell the papers and put their opinion. They got their opinion and that's what their job is. First of all, you got to understand what everybody's job is in the cogs and what their cog is.

Robby: And so few players, Cuddy, so few players recognize the difference between a beat writer and a columnist. So distinct. So few players know that. And I always knew you did. That's why I asked you that question. So carry on.

Michael: So for me, why I stood there is I didn't want to have to put it on the beat writers to have to give the opinion of the game because that wasn't their job. Their job was to report the game, report what happened in the game. And if I left it to their opinion, they have no choice but to put their opinion into the game. And I wanted to tell the story, so their job was to ask me the questions and if I gave the answer, their job was to report the answer. Whereas if I'm not there, they're going to have to tell their story how they saw it because there's no other choice. And I needed to understand that and I had to understand that in order to be able to tell my side of the story or what the team's side of the story and kind of dictate that to not leave it up to the beat writers to have to do that.

Robby: Speaking of beat writers, how—and I know it was Torii first, then it was Morneau, then it was Mauer. Those guys went to La Velle Neal to break their retirement story. Like those guys said, "Hey, I want you to report this with that kind of backup of knowledge." And I don't know if anything happened off the cuff between you two. I would imagine it didn't because I know La Velle as well as I know—he's one of my best friends in the media. What kind of respect did you have for the way he carried himself as a Twins beat reporter for two and a half decades essentially?

Michael: Utmost respect.

Robby: Why is that? Tell me. I want your side. They always talk about you. Tell me about him and what your relationship was like.

Michael: He was honest as a beat writer. And as a player, all you can ask for as a beat writer is to be honest. And he was honest. I mean, he would come up to you and ask you the question, and if you wanted it to be off the record, he didn't put it in there. He would hint at it, but he would never put it in there. And if you had something that was on the record and I understood he had to say something about it, then he was honest about what I said and didn't spin it, didn't mess it up, didn't turn it. He was honest and he cared about us as human beings. We weren't just players. We weren't just baseball cards. We were human beings.

And my thing is we need to talk on a human level. I'm not just asking and answering questions. It's not that type of relationship. We needed to understand that we're all human beings. And he was good at that. He cared, and he was good at that.

Robby: Yeah, and I think that's why he earned so much respect around that clubhouse for generations of Twins players is what I mean. First it was Torii, then it was Morneau that trusted him, then it was Mauer that trusted him, and then he just always had that inherent trust. All right, I got to touch on a couple more things here before I let you go because this is way too good. Tell me about 2013. Hold on. You went to Colorado first. How much did hitting at Coors Field attract you to sign there as a free agent?

Michael: I don't think it played a part. No, it really didn't. What got me to go to Coors Field was Dan O'Dowd. He made me believe that I could be a transformative player in that organization and a key piece in what they were trying to do, not just on the field but culturally. And that really spoke to me a lot, and he did a good job of selling me on the organization. Obviously when you go to Coors Field, it's a good hitting place, but it's not a good hitting place for power like most people think. It's not a home run park. It's definitely a hitter's park for base hits because of such a vast outfield.

Robby: Really?

Michael: I always joked with him. I told him, "Everybody's worried about moving the fences back at Coors. I said, you need to move the fences in at Coors Field." And he looked at me like I had three heads. I said, "Dan, you don't get beat by solo homers. You get beat by bloop singles that turn into three-run homers. Base hits that should have been caught because the outfielders had to play so deep. Now it's a two-run homer." That's how you got beat. So if you move the fences in, yeah, you might give up more solo homers, but the base hits are not going to fall. So that was kind of my thing with Coors Field. It was a really good hitter's park for base hits and doubles and triples and stuff.

Robby: That's very interesting because you always think pitchers don't want to sign there for the same reason. You think that would be the main reason a hitter would go because you could hit more homers, you can make more money.

Michael: And before the humidor, it was a lot of homers, but you don't see a lot of home run guys. You see a lot of average guys get upticks in their batting average for sure.

Robby: Yeah. What was it like winning a Silver Slugger?

Michael: Pretty special.

Robby: What kind of an honor is that? That's hard to do, man.

Michael: It's pretty special. Yeah.

Robby: You won the batting title that year too, I believe. Was it .330?

Michael: I won the batting title and I think that was .331 that year.

Robby: .331. I knew you were close. Yeah, you did. .331. Holy hell. What a year.

Michael: And everybody's like when I won it, they're like, "Think of all the people that you're in this list with that also won batting titles." For me, it was thinking about all the great hitters that did not win a batting title, which made it really special for me.

Robby: Yeah, when you're playing for the Rockies and win a Silver Slugger, can you just break down for fans how hard is it to hit a baseball thrown by the greatest pitchers in the world? It's the hardest thing to do in all of sports. I know basketball's really hard, but try hitting a baseball at 98 with a ridiculous amount of movement. You cut your teeth before analytics was a thing, but you got Randy Johnson throwing a hundred from the left side. How hard is it to win a Silver Slugger and a batting title?

Michael: And the way I answer that question when people talk about it being in Colorado is I hit the highest I ever hit on the road that year. I think I hit just under .320 on the road that season. So you're not going to win a batting title because you're not going to hit .500 for a whole season, 81 games at Coors Field. You're gonna have some splits and there are going to be higher, but you hit higher at home no matter where you are just because you're more comfortable. I know the batter's eye. I know the feeling around when I'm in the box. All that stuff goes into play.

And I hit higher in the Metrodome than I hit on the road in Minnesota. I hit higher at Coors than I hit at Citi Field. I mean, that's just—you hit higher at home no matter what. For me, that particular season, I hit really well on the road, and that was why I won the batting title that year. And for me, it was the first year I really bought into mental performance.

Walt Weiss was our manager that year and he trained in MMA in the offseason when he played, and he brought in an MMA fighter who talked to us in spring training and talked about how he would prepare his mindset before he got into a fight and how his self-talk and how he built himself up in his own mind and his own head to get himself ready to go and be a world champion MMA fighter. And that 45-minute talk really hit home with me and it changed the way I talked to myself during a game and during a season. I wish I had that talk when I was 24 as opposed to when I was 34 because I was able to follow that up in 2014. I got hurt but I had a better year. I was on my way to another batting title in 2014 and unfortunately my body gave out and 2015 was my last year. But just being able to have that change in mindset and change in the way that I talked to myself and believed in myself was the reason why I won the batting title that year.

Robby: That's incredible. 2015 World Series, Royals-Mets. One year with the Mets. We talked to Drew Butera who caught the last out, the strikeout to end the World Series. What is it like? And again, when I ask this, I ask this with full respect, not being sarcastic or flip when I ask. I interviewed Kevin Stocker who in 1993 was a shortstop when Joe Carter hit the ball over his head to win the World Series, and we talked about that moment when the strikeout happened. And I want to say it was Wade Davis that got the strikeout to end the World Series. And it was maybe Duda. I can't remember who it was. But anyways, it was a called third strike to end the World Series. Where were you and just how do you describe what the vibe was like at Citi Field in that moment?

Michael: It was obviously very solemn. It was tough. You're in that—and we had such a great run through those playoffs, beating the Dodgers in five, sweeping the Cubs in four. We had game one. We were winning game one and Alex Gordon hit a homer off Familia who was incredible that year to tie the game. We were winning game two. We had a lot of unfortunate things that happened that caused us to lose. So it was tough. But you know, there's only one team that's going to win every year. That's it. I mean, there's going to be 29 other teams that are feeling bad, that it sucks for. So that season was not downgraded because we lost the World Series.

You know that you got to take the whole thing in consideration and the excitement and the buzz and the way we came back and tracked down the Nationals to get into the playoffs and then Daniel Murphy's heroics and everything that encompassed that whole team and that whole season was not all for nothing because of that last strikeout, because we lost the World Series. So yeah, that particular moment it sucks, but then you get a moment to reflect that I got to play in the World Series. We got there. We got to experience it. And your career is not dictated because you win or lose a World Series.

And that year was a fun year because we changed the mindset of that Mets organization that season. We turned them around. I mean, they had a lot of rough years prior to that. They got tracked down in 2007, I think. They blew a big lead.

Robby: Yeah, if I remember that. Phillies beat them.

Michael: Blew a big lead and really up to 2015 had not had much success at all. So we kind of changed that mindset and that thinking of that organization to being back to being winners again.

Robby: Because Granderson was on that team. You had some good veteran leaders on that club. What is it like for you guys to turn a culture? What is that feeling like for a player to help turn a culture?

Michael: Yeah, it was big. So that year obviously it wasn't a huge contract that I signed, but I was the only guy that they brought in via free agency. So I got a lot of flack because my season numbers-wise wasn't really good. It wasn't great. But what I felt like my job was to change the mindset and establish a mindset for the young pitching staff that we had—Matt Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, these guys that were going to now go and have tremendous careers. Cy Young award winners and all that. They just needed to believe in themselves and believe and understand and realize how good they actually were.

And I remember we had a meeting right before we left spring training and I told these guys, I said, "When we get into September, don't be shocked that we've got a chance to get into the postseason because a lot of times when you got a young team that has never tasted success, you're good. You're going through the season. You're winning. You're having a good time. But then when it comes down to the point where it's like, 'Shit, we can actually win this thing,' that ass kind of tightens up a little bit and you end up choking because you don't really realize, man, we can actually win."

So that was my message throughout the whole course of the season. Don't be shocked when we're standing there in the end. Even when we were in third place and we were under .500, don't be shocked when we're going to come back. And lo and behold, trade deadline comes. We make moves to get Céspedes and Kelly Johnson and Uribe, these other pieces that helped us get to that point, and we weren't shocked and we went ahead. So changing that culture of not only understanding that we have potential to be good—we are good and we expect to be good.

Robby: One last thing, Kyle, if you have anything after this question. I forgot to touch on this. So there's one player in the history of Major League Baseball that has the first hit in two ballparks. You probably don't know who it is. It's a guy you played against, Sean Casey.

Michael: Okay. Wow.

Robby: He has—and he could have had it in four, but he only had it in two. So he had it in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. He did it four days apart. Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. He had the first hit in each of those two ballparks. Four days apart. He had the last hit at Milwaukee County Stadium. And then somebody got a hit before he came up to bat at Cincinnati. He played in the first game there too. And he had one more where he didn't get the first hit too, which is crazy to think about, but the odds have to be insane.

We talked to Doug Mientkiewicz, first hit ever in Houston. You had the first RBI. Morneau had the first triple at Target Field. I'm writing a book about ballparks. I've looked up a ton of these firsts, which by the way leads me to a question. Do you at all have a relationship with Mike Pelfrey, the pitcher? I'm asking because he started the first game at Citi Field. I want to interview him for getting the first start.

Michael: He played for the Twins. Morneau might know him.

Robby: That's why I'm asking. Morneau might know him. I'll ask him. Yeah.

Michael: Or Perkins. Perkins might know him too.

Robby: You're right. Perk might know him too. I forgot to ask him. I asked Neil Walker. I asked a couple guys and it's like, somebody doesn't have his damn number where I can track him down. And I've never met him, so I don't know him. I would just be cold calling him. But I would have somebody grease the skids that knows me, of course, to help do it.

The first RBI at Target Field, nobody can take that away. We mentioned you being in the Ring of Honor, but having the first at a stadium—and we tracked down a lot of people that have done this. We got the first caught stealing, Ben Davis at Seattle. He was a catcher. He was wearing Tony Gwynn's cleats from the All-Star Game because he forgot to pack his cleats because the first game at Safeco was coming out of the All-Star break. It's just the things you discover in baseball that fans will get a kick out of are so cool, and then you get people like you to expand on that moment. That's what we're doing with this book. All right. So what is it like just having a first in a ballpark?

Michael: I mean, really special. Especially Target Field because it was such a drastic change from the Metrodome. You're outside, the fans—because you spent time there—how much that meant to Twins territory. It means so much to that area up there. So to be able to have a first in that stadium, number one, you've got to be fortunate enough to be in the lineup that day. You got to be fortunate enough to be healthy. You got to be fortunate to be good enough to be on an opening day roster. And to then be able to come through in a situation like that was very, very special.

Robby: Kyle, you got anything for Cuddy?

Kyle: Since we talked a little bit more about park factors, you mentioned the difficulty of adjusting to the light off the buildings. That makes me think about when you're first going there, obviously into the new park, everybody's learning these things at the same time. As you go on the road, especially as a young player, how are you picking these kinds of things up? Is it leaning on the veterans? Are you just kind of learning it on the fly?

Michael: So for me it was a lot of that stuff. First of all, don't underestimate it. It is a huge factor in playing in different parks and different things. And when you're a young player, you've never played in a triple-decker stadium before. You've played in front of fans—there's 12, 15, depending on what Triple-A parks you've been in, 18,000 people. But that extra deck, it's a completely unfamiliar surrounding.

So that is the first and foremost as a young player is just to get used to the surroundings of three decks and yellow seats at Dodger Stadium behind home plate and the limestone wall at Target Field, the wraparound fence at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City that you have to understand if a ball hit down the line that's a double down the line is going to wrap around, and there was a little gap, probably about a six-inch gap between the padding and the playing surface. So if that ball gets under that padding, I would have to stick my foot into that gap in order for it to stop the ball because I couldn't get it with my glove. So understanding those things and where I was able to kind of learn those things was during batting practice.

And the other thing that I don't think—I know because they've never done it, but fans don't realize—is that when you're playing on the West Coast, you're playing in Anaheim, Arizona, San Diego, the grass is so beautifully manicured and the type of grass because of the weather being so nice. I mean, it's like playing on a golf course. And I needed to know if I had a ball hit down the right field line and I wanted to throw a guy out trying to stretch a single into a double, I needed to know if I could skip it off the grass and it was going to skip all the way to second base or if I needed to throw it all the way to the dirt. If I'm playing at Wrigley or if I'm playing in Chicago with the White Sox or if I'm playing in St. Louis because of the weather—New York Yankees—the grass is thicker so it's not going to skip. So I now know I need to throw it all the way to the dirt in order for it to skip to the second baseman.

All that stuff I had to do prior to the game starting in batting practice. And I would go out there and I would throw balls at different levels and skip them on different surfaces to see what the ball was going to do. So I was now prepared when that happened during the game.

Robby: That's crazy. One other thing I'm going to bother you for. I see over your shoulder when you lean back. Is that your Silver Slugger that's behind you?

Michael: Yes, it is.

Robby: All right. At another time, can I trouble you for a photo of that that we can put either on the site or in the book? I'll text you another time for that. So I have some cool stuff that I want to show fans a picture of.

Michael: Here's another thing you'll appreciate in my office here.

[_Shows photo_]

Robby: You jumping in the air. I remember Alexi Casilla sliding—after Casilla got the hit, Gomez sliding into home. Is that right, dude? That's incredible.

Michael: Gomez. And that's some ups right there. Here's another one for you.

[_Shows another photo_]

Robby: What a great photo. Game 602, September 19th, 2011. Holy hell.

Michael: When Mariano Rivera when he set the record against us, the saves record. So I've got the lineup card that was exchanged at home plate.

Robby: You do?

Michael: Yeah. That's Gardy's signature. That was the one that got exchanged. That was the Yankees lineup card and I got Mo to sign it for me.

Robby: No shit. You did. Do you know how much money that thing is probably worth? Holy hell.

Michael: I got a bunch of stuff at the front of my facility here, this building where I've got some things. So I've got the original lineup card of the last game of the Metrodome and the first game of Target Field.

Robby: You do? No shit.

Michael: I mean, I could walk up there and show it to you if you want, but I could take a picture.

Robby: No, no, no. We'll do that another time. What makes that cool is if I get a chance because this gives me an idea for a video podcast, AJ Burnett has a crazy memorabilia room. I want to go to guys that I have relationships with, I want to go to their houses and just show fans what they have. You know what I mean? People seeing your Silver Slugger award is fucking cool. You know what I mean? Fans think that's cool. I think it's cool and I've been in the game for 16 years. It's just awesome.

Michael: So the other thing I have up there at the front of the house—so we were in Seattle. I think you were with us. We were in Seattle and it was 2010 and Orlando Hudson was on our team obviously, and Orlando Hudson was a Swingman guy. So Griffey's brand of Nike. And we play a night game. I get into the clubhouse the next day and O-Dog's like, "Hey man, Griffey's gone." I'm like, "What do you mean Griffey's gone?" He's like, "He's done. He said he quit. He's on his way to Florida."

Robby: I remember it.

Michael: And I was like, "Bullshit." He goes, "He told me he's done." So I went into Scotty Ullger's office because he was the bench coach at the time. And I think the night before I played second base because O-Dog was hurt or something. And I said, "Scotty, can I have that lineup card from last night?" He goes, "Why?" I said, "Man, I don't know if I'm going to play second base again. I just kind of want that lineup card." So he gives me the lineup card. It's the last lineup card that Ken Griffey Jr.'s ever on.

Robby: No way.

Michael: And I ended up getting O-Dog to send it to Griffey and he signed it for me. So I got the last lineup card that Ken Griffey Jr.'s ever written on.

Robby: I got to get this. I'm just taking notes of things. All right. I got to get to Cape May, New Jersey. So I gotta get rolling here. But that is incredible. Hey Kyle, we're gonna follow up. Do you mind if I follow up with you in a month or so? Just hit you up again because I want to get that. I totally forgot. That's a perfect Seattle story.

Michael: Yeah, yeah.

Robby: I was there for that. I remember because if I remember correctly, Cuddy, you guys were sending jerseys over because there was some chatter that it was going to be Griffey's last year and they're like, "Hey, because Tony did it when he came back with the Orioles, remember?" He was like, "Hey, you want jerseys signed? Whoever wants them from the other clubhouse because I have one." And Hot Rod was like, "Yeah, man. You just got to buy the jersey. Tony will sign it. Fuck yeah, absolutely." And I'm like, "All right." And I have a signed Tony Gwynn jersey in my game room in my memorabilia room in my house. I have Mauer, Morneau and Tony Gwynn. So I'm like, "That's pretty cool." And I remember you guys were doing the same thing. I'm like, "All right, that's a stretch for me." But I would have bought a Griffey jersey in a split second.

Michael: Here's one for you because you're a broadcaster. So I got Vin Scully at his last year to sign a microphone. Everybody was getting jerseys and stuff. I was like, "I'm gonna go buy a microphone."

Robby: That's unbelievable. I have a ball signed by Vin and that's incredible. A Vin Scully microphone. Dude, we'll continue another time. I got to get back. I gotta pick up my son for lunch and then shoot down the Jersey shore. Dude, I can't thank you enough. Kyle, you can cut. We're good to go.

Robby Incmikoski: All right, Cuddy, we’re recording now. All right, now, I was there that day when Ken Griffey Jr. retired. Can you please recall the story of how you got ahead of things and ended up with the lineup card from the final game from the visiting clubhouse?

Michael Cuddyer: So, you know, we played the night before, and I believe he came in and pinch hit, I think, in that game.

Robby Incmikoski: He did.

Michael Cuddyer: I think I finished the game at second base. Got in the next day, and Orlando Hudson was on our team—and O-Dog was a “swing man” guy, you know, so he wore Griffey’s cleats, and was tight with Griffey and close to him. And I get into the clubhouse—and I usually got there pretty early. He was there early because he was rehabbing, which is why I was playing second base. And basically said, “Hey, Griffey’s gone.” And I’m like, “What do you mean, Griffey’s gone?” He’s like, “He’s gone.” He said, “He’s done.” You know, I don’t know if he had a falling out with [inaudible] or something, or whatever the story was why he was gone, but he was gone. And I said, “No way.” He said, “Yeah, he’s halfway across the country now, driving back to Florida.”

So I went into Scotty Alders’ office and said, “Hey, Scotty, can I have that lineup card from last night?” And he looks at me like I’m weird. “Why?” “I don’t know, man. I don’t know if I’m going to play second base again, and I kind of want the lineup card.” So he gave it to me, and then obviously the news broke that that was his last game, and nobody really believed it at the time. They thought he was gonna, you know, just taking a break, reconcile and then come back. Sure enough, that was it. That was his last game, so that was the final lineup card he was on.

Robby Incmikoski: Now, do you still have that card?

Michael Cuddyer: Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s amazing.

Michael Cuddyer: Absolutely. I got him to sign it later.

Robby Incmikoski: You got Griffey to sign it later?

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah. He signed it, and then just for shits and giggles, I got Tony to sign it too, just to have two Hall of Famers on it. So Griffey signed it, and Tony signed it.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s amazing. How did you see Griff to get it signed?

Michael Cuddyer: I think I sent it to him. O-Dog sent it to him, and he sent it back.

Robby Incmikoski: That is unbelievable. And where does that sit now, Cuddy?

Michael Cuddyer: I’ve got it on my wall. I’ve got a building, kind of like a man cave at home, and I’ve got it on the wall.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s incredible. You won a Silver Slugger, had a great career, All-Star teams, played in the World Series, set your family up for life—all that kind of stuff—but something like that, where does that stand out in just terms of the things you have from your career?

Michael Cuddyer: When I look back at my career, and I said this when I got inducted in the Twins Hall of Fame, I said it in my speech. Gains—the memories fade of gains. You know what I mean? Like the moments fade, the feelings when you hit a home run or whatever—making the All-Star team. That all fades. It all gets blurry. It all kinda gets mushy in your brain. But it’s moments—and I think that goes with everybody in life. You know, you only have a very few moments in your lives, in everybody’s lives, that you can stuff sit back and be like, “Damn, that was cool.” And I think for me playing in the Big Leagues, it’s moments like that, moments like that lineup card, moments facing Mariano Rivera, and even though he beat us, it was just save record, facing him in that game. Those moments are what stick to you, and not many people get to experience moments on that level on that stage and in that environment. And playing against the best in the world, especially in his last game ever, somebody who I idolized growing up. Like I said, those are the moments you remember.

Robby Incmikoski: You know, Cuddy, I remember that game. I remember we flew there for a one-off because we had a rain-delayed game against Mariana. You mentioned that. And I remember Chris Parmelee was the final batter to face, and he struck out. And he broke his bat on a foul ball a pitch or two before. And he kept that broken bat.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, I’ve got that lineup card too. I don’t know if I told you.

Robby Incmikoski: No.

Michael Cuddyer: So walking off the field, Scotty obviously knew that I collected things, and I think I was the second person in that line. I think he got Plouffe off first, then me, and then Parmelee.

Robby Incmikoski: Right.

Michael Cuddyer: Or me, then Plouffe, then Parmelee. I don’t remember the exact order. So we’re walking out from the dugout, and he handed me the lineup card that got exchanged from home plate, the one with Girardi’s signature. The actual lineup card that got exchanged. So I got that one up in my office as well, and I got him to sign it a couple years later when they came to Colorado.

Robby Incmikoski: This is unbelievable, and I don’t know how I didn’t know that that one happened as well.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: ’Cause I’m a collector too of stuff.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, I’ve got two pretty cool lineup cards.

Robby Incmikoski: Do you have any other lineup—like do you have your major-league debut, Cuddy?

Michael Cuddyer: I’ve got the lineup card from my first cycle. I’ve got the lineup card from the last game at the Metrodome and the first game at Target Field, and then got some various other—like my milestone lineup cards.

Robby Incmikoski: So the save record was about what, 2011, I feel like, right?

Michael Cuddyer: Correct. We had the one-off. We had to go back and it was in September. ’Cause we got rained out in April and then had to come back. We had a—in the middle of the homestand, we had a day off, and that was the one that lined up.

Robby Incmikoski: Yeah, ’cause that was 20—bear with me for just a second here. I’m looking this up ’cause I want to get the—’cause I’m gonna put this in there as a story too. Rivera. ’Cause Perk told me a story about—here we go. September 19. I feel like this is it. Yeah, it was Plouffe groundout, you lined out the right, and Parmalee. So you were the second-to-last batter in that game. Wow.

Michael Cuddyer: So Allen & Ginter, you know, the card company, Topps?

Robby Incmikoski: Yes.

Michael Cuddyer: So Allen & Ginter made a big jumbo card of that moment. You know, Allen & Ginter have, and it’s like an artist [inaudible] cards?

Robby Incmikoski: Yes.

Michael Cuddyer: Don’t know if you’re familiar with those types of cards.

Robby Incmikoski: Yes. Oh, I’m very familiar. [Inaudible] Broadcasters. I’m pissed I never had one.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, so he’s at the top of the card they made. And then it’s a picture of Plouffe, me, and Parmelee. And somebody along the way gave me that card, so I put it in a frame. I’ve got the [inaudible] card next to the lineup card that got exchanged at home plate.

Robby Incmikoski: No way. I’m looking up this card right now.

Michael Cuddyer: I offered it to him. When I saw him in Colorado, I went up to him, and I was like, “I’ve got the lineup card from your last game. Do you want it?” and he said, “No, I’ve got enough from that day,” so he just signed it to me.

Robby Incmikoski: This is the one. I see it right now. So it’s Mariano in the middle of the card and you—it’s got, let’s see, Plouffe, you.

Michael Cuddyer: And [inaudible].

Robby Incmikoski: There’s one more on here though. Oh, Mariano’s the fourth. Okay. I was like, “Who’s the fourth person?” So Mariano’s technically on there twice. Okay. I gotcha.

That is unbelievable. So now, how many of the big leaguers do you think have lineup cards like that. I’ll bet there probably are not many. I’m sure there’s some, but with two—so you got Griffey’s last game, Mariano’s last card, and if I remember correctly, are they the two? Mariano was unanimous. I can’t remember if Griff was unanimous.

Michael Cuddyer: Griffey was, I think, one or two shy.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s what it was. That’s unbelievable.

Michael Cuddyer: Mariano’s the only one. Mariano’s the only one. But I wish I had that fortuitous thinking earlier in my career. Number one, I probably wouldn’t have had the balls to ask people for stuff, but that was the latter part of my career, and I realized then how cool these moments are and just started asking for things.

Robby Incmikoski: That is amazing. Amazing. Wow. What makes players, big-league players collect, do you think? Do they collect just like fans collect, do you think?

Michael Cuddyer: Some guys do. Some guys couldn’t care less. Some guys collect. I mean, I think it’s—for me it was just little remembrances of the things that I got to do and the people I got to play against, and the experiences that I got to experience.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s amazing, man. Now that lineup card, so with Tomey’s autograph on it and obviously Mariano, that’ll never, I mean, that’s staying in your in perpetuity, I would assume, right?

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, I mean, I would imagine so. You know, I’ve got tons and tons of stuff, and most of it is just that—it’s stuff. To me, it’s just stuff. But those moments are pretty cool. I played in Griffey’s last game ever, and then I played in the all-time saves record game. If it’s just random autographs and stuff, sometimes I’ll give them to people if they’re a fan of somebody or something, and I have something, but for the most part, I keep those moments.

Robby Incmikoski: And you didn’t play a lot of set, man. I don’t remember you playing—yeah, you did start at second base, and you had two hits, two RBIs, two runs scored. Did you hit a homer that game? Yes, you did. So you homered in Griffey’s last game off Doug Fister in the fourth inning.

Michael Cuddyer: There you go.

Robby Incmikoski: Do you remember that homer?

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, yeah, it was a sinker inside. I pulled it down the left-field line.

Robby Incmikoski: Now of all the homers you hit in your career, and there were 197 of them, do you remember that or—

Michael Cuddyer: I hit a homer in Mariano’s game too. I hit it off A. J. Burnett.

Robby Incmikoski: Jesus Christ. This is unbelievable. I swear to God, dude, I come across more stories as I talk to people. Like I interview them for one thing, and I end up with four by the time I hang the phone up with them or I get off of a video call. And this is what’s happ—I’m not kidding. This happens all the time. All the time with people. How do you—let me ask you this and then I’m gonna let you go after this. How do you put it into words, or how would you describe that players are like fans too. And where I’m going with this question is I’m trying to humanize you guys a little bit. Like I see it all the time. Players send baseballs to other clubhouses. Like we did it with—we played Pujols his last regular season game a couple of years back, right? And he hit his final home run at PNC Park. What I did is I went into the batter’s box after the game with the grounds crew and collected a Ziploc bag full of dirt from the batter’s box in Pujols’s last game that I have. So I have that, which is really cool. And a couple, like the Cardinals play guy asked me for some. A few other people asked me for some of that dirt. And it’s not authenticated, but I have it ’cause I grabbed it. I have photos. I have as much proof as I can possibly have for it. But how much are you as a baseball player relatable to the fan? Like you collect lineup cards. You have some autographs. That kind of stuff. I mean, can you just describe what that vibe is like around the clubhouse? ’Cause if I remember correctly, I think it was O-Dog, Cuddy, and obviously being a reporter I couldn’t ask, but with Tomey we did, when he came back when he played for Baltimore, Hot Rod offered us a chance to buy the jersey, but we sent them over and Tomey was autographing them. And I have it in a frame in my house now, right? So like I believe they did that with Griff too. I think O-Dog said, “Hey, you want a Griffey jersey. It’s like $200, and he’ll sign it.” And I think the guys had a sign-up sheet, and Griff was gonna sign like twenty or thirty jerseys, whatever it was, for everybody. How much are you guys relatable to the fan in that aspect, and that really there is no barrier between you, an All-Star Silver Slugger, and a fan who just loves the game?

People might not realize you guys will send baseballs to the other clubhouse for autographs or do sign-up sheets for jerseys. Orlando Hudson would say, “Griffey’s signing some jerseys at $200 each,” or something. Can you describe how players are just like fans?

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, of course, it’s an appreciation, right? It’s gratitude. That’s why I get so frustrated when people talk about dynasties, and they don’t like seeing the same teams win over and over and over, great players have success over and over and over, because they don’t appreciate what they’re actually getting to witness. We got to witness Ken Griffey Jr. We got to witness Mariano Rivera and their greatness, and not just their greatness, but I think this is where the players kinda have more of an inside look, so to speak, than the fans, is we understand all the work that it takes and what goes into it, and all the turmoil that you have to overcome and everything—the ups and downs to be able to still be at that level. I think, for me at least, I just appreciates players and the way they played the game and what they did and what they stood for. I think that’s why we all want little mementos from them. Another cool thing that I got was—so Vin Scully, his last year, everybody was getting Vin Scully jerseys made. Well, I bought a microphone, got him to sign a microphone. I thought that would have been a cool thing to do.

Robby Incmikoski: I know people who have done that. I have a baseball and a photo with Vin that I’m gonna have forever. It’s actually going to be front—the header—the photo on my website as soon as you click on it is a picture of Vin and I, which is amazing. And you obviously still have that microphone, right?

Michael Cuddyer: Oh yeah, absolutely. One of my coolest moments in my career was having Vin Scully in Dodger Stadium call one of my home runs. This is a guy who called Mickey Mantle’s home runs and all these other guys.

Robby Incmikoski: Jackie Robinson.

Michael Cuddyer: Jackie Robinson’s games. I mean, this is—it’s baseball history. And if you can’t appreciate that, then there’s no reason to play the game.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. How much did you value that? Like at what point in your career—you had referenced this earlier where you were afraid to ask for stuff younger in your career. At what point in your career, Cuddy, did you value grabbing mementos? Not things of monetary value, but things that would have this kind of value like you’re referring to right now? Like moments?

Michael Cuddyer: I mean, I think I always appreciated and looked for them, but I think I relied too much on my brain and my memory at the moment than I did actually getting things or stuff to kinda document those moments. And I would say probably around 2009 or so, I started actually saying, “You know what? I need to collect some of these moments. I need to collect some of these things.” And I started asking guys for bats, you know, their bats. And some would personalize them, some wouldn’t. Now, when people come to my house or come to this little man cave that I got, people are able to pick up Derek Jeter’s bat. “Man, this is what he used.” “Ichiro Suzuki, this is what he used.” And it’s kinda cool.

Robby Incmikoski: You know, I had a foul ball. We were in Miami. We were the first home game after Ichiro got his 1,000th hit, so if you remember, were you playing in Colorado when Ichiro got his 3,000th or no?

Michael Cuddyer: I don’t remember what year that was.

Robby Incmikoski: I gotta look up when that was ’cause Ichiro, ’cause it was like right-center field.

Michael Cuddyer: Right.

Robby Incmikoski: It would have been August 7 of ’16. So you would not have been with the [inaudible].

Michael Cuddyer: [Inaudible] retired. I already retired.

Robby Incmikoski: So you were not there.

Michael Cuddyer: Correct.

Robby Incmikoski: That would be amazing. But the next game, the next home game after that was Pirates at Marlins, so I was with the Pirates at the time, and a foul ball came into the camera well. I give away 99 percent of foul balls that come into my camera well. And I tried 99 percent of the time to give them to a kid, right? Tried to make their day.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: And this one had a special Ichiro logo. You know where the NLB logo is, below the seam?

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: You know, under the commissioner’s signature? It had Ichiro’s logo on it, and I kept that ball. I have it from that day.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: Which is crazy.

Michael Cuddyer: [Inaudible.] When Frank Thomas hit his 500th, he hit it against us. I remember Froemming was the umpire at first base, and I was playing first base. And I looked at him and said, “How many of those have you seen in your career?” By that time he was umpire for like forty years.

Robby Incmikoski: Right.

Michael Cuddyer: He goes, “I don’t know how many 500ths, but I was umpiring second base when Hank hit his 715th.”

Robby Incmikoski: Unbelievable.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, you just, I mean the things that I got to do and be a part of—you can’t explain it. There are no words, which is why I started collecting mementos ’cause there are no words to describe those moments and those feelings that you get to witness.

Robby Incmikoski: You played second base more than you played left field just in terms of games. I know they weren’t all full games, but just games where you made an appearance at second base.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: Seventy-nine. You know how many you played in left field? Seventy-eight. That’s crazy.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah, those all came in New York my last year.

Robby Incmikoski: Really? Oh, when you were with the Mets. Wow.

Michael Cuddyer: Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: And you played six in center, and your one pitching appearance, I was with you in Texas, ’cause I have photos of that. That I do I remember. You did light that up. What the hell were you imitating—the picture—that look—you imitated somebody. Who the hell was it? I can’t remember.

Michael Cuddyer: I don’t remember. [Inaudible.]

Robby Incmikoski: It was somebody. I forget who it was. It was funny, what you did. But that was great, man.